The application uses Ribbit — a web-based phone service à la Google Voice (
) — to dial in user votes during American Idol’s allotted voting period. Each week users start with five votes and can earn more for each Facebook friend they invite.
In order to maintain the legitimacy of the voting process, Facebookers are required to provide a telephone number that is then used to create a Ribbit account. When the voting lines open, Idol Fanatic uses those Ribbit accounts to automatically dial in the votes submitted via the app.
Idol Fanatic also creates a shared experience around American Idol voting, as it allows users to see who their Facebook friends are voting for and to discuss the show’s contestants.
The application is a brilliant use of web technology — it lets fans cast their votes in a couch-friendly and social fashion that aligns with how television viewers are consuming media today.
Whether or not American Idol and FOX will approve of the new voting mechanism remains to be determined. When we inquired regarding concerns about the app being shut down, we were told that the application complies with voting guidelines and is “on the up-and-up.”
