Three free resources for covering the mobile/location-based midterm
The previous three election cycles, blogs, Web video and social media emerged as mainstream tools for covering and influencing the political process. This time around, it's the mobile Web and location-based services that are making inroads. If you've only just caught up with the first three, don't panic. With these free, easy-to-implement resources, virtually anyone can have a place in this newest space.
Google Election Center
Google Election Center offers an embed code for a customizable map widget your readers can use to find their local polling place, ballot information and contact details for election offices. If information for your area is incomplete, you may add to Google's database. (Mobile publishers can point their audiences to this version of the map.)
Foursquare I Voted data visualization
Foursquare is also offering an embeddable map. Available starting election day morning, it will aggregate real-time check-in data for more than 100,000 polling locations.
Twitter Fast Follow
If, on election day or any other busy news day, you ever need to create a text alert service on the fly, Twitter Fast Follow is a way to do it. In fact, every Twitter account already doubles as a text alert system. All you have to do is promote the fact that anyone with a mobile phone — whether they're on Twitter or not — can receive your tweets via SMS by texting “follow NameOfYourTwitterAccount” to 40404.
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