Just as we were getting used to headlines about "the YouTube election", Facebook has skyrocketed into everyone's attention.

Today, we unveil the Facebook version of our Election Predictor, along with a Facebook group. Already, voters could use the Election Predictor to analyse the impact of a two-party swing to Labor or the Coalition. Already they could drill down to particular states, territories and electorates, and view the results using maps, lists and charts. Already they could share their predictions using email or their blogs. But now, they can also share their predictions with their friends via Facebook. We expect the Australian Election Predictor for Facebook to grow virally, and we'll keep you informed of the numbers.

Meanwhile, we were delighted to see that Brendan Shirlaw has released a Facebook application call Aus Politics, which has a number of neat features. We like the way Aus Politics can register a vote for a minor party. (For predictor, the only way we could predict what would happen to Lower House seats was to work with two-party preferences, for Labor or Coalition, not with primary votes, which could be for any party or candidate.) We also like the way Brendan's app allows you to see how your friends voted, and provides links to all known Australia federal candidates and parties on Facebook.

Meanwhile, we note that some of the parties are creating simple applications that add a poster to your profile along the lines of Kevin07 and Vote Greens. And there's much more activity besides. Bring on the Facebook election!