USA Today is teaming up with Twitter to develop a USA Today/Twitter Political Issue Index containing important information and issues for voters ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

The politically-themed tweets will be visualized interactively in real-time, and will showcase the most relevant terms from tweets concerning political-only topics. The daily compilation can be sorted by demographics, including gender, age and geography, and will be displayed in a reader-friendly manner to allow for quick skimming.

?Our goal was just to try to understand and help others learn about how Twitter functions as an arena of political conversation,? said Amber Allman, director of external communications, Gannett Company, McLean, VA. ?We had partnered with Twitter for an interesting election interactive in 2012 and this was kind of a follow-on to that.

?In both cases, we are trying to be very clear with our readers that these are experimental efforts to visualize and contextualize social media conversation.?

Politics on mobile
USA Today is also attempting to expand politics on mobile with its new iPhone application, Political Ad Tracker. The app, created in conjunction with FactCheck.org, enables users to view and read analyses of political ads and vote on their believability.

The multimedia news platform will also be streaming Web-exclusive content beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Election Night. The livestream on USATODAY.com and Gannett Company?s publishing and local broadcast sites will be available on all mobile, tablet and desktop devices, and will feature political pundits and experts discussing live reports from campaign headquarters and other local stations.

The partnership with Twitter speaks to the increasing amount of consumers that are looking to social media sites for quick news. Facebook has been open about joining with researchers to develop algorithms that manipulate users? News Feeds to display stories it thinks will interest them.

For on-the-go individuals, quick tidbits of information are easier to sort through. Teaming with Twitter may also resonate well with younger consumers.

?Watching the interactive visualization of political tweets on the live index will likely appeal to younger generations and elevate their interest in the elections,? said Ken Morris, principal analyst, Boston Retail Partners, Boston, MA. 

"Pollsters and politicians need to aim at a younger demographic, my daughter and not my mother, to motivate greater political involvement.  Hopefully, the increased enthusiasm in the social media aspects of the elections will inspire some previously non-voters to register and vote.? 

Optimizing for Web
USA Today plans to optimize content for Web users, although the information will be accessible for mobile consumers as well. Its Election Forecast Tool is an interactive map featuring candidate information for each state race for governor, United States Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

The map will turn into a results page when Election Night arrives.

USA Today will also be rolling out a daily feature titled ?5 Things You Need to Know? which includes a viewing guide detailing how to watch election coverage. The feature is designed for consumers who may not follow politics closely, and provides information on important issues and significances if a specific candidate wins.

?Mobile is a rapidly growing segment of our readership,? Ms. Allman said. ?For a project like this Index, we began with the premise that it would ONLY be useful if it was mobile-friendly, particularly since so many people come to Twitter through mobile.

?We believe that the newsroom mantra ?digital first? that we have all been trying to embrace is really beginning to shift now to ?mobile first.??

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York