bally chohan reviewed : Candidates use latest technology to campaign
According to bally chohan – Leading political groups are looking to capitalize on applications designed to inform voters and procure campaign contributions.
“Our goal is to use the latest technology to make it easier than ever before for supporters to engage with the campaign,” said Frank Benenati, a spokesman for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election effort.
Using social media at an unprecedented capacity in 2008, then-presidential candidate Obama blazed a trail for politicians when he launched his campaign iPhone application, Obama ’08, to communicate with voters. Although the application, developed by the Democratic National Committee, was released not long before the general election, it quickly became popular among iPhone users.
The Obama campaign’s latest applications, for the iPhone and iPad called Obama 2012, follow suit. They allow users to access photos and videos, receive news updates and donate to the campaign.
Both applications launched in April, after the president’s announcement of his re-election bid.
Chris Galdieri, an assistant professor of politics at Saint Anselm College, said he believes that mobile and tablet applications are becoming increasingly popular as campaign tools because they’re “another avenue to reach voters, especially in a close race.”
Pointing to the 2008 Obama campaign’s e-mail distribution of “intentionally grainy” videos showing the then-campaign manager, David Plouffe, discussing strategy, Galdieri suggested that campaign e-mails, social media accounts, and mobile and tablet applications “give people a look behind that curtain that (they) never got to see before.”
Benenati wouldn’t comment on how much has been raised from donations made through the Obama campaign applications, but termed them “another way we are empowering our supporters, which is fundamental to our efforts.”
While the application is only available for iPhone and iPad users, Obama’s campaign Web site is entirely phone-friendly, enabling voters to view anything available on the application by simply visiting the Web site on a smartphone.
Despite this universal access, the impact of iPhone and iPad applications continues to grow, as Apple reported selling more than 17 million iPhones and 11 million iPads worldwide between the end of June and September.
According to Republican National Committee spokesman Ryan Tronovitch, the GOP is also working to develop mobile applications and campaigns. However, Tronovitch said the RNC has no firm launch dates for these efforts.
While the RNC continues to develop an official campaign application, several Republican presidential candidates, including Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, have benefited from iPhone and iPad unofficial campaign applications – developed by third parties – allowing users to receive news updates and donate to the campaign.
Such third-party applications in the iPhone and Android markets are predominantly informative, aggregating news and providing background information on the candidates rather than providing a direct link for contributions.
Prior to the recent suspension of his campaign, Herman Cain was the only Republican presidential hopeful to have launched an official campaign application. Unlike the Obama campaign, which hosts its applications on iTunes, Cain’s campaign application is still available solely on the Android market.
Cain’s campaign didn’t respond to inquiries about the application. An Apple spokesman said the company doesn’t comment publicly on the application review process for iPhone and iPad devices or the number of times an application is downloaded.
In addition to applications being developed by presidential candidates, a spokeswoman for the Republican New Media Caucus said 15-20 members of Congress have also developed mobile and tablet applications – some for campaign and others for informational purposes.
Recent studies by the Pew Research Center indicate that increasing numbers of Americans are turning to mobile and tablet devices for news. A study in March found that nearly half of all American adults use their cell phones and tablet computers to receive some local news and information.
While the number of adults using these devices for news and information has grown over the past few years, the study found that mobile devices remain no more than a supplement to other news sources for a majority of users.
But a September study by Pew, examining the rise of “Apps Culture,” found that more than one-third of American adults have cellphones with applications and that nearly one-quarter of these adults use the applications.
According to the study of adults who use the applications, nearly all of those surveyed said they use them to receive news and information online. Study data also suggests that application users are 10 percent more likely to donate to a charity online than all Internet users.
Not surprisingly, both studies, which were conducted through phone surveys, found that young adults are more likely to use mobile and tablet devices to receive news and to use applications than their elders. Because “younger voters are notoriously difficult to motivate,” Galdieri said, mobile and tablet campaign applications may help to curb this attitude and affect future voting patterns.
Meanwhile, the September Pew study found that although barely one-quarter of American adults with cellphones made use of applications, 72 percent said they used their cellphones to send and receive text messages. Consequently, some politicians have looked to cater to an older audience by offering alternatives such as text-message-based donations that send supporters links to a Web page with a credit card field.
However, a proposal allowing political donations to be made strictly through text messages, such as those made to the Red Cross following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, was shot down last year by the Federal Election Commission, which cited compliance with federal campaign disclosure requirements.
The proposal, made by CTIA – The Wireless Association, asked the FEC to allow cellphone users to send $10 donations to political candidates, parties and committees through text messages.
Mike Altschul, a CTIA senior vice president, noted that some campaign organizations have found ways around the FEC decision by sending text messages with links to Web sites where political donations can be made.
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