Politics Meets Mobile Technology
When Elizabeth Edwards called in and confronted polarizing conservative pundit Ann Coulter on MSNBC's Hardball With Chris Matthews, the exchange dominated TV news broadcasts and quickly circulated on the Internet. For John Edwards's supporters signed up to receive text messages to their cellular phones from his campaign, there was even personalized service. By replying to a text message sent from the campaign with the word "call," they would then receive a phone call from Edwards that played an automated audio clip of the spat.
John Edwards has been the first to start using mobile technology to move his message to the masses, something that many experts have predicted would be the next big thing in politics after Internet technology became widely used. Three other Democratic candidates—Sen. Barack Obama, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and Sen. Hillary Clinton—are also jumping on board, with possibly more to follow. Justin Oberman, a new media consultant and a contributor to TechPresident.com, said that what these four candidates are doing, which mostly consists of sending out periodic text messages to supporters who sign up for a service, is just a start. "I think that they are pushing the envelope, but they are not pushing the envelope far enough," Oberman said.
In June, the Obama campaign introduced an initiative that would allow cellphone users to pose the campaign questions using text messages. To subscribe to get updates from the campaign, users could text message "GO" to the number 62262, which conveniently spells out the candidate's last name. They could then ask Obama anything. During this year's YearlyKos convention, the campaign also encouraged people to text OBAMA for information about Chicago, the senator's hometown.
Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki explained that a combination of staff and volunteers reply to the text messages. While interest in the service is growing, Psaki wouldn't give details on how many people have taken advantage of it. "It was another way to reach out to voters, potential supporters, keep them updated with the campaign and also encourage them to play an active role in the campaign," she said.
Psaki also said that the cellphone numbers collected are not being used for fundraising. Fundraising involving cellphones is complicated. Oberman explained that when dollars are exchanged over a text messaging service, wireless companies traditionally get a cut of the proceeds. The companies make no distinction between a political campaign soliciting donations and a company selling ringtones. In addition, it is illegal for telemarketers to call cellphones.
The Edwards campaign got around these hurdles by initiating a program that used both texting and calling before the end of the second fundraising quarter. The campaign set up two phone banks and then text messaged supporters asking them to reply with the word "call" if they wanted to hear a message from the candidate. If the phone owner agreed, the campaign then called and delivered a recording from Edwards with the option to donate at the end. The fundraisers were successful, as hundreds of people donated thousands of dollars.
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