2012 Digital Clips

2012 Digital Presidential Election Coverage01/31/2013 - Technori: Harper Reed on Obama for America 01/28/2013 - Wired: Q&A: Dylan Richard, Director of Engineering, Obama for America 01/20/2013 - Obama Legacy Report 12/20/2012 - EngageDC: Inside The Cave 12/18/2012 - AdWeek: Here's One Advertiser Who Swears Mobile Ads Work: Obama 12/18/2012 - Huffington Post: What's Next for Obama For America's Data and Technology? 12/17/2012 - Technology Review: How President Obama’s campaign used big data to rally individual voters, Part 3 12/17/2012 - Read Write Web: How Obama Knew How You'd Vote, Even Before You Did 12/17/2012 - Technology Review: How President Obama’s campaign used big data to rally individual voters, Part 2 12/16/2012 - Technology Review: How President Obama’s campaign used big data to rally individual voters, Part 1 12/12/2012 - Kyle Rush: Optimization at the Obama campaign: a/b testing 12/10/2012 - Ad Age: Election Embeds: Facebook, Google Got Cozy With Campaigns 12/08/2012 - GigaOm: How Obama’s data scientists built a volunteer army on Facebook 12/07/2012 - NY Mag: Noble Nerds 12/07/2012 - WSJ: Obama’s Campaign Used Salesforce.com To Gauge Feelings of Core Voters 12/07/2012 - Commentary: Is The GOP Digital Team (Still) In Denial? 12/06/2012 - PDF: “From Hope To Forward” | Ethan Roeder 12/06/2012 - PDF: “From Hope To Forward” | Catherine Bracy 12/06/2012 - PDF: “From Hope To Forward” | Teddy Goff 12/06/2012 - PDF: “From Hope To Forward” | Betsy Hoover 12/05/2012 - Obama Digital Org 12/05/2012 - Triangulation: Harper Reed Interview 12/05/2012 - CNN: Gut Check – Moffatt and Bleeker Interview 12/05/2012 - National Journal: Obama, Romney Digital Advisers Talk Shop 12/05/2012 - The Hill: Romney's Digital Director Talks Lessons Learned 12/05/2012 - CNN: Early Vote Central To Digital Campaign 12/05/2012 - Business Insider: Michigan Supreme Court Judge Says Facebook Campaign Won Her Election 12/04/2012 - Ad Age: Michigan Supreme Court Campaign Credits Facebook Ads With Margin of Victory 12/04/2012 - New Media Rockstars: Obama's Social Media Strategist Talks To NMR About Being The Voice Of The President 12/03/2012 - Slate: "The Socially Awkward Do It Better" 12/03/2012 - TechPresident: How Analytics Made Obama's Campaign Communications More Efficient 12/03/2012 - The Atlantic: Data Vs Gurus: Democrats Say Metrics Are Eclipsing The Consultant Class 12/01/2012 - Commentary Magazine: The GOP's Broken Machine 11/30/2012 - Braceland: My Experience Leading the Obama Campaign’s Tech Field Office 11/30/2012 - The Atlantic: The Social-Network Effect That is Helping Legalize Gay Marriage 11/30/2012 - Tech President: Obama’s Targeted GOTV on Facebook Reached 5 Million Voters, Goff Says 11/29/2012 - ProPublica: Everything We Know (So Far) About Obama's Big Data Tactics 11/29/2012 - Bloomberg Businessweek: The Science Behind Those Obama Campaign E-Mails 11/27/2012 - Tech President: Alan Grayson Shares His Thanksgiving Wal-Mart Escapade on Facebook and YouTube 11/26/2012 - nettuts: Chatting with Obama For America’s Director of Frontend Development: Daniel Ryan 11/22/2012 - NJ.com: How I won an election by only using Facebook 11/21/2012 - POLITICO: Jim Messina at the Politico Playbook Breakfast 11/21/2012 - POLITICO: Jim Messina: What I learned in the election 11/20/2012 - Washington Post: Democrats Push to Redeploy Obama’s Voter Database 11/20/2012 - Time: Friended: How the Obama Campaign Connected with Young Voters 11/20/2012 - ArsTechnica: How Team Obama's Tech Efficiency Left Romney IT In Dust 11/19/2012 - Tech President: How Obama for America made its Facebook friends into effective advocates 11/19/2012 - The Daily Beast: The story behind the most viral photo ever 11/16/2012 - National Journal: How Obama’s Tech Team Helped Win the Election 11/16/2012 - The Atlantic: When the nerds go marching in 11/16/2012 - TPM: Facebook’s election 2012 roundup: big bird, ‘binders full of women’ won big 11/16/2012 - Technology Review: How Facebook Boosted Obama's Vote Tally 11/16/2012 - Gawker: How The Obama Campaign's Data-Miners Knew What You Watched On TV 11/15/2012 - MotherJones: Under the Hood of Team Obama's Tech Operation 11/15/2012 - TIME: Exclusive: Obama’s 2012 digital fundraising outperformed 2008 11/14/2012 - ARS Technica: Built to win: Deep inside Obama's campaign tech 11/14/2012 - Washington Post: Obama Campaign Took Unorthodox Approach To Ad Buying 11/13/2012 - Los Angeles Times: Obama Campaign's Investment In Data Crunching Paid Off 11/12/2012 - Gigaom: How Obama’s tech team helped deliver the 2012 election 11/11/2012 - Tech Crunch: Premature Facebook Election Hype: A Response to the Atlantic 11/09/2012 - All Facebook: Did Facebook engagement translate to wins in key congressional races 11/08/2012 - The Atlantic: Did Facebook give democrats the upper hand? 11/08/2012 - Politico: The Facebook bump 11/07/2012 - TIME: Inside the secret world of the data crunchers who helped Obama win 11/07/2012 - CNet: The post-election tech tally: winners and losers 11/07/2012 - FREEP: Voters document election on social media 11/07/2012 - TechPresident: For Romney's Digital Campaign, A Second-Place Finish 11/06/2012 - Slate: I Voted: Facebook Stories Shows Women Outvoting Men 2 to 1 11/06/2012 - WSJ: Election day plays out on Twitter and Facebook 11/06/2012 - Tech Crunch: Click Facebook’s “I’m Voting” button, research shows it boots turnout 11/06/2012 - POLITICO: Study: Facebook, Twitter Users Divulge Votes Online 11/06/2012 - Naked Security: US Election Voting Booth Hoax Spreads on Facebook 11/05/2012 - The Atlantic: Obama’s Facebook Fans Love Michelle; Romney’s Love Winning 11/05/2012 - CNN: Microtargeting: How Campaigns Know You Better Than You Know Yourself 11/05/2012 - CNN: Election Takes Over American Conversation on Facebook 11/05/2012 - CNET: Facebook Wants You – To Vote 11/03/2012 - Hemet Press-Enterprise: Will Facebook Factor in Tuesday’s City Council Election? 11/02/2012 - WSJ: How Facebook, Twitter Court Political Campaigns 11/02/2012 - Technology Review: How Facebook’s Plans Could Affect the Election 11/01/2012 - Boston.com: Some Facebook Users ‘Dislike’ Being Used in Online Advertising for Mitt Romney 10/31/2012 - Forbes: Why do Obama Supporters Appear in Facebook Ads as Romney Fans? 10/31/2012 - BuzzFeed: Facebook Lets People Talk Politics, But May Not Get Out the Vote 10/28/2012 - Tech Crunch: The Prop 37 Phenomenon on Facebook 10/27/2012 - Washington Post: ‘Binders Full of Women’ Romney quip goes viral 10/26/2012 - Mashable: Presidential Candidates Urge Voters to Get On Facebook 10/25/2012 - Mashable: Super PAC Wants to Put You in Its Facebook Ad 10/25/2012 - POLITICO: Presidential Election 2012: Can Romney Close the Digital Divide? 10/22/2012 - Tech President: Why Campaigns Are Happy Your Vote Isn’t as Private as Many Think It Is 10/22/2012 - SFGate: Social Media Battle: Obama Engages More Voters Despite Aggressive Romney Debate Strategy 10/22/2012 - POLITICO: Obama Campaign Now Targeting Specific Individuals 10/22/2012 - Tech Crunch: Romney’s New Facebook App Knows Which Friends Are Most Influential 10/19/2012 - Huffington Post: Politics in the Social Media Age: Insights from Joe Lockhart 10/17/2012 - Washington Post: Why Facebook Campaign Ads Are a Sucker’s Bet 10/17/2012 - Mashable: Second presidential debate: less Twitter, more Facebook 10/18/2012 - The Guardian: Koch-Based Activists Use Power Of Data In Bid To Oust Obama From White House 10/14/2012 - Forbes: Social Networking, Facebook and the Vote 10/13/2012 - USA Today: Political Spats on Facebook Spill Into Real Life 10/13/2012 - New York Times: Campaigns Mine Personal Lives to Get Out Vote 10/10/2012 - Mother Jones: Mitt Romney Probably Didn’t Hack Your Facebook Page 10/08/2012 - POLITICO: Obama Campaign Pushes Voter Registration on Facebook 10/08/2012 - Honolulu Civil Beat: Hawaii Campaigning in the 21st Century 10/07/2012 - New York Times: Campaigns Use Social Media to Lure in Younger Voters 10/04/2012 - Fox News: Social media weighs in on 2012 presidential debate 10/02/2012 - Mashable: Social is the Secret Weapon in Local Politics 10/02/2012 - Technology Review: The Real Debate Will Take Place on Facebook and Twitter 10/02/2012 - Mother Jones: Inside the Obama Campaign’s Hard Drive 10/02/2012 - MotherJones: Meet Obama's Digital Gurus 10/02/2012 - Slate: Advertising on Facebook: It’s Finally Good for Winning Votes 10/01/2012 - All Facebook: Paul Ryan Finds Winning Facebook Formula as Campaign Strategists Name Favorite Features 09/28/2012 - Mashable: Behind the Social Media Campaigns of Obama and Romney 09/27/2012 - Connecticut Senate: McMahon Campaign Facebook ‘Game’ Urges Murphy to Release Documents 09/24/2012 - Hartford Courant: Social Media: Candidates Nationwide for Various Political Posts are Using Social Media as a Campaign Tool 09/23/2012 - Arizona Daily Star: Candidates Cast Their Nets on Facebook, Twitter, but Woo Factor is Thought Slight 09/19/2012 - Forbes: Is Romney More Social Media Savvy Than Obama? 09/13/2012 - Wired: ‘Social Media’ Really Does Rock the Vote 09/12/2012 - SF Gate: Romney campaign: biggest user of Facebook’s mobile ad platform 09/12/2012 - Tech Crunch: Mitt Romney’s digital director Zac Moffatt: you can’t run a political campaign without digital 09/12/2012 - Tech Crunch: Important study: Facebook quadruples the power of campaign messages 09/11/2012 - Campaigns & Elections: A Social Media-Fueled Upset 09/11/2012 - PandoDaily: Rally.com’s Donations Data Shows Us America’s Stingiest States 09/11/2012 - All Facebook: How Facebook propelled U.S. Senate Candidate Ted Cruz to Primary Win 09/08/2012 - POLITICO: Tech Firms Snafus Snarl Conventions 09/07/2012 - All Facebook: Obama Supporters Flock to Facebook During Acceptance Speech 09/07/2012 - PBS MediaShift: Mediatwits #55: Twitter, Facebook Rule DNC; Amazon’s Big Week 09/07/2012 - PandoDaily: The Biggest Tech Themes of the Democratic National Convention 09/07/2012 - PandoDaily: Startups Get Political: How Engine Advocacy is Bridging Washington and the Valley 09/07/2012 - BuzzFeed: The Democratic Convention by the Facebook Numbers 09/07/2012 - CNN: 5 OMG Moments at the DNC 09/07/2012 - CNN: CNN’s Gut Check for September 7, 2012 09/07/2012 - CNN: Obama Outshines MTV’s Music Awards on Facebook 09/07/2012 - Campaigns & Elections: Cementing Social Media’s Place in the Campaign Worlds 09/07/2012 - Tech Crunch: Underdog no more: how Romney’s digital director, Zac Moffatt, got silicon valley power the campaign 09/06/2012 - All Facebook: Obama Bests Romney in Facebook Mentions During Both Conventions 09/06/2012 - All Facebook: Facebook Abuzz After Ex-President Bill Clinton’s Nomination Speech at DNC 09/06/2012 - PandoDaily: WordPress Staffer Petitions Dems to Enlist Betty White as Obama’s Opening Act 09/06/2012 - The Hill: Clinton beat by NFL on TV But Won in Facebook Conversations 09/06/2012 - POLITICO: Silicon Valley Stars Are a No-Show in Charlotte 09/06/2012 - CNET: Obama Facebook Apps Lets Users Show They’re Watching the DNC 09/06/2012 - CNN: On Facebook, Clinton’s Speech More Popular than NFL Kickoff Game 09/05/2012 - All Facebook: Facebook Highlights Democratic App Developers at DNC 09/05/2012 - Charlotte Magazine: Inside Facebook and Google at the DNC 09/05/2012 - PandoDaily: Pull Up a Chair and Enjoy the Twitter Election 09/05/2012 - San Francisco Chronicle: Social Media Has Key Role in ’12 Election 09/05/2012 - Bloomberg Businessweek: Twitter Deputizes Masses of Political Pundits at Conventions 09/05/2012 - National Journal: Obama App Links Facebook Friends to Voter Lists 09/05/2012 - CNN: 2012 Conventions Live Blog 09/04/2012 - Guardian: Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina Puts Faith in Online Organising 09/03/2012 - PandoDaily: Yep, We’re at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC 09/03/2012 - CBS News: How to Follow the 2012 Republican National Convention on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ 09/02/2012 - Tech Crunch: Do Women Love Ann Romney? Only Facebook Knows 09/02/2012 - Fox: Romney campaign claims to be closing gap in social media battle 09/01/2012 - CNN: RNC Nets Higher Buzz Factor Than Hurricane Isaac, Facebook ‘Talk Meter’ Shows 08/31/2012 - Associated Press: In the Digital Age, Is There Room for the Campaign Button 08/31/2012 - BuzzFeed: Obama Responds to Eastwood: “This Seat’s Taken” 08/31/2012 - Newsday: Barack Obama’s Facebook Photo Responds to Clint Eastwood’s Empty Chair 08/31/2012 - Huffington Post: Can Facebook Call the Election? 08/31/2012 - Mashable: Google, Facebook and Twitter’s friendly rivalry at GOP2012 08/30/2012 - Tech President: At Republican National Convention, Romney’s Digital Director Hints at New App 08/30/2012 - All Facebook: Facebook Highlights GOP-Flavored Apps Over Drinks at Republican Convention 08/30/2012 - Talking Points Memo: Facebook Promotes Political Apps 08/30/2012 - Voice of America: Live from Tampa! Sort Of… 08/30/2012 - The Hill: Facebook Lets Users Tag Themselves in Convention Panorama 08/30/2012 - POLITICO: Tech Branding Is All Over Tampa Fete 08/30/2012 - CNN: CNN’s Gut Check for August 30, 2012 08/29/2012 - Houston Chronicle: On Social Media, Obama Has Many More Followers, But Romney Team Says GOP Wins on Quality 08/29/2012 - Reuters: TV Audiences Go Social as Republican Convention Coverage Wanes 08/29/2012 - CNN: CNN’s Gut Check for August 29, 2012 08/29/2012 - CNN: Romney Gaining Buzz Among Women on Facebook 08/28/2012 - CNN: On the Trail: August 28, 2012 – CNN Political Ticker 08/28/2012 - Mashable: Facebook at the RNC: Politicians finally get us 08/28/2012 - Politico: Social media ‘staged’ at conventions? 08/28/2012 - PC Magazine: Facebook and CNN team up to offer real-time election trending site 08/28/2012 - Inside Facebook: Does Romney Have a Better Facebook Strategy Than Obama? 08/28/2012 - All Facebook: Facebook, Romney’s Strategist Sound Off on Panel at GOP Convention 08/27/2012 - Ad Age: Team Romney’s Digital Chief: Engagement Trumps Raw Numbers in Social Media 08/27/2012 - The Hill: GOP, Dem Conventions Battle to Claim Social Media Supremacy 08/27/2012 - The Hill: Romney Digital Director: User Engagement on Social Media Trumps Quantity of Followers 08/27/2012 - The Hill: Facebook, Twitter Provide Real-Time Insight From Political Conventions 08/27/2012 - CNN: Facebook, CNN Unveil ‘Election Insights’ 08/27/2012 - CNN: CNN’s Social Media Guide to the Conventions 08/27/2012 - CNN: On Facebook, Campaigns Show the Power of a Post 08/25/2012 - Terra: How Social Media is Changing the Way Politicians Gather Information 08/24/2012 - FOX (Tampa Bay): In One Room, Social Media Titans Gather for DNC 08/24/2012 - Bloomberg Businessweek: Univision plans presidential forum with Obama, Romney 08/23/2012 - Red Alert Politics: Advice for First Time RNC Attendees 08/23/2012 - New York Times: Debates denied, Univision turns to candidate forums 08/22/2012 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Everything Changing for Campaign Coverage 08/22/2012 - National Journal: How Mitt Romney Goes Digital 08/21/2012 - The Hill: Ted Cruz wins social media victory 08/20/2012 - Lost Remote: Inside Look at CNN and Facebook’s First Election Analysis 08/17/2012 - Huffington Post: 2012 Conventions Embrace Social Media Openness 08/17/2012 - POLITICO: Republicans Plan a Tech-Heavy Convention 08/16/2012 - POLITICO: Technology Giants to Descend on Conventions 08/16/2012 - Buzzfeed: For a “Social” Republican Convention, Website is Second 08/16/2012 - Charlotte Magazine: Facebook to Offer ‘Apps & Drinks,’ Co-Host ‘Innovation Nation,’ and More at RNC and DNC 08/16/2012 - National Journal: Facebook Rolls Out Convention Plans 08/16/2012 - Buzzfeed: Obama, Not Romney, Is Winning the Social Media Race 08/16/2012 - All Facebook: What does Facebook have in store for the Republican, Democratic conventions? 08/16/2012 - BuzzFeed: Romney, Not Obama, Is Winning The Social Media Race 08/15/2012 - Charlotte Observer: Facebook for Business in 4 Steps 08/15/2012 - Mashable: Paul Ryan Helping Romney Unseat Obama from Digital Throne 08/14/2012 - CNN: Ryan Knocks Obama Off Perch as Most Talked About on Facebook 08/13/2012 - WebProNews: Who is Paul Ryan? Let’s Check His Facebook Page 08/13/2012 - Forbes: Obama vs. Romney: Winning the War of Social Engagement 08/13/2012 - All Facebook: Republican VP Nominee Paul Ryan No Stranger to Facebook 08/12/2012 - USA Today: Running for the Presidency, You’d Better Be on Social Media 08/11/2012 - POLITICO: Paul Ryan VP Pick Adds Social Media Muscle 08/09/2012 - POLITICO: Mitt Romney Makes Most of VP App 08/08/2012 - Fox News: New Facebook Tool May Turn Friends into Enemies 08/07/2012 – Washington Post: Introducing the Issue Engine 08/07/2012 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missourians Declare Political Support on Facebook with Brunner in Lead 08/06/2012 - Venture Beat: The 2012 Election: Where Big Data Meets Politics 07/31/2012 - Politico: Ted Cruz’s secret: mastering social media 07/24/2012 - ClickZ: Democratic Firm Ties Voter Data to Facebook Friends 07/20/2012 - Technology Review: Facebook: The Real Presidential Swing State 07/19/2012 - MediaPost: Why the Race for the White House Goes Through Facebook 07/18/2012 - Wisconsin Reporter: Romney Campaign Battling for State’s Youth Vote 07/18/2012 - PR News: Election 2012: Sizing Up the Social Media Battle 07/17/2012 - Seattle Times: Wash. To Unveil Voter Registration on Facebook 07/17/2012 - Slate: The Romney Campaign's Data Strategy 07/14/2012 - POLITICO: The Duo Inside the Facebook War Room 07/13/2012 - Washington Post: Romney Advisers, Aiming to Pop Obama’s Digital Balloon, Pump Up Online Campaign 07/12/2012 - PBS: An Election on Facebook: Old Media Enters the New World 07/09/2012 - All Facebook: CNN, Facebook announce several initiatives for 2012 Presidential Election 07/06/2012 - The Hill: Romney Camp Offers Facebook Supporters Merchandise Deal 07/02/2012 - The Atlantic: A Tour Of The Self-Contained, Design-Happy City of Obamaland 07/02/2012 - ClickZ: Obama Facebook Ads Promote Jobs Act Message 06/18/2012 - Business Insider: Mitt Romney has a new strategy to dominate the Facebook campaign wars 06/14/2012 - Bloomberg Businessweek: Obama's CEO: Jim Messina Has a President to Sell 06/09/2012 - POLITICO: Obama’s Data Advantage 06/07/2012 - Huffington Post: Will the Online Campaign Kill the TV Ad? 06/06/2012 - Washington Post: ‘Big Data’ From Social Media, Elsewhere Take Trend-Watching to a New Level 05/08/2012 - The Atlantic: At Campaign Fundraisers, Obama's Tech Staffers Are The Stars 05/03/2012 - Huffington Post: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney Embrace Social Media to Court Women Voters 05/03/2012 - NPR: That New Friend You Made on Facebook? He Might Be Named Mitt or Barack 05/01/2012 - Los Angeles Times: Republicans expand Facebook efforts with ‘Social Victory Center’ 05/01/2012 - Mashable: Republicans launch Facebook app to defeat Obama 05/01/2012 - BuzzFeed: Republicans Play Tech Catch-Up 04/30/2012 - Breitbart: RNC to Unveil Social Victory Center for 2012 Online Campaign 04/26/2012 - Alaska Dispatch: ‘Epic’ Social Media War Expected in Presidential Campaigns 04/20/2012 - CNN: RNC looks to Facebook for political edge 04/09/2012 - Campaigns & Elections: If You Build It, They Might Not Come 04/09/2012 - Helena Independent Record: Hopefuls Embrace Social Media 04/01/2012 - Daily Beast: How a Tweet Can Beat a PAC: Social Media Gives Voters Muscle in Politics 03/30/2012 - Buzzfeed: The Republican Party Wants to Be Your Friend on Facebook 03/29/2012 - Huffington Post: What the 2012 Presidential Candidates Can Learn from Socially Savvy Brands on Facebook 03/28/2012 - The Hill: RNC Emphasizes Social Media in National Convention Plans 03/22/2012 - TechPresident: Obama Campaign Opens Tech Field Office In San Francisco Thursday 03/22/2012 - Human Events: Frontrunners Romney and Obama Intensify Their Social Media Efforts 03/20/2012 - Washington Post: Women Set Rick Perry’s Facebook Page on Fire 03/15/2012 - All Facebook: How Mitt Romney Upgraded to Timeline 03/13/2012 - Tech President: Yes They Can: What Voters Have Lost and Campaigns Have Gained from 2008 to 2012 03/11/2012 - POLITICO: SXSW: Techies Look to Redo Campaigns 03/11/2012 - CNN: Gingrich Pins Hopes on Hashtags 03/11/2012 - TechCrunch: Social Super Tuesday – How the 2012 Candidates Stacked Up on Facebook 03/10/2012 - Atlanta Journal Constitution: Gingrich Engages His “Tweeples” on Social Media 03/06/2012 - USA Today: Can Social Media Predict Election Outcomes? 03/02/2012 - All Facebook: Ohio Debuts Facebook Voting App Before Big Election 03/02/2012 - Washington Post: Obama's Birth Certificate Featured on New Facebook Timeline 02/28/2012 - Human Events: Romney Needs to Market Himself on Facebook, Twitter 02/28/2012 - Tech President: How Social Media is Keeping the GOP Primary Going 02/24/2012 – MSNBC: Rick Santorum Leads Rivals in Twitter, Facebook Buzz, New Analysis Shows 02/23/2012 - PolicyMic: Barack Obama Campaign Manager Urges Millennials to Use Twitter and Facebook to Win the Social Media War Against Republicans 02/20/2012 - New York Times: Online Data Helping Campaigns Customize Ads 02/18/2012 - Mashable: Who’s Winning the Twitter and Facebook Presidential Election 02/17/2012 - The Hill: All Politics is Social 02/17/2012 - Guardian: Obama, Facebook and the Power of Friendship: The 2012 Data Election 02/15/2012 - Slate: Obama's White Whale 02/12/2012 - Forbes: What Mitt Romney Should Do With His Facebook Now 02/03/2012 - POLITICO: Facebook/POLITICO Poll: Florida Results Won’t Influence Nevada Voters’ Decisions 01/30/2012 - Slate: For Sale: Detailed Voter Profiles 01/29/2012 - New York Times: Facebook Users to Put Political Views Up in Lights on Times Square 01/21/2012 - Ad Age: Paul-Affiliated Super PAC Tests Limits of Mostly Digital Campaign 01/20/2012 - Fox News: Republican Candidates Challenge Dem Dominance of Social Media 01/18/2012 - The Atlantic: Doing Digital For Romney: An Interview With Zac Moffatt 01/16/2012 - POLITICO: The 2012 Tech Primary 01/13/2012 - Slate: Project Dreamcatcher 01/13/2012 - POLITICO: Facebook Users Have A Lot to Say on Debates 01/12/2012 - POLITICO: Facebook Primary: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul in the Lead 01/10/2012 - WCSH (Portland): Social Media Throughout the NH Primary 01/09/2012 - All Facebook: Will Facebook Debate Spur a Huntsman Shakeup in NH? 01/05/2012 - Mashable: Facebook, NBC joining forces to host social presidential debate 01/05/2012 - All Facebook: GOP gears up for Sunday’s NBC News Facebook Debate 01/03/2012 - All Facebook: POLL: Economy is Top Concern for Voters on Facebook 01/03/2012 - Newsmax: From Facebook to Twitter, Candidates Trade Final Jabs on Social Media 01/02/2012 - Daily Beast: Inside President Obama’s Reelection Machine 01/01/2012 - Mashable: Republican Candidates Take to the Web in the Battle for Iowa 12/28/2011 - ClickZ: New Pro-Paul Group Pushes Video Shares and ‘Blue Republican’ Plan 12/28/2011 - New York Times: Republicans Shake More Hands Using Social Media 12/27/2011 - All Facebook: Paul, Gingrich Up on Facebook Prior to Iowa Caucus 12/23/2011 - TechCrunch: Ron Paul is the Second Most Popular Candidate on Facebook (And He’s Gaining) 12/23/2011 - Technology Digital: Barack Obama Becomes More Social for 2012 Campaign 12/22/2011 - Tech President: From YouTube to Facebook, New Digital Targeting Helps Romney Campaign Reach Voters 12/21/2011 - POLITICO: Campaigns Capitalize on Facebook 12/18/2011 - Huffington Post: Michele Bachmann Woos Iowa Voters with Video, Social Media 12/15/2011 - McClatchy: Election 2012 Campaigns Are All Over Facebook 12/14/2011 - Bloomberg: Obama's Re-Election Path May Be Written In Will St. Clair's Code 12/14/2011 - ClickZ: Perry Pushes Iowa Faith Message on Pandora and Facebook 12/13/2011 - Roll Call: Political Campaigning Enters Age of Technology 12/12/2011 - All Facebook: Debates Help Gingrich Catch Up in Facebook Fan Race 12/08/2011 - Washington Post: Campaigns Harness Social Media Graphs for Cash 12/06/2011 - The Hill: Republican Field Woos Cain’s Facebook Fans 12/05/2011 - ClickZ: Perry Looks to Lasso Cain Supporters with Facebook Ads 12/05/2011 - All Facebook: Gingrich’s Facebook Popularity Rises as GOP Race Shifts 12/04/2011 - Des Moines Globe Gazette: Networking – New and Old – Key to Mobilizing Supporters for Candidates 12/02/2011 - ClickZ: Groups Make Elizabeth Warren Facebook Poster Child 11/30/2011 - POLITICO: New Voting Tech Innovations for 2012 11/28/2011 - All Facebook: Newt Gingrich Turns to Facebook After Endorsement 11/15/2011 - All Facebook: GOP Contender Newt Gingrich Doubles Facebook Fans 11/04/2011 - AdAge: Elections Will Turn on Which Candidates Use Social Sharing Most Effectively 11/03/2011 - Tech President: The Frictionless Grassroots, Part 1 10/13/2011 - Associated Press: Social Media Companies ‘Friend’ Politics 10/12/2011 - Engage: Tracking the Most Talked About Candidates on Facebook 10/11/2011 - Tech President: Don’t Confuse Number of Facebook Fans with Success: Mitt Romney, Herman Cain and Rick Perry 10/10/2011 - Tech President: How Campaigns Use of Facebook Data Might Change the 2012 Election 10/09/2011 - CNN: How Obama’s Data-Crunching Prowess May Get Him Re-Elected 09/28/2011 - Huffington Post: Why 2012 Is Shaping Up to Be the ‘Verb’ Election 09/28/2011 - The Hill: Cain Thanks Facebook ‘Friends’ in Web Video 09/27/2011 - Old Dominion Watchdog: Kaine, Allen in Social Media Shootout 09/23/2011 - All Facebook: STUDY: Romney is Most Popular Politician on Facebook 09/21/2011 - Bloomberg Businessweek: Facebook and the ‘Like Me’ election 09/11/2011 - ClickZ: Romney Offers E-Book for Price of a Tweet 08/26/2011 - All Facebook: Rick Perry’s Campaign: Facebook is Not a Gimmick 08/25/2011 - Forbes: A Plea to the GOP: Don’t Pull a Digital Nixon 08/16/2011 - Tech President: Here’s the Dish on ‘Tweeter’-Using Texan Rick Perry’s Online Presidential Campaign 08/12/2011 - All Facebook: 2012 GOP Hopefuls Descend on Iowa and Facebook 07/24/2011 - Salt Lake Tribune: D.C. Notebook: Huntsman Losing Facebook Primary 07/24/2011 – UPI: Politics 2011: Politics Gets Real in the Virtual World of Social Media 07/20/2011 - Huffington Post: Is Facebook the New Iowa? 05/27/2011 - All Facebook: Tim Pawlenty Testing Facebook’s Sponsored Stories 04/20/2011 - Washington Post: Facebook, President Obama and the Youth Vote in 2012 04/17/2011 - Huffington Post: Elections 2012: The Social Network, Presidential Campaign Edition 04/08/2011 - The Hill: Cornyn: Lawmakers Having to Conquer Fear of Social Media 04/08/2011 - NPR: Politicians Take to Technology for 2012 04/04/2011 - TechCrunch: Obama's Re-election Campaign Puts Facebook Front And Center … Literally 03/31/2011 - All Facebook: STUDY: Millennials Prefer Facebook Politicking 03/21/2011 - Boston.com: Pawlenty accounted presidential exploratory committee 03/21/2011 - Politico: Time Pawlenty forms 2012 presidential exploratory committee Technori: Harper Reed on Obama for America http://vimeo.com/58592933 January 31, 2013 Wired: Q&A: Dylan Richard, Director of Engineering, Obama for America http://www.wired.com/insights/2013/01/qa-dylan-richard-director-of-engineering-obama-for-america/ By Jake Gardner January 28, 2013 Gathering Clouds: What are your feelings on how the presidential election went? What was the experience like? Dylan Richard: The campaign was the most amazing experience that I could possibly imagine. There was just a staggering amount of work. I was there for 18 months and towards the end, it was 16-20 hour days, seven days a week for the final couple of months. I look at that on paper and think, “Wow. That’s an incredible amount of work.” And my entire team was doing the same. My overall feeling coming out of the election was that it was worth that and much more – the incredible benefit at the end of it is still so staggeringly huge to me. GC: What are your perspectives on what brought your team together for the campaign? DR: What brought everybody together, truly, was President Obama. He is an outstanding, genuine, effective leader that is, frankly, unparalleled in our lifetime. The message that he communicates is the only reason that we were able to bring people together to do this because it absolutely would not be worth it if it weren’t for him and for the things that he’s going to do and everything he has accomplished so far. So that, coupled with really interesting tech challenges and an amazing team, is how we brought together more and more people. GC: What were the tech challenges that were attractive to you? The tech mindset is not one to shy away from a difficult problem; so what was it that motivated you to really dig in beyond just a belief in the overall mission? DR: There are two really interesting challenges: one of which is obvious and the other which is a bit more obscure. The obvious one is just a question of scale. Putting together applications that are going to be used for a presidential campaign means scale like nothing else. There are very few other conditions where we have traffic spikes like during a campaign. Considering some of the graphs and charts that have been available in the media, there were moments of traffic over time where it was steady and at a good pace. During the last week or two, however, it just exploded, as you can imagine. Exponential growth doesn’t even properly portray what went down. We had some people volunteering that were ex-Twitter engineers and they kept saying “It’s not a hockey stick. It’s like a right angle…” looking at the traffic spike. We would go from a pretty solid baseline to more than you have ever imagined, and then that number just continued to increase. So the challenge there, from a technical standpoint, was around being able to build things to cope with that reality, and it was really fun. That challenge in particular was a great recruitment tool in and of itself. The slightly less obvious one is trying to unify data. There had been efforts starting at the end of 2008 and through the 2010 campaign to build more technology in-house, either at Obama for America or at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and more tools that unify the data in a way that would provide greater insight through an infrastructure that could facilitate that kind of strategy. There are a couple of vendors that we use that have a great deal of data experience, especially in finding ways to pull it all that together and do a big vendor integration project. That might sound boring, but is actually incredibly complicated and a really fun challenge to do that with vendors and with our own systems. But here’s the key part: we had to do it all while the campaign was going on. So, our challenge was to essentially re-factor an entire infrastructure to something that is more scalable, more unified, while everything is already in use. We all internally described it as “building an airplane while it’s mid-flight.” GC: What do you understand about how your competition was approaching this challenge? In the end, the Romney camp’s approach to technology didn’t serve them in the same way. What do you understand about what they did vs. what you did, and where do you think they went wrong? DR: I honestly don’t know much about what they did in terms of what their strategic decisions were in terms of technology. But I’m sure that they worked incredibly hard, and they put in a lot of time and they got to where they thought they needed to be. I can say that it seems that there wasn’t as much infrastructure being brought in-house in the same way for the Romney campaign. GC: Contextualize the mindset for your team and the related teams going into this. Why did you choose one technology over another, or one vendor over another? What was the criteria that they had to match specifically with regards to the cloud? DR: There was not really much question. The shape of our curve means that we essentially can’t use anything but cloud. We could theoretically do a baseline that is not cloud and use cloud for spikes and do some sort of hybrid arrangement. But the kind of scale that we’re talking about, there really weren’t many options, other than Amazon Web Services (AWS), who have been amazing. So, the choice was actually fairly self-evident, in the end. GC: Why AWS? DR: AWS fits our curves in many ways. They provide the ability to have a small footprint when we’re small and to grow to an enormous footprint very quickly – to be fair, we had an enormous footprint. I think that there was an infrastructure diagram that was up at the AWS re:Invent conference that showed an idea of the scale that we were talking about. So, the ability to grow that big is one of the chief benefits Amazon offers. The other thing it provided was the ability to scale our costs. Eighteen months ago, people were not as interested in giving to the Obama campaign as they were three months ago. The nature of the campaign was one of building up to an event that has a curve for not just how much traffic was flowing to the website, but for really everything that we were doing to achieve that crescendo at the end. So being able to have our costs stay low at the beginning and only pay for what we needed was an enormous benefit, especially [on] a budget based in contributions. GC: Beyond that, the benefits you’re talking about are really like a poster-child example of the benefits of cloud overall, but what else did the platform enable you to do? What other benefits were you able to reap? DR: We were able to automate a great deal of how we do things. To break it down a little bit, our infrastructure had three different environments. We had our production environment, which was in Amazon and was to actual scale. We had a staging environment that was also in Amazon to do all of our testing and validation of builds, etc. but at a smaller scale; and then we had an internal testing environment. We had the ability to automate all of the releases using Puppet and we had our own AppRepo and did releases that way. GC: How did you account for redundancy at that scale? Amazon has a track record of breaking down from time to time, just like others cloud vendors. You need to plan for failure to a degree. So, at something of that scale, how do you plan your business continuity? How do you plan your disaster recovery? DR: We were in multiple Availability Zones (AZ) because it’s silly not to be. It’s very easy to be in multiple Availability Zones and paying for two servers as your minimum instead of one. It’s a tiny price to pay for that redundancy. Towards the end of the campaign, we were split across three AZ’s, all in U.S. East. We had it, on an infrastructure level, set up so that if any of those AZ’s goes out, we would channel over to the others, and nobody would notice because everything was functioning as it was supposed to. If all of U.S. East were to go out – which would be catastrophic on many levels, not just for us but for the Internet in general – we essentially set up a warm fail-over in U.S. West, particularly as we were getting close to Sandy, as the storm was coming through a week before Election Day. It was “the perfect storm,” in so many ways. Though, if it had knocked us out for two hours, we would have been in a very bad place. So we set up a read-only infrastructure in U.S. West so that if all of U.S. East were to go out, we could very easily switch over to West. That way, should our worst case scenario come to pass, we could have something up so that all of the people that are working on the campaign (which is, at that point, largely having data to consume and having information that people can use) would be able to do what they need to in support of the effort uninterrupted. Within each of the applications that we wrote, we had different failover levels – not only for the applications, but for functions within applications so we could define the core features that were needed for the applications to be functional. We had all of the other features on top of that so if we lost a whole bunch of stuff, we would be okay. Let’s say we lost all of our read slaves and we just had the master, and it was only in one AZ because terrible, terrible things have happened at this point (like other AZ failures). We could cut off certain functionalities so that our risk would be exposed to just the most important things at that time. This would give us time to then put all of the application resources in our teams’ hands to be able to make the necessary changes. GC: Did you have incidents that your business continuity plans effectively worked for? DR: There were a lot of things where we’d had, for instance, an API endpoint that was far more expensive than it needed to be; and this is our own application; and it’s putting far too much pressure on the database for something that we didn’t actually need it to necessarily be using. So the ability to turn off that endpoint was key. If one CPU’s pegged at 100 on the database box, all of a sudden everything is slow or failing and we need to quickly mitigate that, as an example. We did make use of that where needed, but I don’t think that there was any significant downtime of anything. GC: What other tools were you bringing in to complement AWS, and how were those beneficial to the framing of a successful IT strategy, and for the campaign overall, to achieve your goals? DR: We work with a couple of external vendors that just do political technology. NGP VAN offers a service called VoteBuilder, which is used extensively, and is for all of the volunteers in the field it is what they use to interact with data – both to input and to consume largely. So walk packets, call lists and that sort of stuff, as well as a significant portion of online stuff from Blue State Digital. They did a large part of our website forms for petitions, etc. and a bunch of our email and fundraising as well. They had been deeply involved in Democratic technology, most notably from the last election. So we had them in place and integrated their solutions along with all of the things that we were building. the web was a major platform for front-facing unification of a message. as well as developing tools to serve our analytics team. We had that in-house (actually colocation) at the DNC on physical hardware.bostatic. data analysts. it was the sheer volume of requests we got each day.. but we had that and we had a fallback cluster for that in AWS. 2013 EngageDC: Inside The Cave http://engagedc.] was the shear volume of requests we got each day. Our traffic levels meant we could run multiple tests per day to significant levels.. Organizing for Action . you’ll likely agree that technology is rapidly shaping politics. assigned them to relevant staff and saw them through completion.tutsplus.pdf January 20. technologies. policy. The biggest challenge [. Turning around new designs through approvals by messaging. We estimate that we achieved about $125 million in incremental improvements to our fundraising pages alone. then launching those projects within a few days or often a few hours was the single largest challenge. Q How did the campaign approach A/B testing and data-driven design decision-making? One of the things that has been said often about the campaign is that we were data driven. So what we tried to do was to build a bridge between everything. In United States Presidential campaigns. Both Design and Dev had a team of Producers who managed those requests. Recently. 2012 nettuts: Chatting with Obama For America’s Director of Frontend Development: Daniel Ryan http://net. but it was also a core part of each side’s internal processes. which ended up being a rather large Vertica cluster. there’s little doubt that. persuasion and getting voters to the polls. My deputy Kyle Rush oversaw an optimization working group consisting of developers. Q What was the biggest large-scale challenge for the design and development teams during the campaign? The biggest scale challenge wasn’t a single project.Obama Legacy Report http://secure.com/articles/interviews/chatting-with-obama-for-americas-director-of-frontenddevelopment-daniel-ryan/ By Jonathan Cutrell November 26.pdf December 20. This couldn’t be more true.com/download/Inside%20the%20Cave. 2012 Whether you lean to the right or the left. and AWS worked really well for that. user experience engineers. A weekly report was compiled with updated best practices and recommendations based on those findings.com/frontend/projects/legacy/legacy-report. etc. mostly focused on Optimizely for A/B testing to prove (and disprove. online ad specialists and content writers. we had the opportunity to interview Daniel Ryan – the Director of Frontend Development for “Obama for America” – about the strategies. if you’re a Nettuts+ reader.. legal. . We used a mix of approaches.assets. designers. and experiences that were a part of the race to November 6. research.So we built a lot of our functional infrastructure and systems between the two organizations and our own internal teams. often) theses about how pages could perform better. Our dev team was split among three areas: fundraising. from back to front? There wasn’t a single stack. Wherever it made sense. large ones would get built out under new server clusters. Q Where did design ideas originate? What was the process of taking an idea from birth to deployment? Design ideas largely came from the Design team directly. We ran git as our VCS of choice.com. our flow was:        branch locally set a Git tag on the repo once the code was ready for review and testing deploy the tag to staging servers code review and QA once the code was production ready. We got a staging system in place pretty quickly. along with . there were no dev or staging environments for our main site. and I worked very hard to make sure our teams collaborated continuously. This is just one example of how we stayed open to better approaches every day and weren’t scared to embrace a new method or system if it made sense. Internally. our Design Director. we tried out a lot of open source tools for making mobile experiences better. we rolled our own CSS grid and core styles along with jQuery. Our main site. for instance. One of the devs showed me LESS while we were overhauling the site in October 2011. Akamai offloaded about 98% of all of our traffic. set up a pull request to the master branch pull requests were reviewed by lead developers or senior developers. multiple custom apps built on Django. compiled by CodeKit. All of our code went through Github. Flask. while server-side code required a deploy request to our DevOps teamthe DevOps team used Puppet and Gippetto to create apk distros for the Linux boxes small code changes would get deployed on the fly.js was one of the heaviest used. static assets were deployed to S3. by the end of the day. our stack ran on Amazon Web Services. Broadly. Josh Higgins. When I arrived in August 2011. but always struggled to have local dev environments for Expression Engine. www. the whole site had switched to it. was an Expression Engine install backed by EC2 and RDS and fronted by Akamai caching. We used Mustache. because we came into a working system. tested internally and then swapped in place of the old version We didn’t get to use this flow everywhere we would have liked. which also served as our main code management flow.Q Can you give us a simple run-down of the stack. Rails and Magento.barackobama. Q What are some of the open-source tools OFA used during the campaign? What was the production/deployment strategy? On the client-side. One of the smartest things we did was run dozens of decoupled systems tied together with JavaScript and Akamai services. We were heavily guided by the principles of “How Github Uses Github to Build Github”. Our widest-used language was Python. we worked in LESS CSS. including thousands of EC2 instances.js templates quite a bit for browser-based apps. Additionally we used Jekyll. rather than starting from scratch. Fitvids. for all the obvious reasons. One of the smartest things we did was run dozens of decoupled systems tied together with JavaScript and Akamai services. Modernizr and a core JavaScript library that lazy loaded modules as needed. several large database clusters and S3 hosting. As the first responsive website for a national campaign. We sat in our own section of the office. I think our approach basically boiled down to pragmatic paranoia. Q How did responsive design play a role in the Obama strategic team? Was the design “mobile first”? Early on. it means starting with a low bandwidth experience. The assigned developer and designer would iterate through those until the project was live and ready for testing. This let us prevent a traffic spike outage. so we could keep the two teams working physically near each other. etc. we’d do this whole cycle in a single day. with a thin PHP app to make the output the same. one internal and one powered by Google. Producers. and we’d all tweak them for a bit then send up to our leadership to get sign off on the direction we wanted to go in. That system worked so well we replicated it for polling places. We’d have a kickoff meeting with PMs. Many of the designs we rolled out started by a designer or developer finding a cool idea somewhere and emailing it around to the two teams. we would try another approach. This was my first campaign as a staffer. for instance. Mobile first is a comprehensive approach including content creation that is mobile friendly. if the data showed it wasn’t getting the results we wanted. These ideas then became the vernacular we would talk in when trying to come up with a specific concept. but almost none of our donations. to figure out the scope of a project. Not only could Akamai automatically fail between them without the end user noticing. The process was much like any good digital agency. but we had a system in place where we could choose which states used which system proactively. responsive/adaptive. The team would iterate on the notes from both and then we’d launch. These ideas then became the vernacular we would talk in when trying to come up with a specific concept.the program/project managers. After incorporating feedback. We were seeing 25% of our traffic come from mobile devices. design that is flexible and code that is as lean as possible. . either a designer would begin comps or. Someone would send around the notes from that. data was our guide. We had the luxury of time. We had two APIs. The systems we relied upon specifically for Election Day all had two backup systems: one powered by Google Doc spreadsheets and one consisting of printed hard-copies of critical data. Many of the designs we rolled out started by a designer or developer finding a cool idea somewhere and emailing it around to the two teams. we never put ourselves in a place where a single system failure could do real damage. Keep in mind that near the end of the summer. it was a foregone conclusion we would do mobile-first. for more complicated projects. Because of the institutional experience with this voter monitoring system’s failure. What were some of the most important strategic decisions the Obama team made to avoid these problems? I think our approach basically boiled down to pragmatic paranoia. Normally. a developer would begin prototypes. I think I had been in Chicago less than a week before I’d heard about the failure of Houdini. was actually one inhouse system and one vendor system that Akamai flipped between automatically if one side went down. which was the Obama ’08 system akin to Romney’s Orca. the campaign tried making a jQuery Mobile powered site. we were doing this on a dozen projects or more simultaneously. When we set out to do a site overhaul in Fall 2011. but maintaining two templates for everything simply wasn’t going to scale. It was a learning process for all of us. Many times. including server outages and hard drive failures. As with everything else. which we used in part to build redundancies. Q We have read a bit about the technical issues that plagued the Romney camp throughout the campaign. though. If there’s one takeaway I would really stress. No matter how cool we thought something was. we would send the staging version around for approvals at the same time the QA team was doing cross-browser testing. mobile-first doesn’t mean starting with a 320 pixel wide design. We learned that lesson over and over throughout the course of the campaign. Leads. but we had many alumni from ’08 with us. Our payment processor. There was some crossover between the two departments as well. Rapid Response and our management team. be sure to follow him on Twitter." said Shannon Lee. 2012 President Barack Obama's reelection effort spent millions on mobile ads that targeted down to the neighborhood level in battleground states. among other examples. underscoring a 2012 that saw the mobile marketing space seemingly toddle towards significantly impacting the larger advertising world. Content. it means starting with a low bandwidth experience. AdWeek: Here's One Advertiser Who Swears Mobile Ads Work: Obama http://www. persuasion and turning out voters.adweek. Program Managers. Social. which my team was part of along with Design. Our work covered every area of the campaign at some point. we handled all the public-facing work of the campaign online. 2016 should be much more of a matrix org chart than a hierarchical one. Q What was the general management structure of projects for the Obama team? I truly believe that this is the last presidential campaign where the “Internet people” will be separated into their own group. Generally speaking. but our overall structure was basically divided into those three buckets I mentioned before: fundraising. "The work we did there was exciting because we felt it was directly impacting the election. In Closing Thanks again to Daniel for agreeing to speak with us. The structure varied by project. When you’re trying to tune for scale. but we learned quickly and adapted. especially in the hockey stick curve we knew we were going to have. Digital Analytics. The promos criticized the GOP candidate's tax plan and praised Obama's auto industry bailout. Internally. To stay up to date. the campaign's digital lead who previously worked at interactive shop Digitas." . Most of my team had no experience at the kind of scale we wound up working at. A large part of my role was coordinating with Tech and DevOps as we constantly deployed more and more systems I truly believe that this is the last presidential campaign where the “Internet people” will be separated into their own group. Additionally.5 percent during the race's crucial stretch run when Mitt Romney appeared to surge in late October and early November. Video. you need people at every part of the stack thinking about how to be more efficient. Email. there was a Digital Department.Mobile-first doesn’t mean starting with a 320 pixel wide design. Online Ads. In the case of mobile video ads. and keep an eye on his website. digital operatives for the campaign told Adweek. the Tech Department was responsible for the infrastructure (our DevOps team) and the server-side code for virtually everything we did. And the victors claim targeting on-the-go voters moved the needle. "We knew we had to be in mobile. Q What was the biggest lesson to be learned about large-scale deployment? The biggest lesson I learned about large-scale deployment is hire smart people.com/news/technology/heres-one-advertiser-who-swears-mobile-ads-work-obama146044 By Christopher Heine December 18. Online Organizing. the Democratic operatives said they got click-through rates from 3 percent to 19. The Obama digital team also bought ads directly from CNN. female and Hispanic voters in Ohio. CMO of Verve Mobile. The donations that poured in during the election have dried up and hard choices need to be made. The result was unprecedented efficiency in volunteer engagement and voter outreach.html By Jim Pugh and Nathan Woodhull December 18." she said. "Email and text were already converting a lot of those people for donations. leveraging through those publishers' mobile apps. Interestingly. Las Vegas Review-Journal. continue the investment. proclaimed. The campaign built an integrated database. Florida and Colorado. .huffingtonpost. and make them available to the whole movement. Iowa. This approach is attractive from a financial perspective. Associated Press and Pandora. you've no doubt heard about Barack Obama's "big data" advantage. Volunteers called only the most statistically persuadable potential supporters. Michigan.com/jim-pugh/obama-for-america-data_b_2325478." With escalating smartphone and tablet sales. funding will be tight. Anyone who connected their Facebook account to the campaign was encouraged to send voting turnout messages to the specific friends who needed the extra push most. a large team of developers built community organizing software that empowered volunteers to become more deeply involved with the President's grassroots field operation. All of this led to more volunteers. Don't Abandon the Technology Now that the election is over. The story has been the unprecedented investment in mining personal information for all kinds of wacky stuff. But Election Day shouldn't be the end for these systems. Detroit Free Press. the mobile space will almost certainly be one to watch during election cycles to come. the 2008 election was about text messages. It's true that data was a game changer for the Obama campaign. Supporters who signed up to help online received a personal call from their neighborhood leader the next day. On top of that data foundation. Miami Herald and Denver Post. Greg Hallinan. One option is to mothball this infrastructure and plan to spin it up again for the next presidential election. which combined supporters' online activity. Des Moines Register. We need to keep moving forward." Huffington Post: What's Next for Obama For America's Data and Technology? http://www. and increased turnout -which all meant more Obama votes on Election Day. but the reason is much less salacious than many reporters would have you believe. as no additional resources would be needed in the off cycle to make it happen. and public voting records into a single unified view of every American. According to various articles. more supporters. Nevada. Lee said paid mobile Web and mobile app ads were not run to increase Obama for America donations but rather to persuade viewers and get out the vote. which helped the Democratic campaign target mobile ads. appearing via mobile properties owned by major regional news outlets such as the Cincinnati Enquirer. This one was about targeted mobile advertising. "On the mobile front. The Weather Channel. the campaign used data for everything from inviting donors to dinner with Sarah Jessica Parker to identifying potential voters through their visits to porn sites. actions in the field. 2012 If you've been following post-election news. "Our hypothesis was that taking out your credit card number would be too laborious when it came to investing in paid mobile ads.The ads typically zeroed in on young. this approach needs to be changed. we've got a huge lead in this area. The campaign's advantage this cycle wasn't just bits and bytes. But with some additional work. only presidential campaigns have the resources to build systems of this sophistication. that is not what has happened so far.our party needs to change course now or risk being left behind. The data and technology infrastructure from the Obama campaign cost millions of dollars to build. it could provide a path to fund the continued investment. The window of opportunity to stay ahead of the technological curve is closing -. Neither should we. Instead of shelving all these systems. but this one offered . Democrats could actually start the next election cycle behind where we're at right now.But this would be a mistake. For smaller campaigns that would have no chance of creating these systems on their own. Right now. Not only would Republicans be moving ahead.com/featuredstory/508856/obamas-data-techniques-will-rule-futureelections/ By Sasha Issenberg December 18. Since Election Day. some of whom had been at the party for over ten years. With the infrastructure coming out of the Obama campaign. but the institutional experience and knowledge that had been building since the President's primary campaign in 2007. Part 3 http://www. our advantage may be erased in the coming years. A 21st-century political movement must have a serious on-going commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancement. The Obama Campaign's technology team is scattering to the winds and returning to industry. the Democratic National Committee has laid off an unprecedented number of technology staff members. via paid licensing from these outside campaigns and organizations A Sustained Tech Commitment for 21st-Century Politics The roller-coaster of scaling up and scaling down that comes with elections has always been the standard for political organizations. Without sustained investment from our party. Republicans are lagging behind Democrats right now on the data and technology front. Make Tools Available to All Progressives An investment in building on these systems offers another possibility as well: providing access to the rest of the progressive movement. And beyond the benefit to the Democratic Party and progressive movement. Already the Obama campaign was known for its relentless e-mails beseeching supporters to give their money or time. this could be a game-changing step forward. 2012 The March In the summer of 2011. we should make a continued investment in maintaining and improving them.technologyreview. and even the most well-funded senate campaigns couldn't afford anything close to that. The technology industry never stops moving forward. but without staff to maintain institutional knowledge and adapt the systems to changing technology. but after the shellacking they experienced in the last election. there's little doubt that they'll be pouring in resources to catch up. Sadly. giving them the opportunity to use these systems with their own supporters and volunteers. Technology Review: How President Obama’s campaign used big data to rally individual voters. We need to keep moving forward if we want to keep our advantage on this front. If we want to stay competitive on the data and technology front. the data and tech infrastructure from the Obama campaign could be adapted to offer the same functionality to other progressive candidates and groups. Carol Davidsen received a message from Dan Wagner. ” By the start of 2012. Obama’s director of digital analytics. such calculations had been simply impossible. Davidsen was working at Navic Networks. You have all this great. Television and radio ads had to be purchased by geographic zone. That might be good enough to guide buys for Schick or Foot Locker. “If you think about the universe of possible places for an advertiser. borrowed from a tusked whale. and the algorithms determining how much a supporter would be asked to contribute could be shaped by knowledge about his or her reaction to previous solicitations. to link the information from cable systems to individual microtargeting profiles. because campaigns were unable to link what they knew about voters to what cable providers knew about their customers. “You can cite people’s other types of engagement. for an ambitious effort to match records from previously unconnected databases so that a user’s online interactions with the campaign could be synchronized. robust voter data that doesn’t fit together with the media data. to find those who described their occupation with terms like “data” and “analytics” and sent them all invitations to apply for work in his new analytics department. It was to find out how many of our persuadable voters were watching those dayparts. a Microsoft-owned company that wrote code for set-top cable boxes to create a record of a user’s DVR or tuner history. One year before Election Day. “We discovered that there were a lot of things that built goodwill. it’s almost infinite. and use that knowledge to refine subsequent appeals. e-mail blasts asking people to volunteer could take their past donation history into consideration.” . That was the code name. How you knit that together is a challenge. for any campaign activity. often included little more than viewer age and gender. collected by research firms like Nielsen and Scarborough. common in website development. that led them to become more engaged with the campaign in other ways.something that intrigued Davidsen: a job. With Narwhal. Walsh says of the effort to reimagine the media-targeting process: “It was not to get a better understanding of what 35-plus women watch on TV. But when it came to buying media. like signing the president’s birthday card or getting a free bumper sticker. she started work in the campaign’s technology department to serve as product manager for Narwhal. he set out to reinvent the process for allocating resources across broadcast. in which users are randomly directed to different versions of a thing and their responses are compared.” says ­Amelia ­Showalter. As he expanded the scope of analytics. Wagner had sorted the campaign’s list of donors. As campaign manager Jim Messina prepared to spend as much as half a billion dollars on mass media for Obama’s reëlection. that Obama’s online fund-raising efforts had used to good effect in 2008: the A/B test. “There are tens of millions of opportunities where a campaign can put its next dollar. cable. who was hired as the campaign’s media-planning director on the strength of her successful negotiations. stretching back to 2008. and the available data on who watches which channels or shows. the number of votes gained through a given amount of contact at a given cost. This integration enriched a technique. but it’s of limited value for advertisers looking to define audiences in political terms. he defined his purview as “the study and practice of resource optimization for the purpose of improving programs and earning votes more efficiently. when she heeded Wagner’s call.” says Amy Gershkoff. and online channels. Obama’s advisors decided that the data made available in the private sector had long led political advertisers to ask the wrong questions.” That usually meant calculating.” If online communication had been the aspect of the 2008 campaign subjected to the most rigorous empirical examination—it’s easy to randomly assign e-mails in an A/B test and compare click-through rates or donation levels—mass-media strategy was among those that received the least. Now analysts could leverage personal data to identify the attributes of those who responded. while at her firm Changing Targets in 2009. -Wagner had deftly wrested command of media planning into his own department. satellite. 000 deal she worked out with one company. ­Rentrak would issue it a unique household ID that identified viewing data from a single set-top box but masked any personally identifiable information. derived from its microtargeting models. The campaign had plenty of those. But the occasional national buy also had other benefits. generated by a publicopinion team of eight outside firms. she had unlocked an even richer trove of data: a cable system in Toledo. in reruns on TV Land. (By September.” says Romney data analyst Brent McGoldrick. and at odd times where few political candidates had ever seen value. They had invested in their own media-intelligence platform. Davidsen began negotiating to have research firms repackage their data in a form that would permit the campaign to access the individual histories without violating the cable providers’ privacy standards. because what are you going to do?” The Community Although the voter opinion tables that emerged from the Cave looked a lot like polls. For privacy reasons. it was because the Optimizer had concluded it would be a more efficient way of reaching persuadable targets. the information was not available at the individual level. “We believed in combining the qual. She oversaw the development of a software platform the Obama staff called the Optimizer. who created Romney’s data science unit. And. whose previous work had left her intimately familiar with the rich data sets held in set-top boxes. It used some of the same aggregated data sources that were feeding into the Optimizer. and new arrivals at the Chicago headquarters were shocked by the variegated breadth of the research that arrived on their desks daily. Sometimes a national cable ad was a better bargain than a large number of local buys in the 66 media markets reaching battleground states. and the company looked for them in the cable providers’ billing files. “We were never able to figure out the level of advertising and what they were trying to do.) “The revolution of media buying in this campaign. that tracked viewers’ tuner histories by the second. “it helps hide some of the strategy of your buying. “The hardest thing in media buying right now is the lack of information. called Obama’s “highly variable” media strategy.” says Terry Walsh. the analysts who produced them were disinclined to call them polls. “It wasn’t worth reverse-engineering. says Davidsen. Rentrak. Ohio. When a record matched.” she says. with the quant. called Centraforce. which we [also] did more than any other .” Even without that tactic. Obama’s buys perplexed the Romney analysts in Boston. when Obama strategists planned to start running their anti-Romney ads. however. which we did more than any campaign ever. Romney’s data scientists simply could not decode those decisions without the voter models or persuasion experiments that helped Obama pick out individual targets. on marginal stations. Under a $350. and at times both seemed to send the campaigns to the same unlikely ad blocks—for example. Many of the Democrats’ ads were placed in fringe markets. understood that a lot of that data was available in the form of tuner and DVR histories collected by cable providers and then aggregated by research firms. who coördinated the campaign’s polling and advertising spending. which broke the day into 96 quarter-hour segments and assessed which time slots across 60 channels offered the greatest number of persuadable targets per dollar.” When the Obama campaign did use television as a mass medium.Davidsen. the campaign provided a list of persuadable voters and their addresses. The Obama campaign had created its own television ratings system. “was to turn what was a broadcast medium into something that looks a lot more like a narrowcast medium. But there was a lot more to what Alex Lundry. a kind of Nielsen in which the only viewers who mattered were those not yet fully committed to a presidential candidate. It could boost fund-raising and motivate volunteers in states that weren’t essential to Obama’s Electoral College arithmetic. But Davidsen had to get the information into a practical form by early May. Simas would monitor Community conversations to see which news events penetrated voter consciousness.” Simas checked in with the Community.” says Walsh. Obama’s advisors used those diaries to develop messages that contrasted Obama with Romney as a fighter for the middle class.” he says. which was guided by a series of voter diaries that Obama’s team commissioned as it prepared for the reëlection campaign. Green Bay was the only media market in the state to experience such a shift. too. to make sure all communication for every level of the campaign was informed by what they found. a private online bulletin board populated by 100 undecided voters Binder had recruited. had respondents write about their experiences. Obama’s numbers in key battleground states were low in the analytic tables. But the campaign had to play defense. But it was hard to discount. and there was no obvious explanation. The lead pollster. When Wagner started packaging his department’s research into something that campaign leadership could read like a poll. Analytics was talking to as many people in the Green Bay media market as traditional pollsters were talking to across Wisconsin every week. while pollsters tracking the horse race wanted to screen more rigorously for those likely to cast a ballot. potentially.” says Simas. The rivalry between the two units trying to measure public opinion grew intense: the analytic polls were a threat to the pollsters’ primacy and. Eventually. Benenson’s national polls tested language to see which affected voters’ responses in survey experiments and direct questioning. but Romney’s were too. So the campaign’s media buyers aired an ad attacking Romney on outsourcing and beseeched Messina to . “We could have the confidence level to say.” which helped explain attitudes toward Obama’s administration but also spoke to a broader dissatisfaction with economic conditions.campaign. Sometimes he had Binder show its members controversial material—like a video clip of Obama’s “You didn’t build that” comment—and ask if it changed their views of the candidate. Obama’s media advisors created more than 500 ads and tested them before an online sample of viewers selected by focus-group director David Binder. “For me.000 calls in Wisconsin in each fiveday cycle—and benefiting from tens of thousands of other field contacts—to produce microtargeting scores. A quartet of polling firms were assigned specific states and asked to figure out which national themes fit best with local concerns. the director of opinion research. Whereas a standard 800-person statewide poll might have reached 100 respondents in the Green Bay area. As Simas reviewed Wagner’s analytic tables in mid-October. it was a very quick way to draw back and determine whether something was a problem or not a problem. to their business model. When something potentially damaging popped up in the news.” says Simas. “They were different. Wisconsin. he was alarmed to see that what had been a Romney lead of one to two points in Green Bay. There were simply more undecided voters in such states— sometimes nearly twice as many as the traditional pollsters found.” says David Simas. like Democratic consultant Hilary Rosen’s declaration that Ann Romney had “never worked a day in her life.” The scope of the analytic research enabled it to pick up movements too small for traditional polls to perceive. A basic methodological distinction explained this discrepancy: microtargeting models required interviewing a lot of unlikely voters to give shape to a profile of what a nonvoter looked like. “We needed to do something almost divorced from politics and get to the way they’re seeing their lives. ‘This isn’t noise. a pattern became apparent. Joel Benenson. analytics was placing 5. The entries frequently used the word “disappointment. had grown into an advantage of between six and nine. Simas considered himself the “air-traffic controller” for such research. “That became the foundation for our entire research program.’” says Simas. “I spent a lot of time within the campaign explaining to people that the numbers we get from analytics and the numbers we get from external pollsters did not need strictly to be reconciled. “It was dead-on. Before the polls opened in Ohio. Early ballots were the first to be counted after Ohio’s polls closed.send former president Bill Clinton and Obama himself to rallies there. “After those first two numbers. the Republicans failed to see how the Obama campaign was mobilizing even those voters who looked to Election Day without enthusiasm or intensity. The next morning. the last state to name a winner. to remain in Chicago. alone. believed it possible to project the composition of the electorate. Wagner and his analytics staff left the Cave and rode the elevator up one floor in the campaign’s Chicago skyscraper to join members of other departments in a boiler room established to help track votes as they came in. Obama’s analysts had been counting ballots from states that allowed citizens to vote early. a grandiose title inspired by the idea that the innovations of Obama 2012 should be translated not only to the campaign of the next Democratic candidate for president but also to governance. The Legacy A few days after the election. he was as close to the mark.508 voters who had cast early ballots over the previous month. we knew. and how predictable individual voters could be. Wagner sorted them by microtargeting projections and found that 58. The analytic data offered a source of calm. the campaign’s models predicted that they were more likely than not to have voted for Obama. . but they were losing. Polls from the media and academic institutions may have fluctuated by the hour. too. the campaign overlaid the lists of early voters released by election authorities with its modeling scores to project how many votes they could claim as their own. but drawing on hundreds of data points to judge whether someone was a likely voter proved more reliable than using a seven-question battery like Gallup’s to do the same. The undertaking was called the Legacy Project. By Election Day. Obama’s margin was only twotenths of a percent off. and Obama’s senior staff gathered around screens in the boiler room to see the initial tally.379 had individual support scores over 50.” says Bird.3 to 48. The numbers settled almost exactly where Wagner had said they would: Obama got 56. and by a far larger Electoral College margin than most outsiders had anticipated. Romney took the county 50. for over a month.” says Mitch Stewart. however. the analytic tables demonstrated how stable the electorate was.” When Obama was reëlected. released the names of 103. the only thing that still hung in the balance was the accuracy of the analytics department’s predictions. (In the end. On the last day of the race. As a result. Those who answered that question with a seven or below on a 10-point scale were disregarded as unlikely to vote. or a raw lead of 13. a few staff members were directed.249 votes over Romney. Each day. But that ignored the experimental methods that made it possible to measure individual behavior in more detail. In Florida. as Florida authorities continued to count provisional ballots. monitoring the lagging votes as they came into Obama’s servers from election authorities in Florida.1—that is. “When you see this Pogo stick happening with the public data—the electorate is just not that volatile. Wagner’s analytic tables turned into predictions. The presidency was no longer at stake. as four years before. his staff was exhilarated but not surprised.6 percent of the votes in Hamilton County. They.4 percent of the county’s votes.5 percent. authorities in Hamilton County. That amounted to 56. Romney’s advisors were similarly sanguine. the state’s third-largest and home to Cincinnati. Mitch Stewart sat in the boiler room. relying on a method similar to Gallup’s: pollster Neil Newhouse asked respondents how likely they were to cast a ballot. Their instructions were to produce another post-mortem report summing up the lessons of the past year and a half. Already.) For the most part. director of the Democratic campaign group Organizing for America. Massachusetts. what they’re discussing at the coffee shop. trying to track their moods and expectations. MIT Technology Review breaks down how the President’s team used Big Data and sophisticated analytics at an almost unprecedented scale to track voters. Wagner’s team could accurately predict human behavior. and you leverage them so you know the way they talk about issues. 2012.would have been dead wrong. analytics had made it possible for the Obama campaign to recapture that style of politics. days before the actual voting even started. serving on the city council and school board in his hometown of Taunton. What the Obama team did was little short of amazing. he appreciated the human aspect of politics. Even Before You Did http://readwrite. Certainly no corporation. marveled at the intimacy of the campaign. President Barack Obama and his team. no civic institution. they enabled a presidential candidate to view the electorate the way local candidates do: as a collection of people who make up a more perfect union. He ran for office by knocking on doors and interacting individually with constituents (or those he hoped would become constituents). though. you . “What that gave us was the ability to run a national presidential campaign the way you’d do a local ward campaign. and by precisely how much. Obama did so by reducing every American to a series of numbers. . was able to assign voters individual scores based on if and how they would vote. each of them approachable on his or her terms.” Simas says. It essentially created a cohort-analysis system of data to judge every single voter it wanted to get to the polls.com/2012/12/17/how-obama-knew-how-youd-vote-even-before-you-did By Dan Rowinski December 17. Could he make them feel the same way about Congress? Simas. 2012 Imagine you were a political analyst who time traveled from 1990s to November 5. on a single day. but before he became a political operative. and nudge them in the direction that the Obama team wanted them to go.” Few events in American life other than a presidential election touch 126 million adults. the result of an election. In many respects. to respect. Simas had been a politician himself. or even a significant fraction that many. Perhaps more than anyone else at headquarters.Obama had succeeded in convincing some citizens that a modest adjustment to their behavior would affect. led by chief analytics officer Dan Wagner. Obviously. “You know the people on your block. and very few government agencies ever do. Though the old guard may have viewed such techniques as a disruptive force in campaigns. The scores measured the ability of people to change politics—and to be changed by it. their changing levels of support and enthusiasm open to measurement and. Yet those numbers somehow captured the individuality of each voter. This had been his first presidential election. In the first of a three-part series on how Obama used technology to win the election. you would probably have thought that Republican nominee Mitt Romney had a pretty good shot at claiming the presidency. The analytics campaign.like many of the Republican faithful . however marginally. likely knew that he would win. Obama’s team took the usual system of analytics and reduced it to the most granular level: the individual voter. who had served in the White House before joining the team. People have relationships with one another. Read Write Web: How Obama Knew How You'd Vote. In doing this. and they were not demographic classifications. thus. A quick look at the national polls for the presidential election. why did Obama run 68 ads in a small Alabama town that traditionally voted Republican? Obama was likely targeting voters in Florida with his Alabama media buy. Florida election results 2012 In contrast. Obama can count those Florida counties as a win. Predicting Human Behavior Through Data Analysis By taking an approach to individual voter targeting and setting up the algorithms and databases to do it. In part two of Issenberg’s series. For instance.” wrote Technology Review’s guest contributor Sasha Issenberg.342 (35. For instance.not just to understand how people use mobile apps. Sonamine and others are working on this type of cohort data . In a mobile application. trying to sway voters in key counties like Holmes. in Jackson county. Obama won only Gadsen. . Walton and Gadsen. Obama's goal in 2012 was to make sure that everybody that voted for him in 2008 also did so in 2012 while adding new voters as well.000 votes in Florida. Is a woman aged 18-21 years more likely to re-engage with the app than a man of the same age? How many times does a 25-year-old man need to open an app before he makes his first in-app purchase? Companies like Apsalar. focused around larger cohorts such as campaign topics (the fall of Obama-backed solar energy provider Solyndra. Obama’s team put itself on the forefront of a growing field of innovation: predictive analysis of individual human behavior and reaction. companies can guess with a very high degree of accuracy what you are going to do next. he notes that the Romney team understood it did not have the depth of ground-level analytics that the Obama team had and was forced to be reactionary to how the Obama campaign deployed its resources. the Romney campaign was still in an earlier mode of data analytics. Obama received 7. Considering that Obama beat Romney by only about 73. By analyzing millions of data sets created by touching items within an app. “Google knows everything about me. what buttons are the users most likely to push? Are they more or less likely to tap on an advertisement? What can the app publisher do to get users to open the app more often (increasing the likelihood of clicking an ad or buying in-app goods)? The next step is to apply those questions to specific cohorts. it probably does. it can then influence you to perform the actions it desires.“But underneath all that were scores describing particular voters: a new political currency that predicted the behavior of individual humans. for example. Of those counties. But winning those counties was not as important to the Obama team as was making sure that people that supported him in 2008 also did so in 2012. People like to joke that. Flurry. but how they can be influenced to perform particular actions. Even though he lost those counties. Jackson.1%) votes in 2012 against 7. The Obama team likely knew that the state of Florida would come down to several thousand votes (which it did) and that eroding Romney’s base there would be important to win the state. those votes counted for a lot. The largest technology companies and a growing number of advertisers are seen as leaders in this field. for instance) and how individual ads affected the voter mindset. by matching his numbers in those two counties in an election where the Republican base was emotionally invested against him. Localytics. it knew exactly how it could turn you into the type of person it wanted you to be.” Well. Once a company knows what you are going to do. The campaign didn’t just know who you were.632 (35%) in 2008. it was millions upon millions of voters. he hired the Analyst Institute. In 1998. who loved metrics. testing competing modes of contact and get-out-thevote language to see which were most successful. person-to-person interviews.” as people liked to say. This reflected a principled imperative to challenge the political establishment with an empirical approach to electioneering.This is almost exactly what the Obama team did. a Washington-based consortium founded under the AFL-CIO’s leadership in 2006 to coördinate field research projects across the electioneering left and distribute the findings among allies. The breakthrough was that registration no longer had to be approached passively. The subsequent wave of field experiments by Green. assigning New Haven voters to receive nonpartisan election reminders by mail. 2012 The Experiments When Jim Messina arrived in Chicago as Obama’s newly minted campaign manager in January of 2011. The first Obama campaign used the findings of such tests to tweak call scripts and canvassing protocols. spreadsheets. but it never fully embraced the experimental revolution itself. But that didn’t mean quite what it had four years before. because that was easy to measure. this approach is what set apart Obama's campaign.com/featuredstory/508851/how-obama-wrangled-data-to-win-his-secondterm/ By Sasha Issenberg December 17.” To that end. or in-person visit from a canvasser and measuring which group saw the greatest increase in turnout. and so on. the party decided it would start conducting its own experiments. New techniques made it possible to intelligently profile nonvoters: commercial data warehouses sold lists of all voting-age adults. It was about having the most granular data possible and then knowing how to act on it. and comparing those lists with registration rolls revealed . the 2008 Obama campaign had remained insulated from the most important methodological innovation in 21st-century politics. He hoped the committee could become “a driver of research for the Democratic Party. and. the 2008 campaign manager. they hoped. vote. phone. Much of the experimental world’s research had focused on voter registration. Part 2 http://www. After Dan Wagner moved to the DNC. Plouffe wanted to know: How many of a field office’s volunteer shifts had been filled last weekend? How much money did that ad campaign bring in? But for all its reliance on data. and performance reports. It was not just having a smartphone app as a “walk list” (the list that volunteers use to see who has come to the polls) or keeping track of media sentiment through in-depth analytics. Ultimately. Technology Review: How President Obama’s campaign used big data to rally individual voters. sign a form. Obama was then able to deploy his massive volunteer network (some 500.000 people) and other campaign resources as needed. Gerber. social media. he imposed a mandate on his recruits: they were to make decisions based on measurable data. advertising. and their followers focused on mobilization.technologyreview. The Obama team figured out what type of person a voter was and how that person would respond to certain types of stimuli . Yale professors Don Green and Alan Gerber conducted the first randomized controlled trial in modern political science. Some of the biggest tech companies in the world that specialize in behavioral data could not have done quite what the Obama team did by mixing social science (how users react to different stimuli) to structured big data. except instead of mobile apps. organizers did not have to simply wait for the unenrolled to emerge from anonymity.such as direct mail. The 2008 campaign had been “data-driven. and it was greatly influenced by David Plouffe. That test. “The extent to which we were guessing about persuasion was not lost on any of us. One series of mailers described Obama’s regulatory reforms. The expansion of individual-level data had made possible the kind of testing that could help do that. But the experiments introduced new uncertainty. a 2008 field organizer who became the campaign’s general election director in Ohio four years later. In March.” or EIPs. designed to measure how effective different types of messages were at moving public opinion. “Isn’t that nuts? And people have been doing that for decades!” An experimental program would use those steps to develop a range of prospective messages that could be subjected to empirical testing in the real world.” One way the campaign sought to identify the ripest targets was through a series of what the Analyst Institute called “experiment-informed programs. and others that followed.eligible candidates. People who were identified as having a 50 percent likelihood of voting for a Democrat might in fact be torn between the two parties. When the group sent direct mail in favor of Democratic gubernatorial candidates. each attached to a home address to which an application could be mailed. each making a slightly different case for Obama—and then use ongoing survey calls to isolate the attributes of those whose opinions changed as a result. Applying microtargeting models identified which nonregistrants were most likely to be Democrats and which ones Republicans. “You’re making significant resource decisions based on 160 people?” asks Mitch Stewart. Such techniques rested on a series of long-standing assumptions—for instance. Older women thought more highly of the policies . The experiment revealed how much voter response differed by age. it became possible to measure the attributes of the people who were actually moved by an experiment’s impact. A series of tests in 2006 by the women’s group Emily’s List had illustrated the potential of conducting controlled trials with microtargeting databases. or they might look like centrists only because no data attached to their records pushed a partisan prediction in one direction or another. Experimenters had typically calculated the average effect of their interventions across the entire population. especially among women. it had a far greater impact upon those who had been profiled as soft (or nonideological) Republicans. Experimenters would randomly assign voters to receive varied sequences of direct mail—four pieces on the same policy theme. It wanted to take on the most vexing problem in politics: changing voters’ minds. Party officials knew that adding new Democratic voters to the registration rolls was a crucial element in their strategy for 2012. The Obama campaign embedded social scientists from the Analyst Institute among its staff. But already the campaign had ambitions beyond merely modifying nonparticipating citizens’ behavior through registration and mobilization. The traditional way of doing this had been to audition themes and language in focus groups and then test the winning material in polls to see which categories of voters responded positively to each approach. director of the Democratic campaign group Organizing for America. But as campaigns developed deep portraits of the voters in their databases. it barely budged those whose scores placed them in the middle of the partisan spectrum.” says Chris Wyant. another advised voters that they were now entitled to free regular check-ups and ought to schedule one. demonstrated the limitations of traditional targeting. that middle-of-the-roaders were the most persuadable and that infrequent voters were the likeliest to be captured in a get-out-the-vote drive. “The scores in the middle are the people we know less about. Any insights were distorted by the artificial settings and by the tiny samples of demographic subgroups in traditional polls. the campaign used this technique to test various ways of promoting the administration’s healthcare policies. younger women liked them more when they were told about contraceptive coverage and new rules that prohibited insurance companies from charging women more. which had always had an exceptionally mature volunteer organization for a non--battleground state. when we did the Medicare EIPs. a database applications developer. As a result. Sending volunteers to persuade voters would mean forcing them to interact with opponents. language. no matter what state they were in themselves. developed a program code-named Airwolf that matched county and state lists of people who had requested mail ballots with the campaign’s . Traditionally. the likelihood that a voter could be pulled in Obama’s direction after a single volunteer interaction. it found. That dramatic shift in the culture of electioneering was felt on the streets. or with voters who were undecided because they were alienated from politics on delicate issues like abortion. Obama’s campaign was pursuing a second. Those scores suggested that they probably shared Republican attitudes. With these findings in hand. because it was at a time when we were not seeing a lot of movement in the electorate. but it was possible only because of advances in analytics. The voters most responsive to the campaign’s arguments about equal-pay measures and women’s health.” says Terry Walsh. “You can have a negative impact. however.000 conversations with the goal of winning new supporters. campaigns have restricted their persuasion efforts to channels like mass media or direct mail. “In fact. A similar strategy of targeting an unexpected population emerged from a July EIP testing Obama’s messages aimed at women. “We were able to persuade people who fell low on candidate support scores if we gave them a specific message. Obama’s strategists grew confident that they were no longer restricted to advertising as a channel for persuasion. we got positive movement that was very heartening. turned out to be especially persuasive: voters called by Californians. even more audacious adventure in persuasion: one-on-one interaction. they felt they didn’t know enough about their supporters or volunteers. The results were surprising. it wasn’t to shore up interest among core parts of the Democratic coalition. The experiment also taught Obama’s field department about its volunteers. were more likely to become Obama supporters. who were currently eligible for the program. They began sending trained volunteers to knock on doors or make phone calls with the objective of changing minds. “You can hurt your candidate. Those in California. When Paul Ryan was named to the Republican ticket in August. and targeting. but here was one thing that could pull them to Obama. Analysts identified their attributes and made them the core of a persuasion model that predicted. but to reach over for conservatives who were at odds with their party on gender concerns.” In February. The Obama team found that voters between 45 and 65 were more likely to change their views about the candidates after hearing Obama’s Medicare arguments than those over 65.” says Jeremy Bird. when Obama unveiled a direct-mail track addressing only women’s issues. where they can control presentation.” says Walsh. “We definitely find certain people moved more than other people. were those whose likelihood of supporting the president was scored at merely 20 and 40 percent. Campaigns have typically resisted relinquishing control of ground-level interactions with voters to risk such potentially combustible situations. who coördinated the campaign’s polling and paid-media spending. on a scale of 0 to 10. Voters who’d been randomly selected from a group identified as persuadable were polled after a phone conversation that began with a volunteer reading from a script. Obama’s advisors rushed out an EIP that compared different lines of attack about Medicare. Chris Wegrzyn.when they received reminders about preventive care.” At the same time. “The whole goal of the women’s track was to pick off votes for Romney. “The electorate *had seemed+ very inelastic.” But that movement came from quarters where a traditional campaign would never have gone hunting for minds it could change. who served as national deputy director of Organizing for America.” says Bird. Obama volunteers attempted 500. health-care. where he helped financial-services. from fund-raising to communications. a Virginia firm that was then a pioneer in linking information from consumer data warehouses to voter registration records and using it to develop individual-level predictive models. Since his first campaign for governor of Massachusetts. which he modeled on the corporate world’s approach to customer relationship management. “It is a fundamental way of tying together the online and offline worlds. a University of Chicago postdoctoral student in political science. Alex Lundry. To round out his team.” As a result. But the Republican winner’s relative sophistication in the primaries belied a poverty of expertise compared with the Obama campaign. Romney’s advisors knew that Obama was building innovative internal data analytics departments. In May a TargetPoint vice president. It was TargetPoint’s CEO.” The Flow As job notices seeking specialists in text analytics. Wagner. Alexander Gage. once they had. they had moved ahead by integrating methods developed in the social sciences. in 2002. relative to the marketplace. and online experiments came out of the incumbent’s campaign. but they didn’t feel a need to match those activities. “There’s a process of helping people learn about the tools so they can be a participant in the process. was turning his attention beyond the field. Lundry brought in Tom Wood. Instead. a veteran of Bush’s 2004 campaign who had left politics for the consulting firm Financial Dynamics (later FTI Consulting). Zac Moffatt. but Republicans had done little to institutionalize that advantage in the years since.” Romney’s digital director. Romney had relied upon -TargetPoint Consulting. Likely Obama supporters would get regular reminders from their local field organizers. and energy companies communicate better. Without a large in-house staff to handle the massive national data sets that made it possible to test and track citizens. we could be the best at data in-house all the time. however. offering to help “solve their problems with data. they fixated on trying to . By June of 2011. That was the structure Obama had abandoned after winning the nomination in 2008. Democrats had not only matched Republicans in adopting commercial marketing techniques. Mitt Romney’s advisors at the Republicans’ headquarters in Boston’s North End watched with a combination of awe and perplexity. and. he was chief analytics officer for the campaign and had begun making the rounds of the other units at headquarters. “I don’t think we thought. The local organizer would receive daily lists of the voters on his or her turf who had outstanding ballots so that the campaign could follow up with personal contact by phone or at the doorstep. said in July. and then deliver them to the campaign’s databases. By 2006. Romney remained dependent on TargetPoint to develop voter segments. took leave from his post at the firm to assemble a data science unit within Romney’s headquarters. and Brent McGoldrick. Such techniques had offered George W. who had coined the term “microtargeting” to describe the process. housed in a windowless office known as the Cave—as an “in-house consultancy” with other parts of the campaign as its clients. asking them to return their ballots. But Romney’s data science team was less than one-tenth the size of Obama’s analytics department. Bush’s reëlection campaign a significant edge in targeting. “We essentially built products for each of those various departments that were paired up with a massive database we had. often just once. Romney’s data scientists never tried to deepen their understanding of individual behavior. computational advertising. Throughout the primaries. “Our idea is to find the best firms to work with us. a message thanking them and proposing other ways to be involved in the campaign.list of e-mail addresses.” says Wagner.” he says.” He imagined the analytics department— now a 54-person staff. methodically banking early votes in states like Florida and Ohio before his disorganized opponents could establish operations there. Romney had appeared to be the only Republican running a 21st-century campaign. ” Lundry says. They began to think of ads as a “shock to the system”—a way to either introduce a new topic or restore focus on an area in which elite interest had faded. but they provided no guidance in how to allocate campaign resources in order to win the Electoral College. Assuming that Obama had superior ground-level data and analytics. and the journalistic product that campaigns call earned press coverage. Lundry found. “We saw this process over and over again.” .” Within three or four days of a new entity’s entry into the conversation. during a speech about our common dependence on infrastructure.” Lundry decided to focus on more manageable ways of measuring what he called the information flow. persistent mystery. Lundry’s team looked for patterns in the relationship between the National Dialogue Monitor’s data and Romney’s numbers in Gallup’s daily tracking polls. He turned to vector autoregression models.” When a new concept (such as Obama’s offhand remark. they thought they had identified a three-step process they called “Wood’s Triangle. referring to the gross ratings points that are the basic unit of measuring television buys. the analysts added it to the list. maybe that was evidence that Republicans should think so too. because we were putting together the plane as it took off. In this case. either through paid ads or through the news cycle. in turn.” says Lundry.” he says. Lundry wanted to assess the impact that each type of public attention had on what mattered most to them: Romney’s position in the horse race. which Lundry framed this way: “How can we get a sense of whether this advertising is working?” “You usually get GRPs and tracking polls. an entity had moved through the system and exhausted its ability to move public opinion—so he would recommend to the campaign’s communications staff that they move on to something new. including issues like the auto industry bailout. if Democrats thought a state or media market was competitive. That informal conversation among political-class elites typically led to traditional print or broadcast press coverage one to two days later.” They initially classified 200 of them. By the end of July. Romney’s campaign tried to leverage its rivals’ strategy to shape its own. especially Twitter. “There’s a very large causal leap you have to make from one to the other. Lundry’s team aimed to examine how every entity fared over time in each of two categories: the informal sphere of social media. “We were necessarily reactive. TargetPoint also integrated content collected from newspaper websites and closed-caption transcripts of broadcast programs. Those insights offered campaign officials a theory of information flows. that “you didn’t build that”) emerged as part of the election-year lexicon. If an entity didn’t gain its own energy—as when the Republicans charged over the summer that the White House had waived the work requirements in the federal welfare rules—Lundry would propose a “re-shock to the system” with another ad on the subject five to seven days later. and that.unlock one big. TargetPoint’s system for measuring the frequency and tone with which certain topics are mentioned across all media. Ultimately. “They had an enormous head start on us. His team converted topics of political communication into discrete units they called “entities. and catchphrases like “the war on women. it was possible to make a well-informed hypothesis about whether the topic was likely to win media attention by tracking whether it generated Twitter chatter. They tracked each entity on the National Dialogue Monitor. controversies like the one surrounding federal funding for the solar-power company Solyndra. which equities traders use to isolate the influence of single variables on market movements. might have an impact on the horse race. After 12 to 14 days. Voters’ disappointment with the Obama agenda was evident as independents broke right and Democrats stayed home. to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat left empty by the death of Ted Kennedy.” says McGoldrick. the Romney deputy political director who oversaw the meetings. Lundry noticed that the week after the Democratic convention.technologyreview.” Technology Review: How President Obama’s campaign used big data to rally individual voters. were swept away in the midterm elections. and Alabama one of the safest Republican states.” Lundry says.” Romney’s advisors might have formed a theory about the broader media environment. said over the summer.” Dan ­Centinello. The congressional majorities that had given Obama his legislative successes. But he appreciated that the raw material he was feeding into his statistical models amounted to a series of surveys on voters’ attitudes and preferences. “This is a hard-core Republican media market. the Democratic National Committee failed its first test of the Obama era: it had not kept the Obama coalition together. Months later. He asked the DNC’s technology department to develop software that could turn that information into tables. “It’s incredibly tiny. reforming the health-insurance and financial markets. he became responsible for collecting voter information and analyzing it to help the committee approach individual voters by direct mail and phone. control of the House flipped and the Democrats’ lead in the Senate shrank to an ungovernably slim margin. forecasting the margins of victory with what turned out to be . there was bleak consolation in all this: Dan Wagner had seen it coming. Obama had aired 68 ads in Dothan. who served as national deputy director of Organizing for America. “It’s another thing to be right when you’re going to lose. Alabama. But Wagner’s Survey Manager correctly predicted that the Republican Scott Brown was likely to prevail in the strongly Democratic state. When Wagner was hired as the DNC’s targeting director.000 Florida voters. the Obama campaign in abeyance. and he called the result Survey Manager. That fall. Dothan TV stations reached only about 9. Part 1 http://www. Pundits struggled to explain the rise of the Tea Party. It was. 2012 Two years after Barack Obama’s election as president. But they were advertising there. As the 2010 midterms approached.” says Jeremy Bird. Obama’s media-buying strategy proved particularly hard to decipher.000 of them had voted for John McCain in 2008. Democrats suffered their worst defeat in decades. “that there was something in the algorithms that was telling them what to run. as part of his standard review. housed at the DNC. pollsters projected that Martha Coakley was certain to win another special election. In 2010. In early September. Starting in June. “We could tell. Wagner successfully predicted the final margin within 150 votes—well before Election Day. and around 7. “We watch where the president goes. when a special election was held to fill an open congressional seat in upstate New York. but whatever was sending Obama hunting for a small pocket of votes was beyond their measurement. “It’s one thing to be right when you’re going to win.” It is yet another thing to be right five months before you’re going to lose. Wagner built statistical models for selected Senate races and 74 congressional districts.Romney’s political department began holding regular meetings to look at where in the country the Obama campaign was focusing resources like ad dollars and the president’s time. The goal was to try to divine the calculations behind those decisions. But for Democrats. Dothan was one of the country’s smallest media markets. a town near the Florida border. he began predicting the elections’ outcomes. the way Microsoft’s Bing approached Google: trying to reverse-engineer the market leader’s code by studying the visible output.com/featuredstory/508836/how-obama-used-big-data-to-rally-voters-part-1/ By Sasha Issenberg December 16. in January of 2009. Even though the area was known to savvy ad buyers as one of the places where a media market crosses state lines. in essence. social media.” says Mitch Stewart. Wagner could also calculate how much the Democrats’ mobilization programs would do to increase turnout among supporters. such as age or gender. his word was the gold standard at the DNC. His techniques marked the fulfillment of a new way of thinking.improbable accuracy. was soon in Des Moines. He bounced from state to state through the long primary calendar. a decade in the making. His first clue that the party was in trouble came from thousands of individual survey calls matched to rich statistical profiles in the DNC’s databases. and in most races he knew it wouldn’t be enough to cover the gap revealing itself in Survey Manager’s tables. mobilize.5 percent. Wagner had emerged from a cadre of analysts who thought of voters as individuals and worked to aggregate projections about their opinions and behavior until they revealed a composite picture of everyone. But he hadn’t gotten there with traditional polls. growing familiar with voter data and the ways of using statistical models to intelligently sort the electorate. and smartphones to participate in the political process. Organizing for America’s director. The campaign didn’t just know who you were. the most intense battleground in the country. or persuade. which revolved around quarantining small samples that could be treated as representative of the whole. Now it was up to a candidate who wanted to lead those people to build a campaign that would interact with them the same way. a Web platform called Dashboard gamified volunteer activity by ranking the most active supporters. the electorate could be seen as a collection of individual citizens who could each be measured and assessed on their own terms. handling data entry for the state voter file that guided Obama to his crucial victory in the Iowa caucuses. But underneath all that were scores describing particular voters: a new political currency that predicted the behavior of individual humans. His approach amounted to a decisive break with 20th-century tools for tracking public opinion. it knew exactly how it could turn you into the type of person it wanted you to be. His congressional predictions were off by an average of only 2. “Once that first special *election+ happened. Instead. “That was a proof point for a lot of people who don’t understand the math behind it but understand the value of what that math produces. . For the general election. Wagner. he was named lead targeter for the Great Lakes/Ohio River Valley region. and “targeted sharing” protocols mined an Obama backer’s Facebook network in search of friends the campaign wanted to register. A mobile app allowed a canvasser to download and return walk sheets without ever entering a campaign office. The Scores Four years earlier. then 24. in which voters were no longer trapped in old political geographies or tethered to traditional demographic categories. his campaign became celebrated for its use of technology—much of it developed by an unusual team of coders and engineers—that redefined how individuals could use the Web. depending on which attributes pollsters asked about or how consumer marketers classified them for commercial purposes. He had counted votes one by one. After the voters returned Obama to office for a second term. Dan Wagner had been working at a Chicago economic consultancy. Core Democratic voters were telling the DNC’s callers that they were much less likely to vote than statistical probability suggested.” The significance of Wagner’s achievement went far beyond his ability to declare winners months before Election Day. using forecasting skills developed studying econometrics at the University of Chicago. when he fell for Barack Obama and decided he wanted to work on his home-state senator’s 2008 presidential campaign. Obama’s targeters had assigned every voter in the country a pair of scores based on the probability that the individual would perform two distinct actions that mattered to the campaign: casting a ballot and supporting Obama. Their demands. responding to new events like Sarah Palin’s vice-presidential nomination or the collapse of Lehman Brothers. “We realized there was a problem with how our data and infrastructure interacted with the rest of the campaign. run its statistical model just once. and past campaign contacts. As was typical in political information infrastructure.” says Chris Wegrzyn. The chastening losses they had experienced in Washington separated them from those who had known only the ecstasies of 2008. Later. to the outside world. drawn from voter registration records. and we ought to be able to offer it to all parts of the campaign. on the other hand. and 1. John McCain’s campaign had. donors. and came back in ’11 or ’12—they had the hardest culture clash.000 license to use Vertica software from Hewlett-Packard that allowed their servers to access not only the party’s 180-million-person voter file but all the data about volunteers. This innovation was most valued in the field. assigning each voter to one of its microtargeting segments in the summer. The committee installed a Siemens Enterprise System phone-dialing unit that could put out 1. Wagner was told to stay behind and serve on a post-election task force that would review a campaign that had looked. technically flawless. Their report recommended developing a “constituent relationship management system” that would allow staff across the campaign to look up individuals not just as voters or volunteers or donors or website users but as citizens in full. party leaders signed off on a $280. and those who had interacted with Obama online. a database applications developer who served on the task force. not the offerings of consultants and vendors.000 so-called short-form interviews that quickly gauged a voter’s preferences. Obama’s scores. There. their team would control the Democratic Party’s apparatus.” says Jeremy . Within the campaign. In the 2008 presidential election.After Obama’s victory. but as the establishment itself. The efficiency and scale of that process put the Democrats well ahead when it came to profiling voters. however. mostly because the databases built for those purposes had been developed by different consultants who had no interest in making their systems work together. For four years. the task force members knew. For each battleground state every week. an almost perfect cycle of microtargeting models directed volunteers to scripted conversations with specific voters at the door or over the phone. McCain’s advisors were unable to recalculate the probability that those voters would support their candidate as the dynamics of the race changed. Wegrzyn became the DNC’s lead targeting developer and oversaw a series of costly acquisitions. These scores were derived from an unprecedented volume of ongoing survey work. many of his top advisors decamped to Washington to make preparations for governing. but didn’t do ’10. in most states. all intended to free the party from the traditional dependence on outside vendors.000 to 10. the Obama data operations were understood to have shortcomings. Each of those interactions produced data that streamed back into Obama’s servers to refine the models pointing volunteers toward the next door worth a knock. To derive individual-level predictions. would shape the marketplace. knowledge about people was stored separately from data about the campaign’s interactions with them. “People who did ’08. adjusted weekly.000 interviews in a long-form version that was more like a traditional poll. Obama would run his final race not as an insurgent against a party establishment. consumer data warehouses. algorithms trawled for patterns between these opinions and the data points the campaign had assembled for every voter—as many as one thousand variables each. But the task force knew the next campaign wasn’t stuck with that situation.2 million calls a day to survey voters’ opinions. Many of those who went to Washington after the 2008 election in order to further the president’s political agenda returned to Chicago in the spring of 2011 to work on his reëlection. the campaign’s call centers conducted 5. 456. Of course not every a/b test followed this strategy. but it still looked like a long form. We had enough traffic to get results on each test within minutes. the goal was literal. . At the same time. We were working with a page that was engaging and had a low error rate.Bird. They would reassemble the coalition. but Obama’s analysts could look at the Democrats’ vote totals in each precinct and identify the people most likely to have backed him. We called this project Sequential because it turned our donate form into a sequenced process. Obama’s campaign began the election year confident it knew the name of every one of the 69. but we kept with it for the most part. Pundits talked in the abstract about reassembling Obama’s 2008 coalition. they knew they would need to succeed at registering and mobilizing new voters. Essentially the idea was to get users to the top of the mountain by showing them a small incline rather than a steep slope.897 Americans whose votes had put him in the White House. Our plan was to separate the field groups into four smaller steps so that users did not feel overwhelmed by the length of the form. We quickly huddled behind Manik Rathee— who happened to be the frontend engineer implementing experiments that day—and thought up new tests on the fly. What we did on the optimization team was some of the most exciting work I've ever done. How we a/b tested Optimization was a science for us. To solve that problem we started work on a variation that made the form look easier to complete. to make up for any 2008 voters who did defect. who became national field director on the reëlection campaign. Google Analytics for general data gathering and the Blue State Digital tools to enhance or gut check our data. yet we finished them in just a couple hours. We had a queue of about 5 ready-to-go a/b tests that would normally take a couple days to get through. The low hanging fruit had been picked and it was difficult for variations to beat the control. through personal contacts Kyle Rush: Optimization at the Obama campaign: a/b testing http://kylerush. But those who went to Washington and returned to Chicago developed a particular appreciation for Wagner’s methods of working with the electorate at an atomic level. For example. copy. We optimized just about everything from web pages to emails. one by one. We started off with a hypothesis and then we came up with several tests to prove (or disprove) it. As you might imagine this yielded some fascinating findings on how user behavior is influenced by variables like design. Soon our colleagues from other teams gathered around us to see what the excitement was about. Sticking to a hypothesis was beneficial because it allowed us to retain focus on our goals. imagery and page speed. But within the campaign. 