You know how on CNN they give a studio audience special dials where they can approve or disapprove of what the President is saying in real time while he’s talking during the State of the Union? Ever think they were totally smoking crack? Ever notice that it’s a very small group that doesn’t always reflect what our community thinks?

Well, now’s your chance to evaluate how Obama’s doing — all with your smart phone and your own bad self.

As Pew noted and  Rikyrah reported last August, the proliferation of mobile broadband cut the digital divide between Blacks and Whites in half in just one year. Last December, Pew came out with another report noting that 28% of all cell phone users used their mobile phones to participate in the 2010 election. Among African Americans the percentage was a whopping 30% compared to Whites and Hispanics of whom only 25% reported using their devices for election related activities. This is a big deal and a huge opportunity for bringing more Black people into the political space.

JJP is teaming up with a number of progressive organizations and a software company, SurveySwipe, to take big leap into the mobile political world with a polling project centered around tonight’s State of The Union Address, and we need you to help make this effort a success.

Here’s how you can help:

If you own a smartphone, go to our SurveySwipe landing page and sign up to participate in the State of the Union 2011 Mobile Polling Initiative. You’ll be asked to register and download the SurveySwipe app onto your phone. Or just head for the App Store and look for “SurveySwipe” – it’s a free download and you can register in the app itself. Then, later tonight, you will receive a notification, reminding you to watch the State of the Union Address. At that point you will also be asked 12 questions about how you perceive the state of our national politics. During the address, we may pulse you other questions if something interesting happens that lends itself to instant feedback. At the end of the address and within seconds of concluding statements, we will poll you again. The image above is a snapshot of the app.

Our goal is to get the purest information possible about what you think. By creating a system for collecting instant feedback, we also create a system that collects opinions unspun by punditry, and we think that is good news for the future of political research.

The SurveySwipe app is still in beta, so there are kinks to be worked out. If you encounter issues (hopefully not) or have suggestions on making the product better (hopefully you do) let us know and we’ll pass that information along.

The best part, though, is the opinions you provide. Soon after the final question is asked, the data will be available for reporting. So we can then give you instant feedback on our entire community’s thoughts, and compare those with others who are also participating in this project.

So sign up and show those folks at CNN what you think. As He-Man would say — you have THE POWER! (also — tell your friends!)

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