At first, it sounded a bit like a gimmick; CNN partnering with social network Facebook to give users a chance to trade messages with friends while watching Barack Obama's inauguration.

But this partnership has proven to be one of my most favorite ways to sample this historic event today, marrying a video feed from CNN with rolling commentary from my network of Facebook friends -- which I'm amazed to admit now numbers more than 1,800 people. Check it out here.

The problem I've often had with assorted Twitter pages devoted to live events, is that snarky comments mean a little less coming from people you don't know. And at this moment, Twitter seems to be having problems keeping up with demand; partnered with Al Gore's Current TV to offer a video stream/commentary log of their own, the page has been tough to access from my corner of cyberspace.

My favorite video site, Hulu, also has streaming coverage, featuring Fox News, the network of co-owner the Fox network. Indeed, most every TV news outlet is streming its video coverage, from all the major braodcast network to black-focused cable channel TV One.

For me, a bona-fide media geek who hates big crowds, this is a great way to hang with friends electronically while sharing an extraordinary moment. And for folks stuck at work with no access to TV, online video streaming is a connection to the moment that will likely rack up record usage.

But I don't see a way to embed CNN's page on this blog, so feel free to sample MSNBC's inauguration coverage below to share in the magic.