2012 Optimization was the name of the game for the Obama Digital team. our hypothesis might be "less copy is better" and to prove that we would chose 5 areas of the site to remove copy. We had never expected a traffic surge like that. I still remember the incredible traffic surge we got the day the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare. It was captivating to say the least. It was a way of thinking that perfectly aligned with their -simple theory of what it would take to win the president reëlection: get everyone who had voted for him in 2008 to do it again.net/blog/optimization-at-the-obama-campaign-ab-testing/ By Kyle Rush December 12. especially in some of the fastest-growing demographic categories. We used several tools to measure the affect. Design and Interaction By June of 2012 our donate pages had undergone nearly 14 months of optimization. Optimizely for a/b tests. usability. Overall we executed about 500 a/b tests on our web pages in a 20 month period which increased donation conversions by 49% and sign up conversions by 161%. They may have cast those votes by secret ballot. Quick Donate users donated four times . In late 2011 we launched a product called Quick Donate which made donating extremely fast and easy. typing your first name). We placed the fields into four groups: amount. We began a/b testing the first iteration of Sequential on July 26th. This also had the latent effect of lowering requests to our servers since we did not process the donation until all form fields were valid. 2. By the end of the campaign more 1. but also to produce a sense of investment before users reached the difficult parts of the form.5 million Quick Donate users donated $115 million. For a better experience with validation errors we used JavaScript to validate the fields in each field group when users clicked the next button.We had no idea if it would work. The program was cutting edge because nobody had engineered donations through email before and at the time the Federal Election Commission did not allow political campaigns to use cell phone carrier short codes to raise money through text messages (the FEC later reversed this decision after Quick Donate launched). but we put our best foot forward. Personal information. Donation amount. The billing field group produced the second most errors because it is hard for users to enter a 15-16 digit credit card correctly.g. 3. By putting the easier field groups first we not only lowered the engagement barrier (all you had to do was click a donation amount button to get started vs. 2012 and it replaced our standard donation form on August 7th. usability. Browsers that did not support CSS animations were given a JavaScript fallback. Like 37 Signals we had lots of success with altering the copy on our web pages. nothing in a required field or an improperly formatted email address). On November 1st we were delighted to see that our friends at the Romney campaign liked it so much. occupation/employer. Turns out you can get more users to the top of the mountain if you show them a gradual incline instead of a steep slope. billing information and occupation/employer. but the most persuasive was error rates. The occupation/employer fields generated the most errors because users would leave them blank even though they were required—people don't like giving out information they think is unecessary. It was a gamble because it took a decent amount of development time. Lots of people are familiar with classic copy tests like this one. This is because copy adjustments are just about the easiest change to make on a web page. The programs was so successful that the stats behind it are kind of overwhelming. After vigorous optimization we ended up with what would almost be the final version of Sequential on August 7th. We were very happy with the finished product because we felt like we had achieved our goal to make the donation form simpler.). Using this information we determined the field group order: 1. For months we had been tracking validation errors which occured when users submitted an invalid value in a form field (e. personal information. imagery. copy has the highest ROI. but how did it fare in a/b testing? By turning the long donation form into 4 smaller steps we increased the conversion rate by more than 5%. We considered a number of factors to determine the order of the field groups. About halfway through the campaign we figured out that of all variables that affect user behavior (design. Our donate pages were responsive so we enabled the Sequential functionality on screen widths greater than 1023px to keep the mobile donation process as simple as possible. We used CSS animations to switch between field groups because they are visually smoother and much more performant than their JavaScript counterparts. Billing information and 4. This made it easier for users to find and correct errors because they were looking at only a few form fields rather than all 16 at the same time. yet they can produce some of the biggest gains. etc. Users who had Quick Donate could donate with a single click through email or on the web and even through SMS. Copy It probably comes as no surprise that copy affects conversions. We took advantage of this by testing a ton of images. Our idea was to make the headline seem more connected to the donation that users had just made. you can still watch video from several of the dinners. We hoped that users would be more likely to convert if they could see just how close they would be sitting to the President of the United States during dinner. We called this the Quick Donate opt-in page and it received a lot of traffic since the campaign brought in tens of millions of donations. If you won. save your billing information. We spent countless hours thinking critically about user psychology and implementing our ideas . but one of my favorites was when we adjusted the headline. We had several photographers that took lots of amazing photos of the President. The second photo had a wider frame that revealed the First Lady and two dinner guests. Conclusion We knew from the beginning how valuable a/b testing could be in helping us achieve our goals and we took it seriously. but it didn't have much context as you nothing else was in view/focus. As with layout and usability we learned a lot about how users react to different kinds of imagery. By making the follow up ask more connected with the first ask.as often and gave three times as much money. Optimizing the splash page with a/b tests was a lot of fun because it received so much traffic that results came in quickly.com account and then. Our new headline read "Now. We tested photos just about everywhere from donate pages to sign up forms and about everywhere else you can imagine. The first was a medium shot of the President at the dinner table. The second way we designed to be much easier. in your account settings." That is pretty simple and straightforward and we definitely didn't want to make it longer. Imagery Photography was a huge part of the Obama brand. By changing the photo on the splash page we lifted conversions by more than 19%. We tested many variations of this page. To sweeten the deal even more the First Lady would be there dinner as well. Similar to the 2008 campaign. We found that there are many variables in photos that can affect conversions. If you want to see what you missed out on. The page itself was very simple: Users with an existing account only needed to enter a password and users without an account only needed to create one. the First Lady and everyone else. our splash page was the subject of a/b tests with different photos. Underneath the password field was the option to enable SMS donations. First. we increased conversions by 21%. Previous tests showed that large photos with focus on the President increased conversions. we were also delighted to see that the Romney campaign loved Quick Donate. save your payment information. but possibly the biggest impact had to do with the context in which the photo was used. The program received a lot of optimization simply because of its success. There were two ways to sign up for Quick Donate. you could create a BarackObama. you got a free trip for yourself and a guest to have dinner with the President. The original headline of the page—which had not been tested at this point—read "Save your payment information for next time. After submitting a donation we gave users the option to create and account and save their credit card using the information they had just submitted with the donation. One of the splash pages we ran was for a contest called Dinner with Barack. We had so many great pictures of the previous Dinner with Barack contest that we wanted to see which performed the best. As with Sequential." The first headline made the Quick Donate opt-in seem disconnected from the donation while the second did exactly the opposite. In the following test we had two photos. so it's no surprise the presidential campaigns. Google Got Cozy With Campaigns http://adage. It raises the question of just how much campaign data were Facebook and Google privy to. He said Google did not work closely with the McCain campaign. too. We learned how to answer questions and we ended up with a treasure trove of best practices. even sending employees to work onsite at campaign offices and their respective digital consultancies. But they also require a new level of specialized expertise." confirmed Zac Moffatt. for example. "Facebook serviced both the Obama and Romney campaigns as closely as we would any big client. though he declined to name or number the employees who worked for President Obama and Mr. We were able to answer very specific questions like what kind of form input and label alignments are best for conversions and error rates. In looking at the overall results I think you could say our efforts paid off. We were able to second guess our assumptions about how a web page should look and behave.com/article/digital/election-embeds-facebook-google-cozy-campaigns/238693/ By Kate Kaye December 10. She declined to comment on similar relationships with political clients." said a Google spokeswoman." . creating a desire for someone intricately familiar with them. Ad Age has learned more about just how closely the two largest sellers of digital advertising worked with the campaigns. Tradition of embedding The internet giants have a tradition of sending employees to work closely with advertisers and agencies. 2012 Big brands and agencies are used to lots of attention from Facebook and Google. particularly Google and Facebook receive large portions of online political ad budgets. We had developers working around the clock to ensure that we always had an a/b test running. "We've worked onsite with a number of clients and agencies to help them develop and implement their digital campaigns. got some. "I guess I grew up in the old school. Along the way we uncovered lots of interesting ways in which design. who handled digital ad buys in 2008 for Sen. Digital and social-media platforms. But as the election fades. "How close are you going to let your vendors in?" said Eric Frenchman. digital director for Mitt Romney's campaign. The speed of political campaigning demands constant attention as messaging and targeting are adjusted on the fly. Google. Ad Age: Election Embeds: Facebook. copy. with their vast ad budgets. sent several employees to Procter & Gamble's Tide division as part of a talent exchange in 2008. sometimes taking desks within the building. this is a first for politics. sign up conversions by 161% and we were able to apply our findings to other areas and products. Google and Facebook frequently change aspects of their ad platforms. But while the practice may be business-as-usual for consumer-packaged goods. Romney." said a Facebook spokesman. We increased donation conversions by 49%. However the affect our optimization efforts had on conversion rates was not the only benefit. usability and page speed affect user behavior.with a/b tests. In addition. Multiple people who worked closely with the Barack Obama campaign did not respond to requests for interviews. "Google staffers were hand-selected by Google to sit in our office and help us. John McCain's digital consulting firm Connell Donatelli. where your own data is your own data. imagery. in the case of Super PACs.to ensure knowledge about media buys and spending plans didn't leak to opponents or. Both campaigns used outside firms to handle their online ad buys. says the embeds are perfectly legal and chalks them up to old-fashioned hustling by new ad-sellers looking to grab campaign dollars. but possible campaign workers. political campaigns need new methods of making sure their messages reach those people." Big spenders Exactly how much money the Romney and Obama camps spent with Google and Facebook is not known. "I don't think that traditional media outlets are as proactive as some of these internet sites that sell advertising. a firm co-founded by Mr. I find that troubling. By using these outside firms. Google and Facebook had separate salespeople dedicated either to Republicans. Targeted Victory. It raises another question: Where does selling products and services end and strategic consulting begin? "It creates a very awkward situation.com/data/how-obamas-data-scientists-built-a-volunteer-army-on-facebook/ By Derrick Harris December 8. It's not clear that the 2012 presidential campaigns spent as much as the typical large commercial brand on Google or Facebook. GigaOm: How Obama’s data scientists built a volunteer army on Facebook http://gigaom. In 2012. a partner at Wiley Rein. Google and Facebook executives told Ad Age the attention they gave the campaigns was normal for any big client in need of extra support. Bully Pulpit Interactive did the same for the Obama camp. Moreover. a law firm that specializes in election law. Still.you're actually embedding people with a presidential campaign?" The Center for Responsive Politics declined to comment. campaigns avoid having to report the amount of money they paid to specific media outlets for ads or related services. Obama for America’s Rayid Ghani took to Facebook to find not just possible voters." he said." said an exec at an online ad network specializing in political ad buys. considering that top execs of both companies publicly support President Obama. did digital ad buys and other digital work for the Romney camp. Moffatt. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg held a fundraiser for his re-election campaign at her home. despite the fact that Google and Facebook staffers were sometimes embedded in campaign offices rather than with the consulting firms.aka Super PACs -. to like-minded groups that were legally prohibited from coordinating with the official candidate campaigns. "Google has all this control over the pipeline of inventory and now they're getting potentially into the strategy and the spending decisions. having Facebook and Google execs helping direct buys could potentially be concerning to the GOP. campaign observers and opponents. Jan Witold Baran. . Google worked with its lawyers to ensure work being done by embedded employees was done at the direction of Google. on the issue of partisanship. 2012 As voters increasingly spend their leisure time with things other than newspapers and television. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt was a special guest at a fundraiser for him. Democrats or Independent expenditure and advocacy groups -. making it easier to report their disbursements to the Federal Election Commission and providing less information for the prying eyes of media. They were required merely to report what they paid to the digital-media consultancies.Added another consultant who's worked with Democratic and progressive groups: "I think it would raise eyebrows -. So.No matter how good your social media team is.” Ghani said. the campaign was able to match up supporters’ friends against voting lists and determine how it should approach supporters to reach their friends. the Obama campaign relied primarily on phone calls and neighborhood canvassing in order to reach people. the campaign wanted to ensure they reached 20 people most likely to take action in some way. Because Ghani’s team had done so much work integrating its myriad data sets into a single view. Ghani explained. Speaking about increasingly targeted online advertising. and they might not even be watching a lot of over-the-air or cable television. it suggested they give them a call or talk in-person. too. That it was coming from friends rather than the campaign was critical to the strategy’s success. the Obama for America data science team turned social media into a tool for efficiently recruiting the human resources it needed leading into the election’s home stretch. he said. Essentially. “The more local the contact is. he reiterated. older people will probably be more engaged online and perhaps with mobile apps. but they are always connected to some form of social media. Ghani said many older voters are still best reached via non-digital means. Ghani sees a very different picture again in terms of how campaigns will reach their voters.” Ghani said.’” However. the prevailing strategy is “‘I used to use email. However. Younger people will be even more difficult to reach via traditional telephones. On the other hand. who they might be able to persuade. the president’s campaign used an abundance of online and offline data in order to hyper-personalize messages and get the most bang for its buck in terms of outreach. Not that the president’s campaign abandoned those traditional methods. Ghani explained. to donate money.” Changing times call for changing communications The effort to build an intelligent system like this was necessary because younger voters’ means of communication had shifted so greatly even since 2008. The key was a model for determining who among its followers were the best messengers. rather than blast all of President Obama’s 30 million Facebook fans or 20 million Twitter followers with the same plea for cash or neighborhood organizers. It really was all about what was most effective for each individual. During a recent interview. “the more likely *people+ are to take action. though. he noted. because there’s only so much money to spend on any given medium. as well. the campaign was able to make informed decisions about whom it asked for what. “Reaching *people+ through the channels they’re most engaged in is going to have to become mainstream *in political campaigns+. to get active knocking on doors or perhaps even to switch sides. Four years from now. Obama for America Chief Scientist Rayid Ghani compared his team’s social media approach in 2012 to the shift in web content from reposted print material to material designed for the web. “You don’t want to waste impressions on people . many young people aren’t reachable on landlines at all. it was better able to decide who could be most easily persuaded to vote for the first time. Now. If someone was going to spread a message to 20 people. it’s more important to inform those interactions with voter intelligence than just to make them. Ghani explained. and now I’m just going to put the same information on a Facebook page. the chances are it’s never done anything like this. and even when his team was using volunteers to reach those demographics. Then. Rather than just using Facebook as a channel for posting messages and tracking its followers’ feelings. and how it asked them. For many organizations. however. and what actions they might be willing to take. but also CTO Harper Reed’s unit and the team led by Chris Wegrzyn responsible for building the analytics and data infrastructure — when you consider the short time frame in which they had to do it. That’s because although the work Ghani’s team wasn’t enough to win an election on its own. a month after the election. there’s no point in showing you ads for yogurt and dairy products. he said. Politico declared in June.com/news/intelligencer/obama-nerds-2012-12/ By Jason Zengerle December 7. any competitive edge is worth having (while failures can have harsh consequences). very short window It’s pretty amazing to think about how much the Obama for America Tech team accomplished — not just Ghani’s data science team. But. and “we only scratched the surface of it. for example. built a tool for looking at the coverage of speeches in local newspapers so it could break down by geographic region how people reacted and which parts were quoted most.” Ghani said) and to get some foundational data-management systems in place. Not that what it did will still be totally relevant four — or even two — years from now. For example. it had just a year and a half to recruit a team of data scientists (“finding people who were qualified was extremely hard. Ghani said. And in tight elections.who are not in your target audience. “You need to make sure you have people whose job it is to be thinking about this stuff all the time. This is especially true considering how little budget campaigns typically have between elections to focus on technology. was “a grinding. Ghani’s team wasn’t writing speeches or managing communications. 2012 The race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. an analyst on the team. corporate data architecture is an ongoing concern — they don’t build systems for one-off jobs then abandon them. joyless slog. only got up and running in August following an extensive effort to integrate the campaign’s myriad online and offline data sources. as will technology. he explained.” Ghani said. Very hard work. Reaching the right voters at the right time with the right message will become even more important in future elections. still. Speechwriters were therefore able to see how the messages they wanted to convey were actually the ones that were covered. … If you’re lactose-intolerant. but it was helping the people who did those things do them better.” However. Obama’s campaign team has managed to cast a 2008-like hue on their 2012 victory. Matthew Rattigan.” NY Mag: Noble Nerds http://nymag. “We were basically a political campaign with the problems of a large enterprise. he thinks it “would be a shame to let it go” when the next presidential campaign team is built.” And even on the campaign trail. it was very important. but having something in place is better than nothing. . so the 2012 team didn’t have to begin with the cupboards bare when it got to work in mid-2011. he added. Ghani considered himself lucky that he and his team inherited a handful of staff and techniques left over from the 2010 mid-term election.” and neither candidate did much in the ensuing months to elevate the contest. The campaign’s targeted outreach efforts on Facebook. Given all that work. Absent an abundance of money and the right people during election season. “Our biggest challenge this time around was getting all the *online and offline+ data together in one place. Yet now. data was making a difference. falling short in every respect of the larger-than-life personalities and debates of the 2008 campaign. Data sources will change. they predicted that their candidate was so amazing that he could single-handedly transform Washington by sheer force of will. Just like reporters.” The Revenge of the Obama Nerds narrative does have the benefit of being true. for many Obama voters.S. WSJ: Obama’s Campaign Used Salesforce. The new story line began to emerge the day after the election. his campaign in 2012 was still able to raise more money and turn out more volunteers than in 2008.wsj. But now they are making similar predictions—not because of their man but because of their machine. “We should be doing shout-outs all day long for Teddy and all the people who were really looking at this.—“That’s more than the number of people who vote.” And when you consider that Obama’s Facebook fans were themselves friends with 98 percent of Facebook users in the U. being replaced by the work of quants and computer coders who can crack massive data sets for insight. “The analytics operation … was awesome through this campaign. Obama for America needed to make sure its core supporters stayed engaged with the campaign.” Jim Margolis.” Bird told me in Cambridge before going on to explain not only his grand designs of electing another Democrat president in 2016. Even more important.com To Gauge Feelings of Core Voters http://blogs. Obama’s ad maker. After their historic victory in 2008. With turnout for the presidential election expected to be far lower than the historic highs of 2008. the nerd narrative gives the Obamanauts hope for the future. “What they were experiencing was this uplifting stuff about supporting the middle class. it was Obamanauts like digital director Teddy Goff and field director Jeremy Bird—not David Axelrod and Jim Messina—who were treated like rock stars. and that kind of thing. .com/cio/2012/12/07/obamas-campaign-used-salesforce-com-to-gauge-feelings-of-corevoters/ By Joel Schectman December 7. they’re gushing about the ingenuity of their apps and algorithms. among other publications.” Goff explained at Harvard. Obama’s supporters weren’t nearly as enthusiastic as they’d been four years ago. the reelection campaign of President Barack Obama utilized cloud based software commonly used by businesses to manage their sales contacts. but also for turning Texas blue. That obviously didn’t come to pass. the president’s 33 million Facebook fans “were experiencing a whole different campaign that was largely positive. about fighting for education. told the gathering.” Goff said—then the Obamanauts can plausibly argue that. maybe 2012 wasn’t that different from 2008 after all. By the time politicos and reporters gathered in Cambridge late last month for Harvard’s quadrennial Campaign Decision Makers Conference. the tech side was the only part of the Obama operation that could credibly be framed as a throwback to the old Hope and Change: Despite the slash-and-burn quality of the Obama reelection campaign as seen by America’s television viewers.” Similar stories soon followed in the New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek. I don’t see anyone on the Republican side who understands what we did.The secret of their successful spin: Instead of talking about how their guy won a second term by methodically defining—and demonizing—his buffoon of an opponent. 2012 To organize millions of emails and messages through its website. In fact. “Luckily for us. but thanks in large part to the geeks who were obsessively testing which e-mail subject lines netted the most donations (“Hey” was surprisingly lucrative) and studying Americans’ viewing habits to figure out how to best target campaign ads (TV Land turned out to be a voter gold mine). when Time’s Michael Scherer wrote in a postmortem that the president’s team showed that “the role of the campaign pros in Washington who make decisions on hunches and experience is rapidly dwindling. The campaign spent around $155.com/2012/12/07/is-the-gop-digital-team-still-in-denial/ . Kundra joined Salesforce seven months after leaving government service.com/media/%E2%80%9C-hope-forward-catherine-bracy December 6. it spent more than $8.org/candidates/obamaorg. city or town. according to campaign finance disclosures. The tool scoured messages for keywords such as “healthcare” or “education.html#digital Last updated December 5. said: “Key to the campaign’s success was a technology platform that allowed us to engage with constituents and make data-driven decisions in real time. The tool allowed the campaign to keep its finger on the pulse of some of the valuable core decided-voter group that reached out to the campaign. In all.” Katie Hogan. the system automatically created tags from words in the inquiries—like “polling” or “contribution. “*The platform allowed] the campaign to aggregate sentiment in real time and [gave it] the ability to and mobilize people in the field.com/media/%E2%80%9C-hope-forward%E2%80%9D-betsy-hoover December 6.com/media/%E2%80%9C-hope-forward%E2%80%9D-teddy-goff December 6.000 on Salesforce. according to Kundra. 2012 PDF: “From Hope To Forward” | Betsy Hoover VIDEO: http://personaldemocracy. Kundra previously served as the first CIO of the federal government. a spokeswoman for the disbanded campaign.com. 2012 PDF: “From Hope To Forward” | Teddy Goff VIDEO: http://personaldemocracy.commentarymagazine. chief information and innovation officer for the disbanded campaign.7 million messages– as many as 80.com/media/%E2%80%9C-hope-forward%E2%80%9D-ethan-roeder December 6. 2012 Commentary: Is The GOP Digital Team (Still) In Denial? http://www. from Salesforce. declined to comment beyond the release. allowing the campaign to adapt its ground game in real time.” Kundra said. To sort through the messages and get questions routed to the right staffer in the campaign’s sprawling organization. the number totals $82.000 per day— received by email.” and displayed issues on a dashboard campaign staffers could look at to figure out what concerns or questions were surging in citizen correspondences with the campaign. Those insights could help staff in the field that had mobile versions of the dashboard.That technology.com. from 2009 to 2011. 2012 PDF: “From Hope To Forward” | Catherine Bracy VIDEO: http://personaldemocracy.701. Michael Slaby. PDF: “From Hope To Forward” | Ethan Roeder VIDEO: http://personaldemocracy.com’s collaboration and social network monitoring tool. tracked the 5. If online advertising is included. The dashboard also allowed staffers to look at what issues were trending by state. at a time when Democrats feared turnout would be much lower than in 2008. phone and through the campaign’s website.” said Vivek Kundra.3 million on technology products and services from technology vendors.579. executive vice president for emerging markets at Saleforce.p2012. Salesforce declined to comment on the size of the deal. 2012 Obama Digital Org http://www. In a statement provided to CIO Journal by Salesforce. with a few exceptions. but it should not be filling anyone in the conservative movement with anything resembling confidence either. It appears that many found it to be a positive and uplifting experience. In it he explains why the Romney digital team was unable to catch up to Obama’s record-setting digital team that many have likened to “Big Brother” in its scope. its donors. contending that a group of consultants were “the seeds of Mitt Romney’s ruin and the RNC’s get out the vote (GOTV) effort collapsed — bled to death by charlatan consultants making millions off the party. with data miners and tech gurus culled from Silicon Valley. Late last month RedState’s Erick Erickson had a stinging post on the incestuous and unproductive relationship between consultants and the Romney campaign. it appears that his advice on the usefulness of these consultants has more or less fallen on deaf ears. Domenech contends. who announced boldly in a staff meeting. There were plenty of people working on the digital side. with an operation that seemed remarkably inefficient for a campaign that was supposed to do things with the rigor of Romney’s research-intensive firm.By Bethany Mandel December 7. 2012 In this month’s issue of COMMENTARY. and I agree. especially after the first debate. For digital staffers who recognized they were playing catch-up with the Obama machine that had never stopped building after 2008. and the grassroots. Domenech explains: While digital efforts were the primary focus of the Obama campaign from the beginning.” Unfortunately. Its digital operation was staffed after the rest of the campaign. then Facebook-browsing.” The digital divide between the two sides is not insurmountable. then boredom. or whether the name came to the database through a petition about health care or energy policy. The issues of the Romney campaign were varied and are not only due to the failure of Project Orca. Romney’s campaign didn’t even make distinctions between whether someone had given $5 or $500. Frustration set in. Where the Obama campaign’s content and emails were tailored to the interests of individually targeted demographic communities based on topics of interest and other data-mined priorities. Bain Capital. Romney’s staff was politically diverse and more used to the world of business than politics—some had never worked on a political campaign before. The quiet was deafening. but tasks were poorly assigned and hampered by restrictive approval processes.” That attitude calls to mind the overconfidence that marked most of the Romney campaign. that even taking the strength of Obama’s digital team into account. the contrasts were infuriating. The fact that this meeting left many leaving feeling positive is a worrisome indication that . The campaign was also fiercely hierarchical. the Romney campaign didn’t scratch the surface of what they should have accomplished on the digital front. to the surprise of some longtime Romney staffers who found their ideas for innovation shunted aside by senior staff and consultants who were unapproachable and unresponsive. “We’re f—ing gonna win this thing. In Domenech’s piece he quotes Romney pollster Neil Newhouse. Roll Call reported that “One source said the meeting was so positive that it was almost as if Romney had won. Benjamin Domenech has an excellent article on the Republicans’ broken technological machine. and that discussing the enormous gap between the two sides didn’t overwhelm or discourage those present. Yesterday a “private” meeting (which was immediately reported on by sources present) took place between some members of Romney’s digital team and other major conservative digital strategists. they were a relatively late addition to the Romney effort. Moffatt said it would have been helpful to build their digital team further ahead of the time before Romney won the GOP nomination. online campaigns will only go so far. where it could post relevant messages in respective areas. Mark just finished talking with Andrew Bleeker. Moffatt had to expand staff and resources at an exponential rate.” but if those “likes” don’t translate into votes. a commercial may run for only a few days. about using the rapidly evolving tools of the Internet to persuade voters and get the message out beyond traditional television ads and direct mail. given that the digital team already had an infrastructure in place from the previous election. was realizing that persuasion had to be “front and center” in social media. After tallying up the number of times people played . When they “ramped.) Online has a longer life cycle than TV messaging: With television ads. digital director for Romney for President. insider perspectives on how to put the campaign trail into the digital realm and what may change in the future.blogs. not just in advertising but in convincing the electorate who to vote for. By building applications that allow for fundraising and more interaction between the campaigns and voters. 5. But it wasn’t just Moffatt who realized the benefit of investing early. provided their unique. but those same ads can live online indefinitely.” as he called it.) It’s all about investing early: Both practitioners acknowledged that Obama’s campaign had a huge advantage. social media has become more “meaningful. Bleeker and Moffatt. The “biggest change” this cycle. not just organize: In 2008. and Zac Moffatt. two pioneers in the field.” Bleeker said. we’re wrapping up an afternoon panel with some of the most respected leaders in the political social media space. he said if they had to do it all over again. not quantity: Part of what makes the interaction more meaningful is the ability to microtarget. senior strategist for Obama for America.cnn. They’re gathered here in Washington at “Exploring the 2012 Digital Election. 2012 CNN: Gut Check – Moffatt and Bleeker Interview http://politicalticker.the consultants and strategists who underestimated their ability to compete with the Obama campaign are still living in an alternate reality. Bleeker said social media was a convenient platform to mobilize supporters.) Social media has become more efficient: Moffatt and Bleeker agreed that social media platforms have made it possible for campaigns to be more persuasive. 2012 As you’re reading Gut Check. “We were doing 40 to 50 posts a day that most people didn’t see” because they were showing up in targeted areas. a candidate may be able to show popularity on a Facebook or Twitter page through the number of “likes. 3.) You have to persuade. With online outreach becoming an increasingly sizable part of campaign budgets. and went from a primary to general election campaign. Moffatt said the Romney campaign was able to use geolocation on Facebook. digital directors now play a key role in campaign strategy.) It’s about quality. he said.com/2012/12/05/cnns-gut-check-for-december-5-2012/ By Ashley Killough December 5. Triangulation: Harper Reed Interview http://twit. Here are our five takeaways: 1. Even though Bleeker was on the winning team.” an event sponsored by Google and CNN.tv/show/triangulation/81 December 5. he said. 2. “we’d spend twice as much” early on. In other words. 4. the two rival digital strategists said. ” Bleeker said. On Thursday. viewers are twice as likely to remember a message if they see it both online and on television. Google’s head of elections.Romney ads online. “It couldn’t have been more central to our campaign. Bleeker cited the problem of getting social-media followers to take part in offline activity.” Bleeker said. Team Obama was paying attention. such as canvassing in a battleground state or helping out in a field office. to encourage and track early voting. the party is in a stronger place.” . was that the Romney team was under pressure to try to compete with Obama’s huge social-media advantage. the real point of Moffatt’s musings was to keep the Obama campaign’s digital team guessing.com/blogs/techdailydose/2012/12/obama-romney-digital-advisers-talk-shop-05 By Adam Mazmanian December 5. Romney Digital Advisers Talk Shop http://www. Moffatt said that presidential aspirants would be well advised to start early.” he said. but Romney Digital Director Zac Moffatt had the edge in one key metric--talking on the record to reporters. news of how the Obama team tested its fundraising e-mails and honed its social media pitch is emerging. or share it with their networks. Romney’s Facebook following was highly engaged. By contrast. and Moffatt was able to spin those engagement numbers in the press.nationaljournal. cast a wide net for talent. And according to Charles Scrase. but they faced new challenges. said Andrew Bleeker. As early voting started. like the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. Moffatt and other leading Republican campaign operatives will make this pitch to party digital specialists behind closed doors at an RNC event. National Journal: Obama. The reason. said Moffatt. The Republican nominee spent heavily on Facebook ads nationwide to boost his follower numbers. Additionally. “Whatever we do in 2013 and beyond. Obama’s digital team maintained a “Don’t talk about Fight Club culture.” he said. Romney’s Facebook ad strategy was among the biggest question marks for the Obama team. a senior digital strategist for the Obama campaign. “The low-hanging fruit was still there. Moffatt explained his press strategy in a campaign postmortem hosted by Google and moderated by CNN’s Mark Preston on Wednesday. That legacy includes e-mail addresses and other data on 1 million new donors. Obama outspent the GOP ticket only in a few key swing states. “That doesn’t get us where we need to go. people collectively spent 417 years watching their commercials online.” in terms of list-building and follower acquisition. “I’d do it as an incumbent. and go big with a large dedicated digital team. While it was helpful to the campaign to have news of its digital operations out there for donors and supporters. the Obama team used splashy “takeover” ads on big sites in battleground states. where tougher questions are likely to be posed. “If I could do it again. Some supporters were happy to just like something on Facebook. Obama’s digital team was able to apply intelligence from their 2008 effort to the 2012 election.” he said. Moffatt said. The Romney campaign is bequeathing its digital legacy to the Republican National Committee. for instance. In the aftermath of the election. The Obama campaign was “able to drive phenomenal early vote lookups through digital targeted advertising.” Bleeker said. he said. 2012 Barack Obama’s digital team got the better of the Republican online operation in most respects. including an increased reliance on social media as a channel. senior online strategist to the Obama campaign. said Wednesday. Cohn December 5. and described his dream scenario as one where he could put together a dream team of people at least two years in advance." Bleeker acknowledged." In contrast. digital director for Mitt Romney. Bleeker described the attitude toward the digital strategy within the Obama campaign as "a 'don't talk about Fight Club' culture. Moffatt said he thinks his team struggled the most with the rapid need to "scale out" and staff up following the extended GOP primary. Moffatt said the digital team did not have anything to do with building the application. and admitted that made the Romney team very "vendor-centric. 2012 President Obama's re-election campaign ran "the greatest digital operation in the history of politics." One possible consequence of that structure has been identified as the failure of Project ORCA." He referred in part to the "legacy item" of more than a million donor names the campaign handed over to the Republican National Committee this week that are brand new to the RNC. "We never really set out to run a digital campaign but we set out to run an efficient campaign. "I don't begrudge them. explaining that "individual decisions" were made regarding which methods best suited different strategies rather than setting aside a percentage of the budget for digital. Moffatt said he thinks "the party's in a much stronger place going forward. "We needed to show after 2008 that we as a party were investing in [digital and online data]." Zac Moffatt.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/271307-romneys-digital-director-talks-lessons-learned By Alicia M." Obama's digital team has only begun to share details of their strategy and the infrastructure that accomplished it post-election. Although many GOP operatives compare the Romney campaign's digital strategy unfavorably to the Obama campaign's. . DC. Bleeker stepped in to defend Romney's team on ORCA. Andrew Bleeker. participated in the same panel." he said. "Build bigger" is his advice when it comes to digital teams for future presidential campaigns. digital strategists for both presidential campaigns seemed more than willing to put any animosity behind them at a panel co-hosted by CNN and Google in Washington." he said. Moffatt said some of his energy during the campaign was devoted to pushing back against the narrative that Republicans don't use the Internet well. saying he thinks the role the app played in possibly tamping down voter turnout is "vastly" over-hyped. a web-based app meant to coordinate volunteers that crashed in deployment on Election Day." due to the time constraints. I'd do it as an incumbent. "If I could do it again. With the election over.The Hill: Romney's Digital Director Talks Lessons Learned http://thehill. "We ran out of runway. Moffatt said building in-house "wasn't an option for us. In contrast." he laughed. "I think we built a whole new campaign infrastructure that didn't exist before." he said. what do we build? And we had to build an audience. and I want you to ask the question you’ve always wanted to ask Zac about Romney’s operation but you don’t know. and Moffatt to his. So we were really actually wondering on the campaign. Bleeker recommended that any potential candidates start early building tools like QuickDonate."While we did find it kind of funny. That was kind of something internal but then we really started to think about it and there was this narrative that we kept coming back to: having the largest lists didn’t make you the best digital team and that’s something we kind of looked at again and again. Bleeker said the biggest lesson his team learned during the campaign was to "test everything. most of the states there was more discussion about Romney than about Obama. those were blue. the low hanging fruit was still there. 2012 MP: Andrew always seems to win. He joked that a "good way to figure out who's running" in 2016 is to pay attention to who is building up digital infrastructure now. we were saying the same amount of people were . with Twitter followers Justin Beiber would be the next President of the United States. What were you doing with the Facebook advertising? What were your goals from a Facebook perspective? Just for reference for some of the group. We also felt when we were looking at the metrics." He also complimented Moffatt on building an audience "very quickly" online. they were going to generate a lot of phone calls and we kind of knew that so we were looking for people to do that. they couldn’t lose." "And be flexible. except the battleground states. So Andrew what I want to do now is hand you the moderator mike. I think when we were looking at the metrics as well it was kind of funny the things people focused on again and again. But in this case." he noted. go with what works best not what looks best" or seems best. What that allows you to do. when you call from home.be/wkonZojIfiQ December 5. Again I think with re-elect you would probably take a different strategy. 30 million people on Facebook. and often the email content that got the best response was the content the team would least expect. Bully Pulpit Interactive. There was somehow this myth that somehow because Obama had 25 million people on Facebook. Same on Twitter. We kind of had this glib thing. here’s your chance. Targeted Victory. acknowledging the time advantage for Team Obama. one of the slides that was shown when we walked in here was this map that CNN produced. we really got to the point where we felt we had to start national advertising because there were still people to be brought in. email lists. AB: Vanity metrics. "We won anyway. So some of the things you started to see in target states was very fundraising or list-building specifics. are they investing in nonbattleground states? Why? Is the conversation going to carry over? And should we? ZM: Well I think one of the things that we looked at. and we were looking at that. We also had to come up with. he said. and social media followers. if there were some states where we didn’t have a large presence. We looked at it and said that we have 6 months. it wasn't that amusing because the same thing happened to us in '08. where you will see. which we were discussing right before. we looked at the Facebook environment. Post-election. you would ideally have someone in that state calling someone else in that state. our Facebook strategy with limited resources and we suddenly it became that we had a lot of resources. referring to Project Houdini. Talking about this became such an easy number for us. We were feeling a lot of pressure because Obama’s lists were so large and that was just the reality. because an audience is something we wanted to build out. The campaign has already revealed that email fundraising pitches generated some of their biggest revenue this cycle. Bleeker returns to his digital marketing firm. CNN: Early Vote Central To Digital Campaign http://youtu. I think. We were surprised. look they have 25 million.3 million people on our Facebook page. And that was one of the things we looked at and it really came through to us with the Supreme Court ruling. I understand what their brand is. Every time I get a heat tweet from an Obama person it mentions a vanity measure. from a digital perspective.engaging online despite the fact that there were 3. because it was a national buy. Michelle Obama was a huge brand too. back to this. and we knew that. we built two audiences. When you say to someone. ok I’m just going to let this go because I want to keep the rest of my budget. Not only because we had to have this narrative because again me as an outsider in 2008 working on a team?. Another thing we were looking at was. and then they would go out there and pump there chest and said you can see it. so I know I pushed some buttons somewhere that really got to people. shares that day of the audience that day participated on our page. Nah I’m kidding. state takeovers. maybe 5%. if you guys were watching the Dem convention. than Obama. so we would say different things to them. was that on purpose the way you were looking at it. they’re not doing these efforts and so we had to go to that again and again. And you know what. which I thought was interesting. as much earned media as it was. why aren’t they doing anything there? We would have more people talking about Paul Ryan in a day then they would have in a month sometimes. they had about 27 million. you can get right into his personal life. even in the battleground states. And we thought that was also something because we thought Paul Ryan. ZM: I think my question for Andrew is. when it wasn’t big and it got big at the end. we were really surprised by. the internet is everywhere. this is what we think. let’s open it up. some of the challenges we saw was that it had more of an eye to media than sometimes to efficiency and I think that’s something we’ve talked about. even when you did the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. . you’re buying instead of like. We were like. times larger. It’s taking digital and being able to tell us. We went through there’s and counted everything we could see and they were at about 3%. We went through and counted everything. it was so frustrating understanding that Amazon doesn’t care if you’re Democrat or Republican when you buy a book. and I don’t. It’s almost like they decided one guy is running and the other guy is there. There’s a certain amount of your budget. and that’s important because you have to be able to explain what you’re doing to people in terms that are kind of universal. We built Mitt Romney but we did another 5 million for Paul Ryan. the day of the early voting. We had about 2. And I think in some ways it must have worked. And that’s the way we looked at it. people thought that Republicans weren’t using the Internet. And that’s one of the problems. go ahead. Trust me. If you mapped Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan together it was on many days larger. it was like the cousin in the corner. we saw you coming to every state. But we thought sometimes when you did like. I’m not going to let you ask a question. And we said look. And the reason I asked the question is because we had the conversation. comments. it was like Joe Biden didn’t exist. driving more reporters to talk about it. 40% likes. do we need to care? ZM: And the interesting thing. and at the very end there were 3. That’s why. we get all of the points to that you were putting together. MP: What’s nice about this… Do you want to respond? AB: We took note that. Earlier in the process they were 20 times larger. if it doesn’t matter in that state. geo-locational. And that was one of the things about the map. Let’s get him while you can. Because everything we hear from Team Obama is all that geo-locational. Google doesn’t care. brought a different point of view and a different set of volunteers. so we had to fight back and start to put these markers down to say no. this is a message that the media will understand. that you just call the like. it doesn’t matter. when we looked at their advertising buy. you guys built an audience very quickly and it was very engaged. And I don’t say that. or were you actually seeing the results that justified these larger bids? Like every primary. but it’s funny because I saw you guys like. but their guys are just not that engaged. MP: Zac given the fact that you lost the election and the coin toss. a lot of what we thought. good question... ok. via a Washington. AB: Haha yes. vote by mail applications through digital targeted advertising.won her a seat on the Michigan State Supreme Court. Business Insider: Michigan Supreme Court Judge Says Facebook Campaign Won Her Election http://www. stuff like that. The early vote stuff couldn’t have been more essential to our campaign. conservative advocacy group called "Judicial Crisis Network. No question we bought the Des Moines Register on Iowa primary day and the Manchester Union Leader. and I think we got more play on that." The ads only ran in heavy rotation a few days before the vote.” just because we knew it would annoy them. 6 after a brief testing window to find which performed best for different age and gender groups. Ad Age: Michigan Supreme Court Campaign Credits Facebook Ads With Margin of Victory http://adage. When all of a sudden we can look at the folks that voted early. But I do think that stuff was just kind of throw away. there’s a lag between when the voter profile says somebody voted and when they actually voted. you guys saw that. how we covered the Iowa thing. so the takeovers did do that. the campaign ultimately had a half-dozen Facebook ads in circulation in the five days leading up to Nov. It was like a $1500 buy that made me so happy to be like. But her campaign media buyer says Facebook made the difference. 2012 Democrat Bridget Mary McCormack believes Facebook -.C. But we definitely haven’t gotten better and. There were other factors: McCormack was endorsed by local newspapers and her sister.com/michigan-supreme-court-judge-bridget-mccormacks-facebook-electioncampaign-2012-12#ixzz2EHfAuVKT By Jim Edwards December 5.53 million votes. man they’re going to be so pissed today when they see this. beating Republican incumbent Stephen Markman for the first place finish even though Markman spent $1 million in attack ads on TV. .businessinsider. 2012 What tipped the scales in favor of a candidate for the Michigan Supreme Court in a closely run election? Her campaign team surmises that a heavy helping of Facebook ads during the home stretch of the race played an outsize role. The challenge with early voting is that there’s a lag in reporting between when somebody you know. We knew we were winning the campaign preElection Day. they started to line up with our turnout models and we felt pretty good.we bought the inside banners and pointed to them and said “Obama isn’t working. it was cheap.. and honestly probably donations from it because more people went to the site to click on it than I’ve ever seen from any kind of media buy. for example) with the aim of boosting recognition of her name by Election Day.specifically about $51. according to Ad Age: . They were expensive but not that big a piece of stuff where we could actually find out. that was definitely good for me. She got 1. same thing with absentee ballots.000 of Facebook ads -. All had positive messages (noting that Ms. so it takes a while to sort of to see what your real ROI is. McCormack had been endorsed by 10 Michigan newspapers.com/article/campaign-trail/michigan-supreme-court-campaign-credits-facebook-ads/238604/ By Cotton Delo December 4. D. "West Wing" actress Mary McCormack recorded an ad endorsing her. So we spent a large proportion of our actual budget on what I called field support or mobilization and much of it was driving to some metric. we had to come up with some metric. but we were actually able to drive a phenomenal number of early vote lookups. ) "Repetition over a short period of time really did make a difference.) Ms. McCormack had the unintended effect of causing voters to remember her in a technically nonpartisan race where name recognition was crucial. Koster notes that efforts on behalf of the Democratic slate helped bring Ms. 6 after a brief testing window to find which performed best for different age and gender groups. McCormack's campaign. D. and also making individuals inclined to support her due to the outlandishness of the claim. Hoadley. it wasn't feasible to execute a diversified strategy that included display and search ads. McCormack's offer to represent Guantanamo detainees." he said. McCormack also benefited from TV ads run by the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee to support its slate. Hoadley in an email.Democrat Bridget Mary McCormack was ultimately the top vote-getter in a field of seven candidates running for two full-term seats on the bench. managing partner of the digital agency Chong & Koster. McCormack's campaign manager.) Another possibility is that the heavy dose of TV attack ads targeting Ms. during the final week of the campaign.-based group called the Judicial Crisis Network that were aimed at Ms. McCormack's actress sister Mary McCormack rallied fellow former cast members from "The West Wing" to record a four-minute YouTube video on the candidate's behalf. New Media Rockstars: Obama's Social Media Strategist Talks To NMR About Being The Voice Of The President http://newmediarockstars. Ms. Due to time constraints. in the absence of scientific exit-polling data. McCormack to within striking distance. by more than 30. One other differentiator for the campaign was celebrity.000 votes. (Ms. since Ms. according to Josh Koster. However. Hoadley estimates that 51% of the campaign's $100." said Mr. the campaign ultimately had a half-dozen Facebook ads in circulation in the five days leading up to Nov. for example) with the aim of boosting recognition of her name by Election Day.000 ad budget was allocated to Facebook. Instead. (The first and second runners-up had roughly 1. he said. a University of Michigan law professor. Jon Hoadley. While Mr." said Mr. Mr.C. McCormack's team was spending liberally on Facebook. "[They're] the only thing that could have moved her to being ahead of everyone else from being tied with every else. finds her margin of victory all the more surprising because of the onslaught on negative TV ads paid for by a Washington. there are other possibilities. McCormack had been endorsed by 10 Michigan newspapers. (The ad featured the mother of a deceased American soldier and homed in on Ms. since candidates' party affiliations weren't presented on the ballot.53 million votes edged out the other winner. and 80% of that sum was spent in the final five days with the intent of burning the candidate's name into liberal voters' brains. he thinks the Facebook ads must have been the ultimate needle-mover. Doubling down on Facebook for the final stretch was more of an accident than a strategy. (It was linked to in one of the Facebook ads and racked up more than a million views. Her roughly 1. which handled the buy for Ms. made up of her and two other candidates.) While the Judicial Crisis Network was filling the airwaves in Detroit and Grand Rapids with $1 million worth of attack ads.com/2012/12/obamas-social-media-strategist-talks-to-nmr-about-being-the- . "The ad could definitely have [had] a potential outcome of increasing her name identification. All had positive messages (noting that Ms.4 million votes apiece. McCormack. Republican incumbent Stephen Markman. Olin says: “Social media had a huge influence in helping us get out the vote. [And] three. President Obama and Governor Romney went head to head both at the podium and online. Election night was one of the happiest of my life. with the breakdowns as follows: On Facebook. this year. hire people who are not just good at their jobs. Tumblrs. this is so simple. 60% of voters between the ages of 18-29 voted for Obama.” the iconic photograph of a content-looking President Obama hugging his wife Michelle has since become the symbol for the president’s re-election win.” . Just as television changed the way the public viewed politics in the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon election. Titled “Four More Years. We did that a lot. Obama’s page aquired 31 million likes versus Romney’s page with 11 million likes. each of President Obama’s posts acquired an average of 70. after receiving confirmation of President Obama’s victory. Having only met the president a few brief times beforehand.000 notes while a single Romney post averaged around 400 notes.7 million. No matter what platforms emerge in the next four years. I felt proud of everything our team had done but mostly relieved that the president would get a second term and that we’d continue making progress on issues we can’t afford to go back on now. when he came to Chicago HQ. Tone is everything on social media. Obama stands at 24 million followers while Romney has a following of 1. on Twitter. on Tumblr. Olin came into the re-election campaign with the challenge of bringing the personalities and passions of the president.voice-of-the-president-interview/ By Carly Lanning December 4. Olin says: “I only met *President Obama+ briefly a couple of times *and+ the day after the campaign. Two.” So what can we take away from the success of President Obama’s campaign? Olin advises: “ One. first lady and vice president into the social media world. he went around the office and hugged every single person there — and there were hundreds of us. raise money and persuade people to support the president. Olin enlisted a team of four to help run President Obama’s. because we knew that people getting campaign messages from their friends was so much more powerful than them getting campaign messages directly from us. I think political campaigns will have to find ways to become a part of the way people are having conversations online in a way people will respond to. but people are much more likely to share things if you ask them to share them. Olin began her position as Outbound Director for the Obama for America campaign in March 2011 and has since become the driving force behind the president’s social media presence. Obama’s social media campaign trounced Romney’s. In the end. During this election. 2012 On the night of the election. Spotifys and Instagrams. Twitters. images will beat just text or video embeds almost every time. First Lady Michelle Obama’s and Vice President Biden’s Facebooks. Laura Olin and her social media team uploaded a photo that would become one of the most memorable photos in American history. but who also share the sensibility you’re trying to convey with your organization. A lot of those voters got political news and information from Facebook and Twitter.” In a political campaign where as much of the action happened in the debates as between Twitter accounts. an annual post-election conference of Democratic/progressive campaigners put on by the New Organizing Institute. On Friday. the Romney message. They did share two maps. Most mega-meetings in downtown D. Why didn’t anybody else get that at the time? The titles of the next slide answered my question.000 strong. On the first floor. Purple-mountained majesty spread from coast to coast. 2.html By David Weigel December 3. Democrats won anyway. tributes to a forever-vanquished enemy. and how. looked like the casting pool for a party scene on Girls. then loathing.” On Saturday. RootsCamp might be the first political conference I’ve been to where some people wore purely ironic buttons—Romney-Ryan swag.” “#whitepeopleproblems. they packed the room for a panel titled “This Shit Actually Works.single. The killer verb came from a Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial: “Welfare Reform GUTTED. Among them: “Inglorious Voters.) Republican super PACs raised more than their Democratic counterparts. The RootsCamp’s crowd. a monolith decorated with 8-by-11 titles and descriptions.Now winding down after the election.C. Olin is continuing to run the President’s social media campaign and says she is currently focusing on rallying grassroots movements against raising middle class taxes and providing support in the fight over the fiscal cliff. because they’d figured out whom to spend money on.” adapted and splayed across the screen in a font size usually reserved for stuff like “Nixon Resigns” or “Japan Surrenders. bring an alien-looking group of Americans dressed in comfy convention clothes or black suits. The first one showed the media markets where the “gutting” ad ran—Virginia and some spillover in Maryland and North Carolina.” and “Unfuck Fostercare. There was no glossy schedule. 2012 Near the end of August. The GOP claimed to double or triple its “voter contacts” in key states.” On the third floor. So. My teachers were media trackers from the Democratic National Committee. young quants who repeatedly. with states far outside the Romney ad zone learning of. MoveOn wanted to test what sort of generic-looking mail was most effective for getting a possible voter off the couch—a “best . The Republican had more money and won plenty of news cycles. We can get outspent and still win. any victorious activist still looking for a job could meet potential employers. when it was stubbornly behind President Obama in the polls. Mitt Romney’s campaign released a TV ad about the “gutting” of welfare’s work requirements. Media doesn’t understand how media works. colored in faded purple to measure the impact. I sat in one of the Washington Convention Center’s dark and anonymous meeting rooms and learned just how badly that ad had failed. he could meet with his peers from Obama for America or MoveOn and discover what cheap tricks had bested the rich guys.slate. Democrats outsmarted the Romney campaign. (He outspent Obama in every swing state except Ohio. Activists learned of panels and breakout talks by checking a smartphone app or visiting The Wall. The lesson was part of RootsCamp. Slate: "The Socially Awkward Do It Better" http://www.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/12/rootscamp_meet_the_hip_geeks_who_ beat_mitt_romney_and_helped_barack_obama.” where MoveOn revealed the results of a voter turnout experiment demo-ed in Delaware’s sleepy September primary. The second showed the states where media coverage informed voters that the ad was false. politely pleaded with reporters to keep quotes and hard numbers off the record. ” said Bird. Some panelists redacted their remarks when he was in the room. told his Saturday audience of a plan that synched up perfectly with MoveOn and labor. building the 2004 Bush campaign’s hub before going private. the national field director for OFA. He was one of the GOP’s original digital gurus. He derided the idea of “massive call centers” in central locations. “Turnout for ‘best practices’ was 21. He recorded the sessions with tweets. The landline wasn’t coming back. He spent the RootsCamp weekend flitting from panel to panel. all year. It was to activate the soft voters who Democrats knew were out there.” Then he revealed MoveOn’s “voter report card.5 percent. . in a crowd of a hundred people. and who’s turning out for the early vote? All the other stuff is inputs. The tone of these tweets alternated between the respectful and the envious. One woman raised her hand. My colleague Sasha Issenberg has reported. about the stat-geek techniques used by Democrats to tune up the standard tricks of get-out-the-vote campaigns and voter persuasion. it revealed how often the target had voted and how often his neighbors had voted. Bird asked the crowd. Universal takeaway: OFA state field staff are sharp. and are our voters turning out?” The organizing was valued over the ads. Plenty of the RootsCampers I talked to had stories from losing campaigns. turnout was 22. Those were the two things that told us: Are we changing the electorate. One Iowa organizer revealed that phone calls had become nearly useless for reaching college students. “As we got to the end. reflecting on even weightier problems. In the OFA session. Among people who got the ‘social pressure’ mail. proudly expanding their phone call outreach to voters. “How many folks are registering to vote? Who are those people. “Turnout for the control group was control 19. and that was going to be true “in eight years. Later. Bird called on former volunteers—alternating the genders. the Romney campaign and the Super PACs were blowing wads of cash on ads that washed right over people. Strategists for the Obama and Romney campaigns were there for a quadrennial. said OFA’s Marlon Marshall.3 percent. dating back to the Kerry 2004 debacle. back-slapping debriefing with reporters. finding out how his movement had lost so badly. boy-girl-boy-girl—to get fresh anecdotes on what worked and what would no longer work. pointing out all the tricks that worked. just as they blacked out key data when reporters were taking notes.” Bird pointed out that the contact rate on all phones had fallen from 23 percent in 2008 to 16 percent in 2012. how many of them had landline phones.8 percent. I had a flashback to all the time I’d spent talking to Tea Party groups. Republicans could have ripped this off. when we turn Texas blue. either. The left had evolved faster than the right had evolved. when there was no real science about TV ads. he saw a report from Boston. As the conference ended: Takeaway from #roots12: The socially awkward do it better. They ate “chicken pot pie and mashed sweet potatoes” and said things like “we weren’t even running in the same race.” Mintz revealed. there were really only two things that mattered.” Featuring smiling stock-photo children. Meanwhile.” The point wasn’t really to convince new voters to choose Obama.” Ruffini had to rub it in: They weren’t even at RootsCamp. a list of neighbors and their scores that “looked like crap. Daniel Mintz showed the crowd an old attempt at social pressure.practices” appeal to their civic duty or “social pressure” that compared a voter with his neighbors. all 20-somethings and 30somethings. The Legend of Ruffini spread on Twitter. Jeremy Bird. Standing near me. was Republican consultant Patrick Ruffini. In theory. They found that all versions of those requests did better than simply plucking a random number like $25 and asking donors for that set amount. Zasoski and D'Agostino shared some of the kinds of tests that they did and models that they created -.although they cautioned that there was still a lot that they weren't free to disclose. the Obama campaign did a lot of best practice testing on how much money it should ask donors for. and Michelangelo D'Agostino. Obama for America's deputy director for data production." said Zasoski. It looked to its historical data on those donors. where "you're trying to isolate one very quantifiable notion of optimization before going forward. For example. to build its models. the people sending out the e-mails. Instead of blindly sending out mass e-mails to anyone who signed up. Use automation to score your models as much as possible.com/news/23214/how-analytics-made-obamas-campaign-communications-moreefficient By Sarah Lai Stirland December 3. During a session last week. These models can be used to winnow out e-mails for people who are unlikely to respond to a specific kind of request (like volunteering. and their patterns of giving to deduce how to approach the donor.6 million.. and you're not e-mailing around evolving and confusing spreadsheets of e-mails. For example. The Obama campaign's digital analytics department used R. 2012 Last Friday in Washington. and then assuming that the combination when put together will generate a strong response. they worked to build models to analyze those subscribers and their behaviors in order to increase the impact of the digital teams' work. and so forth. the campaign's senior analyst for digital analytics. The campaign examined donors' highest previous donation amounts and then did tests asking them for various percentages of those highest previous donation amounts.) D'Agostino said. Models based on recipients' past responses to past e-mail campaigns can help organizers more efficiently target their specific communications.) and keep them on lists where they are likely to respond (maybe they just prefer to donate online. The campaign found that people "who tend to give a lot of money" are also very likely to be comfortable being asked for a higher percentage of their previous donation. Here are a few of their points: There are different kinds of tests you can conduct on your e-mail campaigns: There's one-off testing.TechPresident: How Analytics Made Obama's Campaign Communications More Efficient http://techpresident. like the one that they did in June that raised $2. both Evan Zasoski. Watch out for "Frankenstein sends:" Beware of combining subject lines and content that performed well individually on their own.C. Give the end-users. as detailed by Bloomberg BusinessWeek. direct access to the output of your models through Web forms. so they don't have to ask you repeatedly for access to the lists of e-mails. the open source statistical programming language. D. they should be . showed their progressive peers how analytics can make online communications far more efficient. Or there are "best practices" tests. 2012 With campaign post-mortems heavily focused on the data wizardry that delivered Democratic victories. prized for generations on both sides of the aisle for the political wisdom kept locked away in their brains. the left has embraced a model of campaign that's fueled by data. empowered supporters.say that campaigns based on numbers. they say. Along with that comes a change in the economics of Democratic politics.able to use the forms to access the portion of the list that is most likely to go out and volunteer. Bond and others described campaigns increasingly run by a generation of political professionals steeped in the practice of hands-on.theatlantic. There's an emerging data clique at events like RootsCamp that hangs out together and shares ideas. last week. The argument: In the years since Howard Dean's quick rise and quicker fall. on occasion. director of digital organizing for the Obama campaign. in part driven the accountability baked into metrics. D'Agostino said. But the left has developed organizations -. president of Credo SuperPAC. metrics-focused. campaign director at MoveOn. is making Democrats felicitously less dependent than Republicans on political "gurus" in the Karl Rove mold. and the sort of open-source information sharing that happened at the seventh annual RootsCamp conference in Washington. and other organizations.that are acting as keepers of institutional knowledge between elections. "The analytics people are getting together for happy hour at the pub up the street. and best practices may spell the demise of know-it-all political consultants." Bond spoke at a press briefing on the eve of RootsCamp featuring field organizers. said Betsy Hoover. progressive organizers -.org. many of them trained over the years by RootsCamp host the New Organizing Institute. D. "No person in D. Progressives at RootsCamp conceded that not every Democratic candidate or issue campaign on the left has gone all in on the tech-savvy model popularized by Obama. and a newly. so that it's not unusual to overhear casual comments like. voter registration and other electioneering tasks delegated to unpaid campaign volunteers. The Atlantic: Data Vs Gurus: Democrats Say Metrics Are Eclipsing The Consultant Class http://www. and digital strategists from Obama for America. Democrats' focus on not only capturing online and offline data but testing it aggressively has. functional Democratic National Committee -. "Those are the campaigns that we believe in and we run.the New Organizing Institute. Marylanders for Marriage Equality. data wranglers. if arguably. gets a percentage from volunteer field." Bond said. But they describe witnessing early signs of a cultural shift.. One practical effect is that there is a corps of progressive staffers and volunteers "poised and ready to pounce" on the next campaign. distributed campaigning." .C. Arizona's Adios Arpaio campaign.. MoveOn. and you don't make a lot of money off those types of campaigns. referring to the door knocking. and send messaging to that portion by pulling that list of people up through a Web form. "Volunteer field isn't going to buy the summer house. said Daniel Mintz. testing. The analytics department also used D3 for data visualization." said Becky Bond. much of what's been learned on campaigns has traditionally been lost. win or lose. begun to replace the general consultant's gut instinct on campaign decisions.including from the Obama campaign -. With campaigns functioning as the equivalents of businesses that shut down shortly after Election Day. the AFL-CIO..C. phone banking. And that.com/politics/archive/2012/12/data-vs-gurus-democrats-say-metrics-are-eclipsingthe-consultant-class/265803/ By Nancy Scola December 3. conservative commentator and activist Erick Erickson condemned "the incestuous bleeding of the Republican Party. emails went out to Obama supporters that the campaign had identified as having tech or creative abilities. saying that especially given the drain of the contested Republican primary their work met expectations. "You're one of very few people receiving this email because." After his first day. Meanwhile. a well-known conservative digital strategist has been attending RootsCamp. a task traditionally left to ad consultants. There was evident glee at RootsCamp over what's seen as Romney and Republican's poor performance when it comes to technology. In a blog post on RedState this week. a former Microsoft employee. "You realize our tactics might not work on people who deny evolution." Rospars wrote." Davidsen told me recently. Some conservatives say simmering unhappiness over Karl Rove's performance this election cycle. Before the conference began." he said." Some on the left profess that they're not so worried. Ruffini tweeted. She suggested that the campaign techniques being increasingly practiced and shared on the left aren't simply copy-and-pasteable on the right. is serving to unify those who are unhappy with the state of GOP campaign practices -. Upside: More people." she tweeted.com/articles/the-gops-broken-machine/ By Benjamin Domenech December 2012 . In June of last year. "we think you might know someone who should quit his or her job and come work on the Obama campaign's digital team for the next 18 months. and field operations. The hours are terrible . senior staff tried to instill new technology hires with the sense that they shouldn't expect to feather their own nests while in Chicago. "To the GOP strategists crashing a Dem digital conference today. #roots12.commentarymagazine. Downside: Me leaking.. Romney's digital director. "I was proud 10 days ago. defended his team's performance. "It should go without saying that your gift obviously won't help your or anyone else's application specifically.Another sign: In the early days of the Obama 2012 campaign." But the pitch continued: "It won't pay very well. But there are also signs of considerable and growing restiveness over it on the professional right. right?" Commentary Magazine: The GOP's Broken Machine http://www. Laura Olin was part of Obama's digital team and ran his Tumblr... Moffatt. "In less than 12 hours. whose digital-advertising company Targeted Victory benefitted from millions of dollars in consulting work for the Romney campaign. Ruffini concluded this: "Dermocrats [sic] discuss things at conferences that Republicans discuss in conference rooms. Most people who come to work here will take a pay cut. "Targeting works. got a similar email." senior digital strategist Joe Rospars wrote in one such email. in a phone call a week and a half after Romney's defeat." A postscript even asked for money. based on what you've told the Obama organization in the past.and could soon bubble over from intramural grumbling into a more public rejection. Carol Davidsen. The notes raised the possibility of jobs on the reelection bid whether or not they had any political experience. and I'm proud of it today. the #infiltration begins. in part to create The Optimizer. but if you care about getting campaign up and running you really should make a donation now. data. She joined the campaign. including a detail-laden session on the Obama campaign's "outbound" team's best practice on sending and testing the emails that raised many millions of dollars for Obama's bid." including the work of Zac Moffatt. a project that blended voter demographic data and network ad rates to reveal which TV commercial spaces the Obama campaign should buy. and in particular the many millions that his American Crossroads super PAC spent on TV ads in a raft of races that Republican candidates ended up losing. Patrick Ruffini. “We’re f—ing gonna win this thing. they were a relatively late addition to the Romney effort. The digital equivalent of scratching thousands of voters’ names off of a gigantic list. it was more of a murmur. Romney’s national campaign manager.” In the last month of the campaign. this comment will provide little solace to disappointed Republicans. The program was designed to be a 21st-century update to old-school poll watching. Romney’s Boston digs were more subdued. largely hitting the marks they thought they needed to win the 2012 election. But even if he had. Campaign staff acknowledged that from the beginning they assumed they could not match Obama’s well-built machine toe-to-toe.It was just past dawn on Election Day. taken in the wake of Romney’s strong debate performances. the not-sosecret high-tech weapon of Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign. driven by more than 30. The Romney campaign raised Republican turnout in seven of their eight target battleground states. Its digital . never fully stress-tested for the crunch of Election Day traffic. it happens to be true. showed the ticket with a strong lead among independent voters. For Republicans depressed by the election results. much of the staff thought they’d done just that. in the literal sense: Staffers were in two buildings. Orca was intended to give the Romney campaign staff up-to-the-minute insight into who had and hadn’t made it to the polls. it may not have been enough. to bring a chair. Orca was a symbol of their despondency at the Romney campaign’s surprising failure to even come close to matching the get-out-the-vote efforts of the 2008 McCain campaign. Calls to the relevant help lines went unanswered. Romney needed to match Obama’s technology advantage in order to have a real chance at victory. its offices packed with wall-to-wall whiteboards and its chief technology officer culled from the irony-clad hipster site Threadless. In retrospect. It was a place bursting with the youthful verve of a tech startup. with little office conversation and an almost eerie quiet during the day. But in so far as it goes. with data miners and tech gurus culled from Silicon Valley. While digital efforts were the primary focus of the Obama campaign from the beginning. Obama’s Chicago team was housed in a gleaming spire. twice. allowing them to target their robocalling more precisely and avoid pestering those who had already voted. Orca became one last failure from a campaign that never managed to get the little things right because it couldn’t get the biggest thing right. and simple coding failures meant many people couldn’t access the application at all. From the start of the general-election season. Matt Rhoades. And the checklist given to volunteers had somehow failed to remind them to bring the credentials they needed to monitor the polls legally. telling National Review’s Katrina Trinko that Orca “has no relation to the outcome. the political and digital staff separated in a fashion that led to more than a little frustration for both sides during the course of the campaign. Instead. The campaign’s internal polling assumed election turnout would favor the Democrats by only two or three percentage points—and in such a scenario. Volunteers who had tuned in to cheerleading conference calls with campaign staff never received their information packets on how to use it. Romney’s was also a house divided. “we achieved in a large part what we set out to do in the swing states in terms of our electorate.” Romney pollster Neil Newhouse announced boldly in a staff meeting. Project Orca. was drowning in the deluge of thousands of attempted log-ins from volunteers across the country. though it did tell them.” adding. repeated to his Boston staff a mantra inspired by the legendary order given at nearby Bunker Hill: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.000 smartphone-equipped volunteers. Romney aides stepped up to defend the program. Actually. the performance among independents had Romney’s circle buzzing about victory. Orca was a near-total operational failure. so they didn’t try.” Given that fewer than half a million votes in four key swing states ended up being the difference between victory and defeat for Romney. and already the whale was dead in the water. a failure of strategy and operation that left the campaign ill-equipped to battle President Barack Obama’s tech-savvy get-out-the-vote machine. Its assumptions simply turned out to be woefully inadequate. His latest numbers. The program had been kept under wraps to its detriment. They view it as a massive opportunity cost. The images coming out of the campaign’s closing weeks were simply beautiful—Romney and vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan speaking to tens of thousands of supporters at Red Rocks in Colorado. the man at the top of the campaign who built his career out of getting relatively bland politicians elected by keeping them on script and from making gaffes. and blanketing the airwaves with ads that blend together into one long reiteration of believing in America. While Romney was packing out fields and stadiums in suburbia. But the visual contrast hid the important difference of purpose. which had lower attendance and uglier backdrops. Orca came to symbolize a campaign that mismanaged the operational details. Where the Obama campaign’s content and emails were tailored to the interests of individually targeted demographic communities based on topics of interest and other data-mined priorities. more innovative consultants dislike the practice. sweeping panoramas of patriotism and pride—contrasted with the relative diminution of President Obama’s shrinking rallies. But that ignores the truly bothersome part: Even had Orca worked. to the surprise of some longtime Romney staffers who found their ideas for innovation shunted aside by senior staff and consultants who were unapproachable and unresponsive.” In this. Stevens is a strategist who wins by playing small ball—shrinking information about policy to the bare minimum. sticking to inoffensive bullet points. activate volunteers on key issues. it would have been a waste of time. then Facebook-browsing. The campaign was also fiercely hierarchical. the contrasts were infuriating. or whether the name came to the database through a petition about health care or energy policy. don’t rock the boat. Romney’s staff was politically diverse and more used to the world of business than politics—some had never worked on a political campaign before. and the rest working telephones to get missing voters to the polls. The quiet was deafening. _____________ Almost within minutes of Romney’s concession. The polls showed his “likability” gap with the president shrinking steadily. a few more volunteers translating that data. Ideas for how to defend the candidate more effectively. the campaign was fulfilling the risk-averse approach of Stuart Stevens. For digital staffers who recognized they were playing catch-up with the Obama machine that had never stopped building after 2008. . While such operations are still deployed by some consultants. The approach Orca was trying to improve upon has become an anachronism. in Loudoun County in Virginia. Romney was hitting his stride at just the right time. Romney’s campaign didn’t even make distinctions between whether someone had given $5 or $500. Poll-watching is a tactic as old as Tammany Hall. The events were Norman Rockwell Americana for The North Face set. then boredom.operation was staffed after the rest of the campaign. then go around the corner to vote. After the debates. deploying volunteers to walk door-to-door in key precincts rather than have them sitting at a poll location unable to increase vote totals. Bain Capital. in West Chester in Ohio. There were plenty of people working on the digital side. with time on election day spent tracking votes your candidate already has instead of getting people to the polls. Frustration set in. They consider it better to maximize the get-out-the-vote effort. but tasks were poorly assigned and hampered by restrictive approval processes. the Obama campaign was holding early-voting rallies downtown—come to see the celebrities. It amounts to a group of volunteers sitting at a precinct crossing off names as they get ballots. they felt. or push back harder on false attacks were met with a repeated response: “Don’t get in trouble. even the more skeptical campaign aides felt Stevens’s strategy might work. with an operation that seemed remarkably inefficient for a campaign that was supposed to do things with the rigor of Romney’s research-intensive firm. Romney’s campaign wasted money and man-hours on a project that ended up giving it a half-day’s worth of incomplete data from their target counties. particularly in economically downtrodden Southeast Ohio. counting on their vast network of digital supporters to minimize the damage. Romney’s mildmannered critique of Obama—that the president was a good man in over his head—required voters to trust Romney to do better. And the technological network built around this narrative served as a defensive weapon. On offense or defense. reaching people who hadn’t voted. Ross Douthat of the New York Times pointed out that the real aim of these ads was to depress working-class whites. with brutal attacks on Romney’s record at Bain Capital and his remarks on the 47 percent. Adding insult to injury. The irony of the 2012 contest is that a candidate who ran primarily on competence stood atop a campaign that spent so much time unwittingly undercutting him on that point. While the negative attacks may have appeared to be an appeal to the liberal base. each designed to caricature Romney as a wealthy out-of-touch technocrat who doesn’t care about anyone who doesn’t look like him. Orca was an approach consistent with this assumption. According to one Romney aide. Instead of taking this approach. telling them to call their friends and get them to vote. Had the 30. Republicans have been focused on building massive databases of people. Beginning in the spring.Orca was designed to make robocalls work. if only by default. The White House declared war over contraception with the Catholic Church and trumpeted the life of a dependent avatar as a stand-in for single women. This is not a problem unique to Romney. the assumption that it would be a narrow turnout advantage of a few percentage points doomed them from the start. with flash points on issues prioritized by their constituents. particularly in Ohio. A campaign that shot for just getting by was stunned by a Democratic turnout advantage that swept their data aside. because the campaign’s calculations about the necessary turnout targets were built into their analysis. too. exceeded Obama’s margin of victory. The Obama campaign’s antagonism was specifically targeted. every step was built around this “destroy Romney” narrative. it’s possible they could’ve made a much more meaningful difference in battleground states. If that was the intent. the Obama team was crafting issue-specific video clips and shareable content for their interest groups. The party needs to .000-plus Orca volunteers been deployed to target Republican districts door-to-door and by phone. Obama’s team drilled down with specific messages tailored to each of its target interest groups. Even in the wake of the campaign’s worst day. Thanks in part to the candidate and in part to the campaign. the overall narrative was simple: Mitt Romney didn’t have your back. too. Romney expressed his belief in America—but he could never articulate why people should believe in him. In an electoral race fought over slivers of the population in a handful of states with incredibly narrow ground. _____________ In the end. But it’s not as if the Romney campaign lacked the resources to use actual humans to call as many people as possible on Election Day asking them to vote—and if they already had. Again and again. The administration went to battle over student loans to activate college kids and picked fights over immigration to make Republicans look anti-Hispanic. The pragmatism and competence that were Romney’s best assets as a CEO seemed anachronistic in an era built on using key points of controversy to activate your base. following the first debate. much of the Orca data they pulled into their election-night headquarters in Boston—before the system crashed completely—indicated the wrong result. The campaign trumpeted the auto bailout to unions and defended Big Bird to appeal to suburban moms. But that model is dated. Obama’s team played small ball better. Romney never developed anything approaching this straightforward narrative. too. Since the legendary get-out-the-vote operation of the 2004 Bush campaign that increased his vote total 22 percent from 2000. however. it worked: The drop in the white vote. and Obama did. Each day for the last three weeks of the election. “We didn’t. sticking to your enclosed position.” And. in 2008. the aide said. Near the end of 2011 as the technology team. “What do winners do? They close. Angus was one of the very very few members of the Obama 2012 tech team that had any campaign experience. talk about baptism by fire). the last-minute cramming before the test. But in retrospect.com/post/36921516103/my-experience-leading-the-obama-campaigns-tech-field By Catherine Bracy November 30. given that I had very close to zero experience working on software development projects. not offense. started moving from planning to execution a decision was made that we would go ahead and open the Obama Tech Field Office in San Francisco. but other things in Chicago took precedence at that early stage. 2012 In many ways the Obama campaign’s Tech Field Office. Heavy dependence on and integration of network technology was also a major feature of the campaign. I was to be the non-technical lead and Angus Durocher. it is an odd one—an order delivered on defense. My understanding is that the genesis of the idea (which predates my arrival on the campaign) came when Michael Slaby (CIIO) and Harper Reed (CTO) traveled to the Bay Area just after the campaign launched to engage tech supporters and recruit engineers to move to Chicago. one of the defining characteristics of the Obama organization was the extent to which it devolved authority down the chain empowering volunteers and field organizers to be the drivers of activity. Rhoades stood next to Romney and predicted that the next week was going to amount to an amazing turnaround in the race. it is a fitting description for the Romney plan from the beginning: conceding the momentum. and decentralized) very closely matches the structure of the Internet itself. a grizzled veteran of the San Francisco start-up scene (he was early at Blogger and served as the first web developer at YouTube) would lead on all the engineering and technical aspects. I spent the first eight months on the campaign doing product management at headquarters (not a role I was at all qualified for. and counting on making up the gap at the end with tricks like Orca. Campaign aides I’ve talked to wonder if things would have gone differently if Romney himself had been on site at the Boston headquarters—if he would have seen the flaws in the defensive strategy. one that concedes the moment of attack to the opposition. which makes sense when you realize that the structure of our grassroots organization (relatively flat. was not a leap of the imagination even if it was the first of its kind.” Braceland: My Experience Leading the Obama Campaign’s Tech Field Office http://cbracy. not just geographic. The time had come for the whites of the enemies’ eyes. and the campaign as a whole. The Saturday before the first debate. As a campaign mantra. The logical extension of these two defining factors coming together was the establishment of a satellite office focused solely on recruiting technologists who wanted to volunteer their skills to help build the campaign’s suite of tools. one aide told me. which I launched and ran with Angus Durocher from February-October 2012. Rhoades would repeat to his staff a phrase borrowed from David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross. Since 2007.tumblr. At some point it occurred: why not bring the campaign to them? We started talking about a San Francisco office even before I formally started on the campaign in June 2011. recognizing that precincts are now social. he took five . the risk of being so risk-averse. But it’s likely he would have made the mistake of trusting in a campaign that wagered it all on beautiful ads and beautiful toys. He grew up in New Hampshire working on campaigns and.become a party of technology and data mining. The person that’s in your face or the fire that’s currently burning the brightest is the thing that gets the most attention.weeks off from working at YouTube to volunteer full time doing digital work in New Mexico for the Obama campaign. We got to see. And then there was the frustrating amount of volunteer flakiness. My main responsibility those first few weeks was balancing volunteer recruitment with making sure the products were sufficiently well specked out to allow for volunteers (people who mostly had day jobs and would be doing their work remotely/on the weekends) to be productive. another start-up vet who built out later versions of Trip Planner essentially full time. We certainly didn’t do everything right and I’m not even sure the office itself is something that other campaigns or organizations should try and replicate. For one thing we’d added more lanes to the campaign’s development highway without really expanding the capacity of the DevOps team in Chicago to deploy more tools (I’m pretty sure they hated us by the end of it). But when we launched our first tool and pushed through the frustrating final tweaks to make things deployable I had a sense that we were doing something that would really have an impact. We experienced the fifty-fifty rule of volunteer organizing: fifty percent of the volunteers we signed up actually did some work. a former Google data whiz. scared this experiment would be a waste of campaign resources. we got hundreds of sign-ups and conducted scores of interviews with engineers and other tech professionals who were excited to help out. 2012. We secured office space (leasing desks at StackMob’s offices in SOMA) and opened for business on February 15. but I’ve linked to some examples below). And campaign’s are. Let’s just say the GOP didn’t have a tech field office in the neighborhood. unsure even what success would look like. scared we’d fail. My biggest worry at the start was that we wouldn’t be able to get enough people on board. Even in famously libertarian Silicon Valley. He likes to tell a story about offering his services to the Kerry campaign in 2004 and being told to head to a phone bank instead. who built a really . We had some stressful weeks at the beginning. “interrupt-driven” organizations. we had recruited well over 100 volunteers who built over a dozen tools (not all of which are public. and about fifty percent of them were solid. Since we were safely tucked away in San Francisco we didn’t have the luxury (such as it was) of going over and tapping someone on the shoulder to make sure our particular issue got addressed. By October. a few of whom put their lives on hold for the last weeks of the campaign to travel to battleground states to support our data and digital teams. Kevin Gates. in person. went to Florida to build some reporting tools. That worry was quickly assuaged. Another dozen or so were absolute rock stars. Matt Douglass. reliable contributors. Johnvey Hwang. When we asked them why they were interested almost all of them gave some version of the same answer: “I’ve always wanted to help out but making phone calls and knocking doors wasn’t my thing (not to mention I live in California where this thing is in the bag) and I saw an opportunity to lend my skills to re-elect a president I believe in. in Angus’ sage words. We had a list of initial projects we needed to get built. but when your volunteer is doing something like writing code it’s a particular pain in the ass when you can’t get a hold of them for days. It’s something every campaign worker in the field has to deal with. Lior Abraham took all of his vacation days for the year from his job at Facebook to come to Chicago for five weeks to build voter protection apps.” Only a handful of them had ever volunteered for a campaign before. opening and running this office was a fulfillment of a long-time wish of his—to offer the opportunity for people with tech skills to contribute something they’re good at to an effort they believe in. went to Las Vegas to help the data director there. In many ways. what Nate Silver described in a recent post as the benefit Obama got from his support in Silicon Valley. when we were done building tools for the national campaign and turned our attention to the battleground states. We were pleasantly surprised at the level of interest. but we needed some volunteers. And that stayed true when those talks happened between straight . Press. experience told them that personal conversations on or around the significance of marriage were especially persuasive. which had all the main departments of the campaign represented—Digital. my lasting impressions are all about how amazing our volunteers were. Field. Edit: Here are those tools I mentioned: Trip Planner Ecards MapMaker The Atlantic: The Social-Network Effect That is Helping Legalize Gay Marriage http://www. Why not add Tech to the pods and then have volunteer technologists on the ground working directly with that regional lead? Putting engineers directly in touch with staff in the states would have gone a long way towards bridging the divide between tech and field. Centralizing the software development in HQ in part to avoid creation of rogue tools in the states. Minnesota. the people they sit next to in church. I really think that model—of sending tech volunteers into the field to support data and analytics teams on the ground—is a much more sustainable model of tech volunteer engagement for the long term and for smaller campaigns. and the people they shop with at the grocery store. and I can’t wait to see what they do now that they’ve caught the political technology bug. They knew the public-opinion polls. Patrick Cullen and a bunch of others I’m forgetting were total champs." More than that. friend. I mentioned a few earlier but Roger Hu. If I were smarter and more organized. Marc Love. I’m immensely proud that I got to be the one to pull them into the campaign. say the organizers behind November 6's same-sex marriage wins in Maine. Shannon Chin. Gunthar Hartwig.theatlantic. their cousins. ended up in one of our small business videos because of his involvement in the tech office. Angus led a very successful late-summer volunteer recruitment effort to send techies directly to states. Much was made about our pod structure: each region had “desks” they reported up to. Pete Warden. Brandon Liu. Analytics—but no engineers. Carrie Crespo. which is completely understandable. their aunts and uncles. "is that we win these fights because Americans know that LGBT people are their neighbors. Deron Aucoin. I’d follow up with all of them on their experience. 2012 It was no secret during past decades of ballot-box pummeling that social connections help determine where people stand on LGBT rights." says Michael Cole-Schwartz. Ops. Eliza Wee. The ask he sent out got thousands of responses which were matched up with states who needed on-the-ground tech help in the last weeks of the campaign. might have killed an important ecosystem for bubbling up innovation. Maryland. Simply having a gay family member. and Washington. "The meta narrative. but there’s got to be a way to distribute authority at least a little bit down the chain. Data.cool donation app that we ran out of time to launch. director of media efforts for the Human Rights Campaign.com/politics/archive/2012/11/my-best-friend-is-gay-where-social-networks-meetssame-sex-marriage/265793/ Nancy Scola November 30. You certainly can’t run a campaign where each state has their own show technologically. Now that it’s over. When I was in Colorado for the last weeks of GOTV it was stark what a disconnect there seemed to be between the tech team and the people who were using the tools. or colleague doubles the likelihood of support. to work in raising political awareness. The cause now knows not only a ton about a potential new supporter but also how they fit into a current supporter's own little piece of humanity's web. that's because Facebook has spent the last few years steadily opening its social graph to outside developers. (There is. Maryland. up pops a listing of your Facebook friends. but it works. You can even send them an actual printed postcard." In large part. and then sign onto Facebook. that organization's version of Amicus. you identify yourself in the voter file from public records. Eight years later. Where they were born. of course. On the nuts-and-bolts level. co-founder and CEO of Amicus. or Washington come down against same-sex marriage. asking for votes. Where they went to college. After that. Pull up Call4Equality. for the record. Human Rights Campaign and local coalitions like Washington United for Marriage and Minnesotans United for All Families say they're beginning to figure out is how to tap the billions of social connections that have emerged there over the last four election cycles. You might not remember that. while in "real life" Americans report having an average of two close friends. like the conversations with his daughters Sasha and Malia that were said to change President Obama's thinking. through Amicus.people. (Suggested language: "You got married because you were in love and wanted to start a family? Me too. Let's say you live in Florida or New Jersey and don't want to see Maine. Gerber and Donald P. Where they went to high school.org. "You couldn't have done this five years ago. and raising money (the tool's name." At the time. First. but Facebook does. In their groundbreaking 2004 book Get Out the Vote!. "Bits and pieces of it weren't possible even a few months ago. the harder it is to reproduce on a large scale. That combination of public and semi-public data can be startling.) That allows the HRC to target their million-and-a-half- . says Seth Bannon. the progressive information outfit that's only a few years old itself. explains Cole-Schwartz: "How do we get these conversations that happen naturally to happen more often?" It's a political challenge not limited to the question of LGBT issues.") But you can opt to email them instead. Green wrote that "the more personal the interaction. A pair of relevant statistics: The median "friend" count on Facebook is 190. they're asked by a friend to do it." Bannon says. is that Americans are connected far and wide. their identities fleshed out with the data Amicus has collected about them: When they were born.a term popularized by Mark Zuckerberg to refer to the available digital knowledge on how all of us are related -. You are asked to reach out and contact those friends and friends-of-friends. an opportunity to pull folks who aren't on Facebook into the mix using Amicus's find-a-friend feature. personalized with your photo from Facebook. and it had to do with amplification. Then the organizers put that power to work. though. Yale political scientists Alan S. But there was still a conundrum. Minnesota. Facebook had barely emerged from its Harvard dorm. People are twice as likely to do something political if. One striking revelation from Facebook.HRC. say the LGBT-vote organizers. You might have a college dormmate. cousin's best friend. Together the tool equipped marriage-vote organizers to operationalize their accumulated wisdom about human behavior in this election. comes from the Latin for "friend"). he says. But the social effect is powerful. a product of the New York tech scene that puts your "social graph" -. The gold standard of outreach is to call them on the phone. Here's how it works. and the voter data being matched with the graph comes from Catalist. or colleague from three jobs ago now living in Bangor or Glen Echo or Minneapolis or Richland. it's just data matching. HRC and its allies used a tool called Amicus. Where they live now. even when they might not know that they are. says Bannon. and real goods." Bannon says. Funders.'" Six years later. "I dedicated myself to being their proxies. the techcentric co-working space in the Flatiron District where Amicus is now based. the ruddy 28-year-old Connecticut native said. who might help them figure out not only who should be asked to engage in political action. like stickers." Bad systems meant wasting the efforts of volunteers. and putting in time for Obama in 2008 and Alan Khazei's Senate campaign in 2009.'" says Bannon. Amicus loses a lot of potential allies who come over the transom and don't engage right away. "It gives us a universe of persuadable people for the cohort already on our side to reach out to" says Cole-Schwartz. too.") The company is also considering taking more seriously something in which they've only been dabbling: anonymous modeling. In April. like Facebook badges. He recalled being four years old. more knowing. Amicus. what he calls one of the more "beautiful" parts of the campaign life. taking a leave of absence from Harvard in 2006 for Ned Lamont's bid to unseat Lieberman. He's set himself on building a solution. T-shirts. when the former was studying philosophy and government Harvard and the latter theoretical mathematics at MIT. an explosion in their New Haven duplex on election night (of all nights) left Bannon's mother with lasting injuries that made engaging in politics difficult. Amicus debuted at Manhattan's New York Tech Meetup just last October." In the years since. (Amicus is non-partisan and the platform generally open. HRC puts the number of direct calls through Amicus at 7. on a Thursday and ask her for $30 and she says 'no. Topper Bowers." says Bannon. but the best person in their social graph to prod them to make that leap." It's valuable data that gets poured into a growing cache that could someday allow them to know that a woman of that age and job status should be called after working hours and asked for 20 bucks instead. is looking to increase its staff of seven. "I hope you beat 'Eiker. "we won't work with you. adding a data scientist as soon as possible. when they relocated to New York.m.member supporter base to whatever political geography is relevant to the battle of the moment. They picked up their third co-founder. But some things are lost in the digital conversion. Bannon concedes. Organizers say that they would have liked to have seen more people pick up the phone. He was born into politics. telling to the challenger. "I realized that there were millions of people who couldn't do anything about it. adding that increasing the platform's stickiness tops their to-do list. "we capture that. but its roots run deep. Also important: the psychology of volunteers themselves.2 million. A week after the election. It would be ideal to have someone schooled in sociology. On raw numbers. like the the camaraderie that nudges volunteers towards picking up the phone at an inperson phone bank. and drawstring bags. "If you call a 32year-old woman at 3 p. the company announced it had completed a round of funding worth $3.more immediate. "I was always frustrated with the tech. Along the way. a software developer who had been toiling at Snapfish. Bannon laid out his own story for me while sitting at General Assembly. But organizers see in this early deployment signs of success. an online organizer with HRC. sitting on the shoulders of his socially aware and politically active mother during the contentious 1988 election between Republican Senator Lowell Weicker and upstart Democrat Joe Lieberman. But Amicus is still in its early stages. "it wasn't a barnstormer" at roll-out says James Servino. "but if you're trying to take away rights. see a lot to like in Amicus.000. too. he says. volunteers who rack up participation points and thus moved up levels were rewarded with both virtual goods. . the vote in Washington State was won by 228. The vision driving Amicus is one of creating a more robust version of the campaign experience -.000 votes. Bannon has churned through campaigns. To help solve that. Bannon met co-founder Ben Lamothe in Harvard Square over chess tables year ago. bumping an old buddy to the top of a volunteers call list after a few discouraging interactions with voters closer to the edges of their networks. but the ideas on peer-to-peer organizing it's tapping into run through the age of data-infused politics.The gamification proved serious business. The first thing Amicus users are asked to do is act as a data refiner." says Bannon.gets to keep that insight on whether or not someone is a same-sex marriage supporter. the information on whose Facebook profile matches which entry in the voter file stays with Amicus. "People were willing to write an angry email when they didn't get their points. And there are also more obvious affirmations on deck. How do you feel about marriage equality?" In some ways. the Minnesota coalition told volunteers. As for who owns the resulting data. A few clicks to let them know where a friend stands.and back to actual conversations between actual humans. succeeded in making the experience of door-to-door campaigning less tedious and more efficient. Amicus is still a fledgling technology. the political scientist.000 matches were made through the HRC. users were given the choice of tagging themselves with a discrete number of political identifiers ranging from very liberal to very conservative. dial the number on the voter file. saved the marriage push half an hour's worth of work and about $30. "They're enabling another volunteer to make that friend-of-a-friend call. but this is public public." says Nicholas Kor. "If someone matches friends and leaves because they're shy. Amicus engineers around it. come across as too "spammy. they're still creating a lot of value. Is that creepy? Is it too creepy? Logging onto Amicus and seeing even just your own name in the voter file can be unsettling. In Minnesota.) Amicus fits comfortably into a bigger.say. perhaps. Amicus is calibrated to make the most of even the squeamish. It's a kind of in-kind contribution of your social graph. they assign numbers to it. In a recent post-campaign debrief. pretending to know less than it does by. says Bannon. said Messina. and a valuable one.) Bannon says that 21. in many ways is a return to the past. actually." They have been talking to Gerber. and it's not always clear which address is a current one. political tweets and posts." What's more. and we hung out that one time at the Brickskeller your junior year. As part of a planned redesign. There are low-bar asks that still manage to be powerful. Amicus connects users via social media but discourages its use in practice. Obama campaign manager Jim Messina argued that "what campaigns are evolving into. The cause -. and about as many in Minnesota. Public information is one thing. about adding in subtle encouragements like. In Facebook's own early days. who worked on Minnesota United's "Let Your Friends kNOw" program. "Once we let people know that it saves us time and money to let us know that your friends are voting 'no. "which is a pretty good sign it works.' it's pretty convincing. for example." Much of the advanced tech the campaign deployed. You pick up the phone." says Bannon. hiding street numbers. this is a new kind of conversation where you have far more knowledge about your neighbor at your fingertips than you did before. you went to college with my step-brother. of course. (People's names aren't unique. Bannon admits there is often a "whoa" moment. But organizers say they're riding a technological wave where people seem to get over their squeamishness if they judge that they're trading privacy for the chance to make a stronger social connection." Of course. "Hey. counterintuitive trend in digital politics. of course. and say. matching their Facebook list to their friend's correct entry in the voter file. Minnesota United -. The ambition of a surprising amount of political technologies is to move away from the cacophony of political TV ads and tweets and Facebook wall posts -. Minnesota volunteers were also asked to tag their friends as supporters or opponents of same-sex marriage. "it's going to tell you when someone has just been hung up on five times in a row and needs a high five. with . says Bannon. Right now. combined with all that social-media data that wasn't meant to mean anything." (A virtual one. Just ask their friends. but Silk explains.friends. "we found that there were a pretty remarkable number of conservative voters that ended up supporting us. Goff Says http://techpresident. Ari Wallach. the strategist known as one of the minds behind such work as Samuel L. we needed to bring in as many libertarian-oriented Republicans as possible. Lowell Weicker ended up ending his career as an independent. Today." says Zach Silk. "I see in Amicus the future of political parties. Amicus makes peer-to-peer connections possible on that level.twitter Nick Judd November 30. in 2008." Wallach says. People are complicated. deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said at a recent panel. helped launch Friendfactor. and friendships of the American electorate. For that matter. The final vote breakdowns aren't in." Social data. Obama for America Digital Director Teddy Goff said Friday. "It's not a clean partisan break. the "political affiliation" option is a jumble of adjectives and established organizations.apathetic also included in the mix. . It was a tactic borne of necessity. Maybe. neighbors. it's sometimes not even branded with the name of the organization that's providing supporters with an organizing channel. co-workers. interests.6 million voters to figure out which of them were the few. One lesson he's picked up. but it's not difficult to imagine that institutions now framed around partisan dichotomies might be reshaped with fuller knowledge of the likes. Sarah Silverman's profane voter ID ads.ULkX9aSzrN0. Jackson's pro-Obama "Wake the F___ Up" video." says Silk. In Washington. and not only is the tool not branded as Amicus when volunteers are using it. Wallach says. many of whom were the focus of an effort to reach 18-to-29-year-old voters who not be reached by phone. 