Canada votes. Will you?

I've been asked to participate in a fascinating media initiative, and as the pieces begin to pull together, I'll share the details with you here.

First off, if you're Canadian, you're no doubt getting ready for our big federal election on Monday, May 2. That's a week from tomorrow. A blink, really.

Our city's main television station is known as /A\, and is owned by Canada's largest private broadcast network, CTV. As part of its election night coverage, the station is using its satellite studio at our downtown market building to set up an Internet Cafe. We'll be a team of social media-aware members of the community, reaching out to voters in London and the general region to find out what's happening election night.

It's an exciting initiative that aims to bridge the gap between social/new and conventional media. There's no question that how we vote, and how we communicate around the vote, is being rapidly reshaped by the influence of social media. Our Internet Cafe team will be live from Covent Garden Market on election night to better understand just how profound those changes are. Should be fun.

If you're anywhere near southwestern Ontario, here's how to find us:

Twitter: Follow @atvnewslondon
Facebook: Like the "Canada Votes" page
Tumblr: Subscribe to our team's microblog at http://anewslondon.tumblr.com
/A\ London: Look to the station's homepage, http://atv.ca/london/ for updates

Your turn: If you're Canadian, who do you think will come out on top on election night? Why? If you're not Canadian, why do elections matter?