Originally posted at Midwest by Northwest.

By Alvin Singh

**This commentary was written on paper on November 4th in between flights from Seattle to New York City since I was not able to get to a computer**

Midway into my flight from Seattle to New York City I stopped in Chicago for a layover. While sitting at a terminal pub I watched Fox News at 7-7:30 pm Midwest time and the results showed John McCain with 39 electoral votes and Senator Obama with 103. Senator McCain won my home state of Tennessee according to Fox with 63% and Obama with 33% and I was not surprised. Neighboring state Kentucky was also colored on the screen as red signaling that McCain won 57% to Obama’s 41% electoral votes.

Before I caught the next flight they showed both campaign’s victory parties and it was interesting to see that McCain’s campaign had rented a hotel conference room that was not filled yet at 5:00 pm western time. On the other hand they showed a crowd of thousands of people in downtown Chicago waiting for the Obama campaign to set up. Now I have to catch my flight…… stay tuned.

Once I landed in Long Island New York at 10:55 pm the electoral vote was no close call like 2000 or 2004 elections. The predictions were already calling Obama the winner without even the count form states like Oregon, Washington, and California.

By the time we got into a taxi, I was listening to John McCain give his concession speech on WCBS radio. He spoke about how “a century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.” He displayed a classy character of a man who once imprisoned and projected a sense of respect for the accomplishment that Obama had achieved.

Then just as the taxi driver arrived into the island of Manhattan we listened to the first African American President elect Barack Obama give his speech on becoming he leader that America democratically chosen. He spoke about a woman who was 106 years old and voted bringing a emotional tone to the moment.

Hearing a speech via radio and in a taxi is a calming feeling because one I was not driving and two it allows the listener to actually hear the words being spoken rather than seeing the visual set up that the speaker or media wants you to see first. I was shocked that at 12 pm he was giving a victory speech already and that the radio announcers were declaring a winner so soon.

The CBS radio broadcaster made a statement that Americans voted for the color green since this election was in the midst of economic turmoil and wall street distrust. The people of America were concerned about their jobs and how they could save money more so about electing a “black” president.

I took a walk to Times Square and thought it was New Years eve, the crowds were jumping up and down and the huge bright TV screens were showing images of Barack Obama and him waving from a podium with his family. Cars were honking the horns and people walked around cheering and sporting t shirts, buttons, hats, cardboard box cut outs, and waving campaign posters that that read Obama-Biden.

This 2008 election is no doubt one that will go into the history books as one that involved controversy and inspiration. The highest voter turnout, most money raised by a candidate ever, and the first minority American to the Presidential election.

In the topic of digital democracy I received countless text messages and emails to my phone all night. Since I was on the streets of New York City, I was not able to check the Twitter feeds or read any political blogs. I was entrapped in the moment of personal interaction and took photos of the crowds that were screaming “yes we can” or “ yes we did”.

Then the very next morning the New York Times headlines read “Obama makes history” and every stand was selling out quicker than normal. Since we had a interview at 10:00 am I decided to bypass buying the morning paper which is very unusual for me to do when out of town. When we completed by lunchtime I checked my messages only to hear request from family and friends to buy a copy of the newspapers since reports were saying they were sold out everywhere. On my way to catch a train to Washington DC, I noticed that all the New York Times special edition were sold out at every Hudson News stand in Penn Station. I read my Twitter feeds from my cell phone and witnessed comments from a broad range of topics about the election night and how people were requesting copies of the next day’s front page newspapers.

The final results were so far from when I first landing halfway into my trip with a total of 349 electoral votes for Barack Obama and 162 for John McCain, according to the New York Times. Missouri and North Carolina were not yet counted but the winner was decided. After all the debates, negative attack ads, long primary, political conventions and anxious voters America finally decided who they want as their next Commander-in-Chief. Now the real work begins as we are still faced with a financial crisis, job loss and two major wars, let’s see if their will be any CHANGE.

To learn more about the Transition Project check out www.Change.gov

Yesterday was the most exciting political experience of my life. I witnessed something different, something I’ve always longed for–change.  The United States of America has proven to the world that it is different from any other nation. I have always known the U.S. to be a multicultural country; yet I’ve also been cognizant of the fact that power has rested mainly with the white majority. Not anymore.  Today the United States is a country where the presidency is accessible by individuals of all races, cultures and beliefs.

It has reached a level of democracy that I believe no other country will attain in the near future. It is a country of people, not a country of its president; the people have elected a leader who reflects the life they desire for themselves.  To be honest, I felt a little jealous since I belong to a monarchical country, a country where you are forced to live the life of its king not the other way around. But, at least I was happy being in the U.S during this historical time and experiencing democracy for the first time.

This post first appears at Trading Media

Carlos shot this photo essay of a first time voter.

On November 4, 2008, Washington state passed Initiative-1000, “Death with Dignity,” allowing terminally-ill patients to self administer lethal medications to end their lives.

Sponsored by Washington state influential, Governor Booth Gardner, the campaign had a swift timeline: it was successfully launched in January, on the ballot in July and passed in November.

Digital media was used in the I-1000 campaign through the use of its Web site, itsmydecision.org.

The site offers:

• Messages from Governor Booth Gardner
• An “About” section with information regarding I-1000
• A full-color downloadable informative pamphlet
• Details on Oregon’s similar Death with Dignity Act (passed in 1997)
• Links to relevant newspaper articles
• A “What’s Next” section with contact information for questions
• Phone numbers, an e-mail address, postal address & Web link for more details
• A form to provide your contact information
• Easily clickable volunteer opportunities
• A page to submit your personal story

The site now includes the sentimental speech given by Gardner when the Initiative passed on Election Day. Rock Bottom Brewery in Seattle was filled with supporters as the campaign manager and staff gave their respective speeches as well. A break was taken and all eyes turned to watch McCain’s concession and Obama’s acceptance speech on the wall-mounted TVs. When CNN announced the passage of I-1000 more cheer spread.