2012 The president's re-election campaign used targeted person-to-person contact on Facebook to reach five million voters.and 30-year-olds don't want to take political action on behalf of organizations anymore. things get messy." It was a pattern repeated across the four battleground states. The acknowledgement: when you move beyond simply Republican and Democrat in America. you can study the data enough to know that Democrats tend to be more supportive of same-sex marriage than Republicans. Tech President: Obama’s Targeted GOTV on Facebook Reached 5 Million Voters. a celebrity-celebrated political effort to make the most of the social bonds between Americans of all sexual identities. maybe not. important persuadable ones. more than I see the future of political parties at the DNC or the RNC. as well as a text box for people to fill in however they wish. broadcast brands to hyperlocal" -. Their brand allegiance has shifted from vertical. But those models are rough and incomplete. is that "20. and the state's voter records are non-partisan. Amicus and other tools were simply packaged as Marriage Hero. helped narrow down a universe of some 3. women more than men. The Obama campaign realized that many of the voters they'd identified as possibly swinging their way watch Fox News. he says. state-level organizers say. they switched instead to a scrolling mix of international political parties. "To get a winning majority. the 30-something campaign manager for Washington's samesex-marriage campaign. is rarely quite as clean as our partisanship suggests. Our politics. "We know that as much as 20 percent of Democrats weren't going to be with us. On the same-sex-marriage question.com/news/23202/obamas-targeted-gotv-facebook-reached-5-million-voters-goffsays#. The caused a stir when. urban voters more than rural ones. so did Joe Lieberman. as practiced by real-live humans. and 2008's The Great Schlep. especially over mobile phones and on social networks. What data did they use—and were they tracking you across the web? .Campaign officials have previously said that asking supporters to reach out to their friends had a high rate of success. ProPublica: Everything We Know (So Far) About Obama's Big Data Tactics http://www. to measuring how “persuadable” individual swing state voters might be. Here’s what the nerds did. from connecting Facebook data to the national list of registered voters. developers.. But 85 percent(!) of them were a friend of a friend of Barack Obama on Facebook. but the fact that the campaign was talking about rates rather than hard numbers suggested the number of people who were actually contacted was low. "So we had about seven million instances of people contacting about five million people. The problem with GOTV targets in that age group is that half of them can't be reached by phone. So there you go. Now. Goff said.." Goff said. which may emerge as a new core technology in much the same way campaigns embraced online advertising and SMS messaging after watching those tools work in 2008. communications and the 2012 campaign during a taping for SiriusXM Left held at Rootscamp and set to air later on Friday. all of their friends who they knew . but I hadn't heard a campaign staffer actually say how many people the campaign reached this way — until today.propublica. as well as reporting elsewhere." Goff added later on. Obama campaign officials have already said that 20 percent of people asked by their friends to register. we’ve been following how political campaigns use data about voters to target them in different ways. vote or take another activity did as they were asked to do. Goff and OfA Deputy Campaign Director Stefanie Cutter discussed technology. the Obama campaign. these were people we had to reach. His remarks do more to validate the hype around directed.org/article/everything-we-know-so-far-about-obamas-big-data-operation By Lois Beckett November 29. which had assembled a cutting-edge team of data scientists. and couldn't reach otherwise. During the election. person-to-person Facebook contact. And it's already been well established that fewer young voters have landline phones while more people generally are communicating over the Internet. refused to say anything about how it was targeting voters. he said. Based on our own interviews with campaign officials. and digital advertising experts. members of the campaign are starting to open up about what their team actually did with all that data. Consultants I spoke with said that was all well and good. "Facebook became the only place where we could reach them. 2012 For the past nine months. here’s an overview of some of the campaign’s key strategies. Just shy of 1 million people had signed up for the Obama for America Facebook app as of election day. Goff said supporters reached about five million people through Facebook with seven million pieces of content. It’s still not clear. Chief Innovation and Integration Officer Michael Slaby and other campaign officials said again that they relied less on consumer data, and more on public voting records and the responses that voters provided directly to campaign canvassers. They would not comment on exactly what data the campaign collected about individual people. Officials within the campaign said media reports had overemphasized the importance of online web cookie data to track voters across the web. Slaby said the campaign primarily used web cookies to serve ads to people who had visited the campaign site — a tactic called “retargeting,” which Mitt Romney’s campaign also used. The campaign also told us web cookies were useful for helping them analyze whether volunteers were actually reading the online training materials the campaign had prepared for them. (They didn’t track this on a volunteer-by-volunteer basis.) The backbone of the campaign’s effort was a database on registered voters compiled by the Democratic National Committee. It was updated weekly with new public records from state level election officials, one official said. The campaign then added its own voter data to the mix. Officials wouldn’t say exactly what information they added. What will happen to the data about millions of voters collected during the campaign? It's still not clear. As the Washington Post reported earlier this month, other Democratic candidates are eager to use Obama's voter data for their own campaigns. Some of the president's data will certainly go to the Democratic National Committee, where it can be used to help other Democrats. But both the Post and the Wall Street Journal reported that it's unclear if the DNC has the resources — technological and financial — to manage all of the voter data and analysis the campaign produced. The Wall Street Journal cited an anonymous Democratic Party official, who said that a new organization might be created to manage and update Obama's campaign data. This kind of organization "would have the potential to give the president leverage in the selection of the next Democratic presidential nominee," the Journal reported. After his 2008 win, Obama created "Organizing for America," a group that worked within the DNC to advance the president's agenda. How did the Obama campaign know which TV shows voters were watching? Did the Obama campaign really "get a big list of the names of people who watched certain things on TV," as Gawker asked earlier this month? No. But they were able to get very detailed information about the television habits of certain groups of voters. In order to decide where to buy their TV ads, the Obama campaign matched lists of voters to the names and addresses of cable subscribers, as the Washington Post, The Atlantic, and others have reported. This allowed them to analyze which channels the voters they wanted to reach were watching. The campaign focused on swing state voters the campaign had scored as "persuadable," and voters who were supporters but needed to be encouraged to turn out at the polls, Carol Davidsen, who ran the campaign's television ad "Optimizer" project, told ProPublica. They also looked at voters who are Latino and African-American. Working with Rentrak, a data company, the campaign tracked the television viewership of these groups across 60 channels, looking at how viewership changed for every quarter hour of the day, Davidsen said. The campaign was able to identify the audience size of each group for a particular channel at a particular time — and then analyze where and when the campaign could advertise to key voters at the lowest cost. For instance, the campaign was able to identify a subset of persuadable voters who lived in households that watched less than two hours of television a day. This allowed the campaign to schedule ads during the times these voters would actually be watching TV. "Even if it's more expensive, it's worth it, because we can't catch them later," Davidsen told ProPublica. So, how was the campaign able to get all this viewership data? In Ohio, the campaign worked with FourthWall Media, a data and targeting company, to get television viewership data for individual homes, which had "anonymous but consistent" household ID numbers, Davidsen said. This allowed the campaign to track household viewing behavior over time, without knowing which exact voters they were analyzing. (FourthWall Media has yet to respond to a request for comment on how their process works.) Working with Rentrak, the campaign could follow the viewing habits of larger groups of voters in different TV markets across the country. Rentrak used a third-party data company to match lists of voters to TV operator data about subscribers — and then match that information to the anonymous ID numbers that Rentrak uses to track the usage patterns of television set-top boxes. To protect users' privacy, none of the companies involved have all the information they would need to know what shows a specific voter watched on TV, Rentrak's Chris Wilson told ProPublica. For instance, Rentrak knows viewers' ID numbers and viewing habits, but doesn't know which ID numbers correspond with which name or address. In fact, Rentrak never knows the name or address of the household, Wilson said. While commercial advertisers are beginning to do this kind of data matching and analysis, "What [the Obama campaign] did was probably on the more sophisticated side compared to a lot of folks," Wilson told ProPublica. He said the campaign had done "pioneering work" in television targeting. Rentrak also works with large consumer data companies, including Experian and Epsilon, to match television viewer data with consumer data. According to the Federal Communications Commission privacy rules, cable operators are not allowed to disclose subscribers' "personally identifiable information" without their consent, but they can collect and share "aggregate" data. How important was the data the campaign could access through its Facebook app about volunteers and their friends? Observers noted that in the last days of the campaign, Obama supporters who used the campaign’s Facebook app received emails with the names and profile photos of friends in swing states. The e-mails urged supporters to contact their friends and encourage them to vote. It wasn’t clear how well the effort went or what the response was. Some people had been encouraged to ask their Republican friends to vote. A Romney official who had signed up for the campaign’s e-mail list was told to contact his Facebook friend Eric Cantor, the Republican House Majority Leader. What we now know is that the campaign did in fact try to match Facebook profile to people’s voting records. So if you got a message encouraging you to contact a friend in Ohio, the campaign may have targeted that friend based on their public voting record and other information the campaign had. But the matching process was far from perfect, in part because the information the campaign could access about volunteers’ friends was limited. Were privacy concerns about the campaign’s data collection justified? We’ve reported on some of the concerns about the amount of data the campaign has amassed on individual voters. Were those concerns at all justified? It’s hard to say right now, since we still don’t know where the campaign drew the line about what data they would and would not use. Obama officials did dismiss the idea that the campaign cared about voters’ porn habits. The analytics team estimated how “persuadable” voters are. What does that mean? It all came down to four numbers. The Obama campaign had a list of every registered voter in the battleground states. The job of the campaign’s much-heralded data scientists was to use the information they had amassed to determine which voters the campaign should target— and what each voter needed to hear. They needed to go a little deeper than targeting “waitress moms.” “White suburban women? They’re not all the same. The Latino community is very diverse with very different interests,” Dan Wagner, the campaign’s chief analytics officer, told The Los Angeles Times. “What the data permits you to do is figure out that diversity.” What Obama’s data scientists produced was a set of four individual estimates for each swing state voter’s behavior. These four numbers were included in the campaign’s voter database, and each score, typically on a scale of 1 to 100, predicted a different element of how that voter was likely to behave. Two of the numbers calculated voters’ likelihood of supporting Obama, and of actually showing up to the polls. These estimates had been used in 2008. But the analysts also used data about individual voters to make new, more complicated predictions. If a voter supported Obama, but didn’t vote regularly, how likely was he or she to respond to the campaign’s reminders to get to the polls? The final estimate was the one that had proved most elusive to earlier campaigns—and that may be most influential in the future. If voters were not strong Obama supporters, how likely was it that a conversation about a particular issue — like Obamacare or the Buffett rule—could persuade them to change their minds? Slaby said that there was early evidence that the campaign’s estimate of how “persuadable” voters would be on certain issues had actually worked. “This is very much a competitive advantage for us,” he said. Wagner began working on persuasion targeting during the 2010 campaign, Slaby said — giving the campaign a long time to perfect their estimates. Did everyone on the campaign have access to these scores? No. Campaign volunteers were not given access to these individual scores, one official said. “Oh, my neighbor Lucy is a 67 and her husband is a 72—we would probably consider that a distraction.” Do other political campaigns also assign me a set of numerical scores? Yes. The use of microtargeting scores — a tactic from the commercial world — is a standard part of campaign data efforts, and one that has been well documented before. In his book exploring the rise of experimentally focused campaigns, Sasha Issenberg compares microtargeting scores to credit scores for the political world. In 2008, the Obama campaign ranked voters’ likely support of the senator from Illinois using a 1 to 100 scale. This year, The Guardian reported, Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group backed by the Koch brothers, ranked some swing state voters on a scale from 0 to 1, with 0 being “so leftwing and progovernment” that they are “not worth bothering with,” and 1 being “already so in favour of tax and spending cuts that to talk to them would be preaching to the converted.” What’s different about what Obama’s data scientists did? Obama campaign’s persuadability score tried to capture not just a voter’s current opinion, but how that individual opinion was likely to change after interactions with the campaign. Most importantly, Obama’s analysts did not assume that voters who said they were “undecided” were necessarily persuadable—a mistake campaigns have made in the past, according to targeting experts. “Undecided is just a big lump,” said Daniel Kreiss, who wrote a book on the evolution of Democratic “networked” politics from Howard Dean through the 2008 Obama campaign. Voters who call themselves “undecided” might actually be strong partisans who are unwilling to share their views—or simply people who are disengaged. “Someone who is undecided and potentially not very persuadable, you might spend all the time in the world talking to that person, and their mind doesn’t change. They stay undecided,” Slaby said. To pinpoint voters who might actually change their minds, the Obama campaign conducted randomized experiments, Slaby said. Voters received phone calls in which they were asked to rate their support for the president, and then engaged in a conversation about different policy issues. At the end of the conversation, they were asked to rate their support for the president again. Using the results of these experiments, combined with detailed demographic information about individual voters, the campaign was able to pinpoint both what kinds of voters had been persuaded to support the president, and which issues had persuaded them. Avi Feller, a graduate student in statistics at Harvard who has worked on this kind of modeling, compared it to medical research. “The statistics of drug trials are very similar to the statistics of experiments in campaigns,” he said. “I have some cancer drug, and I know it works well on some people—for whom is the cancer drug more or less effective?” “Campaigns have always been about trying to persuade people. What’s new here is we’ve spent the time and energy to go through this randomization process,” Slaby said. Issenberg reported that Democratic strategists have been experimenting with persuasion targeting since 2010, and that the Analyst Institute, an organization devoted to improving Democratic campaign tactics through experimentation, had played a key role in its development. Slaby said the Obama campaign’s persuasion strategy built on these efforts, but at greater scale. Aaron Strauss, the targeting director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement that the DCCC was also running a persuasion targeting program this year using randomized experiments as part of its work on congressional races. What were the persuasion scores good for—and how well did they work? The persuasion scores allowed the campaign to focus its outreach efforts—and their volunteer phone calls— on voters who might actually change their minds as the result. It also guided them in what policy messages individual voters should hear. Slaby said the campaign had some initial data suggesting that the persuasion score had been effective—but that the campaign was still working on an in-depth analysis of which of its individual tactics actually worked. But a successful “persuasion” phone call may not change a voter’s mind forever—just like a single drug dose will not be effective forever. One official with knowledge of the campaign’s data operation said that the campaign’s experiments also tested how long the “persuasion” effect lasted after the initial phone conversation—and found that it was only about three weeks. “There is no generic conclusion to draw from this experimentation that persuasion via phone only lasts a certain amount of time,” Slaby said. “Any durability effects we saw were specific to this electorate and this race.” Bloomberg Businessweek: The Science Behind Those Obama Campaign E-Mails http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-29/the-science-behind-those-obama-campaign-e-mails By Joshua Green November 29, 2012 One fascination in a presidential race mostly bereft of intrigue was the strange, incessant, and weirdly overfamiliar e-mails that emanated from the Obama campaign. Anyone who shared an address with the campaign soon started receiving messages from Barack Obama with subject lines such as “Join me for dinner?” “It’s officially over,” “It doesn’t have to be this way,” or just “Wow.” Jon Stewart mocked them on the Daily Show. The women’s website the Hairpin likened them to notes from a stalker. But they worked. Most of the $690 million Obama raised online came from fundraising e-mails. During the campaign, Obama’s staff wouldn’t answer questions about them or the alchemy that made them so successful. Now, with the election over, they’re opening the black box. The appeals were the product of rigorous experimentation by a large team of analysts. “We did extensive AB testing not just on the subject lines and the amount of money we would ask people for,” says Amelia Showalter, director of digital analytics, “but on the messages themselves and even the formatting.” The campaign would test multiple drafts and subject lines—often as many as 18 variations—before picking a winner to blast out to tens of millions of subscribers. “When we saw something that really moved the dial, we would adopt it,” says Toby Fallsgraff, the campaign’s e-mail director, who oversaw a staff of 20 writers. It quickly became clear that a casual tone was usually most effective. “The subject lines that worked best were things you might see in your in-box from other people,” Fallsgraff says. “ ‘Hey’ was probably the best one we had over the duration.” Another blockbuster in June simply read, “I will be outspent.” According to testing data shared with Bloomberg Businessweek, that outperformed 17 other variants and raised more than $2.6 million. Writers, analysts, and managers routinely bet on which lines would perform best and worst. “We were so bad at predicting what would win that it only reinforced the need to constantly keep testing,” says Showalter. “Every time something really ugly won, it would shock me: giant-size fonts for links, plain-text links vs. pretty ‘Donate’ buttons. Eventually we got to thinking, ‘How could we make things even less attractive?’ That’s how we arrived at the ugly yellow highlighting on the sections we wanted to draw people’s eye to.” Another unexpected hit: profanity. Dropping in mild curse words such as “Hell yeah, I like Obamacare” got big clicks. But these triumphs were fleeting. There was no such thing as the perfect e-mail; every breakthrough had a shelf life. “Eventually the novelty wore off, and we had to go back and retest,” says Showalter. Fortunately for Obama and all political campaigns that will follow, the tests did yield one major counterintuitive insight: Most people have a nearly limitless capacity for e-mail and won’t unsubscribe no matter how many they’re sent. “At the end, we had 18 or 20 writers going at this stuff for as many hours a day as they could stay awake,” says Fallsgraff. “The data didn’t show any negative consequences to sending more.” After a pause, he offered a qualification: “We do know that getting all those e-mails in your in-box is at least mildly irritating to some people. Even my father would point that out to me.” The bottom line: Obama’s e-mail fundraising team tested hundreds of grabby subject lines. The most successful—“Hey”— brought in millions of dollars. Tech President: He’s Back! Alan Grayson Shares His Thanksgiving Wal-Mart Escapade on Facebook and YouTube http://techpresident.com/news/23183/hes-back-alan-grayson-shares-his-thanksgiving-wal-mart-escapadefacebook-and-youtube Sarah Lai Stirland November 27, 2012 Congressman-elect Alan Grayson hasn't even been sworn in yet, but he's already engaging the public and putting issues on the radar with his signature use of social media. The "blogosphere's man in Congress" was one of two documented members of the House to publicly associate themselves with the Labor-backed Wal-Mart protests this Thanksgiving. (The other was California Representative George Miller, the top Democrat on the House Education and Labor Committee, reports The Nation.) Grayson attended a protest at one of the stores in Orlando, posed for a photo with an associate, and in a Saturday Facebook posting lambasted Wal-Mart for its low wages and for mooching off the taxpayer by forcing employees onto public assistance. He also recounted his experience, and explained that he was marched off Wal-Mart's premises by its security guards. That drew attention. On Tuesday, he appeared on CNN's Newsroom with Carol Costello, where he reiterated most of the points made in his Facebook post, which were essentially many of protest organizer OUR Walmart's points -- that Wal-Mart is a profitable corporation, and that they can afford to pay their associates more, and treat them with more respect. Congressman-elect Alan Grayson hasn't even been sworn in yet, but he's already engaging the public and putting issues on the radar with his signature use of social media. The "blogosphere's man in Congress" was one of two documented members of the House to publicly associate themselves with the Labor-backed Wal-Mart protests this Thanksgiving. (The other was California Representative George Miller, the top Democrat on the House Education and Labor Committee, reports The Nation.) Grayson attended a protest at one of the stores in Orlando, posed for a photo with an associate, and in a Saturday Facebook posting lambasted Wal-Mart for its low wages and for mooching off the taxpayer by forcing employees onto public assistance. He also recounted his experience, and explained that he was marched off Wal-Mart's premises by its security guards. That drew attention. On Tuesday, he appeared on CNN's Newsroom with Carol Costello, where he reiterated most of the points made in his Facebook post, which were essentially many of protest organizer OUR Walmart's points -- that Wal-Mart is a profitable corporation, and that they can afford to pay their associates more, and treat them with more respect. He also threw in some startling statistics: "In state after state," he wrote, "The largest group of Medicaid recipients is WalMart employees. I’m sure that the same thing is true of food stamp recipients. Each WalMart “associate” costs the taxpayers an average of more than $1,000 in public assistance." Grayson didn't cite the source for his statistics, nor the time frame for this alleged $1,000 in public assistance. Wal-Mart didn't respond to a request for comment at the time of this post. When Costello noted what many other people have noted over the past few days -- namely that there appeared to be very few actual Wal-Mart employees amongst the ranks of the protestors, Grayson responded: "The protests aren't meant to stop people from shopping. The protests are meant to inform workers of their rights to organize under the law, and under the constitution, and to make sure that they understand that they are not alone, and they will be protected if they exercise their rights. It's not meant to raise prices, or to interfere with shopping, it's meant to organize people who desperately need to be organized to make a better life for themselves." He also told Costello that the federal minimum wage needs to be higher. Then he promptly uploaded the clip to YouTube, where he has almost 8,000 subscribers. Grayson has previously shared his thoughts about how he deliberately uses YouTube to communicate directly with the public on issues that he cares about. In 2010, he told Mother Jones that he routinely delivered short, YouTube-friendly (in Nick Baumann's words) speeches. Grayson also used Facebook during his campaign to communicate with the public. The Walmart posting, along with others, such as November 4's "Idiot Wind: 'A Socialist Nightmare Hellscape,'" ridiculing his Republican opponent's hyperbole, illustrate that the congressman-elect fully intends to use these channels to bring attention in his own unique way to both mainstream issues as well as others that might not be on the political radar or on the Congressional to-do list. NJ.com: How I won an election by only using Facebook http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2012/11/how_i_won_an_election_by_only.html#incart_river Jim Cook November 22, 2012 My campaign lasted less than 24 hours. It didn’t cost me a cent. All I used was a few Facebook status updates saying “Write me in for Woodstown-Pilesgrove School Board candidate.” Sure enough, there is power in social media. After nearly three weeks of counting over 500 write-in ballots, a quick call to the Salem County Clerk’s office confirmed I won. Let’s take a walk back and see how this transpired. Monday, Nov. 5 was my brother Joey’s birthday. My parents and I sat around our kitchen table late at night finishing up our cake and tossing away the wrapping paper when we came across our sample ballots. The next day, we all would vote. Since this was my brother’s first presidential election in which he would vote, we all had a good discussion about the various public questions, defining the likes of words such as “bond referendum,” and how taxpayers would be affected by the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ votes. Anyway, we noticed that there were two openings on the Woodstown-Pilesgrove Board of Education. That’s when the fun started. I pulled out my iPhone half-jokingly and typed in: “Hey everyone! I noticed you need to vote for 2 for W-P school board. But there’s only one candidate. Write-in ‘Jim Cook Jr.’ !!!” It was a presidential election, so I expected my post to be lost in the flurry of Obama/Romney posts. It wasn’t. Twenty of my friends commented that they would vote for me. I posted again, urging friends to write me in. More comments and confirmations of votes. The more support I received, the more of a wake-up call it was to take this more seriously — so I did. My first post went up around 10:30 p.m. Monday night, and my last went up less than 24 hours later. Eight posts total, asking for votes. When the count came in that night to our editorial desk, 261 write-in votes were reported in Pilesgrove Township for the vacant seat. Nearly every day for 15 days, I called the Salem County clerk’s office to find out if I had won. Over 200 other votes were cast in Woodstown, as well, with nearly 600 total write-ins cast for the vacant seat. The delay in finalizing the votes was due to superstorm Sandy, according to the clerk's office. Wednesday, Nov. 21, came along and I called Salem County Clerk Gilda Gill and she asked me my full name and my address. It was a match. I won a three-year term to Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional School Board. Next, I hopped up and down and had a mild chain of outbursts in our office, proclaiming I had won. It was an exciting moment. I called my parents. I texted some friends. Then I posted on Facebook the news of winning and almost instantly got flooded with congratulatory messages — many of them saying I would bring a fresh perspective. That meant the most to me, hearing that. It was even better than winning — hearing from friends I hadn’t heard from in years. I’m sad to say, however, I cannot accept the position on Woodstown-Pilesgrove Board of Education. I wish I could, but I have to take the ethical route here and make the best decision for my career and the South Jersey Times — a job and company too close to my heart to put in jeopardy. In my field of work, it is of the utmost importance that a reporter or editor does not serve on any elected position in politics. Objectivity is the basis of our dedication to local journalism in South Jersey. That can’t be hindered. If I accepted the position, I would have to resign from a job that I worked too hard to get and feel too passionate about to give up. With that said, all I have left to say is thank you. Thank you for writing in my name, even if I was somewhat unorthodox in my campaign method of only using Facebook. Thank you for trusting me — a proud 2006 graduate of Woodstown High School — leading in one of the most difficult local elected positions that exist. I feel the Woodstown-Pilesgrove love. There’s nothing like it. What can we say we learned from this? Its a reminder that if we stick together, 'we the people' still have a voice that strongly impacts our community. I've learned — and hope my friends have learned — that as young people, we play a vital role in that voice. I hope I haven't let you down, and I'm sorry I cannot accept this position. I can, however, throw a victory party. And you’re all invited. POLITICO: Jim Messina at the Politico Playbook Breakfast http://www.politico.com/multimedia/video/2012/11/jim-messina-at-politicos-playbook-breakfastevent.html 11/21/12 JIM MESSINA, Obama for America campaign manager, gave his first on-camera interview before a standingroom-only crowd at Playbook Breakfast: “What Targeted Sharing was -- and I think it's one of the most important things we did -- was a Facebook app that allowed you to go and match your Facebook world with our lists, and we say to you, ‘Mike, here are five friends of yours that we think are undecided in this race. Click here to send them a piece of viral content. Click here to send them a factsheet. Click here to ask them to support the President.’ … *I+t took us a year of some amazing work of our talented technology team to figure out how to do it. But we were able to contact over 5 million people directly through their Facebook worlds, and people that they knew. So, they're going to look if their friend … sends them something. They're going to look at it because they know that person. POLITICO: Jim Messina: What I learned in the election http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84103.html#ixzz2DLt1pdEA Ginger Gibson November 21, 2012 Jim Messina, fresh off running the victorious Obama reelection campaign, oversaw the most technologyheavy campaign in history. But he insists it wasn’t just number-crunching that led to victory. It was the convergence of 21st-century data and old-fashioned on-the-ground door-knocking that left Messina confident before Election Day that Barack Obama would be victorious over Mitt Romney. “It’s about the candidate. It’s about the message. It’s about where they’re going to lead this country with a vision,” Messina said at POLITICO’s Playbook Breakfast on Tuesday in his first on-camera interview since the election. “Because that’s why millions of Americans went online and signed up for Obama for America. It wasn’t because they got a sexy T-shirt…It wasn’t because of the great bumper sticker. It was because they deeply believed in Barack Obama.” Here are 10 things about campaigning Messina learned along the way: 1. Public polls missed the mark Public polls took a beating from Republicans this year, most of whom insisted they were inflating Obama’s numbers to discourage GOP voters. (VIDEO: Messina: Cell phones fouled polling) But in the end, many of the public polls showed a very tight race nationally, although some of public surveys did show Romney leading in the final weeks of the campaign. And Messina isn’t letting the pollsters off easy. “Most of the public polls you were seeing were completely ridiculous,” Messina said. “A bunch of polling is broken in the country.” With the data-heavy operation, Messina said the campaign could consistently see where the public polls were going wrong. The campaign calculated the early vote split within 1 percentage point and the Florida results with .2 percentage points, Messina said. He pointed most squarely to the lack of cellphone users included in most public polls. Federal regulations prohibited using an automated dialer to contact cellphone users for polling. Instead, a live person must dial and talk to the potential voter being polled and that makes conducting polls with cellphone users more expensive. As a result, many public polls leave cellphone users out of their samples. Messina said the growing popularity of cellphones as the only point of contact for young voters and minorities left key constituencies for Obama out of the polls and skewed the numbers for Romney in some samples. “Cellphone usage has changed the industry,” Messina said. Messina suggested that pollsters should look to actual state-generated voter registration rolls to identify voters and contact them instead of using their own samples. “That’s why some polls looked so difficult for the president, because they were under-polling the electorate for the president,” Messina said. 2. Hire smart people Messina got a piece of advice from Google Chairman Eric Schmidt: Hire smart people. And not necessarily political types. “You want smart people, who you are going to draw what you want and they’re going to build it. Messina said Schmidt, who served as a campaign adviser, told him. So Messina set out to lure data-savvy campaign workers like chief technology officer Harper Reed, who had never worked on a campaign before. As a result, the 60-member tech team was able to build new tools such as Narwhal, which let it unify all kinds of information about voters and volunteers. “It would start with hiring really smart people regardless of their age, [giving] them a budget and support and hold them accountable to deadline and they will build you some really great things,” Messina said of the book he would write about running a technology-driven campaign. the average voter gets their news from 15 different sources. And it put all of the data at Messina’s fingertips. The technology team was able to build “Dashboard. is going to have to decide what percentage you spend online. as well as additional online social media presence. the Obama campaign sent out one tweet on the social networking site Twitter. The biggest undertaking was a system that would allow people to identify their Facebook friends who were potential swing voters and personally encourage them to go to the polls or volunteer. but I think online will catch up very quickly.” Messina said. “Television is still the dominant media. Messina said. two fundraising appeals were sent: one using traditional direct mail requests and another with a tailored data request. The campaign shifted some of its resources to online advertising. including running thousands of statistical models to track polling information. the Dashboard system also allowed them to generate tailored voter appeals. the campaign not only had a Twitter team but also had a Facebook and Tumblr. To convert those into cash. an arena that provided more targets and a wealth of specific users.” The shift to online was even more dramatic between 2008 and 2012.The data crew crunched numbers. Now. Like the individually targeted fundraising appeals. And the online engagement paid off: The campaign raised $700 million online this year. Messina said. The first response was that such an undertaking would be expensive. Messina said. The next presidential.” a program that allowed the campaign to track a number of metrics. whoever has my job the next time. he said. The tech folks also used data points to model the most effective fundraising appeals. the average voter got most of their information from the evening news. “Analytics was a department in the campaign that used data across the campaign to make everyone’s job easier. In 2012. $200 million more than the previous election. 3. Spend early before the flood takes over One of the biggest missteps Republicans have pointed to in Romney’s campaign was the flood of attack ads during the summer months that eviscerated the GOP nominee’s business record and went unanswered. “I complained about how expensive it was and then we went and built it. A decade ago. On Election Day in 2008. Mass marketing is over The Obama campaign reduced some of the mass marketing of candidates that was a hallmark of previous campaigns. spending and advertising. “I think it already is for young voters out there. 4. door-knocking.” he said. The data-driven fundraising appeal outperformed the other by 14 percent.” Messina said. . a remarkable difference when every dollar in the campaign matters. Messina said. where African-American turnout was up 4 points from 2008 and held the key to victory. Door knocking is the voter contact of the future Despite all the gee-whiz gadgets drawing media buzz.Messina said the Obama campaign made the calculated decision to spend early. That was possible because of the size of Obama’s grass-roots operation. we have to go back and run a campaign about the grassroots.” Messina said. why they should get out and vote. Messina insisted that the most important element of any campaign is old-fashioned door-knocking. even those who weren’t likely to support Romney. And Romney relied more on his the super PACs than Obama did. even if that meant being outspent at the end of the campaign. But Messina points out the flood of advertisements. Romney’s campaign frequently insisted that voters weren’t paying attention and that they would spend where it counted — that is. to keep the base involved in the conversation. But Messina insists those days are over.” 6.” Messina said. “We built the biggest grass-roots campaign… We built the kind of campaign that made people want to volunteer. more heavily at the end. “It was a crutch for them. one to chase after a stray absentee ballot and another that provided specific talking points. “There is a magical place that you can reach every voter: the door. . Messina said. “We believed that late TV didn’t matter as much as early TV and it turns out we were right. and after using the specific talking points walked away feeling encouraged he had won another voter over. individual issues and how they historically vote. “You must have an ongoing conversation about why they should support the president. Messina gave credit to Romney’s campaign for a fundraising operation that raised more big-dollar checks. fueled by heavy spending from Democratic-aligned super PACs.” Messina said. The campaign found that it was important to engage supporters.” Messina said. “Too many Democrats just put Barack Obama’s picture on a piece of paper. they’ll be more likely to go to the challenger.” The campaign found that the best way to contact voters wasn’t through out-of-state workers but via local residents who know their neighbors. Independents are not swing voters The old adage is that independents truly swing between the parties. “This has to be about the grass roots. He explained his friend was able to help get the absentee ballot in the mail. 5. but cautioned that also meant most of the Republican’s money was tied up with the national party. allowed Democrats to define Romney before he could define himself. The negative images stuck.” Messina said Obama told him. And that if they haven’t made their mind up by Election Day. Messina said. Meanwhile. It launched a barbershop and beauty shop engagement effort in important places like Ohio. Messina told a story about a friend in Wisconsin who used Dashboard to target just two voters in his neighborhood. “The messenger matters. like Hispanics. “We ran a huge field campaign on the ground to do this. First. it all comes back to having a message that matters. and pre-Election Day ballots are going to be increasingly crucial as more states adopt them. . Even with the most sophisticated voter outreach programs in the world that can identify that one voter who might be sympathetic to Obama in one town in Ohio. “We could see our electorate early voting at the rates needed. 7. we’re going to be OK. We started to say if that’s true.” Messina said.” Messina said of the Republicans. Messina argued that the new swing voter is truly a moderate. Messina said. Messina said. Because of that.The campaign went through and individually scored every voter in swing states based on their voting history. that the GOP lost. it was because they supported Obama. Instead. Much of the data used for scoring was based on door-knocking (“How fast did they slam the door?”) and phone calls by the campaign. not some data program. Then it set out to have historic early voting turnout. Early voting is important Messina knew Obama was going to win a few days before Election Day.” he said.” Messina argued.” 8. rendering the date potentially useless. door-knocking is going to be more important than ever. it wouldn’t matter if the campaign couldn’t reach them. That fact makes figuring out how to most effectively use data in the future more complicated. and we had a better messenger. “You can build a whole suite of analytics… but it all comes back to the campaign.” Messina said. And for each voter who used the Dashboard system or encouraged their friends to vote through Facebook. Messina said. “What campaigns are evolving to is the campaigns of the past. Early voting totals confirmed Obama was the favorite. Messina said part of the Republican post-election soul-searching will involve looking at those groups. the campaign set out to register thousands of new voters. Message matters Through all of the lauding of Obama’s precision voter micro-targeting and reams of data. Messina said. He said that it doesn’t make sense to just sell a campaign’s data to the next candidate — or the party — because that candidate wouldn’t have the same connection to voters. past support and likelihood to support Obama again. he added. Messina insisted that none of that would have mattered without a compelling message and messenger. “The future demographics in this country are changing in a way that’s going to make their current electoral math difficult for them if they don’t.” Messina said. “We ended up being able to build support scores for every voter in battleground states from 1 to 100. And many of the unaffiliated independents are former Republicans who left the party unhappy with the tea party takeover. “I don’t think the president is in the business of selling things. 10. and day after day they had to answer for their ad. the campaign itself has to be dismantled and campaign funds can’t be spent for non-campaign expenses. When asked by POLITICO’s Mike Allen if political reasons helped motivate Obama’s appointment of him as ambassador. where he already served as deputy chief of staff. “As someone who helped manage his nomination for ambassador.” Messina said. It’s likely such an operation would try to use its organizational strength to back the president’s agenda. But Messina envisions a world where the campaign apparatus still plays a role. The campaign conducted a survey of supporters to ask what they would like to see the operation focus on. As for picking Paul Ryan. he’s a good guy. he said. Messina appeared to dismiss heading back to the White House. most importantly with the candidate himself. After the 2008 election. Messina said. and I think Jon Huntsman would have been a top-tier election candidate. Instead.” Messina said.” Messina said. you can’t just hand it to the next candidate. the campaign held online town hall meetings to get a similar sense of what supporters wanted and Messina said some of the results pushed them to enter fights that he was otherwise inclined to stay out of. “They ended up spending the last 14 days of the election on the defense. Romney wasn’t the best GOP candidate Messina cited a number of problems with the Romney campaign.” Huntsman served Obama as U. ambassador to China and briefly ran for the GOP nod before dropping out after the New Hampshire primary. Messina answered: “I think we were honest about our concerns about Huntsman. he pointed to the television ad they ran in Ohio claiming Jeep was sending jobs to China. Asked who he thought would have been the strongest general election foe against Obama. Messina demurred.The Obama campaign tried to transfer their organization to congressional candidates in the 2010 midterm races but found that it didn’t work.” 9. they have to their own connection. By law. Obama for America has a future The future of Obama for America — the official name of the campaign — remains a question mark.” Messina said. Messina didn’t cite the Romney campaign’s failure to answer the summer attack ads as the biggest mistake made by the Republican.S. “I do think he added something to the national ticket Romney didn’t have.” Messina said. . But he left open the possibility of remaining with a Chicago political operation. “I thought he was a committed American who would serve our country well and he did. Messina insisted that the vice presidential nominee did little to help the candidate in states where it mattered. pointing out that Obama won the Republican congressman’s hometown. “We learned this to our surprise in 2010. President Obama almost certainly has a file on you. car registrations. along with scores estimating how likely they were to cast ballots for his reelection.html Craig Timberg and Amy Gardner November 20. he sees a future for the grass-roots operation. who collected less data and deployed it less effectively.” said Michael Slaby. a key target group for the campaign. Mitt Romney. Campaign workers added far more detail through a broad range of voter contacts — in person. a party insider who ran unsuccessfully for governor of Virginia in 2009. Democrats say they must navigate the inevitable intraparty squabbles over who gets access now that the unifying forces of a billion-dollar presidential campaign are gone. . If their last names sounded Hispanic. via e-mail or through visits to the campaign’s Web site.” Messina said. I’m much more doubtful it can happen by 2014.” said Peter Pasi. too. 2012 If you voted this election season.” The database consists of voting records and political donation histories bolstered by vast amounts of personal but publicly available consumer data. has inquired about the data for his gubernatorial campaign next year. McAuliffe. Tests of whether Obama’s database can be successfully redeployed will come even sooner. say those familiar with the conversations. officials from both parties say. I think it will be a wasted opportunity.” Messina said. say campaign officials and others familiar with the operation.C. on the phone. It could record hundreds of pieces of information for each voter. for example. To maintain their advantage. “If this is all we do with this technology. housing values and hunting licenses. Washington Post: Democrats Push to Redeploy Obama’s Voter Database http://www..“Like get involved in local elections and recall elections in Wisconsin because our people wanted us to. the database recorded that. had their files updated with lists of their Facebook friends. Terence R. “It can be done by 2016. “You can’t run two presidential campaigns from the grass roots and say now we’re going to run this from D. The prospect already has some Republicans worried. The result was a digital operation far more elaborate than the one mounted by Obama’s Republican rival.com/business/economy/democrats-push-to-redeploy-obamas-voterdatabase/2012/11/20/d14793a4-2e83-11e2-89d4-040c9330702a_story. Democrats are pressing to expand and redeploy the most sophisticated voter list in history. along with scores measuring the intensity of those relationships and whether they lived in swing states. beginning with next year’s gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey and extending to campaigns for years to come.washingtonpost. the Obama campaign’s chief integration and innovation officer. Those who used its Facebook app. But regardless. a Republican direct marketer who worked on Rick Santorum’s presidential primary campaign. “It’s always hard to play catch-up. And although the election is over. Obama’s database is just getting started. His vast campaign database includes information on voters’ magazine subscriptions. volunteer and vote. Privacy advocates say the opportunity for abuse — by Obama. No existing group has the technical resources to manage the data. All Democratic candidates have access to the party’s lists. Such efforts. Although McAuliffe is the early Democratic front-runner.” he said. the outgoing chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party. Facebook and other companies. he said. though. which include voting and donation histories along with some consumer data. take unusual resources. which is why campaign officials are debating how to proceed even though there is wide agreement on the desire to help fellow Democrats and like-minded independent groups. making legal restrictions of data collection less likely. But there are serious logistical challenges to keeping updated a database as large and as detailed as Obama’s.” said Brian Moran. which has investigated the handling of personal data by Google. Chris Soghoian. he said. Romney or any other politician’s campaign — is serious. nor the Federal Election Commission has jurisdiction over how campaigns use such information. Slaby said the campaign took great care with the data it collected and will ensure that whoever takes it over will protect it. since Virginia has a 2013 election. the campaign official.“We have been communicating to Obama for America all along about the importance of receiving that data. leaving only a few months before the November general election. should McAuliffe get it. What Obama’s database adds are the more fine-grained analyses of what issues matter most to voters and how best to motivate them to donate. an analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union and a former FTC technologist. Or. Building the campaign’s technological . Slaby said of Obama. including fundraising. said the database in the near term could be used to organize support for the president’s legislative agenda but eventually might go to the Democratic National Committee or Obama’s presidential library committee once it is established. Slaby. “A lot of this will rest on him and what he wants his legacy and the legacy of this organization to mean. he said. officials at those agencies say. even more valuable. Neither the Federal Trade Commission. Obama was able to collect and use personal data largely free of the restrictions that govern similar efforts by private companies. said voters should worry that the interests of politicians and commercial data brokers have aligned. Voters who willingly gave campaigns such information may not have understood that it would be passed on to the party or other candidates. as is the danger of hackers stealing the data. “They’re going to be loath to regulate those companies if they are relying on them to target voters. it could go to a group created to nurture and deploy the database most effectively. even though disclosures on Web sites and Facebook apps warn of that possibility. The short time frame may make a full data set. many in the party say individual candidates should receive access to such data only after winning the nomination — something that in Virginia can’t happen before the June primary.” The database powered nearly everything about Obama’s campaign. identifying likely supporters and urging them to vote. This resulted in an operational edge that helped a candidate with a slim margin in the overall national vote to trounce Romney in the state-by-state electoral college contests. a scary statistic emerged from the databases at Barack Obama’s Chicago headquarters: half the campaign’s targeted swing-state voters under age 29 had no listed phone number.” Slaby said the most important element was what he called “micro-listening. Slaby and others from the campaign said that although it relied on detailed analyses of cable television viewing habits and Web traffic. was provided by voters themselves whenever they had contact with the campaign.” he said. for example. personal information from those sources was made anonymous and did not flow back into the voter database. to draw on the information in the voter database and continually update it. and used Amazon Web Services to host the voter database on its cloud servers.systems took nearly two years and. . the campaign was determined to make better use of increasingly sophisticated technology. cellphone numbers and. finned unicorn — that consolidated lists of voters and donors. The campaign invested heavily in engineers and technologists. enriching the database with e-mail addresses. such as those used by field organizers and call center workers. Among his mentors was Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. officials said. involved about 120 paid employees working with data provided by hundreds of thousands of volunteers. They lived in the cellular shadows. information about what issues most concerned them.) lost to President George W. Kerry (D-Mass. 2012 In the final weeks before Election Day. including many who had never worked in politics. effectively immune to traditional get-out-the-vote efforts.com/2012/11/20/friended-how-the-obama-campaign-connected-with-youngvoters/?iid=sl-main-lead Michael Scherer November 20. This allowed the campaign’s analysts to test the effectiveness of messages aimed at narrow demographic slices — single women in their 30s worried about health care. Although it was often described as “micro-targeting.” “If people tell us they’re interested in cats. crucially. John F. After Sen. The most important information. we probably took that down. at their peak. The key was a program the campaign built — called Narwhal after a predatory whale whose single tusk makes it look a bit like a fat. Republicans once held the edge in using technology to identify and motivate voters. Jim Messina. who was a regular visitor to what many have said resembled an Internet start-up company within the Chicago campaign headquarters. Narwhal allowed related pieces of software. Democrats invested in building better voter lists and developing a new generation of political operatives skilled in the science of persuasion and motivation. in person or online. often collected over years by state party officials and campaigns. Although Obama’s 2008 election was hailed for its technological advances.time. campaign officials acknowledge that the operation fell far short of its hype. Time: Friended: How the Obama Campaign Connected with Young Voters http://swampland. Driving this was Obama’s data-minded campaign manager. With the benefit of four years of lead time. Bush in 2004. “Who do they trust? Their friends. “We are giving you relevant information from your friends. the Obama campaign’s digital director.” says James Fowler.” The campaign called this effort targeted sharing. In 2008. Facebook can connect the campaign. “People don’t trust campaigns. ArsTechnica: How Team Obama's Tech Efficiency Left Romney IT In Dust http://arstechnica. For supporters. the team blitzed the supporters who had signed up for the app with requests to share specific online content with specific friends simply by clicking a button. a Republican digital strategist who worked on George W.000 supporters followed through with more than 5 million contacts. Facebook offered an ideal way to reach them. it was deployed only in the campaign’s homestretch. That’s because the more than 1 million Obama backers who signed up for the app gave the campaign permission to look at their Facebook friend lists.” says Goff. Political strategists on both sides say that in the future they intend to get the system working sooner in primaries in key states and with more buy-in from supporters. What’s more. through one person. who co-authored the study. the campaign had a way to see the hidden young voters. By 2016. for instance. “We are not just sending you a banner ad. Tell your friends.” says Teddy Goff. give money. A study of 61 million people on Facebook during the 2010 midterms found that people who saw photos of their friends voting on Election Day were more likely to cast a ballot themselves. But the Obama team had a solution in place: a Facebook application that will transform the way campaigns are conducted in the future. who helped oversee the project. however. Email. this could have been a crisis. “We are starting to see. More than 600. to 500 or more friends. the Obama campaign’s 29year-old head of analytics.com/information-technology/2012/11/how-team-obamas-tech-efficiency-left-romney-it- .” Early tests of the system found statistically significant changes in voter behavior. The Romney team used a far less sophisticated version of the technology. “I think this will wind up being the most groundbreaking piece of technology developed for this campaign. Roughly 85% of those without a listed phone number could be found in the uploaded friend lists. A geek squad in Chicago created models from vast data sets to find the best approaches for each potential voter. connects one person to a campaign. Before social networks like Facebook.S. the app appeared to be just another way to digitally connect to the campaign. And in those final weeks of the campaign. who will have a greater understanding of their role in the process. Campaign pros have known this for years. connecting a supportive friend to a would-be voter was a challenge. Bush’s 2004 campaign. “Campaigns are trying to engineer what the new door knock is going to look like and what the next phone call is going to look like. “It is much more effective to stimulate these real-world ties. a professor at the University of California at San Diego. Twitter was a sideshow and Facebook had about one-sixth its current reach in the U. were more likely to do so than similar potential voters who were not contacted. That confirmed a trend already noted in political-science literature: online social networks have the power to change voting behavior.” explains Dan Wagner. In an instant. A phone call or knock on the door from someone who lives in your neighborhood is far more effective than appeals from out-of-state volunteers or robo-calls. vote or look at a video designed to change their mind. for example. asking their friends to register to vote. People whose friends sent them requests to register to vote and to vote early. Because it took more than a year to build the system.” says Patrick Ruffini. But to the Windy City number crunchers. this sort of campaign-driven sharing over social networks is almost certain to be the norm.” And the technology is moving fast. it was a game changer. They don’t even trust media organizations.For a campaign dependent on a big youth turnout. "A lesson which we took to heart from 2008 [was that] operational efficiency is an enormous strategic advantage. Linux—particularly Ubuntu—was used as the server operating system of choice." It also helped that the campaign. 99. Michael Slaby.in-dust/ By Sean Gallagher November 20. Based on an Ars analysis of Federal Election Commission filings. the Romney campaign's Director of Technology. not perfect. "Someone counted nearly 10 distinct DBMS/NoSQL systems. while the Obama campaign did the opposite— buying hardware and software licenses. essentially disposable organization.999 percent . and short—an 18 month. be smart.6 million on outside technology services—most of it on outside "digital media" consulting and data management. agile. "We did a lot of work to make things simple. 2012 Despite running a campaign with about twice the money and twice the staff of Governor Mitt Romney's presidential bid.5 million.000. at least for internally developed applications. not perfect The strategy the Obama campaign's DevOps team used to manage the ever-growing number of applications deployed by the campaign was to "choose the lowest cost route to get us the most results—basically. spent $9. Just how much emphasis the Obama campaign put on IT is demonstrated by the fact that the campaign's most highly paid staff member was its Chief Integration and Innovation Officer. with an annualized salary of about $130. Targeted Victory. lead DevOps for Obama for America put it in an e-mail interview with Ars.000. $1 billion. putting the money instead into building an internal tech team. Hackers can thrive in an environment like that. the Romney campaign spent $23. and we wrote something like 200 apps in Python. all-inclusive. eliminating a lot of the financial burden of infrastructure management. By comparison. Java. and hiring its own IT department. and used the right technology for the right purpose. some of which I hope to see come out as open sourced projects here shortly. not a technology expert—was number five.000 a year. Zac Moffatt. Romney's Digital Director —a social media planner. Ruby. President Barack Obama's campaign under-spent Romney's on IT products and services by $14. "Campaigns are serious tests of your creativity and foresight." Key in maximizing the value of the Obama campaign's IT spending was its use of open source tools and open architectures. and when you have a team that is unfazed by limitations." VanDenPlas said. But the advantage of having a personal army of coders wasn't just financial. "For the applications built by the OFA [Obama for America] technology team.js. to handle much of the Romney campaign's digital strategy. The bottom line is that the Obama campaign's emphasis on people over capital and use of open-source tools to develop and operate its sophisticated cloud-based infrastructure ended up actually saving the campaign money." As we revealed in our recent analysis of the Romney team's tech strategy." VanDenPlas explained." VanDenPlas said. the Obama campaign." Smart. was barely in the top 20 salaries of the Romney campaign. you get some really amazing and creative solutions. with an annualized salary of $80. relied almost exclusively on Amazon Web Service for its infrastructure.3 million on technology services and consulting and under $2 million on internal technology-related payroll. Kevin Rekowski. at $175. As Scott VanDenPlas. and Node. Everything is over far too quickly to get boring. "They are unpredictable. PHP. "We were technology agnostic. in addition to whatever he earned from hiring his own firm. It outsourced most of its basic IT operations. to a point where I'm not sure anyone else really can. To help optimize applications. if you include privately hosted virtualized environments in the cloud architecture definition. which uses latency-based routing to direct users to the host running in the AWS availability region with the shortest network trip time. VanDenPlas said. the DevOps team shifted to using Asgard—an open-source tool developed by Netflix to manage cloud deployments. Rails." The armor-plated cloud The OFA engineering team also did a lot of work to ensure that they got the most out of Amazon's cloud architecture in terms of resiliency. "purely because it was the best fit for what we were doing. without which all of the other applications may have been moot. "Akamai also provided very useful statistics and logging. "It is really a fantastic tool that increases your visibility into where your applications are spending time. making deployments much simpler. he added. the engineering team took advantage of Amazon's multiple availability zones within its Virgina data center. the most heavily used monitoring system was "our community of internal and external supporters. three facility processor capable of a per ." While AWS's tools were used for performance monitoring and to trigger automatic scaling-up of capacity. "a multi-region." VanDenPlas said." VanDenPlas said. a tool also used by the Romney campaign. As the election approached and the infrastructure demands surged." VanDenPlas said. As a whole.' even down to our development environments running inside of Vagrant on our laptops. Kohana)." VanDenPlas said. As the number of applications and the scale of the campaign's AWS infrastructure use climbed. the team built a lightweight plugin for Nagios (the opensource basis of Opsview) in Python based on boto (the Python programming interface to AWS's services) and dotCloud's ZeroRPC messaging interface." VanDenPlas explained. Graphite. "Using this. the OFA technology team used New Relic." The team shifted its domain name service to Amazon's Route 53 service. "We built out a triply redundant. The human factor in monitoring is huge. "consisting of Cacti. encrypted. StatsD." But. much of the monitoring was handled by a suite of commercial and open source tools and home-grown code.were AWS hosted. PHP) as well as the frameworks (Flask. To get better aggregated alerting and metric data. and some DNS trickery." Other performance monitoring and user experience data was collected using Chartbeat and Google Analytics." VanDenPlas said. The 2012 campaign's online donation system was a complete rebuild from the 2008 effort. and Seyren. "using a combination of OpenVPN. VanDenPlas said. The centerpiece of the whole Obama campaign was its fundraising capabilities. and compressed WAN optimized tunnel between AWS regions. I believe everything was 'cloud. "They support the major languages we used (Python. Opsview. Ruby. CloudOptimizer. "but these were mostly contextual rather than actionable." The system configurations for the campaign's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances were created using the Puppet configuration management tool and were built as Debian packages kept in the campaign's own Advanced Packaging Tool (apt) repository—both for internally developed and third-party applications. and a number of custom applications that continued to evolve right up until Election Day. "we could constantly query thousands of nodes for near real-time statistics and feed them right back into the same alerting and monitoring system (Nagios) we used elsewhere. geolocated. There are countless incidents where (OFA User Support Director) Brady Kriss notified us of pending problems derived from community help tickets. That allowed the Obama team's application deployments to use "regionless" generic configuration settings. The campaign's engineers built an application that created static HTML snapshots of the sites stored in Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3). the social media and interactive advertising agency. And the reduced reliance on outside consultants allowed the Obama campaign to direct capital toward places where it had a bigger impact—such as in advertising. With its investment in the cloud." VanDenPlas said. "between a well run professional machine and a gaggle of amateurs. and are most directly comparable to the over $14 million paid out by the Romney campaign to its digital firm. was content hosted by Blue State Digital. the Obama campaign's Web hosting costs were much higher than Romney's. It could also operate if every other dependent service had failed. "This is the difference.000 people. as well as other intangibles that may have contributed to leading an efficient campaign. Return on investment In the end. Build. the stakes for the next time—the mid-term elections in 2014.second transaction count sufficiently high enough that we failed to be able to reach it in load testing. was the go-to supplier for much of the campaign's computer equipment and boxed software purchases. but what it did with all that money. VanDenPlas said that a "complete hot replica of our entire infrastructure" was deployed to Amazon's primary West Coast data center in under 24 hours as a precaution. the deciding factor wasn't what the Obama campaign spent money on. The largest cost. That meant buying a lot of hardware and software." Given the response from Republican partisans to the failure of Romney's campaign and to the apparent failure of its technology investments. Even taken with the software and Web hosting expenses. As mentioned in our previous coverage of the Obama campaign. All of that redundancy was given an extra workout in the week before the election as Hurricane Sandy approached the East Coast. in the event of a Web server failure. who 'don't know what they don't know. or buy The tech team wasn't the only internal IT operation at Obama for America. however. the Obama campaign spent a seventh of what the Romney campaign spent on digital and an even smaller fraction of what Romney spent on voter and donor contact. Insourcing gave the campaign a strategic flexibility that the Romney campaign lacked.210 worth of software licenses to the campaign—which averages out to just under $500 per staffer. . And then there was the Obama campaign's outside technology help. Targeted Victory. the IT team had a lot of tech to support for an organization that had essentially a 24-month lifecycle.' I would be shocked if such a chasm exists next cycle between the parties—these aren’t mistakes to be repeated if you want to do things like win elections. Microsoft also sold $522. posing in true Rumsfeldian fashion. advertising company Blue State Digital and campaign software provider NGP VAN provided the largest chunks of Obama for America's technology consulting. where the Obama campaign outspent Romney by a factor of 5 to 1. It's doubtful they'll ignore the lessons learned this campaign season." The Obama campaign's websites were also hosted on Amazon and hardened. borrow. requests would be instantly directed to the latest snapshot. The campaign ran its own data analysis shop and had its own army of Web designers and administrators. CDW. the cost for hosting the internally developed applications in the Amazon cloud was a quarter of that. including its own database and every vendor. based outside of Chicago. and the next presidential race in 2016—will be that much higher for Republican campaigns. And with a payroll of over 1. The campaign could use the merged data to create arbitrary scores that indicated which of a user's Facebook friends the campaign would like to present with a given piece of content. Officials told Time's Michael Scherer that a staggering 20 percent of people asked by their friends to register. OfA chief data scientist Rayid Ghani and analyst Matt Rattigan brought the technology team a prototype piece of software. The prototype used a script to check a given supporter's Facebook friends list against what the campaign knew about those friends.Tech President: How Obama for America made its Facebook friends into effective advocates http://techpresident. the campaign had already decided what approach to existing voter turnout or new voter registration it needed in order to win each swing state. But anyone who opted to use Facebook single sign-on for an Obama for America web property was prompted to authorize the OfA Facebook application to connect to their account. digital. By the end of the campaign. the click-through rate on a targeted share was more than twice as high as the rate for a banner ad. 2012 People involved in Obama for America's digital and technology operations say one of the biggest takeaways from the 2012 campaign is the success of a new kind of peer-to-peer digital persuasion tool referred to internally as "targeted sharing. bold claim. People in techPresident headquarters in New York saw advertisements on NYTimes. OfA was able to build up a user base of nearly 1 million people for its Facebook app by election day — making the potential gains for targeted sharing well worth some time and effort. those above-the-fold ad buys on the front page of the the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's or Columbus Dispatch's websites to drive the early voting that the campaign believed was crucial to victory in Wisconsin and Ohio.com that were most likely intended to convert viewers into donors.com/news/23159/how-obama-america-made-its-facebook-friends-effective-advocates Nick Judd November 19. the application flooded its users with notifications asking them to reach out on the campaign's behalf. and tech — the campaign had developed a tool that staff believe delivered empirically higher results for the re-elect using social media. Thanks to a convergence of three different teams — analytics. While the campaign hasn't shared how many . Single sign-on users also gave OfA permission to glean all the data it needed to decide which content that user should be asked to share and guess who that user should share it with." Well before the campaign reached fever pitch. In part because it linked the two. OfA developers went to work. and by midsummer the tech team had targeted sharing working in production and in real time. says Obama for America analytics chief Dan Wagner. By the end of 2011. In a campaign year full of hype and flashy social media toys. Ghani and Rattigan's script took 45 minutes to run per person — not nearly fast enough. vote or take another activity went ahead and did it. Obama for America asked its supporters who had been signed up for the OfA Facebook application to pick potential voters from among their friends in swing states and urge them to get to the ballot box or register to vote. Applying the same principles to get out the vote. Obama for America planned digital campaigns based on what it needed to accomplish whatever the task at hand would be. In the final days before the election and on election day. For example. through their friends' Facebook posts. The prototype produced by Ghani and Rattigan would allow OfA Digital to be far more precise about what kind of content they were asking supporters to share around the web as well. from the campaign. that's a big. The only problem was that the prototype could not work at the necessary scale. Obama for America could use it over and over again to make it more likely that people fitting certain profiles would be likely to see content targeted to them spilling into their newsfeeds. the hints of a smile lingering on the edges of his lips. the selection of the “four more years” photograph was a decision made on the fly. 2012 You've probably seen it by now.com/articles/2012/11/19/the-story-behind-the-most-viral-photo-ever. The photographer. where even the subject lines of emails were formulated based on intense rounds of numbers-backed analysis. Targeted sharing was for more than just Facebook. she started out doing everything—editing emails. in theory.” she says.people elected to press the case for Obama on Facebook in this way. Scout Tufankjian. It's unclear what happens next for this code or any of the other innovations built in-house for the Obama campaign.” reads the text accompanying the photograph. and Alex Wall—who . which was posted on the Obama campaign’s Facebook and Twitter accounts around 11:15 p. his eyes closed. too. and could. Democrats now seem to be weighing the cost of keeping some aspects of their new codebase maintained and functional against its potential utility in the election cycles to come. Behind the Facebook application driving get out the vote was the same targeted sharing code. and the socialmedia work.5 million “likes” since Election Day. The software belongs to Obama for America. Her arms are wrapped around her husband. who worked on the code. “Four more years. and then went off to graduate school to study even more politics. She was completely exhausted. for example. the blog. Michelle Obama. studied politics at school. on election night—just as it became clear the president had won a second term. has broken all sorts of Internet records. taken by a campaign photographer just a few days into the job in mid-August. amassing almost 4. where she was one of those kids who just fell into politics. it’s the most shared picture in the history of Twitter. And it’s sure to be the photo most everyone with an Internet connection will remember seeing as they heard that Barack Obama—for better or for worse—would reside for four more years at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.thedailybeast.000 retweets as of Sunday. says that it was a piece of back-end infrastructure. It's also the mostliked photograph ever to be shared on Facebook. whose face is relaxed. With more than 816. the D. be transferred to the Democratic National Committee. The piece he worked on retrieved those voter scores and made them available to different departments — any department — so it could be used to inform a targeted email. Tech team member Will St.C. Clair.. Olin joined the Obama campaign in March 2011—“before anything actually had started.C. It was chosen by a 31-year-old digital operative who had been up since 4 in the morning. as OfA's email list was moved to Organizing for America after 2008 and made part of the DNC.” But. perhaps surprisingly for a campaign with a deep love for data. As the first digital staffer there. stands with her back to the camera. too. Jessi Langsen. Laura Olin grew up outside Washington. After two years working at Blue State Digital. The Daily Beast: The story behind the most viral photo ever http://www. D. and this is only remarkable if enough people participated to help close the distance for OfA in voter registrations and turnout where it had those goals. beating out entries from Justin Bieber and the fast-food chain Wendy’s. says it captures the Obamas’ “deep love and respect for one another.m. wearing a red-and-white patterned dress. Eventually she was joined by three others—Abby Aronofsky. the success rate is high enough to raise eyebrows.-based tech consultancy that’s served as a farm team for Barack Obama the past five years. That photo.html Brian Ries November 19. in her first extensive interview since Obama’s victory. post.” As things came up.” but who were also diligent and fanatical about fact-checking and accuracy. With Tumblr. on Nov. but nothing that got published. because of their age. No one expected a result before 2 a. where millions of people—and a ravenous press—await your every tweet. Half the team would be focusing on pre-planned strategy. the others dealing with breaking developments. they could launch a series of targeted Facebook posts or tweets encouraging people to stay in line or find their new polling place. It was a good day. “We weren't getting direct directives from the White House. detailing the “dry runs” the campaign underwent in the weeks before Election Day to make sure they had the entire process down pat. just because you know. As for her team’s reaction to ‘Amercia’ gaffe? “There were definitely dances being danced. meant the young staffers who sat with their fingers on the proverbial triggers lacked a plan for when they got . 'the wrath from high atop the thing. Joe Biden. as Election Day. “It was kind of terrifying. After months of hard-fought 14-16 hour days—and six. Pinterest.” Olin explained. a lot of." But avoiding the "wrath. obviously women. one must have an astute sense of caution and careful footing. 6. for example—where Obama’s blog has been called “the best campaign Tumblr the world will probably ever see”—the campaign targeted younger people who “don't care about Social Security. and the first lady. who led the new social-media team.” says Olin. Twitter.” But being that close to the megaphone." of course.together oversaw the Facebook. middle-class families. Staffers prepared themselves for what many believed was going to be a long night. too. “We would take advantage of that a lot.” Olin explains of the Facebook posts and tweets they would send. “All of our decisions were made in-house. "I'm kinda superstitious. health. actually.or seven-day weeks—Obama’s digital team gathered at campaign headquarters starting at 4 a. they could target a post to users over the age of 55 who had “liked” Barack Obama's page and. or pin. My team ran the Barack Obama Twitter handle.” The medium mattered. “Weeks of planning went into that. You’re one grammatical error away from a news cycle’s relentless mockery. Olin says.' as The West Wing goes. too. first responders. no day would be as momentous. she says. blue-collar workers. "I refused to think about victory stuff. And no one had planned what their victory messaging would be. or as exhausting for the young digital staffers at Obama’s Chicago headquarters. Tumblr. which I still can’t believe WE pulled off. So when they would get reports of voting irregularities or polling place changes in key states. with the election perhaps remaining undecided until late in the evening—or worse.” Olin says. “Joe Biden did lots of veterans stuff. “It was picking and choosing where we thought people would respond best.” referring to the iPhone app produced by the Romney campaign that invited users tp snap a photo of themselves in Romney’s “Amercia”—leading to days and days of mockery. and nutrition. Instagram. “But I’m really proud that we avoided a really embarrassing ‘Amercia’ situation.” Olin credits a rigorous process of choosing people who not only “knew their socialmedia shit.m. for example.” Of course. and Spotify accounts for Barack Obama. We didn’t ever really have one. the digital staffers would work to spread the messages in the voices established for each of the accounts. were presumably interested in Social Security. It got to be exhausting. “Michelle Obama was a lot about education.” Whereas on Facebook. you know. which I think was probably most susceptible to really embarrassing and silly mistakes. Olin says." Olin explains. or when they knew something big was going to happen. Obama’s team had their own close calls. stuff like that.m. It wouldn't be until the next morning when they realized just how well it had been received. camped out with a small skeleton crew working on what the campaign is calling "the wind-down. The Obama tweet was posted six minutes later. ‘No way." she says." Asked if she had any words of wisdom for her defeated counterparts at the Romney campaign. Tufankjian. Jessi Langsen.m. and "four more years" was chosen as the winner.com/politics/how-obama-s-tech-team-helped-win-the-election-20121116 Alexis Madrigal November 16. She suspected that might be a new record. That's when she remembered the campaign photographer had taken a series of great hug photographs at another Iowa rally earlier in the summer.nationaljournal. "My friend emailed me on election night to tell me and I didn’t believe her. she adds. everyone loves the president and his first lady together. It had. They're kind of on the side of the photograph.’ and I looked it up and was like. ET.com. and it's this really beautiful photo at night of them. the photographer. After that? "I know that I'm moving to Brooklyn and getting a dog. I said." National Journal: How Obama’s Tech Team Helped Win the Election http://www.” she says now." But.’ I had no idea about the Facebook thing until the next day.” It’s been two weeks since Barack Obama was reelected President of the United States. CNN called Iowa at 11:10 p. Like her counterparts at the campaign. So my boss Teddy Goff made the very good point that we should see the president's face. she says. 'Yes!'" Goff approved. “and just kinda lucking into a photo that people loved that I think showed the emotion and the relief." They’re focused on Congressional lame-duck initiatives and “just making sure people know the president's all in to prevent middle-class tax hikes.Laura Olin describes the process that led to the now famous photograph." Olin says of the Facebook post. about 3 million likes. "One of my team members. "I think it was just a combination of the moment. The whole thing is incredible. had no idea of the photograph’s popularity until well after its first million likes. "If I were them I would get better at talking to people like people. 2012 . "I'm sure there are people. those are two things on the list. ‘Wow. it’s "totally fine if they don't. None of us looked at how the posts were doing until I opened my laptop the next morning. at that point. Olin says Republicans need to get better at communicating on social media. that’s crazy. remembered that there was an amazing photo of the president and first lady hugging at the president's very last campaign rally in Des Moines. Plus.” She'll be there until January. young Republicans. ‘Remember when Michelle was wearing that checkered dress in Iowa?’ And she was like. and the only thing is that Michelle was facing forward and the president was facing away from the camera. out there that get it. and Olin is still in the campaign’s Chicago headquarters." she admitted to Boston. so. Olin says. ‘Yes!’” “I had no idea the response was going to be like this. "I went to our photo editor and I was like." A good point indeed. The last remaining staffers then ran off to the victory party at McCormick Place to catch the president's speech. "needs to be brave enough to just let people who know their shit do what they do. 'Remember when Michelle was wearing that checkered dress in Iowa?' And she was like. “I was like. the team wrote a couple of captions." The Republican Party. It was game day and everything was going wrong. They didn't have time. 21. 29. I was incredibly confident it would work. you do this. "We did three actual all-day sessions of destroying everything we had built. Josh Thayer." Reed said. They were talking with people at Amazon Web Services. Something could have happened. maybe especially these people. this. Hurricane Sandy hit on another game day. "I think the Republicans f----. We had done what we thought would work. "We didn't have any downtime because we had done that scenario already. Google. It was going to take time. Oct. calling out devilishly complex scenarios that were designed to test each and every piece of their system as they entered the exponential traffic-growth phase of the election." The team had elite and." In fact." Reed said. and this was a live action role playing (LARPing!) exercise that the campaign's chief technology officer. If it broke. That was bad: Narwhal was the code name for the data platform that underpinned the campaign and let it track voters and volunteers. senior talent--by which I mean that most of them were in their 30s--from Twitter. "You ran firefighting drills over and over and over. Earlier that day. was fixing databases but needed to rebuild the replicas. Hatch said. but we didn't know if it would work. their East Coast servers. "but you're calm because you know you can handle your sh--. I was betting a lot on it. the lead engineer of Narwhal." The New Chicago Machine vs. knew enough about technology not to trust it. no matter what the scenario was. The election was still 17 days away.-west in preparation for U.S." Reed told me. was inflicting on his team. Amazon services--on which the whole campaign's tech presence was built--went down.S. He said they reminded him of his time in the Navy. Facebook. We had resources. for tech." Reed maintained." Reed said. the day after the Oct." he said. the Grand Old Party . "I know we had the best technology team I've ever worked with. and it still could have broken. We had time. "We created a hot backup of all our applications to U. But even these people. so would everything else. and now everything had been broken at just the wrong time. They did not do that with Orca. but all they knew was that they had packet loss. and some of Chicago's own software companies such as Orbitz and Threadless. threatening the campaign's whole East Coast infrastructure. where Reed had been CTO. a DevOps engineer who was the official bearer of bad news. Mark Trammell. Quora. It was like someone had written a Murphy's Law algorithm and deployed it at scale. Harper Reed. to make sure that you not just know what you're doing. and this. "We knew what to do. Another of their vendors. an engineer who Reed hired after he left Twitter.up in the hubris department.The Obama campaign's technologists were tense and tired. six or seven days a week.-east to go down hard." Hatch was playing the role of dungeon master. Thayer was ready to kill Nick Hatch. "Game day" was Oct. they lost their databases. and their memcache clusters. saw a couple of game days. They had been working 14-hour days. And that was the point. Craigslist. 21 game day. had just been informed that they'd lost another one of the services powering their software. "We had a runbook that said if this happens. StallionDB. trying to reelect the president. "We worked through every possible disaster situation. "We have to elect the president." Reed told his team. after the man who killed Houdini. among other needs.m. Narwhal wasn't an app for a smartphone. It was the architecture of the company's sophisticated data operation. 6 would have been neither charming nor funny. it was with more than a hint of schadenfreude that Reed's team hears that Orca crashed early on Election Day." with the Obama Os. built by the vendor NGP VAN. it could have cost the president the election. That would supposedly allow them to deploy resources more efficiently and wring every last vote out of Florida. Obama's campaign had created a similar app in 2008 called Houdini." short for "You Only Live Once. .Orca was supposed to be the Republican answer to Obama's perceived tech advantage. "YOLO. thought it would have been easy for the Obama team to fall into many of the pitfalls that the social network did back then. engineers might become as enshrined in the mechanics of campaigns as social-media teams already are. on the day of the election. the stakes were much higher. And. But the 2008 failure. the Romney campaign pushed its (not-so) secret weapon as the answer to the Democrats' vaunted ground game. The grand technology experiment worked. Ohio. So. Later reports posted by rank-and-file volunteers describe chaos descending on the polling locations as only a fraction of the tens of thousands of volunteers organized for the effort were able to use it properly to turn out the vote. and the other battleground states. But while the problems of scaling both technology and culture quickly might have been similar. drove the 2012 Obama team to bring technologists in-house. It's just a nice thing to have. We now know what happened. Mark Trammell. From the descriptions of the Romney camp's software that were available then and now. With Election Day bearing down on them. It said. in the scheme of a campaign. of course. The billing the Republicans gave the tool confused almost everyone inside the Obama campaign. So little went wrong that Trammell and Reed even had time to cook up a little pin to celebrate. If they failed. In a race that at least some people thought might be very close. a digitized strike list is cool. It was like touting the iPad as a Facebook killer. Victory Lab. We don't need to sell our software to Oracle. the team's only real goal was to elect the president. As detailed in Sacha Issenberg's groundbreaking book. Then it crashed in much the same way that Orca did. In the days leading up to the election. but it's not. And yet they had to accommodate much more strain on the systems as interest in the election picked up toward the end. The product got its name. they knew they could not go down. by whom the arena had long been handled. event-goers. as it always does. and it did it in real time. Democrats had a new version. Of course. But the secondary impact of their success or failure would be to prove that campaigns could effectively hire and deploy top-level programming talent. canvassers. In 2012. like. because orcas are the only known predator of the one-tusked narwhal. If Reed's team succeeded. A fail whale (cough) in the days leading up to or on Nov. Orca was going to allow volunteers at polling places to update the Romney camp's database of voters in real time as people cast their ballots. and phone-bankers. a Romney spokesperson told NPR. And besides. it would be evidence that this stuff might be best left to outside political technology consultants. or comparing a GPS device to an engine. Houdini's rollout went great until about 9:30 a. Narwhal unified what Obama for America knew about voters. Orca was not even in the same category as Narwhal. they couldn't snicker too loudly. It was called Gordon. a game changer. who worked for Twitter during its period of exponential growth. games that his mom typed into their Apple IIC. the Call Tool. who was spinning that night. either I pass out or Reed tells me something good. and the club starts to fill up. when we walk into the place early on the Friday after the election. the cultural differences between tech and everybody else threatened to derail the whole grand experiment. They are really growing up. such as the manager of the hip-hop club Empire who. the quantified self. by most accounts. (At this point I'm thinking. Yet Reed has friends. and analytics team never quite got resolved. and learned to code because he just could not help himself. small-p politics. You could call out nouns. The campaign had turned out more volunteers and gotten more donors than in 2008.When Obama campaign chief Jim Messina signed off on hiring Reed. he told him. remained that way. he figured something out. Rails. The divisions among the tech. Unsurprisingly. But it wasn't easy. Harper Reed knows the DJ. and the politicos taught the nerds a thing or two about stress. the field organization was more entrenched and experienced. it was clear: Reed had not f----. has a memory that all nerds share: Late at night. in early 2012. "By the end of the night. The tech team's key products--Dashboard. too. As the night rolls on.") Hiroki's been DJing at Empire for years.it up. even if the end product has salved the sore spots that developed over the stressful months. fingers flying across a keyboard. Harper Reed is a chilled vodka kind of guy. who is tall and handsome with rock 'n'-roll hair flowing from beneath a red beanie." As Election Day ended and the dust settled. two thick band tattoos running across his chest . Surprisingly. Because he is a nerd. and built everything atop the most stable technical infrastructure of any presidential campaign. but the difference stemmed in large part from better technology. Singularity. He. phenomena. the manager. light from a chunky monitor illuminating his face. since Harper Reed was the crazy guy you can see on his public Facebook photos. And Hiroki grabs us another shot. "Welcome to the team. Harper Reed read Steven Levy's Hackers as a kid. the campaign produced exactly what it should have: a hybrid of the desires of everyone on Obama's team. self-organizing systems. warez. He. made unprecedented progress in voter targeting. I'd even say that this clash of cultures was a good thing: The nerds shook up an ossifying Democratic tech structure. and he'd be right there with you: BBS. Because it was fun to extract the data from the bureaucracy and make it available to anyone who wanted it. "Let me grab you a shot. says. Don't f--. returns to show Harper photographs of his kids. the PeopleMatcher. a skinny Reed sits in a bathtub with a beer in his hand. the Facebook Blaster. Why? Because it made his wife Hiromi's commute a little easier. Of course. another friend approached us: DJ Hiroki. Harper Reed got the city of Chicago to create an open and real-time feed of its transit data by reverse engineering how they served bus location information.it up." Surprisingly. too. At their worst. They've known each other for a long while. YOLO: Meet the Obama Campaign's Chief Technology Officer If you're a nerd. Sure. TV news segments about cybersecurity might look lifted straight from his memories. but the b-roll they shot of darkened rooms and typing hands could not convey the sense of exhilaration he felt when he built something that works. They raised hundreds of millions of dollars online. digital. By the end. played with computers when they weren't cool. and Narwhal--made it simpler and easier for anyone to engage with the president's reelection effort. Harper Reed is an easy guy to like. and the significance of elections. He's brash and funny and smart. He wrote his first programs at age 7. Reed's team came in as outsiders to the campaign and. He gets you and where you came from. To go a step further. In one shot from 2006. " Reed told me. He's a cool hacker. He likes Japan. and is wilder than you." Reed's own team found their coworkers particularly impressive. He says fuck a lot. Sacca said that with technical people. for his part. the head of the Illinois Technology Association and a frank observer of Chicago's tech scene. He's what a king of the nerds really looks like. "I always look like a f-----. He may be like you. And this was at a very unfortunate time in my life where I was wearing very baggy pants and I had a Marilyn Manson shirt on and I looked like an a------.idiot. such as Optimizely. in case you were wondering. he may actually be at 10." Sacca said." Howerton said. I have to step up. The caption reads. You had to be good. around BBSs. He supports open source. "Stop staring. The tech world was watching. which spun out of Obama's 2008 bid. "Harper is an easy guy to underestimate because he looks funny. Terry Howerton. and look like an idiot. he's got plugs in his ears and a shock of gloriously product-mussed hair and hipster glasses and he doesn't own a long-sleeve dress shirt. I have to be at 10 because I have this stupid mustache. we're talking about a group of people who had Eric Schmidt sitting in with them on Election Day. had only glowing things to say about Reed. "Harper Reed? I think he's wicked smart. I don't have an answer.and shoulders. around San Francisco.." After all. more fun than you. too. "And it was amazing how many incredibly well regarded hackers that I follow on Twitter rejoiced and celebrated [when Reed was hired]. he called the technical team "top notch. he might grow a beard and put on a little potbelly. their reporter. where he grew up. in fact.' But I realized I was just as good as the guys fixing it. cooler than you. Reed. That might be part of his brand. He is not that kind of nerd. "And if you look like an a------. Instead. but that he kept it public during the election. has the kind of self-awareness that faces outward. around Burning Man devotees. I think that was probably what attracted the rest of the people there. around Reddit." Reed recalled. but he wouldn't tuck in his T-shirt." By the time Sacca brought his Silicon Valley contingent out to Chicago. Like if we're all at zero. but he also juggles better than you. they really bought that. "He knows how to pull people together." And. Colo. a tool for website A/B testing. Sure. you have to be really good. He is not wearing any clothes. "I had this experience where my dad hired someone to help him out because his network was messed up and he wanted me to watch. (Sacca's actually an investor in that one. and where a quarter of the staff and clientele have mustaches. a well-known Silicon Valley venture capitalist and major Obama bundler who brought a team of more than a dozen technologists out for an Obama campaign hack day. And my father took me aside and was like. And if I'm going to do this." said Chris Sacca. He goes to hipster bars that serve vegan Mexican food. it's one thing to look at their resumes and another to see how they are viewed among their peers. His self-announced flaws bristle like quills. Harper is responsible for a huge percentage of the people who went over there. 'Why do you look like an a------?' And I was like. One testament to that is several startups might spin out of the connections people made at the OFA headquarters. it's not there i swear!" What makes Harper Reed different isn't just that the photo exists. "Lots of guys who know how to spit out code. 'I don't know. Yet if you've spent a lot of time around tech people. around startups. Harper Reed probably makes sense to you. He gets profiled by Mother Jones even though he couldn't talk with Tim Murphy. "And they didn't look like me and I didn't look like them.) ." It was a lesson he learned early out in Greeley. and as much as everyone I spoke with loved it." said Carol Davidsen. strange rigors and schedules. . even Howard Dean's famous 2004 Internet-enabled run at the Democratic nomination. The job security. You have very little time." said Teddy Goff. my. "The real innovation in 2012 is that we had world-class technologists inside a campaign. For 2012. "The traditional technology stuff inside campaigns had not been at the same level. Think about the killer tool of that campaign. "Facebook was about one-tenth of the size that it is now. it was not as heavily digital or technological as it is now remembered. but Hughes was the spokesman for the company. really. they bought technology from outside consultants. maybe a year. Think of them as a weird kind of niche start-up and you can see why. So. did not hire a bunch of technologists. but everyone. Twitter was a nothing burger for the campaign. digital director of Obama for America and a veteran of both campaigns. The websites might have looked like solid consumer Web applications. knew that they needed a more stable platform for 2012. It wasn't a core or even peripheral part of our strategy. And there really was no one else like him that could have assembled these people that quickly and get them to take a pay cut and move to Chicago." And yet. "It's funny to hear you call it risky. had been "opportunistic users of technology" who "brute forced and bailing wired" different pieces of software together. Things worked (most of the time). Obama's 2008 chief technology officer and the guy who hired Harper Reed this time around. And even though you need to build a massive "customer" base and develop the infrastructure to get money and votes from them. no one gets to exit and make a bunch of money. Campaigns. They have their own culture and demands."A CTO role is a weird thing. who left Microsoft to become the product manager for Narwhal." Slaby told me. The '08 campaigners. it seems obvious to me. but they were not under the hood. "The primary responsibility is getting good engineers. if it wasn't risky to hire this wild guy into a presidential campaign. Though they hired a couple. For all the hoopla surrounding the digital savvy of President Obama's 2008 campaign. not its technical guy. Campaigns are not just another Fortune 500 company or top 50 website. set of personalities. if not low-technology.barackobama. Sure. like Clay Johnson." Slaby said. and he got them. Slaby especially. affairs.com. Slaby told me. brought a different worldview. I asked Michael Slaby. The deadlines are hard and the pressure would be enough to press the T-shirt of even the most battle-tested start-up veteran. Slaby wanted to change all that. "It seems crazy to hire someone like me as CTO when you could have someone like Harper as CTO. It borrowed the "my" from MySpace. and expectations. They only own long-sleeve dress shirts." The Nerds Are Inside the Building The strange truth is that campaigns have long been low-technologist. the very things that make Reed an interesting and beloved person are the same things that make him an unlikely pick to become the chief technology officer of the reelection campaign of the president of the United States. Political people wear khakis. is nonexistent. by design. He wanted dozens of engineers inhouse. the '08 campaign had Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes. campaign tech has been dominated by people who care about the politics of the thing. however." And yet the technologists. Their old photos on Facebook show them canvassing for local politicians and winning cross-country meets. no matter how good they were. not the technology of the thing. You can't afford to pay very much. he wouldn't be Billy Beane. that the organizational styles of the two operations were very different. Analytics was run by Dan Wagner. it would be difficult to say where one ended and the other began. They're the preeminent progressive digital agency. Twitter. and Digital teams do their jobs better. So." There's one other interesting component to the campaign's structure. The goal was not to build a product. the on-theground operations of organizing voters at the community level that many consider Obama's secret sauce . were paid staffers of the Obama campaign. He. Blue State Digital. "Campaigns aren't traditionally that collaborative. The goal was to reelect the president. Jason Kunesh was the director of UX for the tech team. designed some of the consumer-facing pieces of BarackObama. mission-oriented reasons for wanting their way to carry the day. if the campaign were Moneyball. BSD's biggest client was the Obama campaign and has been for some time. And that's the presence of two big tech vendors interfacing with the various teams--Blue State Digital and NGP Van. "Departments tend to be freestanding. He and Goff are the brains behind Obama's unprecedented online fundraising efforts. his team was composed of the people who sent you all those e-mails. regardless of the technology stack. Just make what we ask for. particularly if many of the tools that such an inside team created were developed as open source products. The complex relationship between BSD and the Obama campaign adds another dimension to the introduction of an inside team of technologists. BSD and Obama for America were and are so deeply enmeshed. Tech. he ran some user interrupt tests on the website to determine how people were . both Goff and Rospars." And the digital team could say. And yet between 2008 and 2012. The tech team could say. Of course. from an industry perspective knew what he was doing. The tech for the campaign was supposed to help the Field. So." Looking at it all from the outside. and the like. They are organized kind of like disaster response--siloed and super hierarchical so that things can move very quickly. What had been an obviously progressive organization was now owned by a huge conglomerate and had clients that weren't other Democratic politicians. specifically: "He's the Karl Rove of the Internet. If all campaigns started bringing their technology in house. Slaby would note. too. "Yeah. one of the largest ad agencies in the world. well. "Digital" was Joe Rospars's kingdom." he said. Jascha Franklin-Hodge. Tumblr. we've done this kind of tech before at larger scale and with more stability than you've ever had. and a decent chunk--maybe 30 percent--of their business comes from providing technology to campaigns." someone who knows him very well told me. we elected the president and we know how to win. Tech was Harper Reed's domain. The most obvious is the firm that Rospars. and ran the campaigns' most-excellent accounts on Facebook. Analytics. After all. too. They know what they were doing and had proven that time and again. and Clay Johnson cofounded. Jeremy Bird ran Field. he'd be "Google Boy. video. BSD was purchased by WPP. perhaps the tech team was bound to butt heads with Rospars's digital squad. the company's principals. "Hey. and those guys were responsible for coming up with ways of finding and targeting voters they could persuade or turn out. What Rove was to direct mail--the undisputed king of the medium--Rospars is to e-mail. He had many years of consulting under his belt for big and small companies like Microsoft and LeapFrog. perhaps BSD's tech business would begin to seem less attractive. has to play a supporting role. in a campaign or at least this campaign or perhaps any successful campaign. As Reed put it." The way that the conflict played out was over things like the user experience on the website. both the digital and tech teams had really good. Let us do this.To really understand what happened behind the scenes at the Obama campaign. you need to know a little bit about its organizational structure. One other thing to know about Rospars.com. 'Man. that they would release a version of Dashboard just a few months after the team arrived." Kunesh remembered. the online outreach tool. But I'd only been there 13 weeks and most of the team had been there half that time. we were supposed to have a prototype out of Dashboard. Tech wasted time building things that it turned out people didn't need or want." but perhaps in more words. What he found was that the website wasn't even trying to make a go at persuading voters.com. The first version was not impressive. but there were differences in the way field offices in some states did things and how campaign HQ thought they did things. my birthday.* The sorts of moves they had learned how to make had made a difference of tens. though. "A lot of the software is kind of late. 2011. no one had ever done what they were attempting to do. trust in the tech team-already shaky--kept eroding. The outsider status that the team both adopted and had applied to them gave them the right to question previous practices. if not hundreds of millions of dollars. It looked as if you could the things you needed to do. Most of that related to the way that they launched Dashboard. "Aug. Now STFU. Reed's team began to trickle into Chicago beginning in May 2011. Kunesh started to get word that people on both the digital and field teams had agitated to pull the plug on Dashboard and replace the tech team with somebody. you see a beautifully polished product that let you volunteer any way you wanted. else. Per Kunesh's telling. By Februrary 2012. but they were going to build solid products. there was no reason to think that you had to run this campaign the same as you did the last one. all the way through a campaign. But that wasn't how the first version of Dashboard looked. Why was this Kunesh guy coming around trying to tell them how to run a campaign? From Kunesh's perspective. a hallowed group within the campaign's world. but the software would keep falling down and getting patched.barackobama. . 