Portable Planet

MySpace.com announces the launch of the Impact Channel (), a political community designed to empower politicians, non-profits, and civic organizations to connect with MySpace users around the world. The Impact Channel will house a voter registration tool, links to all official candidate profiles, content from GOOD Magazine, Impact-related event and job listings, videos, and programs. An Impact-specific profile type, to be rolled-out in the next several weeks, will offer Impact-makers special functionality including the network’s first viral fundraising tool and customizable badges. The launch of the Impact Channel kicks-off a series of large-scale online and offline political programming continuing through the 2008 presidential elections.

“As the country’s most trafficked Website, MySpace will play a powerful role in the upcoming election. Our digital candidate banners will be the yard signs of the 21st Century and our political viral videos and vlogs are the campaign ads of the future,” said Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace. “By empowering our users with easy-to-find information, offered in a way they can relate to it, Impact will ignite their involvement in the political process.”

The Impact Channel creates an unparalleled content platform to connect political candidates and civic organizations to the site’s dynamic user population. Modeled after existing content channels such as MySpace Music and Video, the new channel will enable the community to learn about the candidates, experience the political process online and offline, and uncover issues and organizations relevant to their lives.

“It is already clear that MySpace will be a primary hub of activity in the 2008 Presidential campaign,” said Andrew Rasiej, Co-Founder of techPresident.com. “The Impact Channel will confirm once and for all that the Internet is not just an adjunct to the traditional political landscape, but an entirely new and distinct battlefield where voter generated content will drive much of the discourse, upend the conventional wisdom, and impact the election in ways that the traditional political and media establishment is just beginning to understand.”

As part of the Impact launch, 10 presidential candidates, five Republicans and five Democrats, today launched their official MySpace profiles. Presidential candidates with official MySpace profiles on the Impact Channel include:

Joe Biden:

Hillary Clinton:

John Edwards:

Rudy Giuliani:

Duncan Hunter:

Dennis Kucinich:

John McCain:

Barack Obama:

Ron Paul:

Mitt Romney:

Also beginning today, these 10 profiles and all verified presidential hopefuls will be enabled with a customized, viral fundraising feature. The tool, a first in MySpace history, will be rolled out to broader Impact makers after launch.

“MySpace will be a powerful force in the next election,” said Julie Barko Germany, Deputy Director of the Institute for Politics Democracy & the Internet at George Washington University. “MySpace users will have direct access to candidates and be able to serve as digital storefronts for their campaigns, taking netroots politics to the next level. It’s part of a trend that’s revolutionizing the way politicians and the public interact.”

The launch of the Impact Channel is the first phase in MySpace’s plan to engage and mobilize in political and civic engagement. MySpace will engage politicians at the national and local levels as well as organizations aimed at mobilizing and exciting users about civic issues such as Declare Yourself, Do Something, and Kiva. In the coming months, MySpace will roll out large-scale political tools, both online and offline, to raise candidates’ profiles and mobilize voters.

Source: MySpace.com