FiveThirtyEight is a nifty little website that displays electoral projections in — what else? — snazzy red and blue. There's an electoral vote tracker, a scenario analysis rundown and more.

The website's mission is defined thusly: "Most broadly, to accumulate and analyze polling and political data in way that is informed, accurate and attractive. Most narrowly, to give you the best possible objective assessment of the likely outcome of upcoming elections."

I've only recently started looking through it, but I recommend reading more about their process.

Be heard! As part of the Blog Team you can shape the dialogue on the YP4 Blog, become part of a network of bloggers and more. The next term runs for 16 weeks, starting August 18.

Blog Team members commit to posting regularly and receive a stipend in support of their work.

(Please note: While anyone and everyone is encouraged to post on the blog, the Blog Team program is currently open only to current and former YP4 program participants.)

Submit your application by August 4.

» Download the application now.

Jason Rosenbaum, who blogs for the Sentinel and has been on several excellent online strategy panels this weekend, just posted slides from two panels about blog management.

Many of the tips (particularly with regard to repostability) are ones that we've been considering for the YP4 Blog. I hope that the slides will be useful to those of who you run your own blogs.

What looks valuable to you? What do you think is goofy? 

Last year at Netroots Nation, I argued extensively with a middle-aged man who fervently believed — no matter what evidence I presented to the contrary — that young people are politically apathetic and, in particular, don't vote.

Nobody's making that argument this year. Instead, folks — and by "folks" I here mean people over the age of 35 or so — are marveling aloud at the youth turnout, especially around the Obama campaign and the Democratic primaries. Some are confiding their concern that youth may not hold their representatives accountable once they're elected.

Rumor has it there are 2,000 people in this room, listening to General Wesley Clark. And Baratunde Thurston, of Laughing Liberally fame, is chiding conference attendees (somewhat jokingly) for ignoring the Greenpeace canvassers on the sidewalk. (Shout out to Project Hot Seat.)

The progressive bloggers conference Netroots Nation (formerly known as YearlyKos) is coming up in Austin next week. Maybe you're going — members of the YP4 Blog Team are — or maybe you're not. Either way, here's your opportunity to ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi your most burning questions.

Gina Cooper, director of the conference, wants you to submit questions you'd like her to ask:

The In Their Boots series Calvin mentioned last week continues tonight with a live webcast at 7pm EST.

Maya is the proud mother of Chado and twins Matthias and Kateri. She is also the founder of the Community Esteem Project in Anadarko, Oklahoma and a 2008 Young People For fellow at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

In this interview, she talks about the importance of community esteem, the power of traditions and how other YP4 fellows have inspired her.

Right-wingers say the darndest things.

The folks over at Love Global Warming — no joke, that's the name of the blog — are bent on revealing the truth about Young People For and other "so-called environmentalist organizations that prey on young people all over the free world."

Apparently YP4 is a "communist front [organization] whose only reason for existence is to trick the youth of America into throwing out our way of life and adopting communist ideologies."

Eye-catching image? Check. Snappy headline? Check. You've spent hours tweaking your metaphors, checking your links and verifying your facts. Doesn't mean much if your reader glances at your entry and immediately leaves, does it?

How should you write your pages or blog entries? In the wild and wooly land of Web writing, here are some best practices.