'I'm gonna get another margarita. "And people are like.. roll out version 2. "It was freaking horrible. think about it: the system they'd developed could raise $3 million *from a single email. he got a response that I imagine was something like. Tech sometimes had difficulty building what the Field team. you couldn't show it to anyone. over-optimistically. "Duh." Kunesh told me. everyone got funneled into the fundraising "trap. and so on and so forth until the software was complete and bulletproof. iterate. the Field people were used to software that looked complete but that was unreliable under the hood. Rather.' I'm sitting there going.." As the tech team struggled to translate what people wanted into usable software. anybody. If you look at Dashboard at the end of the campaign. They might be slower. Not only that. They don't know what the hell you're doing. It's looking ugly and I go out on this field call." When he raised that issue with Goff and Rospars. some of which turned out to be surprisingly arcane and difficult. And from the Goff/Rospars perspective. there were mitigating factors..' " While the responsibility for their early struggles certainly falls to the tech team. iterate.experiencing www. wanted. The tech team did not want that. Narwhal had to connect to a bunch of different vendors' software. falling down and getting patched. They promised. The tech team's plan was to roll out version 1 with a limited feature set. 29. We gotta get the guys from the DNC. For one. It's secure and intuitive and had tremendously good uptime as the campaign drew to a close. we should fire your bosses man. that was going to be the public launch. Then. Narwhal was just an initially helpful brand for the bundle of software. In fact. Dashboard got solid. Reed and Slaby sent some product managers packing and brought in more traditional ones like former Microsoft PM Carol Davidsen. "You're going to have one log-in and have all these tools. Narwhal really got on track. in true product-manager form. all the products that the tech team had been promising started to show up. they split things into real-time applications like the Call Tool or things on the web. By the end. this has to work." The API allowed people to access parts of the data without letting them get at the SQL database on the backend." Slaby told me." and then go back to work. You have all this data coming in from all these places -. but it was fully operational. "You very much have to understand the campaign's hiring strategy: 'We'll hire these product managers who have campaign experience. It will. the Call Tool (which helped people make calls). then hire engineers who have technical experience--and these two worlds will magically come together. the numbers changed once a day. "I know. High fives were in the air." Kunesh recalled telling the field team. the analytics people. She credited a weekly Wednesday drinking and hanging-out session that brought together all the various people working on the campaign's technology. some shake-ups were necessary. the website. . While the dream had been for all applications to run through Narwhal in real time. "The second part is an API portion." Then. But in reality. what actually happened was Obama campaign chief Jim Messina would come by Slaby's desk and tell him. Davidsen thought all the teams' relationships had improved. Just getting all of that data into the system and getting it in real time as soon as it goes in one system to another. Davidsen. some front-end designers who were technically on the digital team had embedded with the tech squad to get work done faster. broke down precisely how it all worked. What Narwhal fixed was a problem that's long plagued campaigns. You don't want a million consumers getting data via SQL." And Slaby would respond. In reality. First. it turned out that couldn't work. in the late spring. the lead engineer who arrived in April. and all previous races. who had very specific needs. "The stuff we told you about for a year is actually happening. It provided a safe way for Dashboard." Davidsen said. various field offices. You didn't have to log in a bunch of times if you wanted to do different things on the website. but several. and it's all just gonna work. It wasn't real-time. And the people looking to hit their numbers in various ways out in the field offices-number of volunteers and dollars raised and voters persuaded--were used to seeing that update happen like that. whatever they came up with was fed back into Narwhal. "Dude. And then they provided a separate way for the Analytics people. So.' That failed. "Those two groups of people couldn't talk to each other. thanks no doubt to Davidsen's efforts as well as Josh Thayer's. it had three components. Narwhal wasn't really one thing. By the very end." Perhaps most important. how much better would it be if you could sync that data in real time across the entire campaign? That's what Narwhal was supposed to do. and the Twitter Blaster to pull data. But from an infrastructure level. Tech might not have been fully integrated." she said. to get the data in a different form. mobile stuff. even before Obama's big win."In the movie version of the campaign. In 2008. there's probably a meeting where I'm about to get fired and I throw myself on the table. she said. NGP. Other smaller products rolled out. "One is vendor integration: BSD. VAN [the latter two companies merged in 2010].the voter file. And the last part was the presentation of the data that was in the system. Navik Networks. but the Obama campaign itself aired more than 550. It's just change management. helped build a tool that could specifically target individual users with direct messages. Not bad. a list came back of people who had done certain things like. I would also note that Laura Olin. a project that had the code name Täärgus for some reason. Let's just run through some of the things that actually got accomplished by the tech. if a good performer could do $2. "That took some time. a poor performer might only net $500. With Davidsen's help. The campaign thought all the letters had a good chance of succeeding. Having that data allowed the campaign to buy ads that they knew would get in front of the most of their people at the last cost. It's not complicated. and the campaign also officially has the most tweeted tweet and the most popular Facebook post.5 million. "Our supporters don't give a shit about our org chart. That difference may not sound impressive. he really did type in his own answers with Goff at his side. "We built an influence score for the people following the [Obama for America] accounts and then cross-referenced those for specific things we were trying to target. and analytics teams beyond of Narwhal and Dashboard. We promise them they can play a meaningful role in politics and they don't care about the departments in the campaign. either. battleground states.Slaby. the massive popular social networking site. The digital and tech teams worked to build Twitter and Facebook Blasters. it's just hard. which allowed the campaign to buy eyeballs on television more cheaply. Instead. with typical pragmatism. it had been tested on 18 smaller groups and the response rates had been gauged. So we have to do the work on our side to look integrated and have our shit together. The digital team. the tech didn't exist for its own sake. Oh. your cable or satellite box or DVR) data from Davidsen's old startup. They took set-top box (that is to say." What They Actually Built Of course." Meanwhile.000 Redditors registered to vote after president dropped in a link to the Obama voter registration page. They could see that some households were only watching a couple hours of TV a day and might be willing to spend more to get in front of those harder-to-reach people. They created the most sophisticated e-mail fundraising program ever. the Analytics team built a tool they called The Optimizer. either. one of the company's former employees.000 ads. Mark Trammell. Obama became the first presidential candidate to appear on Reddit. With Twitter. that sort of stuff. And it wasn't just about cost. put it like this. This occurred through a third party called Epsilon: the campaign sent its voter file and the television provider sent their billing file and boom. for example. and correlated it with the campaign's own data. They just want to have a meaningful experience. they could run ads targeted to specific types of voters during reruns or off-peak hours. It was meant to be used by the organizers in the field and the analysts in the lab. under Rospars leadership. Any time you received an e-mail from the Obama campaign. the Obama's campaign's cost per ad was lower ($594) than the Romney campaign ($666) or any other major buyer in the campaign cycle. watched the first presidential debate. the teams also built an . The genius of the campaign was that it learned to stop sending poor performers. took their data-driven strategy to a new level. So. One fascinating outcome of the AMA is that 30.000. You have to develop new trust with people. ran the best campaign Tumblr the world will probably ever see. a former strategist at Blue State Digital who moved to the Obama campaign. They didn't have to buy the traditional stuff like the local news. According to CMAG/Kantar. digital. but the worst-performing letters did only 15 to 20 percent of what the best-performing e-mails could deliver." he said. And yes. since the phone call. "It was this whole world of having fun and living in the moment." Sometimes people texted much larger dollar amounts back than the $10 increments that mobile carriers allow. sitting with his wife at Wicker Park's Handlebar. And two minutes later." Part of that process was Reed. hasn't voted yet. essentially. the resources we argued for were right. partying. it's true of one campaign CTO every time. building websites. A few days after the election. "and then a lot of time drinking. I would be like. What you can do with data and code just keeps advancing. "In terms of fundraising. Reed could stop being Obama for America's CTO and return to being "Harper Reed. They could simply text people who'd opted in a simple message like. Both of them remember the meeting the same way: Slaby playing the role of square. "But that's true of every CTO of every campaign every time. that guy's cool. learning the limits of his own power." Last but certainly not least. you have the digital team's Quick Donate. "It's the absolute epitome of how you can make it easy for people to give money online. they were ready to work together. and I believe him. that's as innovative as we needed to be. something could go awry. "And there was a lot of doing that on the Internet. And I had to choose when to do which." ." Reed said." he told me." We left Handlebar and made a quick pit stop at the coffee shop. probably one of the coolest guys ever. Go tell him to vote." Goff described the Facebook tool as "the most significant new addition to the voter contact arsenal that's come around in years. "Teddy [Goff] would tear up talking about the president. "I felt like the people I hired were right. the middle of 2012. It's an impressive array of accomplishments. He regaled us with stories about his old performance troupe. Reed playing the role of hipster. " Reed said. "It was only towards the end. in 2016. It essentially brought the ease of Amazon's one-click purchases to political donations. a technologist's technolgoist. "I remember at one point basically breaking down during the campaign because I was losing control. and hanging out. will not be Harper Reed." Or. They learned what it was like to have--and work with people who had-. He had told me earlier in the day that he'd never experienced stress until the Obama campaign." Goff said. "After the last campaign. working all the time." Slaby said.' " Reed said. Reed looks happy. What began 18 months ago in that very spot was finally coming to an end. Dave in Ohio. eating fish tacos. building communities. when we realized the gravity of what we were doing. "Text back with how much money you'd like to donate. and drinking a Daisy Cutter pale ale.opt-in Facebook outreach program that sent people messages saying. Exit Music That next most technically advanced CTO. or people were scared and they didn't adopt the technology or whatever. "Your friend. And because of a stupid mistake. I got introduced as the CTO of the most technically advanced campaign ever. Reed cracks that it's like Reddit come to life.a higher purpose than building cool stuff. wild clubbing. 'Yeah." "I spent a lot of time hacking doing all this stuff." Storing people's payment information also let the campaign receive donations via text messages long before the Federal Elections Commission approved an official way of doing so. rather. where he first met Slaby. Wormhole. he and his whole team of nerds were changed by the experience. But of course. We could lose. The success of it was out of my hands." as his personal Web page is titled. Jugglers Against Homophobia. and DJs. Craigslist.from Twitter. "We did three actual all-day sessions of destroying everything we had built. They'd been working 14-hour days. but we didn't know if it would . "There is the egoism of technologists. would mean horrible things for the country. The last thing my recorder picked up over the bass was me saying to Harper. Hatch said. That was bad: Narwhal was the code name for the data platform that underpinned the campaign and let it track voters and volunteers." Then. ready for what was almost certainly going to be a long night. It was like someone had written a Murphy's Law algorithm and deployed it at scale. "You ran firefighting drills over and over and over. Another of their vendors.theatlantic. trying to reelect the president. six or seven days a week. They were talking with people at Amazon Web Services. had just been informed that they'd lost another one of the services powering their software. 2012 The Obama campaign's technologists were tense and tired. was inflicting on his team. It was game day and everything was going wrong. the lead engineer of Narwhal. "Game day" was October 21. But even these people. And that was the point. and some of Chicago's own software companies such as Orbitz and Threadless. The election was still 17 days away. The Atlantic: When the nerds go marching in http://www. all I can hear is that music. Josh Thayer. They started to worry about the next Supreme Court justices while they coded. I can handle all of the parameters going into the machine and I know what is going to come out of it. I've never seen someone buy Hennessy. a DevOps engineer who was the official bearer of bad news. Google. and this was a live action role playing (LARPing!) exercise that the campaign's chief technology officer. "I think the Republicans fucked up in the hubris department. and headed to our first club. their East Coast servers. for tech. "In this. "I just saw someone buy Hennessy. the control we all enjoyed about technology was gone. Thayer was ready to kill Nick Hatch. senior talent -.com/technology/archive/2012/11/when-the-nerds-go-marching-in/265325/ Alexis C. and their memcache clusters. We do it because we can create." he said. was fixing databases. where Reed had been CTO. They didn't have time. "I know we had the best technology team I've ever worked with." Reed said." The team had elite and. It was going to take time. "We worked through every possible disaster situation. knew enough about technology not to trust it. to make sure that you not just know what you're doing.by which I mean that most of them were in their 30s -. they felt more and more deeply as the campaign went on. "but you're calm because you know you can handle your shit.And losing." Reed said. Earlier that day. but all they knew was that they had packet loss. they lost their databases. and now everything had been broken at just the wrong time. Madrigal November 16." Hatch was playing the role of dungeon master. but needed to rebuild the replicas. Quora. Mark Trammell. calling out devilishly complex scenarios that were designed to test each and every piece of their system as they entered the exponential traffic-growth phase of the election. so would everything else. If it broke. maybe *especially* these people. an engineer who Reed hired after he left Twitter. He said they reminded him of his time in the Navy. Harper Reed. PalominoDB." We finished our drinks. Facebook." Reed told me. saw a couple game days. but it's not. They did not do that with Orca. Later reports posted by rank-and-file volunteers describe chaos descending on the polling locations as only a fraction of the tens of thousands of volunteers organized for the effort were able to use it properly to turn out the vote. NGP VAN." Reed said. It was like touting the iPad as a Facebook killer. after the man who killed Houdini. the day after the October 21 game day. Democrats had a new version. and the other battleground states. it was with more than a hint of schadenfreude that Reed's team hear that Orca crashed early on election day. and it did it in real time. drove the 2012 Obama team to bring technologists in-house. a gamechanger. So. Something could have happened. It was called Gordon. Houdini's rollout went great until about 9:30am Eastern on the day of the election. you do this. Of course. Obama's campaign had created a similar app in 2008 called Houdini. A fail whale (cough) in the days leading up to or on November 6 would have been neither charming nor funny." In fact. because orcas are the only known predator of the one-tusked narwhal. and phone-bankers. they knew they could not go down. The Victory Lab.work. Amazon services -. they couldn't snicker too loudly. From the descriptions of the Romney camp's software that were available then and now. And besides. Orca was going to allow volunteers at polling places to update the Romney camp's database of voters in real time as people cast their ballots. event-goers. it could have cost the President the election." Reed said. In a race that at least some people thought might be very close. With election day bearing down on them. We had resources. like. as it always does. Mark Trammell. no matter what the scenario was. Then it crashed in much the same way Orca did. among other needs." THE NEW CHICAGO MACHINE vs. this.on which the whole campaign's tech presence was built -. Hurricane Sandy hit on another game day. It's just a nice thing to have. canvassers. That would supposedly allow them to deploy resources more efficiently and wring every last vote out of Florida. I was betting a lot on it. the Romney campaign pushed its (not-so) secret weapon as the answer to the Democrats' vaunted ground game. As detailed in Sasha Issenberg's groundbreaking book. and this. . a digitized strike list is cool. the stakes were much higher. We had done what we thought would work. And yet they had to accommodate much more strain on the systems as interest in the election picked up toward the end. thought it would have been easy for the Obama team to fall into many of the pitfalls that the social network did back then. threatening the campaign's whole East Coast infrastructure. The product got its name. "We had a runbook that said if this happens. in the scheme of a campaign. I was incredibly confident it would work. Orca was not even in the same category as Narwhal. But while the problems of scaling both technology and culture quickly might have been similar. Ohio. In 2012. "We created a hot backup of all our applications to US-west in preparation for US-east to go down hard. In the days leading up to the election. and it still could have broken. But the 2008 failure.went down. Narwhal unified what Obama for America knew about voters. a Romney spokesperson told NPR PBS . "We didn't have any downtime because we had done that scenario already. We had time. Narwhal wasn't an app for a smartphone. who worked for Twitter during its period of exponential growth." Reed maintained. It was the architecture of the company's sophisticated data operation. October 29. or comparing a GPS device to an engine. The billing the Republicans gave the tool confused almost everyone inside the Obama campaign. built by the vendor. THE GRAND OLD PARTY Orca was supposed to be the Republican answer to Obama's perceived tech advantage. "We knew what to do. in early 2012. To go a step further. light from a chunky monitor illuminating his face. he told him. I'd even say that this clash of cultures was a good thing: The nerds shook up an ossifying Democratic tech structure and the politicos taught the nerds a thing or two about stress. the PeopleMatcher. The divisions among the tech. He gets you and where you came from. it was clear: Reed had not fucked it up. by whom the arena had long been handled. and Narwhal -. he figured something out. But it wasn't easy. but the b-roll they shot of darkened rooms and typing hands could not convey the sense of exhilaration he felt when he built something that works. played with computers when they weren't cool.Dashboard. and analytics team never quite got resolved. "YOLO. warez. We don't need to sell our software to Oracle. We now know what happened. the manager. Why? Because it made his wife Hiromi's commute a little easier. Harper Reed is an easy guy to like. So little went wrong that Trammell and Reed even had time to cook up a little pin to celebrate." with the Obama Os. it would be evidence that this stuff might be best left to outside political technology consultants. and the significance of elections." As Election Day ended and the dust settled. Because he is a nerd. Singularity. the team's only real goal was to elect the President. even if the end product has salved the sore spots that developed over the stressful months. the Facebook Blaster. self-organizing systems. says. Reed's team came in as outsiders to the campaign and by most accounts. "We have to elect the President. He. But the secondary impact of their success or failure would be to prove that campaigns could effectively hire and deploy top-level programming talent. Harper Reed got the city of Chicago to create an open and real-time feed of its transit data by reverse engineering how they served bus location information. "Welcome to the team. It said. digital. remained that way. "Let me grab you a shot. too. Don't fuck it up. and built everything atop the most stable technical infrastructure of any presidential campaign. Surprisingly.And of course. Rails. the cultural differences between tech and everybody else threatened to derail the whole grand experiment. and he'd be right there with you: BBS. the campaign produced exactly what it should have: a hybrid of the desires of everyone on Obama's team. When Obama campaign chief Jim Messina signed off on hiring Reed.made it simpler and easier for anyone to engage with the President's reelection effort. The campaign had turned out more volunteers and gotten more donors than in 2008. too. when we walk into the place early on the Friday after the election. They raised hundreds of millions of dollars online. YOLO: MEET THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN'S CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER If you're a nerd. Yet Reed has friends like the manager of the hip-hop club Empire who. TV news segments about cybersecurity might look lifted straight from his memories. Unsurprisingly. You could call out nouns. who is tall . has a memory that all nerds share: Late at night. phenomena. At their worst. If Reed's team succeeded. If they failed." short for "You Only Live Once. Sure." Surprisingly. Because it was fun to extract the data from the bureaucracy and make it available to anyone who wanted it. Harper Reed read Steven Levy's Hackers as a kid. games that his mom typed into their Apple IIC. engineers might become as enshrined in the mechanics of campaigns as social-media teams already are. the Call Tool. the quantified self. fingers flying across a keyboard. He wrote his first programs at age seven. made unprecedented progress in voter targeting. The grand technology experiment worked. The tech team's key products -." Reed told his team. He's brash and funny and smart. small-p politics. and learned to code because he just could not help himself. By the end. but the difference stemmed in large part from better technology. Harper Reed is a chilled vodka kind of guy. the field organization was more entrenched and experienced. He. " After all. has the kind of self-awareness that faces outward. it's not there i swear!" What makes Harper Reed different isn't just that the photo exists. Instead. "Lots of guys who know how to spit out code. two thick band tattoos running across his chest and shoulders. They've known each other for a long while. Yet if you've spent a lot of time around tech people. and is wilder than you. cooler than you. he might grow a beard and put on a little potbelly. He says fuck a lot. I have to be at 10 because I have this stupid mustache. around startups. And Hiroki grabs us another shot. since Harper Reed was the crazy guy you can see on his public Facebook photos. Like if we're all at zero. 'Why do you look like an asshole?' And I was like. "Harper is an easy guy to underestimate because he looks funny. "And if you look like an asshole. He gets profiled by Mother Jones even though he couldn't talk with Tim Murphy. and where a quarter of the staff and clientele have mustaches." By the time Sacca brought his Silicon Valley contingent out to Chicago. They are really growing up.") Hiroki's been DJing at Empire for years. a skinny Reed sits in a bathtub with a beer in his hand. he may actually be at 10. around BBSs. but he also juggles better than you. I have to step up. had only glowing things to say about Reed. He is not wearing any clothes. "He ." Sacca said. He likes Japan. he's got plugs in his ears and a shock of gloriously product-mussed hair and hipster glasses and he doesn't own a long-sleeve dress shirt. another friend approached us: DJ Hiroki. Harper Reed knows the DJ. He's a cool hacker. The caption reads. In one shot from 2006. "Stop staring. 'I don't know. but that he kept it public during the election. "And they didn't look like me and I didn't look like them. in case you were wondering. around Reddit." It was a lesson he learned early out in Greeley." Reed recalled. Harper Reed probably makes sense to you." Howerton said. "By the end of the night. around Burning Man devotees. He supports open source. we're talking about a group of people who had Eric Schmidt sitting in with them on Election Day. He may be like you." And in fact. Sure. it's one thing to look at their resumes and another to see how they are viewed among their peers. I don't have an answer. "I always look like a fucking idiot. but he wouldn't tuck in his t-shirt. Colorado. where he grew up. returns to show Harper photographs of his kids. you have to be really good. Sacca said that with technical people. You had to be good. their reporter. As the night rolls on.and handsome with rock-and-roll hair flowing from beneath a red beanie. "And it was amazing how many incredibly well regarded hackers that I follow on Twitter rejoiced and celebrated [when Reed was hired]. Terry Howerton. And this was at a very unfortunate time in my life where I was wearing very baggy pants and I had a Marilyn Manson shirt on and I looked like an asshole. around San Francisco. (At this point I'm thinking. a well-known Silicon Valley venture capitalist and major Obama bundler who brought a team of more than a dozen technologists out for an Obama campaign hack day. His self-announced flaws bristle like quills. And if I'm going to do this.' But I realized I was just as good as the guys fixing it. Of course. they really bought that. for his part. "Harper Reed? I think he's wicked smart. Reed. the head of the Illinois Technology Association and a frank observer of Chicago's tech scene. he called the technical team "top notch. He's what a king of the nerds really looks like. He is not that kind of nerd. and look like an idiot. more fun than you. who was spinning that night. and the club starts to fill up. either I pass out or Reed tells me something good. He goes to hipster bars that serve vegan Mexican food." said Chris Sacca." Reed told me. The tech world was watching. "I had this experience where my dad hired someone to help him out because his network was messed up and he wanted me to watch. And my father took me aside and was like. That might be part of his brand. and he got them. like Clay Johnson. had been "opportunistic users of technology" who "brute forced and baling wired" different pieces of software together. knew that they needed a more stable platform for 2012. Digital Director of Obama for America and a veteran of both campaigns. The '08 campaigners. They only own long-sleeve dress shirts. did not hire a bunch of technologists. but they were not under the hood. even Howard Dean's famous 2004 Internet-enabled run at the Democratic nomination. they bought technology from outside consultants. and the guy who hired Harper Reed this time around. One testament to that is several startups might spin out of the connections people made at the OFA headquarters. You have very little time. For 2012.knows how to pull people together. Think about the killer tool of that campaign." Reed's own team found their co-workers particularly impressive. affairs. a tool for website A/B testing. The websites might have looked like solid consumer web applications. "It seems crazy to hire someone like me as CTO when you could have someone like Harper as CTO. really. if not low-technology. set of personalities. no one gets to exit and make a bunch of money. brought a different worldview. . Think of them as a weird kind of niche startup and you can see why." Slaby said. the very things that make Reed an interesting and beloved person are the same things that make him an unlikely pick to become the chief technology officer of the reelection campaign of the President of the United States. Slaby wanted to change all that. the '08 campaign had Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. such as Optimizely. not the technology of the thing. You can't afford to pay very much. Campaigns." said Carol Davidsen. (Sacca's actually an investor in that one. It wasn't a core or even peripheral part of our strategy. Political people wear khakis. "It's funny to hear you call it risky. and as much as everyone I spoke with loved it. by design. The job security. Twitter was a nothing burger for the campaign." Slaby told me. So. And there really was no one else like him that could have assembled these people that quickly and get them to take a pay cut and move to Chicago. And even though you need to build a massive "customer" base and develop the infrastructure to get money and votes from them. my. Though they hired a couple. I asked Michael Slaby.) "A CTO role is a weird thing. is nonexistent. not its technical guy. who left Microsoft to become the product manager for Narwhal. Obama's 2008 chief technology officer. "The primary responsibility is getting good engineers. too. Their old photos on Facebook show them canvassing for local politicians and winning cross-country meets. but everyone.com. but Hughes was the spokesperson for the company. "The real innovation in 2012 is that we had world-class technologists inside a campaign. I think that was probably what attracted the rest of the people there. "Facebook was about one-tenth of the size that it is now. Things worked (most of the time). It borrowed the my from MySpace. if it wasn't risky to hire this wild guy into a presidential campaign. which spun out of Obama's 2008 bid. it seems obvious to me." THE NERDS ARE INSIDE THE BUILDING The strange truth is that campaigns have long been low-technologist. no matter how good they were. campaign tech has been dominated by people who care about the politics of the thing." said Teddy Goff. maybe a year. Sure. Harper is responsible for a huge percentage of the people who went over there. "The traditional technology stuff inside campaigns had not been at the same level. however. Slaby especially. it was not as heavily digital or technological as it is now remembered. He wanted dozens of engineers inhouse.barackobama. For all the hoopla surrounding the digital savvy of President Obama's 2008 campaign. and expectations." And yet. Slaby told me." And yet the technologists. So. and ran the campaigns' most-excellent accounts on Facebook. As Reed put it. well. in a campaign or at least this campaign or perhaps any successful campaign. BSD was purchased by WPP. and the like. both Goff and Rospars. BSD and Obama for America were and are so deeply enmeshed. Jason Kunesh was the director of UX for the tech team. it would be difficult to say where one ended and the other began. The most obvious is the firm that Rospars. "Hey. The goal was not to build a product. Analytics was run by Dan Wagner. one of the largest ad agencies in the world." And the digital team could say. perhaps BSD's tech business would begin to seem less attractive. Jeremy Bird ran Field.Blue State Digital and NGP Van. has to play a supporting role.com. and a decent chunk -. BSD's biggest client was the Obama campaign and has been for some time. One other thing to know about Rospars. What had been an obviously progressive organization was now owned by a huge conglomerate and had clients that weren't other Democratic politicians. and those guys were responsible for coming up with ways of finding and targeting voters they could persuade or turn out. "Departments tend to be freestanding. Just make what we ask for. The deadlines are hard and the pressure would be enough to press the t-shirt of even the most battle-tested startup veteran. The complex relationship between BSD and the Obama campaign adds another dimension to the introduction of an inside team of technologists. mission-oriented reasons for wanting their way to carry the day. specifically: "He's the Karl Rove of the Internet. strange rigors and schedules.Rospars is to email. were paid staffers of the Obama campaign. He had many years of consulting under his belt for big and small .the undisputed king of the medium -. "Campaigns aren't traditionally that collaborative. too. Tech.Campaigns are not just another Fortune 500 company or top-50 website. Blue State Digital. Analytics.of their business comes from providing technology to campaigns. "Yeah. And yet between 2008 and 2012. he wouldn't be Billy Beane. you need to know a little bit about its organizational structure. They have their own culture and demands. What Rove was to direct mail -. They are organized kind of like disaster response -. Tech was Harper Reed's domain." Looking at it all from the outside. "Digital" was Joe Rospars' kingdom." he said. and Digital teams do their jobs better. the company's principals. he'd be "Google Boy. video. The tech for the campaign was supposed to help the Field. that the organizational styles of the two operations were very different. and Clay Johnson co-founded. To really understand what happened behind the scenes at the Obama campaign. He and Goff are the brains behind Obama's unprecedented online fundraising efforts. perhaps the tech team was bound to butt heads with Rospars' digital squad. Jascha Franklin-Hodge. The goal was to reelect the President. Let us do this. They know what they were doing and had proven that time and again. If all campaigns started bringing their technology in house." There's one other interesting component to the campaign's structure. And that's the presence of two big tech vendors interfacing with the various teams -. we've done this kind of tech before at larger scale and with more stability than you've ever had. Twitter. particularly if many of the tools that such an inside team created were developed as open source products.siloed and super hierarchical so that things can move very quickly. They're the preeminent progressive digital agency.maybe 30 percent -." The way that the conflict played out was over things like the user experience on the website. The tech team could say. both the digital and tech teams had really good. the on-theground operations of organizing voters at the community level that many consider Obama's secret sauce . Slaby would note. Tumblr." someone who knows him very well told me. regardless of the technology stack. his team was composed of the people who sent you all those emails. if the campaign were Moneyball. designed some of the consumer-facing pieces of BarackObama. we elected the president and we know how to win. Of course. After all. "It was freaking horrible. It's looking ugly and I go out on this Field call. Not only that. But that wasn't how the first version of Dashboard looked. . They might be slower. if not hundreds of millions of dollars. 'I'm gonna get another margarita. you see a beautifully polished product that let you volunteer any way you wanted. 'Man. he ran some user interrupt tests on the website to determine how people were experiencing www. you couldn't show it to anyone. "A lot of the software is kind of late. iterate." When he raised that issue with Goff and Rospars. there were mitigating factors. The outsider status that the team both adopted and had applied to them gave them the right to question previous practices. And from the Goff/Rospars perspective. So. It looked as if you could do the things you needed to do.com. he got a response that I imagine was something like. too. Per Kunesh's telling. If you look at Dashboard at the end of the campaign. and so on and so forth until the software was complete and bulletproof. the Field people were used to software that looked complete but that was unreliable under the hood.* The sorts of moves they had learned how to make had made a difference of tens. "August 29. though. 2011." Kunesh remembered. but there were differences in the way field offices in some states did things and how campaign HQ thought they did things. trust in the tech team -already shaky -. but the software would keep falling down and getting patched. "Duh. all the way through a campaign. iterate.companies like Microsoft and LeapFrog.'" While the responsibility for their early struggles certainly falls to the tech team. some of which turned out to be surprisingly arcane and difficult. but they were going to build solid products. Narwhal had to connect to a bunch of different vendors' software. What he found was that the website wasn't even trying to make a go at persuading voters. Why was this Kunesh guy coming around trying to tell them how to run a campaign? From Kunesh's perspective. Most of that related to the way that they launched Dashboard. a hallowed group within the campaign's world.. think about it: the system they'd developed could raise $3 million *from a single email. else. He." As the tech team struggled to translate what people wanted into usable software. no one had ever done what they were attempting to do." but perhaps in more words. that they'd release a version of Dashboard just a few months after the team arrived. my birthday. Reed's team began to trickle into Chicago beginning in May of 2011. We gotta get the guys from the DNC. falling down and getting patched. It's secure and intuitive and had tremendously good uptime as the campaign drew to a close.barackobama. The tech team's plan was to roll out version 1 with a limited feature set. Rather. from an industry perspective knew what he was doing. "And people are like. Kunesh started to get word that people on both the digital and field teams had agitated to pull the plug on Dashboard and replace the tech team with somebody.kept eroding. roll out version 2. By Februrary of 2012. Tech sometimes had difficulty building what the Field team. Now STFU. wanted.. The first version was not impressive. But I'd only been there 13 weeks and most of the team had been there half that time. there was no reason to think that you had to run this campaign the same as you did the last one. Tech wasted time building things that it turned out people didn't need or want. the online outreach tool." Kunesh told me. They don't know what the hell you're doing. They promised. we should fire your bosses man. everyone got funneled into the fundraising "trap. we were supposed to have a prototype out of Dashboard. over-optimistically. For one. The tech team did not want that.' I'm sitting there going. anybody. that was going to be the public launch. " Davidsen said. "You very much have to understand the campaign's hiring strategy: 'We'll hire these product managers who have campaign experience. By the very end. Davidsen thought all the teams' relationships had improved. how much better would it be if you could sync that data in real time across the entire campaign? That's what Narwhal was supposed to do. with typical pragmatism. VAN [the latter two companies merged in 2010]. But from an infrastructure level. this has to work. Narwhal was just an initially helpful brand for the bundle of software. Slaby. some shakeups were necessary. she said." she said. Narwhal wasn't really one thing." Perhaps most importantly. What Narwhal fixed was a problem that's long plagued campaigns. Just getting all of that data into the system and getting it in real time as soon as it goes in one system to another. "Dude." Then. We promise them they can play a meaningful role in politics and they don't care about the departments in the campaign. it had three components. They just want to have a meaningful experience. So we have to do the work on our side to look . it turned out that couldn't work. You have all this data coming in from all these places -. By the end. the Call Tool (which helped people make calls). and all previous races. "Those two groups of people couldn't talk to each other. Then. In reality. And then they provided a separate way for the Analytics people. but it was fully operational."In the movie version of the campaign." and then go back to work." Kunesh recalled telling the Field team. Tech might not have been fully integrated. who had very specific needs. "The second part is an API portion. and the Twitter Blaster to pull data." Slaby told me. It will. While the dream had been for all applications to run through Narwhal in real time." And Slaby would respond.the voter file. And the people looking to hit their numbers in various ways out in the field offices -number of volunteers and dollars raised and voters persuaded -. all the products that the tech team had been promising started to show up. in the late spring. "The stuff we told you about for a year is actually happening. Dashboard got solid. to get the data in a different form. mobile stuff. You didn't have to log in a bunch of times if you wanted to do different things on the website. NGP. It provided a safe way for Dashboard. "You're going to have one login and have all these tools and it's all just gonna work. Reed and Slaby sent some product managers packing and brought in more traditional ones like former Microsoft PM Carol Davidsen. the lead engineer who arrived in April. the website. Narwhal really got on track. High fives were in the air. So.were used to seeing that update happen like that. but several. some front-end designers who were technically on the digital team had embedded with the tech squad to get work done faster. broke down precisely how it all worked. And the last part was the presentation of the data that was in the system. In 2008. even before Obama's big win. various field offices.' That failed. It wasn't real-time. the analytics people. thanks no doubt to Davidsen's efforts as well as Josh Thayer's. But in reality. First. put it like this. "Our supporters don't give a shit about our org chart. the numbers changed once a day. She credited a weekly Wednesday drinking and hanging out session that brought together all the various people working on the campaign's technology." The API allowed people to access parts of the data without letting them get at the SQL database on the backend. whatever they came up with was fed back into Narwhal. they split things into real-time applications like the Call Tool or things on the web. In fact. what actually happened was Obama's campaign chief Jim Messina would come by Slaby's desk and tell him. then hire engineers who have technical experience -. You don't want a million consumers getting data via SQL. Davidsen. in true product-manager form. Other smaller products rolled out. "I know. "One is vendor integration: BSD. there's probably a meeting where I'm about to get fired and I throw myself on the table.and these two worlds will magically come together. The digital team. The genius of the campaign was that it learned to stop sending poor performers. That difference may not sound impressive. the Obama's campaign's cost per ad was lower ($594) than the Romney campaign ($666) or any other major buyer in the campaign cycle. tech. one of the company's former employees. digital. they could run ads targeted to specific types of voters during reruns or off-peak hours. Oh. You have to develop new trust with people. One fascinating outcome of the AMA is that 30. he really did type in his own answers with Goff at his side. Not bad. under Rospars leadership. Goff described the Facebook tool as "the most significant new addition to the voter contact arsenal that's come around in years. "We built an influence score for the people following the [Obama for America] accounts and then cross-referenced those for specific things we were trying to target. and correlated it with the campaign's own data. and the campaign also officially has the most tweeted tweet and the most popular Facebook post. hasn't voted yet. It's not complicated. Instead. Let's just run through some of the things that actually got accomplished by the tech." he said. They took set-top box (that is to say." The digital. but the Obama campaign itself aired more than 550 thousand ads. Obama became the first presidential candidate to appear on Reddit. It was code named Täärgus Taargüs for some reason. and analytics teams beyond of Narwhal and Dashboard. And yes. Having that data allowed the campaign to buy ads that they knew would get in front of the most of their people at the least cost. Any time you received an email from the Obama campaign. it's just hard. battleground states. it had been tested on 18 smaller groups and the response rates had been gauged. They didn't have to buy the traditional stuff like the local news. They ran on a service that generated microtargeting data that was built by Will St. since the phone call. either. if a good performer could do $2. It's just change management. your cable or satellite box or DVR) data from Davidsen's old startup.integrated and have our shit together. The campaign thought all the letters had a good chance of succeeding. It was meant to be used by the organizers in the field and the analysts in the lab. watched the first presidential debate. but the worst-performing letters did only 15 to 20 percent of what the best-performing emails could deliver. a former strategist at Blue State Digital who moved to the Obama campaign. essentially. the Analytics team built a tool they called The Optimizer. a list came back of people who had done certain things like. With Davidsen's help. took their data-driven strategy to a new level. This occurred through a third party called Epsilon: the campaign sent its voter file and the television provider sent their billing file and boom. a poor performer might only net $500. They could see that some households were only watching a couple hours of TV a day and might be willing to spend more to get in front of those harder-to-reach people. So.000 Redditors registered to vote after President dropped in a link to the Obama voter registration page. for example. ran the best campaign Tumblr the world will probably ever see. I would also note that Laura Olin. helped build a tool that could specifically send individual users direct messages." Meanwhile. They created the most sophisticated email fundraising program ever." WHAT THEY ACTUALLY BUILT Of course. the massive popular social networking site. Dave in Ohio. the teams also built an opt-in Facebook outreach program that sent people messages saying. and analytics teams worked to build Twitter and Facebook Blasters. According to CMAG/Kantar.5 million. Clair. With Twitter.000. that sort of stuff. "Your friend. the tech didn't exist for its own sake. "That took some time. Mark Trammell. And it wasn't just about cost. . either. which allowed the campaign to buy eyeballs on television more cheaply. Navik Networks. when we realized the gravity of what we were doing.'" Reed said." Goff described the Facebook tool as "the most significant new addition to the voter contact arsenal that's come around in years. What began 18 months ago in that very spot was finally coming to an end. "It was this whole world of having fun and living in the moment. Jugglers Against Homophobia." Goff said.Go tell him to vote. "In terms of fundraising. the resources we argued for were right. He'd told me earlier in the day that he'd never experienced stress until the Obama campaign. "I felt like the people I hired were right. he and his whole team of nerds were changed by the experience. Reed looks happy. and drinking a Daisy Cutter pale ale. "After the last campaign." Slaby said. Reed playing the role of hipster. They could simply text people who'd opted in a simple message like. learning the limits of his own power. partying. that's as innovative as we needed to be. Wormhole. The success of it was out of my hands. will not be Harper Reed. "Teddy [Goff] would tear up talking about the President. Reed could stop being Obama for America's CTO and return to being "Harper Reed. probably one of the coolest guys ever. building websites. something could go awry. and I believe him. it's true of one campaign CTO every time. where he first met Slaby. a technologist's technologist." Reed said. They started to worry about the next Supreme Court Justices while they coded. It's an impressive array of accomplishments. Reed cracks that it's like Reddit come to life. sitting with his wife at Wicker Park's Handlebar.and work with people who had -. or people were scared and they didn't adopt the technology or whatever." Sometimes people texted much larger dollar amounts back than the $10 increments that mobile carriers allow. "And there was a lot of doing that on the Internet. He regaled us with stories about his old performance troupe. they felt more and more deeply as the campaign went on. since the phone call. that guy's cool. " Reed said." as his personal webpage is titled. rather." We left Handlebar and made a quick pitstop at the coffee shop. they were ready to work together. and hanging out. They learned what it was like to have -. eating fish tacos. building communities. "It was only towards the end. "I remember at one point basically breaking down during the campaign because I was losing control. EXIT MUSIC That next most technically advanced CTO. And two minutes later. A few days after the election. And I had to choose when to do which. "Text back with how much money you'd like to donate." Or. you have the digital team's Quick Donate." "I spent a lot of time hacking doing all this stuff. "It's the absolute epitome of how you can make it easy for people to give money online. But of course.a higher purpose than building cool stuff. Both of them remember the meeting the same way: Slaby playing the role of square. "and then a lot of time drinking. We could lose. ." he told me. 'Yeah. would mean horrible things for the country." And losing. in 2016. the middle of 2012. I would be like." Storing people's payment information also let the campaign receive donations via text messages long before the Federal Elections Commission approved an official way of doing so. It essentially brought the ease of Amazon's one-click purchases to political donations. wild clubbing and DJs." Last but certainly not least. What you can do with data and code just keeps advancing. And because of a stupid mistake. working all the time." Part of that process was Reed. I got introduced as the CTO of the most technically advanced campaign ever. "But that's true of every CTO of every campaign every time. and for what purposes. likes and status updates. I've never seen someone buy Hennessy. all I can hear is that music. Facebook posted a roundup of results from its 2012 Election-themed user activity on its Data Science page.com/2012/11/facebooks-election-2012-roundup-big-bird-binders-full-ofwomen-won-big.” This is illustrated in the following graph Facebook posted: Self-declared Facebook voters were also more Democratic and more likely to support Obama Facebook released the following graph of voter turnout of its U. with top activity of those self-identified voters . the control we all enjoyed about technology was gone." Then.talkingpointsmemo.S. voting has the same amount of gender imbalance as we see in other forms of communication. and headed to our first club. I can handle all of the parameters going into the machine and I know what is going to come out of it. younger voters were the most likely to share that they voted on Facebook. members during the election according to party affiliation: The highest turnout was for Obama supporters at 18. general election. One academic study even found Facebook may have responsible for boosting turnout among young voters. "I just saw someone buy Hennessy. and keep track in real time of who said they voted and where around the country. 2012 Facebook was more than just a place to share political opinions during the 2012 U. ‘binders full of women’ won big http://idealab.php Carl Franzen November 16. We do it because we can create. with the company itself releasing a suite of tools and apps to help voters find their polling place. "In this. ready for what was almost certainly going to be a long night." We finished our drinks."There is the egoism of technologists. Here’s some of the more interesting findings about Facebook users and the 2012 Election: Women shared that they were voting more than men However. Facebook kept track of self-declared users who voted through posts and through an “I’m Voting” app it worked on with CNN. as Facebook Data Science researcher Eytan Bakshy wrote in the post Friday. But now Facebook itself is revealing some of its own internal measures of just how many people and what types used Facebook on Election Day. connect with each other. TPM: Facebook’s election 2012 roundup: big bird." Reed said. “women are disproportionately more likely to share in general on Facebook. which might be expected.2 percent. But what’s surprising is how large the age window was. Clearly. The last thing my recorder picked up over the bass was me saying to Harper. Compared to comments. The turnout among conservatives was just over 12 percent. followed closely by self-identified Democrats at 18 percent. On Friday. Younger voters dominated The following two graphs show the breakdown of age and 1) overall voter participation on Facebook by political identification 2) voter participation on mobile devices. and the turnout among those identified as “very conservative” was just over 14 percent.S. Meanwhile. Technology Review: How Facebook Boosted Obama's Vote Tally http://www. “the majority of people age 22-38 shared their vote on a mobile device. The two Presidential candidates weren’t even at the top of Facebook’s ticket Surprisingly. when it came to how well “Likes” predicted voter turnout on Facebook. So.” as Bakshy put it. 2012 Facebook just revealed some interesting figures about who responded to its reminder to vote this recent presidential election day.basically plateauing between ages 18 and 44 for those who said they voted across the site. it was First Lady Michelle Obama and Mitt Romney’s VP candidate Rep.000 voters to the polls in 2010. James Fowler. Combined with evidence that a similar widget sent an extra 340. we know that the “I voted” reminder that shows a person which of their friends also clicked can turn out votes that would otherwise not be cast. Facebook data scientist Eytan Bakshy.com/view/507606/how-facebook-boosted-obamas-vote-tally/ By Tom Simonite November 16. San Diego. That’s something my colleague David Talbot suggested could happen in advance of the election (see “Facebook’s Plans Could Affect the Election”). In a new blog post.com/5961202/how-the-obama-campaigns-data+miners-knew-what-you-were-watching-on-tv By Adrian Chen November 16. “Democratic” or “Very liberal” clicked Facebook’s “I’m a voter” button. However. and showed the names and faces of friends that had already clicked it. while only about 15 percent of those identifying as “Republican” or “Independent” did so. Many of those people would have voted anyway. tells us about the people most likely to have clicked that button on November 6. if the same effect was at work this time around. nine million people clicked it. a political scientist at the University of California. Twice as many women as men did so. almost 20 percent of people who stated their political affiliation as “Barack Obama”. Also. the new figures suggest that Facebook’s decision to implement the feature directly boosted president Obama’s vote tally. 2012 . Gawker: How The Obama Campaign's Data-Miners Knew What You Watched On TV http://gawker. because this is Facebook — election-themed memes were a large predictor of voter turnout. Research published in the prestigious journal Science in September told us that in 2010 a version of the voting reminder similar to that used this month drove an additional 340.000 voters to polls nationwide. with “Big Bird” and “Binders Full of Women” leading the pack: TPM has reached out to Facebook for further comment on its Election 2012 participation and will update when we receive a response. The reminder offered up a button labeled “I’m a voter”. and it seems clear that more of them would have voted for Barack Obama than Mitt Romney.technologyreview. Paul Ryan (R-WI) who predicted the most votes. Facebook’s get out the vote reminder would clearly have boosted the number of votes cast for Obama. Meanwhile. while exit polls tell us that overall Obama led with female voters. Although many more will have seen the “I’m a voter” button. led the study. which involved matching public voter records with Facebook’s data (see “How Facebook Drove Voters to the Polls”). and. which allowed the campaign to buy eyeballs on television more cheaply. for use in determining campaign strategy. I have a lot of questions about this.com/politics/2012/11/inside-obama-campaign-tech-operation By Tim Murphy November 15. as best it could. to predict the future. your cable or satellite box or DVR) data from Davidsen's old startup. But the gap in per-ad spending is perhaps more illustrative of the technological chasm between the rival campaigns—a gap that Team Obama leveraged into an edge in fundraising. It was no accident. and correlated it with the campaign's own data. The solution was a program called Optimizer: A team of software engineers at Obama HQ in Chicago headquarters developed a system that collected reams of data on the pricing of TV ads. All they have to do is check the bottom line. Post-election." then sifted through the data in search of efficiencies. One key part of Obama's Narwhal was an analytics department five times larger than the 2008 team. so I won't have to hear about it any more? MotherJones: Under the Hood of Team Obama's Tech Operation http://www. they even knew what people were watching on TV—and not in a ratings sense. Is this a common marketing tactic? Why would a billing file show what people watched on TV." says Carol Davidsen. "Narwhal. 2012 Mitt Romney's top strategists don't have to look very far to see where things went terribly wrong. . when it was most needed. director of integration and media targeting for the Obama campaign. individually. operating out of a side room half-jokingly dubbed "The Cave. in fact.motherjones. A major drawback with TV advertising—for politicos and businesses alike—has always been in the pricing. but in the sense of whether you. which gathered an unprecedented amount of data on potential voters. the Obama campaign has sought to turn the art of campaigning into something closer to a science. whose much-touted "Orca" system pooped out on election day. a list came back of people who had done certain things like. had tuned into a certain program: Madrigal explains: With [project manager Carol Davidsen's] help the Analytics team built a tool they called The Optimizer. Local stations can substantially change the price of a time slot even after it has been reserved. ultimately. supersecret tech operation has finally been opened up for the world to marvel at. According to Kantar Media's post-election tally of 2012 spending. So the campaign looked for a way. for example. Alexis Madrigal at The Atlantic has written a fascinating profile of Obama's tech team. anyway? And can we use this data to round up everyone obsessed with Homeland and put them on an island until the series is done. The Obama campaign's sophisticated technology platform. Navik Networks. the election. the Romney campaign spent an average of $666 per television spot—$72 more than its Democratic rival. They took set-top box (that is to say. They had so much data. Over the last four years. messaging. Buried in it is the fairly unsettling fact that the Obama campaign's data-mining operation could use their databases to determine what you were watching on TV." is being credited with giving Obama a significant edge over Romney. So the Obama campaign's data-mining team could get a big list of the names of people who watched certain things on TV. This occurred through a third party called Epsilon: the campaign sent its voter file and the television provider sent their billing file and boom. "It's not like the stock market where you can just plug it in and you know the rate. watched the first presidential debate. the Obama campaign's massive. An analytics team. the conservative base has focused much of its ire on Team Romney's failed voter-turnout tool (code name: Project ORCA).Since the campaign is done. The team used the same approach for voters tagged as non-news consumers or who watched fewer than two hours of television per day. it had a ripple effect in Chicago. supporters would have to be routed through the website to provide their credit information again. the Obama campaign's digital division worked with the Democratic firm Blue State Digital to develop a fundraising shortcut called Quick Donate. Now if an organizer tapped his tablet in Cuyahoga. voting history. giving became as easy as sending a text. subsequent fundraising pitches—there were dozens each week—would include a one-click donation button for various small-dollar amounts. (Normally." Davidsen adds. President Obama was reelected last Tuesday in no small part thanks to the work of an unprecedented political tech operation. By turning its donation process into four steps instead of a single long form. managed by Davidsen. the campaign boosted fundraising from its donations page by 15 percent." says Michael Slaby. All told. of Bain and the 47 percent. that ethos extended to pretty much everything the campaign did. If people consented. The campaign also got better at using its tools to understand and respond what was going on in the field. it gave donors the option of saving their credit card information on the donation website. Its edge allowed Chicago to build the most prolific online fundraising machine ever— and spend the cash it raised more effectively. Now if an organizer tapped his tablet in Cuyahoga. party file. here are the households that watch Spongebob. it had a ripple effect in Chicago. "It's called 'microlistening. here are the households that watch Spongebob. might waste resources by calling a person who'd already told in-person canvassers that he or she had voted early. And thanks to data it had already collected on likely voters. Quick Donate netted the campaign an extra $60 million. Narwhal integrated all of the various data sets—consumer data. "So then it's like. Team Obama was likewise able to squeeze every last cent out of supporters in ways unimaginable only four years ago. what else are they watching?'" Davidsen says. 'Okay. campaign staffers estimate. the geeks had a pretty good idea of where to look.) If the pre-approved donors also signed up for SMS alerts."Okay. for example. as the Republican primaries were in their last throes. The solution was a project called Narwhal. An armory might be the better analogy: For all the talk of debates and strategy. so that an online phone banker. Over the last decade. the analytics team discovered that a large number of registered voters who had avoided watching the debates weren't apathetic after all. with the help of a Google alum named Dan Siroker. and online profile—so that they could be updated and accessed in real-time. as campaigns acquired more and more data—everything from voters' shopping habits to their caucus attendance record—they ran into a bit of a Babel problem. In 2008. A simple hack. from fundraising emails (sent out in 26 varieties and then analyzed for patterns) to the online donation landing page. Using digital analytics.) A simple hack. Their disparate databases were often incompatible. the campaign had begun using A/B testing—sending variations of an email or a web page to different groups of people to measure the relative effectiveness of each. Early in the process. they just had young kids and were too busy to tune in. In the latest election cycle.' . what else are they watching?" The results prompted the Obama campaign to seek bargains outside of the usual local newscasts. (The campaign hasn't released its final online fundraising tally. "It was kind of like a secret weapon. the campaign's director of integration and innovation. Quick Donate netted the campaign about $60 million more than it would have raised with email blasts alone. "The most important part of the data story that doesn't get told is a phrase that [Team Obama CTO Harper Reed] uses a lot and we sort of stole from [tech entrepreneur] Tim O'Reilly. For instance. but staffers expect that it will exceed the $500 million brought in four years ago. After the GOP primaries wound down in May and June. "What it did was it listened. In short. In total." Reed told me. As Reed expounded on the problems the campaign was encountering as it sought to get its mojo back. they'd hear back from a real person within three days.'" As Slaby explains. just a few weeks after he had signed on with the campaign following a long stint at the T-shirt retailer Threadless. according to new campaign calculations acquired exclusively by TIME." Reed recalls him saying. 2012 Nearly a year ago. "And they need to start thinking about listening. the likelihood that someone's going to engage drops precipitously. “That’s bull—-. That's the day the campaign blasted out a fundraising email bearing the president's name and an ominous subject line: "I will be outspent.Last June.” Messina said. social media. up from about $500 million in 2008. If someone used the platform to. invitation-only technology conference held in the San Francisco Bay Area. at HQ. Obama’s aides now expect more than $1 billion dollars to have been raised by the 2012 campaign and its affiliated party committees. 261-word pitch brought in $2. “People have speculated that this is a billion dollar campaign. But when the final numbers are counted. and it trickled up information. breaking the 10-figure milestone for the first time in history. I'm having a particularly bad day specifically on health care. But their fortunes reversed on June 26. mobile and its website during the final months of the race than initially projected. if you were a volunteer and you knocked on a bunch of doors and you had a particularly bad day. the Obama team raised about $690 million digitally in 2012.time. and respond accordingly. When the campaign rolled out Dashboard—a one-stop site for phone-banking. an annual. Team Obama's online registration drive was signing up just a few dozen new voters per day and digital fundraising was floundering—a large part of the reason why the campaign was considering dramatically scaling down its final fundraising marks.' So that trickles up." Slaby says. The reason is simple: the campaign brought in more small-dollar fundraising through email.4 million in a little more than a day—more than double what the campaign had ever raised in a single email push. Dashboard also increased the "stickiness" of the campaign's contacts with supporters. you could say.com/2012/11/15/exclusive-obamas-2012-digital-fundraising-outperformed-2008/ Michael Scherer November 15. so it can be less depressing." netted Team Obama $2. "So like. Reed took it to heart. according to a senior campaign adviser. And so. at the time. O'Reilly approached with some advice: "I think the campaign needs to get over targeting. say." The brief." One 261-word email plea. to arm them. They never looked back. . It's not like there weren't some scary times. Reed traveled to Foo Camp. join a Veterans for Obama group or sign up to help at their local precinct.4 million in a little more than a day. you're able to say. it made the flow of information bidirectional. 'I'm in a very red area. titled "I will be outspent. eventplanning.” And he meant it. "After 72 hours. particularly about health care. Barack Obama’s campaign manager Jim Messina took to YouTube with an expletive-laden post-holiday message for supporters. TIME: Exclusive: Obama’s 2012 digital fundraising outperformed 2008 http://swampland. 'We need to send this person more information. The new platform allowed OFA to collect feedback from the ground on an enormous scale. and networking—it transformed how volunteers and staff interacted. This success runs counter to the conventional wisdom. who were able to fine-tune their tactics and techniques for raising money electronically. which held that Obama’s re-election campaign would struggle mightily to approach the enormous grassroots enthusiasm of his first presidential run. according to the senior adviser who spoke with TIME: –The number of likes on Facebook pages for the campaign. for instance. is not known. the campaign used this information to ask its supporters to directly contact their friends who were targeted voters in key swing states via Facebook. including some donations that were generated by high-dollar fundraisers but logged through the website.95 million in 2008. more than 600.1 million RSVPs for those events. It is also a testament to the campaign’s leadership. mobile and the website. up from 3. instead of decreasing as it did in 2008. increased from 19 million to 45 million over the course of the race. The exact number of people reached. In the final weeks of the campaign. ARS Technica: Built to win: Deep inside Obama's campaign tech http://arstechnica.000 offline events over the course of the campaign. up from $403 million in 2008.000 times. In all. traffic on the system was so high on Election Day that logs of voter activity were taken offline to free up server space. became the most shared pieces of content in both social networks’ histories. And in October 2012. There were 1. –More than 1 million people downloaded the campaign’s Facebook App. the 2012 campaign raised $504 million. September 2012. Marie Ewald and Blue State Digital’s Joe Rospars. The number of Twitter followers increased from 7 million to 23 million. the Facebook photo has more than 4. who invested heavily in digital efforts early.000 supporters shared items with an estimated 5 million individual targets through this system. better connected. not by software. and more engaged than the competition.com/information-technology/2012/11/built-to-win-deep-inside-obamas-campaign-tech/ Sean Gallagher November 14. In all. Here are some other digital milestones that the 2012 campaign has been celebrating. The total number of donors to the campaign also increased in 2012.4 million individuals gave to the Obama re-election bid. It may also suggest that American voters over the last four years have become more comfortable with the idea of giving small amounts of money to a presidential campaign online. organized more than 358. and the campaign’s digital team. software may have given the Obama for America organization's people a tiny edge—making them by some measures more efficient. with specific requests for everything from voting early to watching a specific persuasion video. run by Teddy Goff. including email. social media. . President Obama’s interview on the social site Reddit gave the aggregator the biggest traffic spike in its history. But in a contest as close as last week's election. which allowed the campaign to overlay its own voter files with the friend networks of its supporters. including Messina.4 million likes. however. When counting only fundraising that was initially generated by digital efforts. –The campaign’s new social network for supporters. 4. when there was significant voter excitement and anxiety generated by the presidential debates. Much of that digital campaign cash came in the final months of the campaign. and has been shared more than 582. Partly as a result. the adviser said. an image of President Obama embracing his wife. Dashboard. was a better month than September 2008 online. including everyone from the President to Michelle Obama to Joe Biden. digital fundraising increased on a month-over-month basis.That number includes all contributions that were given electronically. 2012 The reelection of Barack Obama was won by people. As of today. which was tweeted and shared over Facebook on Election Night. Design. Then there was the much-vaunted secret weapon." he added. the head of the Obama technology team's DevOps group.5 billion requests. To pull it off." "Reed wanted to wire the campaign with its own application programming interface. and it still played a role in the Obama campaign's efforts on Election Day 2008. the Obama team built Narwhal—a set of services that acted as an interface to a single shared data store for all of the campaign's applications. making it possible to quickly develop new applications and to integrate existing ones into the campaign's system. "One of the biggest problems in the last campaign was that you had all these people who are out in the field who are volunteering who start building their own versions of these rogue tools to do the same thing over and over again. a dedicated internal team of technology professionals who operated like an Internet startup. "It was. Houdini's database stayed up. Harper Reed. the "virtual field office" application that helped volunteers communicate and collaborate. the 2008 Obama campaign lacked an internal IT team. the Obama camp was in much the same position as Romney found himself in 2012. And there's Dashboard. "It made it hard to keep everyone on the same page. when poll watchers recorded the voters arriving. because for a period of time we were buying up most of the available smaller Elastic Compute Cloud instance types in the East data center. where the data was re-entered into a webpage manually. Every field office assembled its own patchwork of tools using spreadsheets or a hacked Web application to track operations. The result was the sort of numbers any startup would consider a success. the IT infrastructure for the Obama campaign took up "a significant amount of resources in AWS's Northern Virginia data center.That edge was provided by the work of a group of people unique in the history of presidential politics: Team Tech. put it in a tweet: 4Gb/s. deploy. "We actually had to start using beefier servers. the watchers were supposed to dial in the code to Houdini's automated hotline." said Ecker. But it was clear that the system hadn't been ready for the wave of data it was supposed to handle. ." said Clint Ecker. 'Oh my God. 3 datacenters. and the campaign had to fail over either to texting or to calling the codes back into local field offices." said Obama for America's Chief Technology Officer Harper Reed. leveraging a combination of open source software. a tool developed to "microtarget" voters based on sentiments within text. Project Houdini—a get-out-the-vote system that was supposed to revolutionize the Election Day ground game. the Obama team relied almost exclusively on Amazon's cloud computing services for computing and storage power. Four years ago. 10k requests per second. senior engineer for Obama for America (and an Ars Technica alum). Despite having some people with tech expertise. But the load on the hotline brought it down. "2008 was the 'Jaws' moment. 2.000 nodes. #madops But the tech had not always worked so well. Web services. dismantle in 583 days to elect the President. They communicated over Google groups or simple e-mail lists." So they began to build one. 180TB and 8. relying on vendors and field volunteers to pull much of the weight. and cloud computing power. Those apps include sophisticated analytics programs like Dreamcatcher." Atop Amazon's services. coming out of the primaries with only a short amount of time in which to pull together a national campaign. we're going to need a bigger boat. At its peak. Each voter in each swing-state voting precinct was assigned a numeric code. As Scott VanDenPlas. and it had to integrate with the systems of vendors (such as Blue State Digital and NGP VAN). And. "You're looking for engineers who understand APIs—engineers that spend a lot of time on the Internet building platforms." Reed said." The resulting platform gave Obama for America tools that helped "force-multiply" volunteers. Reed wanted to wire the campaign with its own application programming interface (API). The architecture Reed envisioned had to scale up rapidly. "We needed to architect [the campaign's IT infrastructure] in such a way that it actually worked. the choices Reed made were informed by the 2008 campaign—but also by the mentality of Internet startups." . told Ars. giving them organizational and communication tools that made the Obama "ground game" even more effective. and other digital media presence). a dedicated staff of engineers willing to work long hours for a rapid ramp-up to the ultimate payout: reelecting the president. the chief technology officer for the Obama campaign. Twitter. and TripIt. he looked to the cloud to make it scale." Harper Reed. Facebook." Reed said. It needed to handle the needs of volunteers in the field and in the campaign's "Team Digital" (responsible for the campaign's Web presence. And we also knew we were going to be resource-constrained—whether it was money or people. When you talk about SOA. He needed to build a team within the Obama campaign that behaved like an Internet startup. "All these guys have had experience working in startups and experience in scaling apps from nothing to huge in really tight situations like we were in the campaign. "I don't think we would have been able to [build Narwhal] if we had to deal with the primaries. while also feeding the "big data" machine of Team Data (the campaign's analytics department)." Reed added. social."Being able to decouple all the apps from each other [by using Narwhal] has such power. we knew we weren't going to have everything we wanted. The team Reed went out and recruited people who already knew the territory. they're not just going to laugh at you and say you're talking about Java." Ecker said. and it really saved us a lot of time. though: time to prepare. and having watched what Amazon and other large organizations had done—and how powerful these API platforms have become—it was obvious that the best path forward was to follow services oriented architecture (SOA) principles and build a services architecture that allowed for all of our apps to connect together and share one common data store. like many Internet startups. In other words. "It allowed us to scale each app individually and to share a lot of data between the apps. it's pretty easy to figure out who you're hiring. "I looked at a lot of architectures." But to build Reed's "bigger boat" meant adopting a startup-like strategy in more ways than just architecture. It needed flexibility." Reed said. snapping up both local talent (such as Ecker) and people from out of town with Internet bona fides—veterans from companies like Google. When Reed was brought onboard by Obama campaign Chief Integration and Innovation Officer Michael Slaby in June 2011. "We knew we were going to go big. allowing developers with any level of experience who joined the campaign to work in and be productive with whatever language they preferred." They did have the incumbent's advantage. "When you put down the constraints you have. "Coming out of [previous employer] Threadless. Rather than focusing on creating something significantly new, Reed said, the team focused on taking what they already knew worked and fitting the pieces together. "We aggressively stood on the shoulders of giants like Amazon, and used technology that was built by other people," he said. "We had a pretty good culture of using not-invented-here technologies. And we weren't scared about it." In some cases, he added, it was just the opposite—if something came up as a solution and had never been used at that scale by someone else, it was "super scary" and usually avoided. The Democrats were going to play it conservative. The "glamour" of working in a campaign's office. The first recruits started rolling in soon after Reed joined, giving the team 583 days to do their work. "It really became apparent that there needed to be a centralized place for all this data to flow into from all our vendors and for the new applications," Ecker said. "We needed a standard RESTful API that any project could talk to using any programming language and any Web framework, whatever people are most comfortable in so that they can hit the ground running." “We aggressively stood on the shoulders of giants and used technology that was built by other people." That meant Narwhal. Written in Python, the API side of Narwhal exposes data elements through standard HTTP requests. While it was designed to work on top of any data store, the Obama tech team relied on Amazon's MySQL-based Relational Database Service (RDS). The "snapshot" capability of RDS allowed images of databases to be dumped into Simple Storage Service (S3) instances without having to run backups. Even with the rapidly growing sets of shared data, the Obama tech team was able to stick with RDS for the entire campaign—though it required some finesse. "We definitely bumped up against some limitations with RDS but they were largely self-inflicted," Ecker said. "We were able to work around those and stretch how far we were able to take RDS. If the campaign had been longer, we would have definitely had to migrate to big EC2 boxes with MySQL on them instead." Not having to switch off RDS meant that the Obama campaign saved "a shitload of money" on hiring additional database administrators, Ecker added. Ecker says the team also tested Amazon's DynamoDB "NoSQL" database when it was introduced. While it didn't replace the SQL-based RDS service as Narwhal's data store, it was pressed into service for some of the other parts of the campaign's infrastructure. In particular, it was used in conjunction with the campaign's social networking "get-out-the-vote" efforts. The integration element of Narwhal was built largely using programs that run off Amazon's Simple Queue Service (SQS). It pulled in streams of data from NGP VAN's and Blue State Digital's applications, polling data providers, and many more, and handed them off to worker applications—which in turn stuffed the data into SQS queues for processing and conversion from the vendors' APIs. Another element of Narwhal that used SQS was its e-mail infrastructure for applications, using worker applications to process e-mails, storing them in S3 to pass them in bulk from one stage of handling to another. Initially, Narwhal development was shared across all the engineers. As the team grew near the beginning of 2012, however, Narwhal development was broken into two groups—an API team that developed the interfaces required for the applications being developed in-house by the campaign, and an integration team that handled connecting the data streams from vendors' applications. The apps As the team supporting Narwhal grew, the pace of application development accelerated as well, with more applications being put in the hands of the field force. Perhaps the most visible of those applications to the people on the front lines were Dashboard and Call Tool. Written in Rails, Dashboard was launched in early 2012. "It's a little unconventional in that it never talks to a database directly—just to Narwhal through the API," Ecker said. "We set out to build this online field office so that it would let people organize into groups and teams in local neighborhoods, and have message boards and join constituency groups." An Obama campaign video demonstrating how to use Dashboard. Enlarge / The Dashboard Web application, still live, helped automate the recruitment and outreach to wouldbe Obama campaign volunteers. Dashboard didn't replace real-world field offices; rather, it was designed to overcome the problems posed by the absence of a common tool set in the 2008 election, making it easier for volunteers to be recruited and connected with people in their area. It also handled some of the metrics of running a field organization by tracking activities such as canvassing, voter registration, and phone calls to voters. The Obama campaign couldn't mandate Dashboard's use. But the developer team evolved the program as it developed relationships with people in the field, and Dashboard use started to pick up steam. Part of what drove adoption of Dashboard was its heavy social networking element, which made it a sort of Facebook for Obama supporters. Enlarge / Call Tool offered supporters a way to join in on specific affinity-group calling programs. Call Tool was the Obama campaign's tool to drive its get-out-the-vote (GOTV) and other voter contact efforts. It allowed volunteers anywhere to join a call campaign, presenting a random person's phone number and a script with prompts to follow. Call Tool also allowed for users to enter notes about calls that could be processed by "collaborative filtering" on the back end—identifying if a number was bad, or if the person at that number spoke only Spanish, for instance—to ensure that future calls were handled properly. Both Call Tool and Dashboard—as well as nearly all of the other volunteer-facing applications coded by the Obama campaign's IT team—integrated with another application called Identity. Identity was a single-sign-on application that tracked volunteer activity across various activities and allowed for all sorts of campaign metrics, such as tracking the number of calls made with Call Tool and displaying them in Dashboard as part of group "leaderboards." The leaderboards were developed to "gamify" activities like calling, allowing for what Ecker called "friendly competition" within groups or regions. All of the data collected through various volunteer interactions and other outreach found its way into Narwhal's data store, where it could be mined for other purposes. Much of the data was streamed into Dreamcatcher and into a Vertica columnar database cluster used by the analytics team for deep dives into the data. DevOps on the campaign trail A great deal of the Obama IT team's efforts were focused on redundancy—in terms of how Narwhal and the apps that used it were deployed, how the various instances of Amazon services that supported them were provisioned, and even in the development of additional code. For example, the engineering team developed its own credit card payment API to help handle donations. "In the past, we relied wholly on vendors to take payments," Ecker said. "But this time around, we had engineering bandwidth to build backup payment bridges so that we could load balance between vendors' payment processor endpoints and ours." While the infrastructure for Narwhal and the other applications resided primarily in Amazon's Northern Virginia data center, the Obama DevOps team kept systems deployed across at least two availability zones. And when Hurricane Sandy threatened, the team prepared a contingency plan—about 500 of the campaign's EC2 instances were replicated and waiting to go live in Amazon's West Coast data center. "We really took no chances, and we basically replicated our entire infrastructure over to the West Coast data center over the course of a couple of days," Ecker said. Other than the threat of Sandy, most of the scaling needs for the infrastructure were fairly predictable— events like the debates and mass e-mails to supporters drove spikes in contributions and were handled without much fuss. Some of the many groups that the tech team enabled. Voting begins The Narwhal API could have easily been used to drive computerized "robocalls" to voters, but the philosophy of applications like Dashboard and Call Tool was that "you can't just make a difference through tech alone," Ecker said. "You can't just send e-mails and make robocalls and do stuff on Facebook—the real persuasion is going to happen when a real person is talking to a real person." And with the tools provided through Dashboard, real people could be just as effective as any robot at reaching thousands of real voters. During the final days of the campaign, Call Tool made it possible for volunteers outside of swing states to help volunteers in those states by placing calls to voters, augmenting their get-out-the-vote efforts. The tool was so effective, Ecker says, that "in some cases we ran out of people to call. We had so many volunteers using it, in some states we just called everybody." As early voting began and Election Day grew close, Narwhal demonstrated its flexibility further as more tools started pushing data into it. In addition to NGP VAN's get-out-the-vote tool—an updated, smartphone friendly system analogous to Houdini and the Romney campaign's Orca in its function but based instead on social media inputs—the Obama campaign deployed a "voter incident tracker tool" based on an open-source PHP framework called Ushahidi. Originally developed for tracking humanitarian incidents, Ushahidi was the basis for an app used by pollwatcher volunteers to submit geo-tagged reports of potential problems, such as illegal electioneering or ballots being handled improperly. As reports came in, they were shown on a map in the Obama campaign's "boiler room," and the data was pushed to another application—a lawyer-assignment app—to dispatch volunteer lawyers if required to handle the situation or to gather resources for a possible court challenge. While the data collected ended up not mattering on a national level, Ecker said that it was being passed to statewide and other campaigns where it might have an impact. Adjustments to the apps were made right up until the end. Ecker says that on Election Day, the team observed that some of the open-source applications were causing "loads on our database that were making us a little uneasy," so the engineers assigned to the apps went in and hacked out unnecessary code that was causing the problem. Through it all, the campaign's systems suffered less than 30 minutes of downtime over the course of the campaign. By 9:00 PM on Election Night, most of the staff was already at the McCormick Center in Chicago, awaiting Obama's victory speech. Tech was not the product Reed doesn't take credit for the success of the campaign. "I truly believe that the Obama campaign could have won without us," he said. "It would have been slower and would not have been efficient as it was in making voter contact. But we were a multiplier, not the cause." Nor does Reed see anything that the group did as truly groundbreaking from a technology standpoint. "When you break it down to programming, we didn't build a data store or a faster queue," he said. "All we did was put these pieces together and arrange them in the right order to give the field organization the tools they needed to do their job. And it worked out. It didn't hurt that we had a really great candidate and the best ground game that the world has ever seen." It also helped that Reed assembled people on his team who were willing to take point. Much of the success of the teams' efforts, he said, "is because of people like Clint, [Director of Engineering] Dylan Richard, and all these people that we hired—they all know what they're doing. Being able to delegate that authority to them and say, hey guys, you've done this before, the conversation became 'here's how I did this' rather than 'how do we do this?' From there, all you're doing is fitting the puzzle pieces together." That doesn't mean that the team doesn't have reason to brag. "Looking back at all the stuff we produced, and the sophistication of the tools we produced," said Ecker, "we were able to build so much stuff that on the whole operated very well in just 20 months. If you look at a normal job, 20 months is what you spend on just one big project." But this is politics, and that means surprises are always possible. Despite all the planning, the team remains aware that it had a bit of luck on its side. "You could have the best technology team in the world, and add a bad product, and it won't work," Reed said. "Or your adoption is down, or for whatever reason it just doesn't catch on. Or a cloud provider goes away for a weekend, or you have what happened in 2008 when a guy hit a utility pole with a van and all of Rackspace went down in Dallas-Fort Worth. You never know." Washington Post: Obama Campaign Took Unorthodox Approach To Ad Buying http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-influence-industry-obama-campaign-took-unorthodoxapproach-to-ad-buying/2012/11/14/c3477e8c-2e87-11e2-beb2-4b4cf5087636_story.html By T.W. Farnam November 14, 2012 When President Obama’s campaign strategists tried to squeeze every last drop of efficiency out of their $300 million television advertising budget, they chose to do something un-or-tho-dox: They stopped worrying about which shows featured their commercials. Most campaigns buy airtime based on television ratings for different demographic groups, selecting the shows they think likely voters will watch. In their attempts to find new efficiency, Obama aides threw that conventional wisdom out the window — instead choosing airtime only by the time of day and the channel. The result was a system they called “the optimizer” that took into account information gathered from doorknockers and phone canvassers when they picked whether to advertise on, say, ESPN or TV Land. “The optimizer doesn’t take into account the program at all,” said Carol Davidsen, who designed the system as the campaign’s director of media analytics. “But there’s a sanity check at the end to make sure that you’re not advertising on ‘Girls Gone Wild.’ ” Advertising prices are set by the size of the audience. The most expensive advertising is during prime-time network shows with massive numbers of viewers. Those reach lots of targeted voters, but they’ll also waste money on people who have made up their minds. By finding the right programming, the campaign stitched together a big audience of targeted voters with less waste. The team bought detailed data on TV viewing by millions of cable subscribers, showing which channels they were watching, sometimes on a second-by-second basis. The information — which is collected from set-top cable boxes and sold by a company called Rentrak — doesn’t show who was watching, but the campaign used a third-party company to match viewing data to its own internal list of voters and poll responses. Davidsen said the campaign sought to reach two broad categories of voters: people who were still on the fence and Obama supporters who were sporadic voters. The team’s calculations showed that it would get the most bang for its buck in some strange places: the Family Channel, the Food Network and the Hallmark Channel, among others. On broadcast TV, the campaign went for more daytime programs and late-night entertainment shows than Republican nominee Mitt Romney did. The Obama team was on 60 channels during one week near the end of the campaign, compared with 18 for the Romney operation during the same period, according to cable advertising data. Overall, the Obama campaign ran a more sophisticated targeting operation, said Tim Kay, political sales director for NCC Media, a consortium of cable operators. “With Romney, they went after pure tonnage,” Kay said. “With Obama, you see them capturing those niche audiences. They bought a lot of networks that we would consider second or third tier.” Obama’s campaign also would target cable operators serving small towns, while Romney tended to focus on media markets spanning several counties. “I would agree they have done something new and interesting,” said Will Feltus, a Republican media buyer who worked for George W. Bush’s reelection campaign in 2004. “They didn’t invent the wheel, but they put some better ball bearings on it, that’s for sure.” Part of the reason for Obama’s success in pushing the envelope was that he was flush with resources from the start and didn’t face a primary challenger. The campaign decided to try the new approach more than a year ago, when Romney was battling Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the GOP primary. Nor was it cheap. The campaign paid at least $359,000 for Rentrak data and $70,500 to the Buckeye CableSystem, which serves part of Ohio, for data on its viewers, disclosure reports show. Using set-top boxes allowed for much more data and also higher accuracy. Nielsen Media Research ratings, which are more commonly used, are based on surveys that are still done with a written diary in some markets. Overall, Obama officials estimate they were able to get about 10 percent to 20 percent more efficient use of their money using the optimizer by piecing together small audiences. “In the past we might have said, ‘Gee, there’s not enough people watching there — it’s not worth the money,’” said Jim Margolis, one of Obama’s top media consultants. “There’s a certain group that we want to speak to and you can reach them lots of different ways.” Los Angeles Times: Obama Campaign's Investment In Data Crunching Paid Off http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-analytics-20121113,0,846342.story By Christi Parsons and Kathleen Hennessey November 13, 2012 CHICAGO — Early on election day, in two tight, tucked-away rooms at Obama headquarters known as the Cave and the Alley, the campaign's data-crunching team awaited the nation's first results, from Dixville Notch, a New Hampshire hamlet that traditionally votes at midnight. Dixville Notch split 5-5. It did not seem an auspicious outcome for the president. But for the math geeks and data wizards who spent more than a year devising sophisticated models to predict which voters would back the president, Dixville Notch was a victory. Their model had gotten it right, predicting that about 50% of the village's voters were likely to support President Obama. Daniel Wagner, the 29-year-old chief analytics officer, erupted in joy. The model was also projecting that Obama would be reelected. And as the night wore on, swing state after swing state came in with results that were very close to the model's prediction. For the nation, last Tuesday was election day. For Wagner's crew, it's now known as Model Validation Day. "We're kind of a weird bunch of kids," he said, standing near the Cave, where one wall was covered with a large canvas of a Martian landscape. "I haven't seen the sun in a while. We worked brutally inhuman hours this cycle. Twenty-hour days, often. But they bet a lot on us being right. And it was good to be right." For years, campaigns have used reams of information to predict voter behavior, relying on a science known as analytics. But Obama's advisors elevated the practice to new heights, very likely changing the way presidential campaigns will be conducted in the future. No other presidential campaign has so completely embraced this science. The campaign hired a team that topped out at 54 people and invested undisclosed millions in the effort. Analytics helped the campaign efficiently recruit volunteers, buy ads, tailor emails and mailers, raise money, dispatch surrogates — and, most importantly, scour the swing states for hard-to-find voters most likely to support the president. Political guru David Plouffe and campaign manager Jim Messina made key decisions based on real-time reports from the geek squad, according to many people on the campaign's staff. "Our entire goal is to make the maximum use of our time and our volunteers' time. And that means using analytics across the campaign spectrum," Messina said after the election. "We invested unprecedented resources to do this because our entire theory was to get as micro-targeted — to get as close to the ground — as we could." Another campaign official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak for the campaign, put it this way: "It's about turning over control to some nerds. And more than any other year, campaign leadership really took that leap of faith." For campaign professionals, that is a major leap. Politics long has been ruled by truisms, conventional wisdom and intuition, with millions spent based on a murky mix of polling and focus groups. The shift to data-driven decision-making has been gradual and steady — becoming increasingly sophisticated as political parties amass more information about individual voters through traditional means, such as polls, and new ones, such as data mining. The Obama campaign has made the transition over two elections. In this one, it employed analytics in a far more systematic and thorough way, officials said. But the work was a closely guarded secret. Officials denied requests for interviews with the analytics experts, and when journalists visited Obama headquarters, the team was ordered to shut the Cave door. Victory opened that door — a crack. At its most basic, Messina, Wagner and others explained, the goal was to rank individual voters in the swing states based on their likelihood of voting for the president or of being persuaded to vote for him, to volunteer for his campaign and to vote early. The Obama campaign developed separate models for each. To build the "support model," the campaign in 2011 made thousands of calls to voters — 5,000 to 10,000 in individual states, tens of thousands nationwide — to find out whether they backed the president. Then it analyzed what those voters had in common. More than 80 different pieces of information were factored in — including age, gender, voting history, home ownership and magazine subscriptions. Gigaom: How Obama’s tech team helped deliver the 2012 election http://gigaom.com/cloud/how-obamas-tech-team-helped-deliver-the-2012-election/ Derrick Harris November 12, 2012 When it comes to presidential elections, it helps to know your way around some disruptive technologies. The team of technologists that helped re-elect Barack Obama – led by Obama for America CTO Harper Reed and comprised largely of other political novices and accomplished hackers — certainly had that going for them. However, when the prize is the highest office in the land — and possibly the fate of the free world — it also helps to know your role. A presidential campaign is not a tech startup; it has to innovate on tight deadlines and in an environment where failure really is not an option. So although it had to move fast, for example, Reed’s team couldn’t afford to re-invent the wheel because it could maybe shave 5 milliseconds off of page-load time for a web page. Or, as Reed put it a phone call with me on Monday morning: “Our goal *was+ to be the force multiplier, not to be a technology experiment.” It was there to make sure the president’s foot soldiers — the folks who really do affect the results — could execute their ground-game without having to worry about technology failing them. Reed’s team just had to take the tools at its disposal and use them to their fullest extent so that old-world and potentially timeconsuming techniques such as calling phones and knocking on doors were done as efficiently as possible. For example, Reed explained, his team didn’t invent the tool for making and handling phone calls, but it gave that tool legs. “We made it so it could stand up and take all the calls,” he said. “Innovation was scale. Innovation was not falling down.” Here’s how Reed and company fulfilled their duty. Reed (center rear) and team on election day. It made the cloud work for it … Reed said the the vast majority of the campaign’s infrastructure was hosted on Amazon Web Services, with only the analytics platform and some “nominal” other pieces residing on physical gear. This was a fairly big change from 2008, when Obama for America was running only a few minor tasks in the cloud. A reliable cloud service is a game-changer, he said, because smart campaigns no longer have to worry about buying servers, engaging contractors or negotiating software licenses. AWS, he said, was particularly helpful because of all the services it offers. In order to ensure visitors to President Obama’s website had the same experience wherever they were located, the team decided to “light up boxes all over *the country+” and use the CloudFront content-delivery network feature to route data from the closest virtual server. When it wanted a key-value store, it went to DynamoDB. As for that phone-call tool and the millions of calls it has to support, Auto-Scaling, a method for adding additional resources in mere minutes, saved the day. “We used the hell out of it,” Reed said. When volume was higher than expected, he added, “we could just turn that to 11.” … even when the cloud crashed But relying so heavily on the cloud wasn’t always easy, because the cloud isn’t always reliable. Amazon’s cloud went down a few times between June 2012 and election day — including as late as Oct. 22 — and brought a lot of web properties down with it. “Both times we survived,” Reed said, “but it was hard.” Obama for America stayed online because it embraced devops (the tight alignment between application development, engineering and operations that cloud computing enables) and the smart architectural strategies employed by cloud computing pioneers such as Netflix. (Paraphrasing a discussion thread from popular programming site Hacker News, Reed joked that if a developer can still use Netflix while AWS is down, then the developer screwed up. If Netflix is down, then AWS is really down.) That means spending a little more money to replicate databases and applications across geographic regions and generally being smarter about where the various application components run and how they’re connected to each other. AWS gives you tools to do amazing things, he explained, “but you’re responsible for screwing it up.” At the beginning, he added, everything might be chill and people are working on how to creatively architect a reliable cloud application, but eventually “you start valuing uptime over experimentation.” At that point, you just have to accept the gravity of your mission and say “we’re going all in.” Reed thinks keeping applications up in the cloud will get easier thanks to some of the innovative companies and technologies working in that space. He pointed to cloud-management company RightScale, the Tungsten Replicator engine for MySQL and the general platform-as-a-service space as things he thinks are really cool but weren’t quite ready for primetime in 2012 — at least for something as deadline- and mission-critical as a presidential campaign. It understood how the web works Aside the from finer points of cloud computing infrastructure, Reed said Obama’s tech team also really understood how the web has evolved since 2008. Take, for example, the advent of Twitter and Facebook as forces to be reckoned with in terms of voter engagement. Then-candidate Obama got a lot of attention for his 5 millionish social media connections, but President Obama now has roughly 10 times that many across Facebook and Twitter. That’s a lot of people from which to spark a network effect, and a lot of data to analyze. “Being able to work at that scale is amazing,” Reed said. And it’s not the just the president’s follower counts that have grown — social media platforms have evolved significantly and people are far more familiar with how they work. Facebook Pages, for example, were created after 2008 in part because having profile pages for candidates and companies didn’t work out too well, and Facebook Connect didn’t exist either. Twitter has also grown into a widely popular platform, while MySpace is all but gone. Reed said it was critical that team Obama take the platforms built in the four years between elections and use them the way they are being used today. Or take the details of how people access those sites to begin with. The president’s technology team knew (no doubt thanks in part to its analytics team that has received so much attention post-election for its data mining efforts) that voters in urban areas where Obama was counting on high voter turnout were more likely to use a mobile phone rather than a laptop as their primary means of internet access. They’re also more likely to use Android devices than iOS devices, as are many potential swing voters who generally don’t care too much about technology. So, Reed said, the team designed apps to run on multiple operating systems and used responsive design to ensure apps ran well on whatever devices voters were using. It disrupted with data Reed’s team worked closely with that vaunted analytics team, he said, and what the Obama for America team really did better than Mitt Romney’s team was disrupt the status quo with regard to how it used data. He’s not too keen on jumping on the bandwagon calling out the failings of Romney’s Project Orca (“I never would wish technology failing on any sort of opponent or enemy,” Reed said) but he will acknowledge that the analytics team Obama had been putting together for more than a year leading into the election was a major differnentiator. He compares the advanced modeling and analytic techniques of his comrades and guys like Nate Silver to MP3s, thus making traditional pollsters and political “experts” akin to the music industry. They both had been going about their business for decades without competition, and they both reacted violently when their worlds were disrupted. However, these are smart people, and Reed expects they’ll come around in the next election cycles. But for now, he said, “That’s a hard position to be in when you’re no longer relevant.” It had a great leader In the end, though, Reed thinks the success of Obama’s campaign all boiled down to having a good leader. It wasn’t just Obama’s good fortune of running in during the era of Twitter and Amazon Web Services that let him forever change the way campaigns are run. The president is the one who set the tone about how the campaign would function and what it would focus on, Reed said, and the president put in place the campaign leaders who followed through on his vision by hiring the right people down the chain. If Reed does come back to politics, it will take another candidate with Obama’s vision and ability to generate excitement among the populace to get him back in the saddle. But for now, Reed said, “I’m definitely ready for a little break.” Tech Crunch: Premature Facebook Election Hype, A Response to The Atlantic http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/11/pre-mature-facebook-election-hype-a-response-to-theatlantic/ Gregory Ferenstein November 11, 2012 If social media mattered in elections, Ron Paul would have likely been the Republican presidential candidate, not Mitt Romney. Despite being the conversational hub of the election, Facebook is neither the place where politically influential demographics congregate nor where undecided citizens go to think deeply about issues. Our friends at The Atlantic ran a fascinating and well-researched piece about whether Facebook gave Democrats an advantage on Election Day, especially given their pull with young voters. Unfortunately, the article overestimates how political consequential young voters are, “If no one under the age of 30 had voted, Obama would have won every state he carried with the exception of two: Indiana and North Carolina,” wrote Chuck Todd and Sheldon Gawiser in How Barack Obama Won (in 2008). The centerpiece of author Rebecca Rosen’s argument is a recent large-scale, randomized study, which proved that users who broadcast their intention to vote on Election Day can boost turnout among their friends. The study found that Facebook has an extraordinarily powerful effect on the spread of messages, essentially quadrupling the influence as friends share it throughout an ever expanding network. “Facebook’s effect — however big it is — is at the margins, and in a country where elections are so close, the margins can matter a lot,” surmises Rosen. Unfortunately, the total impact on turnout is only about 2 percent –a significant figure for a message, but not nearly enough to sway an election. In response to questions about how the message impacted users, The study’s author, Dr. James Fowler, tells me over email, “older people were more influenced by the treatment in 2010, but there is no evidence that ideology played a role or that one party was more favored than another.” Additionally, he says, “one thing you might point out is that there was only a 1% increase in voter turnout among the young.” Indeed, as I’ve argued before, the power of young voters is a myth. They comprise about 18 percent of the voting electorate (19 percent this year, if reports of slightly higher turnout are to be believed). Moreover, the once Obama-enchanted demographic of 20-somethings lost faith in the harbinger of hope, and his overall support among young voters dropped around 6 percent (probably from 66 percent to 60 percent). In a state like Ohio, young voters may have made a difference (by about 12,000 votes), but not enough for Facebook to be the pivotal factor. Facebook only influences a fraction for any particular group — not enough to make up for Obama’s thumping of Romney. The social media election myth may persist because it’s reasonable to believe that, given the sheer volume of activity on Facebook, ‘it has to have an effect, right?!‘. One explanation for the Grand Canyon-size discrepancy between action and online discussion is that the growth in social media has paralleled a new behavioral trend in young voters: the rise of non-voting civically engaged citizens. University of California, Irvine Professor Russell Dalton argues that this demographic finds more meaning in making political videos, attending an Occupy Wall Street camp, or boycotting companies with Republican ties than performing traditional acts of civic duty, such as voting or jury duty. In fairness to non-voters, a single vote isn’t a terribly influential way to change government; so it’s reasonable that a generation of makers wants something more. Facebook has empowered countless new ways to engage with democracy, but young people have ceded their power in elections in the process. Now, in fairness to The Atlantic, it is reasonable to suspect that the Internet does not have the exact same impact on both parties. I’ve argued before that the Internet inherently advantages liberals because, on average, their greater psychological embrace of disruption leads to more innovation (after all, nearly every major digital breakthrough, from online fundraising to the use of big data, was pioneered by Democrats). But, for now, don’t get swept up in the social media hype. There are too many 20-somethings on Facebook and Twitter for social media to make much of a difference. *A previous version of this article caused some confusion by rounding numbers and not explicitly incorporating the magnitude of Facebook in Ohio. If Obama won by 103,519 votes in Ohio, then the 2.2% effect by Facebook would not likely have swung the vote for Obama, especially since the Facebook effect is not partisan and slightly skewed towards older voters. Though, the margins are close and I’ll write a follow up once we have all the numbers and an update from Facebook on its effect for 2012. All Facebook: Did Facebook engagement translate to wins in key congressional races http://allfacebook.com/did-facebook-engagement-translate-to-wins-in-key-congressional-races_b104168 Jennifer Moire November 9, 2012 The 2012 election postmortems continue, and research published in Capitol Hill newspaper Politico indicates that congressional candidates with the social media mettle to engage their Facebook fan bases got muchneeded bumps on Election Day. While candidates experimented with niche platforms like Pinterest and Spotify, Twitter and Facebook were the dominant platforms in election 2012. Facebook was called by one strategist the “800-pound gorilla” of this cycle. We heard about the importance of engagement from Republicans and Democrats, alike. With the votes counted, Democratic strategists Matthew MacWilliams and Edward Erikson put some data behind the hypothesis. The pair explored the relationship between fan base and fan engagement in 33 of the most competitive races for the U.S. House of Representatives and all 33 U.S. Senate races over a three-month period. Senate Races According to their data, eight out of nine Senate races considered to be tossups this year were won by the candidates with the more engaged Facebook fan bases. In North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Nevada, those candidates won when the major party candidates had comparable fan page numbers. Campaigns in Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Indiana were also won by those candidates with the most engaged Facebook fan bases, even though their bases were smaller than those of their opponents. All but the Nevada race were won by Democrats. The report examines in detail the Massachusetts Senate race between winner and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren and incumbent Scott Brown. According to the study, 32 percent of Warren’s social network – more than 100,000 fans — were liking, commenting, and sharing news about her campaign on Facebook on Election Day, while Brown engaged about 12 percent, or some 45,000 people. How did she do it? On Election Day, Warren posted on Facebook nine times, sharing everything from images to text, videos, and links. Get-out-the-vote information was popular, as well as photos that were just plain cute or personal — like the image of Brown and her husband voting. The authors said Warren’s posts were more inspirational and appealed to voters core values and emotions, while Brown’s posts were more transactional and less engaging, despite both sharing similar messages that urged voters to vote. House Races There was a link where you could find your polling place. 2012 You didn't know it at the time. President Barack Obama consistently bested Romney in fan page likes though Romney had a respectable following. It is. he continued. according to MacWilliams and Erikson.Senate candidates weren’t the only ones to benefit from Facebook. the challengers enjoyed engagement advantages over the incumbents.theatlantic. Romney’s digital strategist. you were in good company: 94 percent of 18-and-older U. no news stories. If you saw something like that. In six out of nine House open seat races. Clearly. "even possible that Facebook is completely responsible. a button that said either "I'm voting" or I'm a voter. Rosen November 8. you became a subject in a mass social experiment. Moffatt says his team focused on metrics like “talking about. Two percent saw nothing -. rather than looking at raw fan numbers. and you may have voted. Romney running mate Paul Ryan had a very strong Facebook base — far stronger than that of Vice President Joe Biden. The Atlantic: Did Facebook give democrats the upper hand? http://www. And in 11 of the 15 competitive House races where incumbents lost Tuesday. and phone banks — with social is still needed. the candidates with engagement advantages won.