POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS EMBRACE MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES
Political campaigns in the US have just begun to embrace text messaging and other mobile technologies to communicate with potential voters, but mobile-phone owners should expect more in upcoming elections, a group of political advisers and mobile experts said. By the 2012 election, mobile-phone users will be able to send donations to political campaigns through text messaging, with the donation charged to their phone bill, predicts Jed Alpert, CEO of Mobile Commons, a company focused on mobile-based advocacy. Charitable organizations are already experimenting with this method of fundraising, and campaigns are able to text voters messages that allow them to connect to call centers that take donations. During the next election cycle, many politicians will also embrace streaming audio and video, with highly targeted messages sent out to mobile-phone users, added Casey O’Shea, national field director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Politicians will soon begin to integrate mobile marketing with their other media, and the use of mobile applications will expand beyond iPhone users.
Courtesy of the Benton Foundation <http://www.benton.org>