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by Teresa Martin

There's been lots of chatter - or should I say twitter? - this week. No doubt the debut of Election 2008, powered by Twitter, is warming the hearts of Twitter's investors as the service takes a step onto Main Street and into a higher level of public awareness. And if anyone still thinks we haven't crossed a divide in political media in this election, spend a few minutes just watching the words wrap at http://election.twitter.com/

Literally, 24/7, the messages fly. Sometimes it is hard to read because the ticker of commentary is scrolling along so rapidly. There are literally millions of voices out there, all finding a way to speak out. And a fraction of those are filtered and assembled into Twitter's Election 2008.

Twitter, if you aren't familiar with it, is a service in which people essentially post micro-blogs - that is, a sentence of two - about what they are thinking, seeing, or doing at this moment. Many tweets originate from mobile devices, so there is literally an army of commentators on the move, reporting in from field ... and street and bar and living room and beach ... all the time. (Previously at CapeEyes: http://www.capeeyes.com/columns/2008/2008-03-01tweet.html)

There are groups connected by geography and sharing geographically relevant information. For example, from the recent gas shortage in Atlanta there evolved a targeted geographic community sharing information about what was to be had where. Some groups affiliate around personal connections - everyone who knows Joe. Much like the rest of the many-to-many communication environment, Twitter is as customizable as you.

So on the plus side, there is this amazing pastiche of view, voice, and tone all creating a real time mosaic of opinion. If you're a candidate or working for one, the pulse is incredible. Twitter tracked the use of certain terms and phases while last week's first presidential debate was underway and there were clear surges in response to what people were seeing and hearing on the debate stage (and being observers via that last political transformation technology: television). A look at the chart Twitter compiled pretty clearly reflects near real time reactions. It is sort of like being in a virtual living room, participating in the same experience - and sharing it - with a cast of thousands.

And on the minus side, there is cacophony. And without centralized filters, a lack of validity. Does the person behind this tweet have an agenda or are they on the payroll of a particaulr viewpoint? Is this person a drooling lunatic or just a really bad speller? Are these dead-on remarks the product of a well-seasoned adult or a precocious 12 year old quoting others? Do you know? Does it matter?

If you've ever worried that you are all alone in the world, a few minutes here will assure you that you are not. And that someplace in there a view much like yours will flow along. But that's not all. Twitter, like the hallway in a cocktail party, can become an enormous time sink.

You see, along with text, tweets can carry links and if you happen to be sitting and staring at your coffee suffering a bad case of writers block, there's nothing like Election 2008 to give you a false sense of productivity.

I watched the Katie Couric interview with Sarah Palin, in which we learn the wise observation that Russia is a foreign country next door to Alaska. I watched David Letterman fill in empty air time for the last minute no-show John McCain. I totally had to click on that link after reading a tweet that noted: watch this and you will know that you don't want to be on the bad side of David Letterman! And then there was the running commentary about the Sarah Palin baby name generator - What would your Palin name be? I'd share that goofy URL here so you could play the game too, except that instead of frivolity the link now points to "This Account Has Been Suspended" which raises another whole set of questions, doesn't it?

The term "convergence" was all the buzz a few years back. Well, Twitter's Election 2008 is what convergence really looks like, where text and links and video and graphics and interactive applications sort of all mix and mingle. And where users flow between one and other, connected in different ways, at fixed and mobile locations, sometimes absorbing the information, sometimes participating in it, and sometimes just being a little overwhelmed by the non-linearity of it all.

The world is a very interconnected place. And a very interactive one. The verdict is still out on whether people like tweeting just to hear the sound of their own voice or whether we are building a community that connects. But it is clear that in a near-full digital world, the dynamics of politics and the business of opinion are part and parcel of the converged future we live and breath daily.