TOP 10 TUESDAY: Barack Obama novelty gadgets

Come on. How was I going to let today's Top 10 Tuesday pass without theming it President Elect Barack Obama style? Now, I was considering a top 10 ways of how to follow it all but I've a feeling it'd be damn near impossible to avoid it. So, instead I've gone straight to the point and to the most important part of the ceremony, the part where the real difference is made – the merchandising.

Yes, what better way to celebrate the spirit of capitalism in the land of the free than by bringing you the Top 10 Barack Obama Novelty Gadgets…

Late night internet traffic in the UK skyrockets on election night

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Statistics just published by ISP Plusnet reveal that online TV viewing on the night of the American presidential election hit more than treble its usual levels. It’s the first US election to have been available to millions using the BBC’s iPlayer software.

Between 2 and 3am, Plusnet says that the viewing figures were double what they normally are, but by 5 to 6am, they were more than triple. There were also rises in the amount of TV streaming between 8am and 11am the following day, presumably as people watched back the victory and concession speeches.

Plusnet

Related posts: O’Malley’s Mashup: Prepare for election night! | 5 ways Obama used technology to win the White House

eBay Nutcase of the Week: Man launches "ObamaAuctions.com" to help fund Barack's push

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Your old Nokia 3310 could help Barack Obama become president of the United States of America. We bet you never thought that would happen when taking out the contract in 2001, did you?

That’s the idea behind the alarmingly short-sighted ObamaAuctions.com, a site where users can sell their stuff and pledge a proportion of the funds to the Obama campaign. You could, if you want, buy this anti-cellulite cream – and relax in the knowledge that 75% of the cash raised will go to support Barack’s bid to move into a very nice house in Washington for at least the next four years…

If the world could vote in the American election, who would they pick?

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Given that the American presidency is the closest thing we’ve got to a “President of the World”, people around the globe care dearly about who gets elected to the White House. If you’re stuck in another country without a vote, you can only pray that the independent voters of America choose to endorse the same candidate that you like.

To give you some sense of participation, however, a website’s sprung up to try and find out who would win the election if the entire world could vote. It’s called, appropriately, “If the world could vote!”…

UK government not making democracy easy or fun – no "e-voting" for the UK

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If you want to exercise your demographic right to say you’d rather have a blue politician representing you than a red one, you’re going to have to carry on with the tiresome old ‘ticking boxes with a pen’ system – there will be no “e-voting” for the likes of us any time soon.

Michael Wills, the minister for justice, told parliament that “The Government does not plan to introduce e-voting for the 2009 European or local elections,” meaning it’s off to the local primary school with your little postcard of power…