(empo-plaaybizz) Gaming the election

Have you ever noticed how the current election is always the most important election in our time? Well, since it is the most important election in our time, both the Libertarians and the Green Party want to make sure that everyone gets out to vote. Oh, and other parties want you to vote also, such as the American Independent Party and the Peace and Freedom Party. Did I miss any?

This year, there's a new wrinkle in the get out the vote efforts. In past years, my precinct would give me an "I Voted" sticker, which I would wear proudly until it fell off. Now, your "I Voted" status can be a little more public:

Foursquare is promoting civic responsibility by promoting the "I voted" badge.

First sign up at Foursquare.com, so you are already a registered user. Then look for your precinct or add it to the list of venues when you go there.

To earn the "I Voted" badge, simply check in at your precinct, and when the window asks you to add a "shout," simply type #ivoted in the window and finish checking in.

But Foursquare isn't going it alone, according to the Hattiesburg American:

Mashable.com reports that a number of organizations have partnered on the project, including Foursquare, Rock the Vote, Pew Center, Google and the Voting Information Project.

Meanwhile, Facebook is doing something similar, but I don't know that they're partnering with anyone. Zuckerberg likes to do things all by himself, and especially likes ideas that he created all by himself without anyone else.