* Though it's not yet known how many people that is. Just ask Jim Matheson. the number was *60 million*. other factors are at play. Another two percent saw the message but no stories of friends' voting . who won his Utah House race. But here's the catch: six percent of people didn't get the intervention. assigned randomly. since most strategists say that a mix of traditional campaign tactics — TV/radio advertising. But a focus on Facebook engagement is worth the investment. clicked around Facebook. of course. you probably saw at the top of your Facebook page advising you that. canvassing. it was Election Day. who became the first Hispanic voted to the U. Romney beat President Barack Obama in engagement.” At key points in the race. which also appeared in your News Feed.com/technology/archive/2012/11/did-facebook-give-democrats-the-upperhand/264937/# Rebecca J. Senate from Texas." and pictures of the faces of friends who had already declared they had voted. An effective outreach strategy for campaigns needs to include a social component that looks beyond raw fan numbers to how those fans are touched and with what kind of information. Conclusion The piece doesn’t go so far as to say that engagement numbers directly resulted in wins. Facebook users got that treatment. and newcomer Ted Cruz. no button. but when you logged into Facebook on Election Day. was an advocate for engagement metrics. as Facebook has grown substantially in the past two years. asking one of the core questions of democracy: What makes people vote? If patterns from earlier research hold true.S.no message.S." Assuming you are over the age of 18 and were using a computer in the United States. Zac Moffatt. Presumably it was even more on Tuesday. Now your behavior is data that social scientists will scrutinize in the months ahead. the experiment's designer James Fowler says that it is "absolutely plausible that Facebook drove a lot of the increase" in young-voter participation (thought to be up one percentage point from 2008 as a share of the electorate). A total of 20 of the 33 most competitive House races across the country Tuesday were won by candidates with measurable Facebook fan engagement advantages. That would be a stretch. surprise. That was evident in the presidential race. although some say that was because the former governor had fewer likes. in a similar experiment performed in 2010. where an engagement focus didn’t seem to help Mitt Romney‘s campaign. You went about your day. " Fowler. compared with 37 percent for Romney. It skews toward both women and younger voters." the team wrote. the margins can matter a lot. "Our results suggest. That may not seem like a huge effect. and other traditional campaign tactics surely bring more people to the polls. those measures are expensive and labor-intensive. Fowler and his colleagues announced that a Facebook message and behavior-sharing communication increased the probability that a person votes by slightly more than 2 percent. Among Americans older than 45. it's not far-fetched to say that. there is no such thing as pure a get-out-the-vote. "wants everyone to be more likely to vote. two groups which tended to prefer Democrats on Tuesday. as Facebook does. "We had reviewers who said. In a country where elections can turn on just a couple hundred votes.000 voters. one whose tide raises all votes. but when you have a huge population. and a final two percent saw only the social content but no message at the top. There's no way this can be true. that is good news for Democrats. "When we were trying to get published. down the road. well. Nothing seems to come even close to a Facebook message's efficacy in increasing voter turnout. it's not far-fetched to say that Facebook's efforts to improve voter participation could swing an election. But there are long-term trends underfoot that. gave Obama 52 percent of their support. Facebook's efforts to improve voter participation could swing an election. Facebook's effect -." This finding -. They've done a very similar experiment before. for Republicans.' " In a country where elections can turn on just a couple hundred votes. though there is a debate about this within political science. it's an uncomfortable situation when increasing voter participation is a losing strategy. The next-older age group.however big it is -. if they haven't already. and it seems that it does. Eighteen-to-29-year-olds voted 60 percent for Obama. though. as is expected. for a total of 340.is in concert with earlier research that has shown that voting is strongly influenced by social pressure.000 voters and indirectly through social contagion by another 280. "that the Facebook social message increased turnout directly by about 60.behavior populated their feeds. Now it must be said that of course Facebook is not trying to elect Democrats. 30-to-44-year-olds. By splitting up the population into these experimental and control groups. In a paper published earlier this year in Nature. and the results were significant. 'These results are so small that they're meaningless. In practice. If those who got the experimental treatment voted in greater numbers. told me. a small uptick in probability means substantial changes in voting behavior. Outside of Facebook's demographic particularities.' and other reviewers who said.is at the margins. The implication is clear: If Facebook provides a cheap and effective way to get more people to the polls. and in a country where elections are so close.remarkable and novel as it may be -. Fowler and his team will be able to have a pretty good sense of just how many votes in the 2012 election came directly as a result of Facebook." But that doesn't mean the effects of Facebook's efforts are not lopsided. there are reasons to believe that improved voter turnout in general helps Democrats. Facebook wants everyone to participate in the fact of democracy. such as in this 2008 study which found that people were significantly more likely to vote if they received mailings promising to later report neighborhood-wide who had voted and who had stayed at home. phone calls. mean their . but whether they voted is public)." Fowler said to me. 'These results are implausibly large. For Republicans. Although months of door knocking. Facebook has an admirable civic virtue and has long tried to increase democratic participation in a strictly nonpartisan way. and Facebook is no exception. researchers will be able to see if the messages had any effect on voting behavior when they begin matching the Facebook users to the voter rolls (whom a person voted for is private information. "Facebook. if they haven't already. Romney won. a professor at UC San Diego.000 additional votes. .elections so close that campaigns could no longer afford to write off huge parts of the population. Peter Levine of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University told me. "the fact that you have this age cohort that has been socialized into very strong presidential support for Democrats.not to discriminate but because they were trying to be efficient." Voting once is known to be habit forming. she said. and are more easily reached online. Obviously. "I think we do incrementally. "This seems to be a significant generational change. that sort of shift is not the result of a Facebook message. Constance Flanagan of the University of Wisconsin argues. "costly. "So they would literally look through a contact list of potential voters to reach out to. and this is up from a low of just 37 percent in 1996. Additionally. This year was the third presidential election in a row where young-voter participation hovered around 50 percent (meaning that half of eligible young people actually voted). "It had already begun to change. campaigns and activists should ask whether there's any way to use social media to get to them. and just delete the young people. They gave him Iowa. those who are not voting. But this calculus of inaction may be changing: With the Internet." For years it was thought that one reason young people voted in such low numbers is because they are so mobile: If you don't live in a place for years. Those . and just delete the young people -. All of this adds up to a shifting electoral environment." Levine said.. Without Iowa. lower education levels.not only in the general election but especially in the primaries." he said. because there's some serendipity where your old high school friend gets into politics and draws you in. that national politics alone may entice more people to the polls. With social media becoming an increasingly important part of political communications. but does it happen at a large scale? I don't think we know." But that ended with what Levine calls the "50/50 nation situation" -. "In terms of good news for the Democrats. "The voter-suppression thing did make people more aware. Levine reminds us to bear in mind that we're still only at 50 percent.typically lower income." she said. It was a conversation topic among young people and something they passed on to one another.troubles go beyond Facebook. is in some ways the countervailing force to the age cohort that was socialized into strong Republican support under Reagan. "Our university newspaper had a front-page story about what are your rights. spend time getting up-to-speed on complicated municipal politics." You have to reregister every time you move." Donald Green of Columbia University told me. no President Obama. as young people come out to the polls in greater numbers. but Obama won on the strength of young votes in '08 -. and not into politics. there's been a backlash on college campuses to voter-suppression efforts. that minority groups who felt targeted really responded by organizing themselves and making sure people voted. is not a random sample of the population -. (Ta-Nehisi Coates and Andrew Cohen have both written about this backlash here at The Atlantic." Particularly.. One certain factor is simply that recent campaigns have tried harder to reach out to young people. if you plan to vote in local races.) Even with these recent improvements. "In the 1990s the conventional wisdom was that young people don't vote. voting is. do you have to produce an ID. And our online media environment privileges national politics over local politics so much." Levine said. The reasons for this generational change are complex and not totally understood. find your polling place." "In the 1990s the conventional wisdom was that young people don't vote. and. as political scientists term it." he said. and the other 50 percent. it's much easier to find where your polling place is. "So they would literally look through a contact list of potential voters to reach out to. 000 fans — were liking. In the North Dakota.000. . Massachusetts. In six out of nine House open seat races. Twenty of the 33 most competitive House races across the country on Tuesday were won by candidates with a measurable Facebook fan engagement advantage. political scientist James Fowler demonstrated the political power of Facebook. But now the tide has gone out. And that's perhaps the worst news of all for the Republicans. where the major party candidates had comparable fan networks. During the 2010 election. He helped to deliver and track 61 million get-out-the-vote messages that increased voter turnout by an estimated 340. Connecticut. Did Warren’s savvy social media skills give her a Facebook bump that helped to propel her to victory? What impact did Facebook have on other competitive Senate and House races across the country? Social media has finally come of age in America. commenting. Eight out of nine Senate races considered to be toss ups this year were won by the candidate with the more engaged Facebook fan base.5 times more active and engaged. Wisconsin. Each month. Over 150 million adults in the U. Senator Scott Brown would have defeated Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday: 370.html Matthew MacWilliams and Edward Erikson November 8. 32 percent of Warren’s social network – over 100. The initial results of our study are compelling: candidates with the skills to engage supporters enjoyed a Facebook bump on Election Day. but Kaine’s base was 4.politico.who were brought to the polls by the wave of enthusiasm for Obama in 2008 will likely vote in greater numbers for the rest of their lives. Warren’s campaign did a superior job of engaging her fan base. and Indiana were also won by those candidates with the most engaged Facebook fan base even though their bases were smaller than their opponents.000 people. House candidates experienced similar success on Facebook. And in Montana. on the other hand. the candidate with the more engaged fan base won. and sharing news about her campaign on Facebook. The candidate engagement advantage translated into victories in House open seat and challenger races. in Virginia. even in a more humdrum election. Tim Kaine’s fan base was one half the size of George Allen’s. For example. we analyzed the relationship between fan base and fan engagement in thirty-three of the most competitive House races and all thirty-three Senate races over a three-month period. While Brown had more Facebook fans than Warren. and the seashore looks changed. Politico: The Facebook bump http://www. an anomaly in an otherwise 50/50 nation. And in 11 of the 15 competitive House races where incumbents lost on Tuesday. as this one felt. the challenger enjoyed an engagement advantage over the incumbent. But instead Warren pulled out a narrow victory at the polls. are now registered Facebook users.S. almost every serious candidate for federal office invested in a Facebook page and strategy. On Election Day. the average American spends about 7 hours and forty-five minutes on social media which makes up about twenty-two percent of the total time Americans spend online.536 fans to 316. the candidate with an engagement advantage won. Brown. Senator Jon Tester won the trifecta: he enjoyed a larger and more engaged Facebook fan base than his opponent and won re-election. Only in the Arizona Senate race did a more engaged fan base fail to correlate with victory on Election Day. This year. engaged just 12 percent of his network or about 45. A wave of enthusiasm is one thing. To measure the impact of Facebook on election outcomes in 2012.312. Senate campaigns in Virginia. 2012 If campaigns were won and lost by the number of Facebook fans a candidate recruits.com/news/stories/1112/83572. and Nevada Senate races. Brown. motivated her base and drove support. 2012 In late spring.com/2012/11/07/inside-the-secret-world-of-quants-and-data-crunchers-whohelped-obama-win/ Michael Scherer November 7. who in a previous life crunched huge data sets to. fell short. was a closely held secret. metric-driven kind of campaign in which politics was the goal but political instincts might not be the means. however. Around the office. The women were far and away the single demographic group most likely to hand over cash. with an official “chief scientist” for the Chicago headquarters named Rayid Ghani. who creatively embrace Facebook and the daily grind of building and engaging an audience. text. “We are going to measure every single thing in this campaign. Exactly what that team of dozens of data crunchers was doing.” explains a senior campaign adviser. and reason. He posted to his Facebook page three times on Election Day. She appealed to core values. but public details were in short supply as the . our initial analysis indicates that candidates. data-mining experiments were given mysterious code names such as Narwhal and Dreamcatcher. there was no way to know that the idea for the Parker contest had come from a datamining discovery about some supporters: affection for contests. among other things. Obama’s top campaign aides decided to put this insight to use. for a chance to dine in Hollywood with Clooney — and Obama. The team even worked at a remove from the rest of the campaign staff.time. From the most expensive Senate campaigns to more modest House races. small dinners and celebrity. They were cute – a bull dog wearing a Warren t-shirt. his posts were transactional and not engaging. And they were inspirational –a call for more get-out-the-vote volunteers. maximize the efficiency of supermarket sales promotions.” he said after taking the job. The “scientists” created regular briefings on their work for the President and top aides in the White House’s Roosevelt Room. TIME: Inside the secret world of the data crunchers who helped Obama win http://swampland. videos. For the general public. “They are our nuclear codes. They were informational – a link for people to help find a polling place. and links. Warren posted on Facebook nine times. So as they did with all the other data collected. The Warren campaign’s approach to social media exemplifies how campaigns can use Facebook to engage their base. the significance relies on how well campaigns activate fans. stored and analyzed in the two-year drive for re-election. While he utilized images well.Tuesday’s results indicate that the value of Facebook cannot be measured by the size of a candidate’s following. “We were blessed with an overflowing menu of options. but we chose Sarah Jessica Parker. He hired an analytics department five times as large as that of the 2008 operation. setting up shop in a windowless room at the north end of the vast headquarters office. On Election Day. And so the next Dinner with Barack contest was born: a chance to eat at Parker’s West Village brownstone. The posts included images. on the other hand. Each one repeated the same message: vote. Warren delivered content that connected with voters. emotions. aiming to replicate the millions of dollars produced by the Clooney contest. They sought out an East Coast celebrity who had similar appeal among the same demographic. will be rewarded with a meaningful voting bump on Election Day that makes their time spent on social media well worth the effort. the backroom number crunchers who powered Barack Obama’s campaign to victory noticed that George Clooney had an almost gravitational tug on West Coast females ages 40 to 49. campaign manager Jim Messina had promised a totally different. They were personal – a photo of Warren and her husband at the voting booth.” campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt would say when asked about the efforts. But from the beginning. campaign guarded what it believed to be its biggest institutional advantage over Mitt Romney’s campaign: its data. “We analyzed very early that the problem in Democratic politics was you had databases all over the place. volunteers making phone calls through the Obama website were working off lists that differed from the lists used by callers in the campaign office. neighborhood and voting record. and often . senders and messages. race. assumptions were rarely left in place without numbers to back them up. “We had big fights because we wouldn’t even accept a goal in the 900s. “And then the Internet exploded over the summer. there were office pools on which combination would raise the most money. What they revealed as they pulled back the curtain was a massive data effort that helped Obama raise $1 billion. The strategists fashioned tests for specific demographic groups. We could model people who were going to give through mail.” said one of the senior advisers about the predictive profiles built by the data. About 75% of the determining factors were basics like age. field workers and consumer databases as well as social-media and mobile contacts with the main Democratic voter files in the swing states. Back then.” said one of the senior officials who was intimately involved in the process. MORE: TIME Staff: Live Twitter Reactions The new megafile also allowed the campaign to raise more money than it once thought possible. The new megafile didn’t just tell the campaign how to find voters and get their attention. for instance. “None of them talked to each other. Get-out-the-vote lists were never reconciled with fundraising lists. Until August. with the campaign’s most important priorities first. it also allowed the number crunchers to run tests predicting which types of people would be persuaded by certain kinds of appeals. everyone in the Obama orbit had protested loudly that the campaign would not be able to reach the mythical $1 billion fundraising goal. sex. It was like the FBI and the CIA before 9/11: the two camps never shared data. the campaign started over. data collection and analysis were paramount. its success masked a huge weakness: too many databases. with different subject lines. They tested how much better a call from a local volunteer would do than a call from a volunteer from a non–swing state like California. Call lists in field offices. remade the process of targeting TV ads and created detailed models of swing-state voters that could be used to increase the effectiveness of everything from phone calls and door knocks to direct mailings and social media. “We could *predict+ people who were going to give online. didn’t just list names and numbers. the campaign discovered that people who had unsubscribed from the 2008 campaign e-mail lists were top targets. trying out message scripts that they could then apply. among the easiest to pull back into the fold with some personal attention.” Early on. Inside the campaign. Here again. for example. a group of senior campaign advisers agreed to describe their cutting-edge efforts with TIME on the condition that they not be named and that the information not be published until after the winner was declared.” said one of the officials. metric-driven e-mail campaign in which dozens of fundraising appeals went out each day. We could model volunteers.” said another. “In the end. How to Raise $1 Billion For all the praise Obama’s team won in 2008 for its high-tech wizardry. On Nov. As Messina had promised. they also ranked names in order of their persuadability. creating a single massive system that could merge the information collected from pollsters. A large portion of the cash raised online came through an intricate. Consumer data about voters helped round out the picture. fundraisers. modeling became something way bigger for us in ’12 than in ’08 because it made our time more efficient. Many of the e-mails sent to supporters were just tests. 4.” So over the first 18 months. Obama decided to answer questions on the social news website Reddit.000 times every night. The polling and voter-contact data were processed and reprocessed nightly to account for every imaginable scenario. “And every morning we got the spit-out — here are your chances of winning these states. How much more efficient was the Obama campaign of 2012 than 2008 at ad buying? Chicago has a number for that: “On TV we were able to buy 14% more efficiently … to make sure we were talking to our persuadable voters. the analytics team had polling data from about 29. Messina based his purchases on the massive internal data sets. In August. skirting the traditional route of buying ads next to local news programming. and first-time donors were offered a free bumper sticker to sign up. Michelle Obama’s e-mails performed best in the spring. The analytics team used four streams of polling data to build a detailed picture of voters in key states. if Miami-Dade women under 35 are the targets. they could check to see which voters were changing sides and which were not.” said a senior official. This was a huge advantage: when polls started to slip after the first debate. “Why did we put Barack Obama on Reddit?” an official asked rhetorically. said one official. describing the computer simulations the campaign ran to figure out Obama’s odds of winning each swing state.000 people in Ohio alone — a whopping sample that composed nearly half of 1% of all voters there — allowing for deep dives into exactly where each demographic and regional group was trending at any given moment. In the past month. campaign boss Messina performed better than Vice President Joe Biden. voting early or getting to the polls. the campaign bought ads to air during unconventional programming. gave about four times as much as other donors. “We were much calmer than others. Data helped drive the campaign’s ad buying too. They were told to click a button to automatically urge those targeted voters to take certain actions.K. Chicago discovered that people who signed up for the campaign’s Quick Donate program. Quick Donate had become a big part of the campaign’s messaging to supporters. and at times. It was this database that helped steady campaign aides in October’s choppy waters.” Online. such as registering to vote.” . in large part because the message came from someone they knew.” said one of the officials. By the end of October. The campaign found that roughly 1 in 5 people contacted by a Facebook pal acted on the request. O. Rather than rely on outside media consultants to decide where ads should run. like Sons of Anarchy. As a result. 23. the get-out-the-vote effort continued with a first-ever attempt at using Facebook on a mass scale to replicate the door-knocking efforts of field organizers.in Apt. The Walking Dead and Don’t Trust the B—. which allowed repeat giving online or via text message without having to re-enter credit-card information. *here is+ how to reach them. And that is how we allocated resources. “We ran the election 66. Predicting Turnout The magic tricks that opened wallets were then repurposed to turn out votes. “We were able to put our target voters through some really complicated modeling. In many cases. which many of the President’s senior aides did not know about. So the program was expanded and incentivized.” said one official. the top performers raised 10 times as much money for the campaign as the underperformers. assuring them that most of the Ohioans in motion were not Obama backers but likely Romney supporters whom Romney had lost because of his September blunders.the pools got it wrong.. people who had downloaded an app were sent messages with pictures of their friends in swing states. to say. “Because a whole bunch of our turnout targets were on Reddit.” the same official said. The numbers also led the campaign to escort their man down roads not usually taken in the late stages of a presidential campaign. In the final weeks of the campaign. through the right platforms. In politics. to give people experiences that are more tailored to them.m. WINNERS Nate Silver: The FiveThirtyEight forecaster's algorithms correctly calculated that on election day President Obama had a nearly 92-percent chance of winning. PT when the major TV networks declared Obama the president. the time of “guys sitting in a back room smoking cigars. being replaced by the work of quants and computer coders who can crack massive data sets for insight. the survey showed that 30 percent of registered voters were encouraged to vote for a presidential candidate via input received on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook from friends and family (Credit: Pew Research Center) Twitter: An estimated 32 million tweets referencing the U. CNet: The post-election tech tally: winners and losers http://news. But it turned out that Silver and his peers were able to predict with high accuracy how the contest for the White House and other races would play out. Activity peaked at 8:19 p. "A tremendous amount of info is collected and available.cnet. saying ‘We always buy 60 Minutes’” is over. "It will allow campaigns to be more effective in their messaging. It's going to change the business of politics. In addition. generating 327. Goldman Sachs or Obama? There are high-paying jobs for people who have the skills that can help companies better predict the future and bend outcomes. at the right time of day.452 tweets per minute. especially in the Republican camp. Social media: According to the Pew Research Center. Read: Obama's win a big vindication for Nate Silver. which works with Obama campaign. More effective in finding the right people to engage in the right ways. were skeptical of the predictions offered by Silver and other data crunchers. with more than 23 million sent after the first polls closed this afternoon. As one official put it. and accurately projected the voting outcome in 49 states (Florida has not yet been called). 22 percent of registered voters shared how they voted with others on social networking sites.com/8301-13578_3-57546443-38/the-post-election-tech-tally-winners-and-losers/ CNET News Staff November 7. It’s another sign that the role of the campaign pros in Washington who make decisions on hunches and experience is rapidly dwindling.That data-driven decisionmaking played a huge role in creating a second term for the 44th President and will be one of the more closely studied elements of the 2012 cycle. and more compelling for them. Here's a CNET look at the winners and losers in the 2012 election in which President Obama bested former Massachusetts Gov. from a tech perspective. Mitt Romney.273 tweets per minute that accompanied the announcement that Iowa's electoral votes ." Read: Time: Inside the Secret World of the Data Crunchers Who Helped Obama Win Quants: Are you a math wiz and quantitative analyst who isn't working for Google. 2012 Elections are all about winners and losers. the era of big data has arrived. who is up and who is down. Twitter said. just like any other business. That surpassed the 85.S. Data mining and analysis have become a key currency that drives results in elections. king of the quants Big data: Many." said Jascha Franklin-Hodge of BlueStateDigital. presidential election were sent Tuesday. Read: Pando Daily: In the Red Corner. "Nothing else has the scale and flexibility of digital.. While the Obama team developed more of their own technology over the last six years. ranking them on a scale of 1 . including mobile devices. "Our team pitched it because it's a big community of folks who are driving a lot of the conversation.95. The Talk Meter is used for other events. Read: Obama victory photo smashes Facebook 'Like' record Joe Rospars (Credit: BlueStateDigital) Joe Rospars: The Obama campaign's digital wizard from BlueStateDigital has steered through two straight elections and defined how digital media is used to support candidates.600 comments as the site was brought to its knees. Romney has less than 1. The New York Times. It's the homepage of the Internet.' Online advertising: The money is beginning to flow from TV and radio to online.S. according to the social network. Read: Obama returns to Reddit to drum up last-minute votes Facebook: More than 9. and summoned voters via Reddit on election day.. Instagram: The Facebook-owned photo-sharing service officially became another prominent way to capture the zeitgeist of the election.6 million Facebook users of voting age signaled to their social networks that they voted through the "I Voted" button Facebook made available. Read: An Election Day Instagram is worth a thousand tweets Instagram photos curated by the New York Times Startups: The election provided some opportunities for startups to hitch a ride with campaigns. including the presidential debates.1 million Facebook 'Likes. The company's data team used a "Talk Meter" yesterday to measure the overall chatter around the event and any terms associated with the Election. Twitter stood up to the challenge without buckling on the record-setting day for the service.org and Square for fundraising activities.5 million U. for example. It now has about 171 million users in the U. Zac Moffatt Leads Romney's Digital Drive to Topple Obama LOSERS .10.. the president answered nine questions. users. among others. in hundreds of thousands of images. For comparison.. the Romney campaign utilized Rally... In August.8 million Twitter followers and 12. That compared to 5. This is in comparison to the 2008 presidential election.27. said Zac Moffat. 1 retweet Reddit: Obama held a Q&A on Reddit during the campaign.4 million clicks in 2008.This is the first campaign in history where digital advertising moves from a list building and fundraising application to persuasion and mobilization. and we wanted to be part of it. the Obama campaign's chief digital strategist. Romney's digital director. when Facebook only had 35. Read: Obama 'four more years' tweet skyrockets to No. curated Instagram photos from election day to capture the experience. the president has nearly 23 million Twitter followers and more than nearly 33 million Facebook 'likes'. which drew an 8.had gone to Obama just seven minutes earlier. Election 2012 buzz came in at a 9." said Joe Rospars. It's the first step in television moving away as the only source. Also.S. and Reddit users talked back with more than 13. The post was retweeted more than 225. Election Day became the most tweeted-about event in U. On Twitter. Most of the tweets mocked Rove. Read: TechPresident: For Romney's Digital Campaign. George Will. his digital operation couldn't keep up with Obama's. the other big hit on Tuesday was the "I voted" stickers voters received after casting their ballots. who is an analyst for Fox News. As much as the candidates. Google hasn't had much to say about the activity on its social network. children . On the other hand. Twitter said.freep. Twitter posted Tuesday night. the hashtag "#election2012" surpassed 11 million tweets. 2012 The first national election in which social media went mainstream unfolded Tuesday as voters posted comments about long lines. which better leveraged the social networks and data at its disposal to get out the vote in the right places and raise money from small donors. Obama's Twitter feed posted "Four more years" after TV networks declared him the winner. political history with 20 million tweets.Romney's digital campaign: While Romney's team couldn't alter the demographics that ultimately doomed his presidential aspirations.S. Google's voter information data. which helped voters locate their polling places and find information on candidates. Michael Barone. the popular site for short bursts of breaking news. Google+: While Facebook and Twitter are publishing data touting election day activity. photos of their ballots and. making it the most tweeted moment of the election. which was among those reporting that Obama won. Dick Morris. After the call that Obama won." tweeted a user called @doriginale5. foreheads. in one case that went viral.com/print/article/20121107/NEWS15/121107005/Presidential-election-social-mediaTwitter-Facebook-YouTube Marisol Bello November 7. "Fox News is projecting that tomorrow is Wednesday. was used over 22 million times Tuesday. FREEP: Voters document election on social media http://www. a Second-Place Finish Pundits who thought Nate Silver was crazy: Karl Rove. but Karl Rove refuses to believe it. "Karl Rove" trended when the Republican strategist argued that it was too early to call the election. tweets with the hashtag "#election2012" reached more than 325. users were tweeting 11. People posted photos of themselves with the stickers on their shirts. Before most polls closed. Users quickly posted congratulations and cheers when media outlets declared President Obama the winner after he was projected to win Ohio. The digital news site BuzzFeed said it was the most popular tweet of all time. a video of a voting machine gone rogue. Google said. Joe Scarborough and others who were dismissive of the quantitative polling analysis by Silver and others forecasting the statistical probability that Obama would reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win reelection.000 times.000 election-related posts per minute.000 a minute. "I'm not a video guy. The candidates themselves were using social media to get out the vote.and dogs. counting doesn't start until the polls close. The user said on YouTube that there has been speculation that the footage he shot was edited.000 vote lead.000 photos with the term "vote. showed Romney in the lead. but if it's possible to prove whether a video has been altered or not. The Obama campaign was particularly active. He said he thought it was the same machine. On Facebook. which is owned by USA TODAY parent company Gannett. One video quickly went viral after a user called Centralpavote posted a video on YouTube that showed a malfunction with his voting machine. if not identical. confirmed that there was a problem with a voting machine in Perry County in the center of the state. a checkmark appeared next to Mitt Romney's name. and 34 don't allow photos or filming of marked ballots. The data." he said.3 million people on Facebook said they voted." "ivoted" or some variation and more than 250." "Obama.000 photos with the word "election" or similar phrase. "Early count in Ohio gives Romney 92." The Associated Press called Michigan for Romney and quickly corrected it to say Obama won the state before the error hit social media. The photos showed images of users' ballots and lines at their polling places. Matthew Keeler. people posted more than 775.000 were talking about Romney." The post was retweeted more than 1. And there isn't a major media event without a series of Web-related mishaps or inaccurate information that spreads on social sites. "No votes have been counted yet — by law. the photo-sharing site owned by Facebook. I will GLADLY provide the raw footage to anyone who is willing to do so. a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State. urging voters to stay in line to vote and calling out to residents in individual states.390 times." "election" and "president. but not before The Wall Street Journal sent out an e-mail alert to its subscribers. The Cincinnati Enquirer on its website. "We received a complaint of a voting machine that was similar. posted a front-page link to a chart with dummy data that showed early voting totals in Ohio counties. saying. according to the Citizen Media Law Project. Every time his finger hit the button for Obama.4 million tweets as users posted more than 2. On Instagram." he said. Six states expressly prohibit recording inside a polling place. He went on to say the jumpy frames in the video are a result of a bad camera app on his smartphone. pulled the page. depending on the state. and it was recalibrated. more than 2 million people were talking about Obama and more than 950." "Romney. created as a design template for election results.000 tweets per minute with the phrase or similar terms. The phrase "ivoted" was popular with more than 1.com. The research center at Harvard University posted guidelines for avoiding trouble with the law and a state-by-state guide on who allows filming and who doesn't. But some of that sharing may be illegal." The social-media giant said 8. to the one seen in the video. Cincinnati. The paper.com regrets the error. Among the top 10 terms on Facebook were "vote. which wrote. The Romney campaign was less active but urged voters to cast a ballot for the former governor. Cincinnati. The link was tweeted by the Drudge Report. . Mitt Romney's digital operation was half a step behind the technological savvy of Barack Obama's online team — at several moments. Another external service.com/news/23106/romneys-digital-campaign-second-place-finish By Nick Judd November 7. to handle its phone banking by online volunteers. The idea was to have the staff in-house for the general election to connect those services to one another. the Romney campaign maintained its own database of voters to attempt to find online. 2012 At every phase of the campaign. Moffatt says the announcement still drove two million unique visitors to the campaign's website. A campaign app misspelled "America" as "Amercia" — just the first of several times when the digital team's grasp of the English language would be called into question. Moffatt told me in September. "What we're doing. handled Romney's online fundraising after it switched from a service. "is having more talented people to glue this together. Romney's opponents in Chicago largely hewed to a mix of systems built in-house this year mixed with systems built in-house in years previous. After the primary election. a system used in business for tracking sales leads and other customer contacts. . The Obama campaign consistently released features or products ahead of the Romney team. Using a data management platform. Digital Director Zac Moffatt pointed out to me that the Romney campaign had not been operating with the breadth and depth of digital staff that Obama had at his disposal almost since day one. Moffatt framed this choice as a mix of pragmatism in the face of a limited budget and a belief. that found its roots in Romney's 2007 Republican primary bid. The campaign used an external service.org. he told me on various occasions. The campaign passed a large amount of data into its own instance of Salesforce. announcing features or ideas hours. 40 percent of which came through mobile. Moffatt's shop was beleaguered by a series of small losses. "Are those roles essential in a primary as you move from state to state?" he asked me. while the campaign was beaten to the punch on the news. those voters were lumped into various audience segments the campaign attempted to track with advertising on the web — something the campaign used both for persuasion and motivation. back in May. As with other political campaigns this cycle. that the market had already surfaced the best tools for each job. He argued at the time that digital communications were not in the budget for a Republican primary. Romney's announcement that Paul Ryan would be his vice presidential nominee was supposed to come through a mobile application. Meanwhile. these companies were in essence extensions of the Democratic Party — NGP VAN thanks to a longstanding arrangement with the national committee and Blue State because its leadership is packed with veterans of the Howard Dean campaign and Obama's 2008 election effort. Moffatt described a digital operation that had been built up to comprise a core digital staff in Romney headquarters and a number of external vendors. Moffatt told me. whether that was beating Romney by a matter of hours in announcing a Square app for in-person fundraising early in the year to a matter of months in announcing a "Quick Donate" feature that allowed donors who had already given once to send a repeat donation. A Second-Place Finish http://techpresident. The digital operation was integrated with the rest of the Romney campaign. days or months after the Obama campaign had already rolled them out. Rally. In a September follow-up conversation. Moffatt did advertise some digital successes. FLS Connect.TechPresident: For Romney's Digital Campaign." As the campaign's digital operations ramped up. Fundly." he said in May. While outside vendors included Blue State Digital and NGP VAN. html Will Oremus November 6. even if the road through those numbers does not stop at the same destination. . and highly targeted online advertising — but was never able to point to an innovation that originated first in the Romney campaign and that yielded significant wins.S. On election night. the defining conversation about the election's results will be the path to victory highlighted in Obama for America's data trail. Yahoo's Dylan Stableford wrote that the Romney campaign — either in a final flourish of true class or a last digital embarrassment — had aired Obama's victory speech on its own website prior to running Romney's concession remarks. conducting surveys on panels of online ad-viewers to gauge the effectiveness of their ads. presidential elections."When an absentee ballot is dropping into a state. from event attendees. Slate: I Voted: Facebook Stories Shows Women Outvoting Women 2 to 1 http://www. where only a fraction of a Facebook page's audience actually sees a message unless the page owner pays a fee. And as the campaign drew to a close. The Obama campaign one-upped Team Romney here.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/11/06/i_voted_facebook_stories_shows_women_outvotin g_men_2_to_1. door knocks and phone calls. 2012 Women make up about 51 percent of the population and 53 percent of the electorate in U. emails sent to the person. it had 31. The Romney campaign has its own statistics to analyze. we have online ads that are chasing that. according to stats listed on Facebook." he told me. Politico noted that the campaign had been outspent in online advertising and quoted Republican operatives as saying that Romney was leaving victories on the table for want of creativity." called "Victory Wallet. As the campaign wound down.000 users. After the primary. The Romney campaign was able to deploy all the same tools — website. Moffatt and his digital operation endured mounting criticism. There is no value in doing any of this online if you're not turning people out. analyzing the results of fundraising asks and tweaking the subject lines that led their own barrages of email. While the application never worked for me. all coordinated into one holistic aligned digital slash political effort for turnout. As the Obama campaign celebrates. mobile apps. as well: The Facebook friend-matching functionality came from a central Obama 2012 app. While both campaigns were able to send notifications to their users rather than rely on the news feed. a graphics and design department.slate. The Romney campaign was every bit as interested in quantifying its successes or failures as Obama for America was. Supporters could then message their friends and urge them to get out and vote. But for some reason they are absolutely clobbering men when it comes to clicking on Facebook's "I voted" button today. Moffatt's operation shifted event management software in order to capture more information. like email addresses. In experimenting with the Romney version of "Quick Donate. not a separate app. collecting what he said were hundreds of thousands of new contacts. Team Obama as a result could tug the sleeves of nearly one million Facebook users with a notification — a dramatically greater reach. the Romney campaign followed the Obama campaign in implementing a Facebook application — Romney's was called "Commit to Mitt" — that looked through users' Facebook friends to identify voters in swing states." the campaign also found that people who had donated once were at least three times more likely to donate again — an example of how the campaign made adjustments over the course of the year to stay competitive. social media like Twitter and Facebook and even a comparatively little-frequented Tumblr. Officials in Orange County. (Example of the former: A person in a Big Bird costume waited in line to vote. which were about half the levels of 2008.8 million people who posted their votes on Facebook. in a report released Tuesday. .8 million men had clicked on the prompt.As I write this.wsj. Twitter said the pace of broader election-related tweets so far has reached a peak of about 15. grumble about long lines at the polls and make last-minute pitches for their favored candidates. That compares with a top election-season peak until Tuesday of around 150. according to polls? Or does it just mean that women spend more time on Facebook? Or that they're better at following instructions? Is this a product of residual enthusiasm for the Nineteenth Amendment. Obama. who leads among women voters.000 tweets per minute during the October presidential debate in Denver. They couldn't. Twitter reported that its users had posted about 1. Eastern Time. people posted photos. or tweets.m.. After all.. To document the big day. if you didn’t relay your vote on Twitter. according to the real-time analytics on the "American Votes 2012" Facebook Stories page. his most widely circulated tweet was a commemoration of the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Romney.4 million posts.6 million women have clicked on a special election-day prompt at the top of their newsfeed that encourages those who have voted to share the news with friends. Twitter also rolled out a map showing the mostly widely circulated tweets from President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney during the lead up to election day. 92 years later? I contacted Facebook to see if they could offer any insight. and Pew found friends and family of 30% of registered voters have encouraged them to vote for one of the presidential candidates via posts on Facebook. some 3. just 1. For Mr. For Mr. Calif. including New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg used social media to direct people to revised voting locations in areas where Sandy-related storm cleanup closed polling stations. Is this good news for Obama.m. Expect social media to light up the further we get into Election Night. the highest level of “engagement”–meaning how many times Twitter users clicked on a tweet. Twitter or other social networks.) Government officials and agencies. with the hashtag “#ivoted” or similar terms. At last count. tweets and posts from the ridiculous to the sublime. replied to it or circulated it to other people–was a September tweet about making college affordable. avidly posted on Twitter near-hourly voter counts. Indeed. did the election actually happen? At about 3:30 p.com/washwire/2012/11/06/election-day-plays-out-on-twitter-and-facebook/tab/print/ Shira Ovide November 6. 2012 For Election Day–like any big event these days–people took to Twitter Facebook and other social-media services to document their votes.000 tweets per minute at 2 p. and relayed the challenge of retrieving election supplies from a car that had been impounded. Facebook posted an online counter showing more than 5. That's nearly twice the number of men who have done the same. Why are women clicking the "I Voted" button on Facebook so much more than men? WSJ: Election day plays out on Twitter and Facebook http://blogs. the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project said 22% of registered voters posted on a social-networking site about how they voted. Nearly a quarter of registered voters told their Facebook friends and Twitter followers in the last month who they were planning to vote for on Election Day. the message (with pictures) boosted turnout by a respectable 2. .politico.” researcher James Fowler explained to TechCrunch. With a Single Message delivered electronically on Election Day. Facebook is encouraging its legions of users to declare civic enthusiasm to their friends. with a prominent “I’m A Voter” botton at the top of the newsfeed. To put that number in context. research shows it boots turnout http://techcrunch. so the research organization doesn’t have previous data with which to compare it.S.com/2012/11/06/click-facebooks-im-voting-button-research-shows-it-boosts-turnout/ Gregory Ferenstein November 6. and verified if the action had an impact on the user and their friends from official voting logs. Twitter Users Divulge Votes Online http://www. 2012 If your Facebook feed is becoming increasingly political. monitored whether voting intention was shared with others. “More people are on Facebook and Twitter. So.html#.” question the authors. Large-scale. This is the first cycle in which Pew has conducted such a poll. “Facebook caused an extra third of a million people to vote. you can make a difference. After users click the “I’m Voting” button. they get access to a realtime heat map of voting around the country (pictured below): POLITICO: Study: Facebook. Most importantly.” he said. you’re not alone. caused by friends sharing the message. said Lee Rainie. “which raises doubts about the effectiveness of information-only appeals to vote in this context. But there’s no question that these figures would dwarf social media usage in the 2010 and 2008 cycles. could do more to increase voter turnout than any other partisan rant or news story you may share today. indeed. and sharing your voting intention. Nature. Those who didn’t see pictures were barely influenced.UJl7Aps5mCM. Presidential Election was won by a margin of just 537 votes in Florida. with one displaying pictures of their friends. remember that the 2000 U. 2012 Today. the project’s director. Users were randomly assigned to see two versions of the “I voted” message.twitter Alex Byers November 6. Even more — 30 percent — said friends and family had used social media to encourage them to vote for President Barack Obama or Republican candidate Mitt Romney. That’s significantly more than the percentage of respondents who urged others to vote via text message (10 percent) or email (12 percent). “It’s safe to say that this was a much smaller number even in 2010 and certainly in 2008. the study found.com/news/stories/1112/83418. 80 percent of the effect was indirect.” Twenty percent of voters said they had encouraged others to vote by posting on a social network site. and all it takes is a simple mouse click to spark a chain reaction of civic goodness.2 percent. the 61-million person study displayed an “I voted” button atop the newsfeed of everyone over the age of 18. more people are using them and building them into the rhythms of their lives every day.” Published in the prestigious journal. according to a study out Tuesday from the Pew Internet and American Life Project.Tech Crunch: Click Facebook’s “I’m Voting” button. experimental research shows that simply clicking the button. In the end. 6. but I'm told that in some states choosing the party first on a voting machine. 2012 Facebook users are mistakenly sharing a warning with each other about how to behave in voting booths during today's elections for the American presidency. 4 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3. Younger voters. at some point it becomes something that they are feeling embarrassed not to share. “Networked life is sharing life. can lead to all of the candidates of your preferred political party being chosen .” The increased political chatter on social media may simply be a new manifestation of previous political habits in offline social networks. “It becomes a network expectation. “Once they see it as sort of a common practice in their network. the way that you build trust with your friends is to disclose more and more. Rainie said. An increase in social media users getting vocal about politics may be subject to somewhat of a snowball effect. Political water-cooler talk is just shifting to the Internet. seems to have much of an advantage in terms of organic and digital get-out-the-vote efforts. and the 2012 presidential race has been remarkably bitter and divisive. the way that you find others that share your views.” The study was conducted between Nov. . DO NOT SELECT THE BUTTON "all democrats" first. though.including the presidential candiate. according to the report. however.” Rainie said. when you go into the voting booths. Naked Security: US Election Voting Booth Hoax Spreads on Facebook http://nakedsecurity. because they are trying to use every trick in the book. Here's a typical message: Another version reads: "PLEASE PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION TO THIS!!! In the event that you are planning to vote democrat on Nov. because Barack Obama will be excluded from the vote. and then "all democrats". 1 and Nov. People are not being told this information. Rainie said. for better or for worse. the study found. he will earn our votes. Neither side.” he said.but could lead to some voters getting muddled and not voting for their preferred candidate. were much more likely to suggest on social media that friends and followers should vote for their candidate of choice.National polls heading into Election Day have the race effectively tied.com/2012/11/06/election-voting-booth-hoax/ Graham Culey November 6. “The way that you form your identity in social networks. I don't have any first hand experience as I'm not an American citizen. the warning is not only confusing and alarmist .sophos. TELL EVERYBODY YOU KNOW THIS! PLEASE FORWARD to as many people as possible even!!" According to reports. However.6 percentage points. if we choose "Barack Obama" first. "The wholesome sentiments these shots convey couldn't be farther from the knock-down drag-out negativity flooding the airwaves and the Internet throughout the timeframe. searching for the types of content that most resonated with supporters. here are two charts Freelon created that show spikes in "likes" since April. Freelon captured all of the likes. and what it is about their candidate-of-choice that speaks to them. Things were so much easier with a paper ballot.000 people regularly share information on threats and discuss the latest security news. But dig a little deeper into the Facebook data and two very different pictures emerge of who these 32 million and 12 million are."liking" posts that trumpeted its strength. which may explain why they were so popular among Obama fans. the image that accompanied that post can be found here.theatlantic. with each spike appearing underneath the text that garnered the approval. This is the conclusion of some pretty wonderful data scraping and analysis by Deen Freelon. you could uncheck your vote for the president. For the curious.. comments. and with a younger base of support you'd expect to see more Facebook activity for Obama. For comparison.they were scenes from the Obamas' family life. The Atlantic: Obama’s Facebook Fans Love Michelle. where over 190. Stay informed about the latest security and privacy issues related to Facebook. Join the Naked Security page on Facebook. My advice? Review your choices closely before you press the final button in the voting booth. Romney’s Love Winning http://www. . so that gap may not tell us all that much about this race. a professor at American University.) As you can see.com/technology/archive/2012/11/obamas-facebook-fans-love-michelle-romneyslove-winning/264554/ Rebecca Rosen November 5. He found that Obama supporters tended to go wild for (as measured by "likes") anything sentimental about the president's family. but Freelon says the text of that one did the best job of speaking for itself.That could mean if you get confused and subsequently make a presidential selection for a second time. One explanation for this may be that because the Romney campaign has so many fewer fans. Facebook "likes" don't equal votes." Freelon writes. they were most interested in showing off their support for Romney to their Facebook friends." (The fifth image didn't fit in the chart." Freelon writes. He then looked in the data for the posts that received the most likes/shares/comments. the top "liked" posts for the Romney campaign were all calls to help push them over some benchmark. 2012 The top-line Facebook numbers look pretty good for Barack Obama: nearly 32 million likes compared with 12 million for Mitt Romney. "Romney's fans seem to be more goal-oriented than Obama's: rather than reveling in idyllic family scenes. and shares on Obama and Romney's Facebook pages between April 25 (the day the RNC officially endorsed Romney) and November 2. the kinds of moments that could be found in any American family photo album. Photographs across the top of the chart accompanied the posts. Of course. "The first thing that jumped out at me here was how none of the top five most-liked posts had anything to do with politics -. while Romney fans were more focused on the campaign itself -. 61 million people logged in.about twice as often -. whereas for Obama there seems to be genuine enthusiasm for him as a person. but of course they do in turn reflect something about the candidates -. who participated in the 2010 study. Nationally there are far more registered Democrats than Republicans—72 million to 55 million. Increased voter turnout tends to favor Democratic candidates. both campaigns asked supporters to "like" and share content. About 42 million are registered as Independent. However. He says his high-end estimate for Tuesday would be about 100 million users. from 100 million monthly active users in August 2008 to a billion in October of this year. Facebook is expected to announce Monday that it plans to post get-out-the-vote messages to the tens of millions of voting-age Americans likely to log in to the site this coming Election Day.technologyreview. 2012 Repeating an effort that in past elections has boosted real-world voter turnout.644). but who aren't as into the horse-race politics of campaign season. Overall.S.182).5 million compared with to 42. shares (11. those involved with the Facebook push say there’s no evidence that their effort would favor one presidential candidate over the other.com/news/506496/how-facebooks-plans-could-affect-the-election/ David Talbot November 2. In addition. James Fowler. any ensuing boost to real-world voting might actually be smaller than it was in 2010. Facebook has experienced rapid worldwide growth in recent years.and the positions they're in -.going into tomorrow. published in the journal Nature two months ago. though Romney's peaks were far higher. he expects more people to log in to Facebook—and thus see any messages that encourage voting—than did two years ago. such as those who just generally feel positively about Obama. Freelon warns that it's important to bear in mind that these data "say much more about each campaign's supporters than they do about the candidates. because this is a presidential election year. this year more voters are voting early than in previous elections. The Romney campaign also posted much more frequently -. Current U. according to Freelon's calculations. For Romney. That conclusion may directly capture only the activities of the campaigns' many fans. Facebook account holders of voting age. “Last time. the enthusiasm seems to be more about winning.so Romney's "like" totals are higher: (58.000 votes (see “How Facebook Drove Voters to the Polls”). referring to U. says that this coming Election Day. membership is about 160 million.S. This follows the groundbreaking finding. the growth of the U. Technology Review: How Facebook’s Plans Could Affect the Election http://www. and comments (7.” he says.S. The difference is in what resonated. posts on the Obama page had much higher median "likes" (111.231 compared with 64.309 compared 4. that a particular type of message posted on Election Day in 2010 boosted actual turnout by at least 340.its Facebook base is made up of more hardcore supporters. San Diego. while the 32 million Obama Facebook fans includes a broader swath of people." Both campaigns posted about their families. up slightly from last year. a political scientist at the University of California.753 compared with 3.376) than Romney's page. However. .7 million). when larger fractions of voters are already committed to going to the polls anyway. However. component has slowed sharply. Facebook’s own get-out-the-vote drive. one of 676 people who “liked” a new Facebook .” he says. but his posts keep coming back!! So frustrating!! Go Obama!!!” wrote a Facebook user named Sabeen Shamsi. a restaurant in downtown Salem.html Bobby Caina Calvan November 1. says J. of course. a selfdescribed liberal who likes nothing about Romney’s politics. He’s not somebody I’d be voting for.Visit Mitt Romney’s page on Facebook and you’ll see 11.” Lee Wolf. “This happened to me!! I keep unliking the Mitt Romney. Clicking the message brings up a list of friends who might be interested in knowing this.com: Some Facebook Users ‘Dislike’ Being Used in Online Advertising for Mitt Romney http://www. The paper in Nature reported that when these reminders included face pictures of friends who had voted. for example. Beyond seeing posts that encourage voting. saying “Early voting is here. described it this way: “It looked like they were weighting friends in competitive states and by how close they were to you. a political strategist. including ones that track people by their behaviors and interests. Obligingly. and lose. Schlough. allowing targeted ads (see “Campaigns to Track Voters With Political Cookies”). too. Fowler. based on voting records that the researchers had access to. Another way the campaigns target voters online is by hiring companies like Audience Partners. The Obama campaign. “I don’t believe in anything he says. “I’m still wondering how it happened. Both President Obama and Mitt Romney are expected to furiously campaign to get their known supporters to vote—and to encourage voting. Boston. as campaigns continue until the last penny is spent or the polls close.D. Tell your friends!” Anyone who did download Obama’s app also gave permission for the app to see his or her friends list—as well as the locations and ages of those friends—so the list likely consists of possible supporters in swing states (see “Facebook: The Real Presidential Swing State”).” In Facebook’s 2010 get-out-the-vote effort. 2012 WASHINGTON -.com/politicalintelligence/2012/11/01/some-facebook-users-dislike-being-used-onlineadvertising-for-mitt-romney/4HAxE8p7s9vlrnDgufqW9J/story.” These messages included a button to click to indicate if you’ve voted.000 voters to polls.6 million “likes. which matches real-world voter records with their computer addresses.” said Wolf. the company posted special reminders that said: “Today is Election Day. “The worst thing that can happen for a campaign manager is to end a campaign with money in the bank. was stunned to hear from friends on the online social network that his name had popped up as an apparent supporter of the Republican presidential candidate.boston. has put out messages to people who have downloaded the president’s Facebook campaign app. it drove an additional 340. will be just one of the myriad appeals expected to appear on the site on Election Day. who owns the Lobster Shanty. Google and Facebook and other ad networks are providing a dizzying array of advertising tools and strategies. who received such a message. Facebook account holders (and Internet users generally) will see a barrage of last-minute online ads.” Others are wondering. Still.. thought she was hacked last month when she saw Mitt Romney among her “likes. said Aaron Smith.” Smith said.page dubbed “Hacked by Mitt Romney” created last month to denounce how their “accounts are being signed up for Mitt Romney’s page without the owner’s permission. he said. which I joined for kinship with family and friends and now find overrun with moronic political rants.C. that doing so was “not the same as ‘dislike. But he insisted he had nothing to do with it.” Kristine Faxon. was also surprised to be informed that he had “liked” Romney. and a spokeswoman for Facebook said she could not immediately explain any apparent glitches but said the company would look into the matter. the executive director of a Savannah. Ga.” With 60 percent of all American adults connected via social media portals such as Facebook. . a Pew researcher.” “I’m a huge Obama supporter. a columnist with the St. if an Obama yard sign suddenly appeared on the front lawn of a Romney supporter.” said Mark Turner.’ The culprit was unclear.’ for which there is no option. “Recommendations from people they know or people like them can be more powerful than people they don’t know. a Romney supporter. 39 percent of all American adults have taken some kind of civic or political action using social networks. Twitter. Louis Post-Dispatch. “because they’re putting words in my mouth. I never comment there on anything except for occasional innocuous messages to those I hold close. “Was I the victim of sabotage (like the time one of our kids swiped about 100 campaign signs and posted them all in our front yard)? Or the victim of my own keyboard clumsiness?” Gauen posted a disclaimer and “unliked” Romney’s page -. “This is my first presidential election as a member of Facebook. Imagine. arts college.” he wrote in August. Pat Gauen. a computer systems administrator in Raleigh. N. He suspects it’s a Facebook software issue. he said. who set up the hacked by Romney page. Turner said it was upsetting. had played a trick on her. he said. and Google+. nor would I want to say that anyway.with the caveat.. such as encouraging friends to vote or advocating a political position. A Romney spokesperson declined to comment publicly. “I don’t think Mitt Romney is sitting at his keyboard doing this. She thought her dad. online communities have become an important part of the political process. It’s understandable. Indeed. according to the Pew Research Center.” Smith said. why some would be upset that they’re being portrayed as having beliefs they do not hold. “What appears on people’s social networking sites is a self-curated picture of who they are.” she said. who moved to Georgia from New York City in July. You should read my comments. 2012 I’ve been seeing a Sponsored Story ad on Facebook pages lately that indicates several friends “like” Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. “Now that I know it’s actually there.” Forbes: Why do Obama Supporters Appear in Facebook Ads as Romney Fans? http://www.” he insisted. Another friend of a friend who’s an Obama supporter also was surprised to see his name on a Romney ad. He told his friend: “I never liked his page. or at least how accurate. on July 17. he also “liked” the rapper Jay Z. you become potential fodder for an ad that will appear to your friends. On the early morning of July 16.. “I’ll ‘unlike’ it as soon as we hang up. it happened at 2:15 a. And once you do.” he said.m. that somehow I actually agree with the things he stands for.” At first.“My friends thought I did a complete 180. gave them a serious piece of my mind ya know!!!!! All kinds of people have been telling me why do u like Mitt???? I’m pissed!!!” . No surprise there. like it or not.. Wolf isn’t quite sure how he came to “like” Mitt Romney. Sponsored Stories are those personalized ads the social network allows advertisers to run that show friends have “liked” a brand. “It’s highly unlikely that I pressed “like” on any of these things.” said Faxon. and Grey Goose Vodka. he saw with his own eyes that buried in his list of 470 “likes” was Romney’s smiling mug. you need to “like” him. and they’re increasingly common as Facebook doubles down on social advertising.forbes.] To be clear. “It concerned me enough to put a message out. Anyway. but to see them in your own news feed. Wolf thought it was a glitch. I commented on one of their crazy lies. If the date stamp on his Facebook account is to be believed.com/sites/roberthof/2012/10/31/why-do-obama-supporters-appear-in-facebook-ads-asromney-fans/ Robert Hof October 31. who I know is a vocal Obama supporter. these ads are–not necessarily due to a particular fault by Facebook but thanks to the byzantine rules and privacy features that have developed over years of user outrage and resulting Facebook accommodations.” he said in a telephone interview. His response: “Lol…. doing on a Romney ad? The answer raises questions about how effective. car racer Danica Patrick. But on Thursday.” [Hint: They're not complimentary. Wolf said a friend alerted him that something was amiss. “I don’t want to give friends the wrong impression. But what on Earth was the name of a friend.I liked him so I could see his FB feed. I asked my friend if he knew he was shilling for Romney. you can see Romney’s posts on his page without “liking” him. Did that do it? $%^&* advertising algorithms. It’s unclear how common such situations are. were not shown on their Facebook pages as “liking” Romney. isn’t particularly happy about being used in an ad. However. 2012 . will not result in showing that a person “likes” a brand or person. I’m assuming for now that Romney’s campaign isn’t randomly using non-fans’ names in these ads.buzzfeed. though I’m not sure how quickly that action would trickle into the ad system. which would be crazy. Apps. She says she didn’t realize that could land her in a Romney ad and expressed some dismay: “I don’t think it’s good that they are using my name without being more upfront about doing it. subsequently becoming frustrated with Obama’s “belief in big government.” BuzzFeed: Facebook Lets People Talk Politics. there should be a “shred” button.” and looking at the comments on that page. Go figure. Romney’s or anyone else’s: Go to Privacy Settings at the very top right of your page. especially on a mobile device. by itself. though it left me thinking it’s most likely that people either inadvertently “liked” him or. here’s how to opt out of appearing in social ads. it still seems most likely that many people don’t realize that simply clicking on a Romney Sponsored Story.) Update: After getting a comment from the person running the Facebook page “Hacked by Mitt Romney. One of my friends suggested. and Websites “Edit Settings” link. But May Not Get Out the Vote http://www. then to Ads.com/annanorth/facebook-lets-people-talk-politics-but-may-not-ge Anna North October 31. instead. did so purposely to get his posts into their feeds. a Romney backer.” One remedy is easy: You can “unlike” whatever you’ve “liked” with the click of a button. judging from the content of their comments. I suspect the meaning of “like” is clear enough that it’s not a widespread problem when it comes to political candidates–though it seems to happen more often than you might think.However. Writes another Facebook friend. Facebook says that a mere comment on a page. to see his page’s posts in her news feed. However. Some apparent Obama supporters.” She had “liked” Romney not to show support but simply. then to the Ads. one Obama fan was shown as “liking” Romney–in that case. But even a few head-scratching ads may raise questions among consumers about how meaningful a friend’s presumed recommendation is on Facebook’s signature ads. the list of “likes” showed both Romney and the Democratic Party. (Because I’m not a conspiracy theorist. that in addition to a “like” button. either. Or they may feed into persistent worries about how private various interactions on Facebook should be. though obviously in jest: “I ‘liked’ Buster Posey’s catcher’s mitt. can result in a “like” for Romney. Set your social ads and third-party ad settings to show your actions to “No one. like my Obama supporter friend. again. Barring that unlikely feature addition. She voted for Obama last time. it’s clear that a lot of people believe there is skulduggery by the Romney campaign. An anecdotal search of a dozen people who commented on Romney posts wasn’t conclusive. Nor do you have to “like” Romney simply to comment on one of his posts.” At least one friend. as well as their feelings of "political efficacy." And they measured students' own online political expression — how much they wrote political blog posts or shared political stories on social networks. neither did expression — students who shared their views online weren't necessarily confident that those views had a real influence on government. social and other online media present a huge opportunity.com/2012/10/28/the-best-ad-campaign-on-the-web/ ." They didn't look at actual voting specifically. campaign and government websites. "From the candidate's perspective. and the Internet's not going to change that. the Internet isn't just for the young — Pinkleton notes that "a lot of the old divisions of internet use are falling away" as older people and those with less education get online (though high school dropouts still do so in smaller numbers). However. a communications professor at Washington State University. Online media may be a particularly good way for a candidate to interact with his or her base." He added that he's "not convinced that internet has produced the revolution people predicted. blogs. says that for people who are already politically engaged. And Pinkleton casts Facebook and other online sources of information as more of a tool for people who are already active than a producer of activism in its own right: "it's a lot easier to organize on Facebook. but their findings suggest there might be a lot of people talking about politics online without actually voting. They also surveyed how interested and involved the students were in politics. since politically engaged people are definitely engaging online. The study authors say this might be because people who spend a lot of time online "have less confidence in the political system and conventional media coverage. he thinks the Obama campaign may have the edge in terms of using online media to mobilize voters. Pinkleton. Interestingly. "it's smart to be out there" engaging with potential voters on Facebook and the web. Critics of online media have long resisted the notion that they can produce real social change. both conventional and online." That said. And students who paid attention to conventional media or to campaign or government websites were more likely to feel that their votes mattered. for instance. While his study didn't address party affiliation. microblogging services like Twitter. But it's not necessarily going to make people who aren't already interested in politics automatically interested. Now communications scholars have found that while looking at campaign websites seems to increase people's sense that they can influence politics." he says. because of Obama's popularity with and outreach to young people. Pinkleton does note that the internet provides opportunities for campaigns that never existed before. They found that students who were already involved in politics were more likely to pay attention to media. not just to get information but also to create a community of like-minded people. opinion blogs and social networks didn't seem to influence their feelings of efficacy. blogging and sharing on Facebook don't. But of course. social networks like Facebook.The extent to which social media actually influences the political landscape has been hotly debated in recent years. But neither campaigns nor researchers have quite figured out yet how to translate online attention into actual votes." asking them how much they agreed with statements like "My vote makes a difference" and "I have a real say in what the government does. Communications scholars Yushu Zhou and Bruce Pinkleton surveyed over 400 undergraduates at Washington State University about how much attention they paid to a variety of media sources including conventional (ie print or television) media. but at the end of the day you still need people who are motivated. Tech Crunch: The Prop 37 Phenomenon on Facebook http://techcrunch. but nobody’s asking California voters to decide how the world is fed. But in fact. It’s in America that they’ve been covertly introduced. China.” Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are experimental life forms invented by splicing DNA from different species: for example. Facebook. yet they’re labeled “natural” and they’ve quietly invaded America’s food system over the past two decades. Some years after LinkExchange was acquired. 99Designs the design business. . In some other country. and bar marketing them as “natural. I’ve been drawn by the web’s potential to help the little guy and democratize industries. scientists say no. But before I share the details. let me explain why I’m passionate about this. along with Russia. These invented beings are patented on the basis that they’re unlike anything ever seen in nature. the web has been heralded as the great leveler. may change the fate of the Prop 37 vote on Nov 6. India. It’s a political campaign supporting California’s Proposition 37 (Label Genetically Engineered Foods). the list goes on. iLike) and investor (Dropbox. Then we saw the rise of $25 donations via the web. not government intervention. Free markets are based on transparency and information. Now. all of Europe – 62 countries in total – require labeling GMO foods. and with it herald a new face of politics in America. Our Facebook sales rep was ecstatic when she first saw the numbers. a startup trying to level the playing field for indie bands. we believe free markets should make decisions like that. When I was 23. I joined the founding team of LinkExchange. but that’s not the question: the law is not for a “warning” label. I’ve been involved in a Facebook ad campaign whose results are astonishing.Ali Partovi October 28. (LinkExchange. She’d never seen anything like it in her career. I ran GarageBand. Do GMOs improve crop yields? Not yet. OPower. coined the acronym “CTR” for Click-Through Ratio – more on that in a bit). as social media replace traditional media. a startup trying to level the playing field for websites that wanted traffic. Over the past two weeks. political fundraisers were lavish events for the wealthy. In America. Are GMO foods safe? We don’t know. Throughout my career. Zappos). In recent years he has turned his attention to opportunities in food and agriculture. Fifteen years ago. but that’s not the question either. one might imagine a government secretly introducing experimental life forms into the food system in the name of increasing output. Will GMOs help “feed the world”? U. The Internet is also democratizing democracy. the web’s first ad network. Uber the taxi and limousine business. Today AirBnB is disrupting hospitality. say China. 2012 Editor’s note: Ali Partovi is an Internet entrepreneur (LinkExchange. including a new feature introduced last week. Level Playing Field Since 1995. the influence of ordinary people may replace the influence of money. Brazil. salmon spliced with eel.com.N. Transparency In The Food System Prop 37 is a proposed California law that would mandate the labeling of foods with genetically engineered ingredients. You can’t buy that. unaware that it may contain genetically engineered ingredients. Our most effective ad units are not clever slogans or graphics. but fan comments. With only $33. On Facebook. you can amplify it. but on Facebook. We don’t expect our government to sneak new inventions into our food without telling us. no matter how wonderful they might be. that’s better than lying. on the whole they are 20 times better than average. the voices of ordinary people speak louder than big corporations. yet they look deceptively natural. when I decided to help Prop 37. Deception like this distorts prices. The reach is more than doubled because people are clicking “Like” and forwarding the message along.000. and so on. But here’s where Facebook enters the picture.18. every dollar this campaign spends on Facebook has as much impact as ten dollars spent on TV ads.” In America. we trust the labels. What’s more. the best advertising is word of mouth. we embraced this feature as a way of leveling the playing field for the little guy. When I was a teenager. That’s why. On Facebook. The message is replete with typos and errors. the ads are literally the voices of ordinary people. but the truth rises above the noise As every businessman knows. forged seal and all. Is it the best ad campaign of all time? Possibly. about five times better than average. $35 million from the likes of Monsanto has flooded California with misleading messages. uh. where anybody can pay $7 to increase the visibility of what they say. and the advocates of Prop 37 may come across as alarmist. and they’re deceptively labeled “all natural. It’s that they’re new and different. which made all the difference. Although some businesses on Facebook are complaining about paying to reach their own fans (here and here). but it has one thing the opposition lacks: authenticity. (One renegade went so far as to make a homemade video featuring a mutant monkey and dead rats!) However. natural food. Most Americans react with alarm when they learn about GMOs. my parents worked multiple jobs to pay for my education and put food on the table: healthy. The Prop 37 team had already cultivated a vibrant fan community on Facebook. anybody buying “all natural” food is likely overpaying. the results have been stunning. Their ads feature a “Stanford professor” who is actually not a professor and not from Stanford.3 million Californians of voting age. which particularly harms the poor. the conversation may be messy and unpredictable. Today. I also began spending my own money and soliciting donations on Indiegogo to fund ads on Facebook. Low-income people care what they feed their kids too. I focused on Facebook. They have a cost-per-click of $0. and asking them to use the new “Promoted Posts” feature. they’ve reached 3.The issue is not whether GMO foods are safe or productive. . Some of the ads have a CTR as high as 10%. Ten days later. and our fans have responded positively. a fabricated FDA quote. when it was actually started by a California farmer and mom (although she did get a lawyer to help with the. I helped start a promotion encouraging these fans to speak out for GMO labeling in their own words. They decry Prop 37 as created by a trial lawyer. which is what GMO companies are doing to confuse voters. law part). Fueled by popular support. The Best Advertising One might think Californians would succumb to this drumbeat of deceptive corporate commercials. both presidential candidates are making last ditch efforts to mobilize their constituencies -. 2012 The Ending Spending Action Fund. wants to cast a new star for its latest Facebook video advertisement: you. but you probably have some friends and family who need to be reminded how important their vote is. from corn subsidies to antibiotics in meat.com/2012/10/26/presidential-voters-facebook Neha Prakesh October 26. "I know I can count on your vote. and beyond GMOs.What happens in California doesn’t stay in California. I’m passionate about Prop 37 because its impact goes beyond California. More so. "Connect with friends and urge them to commit to vote. Both President Obama and GOP contender Mitt Romney are hoping their supporters use their own social networks to lift momentum for their respective campaigns.to get on Facebook. it signals to Congress and the White House that food issues sway votes." the email says. The apps make it easy for voters to share with their friends and connections who they plan to vote for. If it passes. Mashable: Super PAC Wants to Put You in Its Facebook Ad http://mashable. The Prop 37 vote is a referendum on all food reform. Called "The Ad About You." the ad is essentially a Facebook app that uses pictures you've posted to Facebook to customize an interactive video template. Prop 37 FTW! Mashable: Presidential Candidates Urge Voters to Get On Facebook http://mashable. 2012 With less than two weeks until Election Day.com/2012/10/25/super-pac-facebook-ad/ Alex Fitzpatrick October 25. the emails make it evident that each campaign believes in the power of Facebook and social networks to translate an increased digital presence into a larger turnout at the polls. a conservative-leaning Super PAC advocating for the reduction of the federal debt. ." Both candidates also provide links to their Facebook apps within the emails (Commit to Vote and Commit to Mitt)." Obama's team sent a similar email emphasizing that Facebook and online methods could help draw the needed support in swing states. If it fails. "You can make a defining difference by doing something as simple as reminding your Facebook friends and family to get out and vote for Mitt Romney. it signals business as usual: that the influence of agribusiness corporations is still greater than the voice of ordinary people. The Romney-Ryan team sent emails today saying. Will you be encouraging friends to vote on Facebook? Tell us in the comments below. " As of press time. Google and Twitter. friends and family members about whom they're going to vote for this fall.” such as geotargeting direct messages via Twitter this week. the campaign had posted video of it on YouTube. tv ads and online ads. Access The Ad About You right here. . The Obama campaign has spent $47 million on online ads so far. with a caption reading "We can do better "The ad strategy is very basic. but even GOP operatives say they haven’t closed the digital divide with Barack Obama’s tech machine. per The New York Times.html Steve Friess October 25. "It's an innovative idea. The app uses HTML5 and JavaScript to build the ad. Ending Spending is financed mainly by Joe Ricketts. It ends with a shot of Mitt Romney and his wife Ann. It has spent $4. to build mobile apps and to accept text-based donations. "The folks that star in this ad are your friends." When asked if he believed people would willingly allow Ending Spending to access their personal photos for use in a Super PAC video." he said. it used almost entirely photos of himself and the person with whom he's listed as "In a Relationship" on Facebook. it asks for your basic info. compared to Romney's $4. "There are a number of undecided voters and we're trying to reach them in every way possible: print ads. Would you give a Super PAC access to your Facebook photos to see them in an ad? POLITICO: Presidential Election 2012: Can Romney Close the Digital Divide? http://www. The Ad About You is particularly effective at putting photos of your closest loved ones in the advertisement -when this writer demoed the app.com/news/stories/1012/82870. Within minutes of Obama's "horses and bayonets" zinger at the last debate. Baker said he thought they would. approximately 6." said Brian Baker. The president’s mobile app lets volunteers get lists of homes in their neighborhood that need lawn signs and banners. the ad essentially asks if the viewer is better off under Barack Obama than he or she was before his presidency began.When you install the app. according to election filings. It's about real people talking to the neighbors. your photos. Contextually. 2012 BOSTON — Mitt Romney’s 120-member digital team has a seat in “the Gov’s” inner circle to push targeted ads on Facebook.180 people "liked" The Ad About You on Facebook. The Obama camp consistently scores digital “firsts. "I'm quite confident people will click on it.5 million on the 2012 presidential race. your family. photos shared with you and your customized friends lists -.politico. president of Ending Spending. billionaire and founder of TD Ameritrade. relationship status. while Romney’s provides press releases and upcoming events.7 million. and if they like it they'll share it with friends and family. mostly on ads attacking President Obama.everything it needs to customize the commercial. ” The consensus from interviews with seven GOP online strategists and two swing-state Romney operatives is that the Romney team does everything Obama does.Thus. “There was no mention whatsoever of the debate for days on the homepage.” said the online campaign director for a GOP Senate candidate in a swing state. pretty graphics — but the Romney camp lacks the speed and creativity to capitalize on important moments with technology. It’s not a disaster. “We have our own operation. had about a dozen online staffers and didn’t include the digital director as senior staff. “Our job is not to be the best digital team in the country. During the 2008 debates. which has spent more money. “We put a heavy emphasis on making sure digital is doing what is necessary to win. email fundraising programs.com visitors were greeted with video clips and sound bites — as if he’d won them all. social media accounts. it’s to be the best digital team for the political team to be successful in November. noting he’s had about six months to try to match a monster apparatus built by the Obama team for its legendary 2008 campaign and never dissembled. who like many other Republican consultants declined to be quoted by name. McCain. rapidresponse teams. Both sides have all the obvious tools — mobile apps. “They can’t believe that. as a tight race winds down and questions remain as to just how decisive a digital campaign is in the end. which is shocking. there is comparatively little on MittRomney. For his part. creating ad spots and developed a microsite for Joe The Plumber overnight. After three debates. but it’s all so average and they’re going up against Mickey Mantle.” Critics of the Romney campaign’s tech efforts. including a number of Republicans. It’s long been assumed that the digital advantage goes to the Obama campaign. Still. . question whether Moffat’s crew has the speed and creativity to capitalize on important events online and convert positive messaging into votes. but if they do we’re in so much more trouble than I thought. during a tour of the cavernous offices where more than 120 paid staffers do Romney’s digital bidding. a key online consultant for John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid. Case in point: Romney’s big win on the night of the first debate. Romney’s online efforts are more technologically sophisticated than the 2008 McCain campaign.” said Eric Frenchman. whereas BarackObama. he noted.com. but hardly what Moffatt claims is “close to parity with the Obama folks. Romney’s staff contends they have the right stuff. the McCain campaign was blogging. just not as well. but it’s a presidential year. after the debate in which Romney was said to have dominated. so they’re supposed to light the way. Romney’s tech operation nonetheless is charged with helping turn momentum into votes.” several top Republican digital strategists told POLITICO. online advertising strategies.” Romney’s online chief Zac Moffatt told POLITICO in a recent interview in the cavernous headquarters of the campaign’s digital operations here. Moffatt exuded a brew of optimism and defensiveness. hired more tech staff and developed an in-house voter database that’s rumored to be a game-changer in politics. and yet.000 on text messages alone this cycle. but maybe some of that could be better used down here where it's needed. why don't the other parts of a campaign have to show what’s going on?" Michael Turk. at the moment. 6 and Romney was still shy of $5 million at the end of September." Moffatt both defended his budget as generous and acknowledged the fact that the online team is under a microscope. (A similar Facebook envoy advises Obama." said Peter Pasi. a gang there cutting video clips to post on YouTube. we know every single time that the results are coming back to show that it does work. They are trying to hit all the marks but they are likely underfunded. A Facebook envoy has taken up nearly full-time residence in Boston to help deploy the social network’s latest tools which. Obama’s Twitter and Facebook audiences are also many times larger than Romney’s. who was eCampaign Director for Bush-Cheney 2004. noting that that's "a reflection of the Gov's viewpoint on the world. By the end of September. I’ve got six Obama ads and I’m never going to vote for the guy. but once we do that. the Romney camp is not spending that much — and that might be one of the problems. "There’s simply not a comparable level of financial commitment to digital when you look at Romney’s campaign versus Obama's. He’s got a dozen staffers here creating region-specific Web banner ads. "That just insults everyone on the ground making calls and doing the walking. they’re just using online advertising as a broadcast medium. They may be spending lots of money on the Web." Actually. we get more resources. the Romney campaign had knocked on more than 6 million doors in swing states versus 2. shrugged at the spending differential: “The problem with Obama is that every time I open up my Facebook page. asked how he proves that. FEC reports make it unclear how much each campaign spends on their overall digital efforts." he said. a line that doesn't exist on Romney's report and is probably accounted for under a different item.) Moffatt said he can’t compare his data to Obama’s — “Anyone can make up numbers” — so he cites such favorable comparisons to the McCain effort. "We have to constantly prove what we are doing. he answered. "Digital is held to a different standard. At $47 million. The move was compared to Obama’s .” There lies a core difference between the two efforts. Obama has tried several new ways of reaching voters. Obama is expected to dump as much as $100 million in Internet advertising by Nov. critics say.Moffatt said he’s on every strategy call and is integrated into all campaign efforts. Obama is reputed to have amassed a gigantic email and phone list — the same FEC report showed Obama spending $363. but observers say the online advertising differential alone is telling. he said. "They're taking credit for that?" growled a Romney staffer in Florida. One of the stranger choices. from appearing on a Reddit live chat to inserting ads in video games. "The Romney digital team probably has to continually justify resources that Obama's people just get rubber-stamped.4 million for McCain through the entire race. was the Romney camp's decision to announce the selection of Paul Ryan as the vice presidential running mate via a smartphone app. is a way to target ads just to the pages of individual registered swing-state voters who may be undecided." A short time later. he said. a veteran conservative direct marketer who has advised political candidates including Rick Santorum on digital fundraising and outreach. The Romney team has made six times as many phone calls to voters than at this point in 2008 and a total of more than 30 million voter contacts. My bigger question to people on a campaign is. also noted that Obama’s tweet reacting to Clint Eastwood’s empty-chair routine at the RNC enjoyed six times as many retweets as Romney’s tweet announcing Ryan as his running mate.” Moffatt challenged that conventional wisdom. Bush’s successful re-election. Moffatt does have his bonafides.” Moffatt said. “That is the clearest example of a missed an opportunity. they’re so caught up in all of their ‘We’re smarter than everyone’ hubris. “For us.” Moffatt defended that decision by noting that most of those who downloaded the app agreed to receive “push” notifications. view Obama as leading. We needed some catalyst. owner of the online campaign firm Revolution Messaging and external online director for Obama's 2008 campaign.” At MittRomney. Yet several other studies. it was an entry point for us to get as many people to download the app as possible. But Romney’s app did not require anyone to provide personal information such as email or text message. The hype around the VP app also drove downloads — Moffatt claims their apps have been downloaded more than Obama’s.Com and you see it says ‘Time’s limited. his first campaign was in 2001 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. find a watch party. The firm handled digital strategy for Rubio among others. “We have what we need to be successful in November. for instance. by contrast. followed by key roles in the city’s host committee for the 2004 Republican National Convention and President George W. including one by Pew Research.” Moffatt countered. “They are so caught up in their vanity metrics. “These guys seem to be not understanding how data collection technology works.” . The Socialbakers study.” The impression many outside the campaign have is that Obama’s efforts are more dynamic and interactive. assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of “Taking Our Country Back: The Crafting of Networked Politics From Howard Dean to Barack Obama.announcement of Joe Biden in 2008 via text message. Twitter and other outlets are banal and one-directional.Com. meaning messages from campaign sends to their phones. and by all accounts more of those who signed up for Romney’s notification received theirs in a timely fashion. “We thought it was more important for us that it was a different way for a distribution system. which many digital campaign strategists viewed as a failure.’” said Daniel Kreiss. You don’t get the information from an app. reflecting how easy it is to spin these metrics. 2012 debates. They are convinced that they’re smarter than the marketplace. five weeks to go. that Romney’s messages on Facebook. It could be any day on the campaign.” said Scott Goodstein. “I’m asked to grab a bite with Paul Ryan. urgent. He took on various roles for the national GOP and after the 2008 campaign he co-founded the GOP online campaign firm Targeted Victory. although there’s no independent way to verify that — and the VP app was later converted into an overall RomneyRyan app. referencing a study released recently by the analytics firm Socialbakers that he said shows Romney enjoys more engagement by followers and fans than Obama despite the president’s bigger audiences and more frequent tweets and status updates. A Stanford graduate. “Look at BarackObama. to share a get-out-the-vote message with acquaintances in swing states.This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 5:24 a. and when they knew it "There is some evidence. an associate professor of political science and director of the Center for Electoral Politics at Fordham University. We're sending this mailing to you and your neighbors to publicize who does and does not vote. What they know. thus sharing their friends lists with the campaign. he said. it was already old hat. is partly driving the latest round of hand-wringing over the data-driven.m. several studies suggest that voters respond strongly to being contacted with their own personal information." complaining that "your vote is private" and "this is an effort to shame and pressure people about voting" — but by the time this strategy reached Wisconsin. 2012. these strategies use public records and social connections to convince people to vote. partly taking place through mailers. Rather than using commercial marketing data about voters. This tactic. highly targeted political present. On the other hand. author of a book that addresses targeted marketing. These new initiatives play on the concept that what voters know about one another may turn out to be more important than what the campaigns themselves have on file. quotes an unnamed Democratic consultant wondering aloud if "this is the year to start shaming" — but it seems the finger-wagging and elbow-nudging has already begun. On it was Althouse's name as well as those of several of her neighbors. a conservative law professor and blogger. The latest round of fundraising emails from the Obama campaign includes messages that remind supporters of how much they have given to the campaign so far — or calls them out for not giving anything. Tech President: Why Campaigns Are Happy Your Vote Isn’t as Private as Many Think It Is http://techpresident. "Why do so many people fail to vote?" it asked." said Costas Panagopoulos. There are shades of this in the tools now in play from both presidential campaigns. . Another effort asks supporters who have signed in to the Obama for America Facebook app. "We've been talking about the problem for years. was shocked — she called the practice "truly despicable. partly driving new technology-driven communication over social networks. These are just parts of an interconnected web of experiments. Charles Duhigg. 2012 The mailer that arrived in Ann Althouse's mailbox in June really creeped her out. some recent evidence that suggests that voters are actually much less responsive to microtargeted or narrowly targeted messages than they are to more broad-based appeals. called "social pressure" by some and "shaming" by others. This year. Mitt Romney's campaign just launched a similar tool. along with whether they voted in the 2008 and 2010 general elections. In a recent article in The New York Times. but it only seems to get worse. a progressive group hoping to drive turnout ahead of this summer's critical recall elections." The mailer was the work of the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund.com/news/23032/do-you-care-if-obama-knows-you-voted-what-about-if-he-told-yourfriends Nick Judd October 22. we're taking a new approach. on October 25. Althouse. Rather than trying to shame or pressure voters. But when you did or did not vote has always been a matter of public record. Utah. needed to be educated about the importance of midterm elections. Another recent study also found that get-outthe-vote messages on Facebook. three days after Althouse received her copy of the mailer. pressure or no. quotes a local voter. co-director of elections in Washington State. threatening to out people to their neighbors as civic slackers. the mailers were legal. presumably because voting is a social norm or a socially desirable activity and they don't want to be perceived as violating those norms. "but some voters find it offensive. that's something that voters are very responsive to. labor groups used a tool called Amicus during the Wisconsin recall effort. is correlated with higher turnout." A landmark 2008 study led by Yale University professor Alan Gerber found so-called "social pressure" of this nature. And in the case of prior voting the academic literature has shown that voters are more likely to participate in elections when you disclose or threaten to disclose their electoral participation." As Shane Hamlin. expressed the same discomfort with this use of personal information. and I think these are the people who have concerns about how much information is publicly available about their political behavior. the Fordham associate professor. the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board put out a press release pointing out that the voter rolls were public. Althouse wasn't the only one to think it was a violation of privacy. but not midterms. is an author of a study that experimented with what would happen if the message was less heavy-handed. they still correlated with a notable rise in turnout. Amicus users check their Facebook friends against a voter file. Amicus co-founder Seth Bannon explained that this is motivated in part by the same "social pressure" theories that informed the Wisconsin mailers. Plenty of other people also objected to this use of voter data. While the results weren't as dramatic as messages that sought to motivate by fear. and come back with lists of their friends who a given campaign or political group believes might be persuaded to go out and vote. and nobody is suggesting that it shouldn't be. his study focused on messages thanking people for voting in the past. In 2010. a progressive online community. These people. The Daily Herald of Provo." Panagopoulos. The volume of protest became so great that on June 4. how you vote is secret. In June. As soon as the news got out that "social pressure" works. Panagopoulos says the rate at which people objected to being targeted like this in an academic study was relatively low. campaigns began testing the practice and academics continued to study it in the 2008 and 2010 election cycles. In an interview. Andy Gibbons. the email suggested. . Senate candidate Mike Lee sent an email to supporters in Utah with an attachment that included the names and contact information of voters who had voted in presidential elections. explains. He cited the Alan Gerber study by name. This wasn't the only instance in which "voter shaming" generated more anger than embarrassment. could increase voter turnout rates by upwards of eight percent more than a mailer that merely asked the recipient to go vote without mentioning personal information. and none of the blame could be placed at the feet of Wisconsin officials."So for example when you disclose people's recent voting history to others. But when the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund gave this a shot." Panagopoulos said. "Most people don't react with hostility. Supporters of an effort to recall a Republican state senator derided the idea on a public Facebook thread and in the forums of Democratic Underground. as calling the email "despicable. This tool shows you which of your friends appear in a database as being registered to vote and gives you the opportunity to nudge them towards voting. "The availability of the Facebook aspect isn't really much different except that it's instant. a Harvard University Ph." That. Also this summer. resident Susan Kelley." Personal Democracy Media is also involved in an initiative that puts this idea to use. a change Hamlin. 'we know. Supported by the Ford Foundation. but it's still a community experience. of the Washington Secretary of State." Hamlin explained to me. The Chronicle of Higher Education quotes Orlando. 'We've seen that you don't vote in every election. Voting is done in private and secret. in my research it was delivered in the sense of being helpful. "You can deliver that same information of. led a study that sent mailers at random to people listed in the Federal Elections Commission database as donors who had given $200 or more. "It can be delivered. who were still convinced that the 2004 election didn't come out the way it should have. identified by first name and last initial.'" But wrapping that "we know" message in the robes of academia is not always enough to cool people down. I think it's still an important part of the democratic process. is similar: In an election year. he suggested." Hamlin said. Here are some resources to help you vote. he said. After the historically close 2004 governor's race in Washington. generated a lot of phone calls. What's happening now. Christopher Mann. created searchable databases. One of those changes included making each voter's date of birth available for public inspection. Campaigns and researchers alike know that at least some people are unsettled by increasing access to information about voting history. an assistant professor at the University of Miami.D student in economics and a researcher at Universidad Nacional de La Plata. "And then they were discovering all this information about themselves that was public that they did not know was public." Hamlin continued. Argentina. the state legislature there made changes to election law in the hopes of making it less likely for a close race to be decided as much by rounding errors as on who cast a ballot. each voter's data of birth came online with it."In the old days a campaign or political party could send a poll watcher to the sites to see who voted and who didn't and take that information back to the headquarters and get on the phone to remind people to vote. "Big Brotherish" Inaccurate data is just one of many privacy concerns stirred up when it becomes obvious that voter registration information is being used to figure out who to target. people are confronted with more evidence that there's a difference between what they think is public about them and what actually is. "That's the way it happened 10 years ago. conducted research that focused specifically on voter backlash. who received a mailer: . Fla. says his office fought against and lost. Like all voter records." Mann said. it tried and failed to find my own voter registration. When Washington's Help America Vote Act-mandated statewide voter database went online. Those mailers listed each donor's contribution along with the contributions of a few of their neighbors. the database isn't perfect — for example. "You get a statewide list from us for the first time in 2006 and then some bloggers. TechPresident's parent company is collaborating with the Internet freedom advocacy group Center for Rights on Vote with Friends.' but deliver it in a way that is less threatening and Big Brotherish. advocates for transparency as a social force while at the same time the success of his business depends on it. They also know that studies indicate it can help them win. but it quickly is. like Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. said Mann." Just more noise on the channel Political campaigns know that this type of contact can be disconcerting. saying data analysis was not yet complete. the University of Miami professor who did research on the backlash potential of social pressure to vote." Bannon said. which we believe is a very important issue." he wrote in an email." A more open future? For people like Seth Bannon." Mann told me. that's the future he sees: One where people know and accept that attendance is taken in the public square and their friends are keeping track. Bannon. a future where everyone's political cards are on the table is inevitable. "and you're not going to change the process by not participating in it. It's as much a way to participate as voting. say that not voting is a legitimate choice. "One of our aims is to study the implications of the public’s awareness about the open nature of campaign contributions." "Maybe they thought that doing shaming might have felt over the top or inappropriate in a past election but now it feels justified.” When contacted by email. declined to go into details about his study. overt pressure using personal information. "What's not clear to me is if it's going to make a difference given all the other things that are out there. "What's interesting is there was some reluctance to at first use any social pressure and then they got comfortable using some sort of social pressure. "I think public perception hasn't caught up to the technology yet.“While I am well aware that the information is public. and people shouldn't be publicly called out for deciding not to vote. Bannon is not one of those people. "We hope that the research will shed light on the advantages and disadvantages of different disclosure policies. Perez Truglia. the researcher on the Harvard project. "I think that voting is a civic responsibility as citizens. What isn't clear is if any kind of communications — targeted advertising." he said. "We're definitely moving towards a world where my friends will know whether I voted in the last election or not and they're going to let me hear about it if I didn't. campaigns start to think more about using tactics they might not otherwise. I was offended that Harvard University would feel it was in the interests of research to urge people to view each other’s political contributions. “I am no more interested in the contributions of my neighbors to their favorite politicians than I am in how they vote. Nonetheless. anything — can cut through the intense amount of noise directed at voters in key states like Ohio." Some voters.” she writes in an e-mail. like the Wisconsin law professor Ann Althouse. as is a great deal of other information about each of us." . Amicus' founder." he said later on in our conversation. And as the stakes go up. "I talk to a lot of campaign professionals. "That's from psychology. and you might sway some votes that way. I feel the same way about playing on racial fears. she said. Obama supporters who have signed in to the Obama for America Facebook app have shared their friends list with the campaign." Mann said." This post has been updated. "I'm aware of the research that says this social pressure works. and quite another to use it for a political purpose. The Romney and Obama campaigns are treating every day in Ohio like it's election day. The Obama campaign. I asked Ann Althouse. the caller -. there will be a backlash of condemnation that makes it a net loss. "and would not get off the phone with me until he exhibited shame and apologized for calling." That's where these emerging experiments at the margins.Ohio is awash in advertising money from the campaigns and outside groups." she wrote. That barrage is making Ohioans tune out. ugly." Both presidential campaigns now seem to be trying to find a path to victory that plays on this combination of available information. Charles Duhigg's book. It isn't the fourth phone call they receive in a night." is focused on studies of behavior and how they are applied to business. not only targeted marketing. that's obviously informed by a campaign's hope that it will pressure her to vote? "If such a call went through at my house. about the argument that a voter's history is open and voting is a civic duty. "Unrelated to social pressure. "but if using it subjects you to condemnation. and social pressure. but does so in a way that is subtle enough not to piss anyone off. There's a common-sense piece here that a big challenge for campaigns in this electoral environment is delivering a message that they pay attention to. "You can't get people to answer the phone in Ohio. The Romney campaign has also launched an app that rifles through users' Facebook friends and highlights potential voters to contact on the campaign's behalf. I'm conducting experiments in battlefield states. "The logic behind this is the impact of these messages will be stronger from their friends. I think it's creepy. and embarrassing for the candidate who stoops to this method. Neither of those appear to include a Big-Brother style message about following up to tell everyone if the voter cast a ballot." What about friends who reach out on Facebook. The state has already been open for early voting for two weeks. available connections." Althouse wrote to me in an email. focused on person-to-person contact. for instance. or make a phone call. Some of them are getting emails asking them to share Facebook messages with friends in states like Ohio and Nevada that have the potential to decide the entire election. . and has another two weeks left to go. the Wisconsin law professor who protested against getting that overtly threatening mailer from the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund. It's one thing to keep track of who voted to make sure an election is fair and the tally is accurate. I hope it backfires.if it was someone I knew so I answered the phone -would get a piece of my mind. I also pointed out to her that new tools allowed campaigns to identify the likeliest voters from among a supporter's Facebook friends and give that supporter ideas about how to gently nudge them towards the ballot box. like where they live." Mann said. You're free to do that. but they do ask supporters to reach out based on things the campaigns know about those supporters' friends. it can backfire. begin to make sense. Mann said. has in recent days been sending emails to supporters asking them to contact friends in battleground states with early voting. "The Power of Habit. I asked. it isn't another piece in a stack of mail. How it all played out: Breakdown of mentions was provided by U. not first initial and last name. taxes (7 percent). The big loser? It’s not Mitt Romney. the prime sources of instant commentary on the presidential campaign. Politics on Facebook (www.S. and energy and environment (4 percent). He is co-director of elections. rung up lower numbers than the record-breaking response to the first debate. Call it debate fatigue or social media overkill. They included donors' first names and last initials. .sfgate.com/@gov).This post has been corrected to give Shane Hamlin's proper title. This post has been corrected to properly explain mailers sent out this summer with donor information. both campaigns were able to enlist new followers on various social media platforms. even re-tweeting non campaign accounts such as @ThinkProgress and @EdHenryTV. Despite the social media slump. SFGate: Social Media Battle: Obama Engages More Voters Despite Aggressive Romney Debate Strategy http://blog. not assistant secretary of state. The loser in the bid for buzz was social media itself. And who was the winner? Even though Republicans clearly approached social media with a specific strategy in mind.twitter. Twitter and Facebook.com/nov05election/2012/10/23/social-media-battle-obama-engages-more-votersdespite-aggressive-romney-debate-strategy/ Jana Kasperka October 22. Besides the spike in activity over Obama’s “fewer horses and bayonets” comment. (Jana Kasperkevic/Hearst Newspapers) This might have been a foreign policy debate. Obama’s team was once again able to engage more users throughout the night. Twitter came 4 million tweets short last night of breaking the record set by the first presidential debate. Obama’s campaign out-tweeted Romney’s. @BarackObama Twitter account was actively tweeting and re-tweeting during the debate.facebook. 