The official 2012 social media guide to the presidential election is here. You can cut the cord to your cable and follow the election with an Internet connection, laptop and/or mobile device. It is no question that social media is changing everything, and possibly predicting who will become the 45th President of the United States of America.
According to a recent study, 94% of voting-age social media users are more likely to consume political messages online. With all those potential voters engaged on the web, both candidates will be battling for their attention and, more importantly, their votes.  The social media engagement level has intensified to a fever pitch. With the political-focused digital ecosystem flooding with photos, videos and written content curated by political journalists and citizen reporters, here’s how you can stay in the know on social media:
Social Media Platforms
All the major social media outlets have enhanced their platforms to enable users to track the election, follow the conventions in real time, and interact with data visually. Â Here is a short list of what YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are doing to engage users following the campaign trail.
The YouTube Politics channel is your feed for video content involving the presidential election. YouTube is live streaming both the Republican and Democratic national conventions, and sharing video feeds from NBC News and Univision, as well as The New York Times.
The social networking site has partnered with CNN to create Facebook & CNN Election Insights, which allows users to comment and engage with friends within their social network about the presidential election.
In partnership with Topsy, The Mellman Group and NorthStar Opinion Research, the social media site is offering a new service called the Twitter Political Index. The service will capture data, enabling users to see what the pulse of the world is as it relates to this election. Â It covers how often Obama and Romney are mentioned, as well as the political sentiment. You can also follow @Gov on Twitter for tweets about the election.
Google+ is a source for election news, data and digital trends about the upcoming election.
- Instagram: For an up-to-the-minute view of the presidential election, you can track Instagram photos using hashtags online (i.e. #election2012) via Webstagram.
Presidential Election Hashtags to Follow: For content across multiple platforms, follow #election2012, #dnc2012, #gop2012, #barackobama and #mittromney .
I look forward to seeing you online, tracking the election from anywhere across the globe. Stay connected and let us know how you are following the election.