Fresh out of the Facebook hackathon: put your political messages in Times Square

If you’re expecting to find a cool app on Facebook, the chances are they’re not going to get much cooler than one that’s been developed by Facebook themselves. And that’s pretty much what you’ve got with their most recent app ’2012 Matters’ which was created out of a 24 hour hackathon consisting of Facebook engineers and the ad agency R/GA. Facebook have been well known for their hackathons, in which developers join together to collaborate and launch innovative projects. They’re part of the tradition and jargon of Facebook’s history, and now they’re combining their engineering talents to bring us a project focused on the U.S. election.

Your messages on Times Square

The app that’s been developed starts with requiring users to fill out a Facebook poll related to the election, where you answer 9 questions. At the end of the poll, you’ll be asked to share your answers and profile picture on the ad boards in Times Square :

When entering the poll, you simply drag the 3 issues that are most important to you on the map, and select whether you want your picture and votes to be shown in Times Square :

While the app itself may be fairly simple, the end result is impressive and it’s another good example of the socialisation of politics.