2012 The pundits have declared Barack Obama to be the winner of last night’s third and final presidential debate of the 2012 general election. but the conversation often strayed to other topics as well. including economy (20 percent). Engagement: Just as in the last debate.com/uspolitics) and @gov on Twitter (www. However. Both campaigns also utilized Twitter to solicit donations by sending out the following tweets: Prior to the debate. . @TruthTeam2012 not only tweeted more but also engaged more users by also re-tweeting non campaign affiliated accounts such as @TheFix and @JeffreyGoldberg. Obama’s campaign also shared the following graphic on Twitter and on Facebook.3 million during the first debate. Romney’s campaign might have paid to have a promoted trend. While Romney for President Inc. (Jana Kasperkevic/Houston Chronicle) The Last Presidential Debate in Trends: P Republicans went into this debate prepared to dominate the social media. as always there were number of peak moments during the debate. #CantAfford4More was the promoted trend both worldwide and in the U. both campaigns posted engaging messages accompanied by colorful graphics on their Facebook pages. The day of the third presidential debate. The campaign engaged the Facebook users by specifically asking them to “Share” the post and within 34 minutes. and “Nothing Governor Romney” worldwide. #StopNDAA did in fact trend in Texas early on and later even became a nationwide as well as worldwide Twitter trend.2 million during the second debate and 10. YouTube. but Obama’s zingers such as his response that Romney is attempting to “airbrush history” and his “fewer horses and bayonets” comment quickly became worldwide trends. with Obama’s “fewer horses and bayonets” and Shieffer’s “I think we all love teachers” comments. Romney’s graphic received more “likes.931. Considering. the graphic was only re-tweeted 7. The tweet containing the graphic did not include any instructions for engagement and consequently.979 to Obama’s 139. over the span of nine hours. which appear on various searches for both Obama and Romney. The Twitterverse might have been suffering from debate fatigue during this third and final presidential debate. However. Obama’s campaign asked their followers and supporters to share the image above if they thought that President Obama had won the third and last presidential debate. splurged for a promoted trend of #CantAfford4more. that Romney only has one third of the followers on Facebook that Obama has.5 million. the graphic was shared 19.S. also paid to promote tweets on such searches. one could say that they were equally successful in engaging Facebook users. considering that the amount of tweets sent out during the debate only reached 6.While @RomneyResponse did tweet quite frequently during the debate. organizations such End Spending Action Fund and American CrossRoads paid for promoted pro-Romney/Ryan tweets.458 times. Even his response “Nothing Governor Romney says is true” became a “Nothing Gov” trending topic in the U. down from 7. (Jana Kasperkevic / Houston Chronicle) Stop the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) organization had its own plans for last night’s debate – to Twitter bomb it with hash tag StopNDAA.” 183. which was streaming the debate. but it only got half of the shares and comments that Obama’s graphic did.743 times.S. bloomberg. who studies the integration of social media and politics. Obama pioneered the use of social media in presidential politics. for example. It’s a multi-pronged strategy. Within 48 hours. Twitter Fight The Obama campaign made an effort not to cede Twitter ground in the remaining debates. leveraging its ability to communicate with masses on different platforms in ways that weren’t possible in 2008. a new front has opened in the 2012 election: the #hashtagwar. Kennedy School of Government. an official said.with speech excerpts was liked or re-posted 16. reaches the political community more than it does undecided voters. Yet 2012 may present the first test of whether it makes a difference.2 million posted Twitter messages referenced the debate. who wins the election will become the true metric for judging whether Obama’s 31. During last week’s rematch between the president and Romney at Hofstra University in New York. A supporter records Mitt Romney on an iPad as he speaks during a campaign stop in Charlotte. Within 24 hours of President Barack Obama dubbing Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s policy shifts as “Romnesia. the candidates and related terms. The eco.861 times.html Julianna Goldman October 22.696 times. with the Internet an integral part of people’s lives. Surveys show that voters expect candidates to have a social media presence.Bloomberg: Obama Winning Social Media.or GIFs -. If #Hashtagwars Really Matter http://www. They can monitor online conversations. 2012 In the battle to win every undecided voter. 7. . a professor at Harvard University’s John F. Obama’s campaign uses online activity to boost fundraising efforts. The Obama team lost the Twitter war then because within 30 minutes. Today.2 million matters. North Carolina.system is just so different and so new. day-to-day coverage and accelerates news cycles in a way that campaign officials said was exemplified during the first presidential debate in Denver.com/news/2012-10-22/obama-winning-social-media-if-hashtagwars-reallymatter. with different sites targeted to different demographics and serving varying roles. “Obama is operating at a different order of magnitude than Romney just in terms of raw numbers. Photographer: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images Four years ago. It shapes perceptions. gather intelligence about what messages are resonating and why. It’s really hard to figure out what is actually going to matter. recruit volunteers and look for indications of whether they’ve been successful at voter persuasion. On Tumblr. Twitter.” #Romnesia was trending worldwide on Twitter. a campaign official said. Obama’s campaign again has the upper hand.1 million Facebook (FB) page “likes” versus Romney’s 10. when Facebook was one-tenth its size today and before smart phones were the norm. drive enthusiasm and boost turnout.963 people and shared nearly 57. a series of animated pictures -. “We’re effectively in the dark ages of this. The president’s account. two Romnesia postings on Obama’s Facebook page were “liked” by 364.” True Test Ultimately. the narrative that the president lost had already been set.” said Nicco Mele. In the campaign’s final weeks.or 39 percent of all American adults -. surpassing the metrics for the 2008 Republican presidential nominee. Roughly 60 percent of American adults use such sites as Facebook or Twitter and 66 percent of those users -. Senator John McCain of Arizona. A hashtag began trending nationally on Twitter. While Obama may have more Facebook likes. sent two Twitter messages which were then re. Romney’s handle. according to a Pew survey. “The goal of our digital team is to be the best team that complements the objectives of the campaign. “The system has expanded because social media is now a very central part of campaign messaging and the way that people are talking about the election. Extending Grassroots . Related slideshow: Digital heckling with bayonets. according to Zac Moffatt.have done at least one civic or political activity with social media. When friends of friends are factored into Obama’s 31 million Facebook followers. sent out 37 messages during the 90-minute debate. a Facebook page popped up and a steady flow of memes. Social Networking Reach According to Pew.810 times.@BarackObama. director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Twitter messages and re-tweets end up more like spam. Internet photos with superimposed logos.5 times as many phone calls and knocked on nearly four times as many doors than at this point four years ago. which were then re-tweeted 117. 36 percent of social networking site users say the online communications are “very important” or “somewhat” important to them in keeping up with political news. Facebook provides the most mileage in terms of outreach and targeting persuadable voters. the Romney campaign’s digital director. it sparked ridicule that ballooned on the web. binders and Big Bird When Romney said in the debate that he ordered up “binders full of women” to bring gender diversity to his Massachusetts cabinet. was soon coursing through the virtual world. Last night. they can distribute without cost content that potentially reaches almost everyone in the U. Romney is on par in terms of the percentage of his supporters who are engaged. @MittRomney. for example.” ‘Vanity’ Metrics Romney campaign officials say their adversaries are relying on a set of “vanity” metrics and that the barrage of Facebook posts.” said Moffatt.9 million people talking about them. “People are swimming in a sea of political information and political chatter.tweeted 6. For that. not to be viewed as the smartest digital entity in the country. through sharing. they said.374 times.S.” said Lee Rainie. Obama campaign officials said friend-to-friend validation and contact is more important than whether #bindersfullofwomen is trending. Thirty-eight percent have used social media to “like” or promote material related to political or social issues that others have posted. Romney’s social media operation has mobilized volunteers through online communities and driven voter turnout efforts. Volunteers and aides have made 3. both the candidates’ Facebook pages had 2. Through August. The numbers for Obama far exceeded Romney’s $39. Romney accused Obama of running an “incredible shrinking campaign” based on “silly word games. a campaign spokesman.” said Adam Fetcher. .” Use of social media also provides multiple opportunities to raise money.based group that analyzing political donations. Small Donors That was 34 percent of his total receipts from individuals over the course of the campaign. The campaign also uses Facebook as a cheap way to quickly communicate and organize supporters. At an Oct.” said Mele. Romney and his advisers argue Obama’s campaign is overly taken with petty catch-phrases and Internet fads at a time when voters are preoccupied with much larger issues. who directed Internet operations for Democrat Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential primary campaign. 2012 The Obama campaign has ramped up its email microtargeting efforts.” said Rainie.“Social media is a natural extension of our massive grassroots organization and a variety of platforms offer unique opportunities to inform voters. the Obama campaign had raised $147 million from donors who had given him a cumulative total of $200 or less. particularly on sites like Tumblr. an official said.16 million fans compared with the 92. Florida. 19 rally in Daytona Beach. “A lot of the activity online is preaching to the choir in order to significantly boost online fundraising.” POLITICO: Obama Campaign Emails Now Targeting Specific Individuals http://www. according to the Campaign Finance Institute.5 million from small donors.” saying he had no agenda for the future.politico. which amount to 18 percent of his total. They cited women’s outreach as especially effective through Facebook. The “Women for Obama” page has 1.” To be sure.com/politico44/2012/10/obama-campaign-emails-now-targeting-specific-individuals139211. a Washington. Also. the center found.html Byron Tau October 22. sending messages asking supporters on its email list to contact specific individuals in states with early voting to remind them to vote.250 for “Moms for Mitt. The algorithm for identifying potential Obama voters in swing states is far from perfect. “Social media is very good at talking to people who agree with you and convincing them to take more actions but it’s really not clear if it’s good at changing someone’s mind.” Romney said. mobilize supporters and get more people involved more deeply in this historic election. “most voters aren’t living their lives waiting for what’s the new meme that’s going to help them decide their vote. social media plays to Obama’s demographic strengths with younger voters participating more. “And they keep talking about smaller and smaller things. “This is a big country with big opportunities and big challenges. or those residing in guaranteed blue and red states. Mitt Romney's campaign has rolled out a similar tool called Commit to Mitt. committed partisans. for example. Encouraging such peer-to-peer contacts is on the rise among campaigns and will likely be standard practice in future cycles — for good reason. given their geography and history of Facebook political activity. The tool works in conjunction with Facebook — and suggestions of what voter to contact are only generated only after supporters give the campaign permission to access a list of their Facebook friends. Tech Crunch: Romney’s New Facebook App Knows Which Friends Are Most Influential http://techcrunch. Nopple (“no politics please”) automatically blocks political posts for those users who still want to be friends after the election.In an email shared with POLITICO. “Commit to Mitt” unearths which friends live in influential states or have a (public) history of interacting with Romney’s facebook page and recommends messaging them. who now works on Romney’s digital team. Indeed. “All one needs to do is look at their own newsfeed to know that people want to talk about this election on Facebook. The New York Times reported last week that campaigns have been testing whether personal contact from an acquaintance is more effective than from a unknown campaign volunteer. 2012 Election-mania has driven more than 60% of Facebook users to engage civically or politically on the social network. The app. or are likely to be more influential with a broadcast message. the Obama campaign asked Soren Dayton. Lira tells TechCrunch the first-of-its kind app was inspired by both a personal meeting with Mark Zuckerberg. Yet. a former John McCain campaign staffer (who had signed up to the campaign's email list and authorized it to access his Facebook account). first launched with TechCrunch.com/2012/10/22/romneys-new-facebook-app-knows-which-friends-are-most-influential/ Gregory Ferenstein October 22. But it's the logical culmination of campaign email programs and social networking. and recent scientific evidence that Facebook political . the app recommends posting a message to their wall. most political posts won’t be seen by undecided voters in battleground states.” says Matt Lira. to contact a self-described conservative-libertarian blogger based in Nevada. The Romney campaign did not immediately respond to a question about whether they have or are planning any similar Facebook/email integration. one Facebook app. If users don’t have closeted supporters. draws on Facebook’s “open graph” feature that permits software to personalize services based on a user’s information and activity history. instead being wasted on the ears of unregistered citizens. how can we make sure that activity is purposeful and effective at making a difference for the campaign.000 additional votes during the 2010 election. Team Romney has therefore devised a clever app that finds which friends are most likely to be influential on Election Day. the question is. a well-known open government advocate in Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor’s office. The app is a welcome addition to the nearly 1/5th of social media users who admit to blocking friends who use the Internet as their personal political soapbox. during a well-publicized visit by House Republicans. A recent study showed that a Facebook message informing users which of their friends had voted resulted in 340. The researchers concluded that voters who saw their friends had voted were much more likely to turn out to vote. which connects supporters to voters in swing states via Facebook. "there is none. raising concerns about personal privacy in a medium where government regulation is minimal. They then match it to the publicly available voter rolls that were digitized as a part of a new federal law aimed at efforts to help improve voting procedures after the ballot controversies of the 2000 election. The practice is called microtargeting and like a lot of marketing techniques on the Internet aimed at identifying consumer tastes and behaviors. Do you read The New York Times or watch Fox News? Do you have children? Do you shop in high-end stores or hunt for bargains on eBay? Do you support the Sierra Club or Club for Growth? Political strategy firms like Democratic DSPolitical and Republican CampaignGrid are gathering or buying up that data." said Chris Calabrese.com/2012/11/05/politics/voters-microtargeting/index. But when a political spot pops up while surfing the Web. CNN: Microtargeting: How Campaigns Know You Better Than You Know Yourself http://www. it is an information-age approach that is helping change how political groups identify and interact with voters. The study found that a mass get-out-the-vote campaign drove 2. 2012 (CNN) -." he said. Personal messages “are better for building a loyal customer base and make a product stickier. Most importantly. there's a good chance it's aimed right at you. legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. Romney make a mad dash in a final bid for votes In fact. If a pro-Romney message gets posted in a forest of California voters.messages boost voter turnout. and no battleground citizens see it. Sinan Aral.” said New York University Professor.html Allison Brennan November 5.cnn. does it make a difference? Probably not. Moreover. The study confirms other experimental evidence which finds that personal Facebook messaging can be more influential than broadcast-style wall posts. 80% of the effect was indirect. microtargeting may give pollsters. caused by friends sharing the message. "Anonymity has been crucial to our political process. Check out the app here. Now you can target Facebook pals who are not only influential but still want to be friends after hearing you talk about politics. campaigns and interest groups a sharper idea of how candidates and issues may fare at the ballot box. it's the reason the Federalist Papers were anonymous. It's the reason for the secret ballot. . Obama.Political ads on the airwaves have been so pervasive this year that voters in battleground states probably see them in their sleep. Surfing the Web leaves a trail of browser history that allows marketing companies to glean insight into personal interests.2% more voters to polls in 2010. Facebook and other data powerhouses are also in on the action. albeit in a different way.. where they shop and other consumer behavior tracked for decades off line. "The data has been commercially available data for years -. But it does allow marketers. gender. And he said these strategies infringe less on privacy because they don't use names or physical mailing addresses like direct mail. CampaignGrid President Jordan Lieberman and Walsh said they aren't doing anything that hasn't been done before. Jim Walsh of DSPolitical said the company has so far aggregated more than 600 million cookies -.What these firms receive is detailed information about how often a potential voter has cast a ballot in addition to data on what they read. The company launched its Google Political Toolkit and campaign tools via YouTube. Micro-targeting offers clues to early vote leads It is so efficient and such a natural extension of direct mail that Walsh called the way microtargeting is being used today "inevitable. to reach potential customers or voters. For instance. This all is aimed at helping them determine how someone might vote and then reaching them wherever they go online.. calling it "part of the special sauce.and has worked to match them against lists of some 250 million voters in the United States." Lieberman said. Google said it doesn't collect or allow its advertisers to use personally identifiable information. location or other criteria. including political information. Final CNN/ORC national poll: It's all tied up Google. offering candidates the chance to "promote your videos using Google AdWords for video to reach exactly the audience you want -by age. political or otherwise." Facebook is also using its vast amount of personal information during the election." DSPolitical and CampaignGrid aren't the only ones in the game.or tags on Internet user IP addresses that track movements online -. Both companies said they use a third party vendor to remove that data and match the files." In response to privacy advocates. to target its users based on specific demographic information. Lieberman wouldn't identify CampaignGrid's vendor.we're not targeting you by who you voted for." Lieberman said. has used for decades. we're targeting you if you tend to vote or participate in the democratic process. "The reality is that we are more focused on privacy and we have more privacy protections than direct mail . This they said is because lists generated from browser histories are stripped of any personal information before they are used to target potential voters. . 000 political Facebook pages in the United States and more than 11. the campaign is likely to reach out to you on those attributes. "The downside. and campaigns are doing isn't popular with the public. If a campaign knows that you're of this religion and this race and went to college. When asked if they wanted "political advertising tailored to your interests. Data helps and permits campaigns to talk to people about issues they care about.. according to a study from the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg school of Communication released last July. they dictate scripts that door-to-door canvassers read. "There's a lot to say in favor of campaigns targeting voters in this way.-based pages for politicians. "People like being targeted in many ways." said Hersh." he continued. "The task is hard. Provisional ballots could be key if Ohio margin razor thin Sixty-four percent said their support for a candidate would decrease if they found out a candidate was microtargeting them differently than their neighbor.S.Currently there are more than 110." said Eitan Hersh. especially at the presidential level. Still." 86% of Americans surveyed said they did not." But there is always a danger that the campaign will misfire or that the ads will seem like "pandering. . Know your polling place Besides ads that show up before a YouTube video or banner ads on the websites users visit. ProPublica also reported on how other search engine giants are selling their users' browser history to campaigns. according to a Facebook spokesman. They also improve efficiency of campaign voter turnout efforts and reduce costs since ads online are significantly less expensive than television spots. "How do you start by trying to convince 200 million people that you they should vote for you?" asked Hersh. The study also found that 20% more respondents reacted more strongly to political targeting than they did to being targeted as a consumer." he explained. microtargeting makes an uphill process easier for the campaigns. (but) there is a lot to be concerned about. it does allow advertisers to seek out subsections of the population based on their preferences on Facebook. a political science professor at Yale University who studies the impact of microtargeting on campaigns and the political process. And the data does help. who follow a model of self regulation. of course.000 U. you're likely to have a different set of values . Is that we might not like being stereotyped. What companies.. "Many people like that Amazon knows what kind of books they like. While Facebook doesn't hand over personally identifiable information." Hersh said. population.blogs. referring to ads viewers see before videos online. "which is great stuff." A sign of how often these ads are used by political campaigns -. it forces you to watch it before you get to your content.com/2012/11/05/election-takes-over-american-conversation-on-facebook/ Eric Weisbord November 5. Calabrese says the trick is not getting browsers to add the mechanism. Could close race produce a popular/electoral vote split? "The pushback has been that there is a business model out there that wants to track you all the time. this gives a glimpse into how the elections are taking over the American conversation. CampaignGrid signed a deal with AT&T combining AT&T's mobile network with its online voter data files. serving the same targeted ads that people see online. Privacy and civil liberties activists don't propose shutting down online advertising. Obama." CNN: Election Takes Over American Conversation on Facebook http://politicalticker. Facebook says that typically the top terms on a Sunday and Monday in the Fall are related to football.S. during the commercial breaks on their favorite shows.cnn." But don't look for this practice to end. the election has dominated Facebook chatter among users in the United States. Instead. With more than 170 million people. "We can serve a pre-roll video ad. "They can wring more and more advertising dollars out of you. microtargeting can also guarantee that voters actually see campaign ads. Follow CNN Politics on Facebook ." Calabrese said." As Duke political science professor Sunshine Hillygus said. To put that further into context. The big problem for advertisers these days is that everyone is fast forwarding through their videos. they favor an optin versus the opt-out option currently available to consumers and voters -. "There's no turning back on microtargeting. in many of the key battleground states looking into the final days of the campaign. According to data provided to CNN by the social media giant. Looking toward the next election cycle. Lieberman says it's just the beginning. & election."online video inventory has been sold out. Yahoo recently said it would not honor the "Do Not Track" button Microsoft is installing in Microsoft Explorer 10." Lieberman said. Romney. 2012 (CNN) .In the age of DVR. but getting other Web companies to agree to it. the four terms or phrases used most in posts or comments from users in the United States are vote. actively using Facebook. The next frontier is to reach voters with ads on their "IP-addressable" television sets.a "Do Not Track" mechanism. over half the U. And Lieberman says they are adding data crunching power to what he calls "rich data sets.With Election Day just hours away." Walsh said. So how much would a nudge from Facebook affect this year's election? Lee Rainie.The fifth most popular term is "Remember the 5th of November. In modern day. In a study led by the University of California.. Obama's record) . Falcons & Doug Martin.. vote tomorrow) .Sunday football . Users who saw the same message with no friends' photos attached were just as likely to vote as users who didn't receive a message at all. as it did in 2010 when it sent out a "Today is Election Day" note to the 61 million users who were of voting age.Doug Martin (Rookie Buccaneers" running back rushed 251 yards and scored 4 touchdowns in Sunday's win over the Raiders) CNET: Facebook Wants You – To Vote http://news. .Election .com/8301-1023_3-57544722-93/facebook-wants-you-to-vote/ Donna Tam November 5..cnet. The top terms are over a 24-hour period (12pm Saturday to 12pm Sunday).Obama (Obama." he said. you could be inadvertently convincing your friends to go out and vote as well.. When you decide to broadcast that you voted. said it's difficult to give a hard number on how many more people would vote because of a note on their Facebook pages. since it's difficult to pinpoint what moves a voter.S. The social network is expected to post messages for its voting-age members in the U.Remember the 5th of November ('gunpowder treason' and other terms around Guy Fawkes Day) . researchers showed that these 2010 users were persuaded less by civic duty and more by peer pressure. Users who saw photos of friends who voted attached to the message were more likely to vote. an annual commemoration of a seventeen-century attempt to blow up the British parliament.Falcons (Beat Cowboys in the Sunday Night Football game) . It will be hard to isolate a single metric. "The messaging is saturated with automated calls. ads on TV. Sunday football. all relate to the NFL. 2012 When you log in to Facebook on Election Day you will likely be greeted by a note reminding you of your civic duty.Vote (remember to vote. The note included a link to polling places and an "I Voted" button that would let your friends know you went to the polls. San Diego." a reference to Guy Fawkes Day.Romney . the director of the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. President Obama. Top 8 Trending terms/phrases in the US right now: . the phrase has been adopted by anti-government protesters and activists as a rallying cry. brochures. The next three terms. "Social media just puts this all on a much grander stage. and adding voter registration as a preset "life event" on its Timeline. Now that percentage has dropped to 35 percent. "That's why Obama owned the space as much as he did.But what seems clear is that Facebook has changed at least some Americans' approach to politics. After the 2008 presidential election." Rainie said. Facebook was mainly used by liberals and Democrats to talk about political issues. some pundits pointed to Barack Obama's command of the network as a factor in his success. Rainie found that Facebook is a sounding board for those who feel they aren't in power. there's more reason to complain about the team that is in power. particularly because Facebook's demographics have changed dramatically since the last presidential election. Hemet Press Enterprise: Will Facebook Factor in Tuesday’s City Council Election http://blog. But this time around he has more competition in the space.66 percent of U. He published a study Friday about how social media -.pe. "People can watch more. In 2008. "When you're out of power. people often make political decisions based on two things: how the media portrays an issue. 2012 The Hemet City Council election race has been anything but quiet." Rainie said of Facebook. Rainie said Pew's studies have shown that Facebook affects how people vote.mainly Facebook -.S. What's more. "It was still a novelty and a sidelight.com/hemet/2012/11/03/hemet-will-facebook-factor-in-tuesdays-city-council-election/ Craig Schultz November 3. 16 percent actually changed their minds about an issue because of what they encountered on social media. grander conversations unfold. Political campaigns have increasingly touted Facebook as a valuable tool. That's because the media covers those in power the most. 72 percent of Facebook's adult users were under the age of 35. In 2008. the social network has been increasing its own efforts to encourage voting. . Now everybody is sure of it. Signs are all over town. In July." In addition to political campaigns turning to Facebook as a tool to connect with voters. its not a surprise that those discussions are happening there now. It's an opportunity for campaigns and public agencies to increase voter turnout -." It'll be interesting to see how things play out this time around. Mailboxes have been stuffed with literature. And since 69 percent of Internet users are on Facebook. The study found that 25 percent of users surveyed say they became more active in regard to a political issue after discussing it or reading posts about it on social media. All but a couple of the nine candidates have been stumping at senior housing developments and large public candidate forums. Facebook partnered with Washington state to let users register to vote through a Facebook app. Rainie said. When the roles of power reversed. and from watching how others who are really engaged are talking about an issue.affects political views. conservatives and Republicans took to posting. Internet users who are of voting age use Facebook. partnering with CNN to launch an "I'm Voting" app this year. Overall." Rainie said. 737 members. Bonnie Wright said there is a core group of followers who will be influenced. said he is not sure how Facebook will play in the outcome. and Hemet’s large senior population. It is difficult to get the message out. Crimeni said he believes the group is a couple thousand strong. He says some postings indicate the entire group is endorsing candidates when other members may disagree. were under the mistaken impression that everyone agreed on all of the issues. “There are a few hecklers or bomb throwers who have a political agenda. The Rebuilding Hemet group on Facebook has 2. He thinks they. Now my fear is that it is going to hurt the folks who want to do cleaning projects and things like that. I certainly hope so.” Many of the Facebook followers live outside the city limits. Rebuild Hemet has 3. have on the outcome of the race? Hundreds of people. organized on social media.” he said.” he said. including the press. said he expects the Facebook group will have a noticeable impact. so they won’t be voting on the Hemet candidates. They think everybody should get involved like these folks have. how much of a difference will the Facebook crowd.” Shellie Milne said she is wating to see. Robert Youssef. but “there are a lot of senior citizens in the community who don’t even go on Facebook. She said she was involved in the Tea Party movement and that too many people. turned out at City Council meetings this summer demanding that the city do something about such quality of life issues as crime and blight. for lack of a better description. “For the most part these are good citizens who want to clean up the town. Is there a Facebook group platform? Richard Avila is not sure. “We don’t all think in lock step. “Considering that I am running on the Facebook group platform.189 friends. “I think they will influence the election. and that may be true for Hemet’s Facebook crowd as well. I asked six of the candidates whether that translates into a voting bloc and whether it will be large enough to determine the outcome of the election.But in the end. will decide the outcome. All of them praised the movement.” she said. There were so many people that council meetings were moved – temporarily – to the public library where the Rebuild Hemet folks continue to have tailgate potlucks in the parking lot on meeting nights. Brishen Kruse. . the write-in. They say it is making a difference. she said. the sitting mayor.” he told me. FB +0. which show up in a Facebook user's news feed. About 10% of people who viewed the ads clicked through. The social-media companies "have been in tune to what we're trying to accomplish. which has since bought more than two dozen Twitter ads. Romney's campaign also recently purchased Twitter ads so when a person searches Twitter. They've also staffed up to work with political campaigns to tailor ads to specific voters and snag ad dollars.wsj.WSJ: How Facebook. Facebook pitched Mr. known as a "promoted tweet.'s GOOG +1. The San Francisco-based company had held several brainstorming sessions with American Bridge to coach the group on how to use Twitter ads to quickly circulate its political announcements. Over the past year. courting presidential candidates.html By SHIRA OVIDE and EVELYN M. ." Mr.com website. digital director for Mr. the companies have met with hundreds of political groups to tutor them on effective social-media ad strategies. Mr. Romney's campaign to be among the first users of the service's ads on cellphones." Across the aisle. American Bridge decided to pay for a Twitter message to promote its MeetPaulRyan. When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney picked running mate Paul Ryan in August." The ad. "There's not an advertising product that they offered that we haven't at least beta-tested. said American Bridge. Based on those meetings. "We want to spend every waking moment talking to political advertisers about how they can use Twitter to win.81% and Twitter Inc. RUSLI 11/02/2012 Social-media companies Facebook Inc. and nearly 5. Romney's page and indicate which friends are fans of the candidate.com for "Obama. That's when Twitter came into the picture. The ad showed up at the top of the Twitter page when users searched for terms such as "Romney. are trying to turn political advertising into a big business.000 times. political-action committees and interest groups to siphon off some of the billions of dollars spent on election ads. These ads.000 Twitter users clicked on it. Moffatt said." "Paul Ryan" or "vice president.com/article/SB10001424052970204707104578092990628610764. The campaign is now one of the biggest buyers of Facebook mobile ads." appeared about 160." said Peter Greenberger.45% political-advertising arm in 2007. "We've been very pleased" by the Twitter ads and the response to them. MeetPaulRyan. said American Bridge President Rodell Mollineau. who adds that his organization can't afford widespread TV commercials. link to Mr.com. Romney's campaign. Democratic opposition-research group American Bridge 21st Century wanted to bring attention to its new website. said Zac Moffatt." the most-prominent post is a criticism of President Barack Obama's policies towards Israel. declining to give specifics on how much the campaign has spent on social-media ads. Twitter's head of political advertising sales and the executive who established Google Inc. Twitter Court Political Campaigns http://online. Twitter also recently commissioned research aimed to show political operatives how Twitter users who see frequent tweets and Twitter ads from campaigns are more likely to make political donations. including how Facebook users are most likely to engage with a political ad shown from 9 p. The company speaks to each campaign's digital staff nearly every day. Twitter launched its political-ad effort last fall after the company identified politics as a pillar of its young revenue strategy.." said Adam Conner. The pace of political-ad efforts at the social-media companies has picked up in recent weeks. more than sixfold the levels of 2008 but still less than 2% of the $9. said Katie Harbath." For Twitter and Facebook. Based on demand from political campaigns. the company said.. The group of staffers pitching political ads is the only Twitter ad team devoted to a single industry. Before one of the recent presidential debates. said success with political campaigns isn't just about the money—it can also help win more advertising overall from marketers selling soap or cellphones. "We thought this was going to be the year of the Twitter election.C.8 billion estimated total election spending. up from one in 2008. This would presumably let campaigns target voters in swing states such as Ohio and Colorado." Mr. Research firm Borrell Associates predicts digital political advertising will reach $170 million this year. The company has pitched political consultants on targeting ads at users based on the email addresses of supporters. which remains dominated by TV commercials. according to members of both teams." said Adam Bain. Twitter's Mr. . political advertising isn't yet big money. Facebook has also passed tips to political campaigns. headquarters working with political campaigns. Bain said. Texas and its Menlo Park. Facebook and Twitter executives said now is the time to make political ads into a bigger business. keep up on news and bicker with rivals. or to people who might not see the tweet otherwise. Greenberger called and emailed political-related advertisers to suggest they craft ads based on words likely to generate attention during the debate. "Ever since the 1960s with the Kennedy election. Twitter also prioritized a project announced in September to let advertisers tailor paid messages to people by state or region. political campaigns have led marketing thought. Twitter and Facebook are compiling case studies to show nonpolitical marketers how political campaigns used social-media ads.. Calif. a manager of public policy at Facebook. Austin.Twitter ads are sold by computerized bidding for words or terms. Indeed. Twitter said the most in-demand political keyword ads include "Obama. similar to how Google sells ads alongside Web-search results. which declined to disclose the political-ad revenue they're reaping.m. Twitter's president of global revenue.m. "Now it's step one. a manager of public policy at Facebook. "We used to have to convince campaigns to sign up and be part of the digital bandwagon." Facebook now has half a dozen employees in Washington D. Political campaigns are spending on the "promoted tweet." "Romney" and "vote. to 10 p. given that most candidates and others in the Washington political machine use Twitter and Facebook to stay connected with constituents. But Twitter and Facebook." which looks like a regular Twitter post and which advertisers pay to have show up at the top of a stream of tweets. " he said. seniors group AARP bought ads during a presidential debate tied to terms such as Medicare and Candy Crowley. Mr. "Campaign 2012: Who is Setting the Agenda?" On the media's election coverage this year: -"Not going to give them a good grade".html Craig Kanalley October 19. you're more likely to watch MSNBC. The former White House Press Secretary for Bill Clinton spent years in politics. if not for now. otherwise people will just go to their friends Social media's impact on politics: -Things now are so connected and so immediate -Washington is a town built on power and the pursuit of power -Internet provides instant reactions and both parties try to jump on that. there were no 24-hour news stations. through the likes of Facebook and Twitter. the same with newspapers and so on -It's tougher to get facts and think for yourself.com/craig-kanalley/politics-social-media-age_b_1989858. there was three networks. Here are some highlights from his talk with Brooklyn Law School Dean Nick Allard. and we don't have that now -We need more authorities.huffingtonpost. 2012 Joe Lockhart is in a unique place to have a word or two about the ever-changing media and technology landscapes and their impact on politics. the debate moderator. in the world -There was a consensus. but we're not quite there yet -If you're conservative. Greenberger said after next week's election. for an edge in the . we're in a "period of profound transition" and the media isn't doing a good enough job educating & informing the public Tech transformation: -In 1980. tens of millions of people watched three men say here's what's happening in the country. if you're liberal. but he actually started his career in broadcast journalism and most recently served as Facebook's VP of Corporate Communications. "we take a vacation"—but then Twitter's political ads team will shift attention to the next drama in Washington. you're more likely to watch Fox News. on Twitter's suggestion. He had a number of fascinating insights on tech. Huffington Post: Politics in the Social Media Age: Insights from Joe Lockhart http://www. tech and 24/7 news cycle fundamentally changed that -News is now fragmented and the American people get it from a variety of places. media and politics at the Brooklyn Law School on Friday. including social media How people get their news now: -We're now entering an era where people are informing each other.For example. a common conversation around the country. this system is not best serving the public Ignorance online: -"There is a lot of sharing but there's just as much sharing of ignorance as knowledge" -Need a centralized core of journalism to inform people. "The lame-duck Congress could be a very busy term. it's more about style and less about what the public needs to know -There are "a couple newspapers left driven by journalism and not by business. -Business driving editorial is scary. Now it's not like that. but content producers are always going to beat fact checkers and censors -You can fact check. smartphones are cheaper than computers and will become ubiquitous." -Why is Fox News. but it's already out there in the media bloodstream. putting pressure on campaigns to respond more quickly and leaving less time to develop a narrative Future of social media: -The technology is just scratching the surface of its promise -Where do you turn when you don't trust a central power or institution? You turn to your friends -The tech can be even more interesting and powerful as it scales. is building a state-of-the-art digital ground operation in Ohio and other vital battleground states to spread its anti-Obama message to voters who could decide the outcome of the presidential election. it goes viral.uk/world/2012/oct/18/koch-backed-activists-americans-for-prosperity By Ed Pilkington October 18. etc.next election -It has sped up the news cycle. big swings happen 3-4 days after a debate when people decide what they found important -"The media doesn't give people the best tools to make the best decision they could" On the rise of fact checking: -Yes. 2012 Americans for Prosperity.guardian. We're starting to see major cities without newspapers. Business implications today: -A large portion of news business is about staying afloat now or making a profit. and things happen much quicker. -How can you enforce fairness in media? Not sure you can.co. "When I started in the business. I didn't see that to be the case. The group hopes that by creating a local army of activists equipped with sophisticated online micro-targeting tools it will increase its impact on moderate voters. there are fact checkers. not everyone sees the fact check after the fact Legal ways to improve media landscape? -Not sure. On media picking "winners" or "losers" after debates: -They talk a lot. MSNBC so successful? Found an audience that led to a gold mine. The law was written in a way with three major media networks in mind. everyone will be connected through phones -You can see what your friends think immediately. the Tea Party-aligned group part-funded by the billionaire Koch brothers. less about journalism -That's really changed the dynamics of how politics is discussed or covered -The media "wants to put on a show". The Guardian: Koch-Based Activists Use Power Of Data In Bid To Oust Obama From White House http://www. friends talk about it. their friends talk about it." -It's scary. and then the numbers come out and then they change their tune to the numbers -The public processes information over time though. but that's it. nudging them towards a staunchly conservative position . among them David and Charles Koch." its president. "The goal is to build a long-term grassroots infrastructure. In Ohio. It says it aims to reach up to 9 million targeted voters in crucial swing states. Tim Phillips.opposed to President Obama's economic and healthcare policies. told the Guardian. Volunteers are empowered with mobile canvassing technology that directs them to the households that are most likely to be influenced by AFP's message of small government and tax cuts through software built on to handheld tablet computers. Research by the independent Wesleyan Media Project has found that AFP is spending an astonishing $6m every two weeks on TV advertising that favours Mitt Romney's presidential candidacy." AFP's growing influence is highly visible in Ohio. But it is ambitions do not stop on election day on 6 November. volunteers are given a script which they follow when engaging voters. David Koch is president of the organisation's foundation.000 TV ads to be served in the battleground states and outguns even Romney's own spending on political adverts. No Republican candidate in history has won the presidency without bagging Ohio's electoral college votes that today stand at 18 out of the 270 needed for victory. Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is spending tens of millions of dollars developing its local strategy. making predictions difficult. But the latest tracking survey by Real Clear Politics has Obama two points ahead of Romney – a statistical tie. "President Obama took office three years ago and promised to fix our economy. They are also equipped with the latest phone banking technology through which they have made 400." AFP has already spent $30m so far this election cycle in opposing President Obama and other prominent Democratic candidates and their policies. coal and plastics businesses have earned them personal wealth of $25bn each. Polls vary widely in Ohio. "yet unemployment is still high and our debt is up to $6tn." . It now has 80 paid staff operating in the state out of seven permanent offices." they say. through the efforts of its 2 million activists. "We are not some election-year group desperately trying to ramp up attention – we are in this year-in year-out to make a difference in favour of economic freedom. under the rubric: "Has Brown worked for you?" It has a fleet of vans bearing the senator's picture with the logo: "Obama's rubber stamp for failure. all eyes have turned to Ohio. AFP is legally obliged to project itself as a non-partisan campaign that neither endorses nor opposes candidates for public office. which Romney must win if he is to have a fighting chance of taking the White House. AFP is also waging an aggressive campaign against Sherrod Brown. the Democratic senator for Ohio.000 calls to Ohio's voters since May. already employing more than 200 permanent staff in 32 states. brothers whose oil. one of the most crucial battleground states upon which November's outcome depends. With the presidential race tightening across the country in the wake of Obama's widely denounced performance in the first TV debate earlier this month. That pays for more than 7. nor their political nature. But there is no disguising its targets. Classified a non-profit "social welfare" organisation. AFP's funding status allows it to raise unlimited sums from undisclosed sources. its interactive database serves up what the group calls an "affinity score" for each voter. your friends on Facebook.4 and 0. He or she is awarded a number from 0 to 1. told the Guardian that in his view the activities of such groups had the capacity "to move us from a democracy to an oligarchy where a handful of wealthy people use their money to try to control the political process". The database draws information on voters from a range of public and commercial sources to create a profile of their likely political behaviour. He added that in his view it was working. "This is an exponential leap forward for our side – with Themis as our crucial partner. that AFP were driving the debate to the right. in turn." Phillips said. we are able to leverage our dollars and refine our message. to drive the debate through wordof-mouth marketing. they are not worth bothering with. Josh Mandel. Those registering 0 on the scale being so leftwing and pro-government in outlook that. Much media attention has been paid this election cycle to the avalanche of billionaires' money. allows AFP activists to micro-target households with a level of precision that could only be dreamed about in previous generations. called Themis after the Greek god of wisdom. was created with the help of seed money from the Kochs. your age. Debt and spending are at the forefront. He should be 20 points ahead were it not for a massive amount of negative advertising coming from billionaires trying to buy a senate seat". voter file. what church you belong to." says Matt Seaholm. neighbourhood. albeit anonymous.7 to 1 zone. Stimulus is now a dirty word. These were things that were not talked about in the past. what petitions you have signed. The technology is interactive.6 on the affinity score – those moderate voters deemed by its digital planners to be "persuadables". the national field director of AFP. though the latest survey from the Columbus Dispatch shows the incumbent pulling ahead. which is thus constantly updated and improved.Leading figures within the Ohio Democratic party have been watching the activities of AFP and other outlying conservative groups with mounting alarm. That. Ted Strickland. neck and neck. Those showing a 1 are equally worth bypassing because they are already so in favour of tax and spending cuts that to talk to them would be preaching to the converted. from the organisation's perspective. the former Democratic governor of Ohio. including that of the Koch brothers. The target group for AFP are those voters who fall between 0. What you buy on Amazon. that has been spent on negative TV adverts. whether or not you own a gun – all such data points and many more go towards the creation of your personal. so that if a volunteer discovers that the affinity score of a voter on the doorstep is inaccurate – he or she is found to be more or less fiscally conservative than the rating suggests – it can be instantly corrected. "Our goal is to get everybody into the 0.) AFP's ground operation in Ohio and other states is built around an interactive online network that links its volunteers with a centralised database of information on millions of American voters. Strickland said that Brown's struggle to get re-elected was a "clear example of the corrosive influence of outside money. the creation of this local lattice of activists able to identify key voters through online micro-targeting could prove to be a far more effective political weapon. occupation and house value. The database. We want to move the center towards economic freedom. The information is sent back at the push of a button to Themis. "Cap-in-trade is now a dirty word. (Recent polls have put Brown and his Republican challenger." . In AFP's case. the magazines your subscribe to. But in the longer term. AFP began testing its new micro-targeting gadgetry in Wisconsin last year.000 activists in a succession of volatile recall elections. a leading scholar on campaign effects. So did the ads work? Nope. his favorability or support for his election among voters. 2012 Much has been made of the use of social media this campaign cycle. and most Americans know it. much less increase support for his candidacy. Columbia’s Donald Green. and the effects might have been greater for a congressional or gubernatorial race. from the Democratic National Committee’s Web site mocking Mitt Romney’s tax plan to President Obama’s citation of “Mean Girls” on his own site’s Tumblr page to the Romney campaign’s tweets showing the nominee’s family playing Jenga before the first presidential debate. It's laughable. Obama receives tens of millions from Hollywood and the entertainment industry – so that is good money. They have every right to be involved in the political process – they have been steadfast in this area for four decades. more Facebook http://mashable. 2012 .com/2012/10/17/hofstra-debate-twitter-facebook/ Alex Fitzpatrick October 17. Mashable: Second presidential debate: less Twitter." He added that for Obama and other Democrats to complain about corporate money entering politics was "hypocrisy at its greatest. where it used the technology to energise its 120. "We are proud to have the support of the Kochs. and even those who said they used Facebook during the ad week weren’t any more likely to have heard of the candidate than those who did not use the social network. But Broockman and Green really carpet-bombed those voters. and Berkeley’s David Broockman (last seen proving that state legislators show racial bias in handling constituent requests) paired up with a state legislature candidate and bought Facebook ads targeting a random sample of his potential voters. They bid an extremely high amount for the ads. Broockman and Green concluded that “the ads had no politically consequential effect on knowledge of the candidate. The experiment lasted only a week.washingtonpost. in his recall vote this June. so that “a voter in the treatment group was exposed to an ad every single time they loaded any Facebook page during the entire week.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/10/17/why-facebook-campaign-ads-are-asuckers-bet/?wprss=rss_ezra-klein Dylan Matthews October 17. this study suggests that campaigns may want to keep to tradition when it comes to ad strategy. Scott Walker. But does this really have an impact on potential voters? A new study suggests not. and other money is bad?" Washington Post: Why Facebook Campaign Ads Are a Sucker’s Bet http://www. Given that Green and his co-authors have in the past found positive (though short-lived) effects on potential voters from TV campaign ads. Phillips rejects the argument that AFP and other conservative outside groups are having a pernicious impact on the democratic process. The group's efforts were one factor behind the survival of the Tea Party-backed governor. one that touted the candidate’s experience and one that focused on his policies. there’s no evidence that the ads even worked to get the candidate’s name out there.” They tested three types of ads: one aimed at boosting name recognition.” So. It contained pictures of ladylike binders. engagement across social networks during the second debate was at 31% — a high since Attention began tracking the debate on social media in March. where did it all go? Facebook. the second only saw a fraction of the tweets sent during the first: 7. Did you prefer using Twitter or posting to Facebook during the debates? Or did you use a different social network to vocie your opinion? Share your thoughts in the comments. For reference. forums and news websites in its analysis of conversation on the social web. those percentages were 77% — 6% in Twitter’s favor. One might argue that Twitter’s numbers going down might be a sign that Tuesday’s debate wasn’t as popular overall on social media than the first debate. Though Romney’s remark was a response to a question about equality in the workplace. YouTube.3 million.” said Mitt Romney during Tuesday night’s debate. Those binders full of women brought social media users a newsfeed full of jokes. powered by Tracx.2 million for Tuesday’s town hall event to the first debate’s 10. according to an analysis from Attention.” argues Attention’s analysis. accordingly.” . Nearly 40% of the online conversations about Tuesday’s debate happened on Facebook. which got more than 260. who immediately went to work creating memes. 2012 “They brought me binders full of women. engagement during the first debate was rated at 20%. blogs.washingtonpost.” The data may also reflect the instant popularity of the “Binders Full of Women” Facebook page.While the first presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney set a new politics record on Twitter. but didn’t receive the same traction as the Facebook page. and referred to his search for employees while governor.com/blogs/arts-post/post/binders-full-of-women-romney-quip-goesviral/2012/10/17/f4cf31b4-1813-11e2-9855-71f2b202721b_blog. However. the sound byte was a comedic gift to those on Twitter and Tumblr. while an equal percentage was seen on Twitter. the Tumblr “Binders Full of Women” began to make the social media rounds.html Maura Judkis & Michael Cavna October 17. What does that trend show? Possibly. Tumblr. Facebook. more two-way conversations and less broadcasting. If the conversation wasn’t happening on Twitter. A similar Tumblr account and plenty of parody Twitter accounts also gained some traction. Washington Post: ‘Binders Full of Women’ Romney quip goes viral http://www. “The increased mentions on Facebook indicates conversations and. Shortly after the debate. During the first debate. it is harder to engage with in a meaningful way. debates. “Since messages on Twitter tend to be one-sided and immediate. and a play on the phrase “Trapper Keeper”: “Trap her keep her. Attention includes Twitter.000 “likes” overnight. Kellogg. Nestle. Big Bird. “I started the page immediately after I heard Gov. Supporters of Prop 37 have raised just $4. Not here. though. The Tumblr joked that the binders full of women each come equipped with a pack of Bic lady pens — a feminist meme from earlier this summer. Hershey. with at least $1 million each from companies like Monsanto. the meme spawned by Romney in the last debate. Pepsi. And while we’re figuring that out.S. and they may be right.“No one puts baby in a binder. what’s wrong with simply telling consumers what’s actually in the food they’re eating? Nothing’s wrong with that. Tech entrepreneur Ali Partovi. who’s long been interested in the intersection of food and technology. including all of Europe.com/2012/10/15/mutant-corn-prop-37/ October 15. Some people think genetically altered food is just fine. Naturally. But there’s at least some evidence that it isn’t fine. Nearly $35 million has been raised to defeat Prop 37. Dan Lacey. Del Monte.” “The page has grown tremendously. . General Mills. “Social media phenomena such as this one fizzle quickly. he’s matching every dollar in donations to support Prop 37. Uncrunched: Fight Evil Mutant Corn with Facebook Promote and Prop 37 http://uncrunched. Some sixty countries already require this. so I’m glad I seized the moment while I had the chance.000 likes. It’s for sale on eBay now. Coca Cola and Conagra.” he said. India and China. and the top bid so far is $67. Dupont. now has more than 250. is trying to even the playing field for Prop 37. Unless you’re a huge food company that uses tons (literally) of genetically modified food in your products and don’t want people to know that. It’s important for voters to be informed before Election Day. the always-topical “Painter of Pancakes” has never shied away from politics before — and last night was no exception. got in on the action: And finally. Russia.” On Twitter. Hopefully. Brazil. the 24-year-old administrator of the page. Romney’s comment. First. “The context didn’t sound right and the quote was pretty humorous.” declared “Dirty Dancing’s” Patrick Swayze in one photo caption. McKayla was not impressed. Sara Lee and lots of other big food companies have also made large donations. Japan. It seems inoffensive enough – all it requires is for food in California to be labelled if it contains genetically modified stuff. 2012 Prop 37 is on the California Ballot. so I used this page to post a few statistics regarding income inequality in the U. He made a speedy painting of Romney holding his binders of women. Not if the huge food companies can stop it. Donate here on indiegogo -”Kick the mutant asses out of your food!” (you have to watch the video above to get the double entendre).1 million. Indiegogo is an excellent crowdfunding platform for causes that allows matching funds. which shares statistics about pay disparity. A “Binders Full of Women” Facebook page. Ocean Spray. who didn’t want to give his last name.” said Michael. Smucker. it has served its purpose. : What happens in California doesn’t stay in California: This is just the start. We are the creatives and the risk-takers. Prop 37 will benefit not just California but all Americans. We live in a democracy. but people against big corporations. Then … . or listening to a particular type of music. this is the moment of truth for a much larger nationwide movement. He’s asking people to post their thoughts on Facebook and include “Yes on 37 Contest Entry” in the update. we can.you know. Voters from all points of view care about what they feed their families.But Partovi is also using Facebook to help spread awareness. I’m using Indiegogo. To cite Michael Pollan’s brilliant NY Times essay. where you can’t fool people with deceptive ads.” Partovi has a good point. And what happens in California can snowball into change throughout the U. because it is not Democrat vs Republican. global crowd-funding platform. 2012 The surveillance state is coming to a voting booth near you. Prop 37 FTW! Do this. because even outside America. those they believe are likely to support their candidate thanks to dining at certain restaurants. but too often huge corporations dictate how that democracy works. while those who prefer Olive Garden are more likely to favor Romney. If anybody can figure out how to win this. because the community’s opinions speak louder. Charles Duhigg at The New York Times reports on how both the Obama and Romney campaigns are turning to market research and data mining in an effort to boost voter turnout in their favor. but need a nudge or shove or some other action given a clever nickname the better to disguise what is essentially a massive invasion of privacy so that they actually turn up at a polling booth. Why Facebook? Says Partovi “My goal is to run ads on Facebook. We are the pioneers. thanks to a creepy alliance between political campaigns and popular social networking sites that resembles nothing so much as a lost chapter from a George Orwell novel. What hinges on the outcome is whether the people in this country can take back control of the system. We are California. they now demand volunteers turn over their social media profiles. Fight the evil mutant corn. And if you really want to support Prop 37. We can use technology to make it all work again. Forbes: Social Networking Facebook and the Vote http://www. If passed. Data specialists will then request that they contact designated friends. watchful eyes are waiting to see what happens. the sort of stuff where they figure out that those who patronize Red Lobster are more likely to vote for Obama. he’s asking you to use the new Facebook Promote feature where you can pay $7 to make sure more of your Facebook friends and subscribers see your message. This vote is also symbolic. the open. Even if it is sort of delicious. The campaigns have now moved behind the traditional snooping . No.forbes.com/sites/helaineolen/2012/10/14/facebook-and-the-vote/ Helaine Olen October 14.S. and Prop 37 has strong support from both ends of the political spectrum. is what superPACS are for. when those targeted voters open their mailboxes or check their Facebook profiles. who considers himself a moderate.usatoday. And if a voter resists the pressure and decides to sit the election out on their couch? After these conversations. They know no one in Washington is going to take action to stop it. pointed out what he saw as flaws in that commentary. Calling out people for not voting. Finally. But the rise of Facebook brings about a tempting -.In the weeks before Election Day. who had nothing to do with it." says Perlow. a personal note: if anyone does this to me you can assume this is the last friendly phone call or other connection we will share. millions of voters will hear from callers with surprisingly detailed knowledge of their lives. and Perlow. Why would they? Politicians are doing it themselves. As one Democratic party consultant told Duhigg. He also defriended my wife. USA Today: Political Spats on Facebook Spill into Real Life http://www. The callers will be guided by scripts and call lists compiled by people — or computers — with access to details like whether voters may have visited pornography Web sites. "He defriended me on Facebook and told me not to send him any more e-mails. But not to worry! Both campaigns says they absolutely do not plan to engage in pinning the Scarlet V on possible supporters who let them down. what experts term “public shaming. that is. cocktail parties and the workplace. I imagine I am far from alone in that sentiment. "He got really angry with me. have homes in foreclosure. my friends. These callers — friends of friends or long-lost work colleagues — will identify themselves as volunteers for the campaigns or independent political groups. 43.” Now we know why Facebook is not making any effort to curb the increasing invasions of privacy that are occurring as a result of more and more consumers are using the site.com/story/news/politics/2012/10/12/facebook-politics-unfriend-obamaromney/1597491/ Laura Petrecca October 13. are more prone to drink Michelob Ultra than Corona or have gay friends or enjoy expensive vacations. “They don’t have to put anything on the flier to let the voter know who to blame. That.” can prod someone to cast a ballot.territory to engage in such commentary. 2012 Jason Perlow thought it was just a spirited debate. they may find that someone has divulged specifics about how frequently they and their neighbors have voted in the past. . That online disagreement escalated into an offline disintegration of their more-than-10-year friendship. A friend posted some negative information about presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Facebook. the anonymous corporate and personal money flowing into the political process in the wake of the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court.and treacherous -." Most people know the social dangers of discussing politics at family gatherings. It takes just a few posts to inadvertently damage a friendship. The conventions. With the increased use of tablets and smartphones. put a rift in family relations." Fowler says. Facebook users can disseminate their opinions at any place at any time. "People get mobilized by the elections and they start posting things they don't usually post. Operatives for President Obama and Romney know that Facebook users typically pay more attention to a friend's updates than political ads. participation. alienate a oncefriendly neighbor or infurIate a colleague. It's easy to spread candidate news as well as personal commentary. Yet as divisive as those Facebook comments can be. as well as debates such as Thursday's duel between Vice President Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Facebook had about 100 million users. One in six social media users say they have posted about politics recently. Among the reasons political posts are profuse on Facebook:   Political strategists seed the site. Of the two-thirds who don't post political content. Despite the risks. Facebook doesn't break out U. according to Pew. provocative headlines and personal commentary. One in six social network users say they've changed their views about a political issue after discussing it or reading posts about it on a social networking site. the amount of political commentary has followed suit. it has 10 times as many." says James Fowler. Facebook's "share" button makes it simple to recycle content from political parties and like-minded . Now. so they create evocative content that can quickly go viral. have prompted Facebook users to argue over topics such as the economy. Paul Ryan. LinkedIn and Google+. Those digital ties can expose previously unknown political affiliations. Politics is "one of the most polarizing topics discussed on Facebook. TMI? (Too Much Information?) During the 2008 presidential race. according to a Pew Research Center survey fielded in January and February. foreign policy and female reproductive rights. according to Pew." says Ron Schott. a University of California-San Diego political science professor who specializes in social network research. Mix together a divided country and hot-button political issues and Facebook commentary can become an online landmine. a senior strategist at social media marketing agency Spring Creek Group. but more than half of Americans use social networks such as Facebook. about one-fifth don't do it because they are worried they might upset or offend someone. many Facebook users still talk politics. they can have an influence. With Election Day less than a month away. As the number of Facebook users expand. Fowler says.S. the site is brimming with controversial candidate quotes. videos and pictures that are "designed to get people's attention. They post quotes. " says McMahon." Fowler says. "He would put up something that I thought was incorrect and I would point out how I thought it was incorrect. often that's who you become in their minds. but you'll also see political views and videos about topics that people feel passionate about. users have to defend their position to others who disagree." she says. users are more apt to jump into controversial conversations. but see your stuff on Facebook a lot more. when that isn't necessarily true. . potential employers and even prospective dates.may not realize that those actions can shape how others feel about them. Simpson says. How Facebook users think of the site is much different now than during the election race four years ago. has vigorously disputed political statements that were posted on Facebook by someone he's known for 25 years." Users assume others are like-minded. Now. "On Facebook. it was a much more personal record. "When people interact with you in real life three to four times a year. McCann Truth Central conducted focus groups and an online survey of 1." he says. 60." he says." Fowler says." There's no in-person accountability. from Montclair. "We think people are more similar to us than they are. Words as swords Rich McMahon.  voters.or posts personal commentary . For those who rarely socialize with Facebook friends outside the site. N. according to the McCann survey. In September. they can just ignore.000 Americans on topics such as how technology and social media can play a role in politics. Those who don't keep tight privacy settings on their profiles can influence the perceptions of snooping managers. "You see something and it makes you laugh and you hit the share button and off it goes. maybe you wouldn't have shared it. "They think that everyone generally agrees with them. or even delete. "We never talked politics face to face. So the user spreading the "NoObama" or "Anti-Romney" message assumes that most people in his or her circle agree with that stance. contrary comments.. The Facebook user who frequently shares controversial candidate content -. "it leads others to make assumptions about them as a person. of your social life. who eventually defriended that man on Facebook but remains friendly with him in real life. Schott says. the research unit of the McCann Erickson ad agency. At a dinner party or family gathering. says Laura Simpson." Over-the-top posts can also turn off non-Facebook friends. it was swords out. "Before. "Facebook is evolving into more of a debate space for issues. "People sharing things on Facebook probably feel safer than they should." he says.J." Nearly a quarter of Internet users are more likely to voice extreme political views online than in real life. "But when we got into Facebook. we share all sorts of stuff that we would never share in normal conversations. On Facebook. or archive." And with that shift. there are (updates about) weddings and babies." says social media expert Schott. "But if you had three seconds (to think about it). global director of McCann Truth Central. )" Instead." He didn't defriend those who took to the public pulpit but hid the updates of overzealous political posters. he says. His public statement earned him 34 "likes" from his friends. "It's really going to impact his business over time. "You can hide them and then unhide them after election season when they are talking about something else." Jerry White of San Leandro. look at all the horrible things that are going to happen if Romney becomes president or if Obama becomes president. he noticed politically oriented remarks on Facebook that were "mean. He has tinkered with third-party plug-ins that can create word filters on a profile. He upset some friends when he weighed in on political topics. "It's not as permanent as unfriending person. He has an extremely conservative client who recently decided to defriend any Facebook friends who made comments supporting Obama. I'm not changing my opinion and I'm not changing their opinion. "He just didn't want to be connected to that. took a more proactive stance. and fun stuff. Calif. as well as criticisms that seemed trivial. . "I'd rather see a picture of someone's cat or their kids or what they did today. The man didn't take his advice." he says. 21 status update. he said he would focus on "family. such as disparaging comments about the vegan sloppy Joes that Michelle Obama served children at a White House luncheon. Schott suggests that those who want to limit the political discourse go to Facebook's settings section and hide a friend's posts so they don't come up on a newsfeed. says marketing consultant Michael Byrnes. who counseled his client to simply hide those friends' newsfeeds rather than fully severing the Facebook ties." He saw posts that baited others." Byrnes says. 50. such as SocialFixer. a technology expert and blogger who lives in the Fort Lauderdale area. I just said that I've had enough. rather than (posts of) 'Oh my God." says White. "Facebook is supposed to be fun. and I don't want to see tons and tons of political objectives. At the same time. lost a friend to Facebook fighting. Learn to set boundaries Perlow." He opted out of the political commentary. "I kind of think of Facebook as a no-nastiness zone.How business professionals respond to provocative posts matters. so you're not insulting them by unfollowing them. But he has another idea on how to keep people from getting sucked in when they want to stay on the political sidelines: Facebook should create a way for users to filter their feeds and weed out politically oriented commentary." says Byrnes. "I am turning over a new leaf. motorcycles. "No political posts on my wall and no comments on other people's political posts (except maybe a like. "Finally.' " Until that time comes. negative and untrue.." was his Aug. and I don't enjoy getting into arguments with people." he says. In the weeks before Election Day. And they are using that data to try to influence voting habits — in effect. they recognize the risks associated with intruding into the lives of people who have long expected that the privacy of the voting booth extends to their homes.” said a Romney campaign official who was not authorized to speak to a reporter.com/2012/10/14/us/politics/campaigns-mine-personal-lives-to-get-outvote. The callers are likely to ask detailed questions about how the voters plan to spend Election Day. After these conversations. Ryan Williams.” can prod someone to cast a ballot.” said Adam Fetcher. These callers — friends of friends or long-lost work colleagues — will identify themselves as volunteers for the campaigns or independent political groups. when those targeted voters open their mailboxes or check their Facebook profiles. 2012 Strategists affiliated with the Obama and Romney campaigns say they have access to information about the personal lives of voters at a scale never before imagined. Even as campaigns embrace this ability to know so much more about voters. Calling out people for not voting. We are committed to ensuring that all of our voter outreach is governed by the highest ethical standards. according to professionals with both presidential campaigns. experiments show. What time will they vote? What route will they drive to the polls? Simply asking such questions. are more prone to drink Michelob Ultra than Corona or have gay friends or enjoy expensive vacations. what experts term “public shaming. millions of voters will hear from callers with surprisingly detailed knowledge of their lives.” In statements." New York Times: Campaigns Mine Personal Lives to Get Out Vote http://www."Now my life on Facebook is so much nicer. The callers will be guided by scripts and call lists compiled by people — or computers — with access to details like whether voters may have visited pornography Web sites. to train voters to go to the polls through subtle cues. “We are committed to protecting individual privacy at every turn — adhering to industry best practices on privacy and going above and beyond what’s required by law. an Obama campaign spokesman. “You don’t want your analytical efforts to be obvious because voters get creeped out.html?pagewanted=all Charles Duhigg October 13. is likely to increase turnout. rewards and threats in a manner akin to the marketing efforts of credit card companies and big-box retailers. said: “The Romney campaign respects the privacy rights of all Americans.” . have homes in foreclosure. both campaigns emphasized their dedication to voters’ privacy. a spokesman for the Romney campaign.nytimes. they may find that someone has divulged specifics about how frequently they and their neighbors have voted in the past. “A lot of what we’re doing is behind the scenes. But more subtle data mining has helped the Obama campaign learn that their supporters often eat at Red Lobster. When one union volunteer in Ohio recently visited the A. have asked their supporters to provide access to their profiles on Facebook and other social networks to chart connections to low-propensity voters in battleground states like Colorado. So campaigns must enlist more subtle methods.-C. two tactics will be employed this year for the first time in a widespread manner.” While the campaigns say they do not buy data that they consider intrusive. eat at Olive Garden and watch college football.’s election Web site.F. which are currently subjects of Congressional scrutiny over privacy concerns. The first builds upon research into the power of social habits. and preferences gleaned from one-on-one conversations with volunteers. say. In particular. Each campaign has identified millions of “lowpropensity voters. They don’t have to put anything on the flier to let the voter know who to blame. “Obama can’t do it. compared it to voter data files and suggested a work colleague to contact in Columbus. Vendors affiliated with the presidential campaigns or the parties said in interviews that their businesses had bought data from Rapleaf or Intelius. The preoccupation with influencing voters’ habits stems from the fact that many close elections were ultimately decided by people who almost did not vote. North Carolina and Ohio. she was asked to log on with her Facebook profile. She had never spoken to the . a phone call from a distant cousin or a new friend would be more likely to prompt the urge to cast a ballot. Voters who visit religious Web sites might be greeted with religion-friendly messages when they return to mittromney. They have also authorized tests to see if. “I’ve had half-a-dozen conversations with third parties who are wondering if this is the year to start shaming. Officials at both campaigns say the most insightful data remains the basics: a voter’s party affiliation. as well as affiliated groups.” said one consultant who works closely with Democratic organizations. The campaigns have planted software known as cookies on voters’ computers to see if they frequent evangelical or erotic Web sites for clues to their moral perspectives. however. The campaigns’ consultants have run experiments to determine if embarrassing someone for not voting by sending letters to their neighbors or posting their voting histories online is effective. consultants to both campaigns said they had bought demographic data from companies that study details like voters’ shopping histories.I. according to campaign employees. have examined voters’ online exchanges and social networks to see what they care about and whom they know. interest in get-rich-quick schemes. The Obama and Romney campaigns. shop at Burlington Coat Factory and listen to smooth jazz. gambling tendencies. according to campaign officials from both parties. the Democratic and Republican National Committees combined have spent at least $13 million this year on data acquisition and related services. The campaigns themselves.O. basic information like age and race. But the ‘super PACs’ are anonymous. Experian or Equifax. voting history. dating preferences and financial problems.In interviews.com. for instance. political professionals say.com or barackobama. Computers quickly crawled through her list of friends. The parties have paid companies like Acxiom. Romney backers are more likely to drink Samuel Adams beer. companies that have been sued over alleged privacy or consumer protection violations. because direct appeals have already failed.” Persuading such voters is difficult.L. Mr. Louis Post-Dispatch. This conspiratorial notion has spawned a Facebook community forum. 2012 It is not just conservatives who have been forced to like Mitt Romney. a host of liberal types have complained that their Facebook accounts have erroneously "liked" Romney's page. It’s natural to trust someone when you already have a connection to them. which direction you automatically turn when you walk through the doors. both of which extensively use data to model customers’ habits. And as the race enters its final month. “He said he had never thought about it like that.” Another tactic that will be used this year. “We’re doing the same thing with how people vote. the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party conduct most analysis and experiments in house and have drawn on a deep pool of data from four years ago. and its own page: "Hacked by Mitt Romney" (cute url: facebook. though he would not specify for which campaigns or party. The Romney campaign. Though both parties use similar data sets. to increase the odds that someone will actually cast a ballot. a grocery store employee. political operatives say.” It is difficult to gauge which campaign is using data more effectively. and some are floating the theory (see here and here and here) that the Romney campaign has deployed a virus or used other nefarious means to inflate the candidate's online stature. which has over 200 likes. by contrast.com/mojo/2012/10/mitt-romney-fraudulent-facebook-likes Erika Eichelberger October 10. “We talked about how if you don’t vote. you’re letting other people make choices for you.” said Rich Beeson. It even inspired an editorial in the St. “Target anticipates your habits.motherjones. a professor at the University of Notre Dame and a coauthor of a study of such tactics. Rather. Nicole Rigano. is asking voters whether they plan to walk or drive to the polls. it helps trigger that habit. what you automatically put in your shopping cart. The answers themselves are unimportant. in multiple experiments. campaign officials increasingly sound like executives from retailers like Target and credit card companies like Capital One. has relied on outside analytic firms and has focused more on using data to create persuasive messages and slightly less on pushing voters to the polls. Dr. Nickerson. “When someone is asked to form a mental image of the act of voting. It made a big difference to know ahead of time what we have in common.com/MittYouDidntBuildThat). Nickerson is currently engaged in electoral work.” said David W. In recent weeks. and he told her that he did not usually vote because he did not see the point.” Mother Jones: Mitt Romney Probably Didn’t Hack Your Facebook Page http://m. simply forcing voters to think through the logistics of voting has been shown. which pondered: "Was I the victim of sabotage (like the time one of our kids swiped about 100 campaign signs and posted them all in our front yard)? Or the victim of my own keyboard clumsiness?" . and he’s going to vote this year.” said the union volunteer. Officials for both campaigns acknowledge that many of their consultants and vendors draw data from an array of sources — including some the campaigns themselves have not fully scrutinized.suggested person about politics. what time of day they will vote and what they plan to do afterward. “Voting is habit-forming. Romney’s political director. On Tuesday. saying in a statement: "We have recently increased our automated efforts to remove Likes on Pages that may have been gained by means that violate our Facebook Terms.Romney's social-media presence has been associated with some tech trickery in the past. Buzzfeed noted the president's page saw an odd spike in likes. 2012 The Obama campaign is using Facebook to make sure supporters are registered to vote. and a Facebook rep. After all.) It's possible that some of the Romney likes could still be fraudulent. and had a team research the issue. let's file this under Hankygate. POLITICO: Obama Campaign Pushes Voter Registration on Facebook http://www. it offers to contact twelve of that user's friends to remind them to vote." In response to general annoyance over this trend. (The Obama camp is reportedly experiencing Facebook funny business too. suggested the phantom likes could be the result of "clickjacking. The Obama campaign uses the simple biographical information most users provide to Facebook to check their registration status in the public records. Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said the issue is unique to mobile because of the way the app works on small screens. The data gurus in Chicago are using the social network to encourage voter registration with an app that can check voter registration status — and allows users to "nudge" friends and acquaintances to check their own statuses. Once the app confirms a user is registered to vote. So we asked the social-networking company to do that. The app — promoted by email to voters in specific states where voter registration deadlines are approaching fast — allows users to check their own registration status using Facebook. malicious software can be used to infiltrate accounts and other scammers have set up businesses selling 'Likes' in bulk in violation of Facebook's terms of service.html Byron Tau October 8. As PCWorld noted. But he said the only way to determine who was behind those likes would be for Facebook to investigate its database. which would result in a Romney like.) But is there any credence to claims the Romney campaign is hacking Facebook? After chatting with some of the afflicted. They concluded that users are probably liking the Romney page on a mobile device by either accidentally clicking on a Romney ad or a "sponsored story" from the Romney campaign in their news feed. (Analysts decided a huge number of the new followers were fake. Voter registration is generally a matter of public record. Facebook agreed. it looks like this issue is largely a result of Facebook's mobile interface kind of sucking." So.com/politico44/2012/10/obama-campaign-pushes-voter-registration-on-facebook137841. Facebook "is still gamed: users can be tricked into liking something." in this case hiding a Romney ad behind an unrelated ad. unless some more compelling evidence surfaces. Bill Pennington. an internet security expert. some hacker types. when Romney's Twitter followers spiked an improbable 17 percent in one day. Facebook announced in late August it would crack down on fake likes. He added that the company is currently working to clean up its mobile interface. but couldn't determine their origin. The users the app suggests are specifically targeted by the campaign. and rejected the idea that the Romney camp was engaging in clickjacking.politico. . there was that whole thing back in July. S. Example: Former Hawaii Gov. And rather than using testimonials from public figures who may or may not really be Democrats. And it's making its way to Hawaii. and tweak their sales pitch to fit many specific. It's a slightly different approach to the same issue — how to ensure that supporters are prepared for election day. turnout was up 20 percent. and threatened to repeat the mailing after the election. Honolulu Civil Beat: Hawaii Campaigning in the 21 st Century http://www. including a much-maligned commercial originally titled "Democrats For Lingle. While those 20th Century approaches still dominate. where many would see it.civilbeat." a campaign official told POLITICO. The Obama campaign's Facebook efforts are similar — using network effects and gentle reminders from a peer to prod likely supporters into registering and turning out to vote. Another study published in Nature estimated that a single Facebook message was responsible for almost a third of a million voters on election day in 2010. Those users were more likely to turn out and vote. less threatening form of persuasion that thanked people for voting in the past rather than threatening to out them as nonvoters in the future. and allows them to mail it in. . Or they'd share their ideas during a televised or radio-broadcast debate. along with the voting histories of their neighbors. able to work across the aisle and a viable choice for Democrats who are planning to vote for President Barack Obama's re-election. It's a 21st century version of a campaign experiment chronicled in Sasha Issenberg's "The Victory Lab. Lingle's made that pitch in a variety of ways. 21st Century technology has made it possible for campaigns to ask for votes one at a time. Senate has been built on the idea that she's politically moderate.com/articles/2012/10/08/17310-hawaii-campaigning-in-the-21st-century/ Michael Levine October 8." Now she's taken her case online. she's enlisting endorsements from your friends and family to show you she's not a crazy mainland Republican. UPDATE: The RNC has a similar Facebook tool that fills out a voter registration form for the user. niche audiences. including by state for example. Targeted advertising from Internet behemoths like Facebook and Google is in some ways a return to the retail politicking that was the norm before the ascent of mass media." A group of political scientists sent voters a copy of their own voting history. 2012 WASHINGTON — It used to be that if a candidate wanted to ask for votes. Or maybe they'd give a stump speech to a large crowd. Issenberg reports that consultants at the Analyst Institute — a labor-funded consulting firm that works with the Obama campaign — figured out how to turn that experiment into a gentler. one efficient way to do it was to pay for advertising in the newspaper. Linda Lingle's campaign for U. It also tells voters how many voters the RNC has registered in a given state and asks them to invite their friends."It sorts a few ways. The experiment showed some users a list of their friends who had already reported voting. Among voters that received the mailer. and target people who have a friend who already 'Like' us. I probably would tell them that I'd have to unlike their page if they continue to do that type of thing." (A screenshot of the ad. Hew Facebook page referenced in the advertisement served to Landry is actually not Hew's personal page but instead the one for his law practice. "It's a very interesting kind of. She's got others. 'How does all this new media work with traditional campaigning and what are the acceptable boundaries?'" Micro-Targeting. "I just follow every candidate's page.'" he said. Slate technology journalist Farhad Manjoo wrote in August about the .That's what happened to Aaron Landry. That the ad uses "Democratic" instead of "Democrat" is evidence that Dems are the intended target audience. the chances of them seeing something from the Linda Lingle campaign is much higher. The firm advised Democrat Neil Abercrombie during his run for governor in 2010 and is advising Honolulu mayoral candidate Kirk Caldwell this year. But he doesn't appreciate being used that way." he said in an interview." The Ryan K. Retail and Politics Lingle's Facebook ad is really just the tip of the iceberg. it's an opportunity for the campaign to target niche markets. because it's me as my professional self. Political campaigns aren't the only organizations following users around and using their browsing and purchase histories to their advantage. "Being able to target people on Facebook and being able to look at these are people in this age demographic. The spot was personalized even further for Landry with a blue thumbs up below Lingle's photo with the text "Ryan K. who was surfing on Facebook and saw a sponsored ad on the right side telling him to join his big-D Democratic friends supporting Lingle's campaign. and it's something we do too." Hew understands why Lingle's ad did what it did — he's got a lot of Democratic friends and has worked in politics before. I go and like a lot of business and political campaigns as a way to learn and share information. They don't even have to go to the page to click 'Like. 8. Hew likes this. these are people interested in X. Hew told Civil Beat that his decision to like Lingle's campaign page shouldn't be taken as an endorsement of her candidacy. though Landry said he's not involved with that effort.' but the other piece of it is that you have 7. Y and Z. "It's basically building affinity and building an audience for later messaging." Landry said in an interview last week.) Micro-targeting campaigns on social media services are part of Landry's day job as a director of market engagement for Olomana Loomis ISC. "As that legal entity or that business. sits atop this article. as does Democratic opponent Mazie Hirono. "It's smart. "Them targeting me and using me in that way." he said." Landry said.000 pepole that when they open up their Facebook and look at their newsfeed. provided to Civil Beat by Landry. We do 'Like' campaigns.000.'" What's the benefit of having more people like you on Facebook? "You can obviously market saying that 'We have three times as many Facebook likes as our opponent. "It seems like most of the ads that Lingle's doing are designed to make people click 'Like. they're trying to predict how likely are you to vote in November. nursery furniture and pictures of smiling infants. what issues are you likely to care about. He looked at the mailer. zinc and magnesium supplements and a bright blue rug. a man walked into a Target outside Minneapolis and demanded to see the manager." . who are you likely to vote for. she's likely to continue shopping for clothing and food and other supplies for her children for years. but they are selling you a candidate." Purchases that could have tipped off Target's algorithm? Cocoa-butter lotion. and he was angry. "They obviously want to know as much about you as possible and develop predictions. "It turns out there's been some activities in my house I haven't been completely aware of. a purse large enough to double as a diaper bag. instead of predicting whether you are likely to default on your loan or pay off your bill on time or run up $500 on your credit card in a given month. So. but their past interactions with campaigns. though. "They do know just enough about you. Sure enough. I owe you an apology. according to an employee who participated in the conversation. In an interview on PBS' Newshour. their credit histories and even warranty forms or magazine subscriptions. Issenberg says modern campaigns maintain huge databases to track not just if voters actually vote. buying clothes from one retailer. the father was somewhat abashed. Charles Duhigg shared this anecdote in a February article in the New York Times Magazine titled "How Companies Learn Your Secrets. Mega-retailer Target (and many other stores) send you coupons and special offers based on your shopping history. What has happened in the political world is people are doing statistical models with the same goal. "A lot of it is first gathered by people who are creating credit ratings. and you're sending her coupons for baby clothes and cribs? Are you trying to encourage her to get pregnant?" The manager didn't have any idea what the man was talking about. Journalist Sasha Issenberg's new book "The Victory Lab" looks at what he terms a scientific revolution in political campaigns." Issenberg said. and can even know what's happening in your life before family members do. "She's still in high school. it was addressed to the man's daughter and contained advertisements for maternity clothing. He was clutching coupons that had been sent to his daughter." About a year after (Target statistician Andrew) Pole created his pregnancy-prediction model. She's due in August. "My daughter got this in the mail!" he said. On the phone. "I had a talk with my daughter." Manjoo wrote." he said. "Today's Web ads don't know enough about you to avoid pitching you stuff that you'd never. and then decided against. And once they hook a new mother with special one-time offers. ever buy. Political campaigns aren't selling you maternity clothing."creepy" targeted ads that followed him from site to site after he considered. though. The manager apologized and then called a few days later to apologize again." The surveillance doesn't even stop at the end of your computer's power cord. to clue you in on the fact that they're watching everything you do. but can be convinced to change their choice. but may not turn out. campaigns separate voters into distinct pots. stump speeches and debates and not on small-scale communications like microtargeted advertisements or campaign emails. . but may be convinced to stay home." . fact-checking organizations have focused their energy on public statements in television commercials.. on a national level. and the importance of social media in both voter turnout and local politics. almost entirely out of view. says political journalists have fallen behind the curve and can no longer keep up with how modern campaigns are actually carried out. It's as if restaurant critics remained oblivious to a generation's worth of new chefs' tools and techniques and persisted in describing every dish that came out of the kitchen as either "grilled" or "broiled. told Politico recently. These groups include those who are likely to vote. That's an aspect where I think we can build a crowdsourcing network that highlights those things. effort and." "I think our challenge is to find out what those messages are. "The money is not peanuts. These groups are served specific messaging designed to get them to move in a desired direction. money. but the email address and information is worth much more than the few bucks. most importantly. People who have been determined to have already made up their minds are left alone." Michael Malbin. One local example of media still trying to keep up with 20th Century politicking is Civil Beat's ongoing series sharing the public files that all television networks need to keep on hand to show how many ads they sell to candidates. "If the campaigns are using social media in very targeted ways. executive director of the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute. it's not being seen by us. Micro-Targeting and the Media The new paradigm provides a challenge to the news media that has traditionally served as a filter for campaign messaging and as a watchdog to make sure voters aren't being sold a phony product.." PolitiFact creator and editor Bill Adair said simply that "You don't know about the ads you didn't see. Ultimately. those that are likely to support the preferred candidate. the data campaigns have collected about you. To target them with further messaging would be a waste of time. Over the last decade. Similarly. writing for the New York Times last month. In a panel at the National Press Club in Washington last month titled "The Role of Journalism In Debunking Deception and Holding Campaigns and Donors Accountable. Initial coverage areas include how targeted advertising could save campaigns millions of dollars." complete with a mechanized donkey and elephant doing hoof-to-trunk combat. but it's not the whole story. and those who are likely to support the opponent.The campaigns have also taken steps to add to those databases directly — by soliciting small donations that do little to fund billion-dollar campaign operations but come with valuable troves of personal information. Issenberg. That's a public resource that shows how campaigns spend some of their money." Mashable this month launched a project it's calling "Politics Transformed: The High Tech Battle For Your Vote. campaigns have modernized their techniques in such a way that nearly every member of the political press now lacks the specialized expertise to interpret what's going on. Campaign professionals have developed a new conceptual framework for understanding what moves votes." Adair said. com/2012/10/08/technology/campaigns-use-social-media-to-lure-youngervoters. and where we can see every ad that goes up. "We're pretty good on screening the TV ads. and you want to utilize them to convince Barack Obama voters or Democraticleaning voters. "They sent me an ad that kind of pisses me off. Democrats For Lingle Landry made clear that Lingle's Facebook ad didn't work on him. But it's really bothersome. But that doesn't mean the approach won't work on others." So far." He believes many targeted messages are repetitions of falsehoods that have already been debunked." Jackson said. that are just going to peripherally see that they have friends who might be left-leaning. . I think it's smart maneuvering.Public interest journalism nonprofit ProPublica is trying to change that by asking readers to share the personalized emails they receive from campaigns. 2012 In 2012. about 2. if you don't care about them. according to ProPublica's website. they're going to get a message that people who aren't Republicans are going to support Lingle. The project. which "makes it very. "It's not like they're putting it on a television station where it can be monitored. robo-calls and emails — with limited success. They also need to be posting funny little animations on the blogging site Tumblr. "For all the people who are less engaged than someone like you or I. very difficult for us to parse through all this stuff and do any useful pushback before the election. then it's smart. has the stated goal of tracking the subtle differences between the messages and cross-referencing them with the recipients' demographic profiles to "reverse engineer the 2012 campaign. called Message Machine. FactCheck. but there is a huge potential for flying under the radar and telling targeted groups of voters things that aren't true. kiss a baby or two and run some TV ads. "As crass as it is. so I don't think they're doing very good in terms of targeting." Landry said. he said. If you don't actually care about offending all of these actual Democrats who aren't going to vote for Linda Lingle. it is not enough for candidates to shake some hands." Landry said. Like Slate writer Manjoo and the clothes he already decided not to purchase.html?_r=1 Jenna Wortham October 7." New York Times: Campaigns Use Social Media to Lure in Younger Voters http://www.org has also asked readers to help round up examples of targeted mailings.org Director Brooks Jackson said at the National Press Club panel that the campaigns aren't sending all of those things to reporters." Jackson said targeted mailers really flood in during the final weeks of the campaign.nytimes. But it also means voters are being lied to in the days leading up to the election.000 emails have been submitted. That means fact-checkers are saved by the "limited imaginations" of those who work for campaigns. Landry's made up his mind and won't be voting for the former Republican governor. FactCheck. who may not watch television or read the paper but spend plenty of time on the social Web.” (Laura Olin.If the presidential campaigns of 2008 were dipping a toe into social media like Facebook and Twitter.” Mr. the digital director for the Romney campaign. The morning after the debate.” But as is the way of the Web. Mr.” . Romney’s reference to cutting financing for PBS by posting something that was circulating on Twitter: a picture of Big Bird from Sesame Street with the caption “Mitt Romney’s Plan to Cut the Deficit: Fire This Guy. Eastwood on stage. their 2012 versions are well into the deep end. And the slightest gaffe on the campaign trail can become a “Groundhog Day” moment. At stake. Obama’s team used an obscure clip of Lindsay Lohan saying “It’s October 3” in the comedy “Mean Girls. who oversees about 120 staff members and volunteers. These might show the president high-fiving children or hugging his wife and daughters. Moffatt said. The Obama team. that have been made by others. Mitt Romney’s bodyguard posted a picture of the candidate’s family playing Jenga before the debate. Obama told a crowd of supporters “You didn’t build that” while talking about the importance of public infrastructure. the Obama Tumblr followed up on Mr. according to Zachary Moffatt. images of Mr. when Mr. slogans and the like that have been generated by their supporters. The techniques may be relatively new. “This seat’s taken.” And Clint Eastwood’s mock interview with the president at the Republican convention sent the Web into a frenzy. uploading photos of hot-dog-joint owners and others displaying signs with variations on the slogan “I built this.) Both camps tend to rely heavily on photos. hit Tumblr. sharing on Twitter a photo of him in a chair marked “The President. “The more people you talk to. the more likely you are to win. adding frosted pumpkin bread recipes to Pinterest and posting the candidates’ moments at home with the children on Instagram. particularly on Tumblr. Social extends and amplifies that. helps lend a savvy tone to the campaign’s Tumblr efforts. repeated endlessly. is fond of posting GIFs. where political dialogue often takes the form of remixed photos and quirky videos. “Even a typo is a big deal. particularly younger ones. Within minutes.” said Mr. Obama’s team joined in. and Twitter was flooded with parodies. plastered with cutting captions. They are taking to fields of online battle that might seem obscure to the non-Internet-obsessed — sharing song playlists on Spotify.” That retort is in line with the overall social media presence of the Obama campaign. To remind Tumblr users about the first presidential debate on Wednesday. Other clips poke fun at rivals or give knowing nods to hip television shows like “Parks and Recreation. are votes from citizens. The campaigns want to inject themselves into the conversation on services like Tumblr. the Romney campaign pounced. the campaigns say they believe. which tends to be sharper and more attitude-laden than the Republican efforts. “The more people who interact with Mitt. the more likely he is to win. but they are based on some old-fashioned political principles. in particular.” with the caption. a well-intended post or picture on social networks can quickly morph into a disaster. who previously worked at a digital strategy agency. or short looping video clips. Mr. Moffatt. In July.” And on Twitter. neither party is taking any chances. an associate professor at the School of Information at the University of California at Berkeley. Obama has Stevie Wonder on his list. Romney prefers Johnny Cash? Though the returns on such efforts are not easily quantifiable. the chief executive of Socialbakers. The campaign quickly took down the image. On Tumblr and Pinterest. sticking largely to posterlike photos with slogans like “No. her posts bear her initials — “mo” — so they stand out among those generated by campaign staff.” Its posts rarely get more than 400 responses.At times the campaign’s freer-wheeling tone can get it into trouble: an image it shared on Tumblr that urged followers to “vote like your lady parts depend on it” drew criticism from conservative bloggers and others who thought it was in poor taste. Ann. Cheshire. the Romney campaign’s presence on Tumblr is more subdued. When Michelle Obama posts a message on Twitter or shares an image on the campaign’s Pinterest board.” By comparison.” Coye Cheshire. two-way communication. while Mr. saying it had not been properly vetted. his wife. we can’t. “It is important for people to know whether or not a huge political figure shares the same taste as me. But both rely heavily on Facebook and Twitter to solicit donations. But sometimes their wives are. “It’s about authentic. Romney has a campaign-run Pinterest board. As important as the campaigns say these efforts are.” said Adam Fetcher. blast out reminders of events and share articles and videos conveying their stances. with their broad demographic reach and user numbers that have grown tenfold from four years ago. showcasing her favorite crafts projects and books. It may be hard to fathom what posting video clips or music playlists on less mainstream sites has to do with the election.” said Jan Rezab. a social media analytics firm. Twitter and Facebook are still the biggest avenues for online canvassing. who studies behavior and trust online. has her own. “But we just know it’s bad if you don’t do it.” or likes and reposts from users. Both campaigns have teams of Internet-adept staff members who try to coordinate their strategy and message across many social sites. “Social media is a natural extension of our massive grass-roots organization.” Fox News: Social media weighs in on 2012 presidential debate http://www.com/tech/2012/10/04/social-media-weighs-in-on-2012-presidential-debate/ AP . saying they did not want to tip off the competition. They declined to specify how this works. “What’s the return on putting your pants on in the morning? We don’t know.” said Dr. “And creating a playlist on Spotify is part of what makes them seem more human. While Mr. Those who keep up with the Obama campaign on Tumblr seem to approve of the approach — with some posts attracting close to 70. the campaigns often highlight photos and other material from supporters.foxnews. Does it really matter to voters if Mr.000 “notes. deputy press secretary for the Obama campaign. Flickr and Instagram serve as scrapbooks from the campaign trail. showing the candidates trying the pie at small-town restaurants. pointed to another motivation for such seemingly trivial online updates. the candidates themselves are not actually doing the posting. Social media has democratized the commentary. debate watchers would have waited through the entire broadcast to hear analysis and reaction from a small cadre of television pundits. It does skew younger." Twitter scored Romney the debate's clear winner according to Peoplebrowsr. according to William Powers.115 and "Mitt" with 5. many television analysts now monitor Twitter and Facebook feeds and use information gleaned from those platforms to inform their punditry. an election project of the social analytics firm Bluefin Labs. The group found 47." Powers said. But now we have more people involved and engaged because of digital means. Until recently. With 11. Nevada and Colorado. an assistant professor of communication at American University who studies social media and politics. MTV's Video Music Awards and the Super Bowl. Jim Lehrer lost control. a key swing state where polls show Obama has emerged with a lead in recent weeks.October 4.S. giving voice to a far wider range of participants who can shape the narrative long before the candidates reach their closing statements. While millions turned on their televisions to watch the 90-minute showdown. Reflecting the changing times. "People still use old media to watch the debates.' .328. he added. "Obama" placed third with 5.1 million comments. a smaller but highly engaged subset took to social networks to discuss and score the debate as it unspooled in real time.677 mentioning Obama and "win or winner. the social networking hub where opinions are shared through 140-character comments known as tweets. The project found 55 percent of the social comments about the debate were made by women. 