The Facebook Debates

I continue to be intrigued by the ever-changing role of the social web in the Presidential race.  We saw a first earlier in the epic debate season of how the YouTube community played a role in the campaign.  Unlike many who felt that CNN chose the wrong questions from the hundreds submitted by citizens via YouTube, I viewed the event as a great step towards representing the true concerns of the electorate.

Now comes the announcement by ABC News that it is making Facebook the centerpiece of a debate in New Hampshire on January 5.  This is part of a larger partnership between ABC News and Facebook to allow members to interact with reporters and follow much more closely the coverage of the campaigns.  ABC News also has a profile page, and I agree with Erick Schonfeld that it should use this page both to collect questions from members to ask candidates, as well as vote on which questions actually get asked. 

There also is a great opportunity for debate and discussion to take place during the actual debate and for the best of the Facebook-based discussion to be shown during the televised debate, via the usual bottom-of-the-screen ticker.  This would be a very powerful way to integrate the two channels in a way that makes a real impact in terms of informing voters.