<p>
For months the election has dominated the media landscape and much of people’s free time. Conversation topics haven’t been a problem: Whenever you needed something to talk about, the election was always there. News outlets have known this day was coming for some time, as <a title=”Cally Carswell wrote on this blog” href=”/2008-10-31/media/the-press-ponders-november-5.aspx?blogid=34″ target=”_blank”>Cally Carswell wrote in this post</a>. Now that the campaigns is over, however, many are still scrambling to reposition themselves for the post-election world.</p>
<p>
<a title=”The Huffington Post” href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/05/stephen-colbert-tears-up_n_141389.html” target=”_blank”>The Huffington Post</a>, for example, is trying to capitalize on more local content. The site recently launched a page specifically for Chicago and plans one dedicated to San Francisco, according <a title=”Russell Adams and Shira Ovide of the <I>Wall Street Journal</I>” href=”http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122593135496103323.html” target=”_blank”>Russell Adams and Shira Ovide of the <i>Wall Street Journal</i>
</a>. The site is also trying to move more toward more non-political, lifestyle content, Adams and Ovide report. Huffington Post representatives offered free massages and facials at the Democratic National Convention in an attempt to brand their new, post-election identity.</p>
<p>Even with the new efforts, some on the Huffington Post site are already waxing nostalgic over the past few years. The website’s comedy-based companion <a title=”236.com recently belied” href=”http://www.236.com/news/2008/11/07/we_cant_quit_w_50_reasons_were_10124.php” target=”_blank”>236.com recently belied</a> the rebranding in an item headlined, “We Can’t Quit W. Countdown- 50 Reasons We’re Sorry to See President Bush Go.” Reason #1, “We’ll never be able to get 250,000 Google search results by typing in the words ‘Obama drunk at a wedding.'”</p>
<p>Some websites, including <a title=”FiveThirtyEight.com” href=”http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/” target=”_blank”>FiveThirtyEight.com</a> and <a title=”Talking Points Memo” href=”http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/” target=”_blank”>Talking Points Memo</a>, aren’t turning away from their political bread and butter. Josh Marshall, founder of Talking Points Memo <a title=”recently wrote” href=”http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/243422.php” target=”_blank”>recently wrote</a> that the website’s evolution has “always been bound up with my stance as a voice of opposition to the Bush administration.” With the Bush’s tenure quickly ending, Talking Points Memo is doubling down, hiring two new reporter-bloggers to cover the Democratic Congress and White House.</p>
<p>The problem, Adams and Ovide write, is that “news outlets that benefit significantly from an election suffer about the same amount when it’s over, so the Web sites will expand now at their peril.” Talking Points Memo seems to be an exception to that rule, considering that the site began during the 2000 recount and expanded after the 2004 and 2006 elections.</p>
<p>Even without the election coverage, there’s still plenty of inane and amusing content to be found on the web, <span class=”byline”>
<a title=”Farhad Manjoo writes for Slate” href=”http://www.slate.com/id/2203733/pagenum/all/#p2″ target=”_blank”>Farhad Manjoo writes for Slate</a>. Sure, people can’t refresh <a title=”Pollster.com” href=”http://pollster.com/” target=”_blank”>Pollster.com</a> and FiveThirtyEight.com every few minutes for new polling results, but there are plenty of immature jokes on <a title=”College Humor” href=”http://www.collegehumor.com/” target=”_blank”>College Humor</a> and addictive games including <a title=”Desktop Tower Defense” href=”http://www.kongregate.com/games/preecep/desktop-tower-defense-1-5″ target=”_blank”>Desktop Tower Defense</a> to distract people while they’re supposed to be working.</span>
</p>
<p>
<span class=”byline”>I would hasten to add that Utne.com would give a bit more substance to your web searching than Desktop Tower Defense.</span>
</p>
<p>Conversation topics, however, are more difficult. The Onion satirically reported that the election has left Obama supporters with “the cold realization that they have nothing to fill their pathetically empty lives.” You can watch a video of that below.</p>
<embed src=”http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/common/assets/videoplayer/flvplayer.swf” allowscriptaccess=”always” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” wmode=”transparent” flashvars=”file=http://www.theonion.com/content/xml/89632/video&debugging=true&autostart=false&image=http://www.theonion.com/content/files/images/NOTHING_TO_TALK_ABOUT_article.jpg&bufferlength=3&embedded=true&title=Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are” height=”355″ width=”400″>
<br />
<a href=”http://www.theonion.com/content/node/89632?utm_source=embedded_video”>Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are</a>
<p>
<em>Image by </em>
<a title=”NathanF” href=”http://flickr.com/photos/nathanf/2960623630/” target=”_blank”>
<em>NathanF</em>
</a>
<em>, licensed under </em>
<a title=”Creative Commons” href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en” target=”_blank”>
<em>Creative Commons</em>
</a>
<em>.</em>
</p>