'People use social networks to have influence." Romney was also the top tweet in battleground states including Florida." said Scott Talan. And Mitt Romney crushed President Barack Obama. Peoplebrowsr found. voice opinions and be involved. the top two debate tweets were "Romney" with 15. debate watchers who comment on social media "are politically engaged in the strongest possible way. But. Unlike the wider viewing audience. voice opinions and be involved. In Ohio. "it's a bit of a hothouse population. . topping this year's Republican and Democratic National Conventions. 45 percent by men. Wednesday's debate was the fourth most tweeted telecast of any kind. 2012 Big Bird is endangered. a web analytics firm." The political conversation plays out across a range of social platforms. "Old media is not dead. Ohio. especially on the industry giant Facebook and on Twitter. director of the Crowdwire.141 tweets mentioning Romney and "win or winner" compared to just 29. but they use social networks and other new media to have influence. and I'm not sure how much middle America is represented. Those were the judgments rendered across Twitter and Facebook Wednesday during the first debate of the 2012 presidential contest.446.Scott Talan. an assistant professor of communication at American University Twitter announced shortly after Wednesday's debate that it had been the most tweeted event in U. coming in just behind the most recent Grammy awards. it's growing. political history. J. It produced strong reactions on Twitter from its earliest moments. the 25-year-old mayor of South Orange. N. Romney said he would defund public broadcasting to bring down the deficit but added that he liked Big Bird.Search engine Google announced the debate's four most searched terms: Simpson-Bowles (the bipartisan fiscal commission Obama appointed). debt and entitlement reform." tweeted a woman with the Twitter handle of Bookgirl96. OpenGov advocate. While Obama has been leading Romney in battleground state polls in recent days. Sullydish. “There’s an . founder/partner @veracitymedia. musician. (official title. During a lull in the debate. was a numbers-heavy discussion of the economy.a dud. Dodd-Frank (a democratic-backed financial reform law). “Village President”).com/2012/10/02/social-media-and-local-politics/ Anne Nelson October 2.” Unlike older public officials. And just as a youthful John F. Torpey’s social media involvement preceded his political career." Joe Mercurio. writer. “I started using Facebook in college in 2005. has a loyal following.” he says." Mashable: Social Media is the Secret Weapon in Local Politics http://mashable. philosopher. a new generation of local politicians is using its tactical advantage as digital natives to woo the electorate and launch open government initiatives. The veteran PBS newsman was widely panned as the debate moderator on social media. a stacking game Romney and his wife."Obama: solid blue tie with dimple. person. "This was a disaster for the president." Social networks immediately responded." tweeted publisher Arianna Huffington . an ABC news executive tweeted. Social media participants marveled at Romney's strong outing and pronounced Obama's debate performance flat. Early in the debate. . "Jim Lehrer is like the grandpa at dinner table who falls asleep and wakes up randomly shouting. Lehrer's name became a trending topic on Twitter. no dimple. and Big Bird. a popular character on PBS' "Sesame Street. were reportedly playing with their grandchildren before the debate began. with viewers complaining he asked weak questions and did a poor job of keeping command of the debate's time and tempo. "avian life is outstripping human life in this debate. Kennedy benefited from his grasp of television in the 1960 elections. Ann. Andrew Sullivan.Big Bird. wrote on Facebook. and it continues to expand its influence at every level of American politics. Who is Winning the Debate. with participants posting spoof photos of Big Bird and other "Sesame Street" characters on Facebook and setting up parody Big Bird Twitter accounts. "It could have been worse. grad student.Romney's big win. focused on domestic issues. non-energetic and meandering . 2012 Social media first took the national spotlight in the 2008 elections. the social chatter settled into a few major themes. Torpey’s Twitter profile describes him as “Mayor of @southorangenj. From there. and his performance drew jeers from countless participants. a New York media buyer.Jim Lehrer. a pro-Obama writer for the Daily Beast whose Twitter feed. The debate. as an undergraduate at Hampshire College. Obama supporters were some of his toughest critics. the consensus on social networks was that Romney's debate performance had breathed new life into his campaign. . volunteer EMT. from the candidates' attire and appearance . declared. Consider Alex Torpey." . Romney: red tie with stripes.to Jenga. “People will turn the video on and start making dinner. and I had to choose between them -– I wanted to be able to send messages.” Torpey has gotten better responses on Facebook than on Twitter because. there were some residents who had power out for a week. Booker had earned an astonishing 1. he is unusual among local politicians in having his own YouTube channel.” However. political social media is Corey Booker.000.J. People were basically split between the two. a prosperous New York suburb of population 20. Although the local candidates used an array of social media in their campaigns. Torpey feels that Facebook has been slow to adapt to the needs of the political process.com. The study concluded that “social media did not have a significant impact on the electoral success of the candidates. he saw his social media platforms as an alternative to paid ads and has continued to experiment on multiple networks. mayor of Newark. flyers and most websites. When he ran for office in 2011. Most candidates failed to stimulate genuine interaction. Whereas the town was accustomed to five or seven people showing up for budget meetings. Last year when we had all these crazy storms. I started the fan page during the election.2 million followers on Twitter. they said ‘I want to get involved and make the town better.” Torpey also deploys Instagram to promote local events and Foursquare to announce his whereabouts to constituents.” he reports. But if I’m mayor of a town and sending a message out to the people in the town. N. “People really like videos. “I have both a Facebook personal page and a fan page.” This allows him to answer direct questions about how tax money is being spent. which include his hyper-local (and hyper-interactive) sensibility: . For example. and my Facebook page became a hub of information for people who had power out.S. most of it had a billboard function (as in “Support Me” from the candidate and “I Support You” from the voters). he believes.’” Torpey’s findings are born out by a recent study from Brock University analyzing the use of social media in the 2010 Niagara (Ontario) municipal election.” Torpey has found a surprising amount of support in South Orange.” adding that candidates will need to realize how social media differs from the “news-release. a means to promote voter registration and engagement among the young.interesting thing happening with people under 25 or 30 who started using social media personally and now start using it professionally. He’s exploring crisis mapping platforms to initiate SeeClickFix for municipal services. and he’s interested in trying Localocracy. one-directional type of communication used in mass media. but found it didn’t meet my needs.” One of the best-known figures in U. Torpey says. A recent post on Proof Branding’s marketing blog listed reasons for Booker’s success. “We’ve had a couple hundred people take a look at our budget online. it’s counted as spam. He’s most excited about his township’s open data initiatives. As of September 2012. “When I sent the explanation of how things fit together. “it’s easier to see other people commenting on something. “You’re not supposed to friend people you don’t know.” Torpey is on a fast (and well-informed) learning curve. out of necessity. without the resources to look at them. But the brave new world of political social media has blurred many of these lines. One of the earliest products is a video series in which Corey Booker and Congressman Aaron Schock (R-Ill) respectively stand in as “surrogates” for their parties’ presidential candidates.there’s a freedom and directness they enjoy.” University of Washington professor Philip Howard (currently a fellow at Princeton) notes some new research on how different politicians approach digital media. inspiration and leading voices.75 million in funding for #waywire. ranging from minor misspellings to many forms of “awkward.” Sifry points out. “a social artery for video news. Booker announced that he had raised $1. when Weiner tweeted suggestive comments and pictures of himself to a female constituent.” in which subscribers post and comment on videos linked to their other social media accounts.” Many candidates create Facebook and Twitter feeds for their campaigns. In the past. That’s not as bad as what Anthony Weiner did. which allows party members to directly collaborate with local officeholders on shaping the party .” he observes. but you definitely have slippage. the Pirate Party has developed an open source platform called Liquid Democracy. But no one is monitoring it. A number of new ideas are emerging abroad. “You’re not supposed to use campaign resources for office resources. has the last word in social media and local politics. but not as much as you would think.” At the same time. and policing each other’s political values. “Democrats tend to use digital media for engagement. Lots of local officials like being in charge of their accounts –.) One analyst who is watching this space closely is Micah Sifry.” He sees most local officials focusing on the trifecta of Twitter. But he admits that the social media usage of local officials is difficult to track.” No one should assume that the U. Once these are established and the candidates are elected. costing him his office. “Republicans tend to use digital media for coordinating their message.S. people would have resisted the idea of an elected official founding a news organization that covers himself. local politicians have also become aware of social media’s risks. This became apparent with New York Congressman Anthony Weiner’s 2011 “sexting” scandal. they often segue straight into platforms to address constituents. although “some are toying with Pinterest. “You don’t have as many interns managing the feeds any more. when there was no way for paid political advertisements to morph into platforms for office holders.) #Waywire. which has only been operational for a matter of weeks. co-founder and editor of the Personal Democracy Forum. conversations.” Tweeting politicians were dismayed to learn that the Sunlight Foundation hosts a tool called Politwoops to display deleted tweets. No media seems to stop the ability of politicians to be complete idiots. broadcasting out content that has been drafted from senior campaign officials.In July 2012.” (Other backers include Google‘s executive chairman Eric Schmidt. Facebook and YouTube. since you have greater reach to women with it. “You still see staffers accidentally tweeting from their boss’s account. (Think Michael Bloomberg. Professional campaign managers at all levels dislike social media because using it results in some loss of message control. has also been dubbed a “Pinterest for video. This would not have been a possibility in the days of old media.000 elected local offices. Bloomberg news and Bloomberg Government. “The Anthony Weiner case made people a tiny bit smarter about being careful. described as. “There are rules against this. “We’ve got 100.” One issue he signals is the problem of “the campaign feed morphing into the official.” Sifry believes that most local office holders have rapidly learned how to use social media with more sophistication. In Berlin. and sometimes slip up because they debate and don’t stay on message as well.” Sifry notes. says JD Schlough. more than 30 million of whom joined in 2012 alone.) Even Wikipedia looked beyond the U. the local city council provided early and essential support for the development of their city as the “world’s first Wikipedia town. (U. experience shows that a single impression or one-liner can carry or ruin the night for either candidate. social media will continue to overhaul American democracy in new and unexpected ways. Twitter has 140 million U.technologyreview. On Thursday morning. (Alex Torpey is interested in adapting the model for New Jersey. That conversation is going to happen whether the campaign influences it or not—so they better get their message out there and hold the other side accountable for mistakes. and key messages—resonated the most. During the Republican presidential debates in Iowa last fall. can use a feature called Diputuits. and which social media influencers did the best job amplifying them (see “Facebook: The Real Presidential Swing State”).” Schlough says. Campaigns and supporters will aim to seize the online “conversation” in a vast game of spin unfolding well beyond the telecast and media coverage. in some states elected officials are only one degree of “friend” separation from nearly every Facebook account holder in that state. which became a trending topic. And by one analyst firm’s count. “All social media is a conversation. the president has a strong advantage. And the Democratic National Committee poured gas on the fire. but the amount of people having that conversation in 2012 is a lot greater than it was in 2008. Congress tweet aggregator Tweet Congress pales by comparison. And whether it was Richard Nixon’s haggard look in 1960 or Ronald Reagan’s dismissive “There you go again” line against Jimmy Carter in 1980. playing into the stereotype of him as a clueless plutocrat. reaching 2. As digital natives make their way in the world. BarackObama. visitors to the country’s biggest news portal.000 bet with Rick Perry. Animal Politico. creating the hashtag #what10Kbuys. it’s useful to recall that it’s still the early days of this movement. Twitter or YouTube — have reached their tenth birthdays.9 percent of Americans . As a sign of just how pervasive and crucial social media has become. This could be especially evident online. None of the most influential social networks in question –. In terms of his online and mobile presence.Facebook. while Pinterest and Foursquare are still in their infancies.com had 6. According to figures from Nielsen.” As the 2012 elections approach.” an interactive map of the House of Representatives with links to individuals’ Twitter feeds. a far more extensive shadow debate will unfold across social media.S. users.) In Mexico. one-liners. 2012 When President Obama and Mitt Romney take the stage for their first debate in Denver tomorrow night. a Democratic political strategist. Wales.platform. a growing crop of analytics firms will drill down to see which moments—which gaffes. Technology Review: The Real Debate Will Take Place on Facebook and Twitter http://www. In Monmouth.400 tweets.4 million unique visitors in August 2012. this spawned some 3. pronounced “dipu-tweets. when Mitt Romney made his infamous $10. to engage local government with its first hyper-local project.S.com/news/429424/the-real-debate-will-take-place-on-facebook-and-twitter/ David Talbot October 2. It’s likely that more than 50 million people will be watching the action Wednesday at the University of Denver.S. Overall the goal is not just to more broadly deliver a message. Obama’s official app and mobile website had 1. they can wage campaigns to deliver messages to different interest groups. the bigger questions are: What are these guys going to do when they have power?” The first analytics might be posted Thursday. The following day the tweets came from journalist David Carr and bloggers and celebrities like Pink and Rob Delaney. Massachusetts. users. On social media platforms highly influential tweeters can make all the difference. “Are they just looking at it as a political race.” he says. as a race between celebrities.3 million unique visitors during that time. you are more likely to see a movie when a friend recommends it. On mobile. If marketers and political campaigns can determine which influencers have the biggest sway on different topic and in different geographical areas. Mother Jones: Inside the Obama Campaign’s Hard Drive http://m. who directs Bluefin’s The Crowdwire blog. NBC. MittRomney. Earlier this year PeopleBrowsr. and AOL. “If they can get those influential people talking. and frequency with which their tweets are further distributed.motherjones. that analyzes social media conversations. or smart—or if there is a contrast on an issue—it amplifies the impact of the debate to hear and to react and add your own spin. they will seek to use the social media to capitalize on the good moments and fact-check the hits the other side is throwing. the figures were similar. the fastfood restaurant whose president drew fire from some quarters for donating to right-wing groups that opposed same-sex marriage. On July 17.com/politics/2012/10/harper-reed-obama-campaign-microtargeting . which is not itself doing political campaigns.” Bluefin Labs. about 1. from Android and iPhone owners in the United States.com—which includes both mobile apps and Web—had only 881. he says. started covering the story. the mainstream media. and one of them does something stupid. After all. but has not yet done any analytics on them.S.” Schlough says. “Much like the convention. including the Guardian.5 percent of the American population online. MittRomney. and a growing number of firms aim to identify which Twitter members are driving the conversation—ranking people by followers. or are they looking at it as a contest over positions on the issues? Let’s face it.000 unique U. “If we know that people believe stuff they hear from friends more than politicians. That’s why campaigns want to use all means possible to prime social media to distribute talking points in real-time. This influence can spill into mainstream media coverage. says Shawn Roberts. a startup in Cambridge. those are the folks that will drive opinion.who were online that month. but to ensure that it is delivered from trusted friends—the holy grail of marketing. The company plans to analyze shifts in how people are taking about the race. That may change after the debates. a San Francisco-based analytics company. the Chik-Fil-A topic was mostly remarked upon by noncelebrities and a few gay activist groups.com had 3. The day after that. has been shepherding a list of 400 to 500 most politically influential people on Twitter. analyzed how influencers helped launch public campaign against Chik-Fil-A. rather than if you’ve seen an advertisement. after the debate. frequency of tweeting. marketing director for PeopleBrowsr. says William Powers.8 million unique users during August. analysts. FLOWCHART: How Obama for America Gets to Know Jane Q. and a cofounder of Jugglers Against Homophobia. developers.350 pages per week at a cost of 4 cents per page.141 on September 13. Reed arrived on the sixth floor of 130 East Randolph Street. produced with two other future Obama hires. I set out to learn as much as I could from Reed's online footprint. inviting users to submit T-shirt concepts and vote . and. and a low of 110 on April 21 of this year. reaching a high mark of 26. (His excuse: broken pedometer. he moved to the Windy City in 2001 and began spearheading dozens of digital projects of varying degrees of seriousness. Over the last year and a half at the campaign's Chicago headquarters. invited visitors to purchase plots of land on the surface of the sun (a steal at $4. who rose to become the company's chief technology officer. Reed.5 percent of his time away from home since 2002.Tim Murphy October 2. taxidermy. After studying philosophy and computer science at Iowa's Cornell College. and a full-size Airstream camper. the nerve center of the Obama campaign. 2010. in a converted Ravenswood Avenue print shop cluttered with go-karts.95 per square kilometer). Threadless wasn't the first company to market arty apparel to the Wicker Park set. and where. "Unfortunately. one aimed at processing unprecedented amounts of information and leveraging it to generate money. ultimately. where he describes himself as "pretty awesome. votes.com. he attended his first concert (David Bowie. volunteers.) On that day." says spokeswoman Katie Hogan. a big fucking deal. where he has spent 39. video games. The campaign declined to make Reed available for an interview. IN APRIL 2011. So in the spirit of the sweeping data-mining operation he helped build. McNichols Arena. he ended up at the online T-shirt retailer Threadless. where he grew up.33 as of this writing. displayed the talents the campaign would later find so valuable. Harper Reed walked an average of 8. a devotee of death metal. 55 below his average. by way of Chicago's hacker circuit. Reed describes his campaign role as making sure technology is a "force multiplier. we do not discuss anything that has to do with our digital strategy. On May 11. Eventually. that Reed. row HH.8 hours before waking up at precisely 2:47 p. 2011. A certifiable hipster with gauged earlobes and an occasionally waxed handlebar mustache that complements his roosterlike crest of red hair. where he was. in 1990. seat 8). Reed is a veteran of the professional yo-yo circuit. engineers. sent one tweet. by all accounts. age 34. and old-school hackers have been transforming the way politicians acquire data—and what they do with it. As chief technology officer for President Obama's reelection effort—responsible for building the apps and databases that will power the campaign's outreach—he and his team of geeks could provide the edge in a race that's expected to be decided by the narrowest of margins. It was there.513 steps. They're building a new kind of Chicago machine. Much of Reed's work now is so under wraps that it's literally code word classified—Obama for America (OFA) uses terms like "Narwhal" and "Dreamcatcher" to describe its high-tech ops. It was a personal best. He has read 558 books in three years—roughly 1. but its genius lay in its model. a team of almost 100 data scientists. 2012 DURING THE 736 DAYS beginning May 9. Reed was traveling from Chicago to Colorado. Its website functions as a sort of community center." Reed painstakingly tabulates everything from his weight to his exact location. he slept 14. or to offer anyone who could so much as comment on the complexity of Reed's mustache. 2010.m. VoterOn his site. WeOwntheSun." And that's about as much as he'll say on the matter. and Dylan Richard. he didn't just bring his own expertise. "has scored 281 submissions. Reed used the CTA's data to track every incident." That faith in the power of crowdsourcing informed his other ventures. Reed's mission is simple but ambitious: Assemble a data-mining infrastructure that allows the campaign to determine which voters to target and how to do it on a scale and scope that's never been seen before. a veteran of the 2008 campaign who had been appointed chief integration and innovation officer. be it a downed power line or a deer on the tracks. Then Michael Slaby. but in the last decade. The campaign counts at least five Threadless alums among its Chicago tech staff. income. They built a database of 200. and brother. Reed hacked the Chicago Transit Authority's bus tracker app and made its information public. He also began looking for interesting ways to use it. Each day's incidents were scored according to severity (low: 4. A sixth Threadless colleague was invited to design the campaign's online store.000 index cards tracking things like a person's religion. and occupation. Customers are advised on the precise number of shirts left in stock. Knowing your audience is at the heart of politics. "Before Threadless. combed through letters from supporters for relevant personal information. I loved users but didn't trust them. when. (Reed. he got the band back together. which borrows the layout and some of the crowdsourcing ethos from the company. party affiliation." Reed told an interviewer in 2009. Reed had shown little interest in political work. prompting impulse buys. THE USE OF DATA mining as a political tool traces its origins. Charles. high: 90.on their favorites. for example. his wife. this precept has taken on a new dimension. to 1897. and identify trends. Mary. In 2008. Threadless built a mini social network and seeded it with just enough incentives to boost its bottom line. data-driven shift in the way campaigns are run. in the aftermath of William Jennings Bryan's first failed run for the White House. led to an official commendation from the White House. It's almost impossible for a new T-shirt to flop because the target audience already has declared it a hit. at least in spirit. average: 26). When Reed joined OFA.") The brilliance of Threadless is that it turned customers into workers. His plan post-Threadless was to take some time to experiment. a site called CityPayments. But now he had no doubt: "Users are king. utilized social-media platforms to raise record sums from small donors and organize . as he was leaving the company. a selfdescribed futurist who runs the campaign's development operations (a hybrid of programming and IT). Out of more than a thousand entries each week. Think of it as the smart campaign. Although he felt the system—for all its creaky "urine-soaked" cars—by and large worked. the campaign's director of engineering. The operation's new-media team. which included Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes (now owner and editor in chief of The New Republic). he wanted to understand what happened when it failed. Yet aside from volunteering briefly for the Obama campaign in 2008. came calling.22. helping 10 designs get printed. Profiles display a user's level of involvement in real time. immerse himself in cloud computing (he's taken to calling himself a "nepholologist"—a mashup of the term for atmospheric analysts and LOL). Obama's first presidential campaign ushered in a new era of data collection and targeting. a handful are selected. With Reed's help. Another tool.org that aggregated information on government contracts in Chicago. It's part of a new. including Scott VanDenPlas. It became the basis for the perennial candidate's lucrative—although never victorious—direct-mail operation. and work with other startups. Freeing the data earned him an award from the city and face time with the agency. giving an average score of 3. and the work itself into a game. The campaign could collect information by the terabyte—the Obama team. it will leave him off email blasts relating to reproductive rights and personalize its pitch by highlighting Obama's role in the auto bailout—or Romney's outsourcing past. powered by different kinds of software that could not communicate with each other. they also could have a data firm sort you by what type of magazines you subscribed to and where you bought your T-shirts. the challenge—and. analysts could identify trends and craft sharper messages calibrated to appeal to individual voters. the campaign could follow up to ask him to knock on doors too. includes both public information that campaigns disclose to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and nonpublic data like the names of small-dollar donors. There's your basic voter file. expanded the Democratic Party's voter data by a factor of 10. Campaigns typically draw on data from five sources. who took a leave of absence from Google to work as director of analytics for the campaign. the increasingly powerful email lists. which the campaign compiles itself. By the 2000 election. in fact. Optimizely. publicly available information provided by each state. She is then able to enter more . but also tedious: Voter information collected online. which automatically provided volunteers with the names and numbers of voters.com visitors to reach for their credit cards. That meant. For example. But the campaign struggled with integration gaps. includes more detailed information. and whether you unsubscribe. If an Iowa college student joined the Students for Barack Obama Facebook group. that a volunteer using the campaign's much ballyhooed phone-bank app. Siroker estimated A/B testing boosted OFA's fundraising by $100 million. It existed in separate databases. via the campaign's social-media platform. The party's file. employed A/B testing to figure out which combination of images. Once Reed and his team had integrated the databases. might waste precious time talking to a low-priority target. and voting record. compiled by partisan organizations like VoteBuilder. It also began to look for efficiencies in-house.supporters. The fifth source. 20 percent of its online haul. and will also be able to call up tips on what issues to raise and what kind of pitch to make. this information has been compartmentalized within various segments of the campaign.) All told. by canvassers. Now campaigns didn't just know you were a pro-choice teacher who once gave $40 to save the endangered Rocky Mountain swamp gnat. couldn't be easily synced up with data gathered offline. which includes your name. he spent most of his time manually entering voter data into spreadsheets. address. Similarly. Dan Siroker. by most indications. the links you click on. Did you vote in a caucus? Did you show up at a straw poll? Did you volunteer for a candidate? Did you bring snacks to a grassroots meet-up? Did you talk to a canvasser about cap-and-trade? Contribution data. a canvasser in the field will use her smartphone or tablet to access certain personal info about the voters she's trying to contact. A ProPublica analysis revealed that a single OFA fundraising email came in no less than 11 different varieties. In the past. accruing 223 million new pieces of info in the last two months of the campaign alone—but the issue was integrating and accessing it. (Siroker now provides those services to a vast array of commercial and political clients—including Mitt Romney's campaign and Mother Jones—through his company. for example. If in 2008 the Obama operation grew expert at unlocking new tools to mine data and target different constituencies. and videos were most likely to compel BarackObama. It was important work. When Reed volunteered his services the weekend before Super Tuesday in 2008. track which blasts you respond to. text. That's where Reed and his geek squad come in. which is derived from the campaign's voter analytics. the major advancement—of 2012 has been to tear down the barriers preventing the campaign from taking full advantage of the information it amasses. The goal of Project Narwhal was to link all of this data together. if the campaign knows that a particular voter in northeastern Ohio is a prolife Catholic union member. political data firms like Aristotle had begun purchasing consumer data in bulk from companies like Acxiom. information—what worked and what didn't.BarackObama. "In terms of just the sheer amount of data that political candidates have on you." In practice. the Obama team isn't doing anything private companies haven't already been doing for a few years. Dashboard. The effect is to transform the historically tactile practice of canvassing into something more empirical.com. Volunteers can see their personal statistics updated in real time—money raised. Those who did consented to the campaign's harvesting some of their Facebook data. "I teach this. But the scope of its operation represents a major shift for politics—voters expect to be able to obsessively analyze information about the candidates. In February. the 2012 organizing portal that Reed helped develop. the first of a handful of such offices slated to open across the country. in turn. who's staying on the sidelines in 2012. As the campaign becomes ever more absorbed in all things digital. a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill whose new book. and to a T my students use the word 'creepy. and you're given a never-ending variety of tasks designed to both engage you and learn more about you. technically render a lot of data inaccessible. . this time around Team Obama—which has been advised by representatives from Google and Facebook. which vary from site to site. Facebook's terms of use limit the extent to which outside groups can mine the site. My. the former director of technology at the Democratic National Committee. The campaign. If you sign your name to a petition on the site. For OFA. I think everyone finds it creepy. Privacy rules. focuses on the rise of the Democrats' digital machine. that encouraged its 2 million members to log in with their Facebook accounts. Whereas Romney has outsourced much of his data-focused operations. its real-world networks have shifted accordingly. as you're prompted to do time and again. a popular Mission District beer garden. Four years later. more in-house geeks. one-on-one meetings convened. But the Obama campaign has found ways around those barriers too. mimics some of the gaming tactics that Threadless pioneered. One of Reed's first moves as CTO was to fly with Slaby to San Francisco. But perhaps nothing has changed the game for political microtargeters more than the ubiquity of social networks. calls attempted. Taking Our Country Back. "[They've] taken this sort of data-driven mentality and expanded it across the entire campaign. you write a paragraph explaining what the campaign means to you. which issues resonated—directly into the system. can use this data to gauge which field offices are hitting their goals and which ones aren't. there's no such thing as TMI. that's tracked. the campaign has grown even more sophisticated. If. not the other way around. One of the campaign's most useful innovations in 2008 was to create a social-media platform. for instance. OFA unveiled a new satellite technology office in the city's ultra-wired SoMa neighborhood. according to Bloomberg Businessweek—is trying to emulate a start-up atmosphere in hopes of fostering the kind of innovation rarely associated with stuffy political shops. Fewer consultants. Visit Dashboard. conversations held.'" says Daniel Kreiss." says Josh Hendler. REED REPRESENTS an approach to technology that distinguishes the Obama campaign from its counterpart in Boston. that text can be mined for relevant signifiers (say. A scoreboard allows volunteers to see how they stack up against their peers. where they held an information session for techies at Zeitgeist. though. support for LGBT equality) and added to your voter profile. ) Asked about the company's political operations. overall. a University of Pennsylvania professor studying voter attitudes toward political data mining. Slate's Sasha Issenberg reported in July that the campaign had recently hired eggheads from places like Google Analytics and Apple in an attempt to reverse engineer the Obama campaign's strategy. "Lotame has been asked to stop talking about it. especially in the commercial sector. like an iPhone app that featured a misspelled "America. Political campaigns are just catching up. Romney is placing an emphasis on "off the grid" voters—the roughly 30 percent of voters who Moffatt has determined don't watch enough live television to be swayed by commercials. Crunching data can only take a campaign so far. only with a twist. "Basically we have a new world of information management that has emerged. Its forays into the digital world have caught attention mostly for their miscues. had no software engineers on staff until well after the end of the primary season. As of late June." But the campaign has quietly begun tackling the same challenges faced by OFA. Hence Team Obama's shroud of secrecy around its digital ops. which used a 25-element "pregnancy prediction score" that guessed online shopper's due dates. Yet in a tight race—and today. by contrast. "If it's close. (Huffington Post says it ended its relationship with Lotame after the incident due to privacy concerns. It's ironic that Romney's 2012 campaign is reduced to such a reactive mode since the former consultant was himself an early convert to the data-centric campaign. . and it's a world that may well claim total impunity from regulation. the Romney campaign had paid $13 million to Targeted Victory. Romney's Bain confidants were stunned: "You mean they don't do this in politics?" Lundry signed on this summer to lead Team Romney's data efforts but. In 2010. That's 2005 stuff for commercial advertisers. At Moffatt's direction. you're absolutely talking about winning and losing the election based on the quality of your data. The good news for Romney is that it's never been easier to buy off the rack. is also the campaign's digital director. presidential elections come down to a handful of percentage points—obsessive intelligence-gathering can provide a critical edge. a spokesman says. analysts like to point to Target. Zac Moffatt. and more value out of those dollars. It's a number that will only increase as more and more people consume media on handheld devices or DVR their favorite shows. their privacy practices may be tougher to control because of the protections afforded to political speech. but once they do." says Joe Turow. and the quality of the program. approached the Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate in 2002 with the idea of using analytics to identify voters."* The line between data mining and cyberstalking is already blurred. according to a Mother Jones analysis of payroll data provided to the FEC. according to the Wall Street Journal. a company that uses cookies to track your online habits—everything from the websites you comment on to the articles you share with friends. the campaign has favored contracting the work of microtargeting to private firms. whose cofounder.Romney's Boston campaign operation. it can't change the prevailing political environment. but in the political world it still counts as innovation. Moffatt brags that his firm can beam totally different messages to two voters in the same house." Hendler says. Targeted Victory began employing Lotame. Microtargeting can help candidates squeeze more dollars out of their supporters. To illustrate their powers. When Alex Lundry's conservative analytics shop. TargetPoint. To gauge voter sentiment it even crawled Huffington Post comment sections. computational advertising. singularity—the idea that technological forces will one day usher in a new form of superintelligence that will forever change civilization—is something of a Holy Grail.e.I. 14. Here's what they do: Joe Rospars. It's about a high school computer geek who accidentally unleashes an out-of-control AI program that threatens to overwhelm the world. director of modeling. Apocalypse. battleground states election analyst. web personalization. revolutionized the way campaigns used the web during Obama's 2008 race by borrowing tactics from social networks and Google. a tech-savvy startup burst onto the scene with a hiring spree: "We are looking for analytics engineers and scientists in our Chicago headquarters to work on text analytics. Chief integration and innovation officer Kazuyoshi Ehara / Mesh Marketing / NewscomSlaby.com/politics/2012/10/obama-campaign-tech-staff By Tim Murphy September/October 2012 Last fall.motherjones. Rospars and Co. he oversees the campaign's technology. Until then. Reed was polishing off book number 558. a job in which he faced the data integration challenges he's brought Reed on to fix in 2012. right after name-checking Threadless. and chief integration and innovation officer. social network/media analysis.. The end result: 2 million Facebook friends. MotherJones: Meet Obama's Digital Gurus http://www. the tech consulting firm founded by Rospars and other ex-Deaniacs soon after the 2004 election that was the first serious effort by Democrats to harness the web for political ends." Since then. As CIIO. In one of his more recent projects. where he specialized in building algorithms from various data sets—like consumer shopping habits—to help businesses improve their bottom lines. Harper Reed will have to do.IN LATE JUNE. Ghani developed a model to estimate. Ghani came to the campaign from Chicago-based R&D firm Accenture Technology Labs." i. studying the habits and traits of individual voters to understand how to target them. A. the end price of an eBay auction—information that could then be used . Chief scientist A political novice. owes his career to the power of collective intelligence. operations (think IT). "I am patiently waiting for the singularity." The rise of the genius machines probably won't come in 2012. $500 million raised online—and 365 electoral votes. like Reed. it's Blue State Digital. He rejoined the Obama campaign in 2011. helped Rospars run the campaign's new-media shop during that primary season before being promoted to chief technology officer. as I finished hoovering up the online traces of the man tasked with assembling the president's data-mining operation. another 2008 vet. with 96 percent accuracy. and analytics departments.5 million hours of YouTube views. 13 million email addresses. Chief digital strategist Howard Dean's lasting political legacy isn't the "I have a scream" speech. Michael Slaby. His bio on his personal website notes. It's a vision of the future with plenty of appeal for someone who. Rayid Ghani. Obama for America (OFA) quietly has added dozens of positions that never would have existed 10 years ago—titles like chief scientist. Among technologists. His big idea this time around— perhaps building on his stint at the PR powerhouse Edelman—is "micro-listening. and online experiments & testing. Here's a quick. Pete Backof. At OFA. to organizing." Update: As many readers pointed out. another Blue State Digital alum. which helps Chicago track the progress of field offices and meet-up groups anywhere in the country. Michelangelo D'Agostino. Dan Siroker. which uses text analytics to gauge voter sentiment. After serving briefly as an adviser to the White House. to special projects. Alumnus OptimizelySiroker took a leave of absence from Google to join the Obama campaign's analytics team in 2007. Chris Hughes.to sell price insurance to queasy users worried about coming up short. Alumnus Brooks Kraft / CorbisThe 2012 digital campaign was built on a foundation Hughes helped create. Teddy Goff. but by no means comprehensive. it's because they are. he helps the campaign sift through enormous amounts of data to figure out whom to target. he used A/B and multivariate testing to increase volunteer sign-ups and donations (racking up an extra $100 million for Team Obama). My. Borrowing from his company's bread and butter. A cofounder of Facebook. overseeing powerful messaging platforms like Twitter (18 million followers) and the campaign's Tumblr alter ego. Some of the top positions on the tech and digital side are held by women—from analytics.BarackObama. Goff joined in the collaborative effort to create Dashboard.com. Now. Analyst If you get the impression that the Obama campaign is playing mind games with its incessant fundraising emails. Hughes left the company in 2007 to pitch in at the Obama camp's new-media campaign in Chicago. Backof came to the campaign from the Analyst Institute. Like many of the campaign's analytics hires. his skills have been put to use on Project Dreamcatcher. he started Optimizely. now he's in charge of social networking. where he built a social-media platform. Washington research shop that specializes in applying behavioral science to lefty political causes. working under digital analytics director Amelia Showalter*. to digital outreach. Senior analyst US Department of Energy D'Agostino worked as an astrophysicist at Argonne National Laboratory and in Antarctica. glance: . a web optimization outfit that provides services to both the Obama and Romney campaigns. a secretive. the campaign's one-stop online organizing portal. where he did fieldwork on particle physics and freelanced for The Economist. spearheading its data crunching. he's never worked on a political campaign before. handled new media for battleground states in 2008. It wasn't for lack of merit. He's now owner and editor in chief of The New Republic. unionfounded. there was one glaring oversight in what was meant to be a snapshot of the Obama digital world: women. Backof describes his expertise as "Building better political mousetraps through randomized controlled experiments. that mimicked (and mined) Facebook's core features. Digital director Christopher Dilts / Obama for AmericaGoff. On his Twitter profile. html Sasha Issenberg October 2. occasionally snarky—of the official Barack Obama Tumblr. or based on their surfing habits on other sites…. Facebook in recent months has begun allowing marketers to target ads at users based on the email address and phone number they list on their profiles. Dashboard: Marie Ewald.gif-friendly outreach strategy to (mostly) young voters.Amelia Showalter. is the thing that could finally make Facebook a useful platform for winning votes: To amp up the effectiveness of its ads.) But it's always on message: The campaign recently used its Tumblr as part of an online voter registration push. Ewald's working in an expanded role.gif. Slate: Advertising on Facebook: It’s Finally Good for Winning Votes http://mobile.com/blogs/victory_lab/2012/10/02/advertising_on_facebook_it_s_finally_good_for_win ning_votes_. she brought A/B testing—sending variations of a headline or photo to a randomized set of users to determine what's most effective—to the Clinton Foundation. director of digital analytics: Showalter. who cut her teeth targeting voters through television. a Michelle Obama . featured a Parks and Recreation reference. Betsy Hoover. Hoover's role is that of a community builder. deputy digital director: A veteran of the 2008 race (where Ewald directed the Obama campaign's email effort).” which naturally made it a poor platform for the two dominant modes of electoral . brings a simple philosophy to her work for the campaign: "Quantitative political consulting is producing the right metrics and models to make well-informed decisions. aimed not at making phone calls and knocking on doors. in layman's terms: Showalter specializes in digging through demographic data and voter files to figure out where and how to hunt for voters. Facebook matches up that outside data with information users have entered into their profile. and 8. This time around. Catherine Bracy.In September. but there was plenty of room for improvement.264 notes. but on encouraging local digital pros to chip in for the campaign in their free time. from Craiglist to Google. digital organizing director: The Obama campaign's social media prowess in 2008 was well documented. community outreach lead: Bracy reached out to heavyweights in the Bay Area's digital world. Based in the city's tech-heavy SoMa district (it shares a suite with a social media startup). Here she is introducing the campaign's new grassroots fundraising page as part of OFA's one-stop organizing portal. Tumblr czar: Formerly of Rospars' Blue State Digital. reporting to digital director Teddy Goff. (A sample post. unless supporters identified their friends manually.slate. highlighted by the campaign in private social media briefings.571 in aid for Haiti. where she estimated it brought in an additional $1. Olin is the voice—often ebullient. Ads had to be targeted through users’ “likes. Facebook’s tough grip on member data made it impossible to match up users’ Facebook profiles to their voter-file identities. before helping to launch the Obama campaign's San Francisco technology field office last March. Laura Olin. the office was unique in its scope. from today's Wall Street Journal. *This story originally stated that D'Agostino reported to Chief Analytics Officer Dan Wagner.022." What that means. part of the campaign's . 2012 This. helping channel enthusiasm online into fundraising dollars and volunteer shifts. Facebook began allowing marketers with their own lists of email addresses and phone numbers to target ads at specific groups of Facebook users of at least 20 at a time. While Zac Moffatt.000 per week. Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan is outpacing Vice President Joe Biden by leaps and bounds in both fan page likes and people talking about this.communication: persuasion and mobilization. If one of the ads is served to a Cheadle-loving Republican. campaigns stuck to ancillary activity on Facebook. it might surprise you to learn that Romney actually leads Obama in the people talking about this metric. A look at the Facebook pages for each presidential campaign says a lot about how the race on Facebook is managed behind-the-scenes. They produced content they hoped would be shareable. One strategist on Capitol Hill with knowledge of the Ryan approach says the team has done a good job with Facebook growth and shows a willingness to try different methods. has talked openly about his team’s focus on engagement. top digital strategist for the Romney campaign. or engineered stunts that could go viral. putting the Wisconsin native more in the league of his running mate and the president than the vice president. campaigns are working overtime to gain an advantage on Facebook in order to motivate supporters and get out the vote. Ryan’s strength on Facebook makes me wonder why the Obama team — which pioneered the use of social media in presidential politics — isn’t doing more to make Biden competitive on Facebook. A fun example of this is suggested by Joe Trippi in a Politico story about small-dollar online fundraising: sending ads to promote a meet-George-Clooney fundraising contest to those who liked Ocean’s 11. There appears to be a clear strategy to funneling all of the campaign’s digital resources into Obama’s Facebook presence. It wouldn’t be a surprise to this strategist if the Romney campaign’s Facebook ad buy totaled $250. Is anyone who clicks to “like” Barack Obama going to possibly be persuadable? And is someone who goes to the trouble to “like” Mitt Romney going to be the type of voter who requires an extra nudge to the polls? Since no campaign wants to individually engage voters in those terms without knowing who they are and how they are likely to vote. Ryan’s Facebook team appears to be more aggressive. . what’s the downside? But the ability to link Facebook users to individual data points on their voter-file records ought to dramatically expand the type of electioneering that can be intelligently conducted on social-media platforms. while President Barack Obama leads Republican challenger Mitt Romney in Facebook fan page likes. where poor targeting carries little risk. Facebook ads have also played a role in the Republican presidential campaign’s fan growth. but typically with the goal of converting supporters into volunteers or donors. For example. A recent get-out-the-vote experiment by UCSD's James Fowler involving 61 million Facebook users demonstrated the network’s unique potential to combine online social pressure with offline voter identification. 2012 With Election Day only 40 days away in a cycle that’s been dubbed the first “social” election. They experimented with ad buys.com/paul-ryan-campaign-strategists-favorite-facebook-features_b100939 Jennifer Moire October 1. All Facebook: Paul Ryan Finds Winning Facebook Formula as Campaign Strategists Name Favorite Features http://allfacebook. There’s certainly nothing wrong with using Facebook ads to spur growth. especially with ads pushing last-minute fundraising. and the ability of candidates to properly showcase visually their records. both Democrats and Republicans are kicking their campaigns into high gear. campaigns can now target very specific voting groups and quantify their reach like never before. Our campaigns have all spent a year or more building massive email lists. Obama had made a significant investment in using Facebook ads in myriad ways. expect both campaign’s to leverage Facebook’s ad targeting features to get specific voting groups to the polls. With custom audiences. a campaign could target senior citizens who are interested in fiscal issues and lost a child in Iraq. We asked digital strategists about some of their favorite Facebook features this election year.S. . named this new Facebook feature as his favorite tool: Something we’re excited about is the brand-new custom audiences ad targeting. As more potential voters turn to the Internet to stay connected — and less are catching political TV spots — the need to leverage social media to hit respective audiences has never been greater. When it comes to advertising. Mobile CTRs are sky high.com/2012/09/28/social-media-obama-romney/ Samantha Murphy September 28. 2012 With about five weeks left until the 2012 presidential election. One strategist said he expects to see both camps use open graph integration. In the waning days of the race. as well as location-based targeting and ads promoting sponsored search results. House of Representatives and Senate. a firm that works primarily with Republican candidates for the U. We’re looking forward to watching the click-through rate for ads targeted to supporters we may not have been reaching on Facebook before. People Talking About This GOP digital strategist Vincent Harris says his go-to metric is the people talking about this number: This cycle has made timeline incredibly important. a partner with Connect Strategic Communications. and now being able to target these supporters directly on Facebook is great timing for us. Custom Audiences Ryan Cassin. including as a cornerstone of the campaign’s voterregistration drive — an issue that Democrats in particular have invested heavily in promoting across the country. But the payoff could be huge for either party. For example. mobile advertising and Facebook’s new power editor are new and improved tools that are incredibly helpful for candidates. Readers: Have you clicked on any Facebook ads from politicians this election year? Mashable: Behind the Social Media Campaigns of Obama and Romney http://mashable. it’s important to have the right people around you. Romney’s digital director. “Fortunately. The meetings don’t pick up again until about 11 a. The campaign keeps an eye on social media sentiment and what people are saying. Plus. but it’s hard to measure success right now. I don’t have to travel that much — it’s far more time-efficient not to travel and just get work done at the office.” Moffatt said.” he said.” To do so. Not only is it leveraging his more than 20 million Twitter followers and nearly 29 million Facebook fans — .” But after the election. things wrap around 8 p. the team went from 14 staffers in the primaries to about 120 people. “There is a higher level of expectation for speed than in past elections for getting information out.” To manage the flow. and then momentum builds throughout the day as projects in need of approval pour in. so I like to be as close as possible to my family. Moffatt said the team is about to work even harder in the days leading up to the debates and Election Day.m. millions of people will start to visit the website in the next 30 days. Facebook and Twitter.” Meanwhile. “I also want to spend more time with my young daughter and my wife.m. and the campaigns have to be that much faster. as well as email and text message marketing. noting that many even went to his wedding: “When you spend so much time doing what you do for work. coupled with the 6 million people already engaging on Facebook and Twitter. with a series of conference calls and meetings that conclude around 9 a.m. “We are moving into a phase of mobilization where every day is important. “The Internet is a powerful thing. whether it’s through mobile or social media sites such as Google+. On a good day. so we’re trying to use the web to our advantage the best way we can. As time rolls closer to Election Day. across different states and departments. so the team is about to ramp up efforts now more than ever.” he said. I have a young daughter at home. “We are always monitoring the online audience. website and online advertising and mobile strategy — says the campaign is getting ready to ramp up efforts in the days leading up to the election.m. and not everyone is watching TV spots anymore. We need to keep that engagement thriving. adding that he’s relied on Diet Coke to make it through the sleepiest of times.” he said.The force behind the campaign for Republican candidate Mitt Romney includes a digital rapid response department that works alongside the communications team at its Boston headquarters. from voters to journalists. Zac Moffatt — who oversees all social media initiatives. and we know people are engaged. “There have been a lot of really late nights. “When we get into the final stage. About 6 million people are already connecting to Romney’s campaign on social media sites. His day begins at about 7 a. and social media will play a big part in that. Moffatt has just one thing on his mind: “Sleep. “There are about six million people connected to the campaign on social media sites right now.” Moffatt said. we will work with state teams for volunteers who do door-knocking and boast up our online strategy about eight times more.” Moffatt said. President Obama’s team is also keeping social media top of mind throughout the campaign.” Moffatt said his team has become especially close throughout the entire process. 2012 In a prepared statement. both online and offline. “As we push through the few weeks of this election. with more than 200. tweeting facts about Romney’s stances and using it as a platform to respond quickly when needed. In addition. Democratic candidate U. D-5. Senate to receive special deals from his hometown bank. and his “personal ethics” and financial matters. This eliminates duplication and redundancy. they are also posting articles. Obama received national attention for participating in an “Ask Me Anything” Q&A session on popular site Reddit.com/2012/09/27/mcmahon-campaign-uses-facebook-game-to-urgemurphy-to-release-documents/ Helen Bennett September 27.” Many applauded the campaign’s use of social media to respond quickly to what was happening. For example. “As players click from dot to dot.S.” the prepared statement said. The campaign is using a Dashboard tool for supporters and volunteers.” His caption: “This seat’s taken.000 users viewing the session at one time. the campaign of U. Senate candidate Linda McMahon Thursday released what it is calling “its newest installment in the ‘Murphy’s Law’ series in the form of an interactive Facebook game. Connecticut Senate: McMahon Campaign Facebook ‘Game’ to Urge Murphy to Release Documents http://ctsenate2012.significantly more than Romney’s social media presence — by sending out registration information and statements about Obama’s views. they uncover alarming facts about Congressman Murphy’s personal history.” It contains a theme similar to the campaign’s previous use of what it called “Connect the Dots” to issues it has raised about about McMahon’s opponent. . and Mitt Romney’s plan to go back to the same failed policies of the past. Those behind Obama’s social media strategy are clearly sharp and quick. so they can get all of the necessary information to become engaged with the campaign. Murphy has denied any such special deals occurred. Chris Murphy. social media is one important way we can keep a conversation going with our supporters and undecided voters across the country about the clear choice Americans face in this election — between the President’s plan to keep moving forward with an economy built on a strong middle class.S. Obama tweeted a picture — sent from the @BarackObama account. run by his campaign — of him sitting in a chair marked “the President. Social media is also being blended into other strategies.nhregister. It marked a key moment for the blending of politics and Internet culture. too: It didn’t take long for Obama to react to Clint Eastwood’s “Invisible Obama” routine.” Obama spokesperson Adam Fetcher told Mashable. Rep. volunteers making calls through the Dashboard tool can have results uploaded in real time to the exact same system used in the field offices. which took place at the 2012 Republican National Convention last month and became a meme that spread like wildfire across the Internet.S. including mobile. each dot building the case that Murphy used his position of power in the U. and volunteers can share their progress with others on Facebook and Twitter along the way. 99 percent loan was in the middle range of rates. the Murphy campaign has criticized McMahon for failing to pay debts associated with the 1976 bankruptcy action she and her husband filed. how much. “Chris Murphy’s dishonesty seems to have no bounds. Senate candidate Linda McMahon's campaign tweets regularly. which in this case was his wife’s. Facebook wasn't as widely used by voters. Further. interacts with supporters on Facebook and even uses new social media site Pinterest to highlight things that she likes. which discovered the McMahon bankruptcy documents in the National Archives in Massachusetts. but he can’t hide the truth forever. "We try to keep the message consistent across all platforms. “How long will Congressman Murphy continue to remain in cover-up mode and refuse to provide the documents regarding his special deals?” McMahon campaign manager Corry Bliss said.” Murphy spokesman Ben Marter said recently. questions still remain. Todd Abrajano. reported the McMahons intended to repay the debts. the statement said. the Republican Party. he can rest assured that the McMahon campaign will continue the calls for him to come clean on behalf of Connecticut voters. .courant. An email seeking comment on the Facebook issue was sent to the Murphy campaign. and why she only now decided to make right on her debts. most did not tweet and Pinterest didn't exist. of course. Her 2010 campaign spent most of its time and effort on more traditional campaign strategies like television commercials. Voters deserve to know who she still owes. Murphy’s income had tripled since the foreclosure threat 16 months earlier and the bank said it awarded loans at that time based on which partner had the best credit. also in the statement. It’s a shame that it took 36 years and mounting political pressure for Linda McMahon to finally pay some. also as previously reported.000 home equity line of credit he was given by Webster Bank in 2008. how she plans to pay them back.S. “The McMahons had the ability to pay these debts a long time ago. Senate seat two years ago.com/2012-09-24/news/hc-social-media-0922-20120921_1_social-media-campaigntweets-pinterest Amanda Falcone September 24. The Day of New London. of her debts.As this site has previously reported: Murphy has said he will not release his application for $43. As long as Congressman Murphy insists on ignoring his constituents. But times — and means of communication — have changed since McMahon's failed bid for a U. 2012 U." said McMahon's spokesman. but apparently not all.” Hartford Courant: Social Media: Candidates Nationwide for Various Political Posts Are Using Social Media as a Campaign Tool http://articles. such as the cookies she wants to bake for her grandchildren and.” The game the McMahon campaign placed on Facebook allows users to “join the call” for Murphy to release the documents and is ”part of the McMahon campaign’s continued effort to urge Murphy to release documents” about 2005 and 2008 loans.S. The bank released material showing the 4. “Even after this stunning and desperate late-night reversal by Linda McMahon. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. "The biggest risk is not doing something. and now candidates across the country — from those running for president to those vying for a state legislative seat — are adding social media to their list of campaign tools. the Pew Research Center conducted a nationwide telephone survey to find out whether voters pay attention to politicians on social media. the use of social media by political campaigns has exploded. Rosenstiel said it's hard to determine whether using social media helps political campaigns. he said. This year. It learned that a portion of social networking site users say social media is important for some of their political activities and the way they decide how to engage with ." said Obama campaign spokesman Michael Czin. director of the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.McMahon is not the only political candidate who is now using social media to get a message out. The phenomenon began in 2008 when President Barack Obama got people's attention by mobilizing supporters through social media." he said. said Tom Rosenstiel. Chris Dodd. Recently the campaign announced a new initiative. "We are certainly going to use every tool at our disposal. also uses social media. For All. McMahon's campaign employs one person who is dedicated to social media." he said. Sen." Abrajano said. Chris Murphy's campaign also has one staffer focused on social media efforts. "It would appear from the numbers that we are doing something right. For example. Democrat Chris Murphy. Murphy mostly uses Twitter. Obama is using social media again this year to reach voters in his bid for re-election. including social media. and it's designed to engage Americans between the ages of 18 and 29. to make sure voters know the truth about Chris and the facts about Linda McMahon. The first photo of McMahon's opponent. Last winter. background. he said. just like our ground game effort.S. "In the case of social media that is making sure we are using all platforms to give our supporters the tools they need to reach their own networks of friends and family . McMahon and Murphy are in a statistical tie according to the most recent University of Connecticut/Courant poll. sexual orientation or zip code. sitting across from former U. says campaign spokesman Eli Zupnick. He continues to use social media platforms to reach people from the White House . tries to reach supporters and voters where they are. but his campaign couldn't be reached for comment. particularly to young voters. Facebook and YouTube to complement other aspects of an aggressive campaign that includes reaching out to voters and discussing the issues that matter to them." "Our digital effort. Abrajano said. but the ideas for some of the more creative uses of social media are generated from a larger group. McMahon's campaign recently launched a photo caption contest on its Facebook page. but using platforms like Twitter and Facebook has become commonplace and he said people will notice if a candidate doesn't use them." Obama's opponent. got more than 600 responses. explaining that in 2008. The initiative asks supporters to post photos on social networks that "highlight why we are greater together regardless of race. Abrajano says that each campaign uses social media differently. They're being used in addition to television ads and interviews with reporters. Facebook was much smaller and Twitter was just getting started. 16 percent. . a political strategist in Tucson. mailers and knocking on doors." Rosenstiel said. those voters are often less informed and may not be the people you will reach on Twitter or Facebook." said David Steele. Rosenstiel said. 20 percent and Twitter. "Its role is really best suited for mobilizing people that are already supporting a particular candidate to go out and get that candidate elected. one of your friends probably does. 2012 Good luck opening Facebook or Twitter these days without seeing something from candidates vying for your vote in November's election. However. LinkedIn or Google+ . But Woo Factor is Thought Slight http://azstarnet. a social blogging service. Votes are still won through old-school channels . lawn signs and meet-and-greets.but only a quarter consider these sites important for discussing political issues or recruiting people to get involved in a cause.campaigns and issues. LinkedIn. campaign teams see these channels as a fast. Pew says the amount of political material users post on social networking sites is relatively small. Rosenstiel said. A second survey found that 12 percent of adults who go online use Pinterest. Arizona Daily Star: Candidates Cast Their Nets on Facebook. links to press releases and take jabs at their opponents. But in the end. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that 66 percent of adult Americans use social networking sites such as Facebook. People have to choose to follow politicians and to participate in discussions. 12 percent use the photosharing service Instagram and 5 percent use the Tumblr. Twitter. stressing that even with technology at their disposal. leaving politicians to target the swing vote during campaign season. it remains largely ineffective at winning the minds of undecided voters. "Who you are and who you are appealing to dictates your technology strategy to some extent.TV and radio ads. When campaigns interact with people through social media. 66 percent. 40 percent of voters side with Republicans and 40 percent side with Democrats. political strategists say. stereotypical way — through television ads. free and easy way to get their messages out. More adult users stay connected through Facebook.html Brady McCombs September 23. it's still necessary for candidates to reach voters in a more standard. With social media playing an ever-larger role in everyday life. They regularly post videos. Even if you don't "friend" or "like" any candidate on Facebook or "follow" them on Twitter. and that is different from when campaigns run television advertisements. he said. But even as social media drives the election chatter. commentary.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/candidates-cast-their-nets-on-facebooktwitter-but-woo-factor/article_670b2ac2-35d0-5bb8-b95a-9aec2f63feb0. they are likely talking to a more engaged audience. and it says users who are the most politically engaged get more from social networking sites. most users also said they do not use the sites for political purposes or debates. he said. While less partisan. In addition to the standard announcements of endorsements. "Keeping in touch with friends and family is by far the main reason why most people use social networking sites." said Daniel Scarpinato. is used to post links or for quick jabs." Facebook is increasingly used to post longer commentary or post pictures." trading snarky barbs about an issue or something a candidate has done or said. "So. spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. "It is a key component to getting your message out and communicating with both voters and decision makers. "You ignore it at your own peril. "Curious statement. often with several posts a day. on his Facebook page. only 16 percent said they have changed their views about a political issue after discussing it or reading a post on social networking sites.S. "But it is a good tool to talk to your supporters and hopefully they amplify your message. "Thanks to your efforts." said Aaron Smith." Tweets. Twitter and YouTube . which has a 140character limit. TV ads and campaign events. a Republican candidate for U. .Even though they encounter plenty of political activity while browsing friends' profiles and news feeds.S. A social media plan is essential to any successful campaign." wrote Richard Carmona.000 online in just the last week. Whether running for president or county board of supervisors." Candidates keep their feeds lively. FaceBook posts The familiar icons of the social media giants . the Democratic candidate for U.Facebook. Twitter.can usually be found prominently positioned on a candidate's Web page. How 'bout we elect someone who hasn't already thrown in the towel?" Candidates often use the sites to promote favorable polls. Senate. a Democratic political strategist. we've raised more than $51. President Obama tells a Univision audience that he has learned that 'you can't change Washington from the inside. co-author of the study and senior research specialist with the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project. positive news stories or other accomplishments. but it's no magic bullet. a Twitter account and strong presence across all the digital platforms. coming from someone seeking a second term. wrote on his Facebook page this week. Spokespeople and supporters of candidates often engage in what have become known as "Twitter wars. such as YouTube. Senate. "The average donation was $70 and that tells me our strategy of leaning on grassroots donors over secret money and Super PACs is working … I don't think there's any doubt now that we have the momentum.' " Jeff Flake." said Rodd McLeod. "It's not a wise strategy to rely on social media to persuade undecided voters. any viable candidate now has a Facebook page. they also weigh in on news of the day. " Steele said. Before Facebook and Twitter.forbes. the secret weapon isn't high tech. and enlisting and mobilizing volunteers. Most people go to the mailbox and browse through their mail." Flake's spokesman shot back: "@CarmonaForAZ never ran for office as a Republican because it turns out he is liberal. Sen. mailers still big For raising money." Also.com/sites/kellyclay/2012/09/19/is-romney-more-social-media-savvy-than-obama/ . People have to choose to follow candidates on Twitter or Facebook. national party committees have already spent nearly $1 million on TV ads. interns post the full version on the campaign website. Carmona's supporters deluged Flake supporters with Tweets that efforts to paint Carmona as a 'rubber stamp' for Democrats were bogus. but no tech. But winning the votes that often decide close races means getting your candidate's message in front of people who aren't actively seeking political news and information. TV ads. "With all the clutter in the messaging marketplace. A 30-second spot that comes on between a popular show watched by a wide cross section of people. "I better go like all the candidates (on Facebook). Mailers also remain popular ways to try to reach undecided voters. In the tightly contested Congressional District 1 race between Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick and Republican Jonathan Paton. strategists say. McLeod said.S." is a better investment than driving home your message with in-the-bag supporters. the Democratic strategist. connecting with media. "direct mail is still the most effective tool. Now." said McLeod. Carmona's spokesman Tweeted: "Flake's attacks look pathetic in light of the fact that AZs top Rs wanted @carmonaforaz to run for Congress and Gov. political strategist Steele said. with a link to it on Twitter and shortened version on Facebook. That gives a political mailer at least a fighting chance to get read by somebody not actively seeking out political material." Forbes: Is Romney More Social Media Savvy than Obama? http://www. "The hard part of reaching undecided voters is getting their attention in the first place. Jon Kyl admitted that Republicans once tried to recruit Carmona to run for office." That's why candidates still spend huge chunks of their campaign coffers to buy TV ads. and Web videos touting their campaigns. many candidates have their own "channels" on YouTube that host collections of TV ads. a campaign would send out a press release by having interns fax it around. it's not like they get up in the morning and say. For him. such as "American Idol. social media is effective.After a story came out in which Republican U. "If somebody is undecided. meaning most followers are already supporters. . and many brands take it for face value. Paul Ryan. such as with Google Adwords. a sponsored search result for Romney shows up. A search for Bill Clinton – who gave a monumental supporting speech for Obama at the DNC a few weeks ago – returns a sponsored search result Mitt Romney. Biden. he paid for his name (and Ryan’s) to appear as a sponsored result when Facebook users searched for his competition. But a funny thing happens. hoping their own search terms earn them a place in that “Sponsored” slot when Facebook users search for their business or related topics. if you search for Obama on Facebook. whether it was Obama. but this move by Romney shows he – or someone on his team – knows a little something about new media. If you search for Mitt Romney on Google. his Wikipedia page. and is ready to harness the full potential of social media and advertising to reach as many Americans as possible before the election. But is Romney’s sneaky campaign on Facebook indicating that his team might be a little more social media savvy than Obama’s? Instead of leveraging Romney’s own terms to promote his own campaign. though. while none of this will likely even matter in November. Of course. boasting 28 million fans on Facebook. presidential election. a link to The White House website. It appears Romney’s camp is utilizing a new feature in Facebook that allows a Page on Facebook to pay money to show up as a “Sponsored” result in Facebook search if users search for specific terms (such as “Obama”). and so on. A lingering question remained: Does that online social influence translate to real-world behavior when people step away from the computer? The challenge is to find online and real-world behaviors where cause and effect can be teased out with controlled experiments on a large enough scale. A study of 61 million Facebook users finds that using online social networks to urge people to vote has a much stronger effect on their voting behavior than spamming them with information via television ads or phone calls.wired. Social media savvy brands already do this in other arenas.Kelly Clay September 19. and more. Obama does know a thing or two about social media. You don’t get search results for the sitting President. 2012 If you search for Barack Obama on Google. Instead.com/wiredscience/2012/09/social-voting/ Sciencenow September 13. you also get the kind of search results you would expect – news about his latest PR gaffes. Wired: ‘Social Media’ Really Does Rock the Vote http://www. or Clinton. his official website. 2012 Brace yourself for a tidal wave of Facebook campaigning before November’s U. a strong web presence and even a popular Instagram account – but Romney’s social ad campaign is something we haven’t seen much from the current President. A similar thing happens if you search for Vice President Biden – you get Romney’s running mate.S. The study comes hot on the heels of a Science paper originally published online on 21 June that tracked how people influence each other’s online behavior through Facebook. There’s not many rules to this form of advertising. it’s a good lesson for business owners that have competition to always be one step ahead of them – no matter how big or small your potential audience is. you get the kind of search results you expect – links to Obama’s official website. The study is “both significant and convincing. Rally and Square for help with its digital campaign strategy. about 60 million people received a message that encouraged them to vote. and Facebook was planning on rolling out a nonpartisan “Get Out the Vote” campaign. The photos apparently worked: People who received messages alerting them that their friends had voted were 0. Two control groups. Fowler’s Ph. the director of a new “data science” team at Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park. The effect was four times stronger than just seeing the voting message without photos of friends. Then. It included links to local polling stations.S. then seeing the profile photos should translate to voting out in the real world. a social scientist at Boston University School of Management.” SF Gate: Romney campaign: biggest user of Facebook’s mobile ad platform http://blog. The Republican presidential nominee might not necessarily win over the area’s voters. Fowler wondered if he could create an experiment using Facebook’s giant social network. He had recently been introduced to Cameron Marlow.sfgate. yet others are high school peers with whom I seldom engage offline but whose updates I read on a regular basis.000 votes cast. It just so happened that the U. But his campaign has reached out to tech companies like Facebook.com/nov05election/2012/09/12/romney-campaign-biggest-user-of-facebooks-mobile-adplatform/ Benny Evangelista September 12. he might have the Bay Area to thank.In the spring of 2010. reminding people to vote by publishing a message on Facebook users’ news feeds. On Election Day. others are old college friends. or no message at all. the team reports online today in Nature. . to track who actually voted in the election. a golden opportunity fell into the lap of James Fowler. he says.” says Dylan Walker. is to see what kinds of relationships matter most. Google. each containing about 600.39 percent more likely to vote than those who received messages with no social information.” Romney digital campaign manager Zac Moffatt said during an interview at TechCrunch Disrupt.S. 2012 If Gov. and most of that boost came from the people’s closest friends (judging closeness by the frequency of interaction on Facebook). and photos of six of their randomly chosen friends who had already clicked the “I Voted” button. That translates to an additional 282. San Diego. would the Facebook campaign have an impact? Since no personal data of Facebook users would be released. student Robert Bond led the research team. Mitt Romney wins the presidential election in November. California. the team matched people’s names and birth dates with those in the official state election rolls. Some are work colleagues that I see on an everyday basis. a clickable “I Voted” button. With just a few tweaks to how those messages were published. citizens normally voting in congressional races. congressional elections were coming up in November of that year. either received a version of the message with voting information but no photos of their friends. I have different types of friendships with my online peers that go beyond the distinction of casual versus close. Marlow agreed. The next step. Twitter. a social scientist at the University of California. These companies allow us to be so much more successful because they bring their expertise to bear and allow us to be able to better glue together the best minds. “For example. If the influence of Facebook friends extends beyond the Internet. Do they influence me in different ways? Absolutely.000 people. the campaign could be converted into a massive controlled social science experiment: With less than 40 percent of eligible U. Eventbrite.D. Other technologies like Eventbrite’s event planning tools and Rally’s fundraising platform are helping the campaign generate better engagement with voters. “Online advertising is redefining the way people are going to get their message out. ranging from the importance of online ads in political campaigns to the allegations that the Romney campaign bought Twitter followers. “People are living their lives online and you can’t pretend this doesn’t exist. The campaign has also used mobile payments service Square so volunteers can collect donations on the spot at pop-up merchandize stores at events. Interestingly. Moffatt said.com/2012/09/12/romney-digital-director-zac-moffatt/ Frederic Lardinois September 12. “the only way we’re going to define success is if we can win in November.Traditional television advertising may not be as effective in political campaigns as before. In his view. an engagement rate far higher than normal Web based ads. said Moffatt. According to Moffatt. is that online advertising serves as prospecting to get people from Facebook to eventually creating an account on MittRomney. During the week of the Republican National Convention. our own Greg Ferenstein interviewed Mitt Romney’s Digital Director Zac Moffatt. this will also “be the first campaign in history where the campaign moves from just fundraising to mobilization.” Political Campaigns And Online Advertising One reason why digital is also becoming so important is because so many people now time-shift their TV viewing. the Romney campaign has become the biggest user of Facebook’s experimental mobile advertising platforms and report click-through rates of about 10 percent. And the lessons presidential campaigns learn also should provide guidelines for future ad campaigns by businesses. The discussion touched upon a wide variety of issues. politics is becoming very important for technology. That means a big segment of their target audience needs to be reached in new ways. The people who do this. are also the ones who are most likely to volunteer. 2012 At TechCrunch Disrupt today. not just because of the money it brings in through advertising and other means. What’s important to note here.” he noted. including through Facebook. “Nothing else has the scale and flexibility like digital.” he said. Moffatt pointed out that one thing in the . he said. Asked about this pretty astonishingly high number.” he said. “This will be the first (political) campaign in history where digital advertising moves from list building and fundraising application to persuasion and mobilization.” In the last 60 days.” Tech Crunch: Mitt Romney’s digital director Zac Moffatt: you can’t run a political campaign without digital http://techcrunch. it’s now impossible to run a campaign without digital. he said. Moffatt said. the Romney campaign is now seeing click-through rates on Facebook that are close to 10% on mobile. Moffatt said. those volunteers collected about $1 million nationwide. Moffatt said his team found that one-third of potential registered voters did not watch TV last weekend other than for sports. but also because numerous startups now come out of presidential campaigns. after all. However.com. making it a lot harder to reach likely voters. As Ferenstein noted at the start of the panel. Twitter and Google+. though here the focus is more on video and getting people to share content. said Moffatt.” It’s less important that people talk about you (and it’s hard to know if these conversations are positive or negative anyway). Published in the latest edition of the prestigious science journal. 2012 The first large-scale experimental research on the political influence of social networks finds that Facebook quadruples the power of get-out-the-vote messages. If vanity metrics mattered. because it would be wrong to both assume that Facebook could have dramatic effects on turnout or assume that it’s limited to 2. and the robust culture of civic . For Moffatt. Interestingly. this study is an attractive selling point to campaigns and causes looking for a way to maximize their impact for little cost or effort. have uniquely powerful political benefits. He argues that engagement is far more important and even though the Romney campaign has fewer followers on the usual social media sites. Turnout was verified from a database of public voting records. In the 19th century.campaign’s favor is that “not everybody is running for president. Moffatt only had one comment: “We had nothing to do with that.2%. “Justin Bieber would be president. Romney ’12 is. political festivals. the 3pronged experiment displayed two types of “I Voted” messages. using tools from Facebook. Justin Bieber Would Be President One issue the Romney campaign is facing is that the Obama campaign has far more followers and friends on Twitter and Facebook. While Facebook is unlikely return the United States to the 80 percent-plus voting rates of the 19th Century. rampant vote-buying. this doesn’t seem to be a major issue. the most important finding was that 80% of the study’s impact came from “social contagion”. he argues. produces about an 8% bump in turnout.” Tech Crunch: Important study: Facebook quadruples the power of campaign messages http://techcrunch. as opposed to television or radio. face-to-face canvassing. This is the first definitive proof that social networks. Square and Eventbrite. If Vanity Metrics Mattered. As for the allegations that the Romney campaign bought Twitter followers. one with pictures of friends underneath and one without. “which raises doubts about the effectiveness of information-only appeals to vote in this context.” The Romney campaign is also using Apple’s iAds. but more important to get people to take actions. Nature.2% increase in verified votes).” surmise the authors. for example. though.com/2012/09/12/important-study-facebook-quadruples-the-power-of-campaignmessages/ Gregory Ferenstein September 12. Those who did not see pictures of their friends were barely affected by the message at all. the 61 million participant study randomly assigned all Facebook users over 18-years-old to see an “I Voted” counter at the top of their newsfeed with the number of total users who had voted on Nov 2nd. Google. users sharing messages with friends who would otherwise never have seen it. help the campaign to glue together the best services and do things like setting up pop-up merchandise stores during its convention that took in more than $1 million and used Square for mobile payments. locally-controlled government. While the single-message study produced a moderately successful boost in turnout (a 2. it’s seeing similar engagement rates. among many others. This is a far cry from when the United States had arguably the most active democracy in history. The campaign is also working with a number of Silicon Valley companies to optimize its processes. These. The best get-out-the-vote practice. The study should be put in a bit of context. which had a link for more information about local polling places. Facebook is potentially (very) powerful.. Dewhurst was not only the heavy favorite from the start. so the power of social networks probably has a ceiling of about 10% at best for presidential campaigns.. as Facebook bleeds into older demographics. From the outset. Facebook could make it a lot easier and cheaper for campaigns and causes to reach all of the latent. . A lot more research is needed to understand how Facebook could impact voting rates and engagement with causes.thtml Vincent Harris 9/11/2012 Six months after Republican Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for U. With Ted at the helm. Most importantly. And that would be . Additionally. Why America Stopped Voting and Amusing Ourselves To Death). “The only way [Lt. Ted Cruz went on to win a Republican primary against one of the most powerful Republicans in the state. I recommend two excellent books. I think for comparison to other GOTV [GetOut-The-Vote] campaigns our effect size would be more in the neighborhood of 5% to 8% and we would find that the message actually got closer to a million extra people to the polls. Campaigns & Elections: A Social Media-Fueled Upset http://www. Had no one under the age of 30 voted in 2008. grassroots-centric race unlike anything previously seen in Texas. Senate. many of those targeted by the study were not registered to vote. have a notoriously inconsequential effect on elections. On the other hand. who?” Despite being outspent 3 to 1. campaign messages could have a much larger impact than the study found. or had already voted. Gov. as researcher Professor James Fowler reminds me in an email.campaignsandelections.1%. For instance. but he was backed strongly by the Texas GOP establishment. noted Texas political pundit Paul Burka posed this question in print about a race the overwhelming majority of pundits thought was a foregone conclusion: “Is it even worth writing about?” he asked. digital was baked into all aspects of the campaign from communications to political fieldwork to polling. “We were intentionally conservative in our estimates published in Nature since we were testing scientific hypotheses. Obama still would have won every state but two. as well). we knew a strong digital presence was critical to Cruz’s chances because initially the campaign simply did not have the funds to compete with Dewhurst on TV. This case study looks to examine only one aspect of the campaign’s strategy—its digital operations. But. if we were to adjust for all these factors. could not be matched to voting records. 56 percent to 44 percent. Young people.S. In other words.” he writes The likely upshot from the study is that Facebook may be able influence all the likely voters that would ordinarily cost a lot of money to reach. the entire 2008 presidential parade only boosted youth turnout by 2. at the very least. roughly the same amount that this single message-study did (of course.com/case-studies/327457/a-social-mediafueled-upset. who dominate social media. Social media allowed the campaign to motivate and coordinate grassroots supporters. which was critical for an insurgent campaign in a state as big as Texas.participation of post-Civil War America did more to boost voter turnout than all of the billions of dollars in modern campaigning could ever do (for more information. the study reached older demographics. the Cruz campaign ran an aggressive. civically active citizens waiting to make their impact on the world. David] Dewhurst loses is if someone with more money and better conservative credentials than he has gets into the race. However. but there’s a certain percentage of Americans who just don’t respond to modern campaigns. Josh understood the quick pace at which news spreads online and worked tirelessly with Drogin to respond to voters across the state. Between July 26 and July 31. supplemented by my firm and the candidate himself. we found search advertising incredibly effective. It shows how successful the ROI on online advertising can be when ads are part of a rapid response strategy. Paving the way for the campaign’s online success was a consulting team that completely bought in when it came to digital. Additionally. Travis McCormick. a young conservative who had experience in digital. Ted utilized web videos early on to break through the clutter and gain some earned media. Ted met with bloggers in person and via phone often. and created a segmented email list to update bloggers from. was added to the campaign’s in-house digital arm. The buy-in from the campaign’s senior strategists allowed us to effectively meld traditional media and new throughout the race. and only spent $43. we raised $4. Even Bing and Yahoo. By Election Day there were no less than three full time people working on digital. which only represent 35 percent of online searches.96 on these ads. We ran uniquely branded search ads when someone searched “Cruz China” and other attacks that would lead people to a “get the facts” page on the main Cruz site. and the campaign created a robust blogger action center encouraging bloggers to post supportive widgets. In the end. Sarah Palin. We also ran ads contextually around the name of the endorser. We also used ads to rebut attacks coming from the Dewhurst campaign and his Super PAC allies. Josh Perry. Online Advertising The campaign advertised across a multitude of platforms including Bing/Yahoo. Google Ad Words and Twitter. even another staffer. The goal here was to connect them to Cruz and garner donations. employed a variety of online ad strategies and supplemented our traditional fundraising with successful online efforts. The campaign engaged bloggers to help energize the grassroots. combat opposition attacks and gain name recognition.525 of of those ads. Texas has a large network of active conservative bloggers and giving access to them was important to promoting Ted’s conservative message and helping generate buzz about his candidacy among the party base. for example—we targeted advertising on Facebook to people who “liked” those individuals’ pages. Running online ads allowed us to raise money. generate online donations and respond to attacks from the Dewhurst campaign. produced a positive return. we used our endorsements as key words for Google search ads. As the campaign progressed Jason and John reached out to me about bringing my firm into the race to supplement what Josh was doing and oversee a broader digital strategy. General Consultant Jason Johnson and Campaign Manager John Drogin both believed that digital was an inexpensive way to help level the playing field with the wealthy Dewhurst. This was roughly a 10 to 1 return. Often underutilized on campaigns. we spent $365 on Bing and Yahoo advertising and raised $3.Ted announced his candidacy for Senate on a conference call with conservative bloggers. For example. Once Ted received a major endorsement—talk show host Sean Hannity or former Alaska Gov.180 on Sarah Palin keywords. Face book. Social media and the digital space were used as a tool to raise Cruz’s name ID. Online advertising wasn’t used merely as a rapid . was brought on to manage the campaign’s day-to-day web operations. Additionally. 58. During interviews. Facebook and email. Among its features was an interactive map showcasing Ted’s support county by county across Texas.response mechanism but proactively to promote opposition websites like Dewbious. around notable end-of-quarter deadlines or holidays. Cruz campaign manager John Drogin had the idea to build a branded microsite that would empower Ted’s grassroots supporters. The site popularly featured a “Grassroots Spotlight” that showcased dedicated volunteers and supporters. The concept came to fruition when we released CruzCrew. if our content wasn’t organically showing up on voters’ news feeds. This melding of traditional media and new media was important to online fundraising success. 1. Ads were placed contextually through the Google Display Network on articles mentioning Dewhurst’s name. It linked to a Cruz Crew store.098 shares. where voters could purchase t-shirts and other apparel in support of Ted. The money rolled in immediately following his on air requests.000 unique donors. we made our way onto their screen with ads reminding them to go vote. 42.000 donations under $100 and an average donation of $155. This way.com. and the campaign would meet them there with a uniquely branded landing page welcoming listeners of whatever radio show he was on. That said. Facebook and Twitter also raised some money but paled in comparison to money raised via email. Thecampaign would plan moneybomb initiatives. Throughout the day new “promoted tweets” ads went up to people following Ted on Twitter encouraging them to vote and counting down the hours until voting closed. Surprisingly. Organic support for Ted on Facebook and Twitter was supplemented with ads on both sites. There’s no doubt that TV ads have an impact on persuading voters and moving the needle in public opinion polls. talking one on one to voters and utilizing the web as a means to harness support proved incredibly effective.432 impressions. What Does It All Mean? Virtually every study done on the consumption of mass media by voters still shows the dominance of television. email fundraising and themed money bombs to successfully raise money online. 1. the website and emails to ensure that everything was uniform when it came to the visuals. sometimes weeks in advance. the site provided tools for voters to connect and spread the word with their friends easily via Twitter. Ted would push listeners to his website.880 likes and 1. email reigned as the best source of online donations. we ran a promoted post advertisement to our fans and fans of our endorsements and received 793. even in a state as big as Texas. The campaign utilized online advertising.136 clicks. When it came to proactive fundraising asks by the campaign. On Election Day. which invited volunteers to take on tasks and print out campaign literature.org. Ted had over 33. Often a branded theme would accompany the money bomb: “Help launch the Cruz missile” or “Light the torch of liberty!” These microfundraising initiatives would have their own set of branded graphics for ads. Talk radio listeners were another good fundraising source. . Most importantly. Online Fundraising By the end of July. 2012 Thanks to digital platforms and the increasing importance of social media. Sixteen of our tweets encouraged voters to head out to the polls. As Rally’s infographics show. Rally provides analytics that help reduce the guesswork political campaigns previously had to do on what messages were moving the needle. . What were the top ten most talked about moments from the Democratic and Republican conventions on Facebook? There’s a page for that. and who are the most generous givers. The average Facebook user spends more than eight hours a month on the social network.144 people retweeting us that day. earned media. the Cruz campaign tweeted 151 times. online donations tool Rally. Rally found that Democratic-leaning states were the biggest givers.253 likes on our posts. The Dewhurst campaign updated its Facebook page just once. PandoDaily: Rally.000 politically-oriented causes. You’re a candidate and want to know where your donors live? NationBuilder can help you with that. Make no mistake about it: Ted Cruz’s natural ability to drum up grassroots support and convey the conservative philosophy is what won him the election. and why. The campaign’s social media efforts didn’t end there. On the day of the July 31 runoff. such as FacebookTimeline covers and profile pictures that touted our #ChooseCruz hashtag.646 shares and 14. with a measly 49 shares and 392 likes. if you happen to live in a northeastern state or Wyoming.com/2012/09/11/rally-orgs-donations-data-shows-us-americas-stingiest-states/ Hamish McKenzie September 11.” says Rally co-founder and marketing head Jonas Lamis. the Cruz campaign outperformed the Dewhurst campaign on social media. you’re more likely to vote with your wallet than folks in other states. ”This election cycle candidates and campaigns have much more granular awareness of the impact of their messaging. we provided voters with tools to promote our campaign. Who attracts the most chatter on Twitter? That’s Obama. Additionally. but 135 of those focused on interacting directly with voters. In total. Digital simply served as a way to productively channel the energy into Facebook shares. we’re getting better data for this election campaign than ever before. Every campaign could benefit from a strong digital presence—one that doesn’t simply talk at potential voters but that has a productive conversation with them. with a total of 2.org can inform candidates in detail how people are reacting to particular campaign content. where Dewhurst was only retweeted 64 times. whereas the Dewhurst campaign tweeted only 11 times. The Cruz campaign Facebook page was updated 11 times that day. they were interacting with us. but the two parties were pretty much even when it came to “moderate” donations (between $100 and $150) state by state. Our effort to interact with voters on Twitter resulted in 2. So who among us are the most willing to dig deep into their pockets for political purposes? After studying the online giving patterns of 1 million individual donations across more than 10.There’s no doubt where people are spending their time online: Facebook. and the Cruz campaign wanted to make sure if a voter was on Facebook. donations and eventually votes.org’s Donations Shows Us America’s Stingiest States http://pandodaily. Now. although some donations were generated via Facebook. And in the waning days of the campaign. Vincent Harris. which yielded a 10-to-1 return on investment.All Facebook: How Facebook propelled U.S.646 shares and 14. 2012 Facebook and social media played a pivotal role in the outcomes of several U.S. On the day of the election. as well as Twitter. they were interacting with us. such as a Facebook timeline cover image and profile pictures that touted its #ChooseCruz hashtag.253 likes on its posts. Cruz was a featured speaker at last month’s Republican National Convention in Tampa. In the end. The average Facebook user spends more than eight hours per month on the social network. it made our way onto their screens with ads reminding them to go vote. One of the takeaways is the boost that social media can give unknown candidates who lack the resources to launch radio and television advertising. Cruz spent money on Google search ads. 1.136 clicks.098 shares.politico. features a profile of Senate candidate Ted Cruz’s recipe for primary success by his digital strategist. Harris said tools to promote the campaign were shared with voters. Here’s a look at how Cruz’s Facebook strategy played out: Facebook ads supplemented Cruz’s organic support on Facebook. the campaign was able to not just talk to voters. through digital media.html?hp=t1 . For example. Fla. and the Cruz campaign wanted to make sure that if a voter was on Facebook. with a total of 2.com/ted-cruz-primary-win_b99360 Jennifer Moire September 11. This way. Readers: Do you think campaigns this election year will turn on digital media tools such as Facebook? POLITICO: Tech Firm Snafus Snarl Conventions http://www. which generated 793.432 impressions. The politico’s handbook.org. a microsite. as we’ve heard before. Harris said emails and appeals via talk radio were the most effective. the digital team ran a get out the vote (GOTV in campaign parlance) promoted post to fans and fans of their endorsements. if the content wasn’t organically showing up on voters’ news feeds. The David Dewhurst campaign updated its Facebook page just once. The Cruz Facebook page was updated 11 times that day. Campaigns & Elections. launched to motivate volunteers to tackle mailing and other campaign tasks. Cruz clearly had a message that resonated with voters. 1. it all comes down to engagement. CruzCrew. Senate primaries this summer. yielding 49 shares and 392 likes. but have a productive conversation that resulted in a major victory. Senate Candidate Ted Cruz to Primary Win http://allfacebook. As far as fundraising. and 1. Harris added: There’s no doubt where people are spending their time online: Facebook.880 likes. A new case study broke down just how the social network propelled one tea party candidate in Texas from a virtual unknown to a political insider. Yet Harris noted that. as well as advertising on Bing and Yahoo.com/news/stories/0912/80934. Many of Google’s video “hangouts” were riddled with sound problems. 2012 The political world has seen the future and the future — for now — is glitchy. “After Tuesday's live stream ended. "From our teams' personal interactions with attendees in Charlotte and Tampa to the global audience reached through information and insights shared in print. spokesman Andrew Noyes said. Facebook’s efforts to get the thousands of RNC attendees to identify themselves in a high-def photo from the hall drew only 75 participants. Facebook felt generally positive about its experience. and on-air. Google certainly maintained its dominance in Internet search. Top of the screw-up heap: Visitors to the Democratic National Convention’s own website could not play back any of Tuesday’s proceedings for many hours. . We can look at this almost as a tryout for the major leagues. The news-sharing site Reddit crashed while hosting President Barack Obama's question-and-answer session. and its subsidiary." he said. drew tiny audiences or simply proved ineffectual. knows few rivals when it comes to posting and viewing videos. YouTube briefly showed an incorrect error message on the page hosting the completed live stream instead of the standard ‘This event is complete’ message. Yet many of the newfangled elements trotted out to open digital doors to folks far from Charlotte or Tampa encountered technical problems. we believe Facebook helped make these important quadrennial gatherings the most social in history.Steve Friess September 8. YouTube shut off public access to video of the DNC’s first night — including Michelle Obama’s speech — for nearly 12 hours. But snafus and misfires abounded. The DNC’s live stream was hosted by YouTube in a special arrangement. “This is still an age of trial-and-error for all these new channels.” Social media no doubt enjoyed dramatic successes over the past fortnight. “They constantly put up new gimmicks or options. Users who wanted to scroll back to see the first lady’s much-lauded talk encountered various error messages indicating that the material had been blocked because of copyright issues.” The trouble was never fully explained. with Twitter and Facebook clearly firming up their places as reliable go-to spaces for online sharing and even political organizing. some more serious than others. online.” according to a statement from a Google spokesperson. who teaches about technology. politics and culture.” said Fordham University communications professor Paul Levinson. to remind us that 2012 is part of a transition era rather than an accurate depiction of the ultimate technological destination. Yet as of late morning on Wednesday. YouTube. users continued to find that attempts to play the video yielded a message with a frown-face reporting the content they sought to view was “private. This was the year technology was expected to transform an American relic: the national convention. it’s not a lot. a big number for the Web but a sliver of the millions who watch even the low-rated TV shows. but “you’d think people would learn.5 million views of convention-related material during the GOP event for a total of 300. drew a top live YouTube audience of 78. Yet YouTube clearly remains a supplement to the still-dominant audience aggregator that is television. Yet video and audio quality was wildly inconsistent and unreliable in many cases.” Reddit general manager Erik Martin said they "wish it had gone better but considering the short notice. used Hangouts to create videos for their sites.” . but that’s in one state. a recordable online video conference venue heavily promoted at the RNC and DNC. you might anticipate he might draw a large audience. Years ago.” said Dartmouth’s Brendan Nyhan. Meanwhile.000 on Wednesday. for instance.000 hours of video watched. C-SPAN spokesman Howard Mortman. The president’s speech on Thursday peaked at 178. sites regarded it as a badge of honor to be forced offline by overwhelming demand. “It’s not really cute anymore to crash websites. Many outlets.000. it's an amazing feat that a social data-heavy site with only 20 employees was able to handle it at all. praised the service for the convenience and cost savings it offers — no studio or satellite arrangements needed — but acknowledged there were downsides.” Google+ Hangouts. whose network conducted several Hangouts. a large audience online is relative. Former President Bill Clinton’s stem-winder.” Mortman said. Nielsen reported. too.000 votes in a swing state could swing an election.1 million were watching on TV." Of course. Google declined to make anyone available to discuss the Hangout or YouTube problems. “No.“It’s a head-scratcher. also ran into some challenges. “It shows there are limits. journalists and others could hold live chats with non-attendees scattered across the country.” said law professor Jack Lerner. “That’s Google’s technology.” said Vincent Harris. Twitter was quick after Obama’s Thursday night speech to announce “a new record political moment” after logging 52. And YouTube eagerly proclaimed it counted more than 2. “We had a discussion with the journalist Rachel Sklar and Julie Moos of Poynter that had those lighting and glitchy audio technical issues and we showed parts of it on the air. It seems like when you’re having the president of the United States.” Among the biggest surprises was that up-and-comer Reddit crashed while hosting Obama on Aug. The search company built special booths at both conventions from which politicians. a Republican digital campaign strategist working for Senate candidates Ted Cruz and Linda McMahon. It will get better. 29 for a live chat. We are working on improving bottlenecks in our infrastructure that should make the site faster overall and especially [during] massive events like this. perhaps 78. director of the University of Southern California Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic. more than 25. “I can’t imagine that the Democratic Party wasn’t on the phone screaming at Google.757 DNC-related tweets per minute during Obama’s acceptance speech. a government professor who focuses on social media in politics. Seventy-eight thousand people is small town. including C-SPAN and The Daily Beast. The DNC posted the same message at the same time asking its Facebook fans and its Google+ followers to relate their favorite moments from Tuesday’s convention proceedings. Twitter. that can have an impact. “If you can get a compelling photograph. The here-I-am location-based smartphone app paired up with Time magazine for special RNC and DNC programs in which politicians and Time journalists kept users apprised of where they were. “But the nature of the convention is that there will be very few compelling photos. long thumping tail is what people are tweeting about.” Actually. albeit on Thursday. Users who checked in on the app while visiting certain locations in the convention cities would earn a special RNC or DNC-related “badge.000 views. executive editor and Washington bureau chief Michael Duffy said. Even Obama — or a staffer on his behalf — checked in. “Is there a shakeout coming? Yes. including delegates. “The real big.” Both conventions took all-of-the-above approaches to technology. Foursquare doesn’t release how many badges are awarded. Flickr or LinkedIn. was the 2. Foursquare had a surprisingly good fortnight. but more than 12. speakers and the media. Given that the total attendance at both conventions. Paul Ryan for his “brass” — as clues to how these mediums interact.” Harris said.What these online platforms are good for. and we’re always looking for new audiences. Those who checked in also encountered Time’s convention coverage within the app. That’s the future.” Duffy said.650 total views for a set of 176 photos posted on Wednesday night. is amplifying and echoing the news. A notable exception: The DNC posted on Flickr shot of Obama cuddling with his daughters as they watched the first lady’s speech from the White House that has drawn more than 186. though. was a combined 60. then. Facebook and Google search were incredibly dominant.000 people. a few hours before his acceptance speech.000 Foursquare users have announced on Twitter that they’d obtained one at one of the conventions.” Nyhan said. Harris and others say. there’s not much room in there for discussion. the call drew 200 Facebook responses but just six on Google+. Levinson said. “Essentially this is another platform to provide Time’s content. “It’s a way to take our content to where people are. In the end.” Indeed. will be when these tools are no longer newsworthy. “YouTube. there was precious little activity on Pinterest. it was easy to see what worked and what turned out ineffectual. Levinson pointed to two moments — the RNC spectacle of Clint Eastwood quizzing an invisible Obama in an empty chair and the DNC moment of Clinton zinging Rep. Pinterest and Foursquare.” an online collectible of sorts. Everything else is in the land of the niches. . They’re not places people expect to find witty repartee or discussion. That’s the problem with Flickr.” The truest test of what the future looks like. A more typical Flickr tally for the DNC. that’s a fairly high level of participation. creating accounts on every platform available.” Levinson said. “What’s interesting is what is happening in the interaction of tradition and social media. com/obama-acceptance-speech_b99092 Jennifer Moire September 7.html Mark Glaser September 7.org/mediashift/2012/09/mediatwits-55-twitter-facebook-rule-dnc-amazons-big-week251. PBS MediaShift: Mediatwits #55: Twitter.pbs. Our informal observations revealed that users from both sides of the aisle joined Facebook to comment. there’ll be much less talk of what impact social media is having. urging supports to stand with “My President. By the end of the speech. as well as advocacy groups. the reaction on the social network was swift and varied. and share reaction from multiple platforms and across the U.” he said. It also shared this post. which serves to drive the message home. launched a fundraising appeal midway through the speech.” All Facebook: Obama Supporters Flock to Facebook During Acceptance Speech http://allfacebook.. Obama’s campaign arm for gay rights posted on marriage equality. or his remarks.C.“By the time we get to 2016. N. Here are some examples: Obama for America. Facebook Rule DNC. 2012 . Romney’s campaign used the president’s primetime address to get his supporters fired up via Facebook. Fla. And of course. The campaign. To demonstrate their support on Facebook. Facebook users weren’t shy about sharing their feelings for the president.” Facebook users shared news photos of the president delivering his speech as the address unfolded. AllFacebook looked at the reaction on Facebook to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney‘s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. While there was nothing that compared to the empty chair meme. at the Democratic National Convention. the campaign’s grassroots organizing arm. 2012 Last week. like. As a follow-up.S. we tracked public posts on Facebook when President Barack Obama had his turn Thursday night in Charlotte. Amazon’s Big Week www. the Obama campaign’s Facebook page showed that 2. 