The Search for Reliable Information Continues: Scouring the Blogosphere

This week, I have surveyed the Internet for links to diverse, relevant, and reputable websites containing information on the 2008 presidential election. These links may be found in my linkroll. I used the Webby Awards Criteria to assess the overall quality of these web resources and paid especially close attention to the IMSA criteria, which standardizes expectations for weblogs. A bulk of the links come from the blogosphere, an area left relatively unexplored in my earlier post. Before delving into that realm, I will begin with introducing a spectacular visual representation of the primary election results (pictured on the right). Complex quantitative election data is organized in the familiar, simple design of a Google map and is highly interactive.

For readers who are weary about obtaining information from weblogs, an excellent starting point is newspapers. Several major news organizations maintain political blogs and scrutinize the posts for the same objectivity and accuracy as can be found in print articles. Washington Post's The Fix is maintained by a credentialed reporter, Chris Cillizza, who travels to events, posts videos and links, and often invites user interaction. Another excellent Post blog The Trail is a more general election 2008 site maintained by various reporters. The blog shares many similarities to the New York Times' The Caucus in delivering regular posts with reliable information and clear formatting. Generally, though, each site covers unique stories so readers can explore both without encountering excessive overlap. More Internet-savvy readers may prefer weblogs that are more oriented toward the online community, as characterized by having multiple contributors and employing minimal editing. Two popular sources are the Daily Kos and The Huffington Post. While both have several writers, the websites have different accountability checks on their authors. Entries on the Daily Kos are left open-ended, often receiving hundreds of feedback commentary with concurring and dissenting opinions. The Huffington Post similarly sees regular commenting but is further equipped with biographies on the authors, helping readers to assess their credibility. Another category of weblogs comes directly from the campaigns. The major candidates in the race John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama maintain easily accessible blogs in addition to campaign websites. While each has an obvious bias, the posts supply useful links, media, and general campaign information. The Obama campaign presents the most routine updates, followed closely by the Clinton blog. Finally, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of available facts and figures in the World Wide Web is understandable. As a remedy, Comedy Central’s Indecision 2008 website provides a humorous take on the election events. Articles, media, and polls may look like information that is found on any other political website, but Comedy Central provides a lighthearted, humorous, and sometimes satirical take on election events. I hope to have pointed my readers in the right direction, towards useful and engaging sources for 2008 presidential election information.