Finally, Facebook Does Good

Facebook Applications are annoying. I think I have like 45 of them crowding up my home page right now. I do not want to be a zombie. I do not want to join the oregon trail. I do not care about sports brackets (whatever the hell those are). I just want to stare at people I don't know for hours and think about how much better my life is than theirs.

However.

There is one facebook app that looks promising. It's an application that's being developed by one of my friends and I am pitching it to you, anonymous internet reader, because it sounds like a very promising idea. It's probably unethical to do this, but hey, that's why I write for a blog.

The name of the application is "Your Revolution" and it's going to be a big deal. It's an application that helps people vote. If you're not registered to vote, and you live in Washington or Arizona, it allows you to register online, through facebook. It also checks to see if your friends are registered to vote, and, if they're not, allows you to pester them by sending them an invitation to join the application. God that's a mouthful. This is why I don't do PR.

Anyway, I just got back from the launch party which was held in a warm Ravenna house. Brett Horvath, the organization's "ceo", is a really optimistic guy, he's kind of like the open-minded straight roommate you always wanted but never got. He listens to criticism well, like when I told him I wanted to start a rival organization called "Your Porn" he didn't get angry, but rather told me my idea was outdated. "Actually, the primary reason why people go online nowadays is for social purposes," he said. How diplomatic of him. I still think he's wrong and porno is the number one reason why people go online, but I have no data to back this up and I'm too lazy to try.

Overheard conversations at the launch party included, "we should make this one of those annoying viral campaigns where we try to sneak Our Revolution into normal every day interactions where it doesn't fit at all like 'I broke up with my girlfriend', 'oh that sucks...have you heard of Your Revolution?" (this quote was funny at the time, but in print: notsomuch).

One other guy said "I don't know if I like the idea of registering people to vote. People don't make good decisions, no matter how easy you make it."

You go get 'em, Brett. You've got the optimism. Don't listen to us. We're bitches.


Oh and when this thing blows up, remember you read about it at 'OH MY GOD SEATTLE.'

Over and out. It is late. Jeez.