NPR.org/GetMyVote - NPR Listeners Get Political

NPR, that most venerated bastion of public radio in America, has jumped on to the 2.0 bandwagon, combining the resonance of air waves with social media. Their newest program, GetMyVote, asks audience members about their personal politics, what concerns them, and how can their vote be earned. Users can post their comments and views via video/audio clips on the site. Additionally, these audio-video commentaries can be linked or embedded in other social networks such as Facebook or Myspace. GetMyVote entries are viewed by NPR staff members and the more compelling entries may appear on NPR shows nationwide. The entries, will moreover, become fodder for discussing the elections and voter convictions. Widgets allow user submitted posts to be transported over to personal, governmental or other sites, giving candidates more insight into their voters. The requisite social network features are there: tags, the all purpose tag cloud, comments, and user profiles.

“NPR and public media want to hear about the concerns and convictions that motivate you in this election. Politics, as we say, is personal. Tell us about the issues that have touched your life. How have your experiences shaped your political beliefs and goals? What could someone do or say to get your vote?”

NPR is an esteemed news outlet which is incorporating thought provoking and compelling functionalities into their GetMyVote site. The beauty of the site is that it takes the encompassing qualities of radio and extends them on to the net. Users really get to dialogue with each other about political matters. Moreover, the site makes it very simple for other sites and political bodies to incorporate these view points.

NPR tends to attract a certain type of audience which limits just what kinds of POVs you’ll find on the site. How do they intend to widen the spectrum and get non NPR listeners to contribute? How are commentaries screened?