Editor's note: This is the first in a series of stories as part of an exclusive partnership between CNN and Facebook that will take the electorate's pulse through social media this election cycle. Michelle Jaconi is CNN's executive producer of cross-platform programming and Mark Preston is CNN's political director. They are co-authors of CNN's Political Gut Check, a daily political newsletter.
Washington (CNN) - A seven-term Wisconsin congressman, who 54% of the American people were not aware of last week, just knocked the president of the United States off of his perch as the most talked-about politician on the largest social media platform in the world.
According to the exclusive Facebook-CNN Election Talk Meter, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, in the first 54 hours after being announced as Mitt Romney's vice-presidential running mate, sucked up the political oxygen in the social media landscape - with the Beltway topping the buzz and his home state of Wisconsin close behind.
What caught our eye? CNN political director Mark Preston explains on "Early Start" this morning.