Technological Advancements in International Elections November 14, 2007
Role of Technology: U.S. 2006: Arguably the “YouTube” Election? France 2007: Heavy emphasis on video (Sarkozy); blogging (Royal)
Influence of Video 2006: Exposure, Exposure, Exposure! 2008: Video-Centric Design Off-Loading Hosting Security
Bloggers to Content Creators 2004: Bloggers as journalists 2008: User creationism Create your own ad contests Independent content: ala “Obama Girl”
Social Networking & Web : MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, et al MySpace – over 60 million visitors a month Youth focus Full disclosure 2008: Leveraging SocNets and Verticals
Mobile Campaigning SMS and MMS to deliver the GOTV and Action Alerts. Short common codes Fundraising via mobile phone WAP &.mobi sites Click to watch the ad
CRM Systems Data management Microtargeting Relationship management Campaign coordination
Offline Technology Mobile phone applications: move away from PDAs VOIP phonebanks Outbound phoning Virtual townhalls Proximity marketing: utilizing bluetooth technologies
Shifting Focus: Closed Societies Belarus Burma China Cuba Egypt Iran North Korea Saudi Arabia Syria Tunisia Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam Thirteen “Enemies of the Internet” as described by Reporters Without Borders