Like it or not, the 2008 presidential election is approaching, and should you be in that first category, Google is ready to keep you informed with a new Elections 2008 gadget.

For fans of Kevin Rudd, the end of Australia’s elections was anything but bitter.  But Google was nonetheless there, continuing the election coverage that it first announced in September.

No one’s claiming that a solid presence on Facebook or MySpace is, by itself, enough to win an election.  But it certainly doesn’t hurt, as Australian politician Kevin Rudd has discovered.

Sick of American politics?  Well, this may not make you feel any better, but Google’s got a brand new website offering a detailed view of the Australian equivalent.

Forget the CNN/YouTube debates (which was only watched by 2.6 million viewers anyway).  The real milestone of new media changing the face of politics has already happened.  We are deep in an historic shift in the way elections are run, driven entirely by advancements in sharing information.  But to understand where we are, we have to take a look at how we got here.

Comedy Central has launched Indecision2008.com. their first stand-alone political humor Web site. 

If they want to reach the right person with the right message at the right time, 2008 presidential candidates should consider site behavioral retargeting. Think of it as continuous online rehandshaking.

The next president of France may owe the blogosphere a debt of gratitude after toiling in “la toile,” the fabric of the Internet.

The election season is upon us, and although the next US President won’t be elected for two more years, there are plenty of Congressional races taking place that could change the balance of power in the House and possibly the Senate.

Blogs seem to be everywhere anymore, at least on the Internet. What kind of effect do they really have though? They get used to discuss literally everything. But, during the current Iranian election process, blogs have provided something much more fundamental, free speech.