MyDebates is a new tool created by MySpace and the Commission for Presidential Debates (CPD) to help users better understand issues and follow the Presidential Election. What can MyDebates’  interactive charts show us about users on Myspace by state or for the entire country?

MyDebates has a number of interactive features to get MySpace users involved in the election process. The tool has polls to help users prioritize issues and understand where the candidates stand. MyDebates will also stream the Presidential Debates live on the Web.

In addition to helping users understand and navigate the major issues of the 2008 Presidential Race, MyDebates also shows statistics on how MySpace users answers on the major issue. There’s a page that shows both the most and least important issues and which states are most supportive of each candidate.

One of MyDebates charts shows a map by red state and blue state based on respondents from MySpace. The map also includes a number of purple states, those that are too close to call, which currently makes up much of the east coast. The map currently shows McCain with 21 states and Obama with only 12, though there are still 12 so-called purple states outstanding.

You can adjust the age range and gender of the data set to see more information about the respondents. That way you can eliminate the population that is under 18 and see whether age has much bearing on people’s overall leanings. It cannot, however, take into account voter turnout.

Another view shows all the voters in the country on a pie chart by their favorite candidate. This graph shows a different picture with Obama just ahead of McCain with 21% and 17% of the respondents respectively. These numbers show a similar picture to the national polls- it is a very close race.

This chart shows just 4% of respondents plan to vote for a third party candidate which is indicated in green. Another 9% are undecided and, again, marked in purple. The gray slice is another 9% of respondents, those that do not plan to vote. It’s interesting that there are so many people that flocked to the site with no intentions of voting.

MySpace is obviously only a small cross-section of the overall US population. However, this is an interesting way to look into the views of many of our fellow Americans. It will be interesting to watch how these informal polls change as the election progresses and how close the numbers are to the actual vote.

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Entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 8:46 am under Social Media.

Read more entries by Dave Jeyes.
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