Google doesn’t cease to amaze. Despite its UDS100 million acquisition of Jaiku, it’s teamed up with Twitter to create a Google mashup of Super Tuesday showing comments by Twittering people across the world.
All Twitterers’ comments about the US elections show up non stop on a negotiable Google map. The XML map will additionally show election results as well as video footage submitted on YouChoose ‘08. Check it out here.
I really enjoyed seeing the thing work. The Twitter messages about the elections popped up incessantly and it really feels like a tangible stream of consciousness created by by thousands and thousands of (unwitting) people. These were some of the comments that popped up:
Twitterer: Chris Miller
Location: probably East Tennessee
Comment: Busted! Bill Hobbs snitches out an undercover TN Democratic Party staff member… http://tinyurl.com/2k8syx
Twitterer: USATOnPolitics
Location: ??
Comment: The big weekend event, as ..
Clinton ‘92 campaign aide to endorse Obama: By sending reporters an Associated Press report a few .. http://tinyurl.com/2tmtfq
Twitterer: Tom Negrino
Location: ??
Comment: @danwood Obama’s speech last night was sharper. More Edwards-style “We must fight the GOP, and I know it will be tough” than kumbaya.
Twitterer: Afrigator
Location: Africa
Comment: Barack Obama Heading For Wins In Virginia, Maryland And Washington DC - http://afrigator.com/r/t/7092/229372
Twitterer: Dave Winer
Location: Berkeley, CA
Comment: Nightline, Sen. Barack Obama sweeps the Potomac primaries. http://x98.us/tyb
Rests me to guess what’s next for Jaiku. Online news experts say that if 2007 was the year of social networks, this year is going to be marked by mashups and this very development is likely going to be dominating if not determining the fast paced world of internet trends. Jaiku is definitely missing out on that. It is bizarre that it only seems like yesterday that Google acquired the Twitter competitor. Since the (October 2007) acquisition, many Jaiku users switched to Twitter and that’s probably what made Google decide to abandon its family to befriend rival Twitter.