Remember Rock the Vote? If you don’t, go ahead and get comfortable. It’s time for a little history lesson. Rock the Vote was created by Jeff Ayeroff, an ostensibly civic-minded record exec for Virgin. The MTV-themed campaign was geared at young people.
Rock the Vote used celebrity and perceived cool to drive kids to the polls. Because ’90s kids knew voting was important when Chris Cornell and Chuck D got serious and made a commercial about it. Statistically speaking, it was a big failure; the number of young voters has actually declined since the campaign’s inception. Despite its shortcomings, celebrities still rally around the initiative. In fact, they called on a bunch of heavy hitters during the 2012 elections.
I digress. This post is more about voting than it is misguided political initiatives. People like to talk about voting. And they REALLY like to tell you they just voted. But do they actually believe in the efficacy of the popular vote? Some do, some don’t. Que Sera.
Well, I happen to know of a competition where your vote really does matter. I’m referring to the Podcast Awards of course. In fact, votes matter so much in this eight-year-old contest, overzealous fans of obscure podcasts have pushed their favorite shows into the no. 1 position with what I assume was voter fraud. I’m referring specifically to “Rosary Army,” the best “general” podcast of 2006 as voted on by “the people.” According to a CBS MarketWatch article, Only one of the award winners that year came from the top 100 most popular iTunes podcasts.
But things have changed. Everything appears to be on the up and up these days. I’m certain many of the podcasts listed below look familiar, and you’d have a tough time arguing against their validity:
Here’s your chance to make a difference, global citizens (I don’t think there’s a residency restriction). Go to www.podcastawards.com and vote today. The clocks ticking. The virtual polls close November 15th at 2100 EST. Your freedom may depend on it. Plus, it’s pretty fun. I’ll be voting for Rosary Army. Again.
