subject: Technology on the Campaign Trail [print this page] Technology on the Campaign Trail Technology on the Campaign Trail
President Obama, Senator Scott Brown (of MA) and countless other 2010 candidates used social media such as tweeter and facebook to reach their potential voters. They used twitter to gather crowds at local events and facebook to build their community of supporters. The campaigns collected contributions online and provided means for their supporters to contact and reach out to their sphere of influence. Not only does a candidate need a website but they need an interactive site that allows supporters to feel as though they are part of the action, out on the campaign trail with the candidate. This online campaigning instantly increases credibility with younger voters and builds up constituent bases, but it has not yet overtaken the "get out the vote" calls.
During the most recent election, many campaigns across the country featured novice candidates with very little funds trying to compete against incumbents with war chests that took years to accumulate. In order to combat their lack of funds they need to operate their campaigns cheaper and more efficiently than past models. One method to make the hundreds, if not thousands, of "get out the vote" calls at a cheaper rate is VOIP (voice over internet protocol) . This is an easy fix to bring the business of campaigns into the digital age, like the politics of campaigns.
Campaigns should be the testing ground for new telecom technologies. They need information immediately, must contact varying samples of the potential constituency and then be able to analyze and summarize that information as quickly as possible. VOIP should be an old weapon in the campaign arsenal by now. The accessibility and low price points associated with cloud computing would be another. There should never be data that a campaign manager cannot get his/her hands on. Today the ease of developing virtual call centers and the practicality of cloud computing should never have the business end of a campaign hinder the candidate.