This is an election day which has transforming power.  It is testament to our belief that individuals can make a difference.  That power does indeed reside with the people.
-Gov. Booth Gardner

Following the I-1000 celebration, many supporters headed to the Democratic Party Headquarters at The Westin Seattle. Cameras, big screens, politicians and fanatic supporters overflowed beyond the 4^th floor into the non-designated areas.

At the end of the Election 08 evening, helicopters circled downtown, cars honked happily and constituents cheered in the streets. It was an exciting evening to shadow victorious Democrats.

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At first, I was caught off guard at the way my friends were using Facebook to share political opinions during the presidential and vice presidential debates of this 2008 election. I remember thinking to myself that I felt old and grown up – I can’t ever remember having so much of a “conversation” about presidential debates at any time before. I also was interested that so many of my Facebook friends who are a part of my “work network” were so willing to share their political opinions. Having your employer know which way you voted is a concern that many have with regard to the prospect of online voting. This seemed to be great evidence that maybe we don’t care about that after all.

As a result, I kept track of my friends’ Facebook statuses during the course of the 2008 election. I began monitoring them first thing on Tuesday, November 4^th, Election Day, and stopped at about 4:00 PM on Wednesday, November 5^th. I thought I might have trouble picking when to stop, but there was a very natural decrease in postings starting around 12:00 PM on Wednesday.

What I found was interesting. I have an even 300 friends on Facebook. Over the course of those two days, I received 292 status updates, from 119 people (the winner of “most updates” posted 14 times). 126 of those updates had to do with the general election, four outwardly supported McCain, 125 outwardly supported Obama, and 33 did not have to do with anything election related. It turned out those were my favorite, they looked so funny sandwiched in between all the political activists:

• Sarah Croco is go OHIO!!!!
• Marijke Waddell ’s fingers are crossed.
• Tracy Raiser thinks Grant Park is on fire with excitement!
• Kelly Berger Giles “Barocked” her vote – did you?
• Diane Oen is in White Plains and sucks at bowling.
• Steve Arbour is hoping it comes down to a Wyoming decision.
• Daniel Peterman is experiencing history tonight.
• Adriana Gil Miner The young vote rocks !!!!

So what can be said about this Facebook analysis? First of all, Facebook, and social networking in general, is obviously not a tool to be ignored by politicians, or anyone with a cause that wants to get people out to vote. The attitude was contagious, and I’m not sure I could have felt anything less than terrible about myself had I been active on Facebook and still not voted on Election Day.

More importantly, Facebook was a tool to spread a specific cause, which is evidenced by the number of people who were so willing to endorse their candidate in their status update. With 300 friends, I am obviously a part of several larger networks. (I don’t have 300 close friends.) I belong to groups that are comprised of current coworkers, former coworkers, students at my graduate school, and finally my actual close friends and family. Those groups are not all homogeneous, yet there was an overwhelming majority of Obama supporters. Only three people posted four status comments supporting McCain, yet 125 updates supported Obama.

Despite this lack of diversity, we can probably make some general assumptions about the political persuasion of my group of Facebook friends. I’m sure that they are educated, employed, active on the internet, live in major metropolitan areas primarily in Chicago and Seattle, and generally fall within the 20-35 age group: all characteristics of people who support Obama. With that said, had I grown up in Alabama, gone to college in Mississippi, and resided in Texas, my updates might have looked a lot different.

However, I would also guess that based on the activity yesterday, people in my general demographic on Facebook who supported McCain felt uncomfortable doing so publicly via their status message. In our age group, Obama was the “cool” candidate to endorse. Telling 300 of your friends, family and coworkers that you were supporting McCain might make them look at you differently. Interestingly enough, 51 of my status updates that outwardly supported a specific candidate (let’s be honest, Obama) were part of my Microsoft work network. I’m in ad sales at Microsoft and we sell Facebook ads, so my coworkers are heavy Facebook users. What that means though, is that I’m connected to managers of all levels, and at a company this large and dynamic, you never know who might be your next boss. It is very interesting that these Facebook users felt comfortable enough sharing their political opinions with a group of people that could be integral to their career development.

Finally, the youth vote was a key in this election, and the Facebook activity supported that. According to CIRCLE, “approximately 24 million Americans ages 18-29 voted in this election, an increase in youth turnout by at least 2.2 million over 2004” (Dahl, 2008) . Facebook has 41,416,000 unique users, 9,122,000 daily visitors, who spend roughly 11.5 minutes on the site per visit (that last number is really good compared to other sites) (ComScore Media Metrix, 2008) . Of those visitors, 51% are 18-34, and the site is a whopping 422% more likely to have adults 18-24 as visitors (Nielsen Net Ratings, 2008) . There has to be a connection between the high number of youth voters and the high number of youths actively sharing their political opinions on Facebook.

One might even suggest that Facebook was a tool to enact peer pressure on people to vote. What we may never know is how much Facebook influenced the youth vote rather than how much youth voters just used Facebook to share their opinions with like-minded people who were already going to vote one way or another. Either way, it was a fascinating way to look at a cross section of voters in this year’s election.

You can view my data online at Google Docs.

Bibliography

ComScore Media Metrix. (2008). Key Measures. Reston: ComScore Media Metrix.

Dahl, M. (2008, November 5). Young voter turnout likely sets new record. Retrieved November 5, 2008, from MSNBC.com: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27562023/

Nielsen Net Ratings. (2008). @Plan Profiling Report. New York: Nielsen Net Ratings.

After so many hours of watching the news, we finally have a new president, Barack Obama.

8 p.m. PT

Felt he was least risky