This election had many firsts, but before we move on entirely to the new administration, the special meaning evoked November 4 by rejuvenating American democracy should not be undervalued or forgotten. Not only did voters come out in droves waiting hours at the polls, but they celebrated the act of voting in new ways online, and they're still showing pride in the process.

As absentee ballots were being requested, word of mouth took hold on social networking sites as netizens replaced their own faces with those of Obama or McCain images as avatars. After early voting began, we started seeing individual reports of voting experiences, and as election day neared, participation in projects like the Twitter Vote Report took on a life of their own. Suddenly, the Internet was all about voting.

As unprecedented early voting numbers came in, new Twitter applications took hold, like TwitVote, prompting voters to proclaim their allegiance through tweets as in "I just voted for Obama in #TwitVote." On election day, those with blogs put up stickers saying "I Voted," and some put "I Voted" stickers on facebook pages as well as replacing avatars. The discussion turned away from the candidates toward democracy.

Video participation increased with chronicles of voting experiences on Video the Vote, a collaborative project with YouTube, Rock the Vote and Common Cause. The voting videos weren't just about long lines and problems; they also captured the emotions of the voters about the election - excitement, apprehension, hope. One voter said he would cry tears of joy if Obama won and he'd cry of sadness if he lost. BlogHer collected photos and videos from their community - "it felt glorious," Anjali Berger said while waiting for a subway train.

People who might have been shy about telling their closest friends in person how they planned to vote were shouting it loud and clear online. The activity peaked right as the results were in, and it was as if the entire web was taken over by America's election for one night. Even at election parties, moments were being captured and preserved online. Since the election, Obama has gained over a half a million more facebook friends.

In the next election, we'll likely have an incumbent running, so there's no assurance we'll have this level of exuberance online, but the example of civic engagement that was set this year will be in the history books. Let's just hope at least there's a footnote for what happened on the Internet.