6 million users were talking about the president. “It’ll just be part of the landscape. users posted applause lines from the speech that friends could like or share. leveraged the sharing power of Facebook and the platform’s unique ability to influence voters through the power of friend-to-friend communications. intending for it to be shared across Facebook. Posts appeared 10 times over and every second. This convention season has been a hit on social media. covering e-book issues. Government. Previously. where he focuses on government and political outreach and has directed the company's election efforts since 2007.Welcome to the 55th episode of the Mediatwits podcast. He has previously worked for Reuters and written for the New York Time and The Economist. mediatwits55. But what will it all mean in the end? Will it move the needle for the election? Also. Barbara Hernandez is a correspondent for PBS MediaShift. NBC Bay Area's technology blog. patent and privacy issues. and we've seen so many numbers and graphics showing popular hashtags and memes.mp3 Subscribe to the podcast here Subscribe to Mediatwits via iTunes Follow @TheMediatwits on Twitter here Our show is now on Stitcher! Listen to us on your iPhone.S. including an illuminated Paperwhite and a larger Kindle Fire. we follow up our report from the RNC with three guests at the DNC in Charlotte: Adam Conner from Facebook. News and Social Innovation. During the 2008 presidential election. A former practicing lawyer. Ari Melber is an attorney. Where does that leave the other two publishers and Apple. and our MediaShift correspondent Ari Melber. Adam Conner is a Manager for Public Policy in Facebook's Washington DC office. Adam was the Director of Online Communications for Congresswoman Louise Slaughter. And the company's nemesis Apple was disappointed by a settlement in an e-book price-fixing lawsuit between the states and three large publishers. Kindle Fire and other devices with Stitcher.S. Previously he was executive producer for digital services at C-SPAN and deputy chief of staff for U. Find Stitcher in your app store or at stitcher. This week. Intro and outro music by 3 Feet Up. as well as MediaShift correspondent Barbara Hernandez. he served as a Legislative Aide in the U. and she also writes for Press:Here. Android Phone. Jeff specializes in mediarelated copyright. who are continuing their fight in court? Will it lead to cheaper e-book prices? We ask paidContent's Jeff Roberts. Senate and as a national staff member of the 2004 John Kerry Presidential Campaign. Previously. with Mark Glaser and Rafat Ali as co-hosts. He leads a team driving creative use of the platform by governments. Amazon has had a banner week. mid-podcast music by Autumn Eyes via Mevio's Music Alley. Jeff Roberts is the legal reporter for the GigaOm's paidContent. Senator Mary Landrieu. Melber traveled with the Obama Campaign on special assignment for The Washington Independent. political candidates. Adam Sharp from Twitter. . non-profit organizations and the faith community. journalists. Guest Bios Adam Sharp is Twitter's Senior Manager.com. television commentator and a correspondent for The Nation magazine. She has more than a decade of experience as a professional journalist and college writing instructor. announcing a new line of Kindles. 2012 . going viral during conventions 18:30: Sharp: Twitter sentiment for candidates does mirror polls 21:30: Melber: The press has addict behavior when it comes to political conventions 24:30: Conner: We see a lot of use on Facebook for political organizing. Ari Melber 10:30: Sharp: Special #DNC2012 Twitter page highlights tweets that get most response.com/2012/09/07/the-biggest-tech-themes-of-the-democratic-national-convention/ Hamish McKenzie September 7. publishers hate them for keeping data on customers 34:20: Mark: Shouldn't price of e-book be cheaper than hardback book? PandoDaily: The Biggest Tech Themes of the Democratic National Convention http://pandodaily. Motorola. Amazon and Apple 4:20: Rafat: Are we only hearing our viewpoints echoed on social media? 6:15: Rundown of topics on our show Twitter. Adam Conner. including new app from Obama campaign Amazon's big week 26:20: Special guests Jeff Roberts and Barbara Hernandez 29:10: Roberts: Big surprise that judge approved the e-book price-fixing settlement 31:30: Hernandez: Will Amazon go back to selling e-books cheaper? 32:20: Roberts: Amazon gaining power.Here are some highlighted topics from the show: Intro 1:00: Big news in the political world and gadget world 1:30: New devices coming from Nokia. Facebook rule DNC 7:00: Special guests Adam Sharp. with some editorial judgment 13:10: Conner: People on Facebook distribute their own news about conventions 16:10: Melber: Fact-checking tweets gaining currency. Samsung. Those children are America’s children. engineers. by education and – yes – by cooperation. I promise you – we can out-educate and out-compete any country on Earth. Help us work with colleges and universities to cut in half the growth of tuition costs over the next ten years. and they create new wealth for all the rest of us.” Emphasis on Education One of the major policy issues for startups and tech giants alike is developing and educating talent for the future. President Obama: And together. and the President himself. HyperVocal. in a way that should benefit both. entrepreneurs. Help give two million workers the chance to learn skills at their community college that will lead directly to a job. hosted a big opening night party featuring The Roots. And from what I heard. too. The informal organization. Bill Clinton. Patrick: But those Orchard Gardens kids should not be left on their own. technology. Startup Culture A startup group led by EventFarm. Help me recruit 100. From the ground in Charlotte this week. and Fighter Interactive made sure that convention attendees knew there is such a thing as a startup community in this country. They increase good jobs. some clear tech themes emerged. Emphasis on Innovation As well as many informal discussions about the importance of innovation to the American economy – including the Huffington Post’s “What Is Working” panel and a bunch of panels hosted by The Ppl that covered everything from gaming to government – former President Bill Clinton paid it special attention in his prime-time speech. and improve early childhood education. and math (the so-called “STEM” fields). yours and mine. Clinton: We know that investments in education and infrastructure and scientific and technological research increase growth. The education theme was a big feature of speeches by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. And among them are the future scientists. Key takeaway line: “I want a [President] who believes with no doubt that we can build a new American Dream economy. especially in science. These were the most important. laborers and civic leaders we desperately need.000 math and science teachers in the next ten years. it seems that both the political set and techies are waking up to their mutual challenges and opportunities. teachers. artists. nightly VIP sessions in the late hours . engineering. that presence was just as significant at the Republican convention. driven by innovation and creativity. We can meet that goal together. As talk of building an “innovation economy” intensifies.I’ve got to admit – I underestimated just how significant a presence the tech industry and startup community would have at the Democratic National Convention. called StartUp RockOn. those efforts were undercut somewhat by the thousands of attendees who recorded the week by Instagram. in case you’re interested. giving us a glimpse at what the convention looks like from behind the scenes.5 million – total number of tweets related to the Democratic National Convention 4 million – number of tweets about the convention on its final day 4 million – total number of tweets about the Republican National Convention PandoDaily: Startups Get Political: How Engine Advocacy is Bridging Washington and the Valley http://pandodaily. innovation in digital media. but I was assured it happened. and several meet-and-greet sessions. The Tech Presence Google hosted a bunch of panels. a startup challenge. staged Hangouts. which included discussions on innovation in journalism. and tweets-per-minute became one of the most important metrics of the convention. and a dinner-and-drinks session in a crowded restaurant. It didn’t matter how loud it got in the Time Warner Cable Arena. and sponsoring startup events. (A local Charlotte magazine blogged more details of what Google and Facebook did in Charlotte.) Instagram Party conventions are carefully orchestrated events that are primed for maximum visual impact for TV audiences. Twitter Even from Charlotte. and innovation in gaming. Substantive Discussion Between the Startup Community and Politicians This happened behind closed doors and at breakfasts I wasn’t invited to. and took up half a city block with a stack of colorful shipping crates converted into a giant working space and meeting zone. demonstrated its self-driving car.756 – the peak number of tweets per minute related to President Obama’s speech 9.com/2012/09/07/startups-get-political-how-engine-advocacy-is-bridging-washington-andthe-valley/ . It was also involved in the aforementioned series of panels. Facebook hosted an “Apps & Drinks” meet-and-greet session with demonstrations from local startups. it was clear that most of the discussion about the convention was actually happening in the form of tweets. government and startups. Twitter sat on panels and had something called a “#DNC2012 Nest” that I never actually saw. Here’s an example courtesy of TrèsSugar. participating in panels. (More on this in a post later today.(including performances by Talib Kweli and ELEW).) Microsoft was on site giving demonstrations. This year. all the noise was on Twitter. Tumblr hosted a Wednesday night “watch party” with free drinks and tacos and tumbled both conventions. Some quick data:     52. started Engine with Josh Mendelsohn. of these landmark pieces of legislation had Engine not been around. Like others from the Bay Area and the “startup community” – a term I’m going to have to keep using in its broadest sense throughout this piece – he has had a series of late nights. ‘Just don’t get in the way.Hamish McKenzie September 7. But McGeary says there has been a “seismic shift”. It was. and Joshua To. Entrepreneurs preferred to dedicate their attention and resources to their products. who has a background in politics. and has five employees. *for+ small or large or in-between [startups] in the Valley or in entrepreneurial communities. an advocacy group cum think tank that represents the interests of entrepreneurial communities from across the country. I’ll write you a check’. as far as McGeary knows. Microsoft. On his red T-shirt is a butcher’s map of a pig. that the startup community has had a significant presence at the conventions. That’s a lot of work for a one-year-old. or Facebook. talking to politicians. who he had worked with at Palo Alto-based online music startup TuneIn. and a thick but trimmed beard cradles his chin and creeps halfway up his face. and it’s strange now to look back and think that startups wouldn’t be represented in the forming. which pays McGeary’s salary. This month. Engine is based in San Francisco. schmoozing with their staff. is wearing his brown hair gathered into a small peak. except all of its sections are labeled “bacon”. it celebrates its first anniversary. or destruction.” he says. In fact.” he jokes. and helping push forward an agenda for a part of the tech industry that isn’t represented by Google. all of which have established lobby groups in Washington DC. it was just ‘Let me do my job’. you’re not hiring a government relations flack straight out of law school. which allows startups to seek investment through crowdfunding. the passing of the JOBS Act. McGeary is co-founder and political strategist of Engine Advocacy. assiduously attending the late-night “VIP” parties hosted by StartUp RockOn in a trendy art gallery on the fringes of the city’s downtown core. and the tabling of the Startup Act. and startups are now starting to pay more attention to the political climate. which would encourage the import of highlyskilled immigrants who want to start companies in the US. it is probably the first sustained and coordinated push for an organized group of startups acting in politics period. and Engine has been involved with them all: the dumping of the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA). But entrepreneurs have long been reluctant to get involved in politics beyond cursory advocacy and contributions for social issues. 2012 Mike McGeary meets me at a downtown Charlotte cafe in what counts for an early morning start at the Democratic National Convention this week: 11am.” . “When you’re hiring that fifth employee. This it the first time. “For a long time. Mendelsohn and To also co-founded a venture capital firm called Hattery. This year has seen some groundbreaking political developments that directly affect the startup community. McGeary. “I like to tell people this is an aspirational T-shirt. McGeary has been representing the group at both the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention. thick-rimmed hipster spectacles. McGeary. which would have implemented severe curbs on Internet freedom and innovation in the name of copyright protection. and if you’re right on social issues. claims more than 300 startups as its members. This guy is one of the most important voices for startups in the political sphere. who is 28. some of the panels and events – such as Tumblr’s Wednesday night “watch party” – didn’t draw crowds. “Government is deliberate. look at their product. though. and they’re not going to take me seriously because I have a pig on my Tshirt that says ‘bacon’. It could also have undermined the “safe harbor” provided by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.org. McGeary. I’ve been struck by the odd optics of the laidback startup culture attempting to mesh with buttoned-up political culture. Engine will be upping the ante on its economic research. Engine will continue to educate government and startups at all levels and build a stronger lobby. like a kid in the candy store. “But in the same way. that’s a problem. it’s the first year of a much longer fight. it could have allowed law enforcement to block entire Internet domains based on the actions of unrelated. “He clearly had no idea of what any of them do. and vice versa. most Congressmen have staff around them who very well understand technology issues. throughout the week. At the start of the week. But he insists fashion shouldn’t matter. both public and private. ‘We don’t understand the breakneck speed. it has been a hectic and crazily successful first year for Engine.000 miles a minute. It has sometimes been a tough task. “There have been so many amazing strides. and it hasn’t been clear from this convention that those worlds have been fully bridged. I don’t know what’s going on. who heads up partnerships for Change. which allows Internet companies to get away with hosting copyright content on their sites as long as they remove infringing content as soon as they have been alerted. however.” Luckily. placing particular emphasis on the spread of tech jobs and how they’re affecting the economy. told me at an event hosted by Emily’s List that some politicians straight-up don’t understand where the techies are coming from. individual users on a single Web page. While the night-time activities seemed to be well patronized by young convention attendees. or will be for some time. He recounted a scene from an “Apps & Drinks” event hosted by Facebook the previous day in which the New York Senator Charles Schumer wandered around the room looking at various products with which he was deeply unfamiliar. I don’t know what the hell a dongle is. and the Startup Act. But we teach them about that at the same time. I reported on the efforts of a group called StartUp RockOn. When he attended a breakfast hosted by Senator Patrick Leahy on Wednesday. Matthew Slutsky. he says. And the hard-partying entrepreneur set seemed far removed from the senators and policy wonks that were holding forth at other events. Silicon Valley and Washington DC occupy very different worlds. government looks at Silicon Valley and says. While the Presidency enters its “lame duck” phase. It was actually really interesting to see. No .” says McGeary.” he says. In Charlotte this week. As good as the first year has been. “I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that they don’t get it. Had the bill passed. Slutsky said. I haven’t found that yet. “If I’m going to them with economic data that suggests my industry is creating all the net job growth in this country. and hope and pray that they wouldn’t get regulated out of existence. “The good news is. the JOBS Act.” McGeary says.” Slutsky said. he hasn’t encountered too many difficulties with the cultural collision. “After SOPA. isn’t prepared to relax. people understood that they could not sit back anymore and just put their head down. which brought a travelling showcase of parties and meet-and-greets to both the Democratic and Republican conventions.But SOPA was a turning point. You guys are going at 400. he dressed up – by wearing a polo shirt. and teaching that to the Valley has been hard because it’s just anathema to the way we think. how to talk about any of them.” With SOPA. On a metaphorical level. and he was just wide-eyed looking at this. much less where and how that works’.” So far.” McGeary says Engine’s goal is to educate entrepreneurial communities about how Washington DC works. com/andrewkaczynski/the-democratic-convention-by-the-facebook-numbers Andrew Kaczynski September 7. Barack Obama's speech led to an 800% increases in mentions of "Obama" on Facebook. “It’s beyond time for us to focus our efforts in terms of helping the startup community in strengthening our efforts to grow the economy at this level. because this is exactly the kind of growth that either candidate in this race will tell you is important. “We are on the edge of something. those goals will only become ever more important. but it’s been growing for 10 years and we just haven’t paid attention to it. 1) President Obama’s Speech 2) Bill Clinton’s Speech 3) Michelle Obama’s Speech 4) Mitt Romney’s Speech 5) Clint Eastwood’s Speech 6) Paul Ryan’s Speech 7) Joe Biden’s Speech 8) Ann Romney’s Speech 9) Chris Christie’s Speech 10) Marco Rubio’s Speech The last night of the DNC went up against the MTV Video Music Awards.buzzfeed. 1) President Obama 2) President Clinton 3) First Lady Michelle Obama 4) Mitt Romney 5) One Direction 6) Clint Eastwood 7) Lil Wayne 8) Vice President Joe Biden 9) Taylor Swift and Frank Ocean (Tie) 10) Ann Romney . Bill Clinton’s speech. Here are the mentions of politicians vs..” says McGeary.. The top ten convention moments in terms of total mention count were..matter who becomes the next President of the United States. rock stars.” BuzzFeed: The Democratic Convention By the Facebook Numbers http://www. 2012 Barack Obama's speech was mentioned 192% times as often as Mitt Romney's and 40% more than the second-most mentioned moment. 646 tweets per minute.Anyone can turn on a TV. "Literally #drink" "If you take a drink every time Biden says 'literally' you literally will be passed out by the time Obama takes the stage. It was about -. 1.CNN: 5 OMG Moments at the DNC http://www.!" chants at the mention of his demise made some uncomfortable. This is not about those important topics. really didn't like that line Mr.S. 2. Politico reported the Obama campaign bought this promoted tweet to run when users search for "literally." posted @bethreinhard. The text of Biden's prepared remarks did not include the offending word. "Osama bin Laden is dead. bin Laden's death represented more than the fulfillment of a promise or the resolve of America." (Crowd cheers) Death should never be a celebration. His speech went something like this: "Look.cnn. #dnc2012" tweeted @brfreed.it was about healing an unbearable wound. Pres.A.' " @indecision suggested. "I'm no longer just the candidate. It was about righting an unspeakable wrong. 3. "Joe Biden literally thinks 'literally' means 'figuratively.literally -. Barack understood that the search for (Osama) bin Laden was about a lot more than taking a monstrous leader off the battlefield. "Not sure anyone has gotten louder cheers tonight than dead Osama bin Laden.html Dorrine Mendoza September 7.S.A. 2012 (CNN) -. "Ah.S.A." tweeted @MichaelHarris_. Getting social President Barack Obama's statement. Biden goes off-script. I'm the President." "Vice President @JoeBiden: Osama bin Laden is dead. It was about so much more than that.! Sure.! U. and General Motors is alive." However." @rickklein tweeted. But the explosion of "U." drove a record 43. it was no longer appearing when searched following the conclusion of the convention. literally Grammarians and wordsmiths everywhere cringed as Vice President Joe Biden used the word literally instead of figuratively several times during his Thursday speech. a nearly unbearable wound in America's heart.com/2012/09/07/politics/5-omg-moments-at-the-dnc/index. U. . scan a newsfeed or fire up a laptop to get a sense of the important topics that were discussed at this week's Democratic National Convention. perseverance and beauty!" 5. a pause to assess the state. set her straight over a family dinner. Over 9 million tweets sent about #DNC2012" Imagine Michelle Obama bragging someday how she beat the president's tweets-per-minute record only to have her brother. resilience. to 11:15 p.m.blogs. Speaking of heroes. thanks to your loyal viewership). 2012| 5 p. OBAMA EKES OUT A WIN ON FACEBOOK AS WELL. Arizona. the preliminary ratings data shows that cumulatively.. Facebook officials told CNN. during a constituent meet-and-greet in Tucson. "Gabby Giffords just led the Pledge of Allegiance at #2012DNC and made me cry. former president Bill Clinton's speech attracted an estimated 25 million viewers vs. 4. The conventions are finally over No one said it would be easy. Obama mentions were 192% higher than Mitt Romney mentions on the night of his acceptance speech. 29 million television viewers watched President Obama's speech last night from 10 p. Gabrielle Giffords received an emotional reception Thursday night as she recited the Pledge of Allegiance at the convention. #hero. which aired the same evening as the final night of the Democratic National Convention. which measures the amount of buzz a person or event gets on Facebook. and CBS.S. President Barack Obama was mentioned more times overall than MTV’s Video Music Awards show. Craig Robinson. While we wait for official Nielsen numbers. an average 23. . "A new record political moment on Twitter: @barackobama drives 52.m. Literally. Giffords survived a gunshot wound to the head in a 2011 attack that killed six people and wounded 13 others. On Wednesday night. up against fierce competition from the NFL.@gov released these figures.9 million viewers for the key football game. 2012 NN's GUT CHECK | for September 7. CNN: CNN’s Gut Check for September 7. OBAMA BEATS HIM IN THE RATINGS. Rep.n. 2012 http://politicalticker. Politics beat out pop culture Thursday night on Facebook." tweeted @ElizabethBanks. What a testimony to strength. progress or condition of the political news cycle BREAKING: WHILE CLINTON TOPS OBAMA IN SPEECH REVIEWS. "Ok.m.. According to Facebook’s Talk Meter. Obama’s Thursday night speech edged out former President Bill Clinton’s Wednesday night . they said. 40% higher than Bill Clinton mentions Wednesday. now Gabby Giffords just made me cry. across broadcast and cable news networks.cnn.. (CNN beat out ABC.com/2012/09/07/cnns-gut-check-for-september-7-2012-2/ Mark Preston and Michelle Jaconi September 7.757 tweets per minute. including the lawmaker. "Barack Obama" was the most mentioned political term Thursday night on Facebook. as well as all cable networks. We cried Former U.. @CoryBooker posted. it is our journalistic pleasure to once again smack down the notion that conventions are somehow passé.6 million jobs. We know it is not good enough. they both have things in common. And 2) the pace of the news cycle and the campaign has made the coverage and the message harder to keep up with.000 jobs a month when I took office. This year." It is true. as there are so many differences between the organization and surrounding events that help inform an inquisitive mind. that the pace. as the quadrennial question of "will they get a bounce" becomes the topic du jour. business once again added jobs for the 30th month in a row for a total of 4. as in all facets of our life. and we need to come out of the crisis stronger. "This year. We need to fill the hole left by the recession faster. the hangover today.” TRAIL TRIVIA (Answer below) This year’s Democratic National Convention was three days long – as was the Republican National. has accelerated. approximately four people dropped out of the workforce. as we live to kick the tires of the men and women who want to lead this amazing country we call home.000 jobs were created in August brought a quick end to any lingering Democratic euphoria from this week's party convention. For almost every net new job created. The jobs numbers were very disappointing. we wish all Americans could attend both conventions. and scouting out the future talent is one of the most rewarding parts of the whole week. We need to create more jobs faster. Clinton garnered more buzz from user about the age of 45. we were struck by two things that made this cycle distinct: 1) the contrast between the two parties' conventions was starker than ever. Now with 16 conventions between us. "It used to be that Labor Day was the traditional kick-off of the campaign. while both speeches ranked higher than their competitors in primetime – the MTV’s Video Music Awards on Thursday and the National Football League’s season opener on Wednesday. – Eric Weisbrod DEVELOPING: CAMPAIGNS SPIN THE DISMAL AUGUST JOBS REPORT… Friday's jobs report indicating only 96.m. bringing into sharp reality the challenges President Barack Obama will face in the two months remaining until Election Day. First. Covering politics is our calling. Even so. Even though Obama won overall buzz.m. Sure.” 1:04 p. – Kevin Liptak 11:44 a. But that's not good enough. Seeing that kind of report is obviously disheartening to the American people who need work and are having a hard time finding work. the deadlines were relentless with all platforms demanding publication and insights – from short. I think public . As the veteran journalist Al Hunt said at his surprise party this week. ET: President Barack Obama at a campaign event in New Hampshire: “Today. For journalists." a senior Obama campaign official told us. "I love politicians. What was the longest Democratic convention in history? MARK (@PrestonCNN) & MICHELLE (@MJaconiCNN) What caught our eye today in politics We love what we do. Nowhere is this combined passion and patriotism more celebrated than the quadrennial political conventions. we were struck by how much the cycle of the political year has changed. pithy tweets to long essays designed to break through the noise. we're in the fourth quarter. ET: Mitt Romney at a media availability in Iowa: “After the party last night. but also a thrill.address. we learned that after losing 800. Ranked by Klout: 1. @davidaxelrod 85 2.000 Dropped Out.. and if neurosurgeons and dentists can have conventions every year. Top Five List of Democratic Strategists. Fed Set To Pump. for Romney at least. Mitt Romney and Barack Obama hit the ground running Friday for the final stretch of a campaign that began.1%. from Biden. the Labor Department said on Friday. why can't politicians every four?" So." – Ryan Grim Leading Politico: Two conventions tell the tale of 2012 Republicans last week in Tampa and Democrats this week in Charlotte were not faking it. more than a year ago in Iowa. an "incredible line.service is a noble calling . Harris and Jim Vandehei Leading The New York Times: Joblessness May Undermine Obama Convention Bump Presidential candidates can usually count on luxuriating in a few days of warm feelings from their convention as they ride the high generated by impassioned supporters and cross their fingers for rising poll numbers. we partnered with Klout to rank the top five Democratic strategists according to Klout's scale of 100. we removed CNN contributors even though some of them. Partisans on both sides really do regard the other party’s nominee with contempt.000 last month. setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to pump additional money into the sluggish economy next week and dealing a blow to President Barack Obama as he seeks re-election. called the following. ABC's Jake Tapper. as we leave you to head to the airport. – Jim Rutenberg . Over the next 60 days of campaigning. – Lucia Mutikani Leading HuffPo: Simpson-Bowles References In Obama. Stephanie Cutter. Paul Begala and Hilary Rosen deserve a shout-out for their use of social media to get their message across. +96. All over again. much of it focusing on key battleground states. – Michael Pearson Leading Drudge: 8. Mitch Stewart. @Messina2012 80 3. 368. Nonfarm payrolls increased only 96. noting that President Barack Obama did not embrace a report put out by the co-chairs of the Simpson-Bowles panel..000 'Not In Labor Force' Jobs growth slowed sharply in August. Once again.000. the two men will pitch their visions for the country to a divided electorate. Progressives Journalists here are homing in on Vice President Joe Biden's criticism of the GOP for not supporting any of the deficit-reduction proposals over the past year. we want to salute the staffers behind those politicians who have found a way to keep up with the pace of modern campaigning in a way that has magnified their influence. And once again. 88. – John F. Dan Pfeiffer. @mitch_stewart 76 the LEDE Did you miss it? Leading CNNPolitics: Post-convention campaigns get under way Now it begins. and both sides look at the other’s agenda with genuine incomprehension. Biden DNC Speeches Vex Media. @stefcutter 79 4. David Axelrod. @pfeiffer44 78 5. Jim Messina. The primary season over and the nominating conventions complete. including Donna Brazile. for instance.921. Davis for president and Charles W. it is our turn to the economy around and I know Mitt can do it. JOE BIDEN’S SON AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF DELAWARE. CNN: Obama Outshines MTV’s Music Awards on Facebook http://politicalticker. In a resurgence of the Klan.blogs. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH “STARTING POINT”: “The whole convention seemed more emotional to me. Davis and Bryan were defeated by Republican Calvin Coolidge. Smith was nominated . let’s talk some horse sense. (laughs) So. In the general election. It took a record 103 ballots to nominate John W. Davis was in large part a compromise-candidate when no one could agree on whether to nominate Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo and Gov. It was a whirlwind for our family." – Dem says the ‘convention seemed more emotional’ – BEAU BIDEN. And we went through something in 1972. Holt was correct when he tweeted “1924 Democratic National Convention. GUT CHECK WINNER’S CIRCLE (why aren’t you in it) Congratulations to Daniel Holt (@DanielHoltdb) for correctly answering today’s Gut Check trivia question. Bryan for vice president. My mom rebuilt our family.com/2012/09/07/obama-outshines-mtvs-music-awards-on-facebook/ . then no one wants to go back to 1924.” Happy Friday all. There was a great energy obviously in 2008. How does he even know my name? I mean. the Klan organized a protest in New Jersey that featured thousands of hooded Klansmen. the bigoted group gained political power in the Deep South and some mountain states. My dad had just gotten a call. During the convention.TRAIL MOMENTS The political bites of the day – You don’t know me – SARAH PALIN IN AN INTERVIEW ON FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: "I think he diminished himself by even mentioning my name.” TRIVIA ANSWER If three days is too long. Barack Obama said four years ago if I can’t turn this economy around after three-and-a-half years I am looking at a one term presidency.cnn. aren't these guys supposed to be these big wig elites who don't waste their time on little people like me representing the average American. The real historic moment from the 1924 Democratic convention was the unwanted participation of Klu Klux Klan members. The 1924 Democratic National Convention.a Roman Catholic .the Klan grew incensed. Al Smith. The protest led some to become “fearful of Klan and Anti-Klan” clashes in Madison Square Garden. When Gov. at Madison Square Garden in New York lasted a whopping 17 days. Everybody up here has gone through something.” – Ann talks ‘horse sense’ – ANN ROMNEY AT A CAMPAIGN EVENT IN VIRGINIA: “I should tell you I feel right at home because I am in a barn. leading some members to become Democratic delegates. Well. Hurricane Isaac – 5.46 8. Julian Castro – 3. When looking at overall mentions.28. According to Facebook's "Talk Meter" analysis.28 2. It wasn't just Obama who was discussed more than the VMA's.69 16.27 14. Clint Eastwood – 5. first lady Michelle Obama.24 9. President Barack Obama was mentioned more times overall than MTV's Video Music Awards show. Republican National Convention overall – 6. and Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney were all discussed more than stars of Thursday night's music awards like One Direction and Lil Wayne.04 11. gaining more momentum than not just the VMA awards.45 While President Obama edged out former President Bill Clinton in overall buzz. Besides overall mentions. which assigns a number to a person or event's magnitude on a 1-10 scale.82 5. and 192% more than Romney last Thursday when he gave his convention speech. Barack Obama – 7. but provide a glimpse which topics are gaining the most steam among Facebook's 160 million U. but he did surpass Taylor Swift and rapper Frank Ocean in overall mentions. 1.87 12. Obama's Facebook mentions have remained high throughout the Democratic convention. MTV Video Music Awards – 6.57 17.12 15.S. Democratic National Convention overall – 7.29 13. Vice President Joe Biden didn't get as many mentions as those pop stars. . former President Bill Clinton. Here are the full "Talk Meter" rankings. Obama on Thursday was talked about 40% more than Bill Clinton was on Wednesday. Bill Clinton ranked higher among users age 45 and older.53 18. Chris Christie – 3.41 7. but also NFL season opener and Hurricane Isaac. Joe Biden – 4. 2012 Washington (CNN) . DC. Bill Clinton – 7.67 6.09 3.Eric Weisbrod September 7. Ann Romney – 4. Louisiana & Georgia. North Carolina.Politics beat out pop culture Thursday night on Facebook. Obama's jump in chatter was highest in Washington. NFL season opener – 6. Mississippi. Michelle Obama – 5. which aired the same evening as the final night of the Democratic National Convention. users. Mitt Romney – 5. which aren't scientific and don't measure sentiment.08 4.06 10. Elizabeth Warren – 3. Marco Rubio – 3. who were all of voting age when he was elected president. Paul Ryan – 4. Condoleezza Rice – 4. but his acceptance speech resulted in a nearly 800% increase in mentions of his name. Barack Obama registered the highest with a 7. Obama also gained the largest jump in buzz on Facebook among all political figures and news events in the last two weeks. From Paul Revere’s “midnight ride” to whistle-stop tours made famous by Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Long before people started connecting with each other online they were meeting in town squares. We know—and politicians do too—that Facebook and other social media give people another way to get engaged with their elected representatives. Today. Over the past four years. Adam Conner. only four years later. 2012 Politics and governing in the United States have always been social. nearly every single candidate for public office from president of the United States to city council is harnessing social media’s power.campaignsandelections. almost every aspect of the political environment has become more social. coffee shops. Now.cnn. and organizing. talking. We’ve found that our team works best with candidates. Our office does a significant amount of outreach to show them how effectively they’re reaching their intended audience and share some smart tactics (such as posting more photos or images between 9-10p.” Sometimes this outreach is done in one-on-one meetings or at larger. By expanding the sphere of engagement and fostering a genuine dialogue between politicians and constituents. who was tasked with the job of introducing Facebook to elected officials and candidates. when then-Sen. the Facebook Politics & Government Team has focused on continuing the evolution in the electoral sphere and now.com/magazine/us-edition/327317/cementing-social-mediaand39splace-in-the-campaign-world. This may be related to the fact that Rep. and push voters to the polls. we’re witnessing candidates like U.C. The Washington D. check out the Facebook CNN Election Insights tool at www. Interactivity with candidates—a privilege once reserved for high-level donors and political insiders—is now an expectation of voters and a priority for campaigns.com/fbinsights. campaigns. office started in late 2007 with just one person. the team scaled up as we prepared for the Republican presidential nomination battle and the general election season. and around water coolers to discuss important issues of the day.) that might help them engage more people and grow their “likes. . Senate hopeful Ted Cruz in Texas defeat better-funded opponents in part thanks to their savvy use of Facebook and the Internet to interact with voters. organized gatherings. For more raw data on who is discussing the candidates on Facebook.S. Ryan's name had already been discussed in the news more than Biden's in recent weeks. and elected officials through partnerships. social media carries on the tradition of inclusive political debate in America. his move was hailed as groundbreaking.m. our country has always cherished the act of meeting. Campaigns & Elections: Cementing Social Media’s Place in the Campaign World http://www. In 2011. he did gain a bigger jump than Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. In 2008. Barack Obama leaned heavily on social media to build a movement behind his candidacy. The amount of chatter about Biden popped the most among users ages 55-64.thtml Facebook’s Politics and Government Team September 7. raise money.While Vice President Joe Biden ranked significantly lower than the President on the Talk Meter scale. People enabled by technology continue to advance the idea of the public commons enshrined in our Constitution and our political institutions. Zac Moffatt.The politicians that do best on Facebook are the ones who are personally invested in their digital strategy and integrate it into all aspects of their campaigns. Mitt Romney’s Digital Director. We find the best firms in the country and glue them together to achieve our goals. They’ve discovered that Facebook allows them to bypass the mainstream media filter and talk to citizens directly to engage them in the policymaking process. being available to answer their questions. Infrastructure will soon catch up to this trend. Examples of this include the Obama campaign and House Republican leaders such as Eric Cantor. where citizens can now register to vote via Facebook. Without the luxury of a 4 year head start to build out it’s own campaign tools. 2012 “As a campaign we would not presume to know more than the collective intelligence and resources of the marketplace. Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy—each of whom visited Facebook headquarters in 2011 to learn more about what we do and how they can apply it to governing. as it already has in Washington State. We think that’s a great thing. and were 53 percent more likely to vote. That way a constituent might see a commercial on TV and get that message reinforced with a Facebook ad that tells them which of their friends support that candidate. got silicon valley power the campaign http://techcrunch. Partnering with offices. though Obama has 4 times the number of Facebook fans. A June 2011 Pew study showed that Facebook users two and a half times more likely to attend a political rally. and providing a steady stream of ideas on how they can be using our platform better is how our team has worked to earn the trust of politicians and their staffers. Moffatt has won digital parity with the Obama juggernaut by partnering with the brightest Silicon Valley firms. and the smartest campaigns run their ads on TV and also on Facebook. They’ve also discovered that the best digital strategy is an integrated one that works in tandem with everything else they are doing.” says Zac Moffatt. both Romney and Obama have similar levels of users actively commenting and sharing content online.com/2012/09/07/how-romneys-digital-director-zac-moffatt-got-silicon-valley-brightestminds-to-work-for-the-campaign/ Gregory Ferenstein September 7. For instance. Successive studies have shown that engaging with political activity on Facebook encourages a person to become more involved. Expect even greater political engagement as an increasing number of Facebook users turn their online political activity into offline action. Tech Crunch: Underdog no more: how Romney’s digital director. The time the largest number of people are engaging on Facebook is during prime time TV viewing hours. The world becomes more open and connected when we share information with each other. The relationship with House leadership paved the way for our first-ever bipartisan Congressional Hackathon last December. Frequent Facebook users were also nearly six times as likely to have attended a political meeting they found through Facebook. . The future of politics will be marked by the ability of Americans to engage with the political process in productive ways through social networks once considered mere. and the political process is not exempt from the ever-increasing push for transparency and accountability. It’s success like this that makes it a no-brainer for Facebook to tip Moffatt off to every imaginable upcoming feature. Moffatt has leveraged Silicon Valley’s brightest minds. “In 48 hours. which displays Romney’s Facebook page when users look for “Obama” or “Democrat”. on the conservative side of the country. InsideFacebook. Among many impressive Facebook strategies. it would be difficult for any brand. “sponsored” results. “We never wanted to be that we’re not engaging the best minds to be successful.From partnering with Square to turn each Romney activist into a mobile fundraiser to getting Googlers to give up their famous 20% time for the campaign*. Square. when Obama campaign advisor Hilary Rosen made headlines with the assertion that Mitt Romney’s wife. web search traffic could be even more valuable. in a highly contentious post about the superiority of Romney’s social media prowess. Ann Romney was overflowing with 85.” says Jamie Smolski. Moffatt tells us that he’s managed to get a whopping 10% click through rate on their targeted mobile advertising. Mobile users seem especially valuable to campaigns. and excite users’ most passionate beliefs. Moffett recalls. even though over 500 million users check-in with cellphones each month. Ann Romney “never worked a day in her life. The reason for Facebook’s close ties to Moffatt are simple: political campaigns are a delicious proving ground of data and experimentation.” concludes Moffatt. While it’s difficult to know how the Google partnership has helped the Romney campaign (since unlike Facebook. A source close to Facebook tells us that Romney’s national campaign has provided “great” data for their foray into mobile. a time allotted to all Google employees to work on experimental projects. But. For instance. itself. a Facebook Politics & Government team member. And.000 engaged users. Facebook And Google Power “Republican candidate Mitt Romney is leading President Barack Obama in Facebook engagement and new Likes. single voters have notoriously low turnout rates. which is Facebook. Moffatt explains that it was the Facebook team. The mobile advertising cash-cow has famously eluded Facebook. from scratch.” Young. so political campaigns salivate over the 35+ demographic that has both the time and technology-savvy to get their coveted friends engaged online. Mobile credit card reader. that has been instrumental in giving the Romney campaign its edge. especially a national campaign. on the only platform which could achieve this. In just a few days. A few experts from Google’s website traffic analytics team have donated their valuable 20% time. Walking Billboards and Events Silicon Valley partnerships have helped team Romney bolster two of the oldest forms of campaigning: merchandising and events. mostly for free. Google activity is private). Writer Brittany Darwell noticed that team Romney was exploiting a brand new feature. They have to move quick. to their credit. to so quickly exploit Facebook’s constantly changing ad system. ten times higher than Facebook’s average. ”The Romney team has been quick to adopt new products and features and provide valuable feedback on how we might make those tools better. “stay-at-home moms.” Facebook isn’t the only major player in Moffatt’s Silicon Valley brain trust. as users searching for information are often actively looking to get involved in some way.” wrote the social media blog. reach every imaginable audience. team Romney has had pitch-perfect timing funneling the impulsive civic rage of power moms into meaningful engagement. to give the once digital underdog some much-deserved tech cred. we created the single largest coalition. “You know who the power mobile users of Facebook are?.” asks Moffatt. built the campaign a custom Federal Elections .” Moffatt had Ann Romney respond on Twitter and Facebook. It should be noted that Eventbrite represents some unknown fraction of the total political events nationwide. $31. to bring some much needed experimentation to the ever-evolving communication landscape. The Romney campaign’s experience is an important lesson for businesses and government everywhere: give power to smart geeks. But. The data on the most-mentioned moments during the conventions — in the Facebook era of presidential politics — come just as Obama is set to accept his party’s nomination for a second time at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. “Nothing is more about believing in a cause than when you are willing to wear a campaign’s merchandise on your body. 63%). such as open-government champion. Romney was no exception: Moffatt was given access to fully integrate digital through the entire campaign. and hire a large team of power players.” The same partnership-happy philosophy led Moffatt to team up with popular event organizing startup. during the convention. Invariably. 29%). Republican gatherings have an average of 14 more people (68 vs. which likely decreases overall turnout). your geekiest employees and their friends will astound you. how much money did Square help rake in? A knowledgeable campaign official tells TechCrunch that the official Romney pop-up stores “did well into the seven figures. .” Recently released data from Eventbrite seems to confirm that the partnership has paid off: Republicans hold 42% more events than Democrats through Eventbrite (71% vs.com/obama-romney-mentions-conventions_b98935 Jennifer Moire September 6. 2012 Mentions of President Barack Obama on Facebook bested those of Republican challenger Mitt Romney by almost a two-to-one margin during the two weeks of the presidential nominating conventions that come to a close Thursday night. Eventbrite. “It’s a very public validation. N. such as Colorado and Florida (77% vs. 42) and 14% more events have been community-driven and free in battleground states. and the Democrats earn a lot more per event sale ($115 vs. Republicans made a concerted effort to hire and promote their ardent geeks.C. The tired stereotype of Republican luddites just doesn’t seem to hold true anymore. the Eventbrite partnership clearly helped them scale effectively. Facebook cited the speeches by first lady Michelle Obama and keynote speaker and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro on the first night of the convention as the key moments that drove the president’s mentions to increase by 745 percent from the baseline mentions he received in previous hours.” So. Matt Lira. After a sound defeat by Obama in 2008. While Obama’s team has chosen to build out much of their own technology for offline engagement. All Facebook: Obama Bests Romney in Facebook Mentions During Both Conventions http://allfacebook.” says Moffatt. Every t-shirt sold not only refills their coffers. in fulfilling Romney’s need to go from winning the Republican primary to competing on a national scale with the Obama digital juggernaut. but turns supporters into walking billboards.Commission-compliant app that helped turn their Republican National Convention volunteers into an army of walking cashiers. Moffatt says that “we would rather go to someone who wakes up every morning and worries about event-ticketing. with a baseline increase of 422 percent from mentions in previous hours. There was a 2. Aug. 29. but even topping the National Football League’s season opener. Bill Clinton/Clinton Obama Romney Michelle Obama Elizabeth Warren Facebook-CNN Election Insights also mentioned that Clinton’s percentage increase above his baseline buzz was 9.” skyrocketed by 41. Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan‘s red-meat-laden speech Wednesday. 4. 2.. 3. Readers: What do you think of these numbers? Did you take to Facebook during any of these moments of the 2012 conventions? All Facebook: Facebook Abuzz After Ex-President Bill Clinton’s Nomination Speech at DNC http://allfacebook. Eastwooding: Clint Eastwood‘s buzzed-about speech to an empty chair on the final night of the GOP convention resulted in a baseline increase of 8.210 percent during the event. His speech Thursday. led to a mention count on Facebook that was the secondhighest across conventions to date.280 percent increase over the amounts of mentions in previous hours.800 percent.C.com/bill-clinton-nomination-speech_b99012 David Cohen September 6. this week.It’s worth noting that the data were released before former President Bill Clinton‘s rousing nominating speech Wednesday night. but it was ex-President Bill Clinton who stole the show with his rousing nomination speech Wednesday night. ranks as the fifth-most-mentioned moment from the conventions. 5. N. 30. “arithmetic. which ranks third among most mentioned events of the conventions. 2012 President Barack Obama may be the focus of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. not only propelling him to the top of the list of political mentions on Facebook for the day. .400 percent bump in Facebook mentions as compared with the baseline established in the hours leading up to her emotional address. the top five political terms mentioned on the social network Wednesday were: 1.900 percent. The actor was a surprise guest and. Aug. in which the Dallas Cowboys knocked off the defending Super Bowl champions and host New York Giants. therefore. Romney’s acceptance of his party’s presidential nomination ranks as the second-most-mentioned moment of the conventions. Among the other most-mentioned events from the past two weeks of presidential nominating conventions:    Michelle Obama’s speech Tuesday night resulted in a 5. adding that one of the keywords of his speech. there weren’t as many mentions on Facebook ahead of his now-infamous speech that put him fourth among most-mentioned events of the 2012 conventions. According to Facebook-CNN Election Insights. (Conveniently. “Betty White speaks to that.org in an effort to elevate his favorite Golden Girl into a prime-time position at the convention: introducing the President. Before getting on a plane to Charlotte on Monday. “A little Facebook.org.” Slutsky knows from his contacts inside Obama’s campaign that news of the petition has reached the very top of the organization. A companion Facebook group attracted tens of thousands of fans. When I was a kid she was old on ‘The Golden Girls’. 2012 If Betty White makes an appearance at the Democratic National Convention tonight.Despite the popularity of the NFL and the marquee opening-night match-up. Friday passed. The media started noticing. he put a message on his Facebook wall telling people it had gone viral. Slutsky shouted over the noise of clinking glasses and moshing suits to tell me that the petition started off as a bit of fun but has turned into something more serious. Now she’s like the oldest person ever to walk the Earth. among others. But on Sunday. the New York Daily News. “I would say ‘Give me the microphone!’ and I would go up there and be hysterical.” said Slutsky. you can thank Peter Slutsky. a little Change. because her entire career she’s been old. and it’s all coming together and people are seeing what we’re doing. The actor’s agent told Entertainment Weekly that she probably can’t attend the convention. It has nearly 13. but Slutsky is hoping she might make an appearance via video. . Readers: Are you surprised that Clinton’s speech generated so much buzz? PandoDaily: WordPress Staffer Petitions Dems to Enlist Betty White as Obama’s Opening Act http://pandodaily. but she’s still funny as shit. and then the thing took off. but he doesn’t know if White is going to have a role tonight.500 signatures. and then Saturday. and the 90-year-old White but got nothing back.” for Tony Romo. the number of signatures started ticking into the thousands. a little Tumblr.com/2012/09/06/wordpress-staffer-petitions-dems-to-enlist-betty-white-as-obamasopening-act/ Hamish McKenzie September 6.” For the first two days of the petition.) At one of many booze-fuelled receptions in Charlotte yesterday. CNN Politics reported on its Political Ticker blog that Clinton was mentioned more on Facebook Wednesday night than the terms “Cowboys. Slutsky started by Tweeting at Obama. CNN. Soon after Eastwood’s speech. the New Yorker started a petition on Change. Clint Eastwood’s bizarre speech to an empty chair last week was characterized by many as the work of a rambling old man.” “football. Slutsky takes issue with the “old” part. As of this morning.org. If he were a senior citizen. hardly anyone paid attention. “It was like this really cool moment that I’m like. Slutsky’s twin brother Matthew is head of partnerships at Change. the Cowboys’ starting quarterback. and the Washington Post. Perhaps it could be a Google Hangout. The director of platform services for WordPress VIP took advantage of timing and technology to spur a counter-story to one of the defining media narratives of the Republican National Convention. he would have felt alienated when the pundits talked about Eastwood being old.” “Giants. Twitter.” and “Romo. ‘This is really working’. the petition has been covered by USA Today.” Slutsky said. and it was awesome. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt was in New York on Wednesday at a press conference. But according to Facebook data reported by CNN.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/248041-clinton-beat-by-nfl-on-tv-but-won-in-facebookconversationsAlicia Cohn September 6. the CEO of Salesforce.html?hp=r4 Tony Romm September 6. according to Nielsen data reported by Reuters. but at his party's convention. He and his wife have bundled more than $1 million for Obama this cycle. is in the Bay Area prepping for a software event.com.The Hill: Clinton Beat by NFL on TV But Won in Facebook Conversations http://thehill. and what you do at political conventions is go after specific demographics. This week the tool has tracked a spike in Facebook chatter nationwide for President Obama and other Democratic speakers. — President Barack Obama has raised millions from Silicon Valley. Facebook said mentions of Clinton increased by 9. Aneesh Chopra. 2012 CHARLOTTE. Silicon Valley at times drives the Democratic agenda — the convention platform touches on everything from building out broadband to beefing up cybersecurity — but it has a backseat here in Charlotte. And you won’t see Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg or Yelp's Jeremy Stoppelman wandering around the Time Warner Arena. Uber. The only Valley rep taking the forum stage during the three-day event is Steve Westly." There are a few big tech and telecom backers on hand at the DNC. 2012 More people watched the kick-off game of the NFL season on Wednesday than Bill Clinton's speech to the Democratic National Convention. Yet it's not something that bothers many in the tech set. .C. POLITICO: Silicon Valley Stars Are a No-Show in Charlotte http://www. but on Facebook the former president ruled the night.5 million watched Clinton speak during prime-time coverage covered by ABC and CBS. either. executive vice president of Comcast. also is here. many of his big-name tech backers are missing in action.politico.800 percent over the evening." "Giants. an investor in clean energy. while 7. "This is a political convention. Top bundler Marc Benioff. Facebook has partnered with CNN to provide insight into what Facebook users are talking about up until the election. former White House chief technology officer. N. attended the convention. David Cohen. totes his iPad everywhere and touts tech on the campaign trail. And a number of startup companies are represented — including the car service.” said Michael Petricone of the Consumer Electronics Association. despite the numerous sponsorships by Web companies of parties.com/news/stories/0912/80826." "football" and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. About 21 million Americans watched the National Football League's season kick-off game on NBC between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants. Bill Clinton got more mentions on the site than the terms "Cowboys. product demos and panel discussions. "What tech execs are busy doing is running companies. according to the Center for Responsive Politics. building off its work in Tampa for the Republican National Convention this week. however. is also AWOL. the company confirmed this week. Joe Lockhart. and in Tampa it featured top D. He’s skipping Charlotte to be near headquarters as his company prepares for its annual Dreamforce event in San Francisco. There weren't many tech execs making waves at the RNC in Tampa last week. a member of the campaign’s Technology for Obama. however. Still.But many other prominent Obama backers in the tech set. hosted a pricey.C. like long-time GOP-backer and Cisco CEO John Chambers. chief Joel Kaplan. economic recovery and gas prices. Benioff has helped cobble together more than $617. like Benioff. constructed a new building mostly out of colorful crates in uptown Charlotte. The co-founder of LinkedIn also is missing: Reid Hoffman was supposed to attend and participate in a panel. too. But you won't find here any trace of Schmidt. Yelp's Stoppelman. meanwhile. Facebook's Sandberg. And there were some notable absences there. Google. and Whitman is a key Romney campaign adviser. according to data crunched by the Center for Responsive Politics. Yet she isn't on the premises. Company officials are quite busy these days. Hoffman is among the ranks of the president's biggest donors. His spokesman told POLITICO he still "supports the president and his reelection efforts" and would watch the speech. But both had been active in politics. The lack of a tech exec Who’s Who in Charlotte to rival the gaggle of bold-face names from Hollywood doesn’t suggest that Obama somehow has lost his geek advantage over GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. it's brought its communications chief. But there aren't any speeches by those execs. stocked it with a charging station and some other goodies and parked its self-driving car outside. which begins later this month. and his company hosted the president at a town hall last year. as Google is reportedly talking with Apple on a truce in the smartphone patent war and Schmidt was at an event in the Big Apple on Wednesday to showcase Google’s new acquisition. Here. say the situation is instead a reflection of the Valley ethos. are not. swank fundraiser for the president last year. but couldn't make it because of a late scheduling conflict. Workers and PACs at communications and electronics companies are among some of Obama's biggest contributors this election season — chipping in more than $10 million as of August. the absence of boardroom-level tech presence here in Charlotte creates a surprising contrast. either. though his company is sponsoring a pop-up lounge in the city. having each run for office and lost. Facebook maintained a high profile while in Charlotte. Motorola Mobility. Google confirmed Schmidt has no plans at this time to join the action. . And technology and the Internet also are key elements of a Democratic Party platform that emphasizes the need for future investment and innovation. not at a convention at which the hot-button issues relate to health care. according to the Center for Responsive Politics.000 for the president. Some tech veterans. meanwhile. Two of Romney's big supporters — HP CEO Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina — canvassed media to emphasize the candidate's strengths. who's donated big bucks to the Obama campaign in both 2008 and 2012. to get out his political message. noting the RNC faced a similar problem. Social media prowess is on display during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Twitter's head of government. they also need Facebook likes and Twitter retweets by millions of followers.C. which is available on the Obama-Biden Web site. The app was noted in a post on Facebook's U. less about the high-level visibility being up on the stage. 1 million shy of the total tweets during the entire three-day Republican gathering. and Instagram -." CNET: Obama Facebook App Lets Users Show They’re Watching the DNC http://news. viewers can share on their timelines that they're watching the speech. the company said in a blog post. The dominant platforms. 30. inspiring more than double the tweets per minute of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's address Aug. Users can simply click on the Facebook share button and answer some preference questions to get the app started.cnet. The Obama campaign also recently launched the "Commit to Vote" app via Facebook. this week and also was at the Republican gathering last week in Tampa. First lady Michelle Obama's speech Tuesday night captivated Twitter. Obama is a longtime member of Facebook and has used it and other platforms -.S.php Julie Bykowicz September 5. "It's all about the products.sfgate. "We're measuring in real-time conversations that used to only take place at coffee shops and water coolers. Fla." said Rey Ramsey. The first night of the Democratic convention saw 3 million tweets." San Francisco Chronicle: Social Media Has Key Role in ’12 Election http://www." said Adam Sharp. He also spent time recently answering questions on Reddit.com/8301-1023_3-57507942-93/obama-facebook-app-lets-users-show-theyre-watchingthe-dnc/ Dara Kerr September 6. 2012 Facebook is becoming part of the Democratic National Convention viewing game hours before President Obama gives his speech accepting his party's nomination for a second term in office. news and social innovation. Pinterest.such as Twitter. socially speaking. are hosting events and keeping track of who's up and who's down. N. leader of TechNet. Known as the social-media president.. which prompts users to register to vote. Information is here.com/technology/article/Social-media-has-key-role-in-12-election-3843166."In this case. 2012 Gone are the days when politicians can sleep easy if their convention speeches please television talking heads and newspaper columnists. Now. . The Republican Party is also working its social-media angle and has a Facebook app called the "Social Victory Center. Politics on Facebook page. it's a cultural dynamic. Twitter said in the post. With the launch of the Obama 2012 Social Sharing App. Bay Area social networks Twitter and Facebook. That just has never been the cultural norm. Last week. In 2008. which analyzes the 400 million tweets per day to discern how users feel about Obama and Romney. in some ways.000 political Facebook pages in the United States and 11. measuring how well the presidential candidates are connecting with their audiences in addition to how often. . said Andrew Noyes. Facebook was popular mostly among college students. Democrats have dominated social media. and that is what social media enables at the grassroots level. Blue State Digital. that many tweets are sent every six minutes.4-year difference Four years ago. Staying connected Twitter and Facebook are going one level deeper. When Obama takes the stage in Charlotte on Thursday. Now. Romney's team became the first political campaign to purchase a "trending topic" on Twitter. the most socially connected election season ever. without a doubt. Romney has more than 1 million Twitter followers and. ensuring that his message would pop up prominently in the social network's stream. like Obama. which helps Republicans. said Rachael Horwitz. Lots of helpers The presidential candidates' campaigns have digital strategists on their payrolls and also work with firms such as Targeted Victory. "Democracy in its most basic form is really about mobilization of the masses. There's a daily Twitter Political Index." said Katie Harbath." said Joe Green. he will essentially have 19 million potential publicists to spread his message. manager of public policy and communication for the Menlo Park company. Most candidates also use blog network Tumblr. Yet Republicans. president and co-founder of NationBuilder. The Los Angeles company helps campaigns organize their online presence. This year. and its Democratic counterpart. Harbath said. Romney got more juice on Twitter during his wife's speech than his own. She said Romney leveraged the convention to build his social media base. the term "social media" wasn't widely used. including with placed media with Facebook and Twitter.8 million tweets. Last week. Led by Obama and his 2008 technology team.behind celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. a spokeswoman for the San Francisco company. "This will be. That's how many Twitter followers he has. On election day 2008.at times more than Obama.000 pages for politicians." President Obama and Romney are spending millions of dollars to advertise online. gaining more than 1 million fans during the week. Romney had more than 2 million people posting about him on Facebook . there are more than 110. photo-sharing site Instagram and niche web venues like Pinterest to spread their messages. are now "on equal footing. multiple Facebook pages. making his account the sixth-most popular in the world . there were 1. Sharp said. a Facebook public policy manager and liaison to Republicans. The social network has partnered with two polling firms and analytics company Topsy to validate data. “Democracy in its most basic form is really about mobilization of the masses. a Twitter spokeswoman. there are more than 110.com/news/2012-09-05/twitter-deputizes-millions-of-pundits-at-politicalconventions Julie Bykowicz September 5. as Obama had Wednesday. “We’re measuring in real-time conversations that used to only take place at coffee shops and water coolers. is movement from day to day. cnn. and 11. Bloomberg Businessweek: Twitter Deputizes Masses of Political Pundits at Conventions http://www. the term “social media” wasn’t widely used. The first night of the Democratic convention saw 3 million tweets. This year. On Election Day in 2008. manager of public policy and communication for Facebook. this week and at the Republican gathering last week in Tampa. until Tuesday. now that many tweets are sent every six minutes. North Carolina. Sharp said. age groups and male versus female.8 million tweets. Now.A score of 25. “This will be. San Francisco-based Twitter’s head of government. means that tweets about him are more positive than 25 percent of all other Twitter messages. The trend line of improving or deteriorating sentiment closely follows the movement of Gallup poll approval ratings. there were 1. More telling. are hosting events and keeping track of who’s up and who’s down. Facebook is tracking sentiment about the candidates through the volume of Facebook activity about the election. 2012 Gone are the days when politicians can sleep easy if their convention speeches please television talking heads and newspaper columnists. Fifty or above is considered good. In 2008. First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech last night captivated Twitter. Four years ago. the most socially connected election season ever.” said Joe Green. Twitter said in the post. inspiring more than double the tweets-perminute as Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s address Aug. and that is what social media enables at the grassroots level.” . Florida. The Los Angeles-based company helps campaigns organize their online presence. and both candidates' scores had been dropping in recent days. though. Social media prowess is on display during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.. socially speaking. said Andrew Noyes. Through a partnership with CNN. 30. enables visitors to view trends occurring in different states. the company said in a blog post. photo-sharing site Instagram and niche web venues like Pinterest to spread their messages.000 pages for politicians.businessweek. Romney had a score of 14 the same day. president and co-founder of NationBuilder. Masses Mobilized Most candidates also use blog network Tumblr. they also need Facebook “likes” and Twitter “retweets” by millions of followers. said Rachael Horwitz. and Facebook Inc. Facebook was popular mostly among college students.S.000 political Facebook pages in the U. 1 million shy of the total tweets during the entire three-day Republican gathering.com/fbinsights. The site. The dominant platforms. Twitter Inc.” said Adam Sharp. without a doubt. news and social innovation. 4.” As of Sept.000 times -.President Barack Obama and Romney are spending millions of dollars to advertise online. 6. Romney had more than 2 million people posting about him on Facebook -. Political Index New Jersey Governor Chris Christie started a special “Twitter handle” -. a Facebook public policy manager and liaison to Republicans. ensuring that his message would pop up prominently in the social network’s stream. The Obama campaign quickly posted a photo of the president in a chair and the message. @InvisibleObama’s Seat The surprise speaker spawned a Twitter tsunami when he addressed an empty chair as if it were Obama.that attracted 7. Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan peaked during his speech with about 6. A spoof Twitter account @InvisibleObama. featuring a picture of an empty chair. Sharp said. Last week. That’s how many Twitter followers he has. When Obama takes the stage in Charlotte Sept. Democrats have dominated social media.at times more than Obama. Last week.the most activity of anyone during the Republican convention and the second most ever from Obama’s account. Romney got more juice on Twitter during his wife’s speech than his own.000 followers. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin shared photos from the convention floor in Tampa with the 26. in some ways. Harbath said.behind stars such as Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. Twitter and Facebook are going one level deeper. multiple Facebook pages. Romney’s team became the first political campaign to purchase a “trending topic” on Twitter. No one touched Clint Eastwood during the Republican convention. Blue State Digital. ‘Equal Footing’ The presidential candidates’ campaigns have digital strategists on their payrolls and also work with firms such as Targeted Victory. including with placed media with Menlo Park. and its Democratic counterpart. measuring how well the presidential candidates are connecting with their audiences in addition to how often. it had been retweeted more than 54. Led by Obama and his 2008 technology team. are now “on equal footing. “This seat’s taken. quickly popped up and now has more than 68.766 followers and featured backstage photos of himself.” said Katie Harbath. gaining more than 1 million fans during the week.@ChristieKeynote -. . Politicians are taking extra steps on social media to highlight their activities during the conventions. California-based Facebook and Twitter. making his account the sixth most popular in the world -. like Obama. Yet Republicans. She said Romney leveraged the convention to build his social media base.000-plus people who have “liked” her Facebook page. he will essentially have 19 million potential publicists to spread his message. Romney has more than 1 million Twitter followers and.000 tweets-per-minute when he spoke about his faith and again when talked about government spending. which helps Republicans. CNN: On Facebook. as Obama had Sept.800%.cnn. Trend Line More telling. . Sharp said.There’s a daily “Twitter Political Index. and both candidates’ scores had been dropping in recent days. until yesterday.com/2012/09/06/on-facebook-clintons-speech-more-popular-than-nflkickoff-game/ Eric Weisbrod September 6. Fifty or above is considered good. Normally. The trend line of improving or deteriorating sentiment closely follows the movement of Gallup poll approval ratings. Romney had a score of 14 the same day. because Clinton's speech proved to be an effective attention getter on Facebook. Even though the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants in last night's NFL season opener. A score of 25. Just as the politicians have adapted to social media.blogs.com/fbinsights. it was the former president who garnered the most attention on Facebook. Clinton's 48-minute address received the highest level of political buzz across both conventions with only one night to go. the vice-presidential running-mate speaks the night before the presidential candidate accepts the party's nomination. means that tweets about him are more positive than 25 percent of all other Twitter messages." "football. social media is adapting to politics: Twitter and Facebook both have employees roving throughout the conventions and have sponsored parties and events to raise their profile. though is movement from day to day. The social network has partnered with two polling firms and analytics company Topsy to validate data. Clinton's use of the word "arithmetic" to explain how he delivered four surplus budgets as President also gained buzz. Facebook (FB) is tracking sentiment about the candidates through the volume of Facebook activity about the election.” which analyzes the 400 million tweets per day on Twitter to discern how users feel about Obama and Romney. Clinton’s Speech More Popular Than NFL Kickoff Game http://politicalticker. but because of concerns that Vice President Joe Biden's speech would be overshadowed by the game. cnn. Through a partnership with CNN. and Facebook has the numbers to prove it." "Giants." the Cowboy's starting quarterback. age groups and male versus female. The site. Bill Clinton got more mentions on the site than the terms "Cowboys. Compared to the previous hours. 4. convention organizers scheduled his address for Thursday night for maximum exposure. mentions of Clinton increased by 9.210% on Facebook. jumping 41. 2012 (CNN) – President Clinton took the ball and ran with it last night. According to data provided to CNN from Facebook. enables visitors to view trends occurring in different states. Facebook's numbers show that the worrying was for naught." and "Romo. . told AllFacebook. videos. AFL-CIO’s Workers’ Voice: Political action committee Workers’ Voicee recently introduced the Friends & Neighbors app. Some of the other apps included were Votizen. N. Obama for America: The Obama Facebook app helps people share stories. a former special assistant to Obama. Among the features he highlighted for us was the enhanced “friend mapping” feature. Charles Schumer (D-N. NationBuilder. Fla. Sen. The firm says that 30. And rich voter data are overlayed on the Facebook platform tapping into the most powerful connection of all. This time. which is ideal for campaigns and advocacy groups. grassroots fundraising. app developers aligned with Democrats were featured in a contemporary art gallery. powering voter ID. 2012 Facebook application developers were in the spotlight for the second week in a row at the social network’s “Apps and Drinks” event held in Charlotte.) was seen at the event (pictured below). WeForPresident. and get-out-the-vote efforts. As one company representative noted. . while also helping President Barack Obama‘s campaign reach a much broader audience not already on its site. Two-thirds of these were part of last year’s effort to overturn an anti-union law.000 actions have been completed through the tool. friends connecting with friends. as well as a stronger “gamification” component that allows users to post badges publicly to their Facebook walls when they make calls or send emails to their friends. according to the data. a sales director with NGP VAN. and other campaign activities with friends.C. and any group using grassroots to advance ideas or legislative agendas.Y. volunteer recruitment.com/apps-and-drinks-dnc_b98831 Jennifer Moire September 5. Their voter registration app can be added to any Facebook page and allows people to connect via Facebook to register to vote and share with their friends. along with Facebook representatives with roots in Democratic politics. Facebook is rapidly evolving into a necessary resource. Our Time: Our Time is a site dedicated to youth empowerment through the voting process. Michelle Obama and Elizabeth Warren. The event highlighted the following Democratic apps:     NGP VAN: The integration tool behind last year’s “We Are Ohio” campaign recently launched Social Organizing. Tuesday to coincide with the kickoff of the Democratic National Convention. As Tobias Quaranto. followed by Mitt Romney.Barack Obama was the second most talked about political figure last night. which empowers activists to carry AFL-CIO’s message to friends by matching their Facebook connections to AFL-CIO’s targeted voters on the voter file. voter registration info. including Joe Lockhart and Sarah Feinberg. All Facebook: Facebook Highlights Democratic App Developers at DNC http://allfacebook. Campaigns are leveraging Facebook to accomplish basic campaign tasks — from phone banking to door knocking and direct mailings. For campaigns. and the Facebook-CNN “I Voted” app. the tool is now faster and more “fierce” than before. which enables people to match their Facebook friends to voter files. advocacy organizations. Facebook is becoming akin to a virtual volunteer. A similar event was held last week at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. 003 tweets a minute. On the night of Mitt Romney’s speech alone. there was also a reception honoring African-American and Latino-American leadership. Facebook and Google are currently the number one and two most-visited websites in the world. with Facebook staff. Last night I posted a sample of my Twitter timeline as Michelle Obama’s speech played out. feeling is what counts. the number of tweets over the course of the two conventions combined totaled 360. That’s twice as many as Mitt Romney got at his Twitter peak during his speech last week. 2012 According to web information company Alexa. In political theater. Soon after she stepped off the podium. Google has set up shop on Tryon Street in Uptown in a massive tent that looks like it should be a permanent structure. exuding confidence. Comedian Kal Penn tweeted his #sexyface and started a trend that generated 2. Aside from the Google Lounge. Google-logo-colors-inspired furniture and plug in their gadgets. In 2008. 2012 This is the Twitter election. along with a quick video of an impromptu musical performance. the . Meanwhile. Facebook hosted its “Apps and Drinks” private event at Elder Gallery in South End. The numbers are impressive. which is exactly what the conventions are. As of about midnight. watching the speech on TV.000 tweets per minute. coincidentally going to a Facebook event first and a Google event second. where guests relax on futuristic-looking. there were 4 million tweets related to the occasion.000. members of the technology developer community. there were 3 million tweets related to M’Obama’s prime-time performance. Even Republicans would have to concede that it was a masterful display. I attended events yesterday the web giants are hosting while the Democratic National Convention is underway in Charlotte.com/2012/09/05/pull-up-a-chair-and-enjoy-the-twitter-election/ Hamish McKenzie September 5. but they’re not what counts.com/Blogs/The-DNC-In-The-CLT/September-2012/Inside-Facebook-andGoogle-at-the-DNC/ Jarvis Holliday September 5. hope. What matters more is that Twitter amplifies feeling. (As I suggested in another post yesterday. Below are a few photos from inside the two events.Readers: Have you used any of the apps Facebook featured in Tampa or Charlotte? Charlotte Magazine: Inside Facebook and Google at the DNC http://www. and excitement while subtly undercutting everything Romney said the week before. pride etched deeply into his silent expression. PandoDaily: Pull Up a Chair and Enjoy the Twitter Election http://pandodaily. and special guests. Michelle Obama’s Democratic National Convention speech last night peaked at 28. whoever was manning Barack Obama’s Twitter account tweeted a photo of him on his couch with his two daughters. even as TV ratings fell dramatically compared to four years ago.charlottemagazine. It certainly plays a large role. You reach back. Twitter drove the discussion that night and predicted the headlines of the next minute’s news. Romney’s moment in the spotlight last week was overshadowed not so much by an old man on stage gibbering to an empty chair. That you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules. that was also true of the 2008 election.com/daily/obama-app-links-facebook-friends-to-voter-lists-20120905 . Twitter was as much part of the story as it was the story itself. YouTube comments aren’t going to win any hearts and minds. that last statement still seems extreme. Twitter crystallized it in gleaming little nuggets. But it is not farfetched. by any means. our peers. on the other hand. Twitter. and it attaches them to our friends. it gives them biggest megaphone that has ever existed. which has been livestreaming both conventions. Even though not every voter is on Twitter – it has only 140 million users worldwide – the influencers are. And yes. it can at least pirouette on a perfectly placed post.nationaljournal. you are part of the conversation. Facebook is a place where we hang out with friends and family. but the chatter on Twitter makes the pundits obsolete before they can even get to their microphones. but it’s more of a broadcast medium than a zone of interaction. Google has talked a lot about the importance of YouTube. National Journal: Obama App Links Facebook Friends to Voter Lists http://www. But not on this scale. but it doesn’t drive or capture the emotion-of-moment like Twitter can. you do not slam it shut behind you. to the extent where you could sensibly claim that 140 characters can swing an election. Facebook has made strong claims to its relevance during this campaign. and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed. Talking about politics there just makes the whole conversation awkward. And success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square. No matter how hard Google tries to sell it. creator and consumer of your own campaign narrative. You can track hashtags for particular topics and events. but by a barrage of tweets that buried the former Governor under their enormous collective weight. You can skip right to relevance and slake your thirst for instant context and community. and not. And if an election can turn on a bead of sweat. I have seen firsthand that being President does not change who you are – it reveals who you are. Campaign politics so often hinge on moments – and moments are what Twitter specializes in. And even the major stations rely on Twitter to enhance their coverage and push their message. On Twitter. it puts them on a pedestal. You can scroll quickly past a tweet that isn’t providing nutrition. On the evidence we’ve seen in this campaign so far. That the truth matters. adding glaze to the lines that jumped out at the viewers: We learned about honesty and integrity. part of the political process. Twitter doesn’t only capture moments. and the voices we respect enough to follow. The people you follow are the people you would be happy to debate in the lunch hall. not with this emotional force. He believes that when you work hard and do well and walk through that doorway of opportunity.) But while the television coverage captured her delivery in high-definition.public’s online reaction seems to focus on emotion rather than facts. is for interests. TV is still a powerful mode of content delivery. The matching of social-network lists to voter registrations doesn’t actually occur within Facebook’s system. Washington state has an online voter-registration app that works much the same way: It loads within a Facebook frame. but there is no guarantee that the data will be used for its intended purpose. lots of profiling that’s .” she said. Coney said. “Being able to monitor whether they do register or not can raise questions they don’t really want to get into trying to answer.Adam Mazmanian September 5. Hamlin said. but users input their information into an online form provided by the state’s Elections Division. The Obama app functions as a frame within a Facebook page. She thinks that voter information should be shareable across social-network lists only on an “opt-in” basis to protect the privacy of unregistered voters. “What’s going on with modern campaigns is lots of data-mining. codirector of elections in Washington state. Someone could be a nonvoter for religious reasons or because of a felony conviction they don’t care to disclose to Facebook friends. “We’re confident that we abide by Facebook’s terms of service and also abide by privacy rules. you do start creating some problems. head of NGP VAN. stated political preference. Volunteers working with the NGP VAN list use their Facebook login to access the Social Organizing interface. without going through Facebook.” Trevelyan said. and other factors. A link to the app was distributed on Tuesday night by the official Barack Obama Twitter account.” said Lillie Coney. 2012 The Obama campaign is looking to increase voter registration and stimulate turnout with an app that lets Facebook users match their social-network contacts with voter files. turnout history. said Stuart Trevelyan. The matching of voter lists to social networks “widely crosses the line. and responses to survey questions. Democratic activists can also access a service called Social Organizing—from left-leaning elections-technology firm NGP VAN—to find out which of their Facebook friends are registered by tapping into an extensive voter database that includes basic personal information.” Trevelyan said. His app was highlighted at a Facebook event in Charlotte on Tuesday.7 million voters is available to anyone who asks and pays $7. Much of this voter information is already publicly available. The Social Organizing tool allows users to essentially reconstitute their personal networks within the confines of the NGP VAN site and organize them based on their location. points out that a CD-ROM of the state’s database of 3. “When you start putting enough information online about the lives of people in communities. but the privacy policy indicates that the information flows directly into the campaign site.” she said. “There’s nothing special about having facilitated that with Facebook data that makes it some sort of privacy invasion. Coney is still concerned that the data from these apps could be abused. lots of data-matching. The technology has the potential to turn ordinary activists into virtual precinct captains. in order to contact friends on behalf of Democratic candidates. associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Shane Hamlin. What is different in this election cycle is the volume and depth of information that has now become accessible to campaign volunteers at the touch of a button. registration status. Compare this to the last 7 days. Fifth most buzzed about convention speech on Facebook was Ann Romney's. check the Facebook CNN Election Insights tool to see if Obama gets a bump from the speech. Paul Ryan speech 5. Ann Romney speech 4.co.com/facebookinsights Guardian: Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina Puts Faith in Online Organising http://www. Michelle Obama speech was the most mentioned convention-related event so far on Facebook. which comes in fourth. All this data can be found at www. Mentions of President Obama on Facebook are up 244% from this time yesterday. Mentions of Eastwood increased by a whopping 8. More people mentioned Barack Obama during this speech than people mentioned Romney during his own speech.900% during his speech.uk/world/2012/sep/04/obama-jim-messina-online-organising?newsfeed=true Ed Pilkington September 4. Julian Castro speech 6. Mentions of Biden are up 354% compared to last night at 10pm ET Which convention-related moments were mentioned the most on Facebook? 1. If a person is asked repeatedly to register to vote and they don’t register to vote. Mitt Romney speech 3. Followed by the speeches of San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and New Jersey Gov.cnn. There was a 2. Romney mentions increased by 422% during his speech compared to the previous hours.” CNN: Conventions Live Blog http://politicslive.com/Event/2012_Conventions_live_blog?Page=0 Eric Weisbrod September 5. Clint Eastwood speech Facebook mentions of Barack Obama increased 745% during Michelle Obama's speech compared to the previous hours. We will keep you posted! After Clinton's speech. 2012 Vice President Joe Biden (the teal line) is finally getting some buzz on Facebook.taking place.280% increase in Paul Ryan mentions compared to previous hours. In the last 12 hours. 2012 The Obama campaign's use of sophisticated digital tools designed to oil its ground operation and increase engagement with voters on the doorstep could give the president a one or two point advantage over Mitt . Mitt Romney's speech is the second most mentioned convention event on Facebook after Michelle Obama's speech. Barack Obama dominated the political conversation on Facebook in every state except Utah and Wyoming.cnn. Data is updated every hour on the hour. Chris Christie speech 7. Michelle Obama speech 2. when Romney had the majority of the chatter in most states. Chris Christie. There was a huge spike in Obama chatter last night after Michelle Obama's speech. The third most discussed convention event on Facebook was Clint Eastwood's speech.guardian. Clint Eastwood's speech was talked about more on Facebook than Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's speech. they’re going to be categorized in a way that may not be great for them in the long run. "This election is going to be very close. said that the digital campaign that has been assembled this year to interact with voters is "light years ahead of where we were in 2008." Messina told an event at the Democratic National Convention sponsored by ABC News and Yahoo News. The Chicago team prides itself with having developed over the past five years. That means that he was able to start campaigning for re-election historically early. "The Romney campaign are doing more than the McCain campaign did [in 2008]." LaBolt said. Jim Messina. But they are nowhere near where we are on the ground. It is centred around a gargantuan unified database of millions of voter files which. "We have been organising in this campaign for 500 days. The Chicago headquarters that is spearheading the effort to re-elect the president normally avoids discussion of its technical operations for fear of giving away trade secrets to the opposition. We have been building a ground operation that will give us the one or two points that we need to win these states and we are on track to do that. He also claimed that Democrat's investment in innovations such as the canvassing tool set Dashboard and a massive database of voters' details that interfaces with Facebook had left the Republicans standing. We're going to make 2008 on the ground look like Jurassic Park". . volunteers can access anywhere at any time.Romney in the key battleground states upon which the outcome of the election depends. Messina said that a two-point bounce in key swing states such as Florida. Obama took the unprecedented decision at the end of the 2008 race to leave his digital campaign largely intact. He gave examples from two important swing states – North Carolina where the convention is being held and where the Obama campaign has 50 field offices up and running while the Romney campaign has yet to open its 20th. redirecting it to help fight battles faced by his administration such as the passage of healthcare reform. Ben LaBolt. through Dashboard. our supporters were talking to their friends and neighbours about the president's record and vision. Ohio. the most sophisticated digital campaign in global political history. That. combined with Facebook and online micro-targetting of specific groups of undecided voters. and Ohio where the disparity on the ground is even greater at 100 Obama offices to Romney's 30. the Obama campaign's chief spokesman. said that the president had an important advantage over his Republican challenger. Romney and his Super PAC supporters have taken a more conventional approach of blitzing battleground states with largely negative television advertising." Messina's comments on the 2012 election's ground war were unusually direct for the Obama campaign. while the Republicans were out there pummelling each other during the primaries. his campaign manager has predicted. While Obama has put a large portion of his war chest behind the largest and best oiled ground operation ever seen. Iowa and Colorado could be decisive in determining the outcome of the 6 November election. since Obama launched his first bid for the White House in 2007. has allowed the campaign to amplify and extend the traditional door-todoor efforts of volunteers digitally. I want to give them credit for that. The outcome of the presidential race could in part hinge on this fundamental difference – a modern digital campaign versus a conventional TV one. who heads an army of several hundred staffers that has been working for 18 months to secure Obama's re-election. I just got back from China and I was in no mood to haul ass to the Sunshine State to breakdance with Newt Gingrich. means flesh pressing. I’ll be checking out The Roots and the punctuationally challenged will. of course that’s what matters most for the politicians and the parties. Fighter Interactive. Twitter. and innovation in gaming. WordPress. and EventFarm. these things aren’t really so much about what you see on television. anyway. at events and parties around town. 2012 I’ve just arrived in Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention. the election campaign. From there. but we’re a startup and we’re trying to cover a hundred things at once. They’ll be throwing parties and engaging in outreach efforts. is not political. and discussing “issues” with furrowed brows. I know you like to think that PandoDaily’s political coverage is super coordinated. in other words. So. and Tampa. My preference for the DNC. but keep the booze). which includes a panel series that will focus on topics such as governments and startups. the real action happens outside the stadium. Charlotte is doable. Messina claimed that the campaign has registered 150% more voters and knocked on 147% more doors this year than at this stage in 2008. Startups will also play a big part. It was only as the convention got ever closer that I realized how big a role tech would be playing here. We’re at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Tonight. tighty whities. being the cool kids on campus. the Democratic National Convention is South By Southwest for khakis. Microsoft.i. PandoDaily: Yep. why am I here when I wasn’t at last week’s Republican convention? Two reasons: mildly wilder parties. By necessity. There’ll even be panels. innovation in journalism. as you can guess. I live in Baltimore. in conjunction with Startup America. where the politically inclined get to celebrate. In other words. Facebook. NC http://pandodaily. I’ll be here throughout the week reporting on tech stories related to the convention. coming here was a last-minute decision.am at a show put on by HyperVocal. and chanting at each other for scripted paeans to their own political pomposity. including teaching politicos how to instal MS-DOS. ethanol imbibing. or a job at Applebee’s. though whether or not that translates into actual votes cast remains one of the big questions of this presidential election cycle. chiefly because I don’t have media credentials for the actual thing in the stadium where suits spend all day waving signs.While the 2012 digital campaign launched by the Obama team undoubtedly looks slick.com/2012/09/03/yep-were-at-the-democratic-national-convention-in-charlotte-nc/ Hamish McKenzie September 3. As all 24 minutes of my convention-covering experience tells me. But for everyone else. many of the claims made for it have so far been unsubstantiated by any solid data. I’ll be doing this a bit gonzo style (trade the napkins for an iPhone and a Macbook. for once. Many of the major tech and social media companies have a strong presence in Charlotte this week. and anyone who talks to an empty chair on stage. cheering. and Tumblr. including Google. who rely on the big stage and TV spotlight for an important chance to tell the public that the opposition candidate is not fit for office.) . But Florida? Well. And actually. This time. (I’ve heard the Dems want to bring back joysticks. That. Well. The party kicks off a week of events called StartUp RockOn. have also signed up for daily emails from DemList. tablet. Twitter and Google+. Google+ http://www. how about getting Betty White to introduce the President? CBS News: How to Follow the 2012 Republican Convention on Facebook. Most of the TV stations. Eastwood. I. Google+. but with a Democratic-oriented interface (ie. Instagram users can view convention photos using the "Convention Without Walls" Facebook app or by searching GOPconvention on the mobile app. and daily analysis." said convention CEO William Harris in a press release. interactive television. Twitter and YouTube profiles. as well as others such as Politico. the RNC also has official Instagram. To me that suggests one thing: the app-makers assume that most politicians don’t know what Yelp is. A Tampa 2012 mobile app has been launched for iPhones and Android devices.services that weren't around during the last election cycle." "Google and YouTube are transforming the political process. In fact. Spotify users can subscribe to the Romney Ryan 2012 campaign's playlists. all its restaurants and nightlife information is provided by Yelp. explore Tampa.Outside of the organized events. and I’m following its Twitter and Facebook accounts. the RNC will live stream the entire convention on its YouTube channel. providing voters an unprecedented degree of participation and. Social media has grown immensely since the 2008 elections. Twitter. An official Facebook app called "Convention Without Walls" lets users tell their stories by submitting photos and videos. It is. shattering last week’s record set by the Republicans. it has already become obvious just how central a role social media and mobile apps will have throughout the convention. Aside from the obvious Facebook. It also comes with a pre-hashtagged Twitter stream (#dnc2012). alerts. Paul Ryan. Pinterest and Foursquare accounts . giving every American who has access to a computer. . For the first time ever. just as they were at the RNC. as you can tell. or video-enabled smart-phone an exclusive backstage pass to the podium of a national political convention.com/8301-501465_162-57500864-501465/how-to-follow-the-2012-republicannational-convention-on-facebook-twitter-google-/ Chenda Ngak September 3. The app lets users view the convention schedule (with events now delayed until Tuesday after Tropical Storm Isaac's threat). video gaming system. (I’m making this assumption on the basis that the Dems have more young tikes who understand the Twitters. This week we’ll find out if the Dems can turn the Internet to their advantage. 2012 The RNC is creating several opportunities for supporters to engage on social networks. Supporters can follow Republican presumptive nominee Mitt Romney and his choice for vice president. The my2012charlotte iPhone app will be my guide to all events. it’s blue). Additionally. A good way to start? Well.cbsnews. and city information this week. In April. which can be submitted via YouTube.) We saw at the RNC just how big a deal social media was in amplifying and fact-checking the messages of Romney. Ryan. the RNC named Google and YouTube as the "Official Social Platform and Live Stream Provider. Funnily enough. as well. will be live-streaming coverage of the convention and related commentary. Convention Floor Pass. this must be the most digital-y convention ever. news. and keep up with tweets from prominent Republicans. and company. that features breaking news. for the very first time. like many others. And CNN and Time have colaunched an app. on Facebook. all very digital-y. supporters and the media.com.com Mitt Romney on Facebook Mitt Romney on Twitter Mitt Romney on Google+ Mitt Romney on Tumblr . 27 at 9:30 a. Republican National Convention social media profiles Official website: GOPConvention2012.m.Social media companies are working hard to cater to politicians. Briefings start on Aug. Here's the full list of social media links for the 2012 Republican National Convention and Romney Ryan 2012 campaign.S. tweets and changes in daily activity. politics that highlights politicians and political campaigns. ET and will be streamed live at CBSNews. Twitter has set up a political index that profiles the candidates' number of followers.com Official Facebook page Official Google+ page Official YouTube page Official Pinterest page Republican National Convention on Foursquare GOPconvention on Instagram via Facebook @GOPconvention on Twitter Convention hashtag: #GOP2012 Republican National Convention mobile apps Tampa 2012 iOS app on iTunes Tampa 2012 Android app at Google Play Romney Ryan 2012 social media profiles Romney Ryan 2012 official website: MittRomney. Facebook has an official hub for U. CBS News will join The National Journal and The Atlantic for daily briefings at both conventions. It’d be nearly impossible to ascertain how women actually felt about Ann Romney’s speech using traditional methods. Until Facebook achieved near universal adoption among the voting class.Mitt Romney on Spotify Mitt Romney on Pinterest Mitt Romney on YouTube Paul Ryan on Facebook Paul Ryan on Twitter 2012 politics hubs on social media sites U. the entire map of women talking from coast to coast turned bright red. 2012 For all the millions spent on the Republican National Convention. focus groups are too tiny to be nationally representative. and.” recalls CNN producer Michelle Jaconi.com/2012/09/02/do-women-love-ann-romney-only-facebook-knows/ Gregory Feinstein September 2. “During Ann Romney’s speech. Unfortunately. focus groups are rife with problems: bored participants rush to judgement. who oversaw a Facebook partnership that visualizes political social chatter across a map of the US. so. . a giant spike in female chatter is the best indication we’ve ever had that team Romney hit the bullseye. too tiny to be representative of the national population. As we’ve noted before. the entire operation could only speculate whether their keynote speeches had any meaningful impact. which measures opinion while groups of potential voters watch a replay of the speech. Hindsight survey’s asking respondents how they felt about a speech over the phone are subject to participant’s notoriously bad memories. are by nature.S. they certainly wouldn’t be better at reflecting how they felt during a speech days earlier. or remember monumental life events. brands had no reliable way to gage public opinion. Politics on Facebook The Twitter Political Index Google coverage of the 2012 RNC Tech Crunch: Do Women Love Ann Romney? Only Facebook Knows http://techcrunch. many people can’t remember what they ate for breakfast. are heavily influenced by the latent actions of the research director and their surrounding peers. However. Large surveys are subject to respondents’ notoriously bad memories. While Facebook doesn’t measure the sentiment of opinion. Facebook’s recent experiment with topical chatter during the RNC may have just revealed the social network as the best known barometer of national buzz. The second-best alternative is a real-time focus group. and the Twitterverse is too liberal and young. the benefits are sure to spill over into industry marketing. “You know who the power mobile users of Facebook are?” Ronmey’s Digital Director. And. Ford. 70% of the Republican’s sweet-spot 35-49 demographic use social networks (and nearly all of them use Facebook). according to Romney’s digital director. it’s hard to imagine a better data source than Facebook. “In 48 hours. But. The Democrats have long been the leaders in using social media to their advantage. on the walls of Facebook and in Google chat rooms everywhere.com/politics/2012/09/01/romney-campaign-claims-to-be-closing-gap-in-social-mediabattle/ Cristina Corbin September 2. on the conservative side of the country. the Romney campaign has a history of channeling female engagement at the perfect time. from scratch. which measures the volume of positive and negative tweets related to each presidential hopeful. Moffett recalls. Ann Romney had 85K people engaging with her online. . Fox: Romney campaign claims to be closing gap in social media battle http://www. for instance. on the only platform which could achieve this. brands. Moffatt can target them with specific calls to action. After the election. “stay-at-home moms. when Obama campaign advisor Hilary Rosen made the unfortunate claim that Ann Romney “never worked a day in her life. But more doesn’t mean better.” CNN’s experiment with Facebook was a proving ground for the social network as a goldmine in demographicspecific buzz. put your ear to Facebook’s grindstone. So. the 2012 presidential election is no different – with Obama far exceeding Romney in the number of Facebook followers and daily campaign tweets. has achieved near universal adoption in the United States. Mitt Romney’s campaign claims it’s catching up.” writes computer science professor. “It can be concluded that the predictive power of Twitter regarding elections has been greatly exaggerated. Daniel Gayo-Avello. And on that social-media front. hyperactive.Twitter attempted to reveal national sentiment with its political index. 15. which is Facebook. Even if the Facebook chatter wasn’t all positive. Zac Moffatt asks. Zac Moffatt. According to a Pew Research Center study released Aug. would certainly want to know if a Superbowl ad lit up teenage chatter–as would any national brand. the campaign now knows that it teed up enough users in the chosen demographic to mobilize passionate supporters.” Moffatt had Ann Romney respond on Twitter and Facebook.” With Facebook. According to Pew. research has shown that the modern state of statistical science just doesn’t know how to accurately measure opinion through the (heavily biased) Twitterverse. While President Obama and his supporters prepare for what Democrats are calling “the most open and accessible convention in history.” Romney’s team boasted Saturday that it is closing the digital gap between the campaigns and accused its rival of running a social media operation that’s just too – well. Where the volume of chatter matters more than sentiment. 2012 It’s an all-out battle for votes in the last two months before the election – and it’s happening across Twitter feeds. who oversees all social media and online advertising for the campaign. In 5 days. Earlier in the year. we created the single largest coalition. Facebook though.foxnews. ” Moffatt said. Despite the Obama campaign’s social media success. it was hard work. and in some ways we’ve overtaken them. “We wouldn’t want to do it 30 times a day because if everything’s a priority.” Moffatt told FoxNews. finds that the Obama campaign is still active on nearly twice as many digital tools and that the online content it produces generates more responses from users on average. A report by “Inside Facebook. which describes her as “Mom of five boys.com. you must be better at Twitter. Mrs.“The Pew is not an authority on how to use campaign social media. CNN: RNC Nets Higher Buzz Factor Than Hurricane Isaac. The day after Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen said on television that Romney’s wife “never worked a day in her life.169.com/2012/09/01/rnc-nets-higher-buzz-factor-than-hurricane-isaac-facebooktalk-meter-shows/ CNN Political Unit September 1.blogs." Almost instantly.” the Obama campaign tweeted a day later – and included a photo of the commander-inchief from behind.729 followers. nothing’s a priority. for example. that “the average re-tweet for us is much higher than the Obama campaign per tweet. Moffatt claims. says that the average number of “interactions” per day on Obama’s Facebook page is not much higher than on Romney’s.” an independent news service of Inside Network. Obama has 28 million “Likes” on Facebook versus Romney’s 5 million. Grandmother of 18. but I think every single day we’re catching up.4 million are using the online social network to “post about” the candidate and his campaign. sitting in a chair at what appears to be a cabinet meeting.” he said. The Pew research study.596 followers. "Believe me. 2012 . Out campaigning for @mittromney. “This seat’s taken.8 million Romney followers currently on Facebook. Romney.” he said. in contrast. Romney attracted tens of thousands of followers to her Twitter account. “They think that because you tweet more. The Obama campaign recently showed how it uses social media to its advantage when it responded via Twitter to Clint Eastwood’s impromptu act before the Republican convention Thursday. The Romney team says it has made strides in engaging users across various online platforms – particularly on Facebook. during which the legendary actor addressed an empty chair meant to be an imaginary Obama. On Twitter.cnn. has tweeted 1." Romney tweeted. noting that the results of the study were released three months ago. Moffatt said. Obama and his campaign have tweeted 5. well before Romney announced his running mate and Republicans converged on Tampa for their party’s convention.” “The Obama campaign has an advantage in that they’ve been doing this for six years and have invested a lot of money in it. "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Facebook ‘Talk Meter’ Shows http://politicalticker. however. Moffatt says the Romney team continues to enjoy a spike in followers across the Twitterverse – and pointed to Ann Romney as an early example of that success. about 2.” Moffatt said that of the 5.109 times and has 996.685 times and enjoy 19. “Barack Obama tweets 30 times a day – that’s not how we want to use Twitter.” Ann Romney set up a Twitter account and fired back. the state with the largest number of people discussing their performances was Utah. That state has a high percentage of people who share Romney's Mormon faith. While the data compiled by Facebook. A demographic breakdown of the data provided by the social sharing website found that men over the age of 65 were talking about Clint Eastwood's surprise appearance at the RNC more than any other group. his home state. perceive the state of political play.62 in 2012) nor Supreme Court health care decision (6. BuzzFeed: Obama Responds to Eastwood: “This Seat’s Taken” http://www. But it was no Super Bowl (8. it is an attempt to gauge how users of the website.97 earlier this year).C." RNC social sharing was more significant in Washington. followed by women over the age of 65. Both Romney and his wife. according to this scale. The Facebook "Talk Meter" also assigns a numerical value to an event's magnitude. North Carolina. and the larger population. Facebook said . D. The RNC ranked at approximately a 6.5) and the announcement of Ryan as Romney's running mate (5.. D. were also discussed most by those older groups.12. shared through a partnership with CNN.C.21). is not a scientific survey. than in any other state. which hosted the convention. The data provided by Facebook did not specify the timeframe for this buzz. more users of Facebook were talking about the Republican National Convention than the storm. according to data compiled by the Facebook "Talk Meter.(CNN) . so Eastwood being outside of the spotlight prior to his remarks helped him jump up the "Talk Meter" scale.99) in 2008. He was buzzed about the most in Washington. nor did it measure what demographic groups were watching coverage of the convention in greater numbers than other groups. The data did not. Romney's campaign may find encouragement in the geographic areas which the RNC received the greatest rate of buzz.. the toss-up states of Colorado. and Hurricane Isaac approached the Gulf Coast. Ann.which placed it above Hurricane Isaac (at a 5. and Wisconsin.com/chrisgeidner/obama-responds-to-eastwood-this-seats-taken Chris Geidner August 31. indicate what the Facebook users thought of his controversial remarks. more than any other demographic. Rep. . More men and women over the age of 65 discussed Mitt Romney in the recent sampling than any other group. and Ann Romney received buzz among men and women over 55 years-of-age. although Florida. and Nevada also placed in the top ten. nor did it compete with the inauguration of President Barack Obama (8.While Republicans gathered in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney as their presidential candidate. however. Geographically.buzzfeed. Besides battleground Florida. The "Talk Meter" calculates a jump in buzz. placed second in a list of buzz by geography. 2012 The Facebook post follows Clint Eastwood's imagined conversation with Obama that took place as the movie star spoke to an empty chair in Tampa. Paul Ryan. The data showed that men between 35 and 54 talked about Romney's running mate. Next came men between 55 and 64. but the Republican convention opened on Monday and concluded with Romney's acceptance speech on Thursday evening. What would happen.000 phone calls to voters around the country. I asked myself. or they can give him a chance to be cool. Over takeout pizza and countless cups of coffee. if instead of giving my class the usual boring examples. commanding and presidential. We spent the semester learning about sampling methods.000 feet had one of the most interesting ideas in my professional life. but the hubris of youth told me that I knew statistics better than they did. Then. currently occupied by a president well known since childhood for his preternatural cool. I could call the election with high accuracy. and phone exchanges proportionally represented in ." each group of students manning a phone. stratification. or a nasty weather event that tests the federal government's ability to respond.3941834 Bob Keeler August 31. Today. and that with 25 students. bias in surveys.000 voters that perfectly spanned the entire United States. In the two months between now and Election Day. the White House weighed in with this Facebook post. I would have them do a class project: use statistics to predict the results of the upcoming presidential election? Professional polling organizations like Gallup have thousands of employees and bottomless pockets. 2012 Twitter lit up last night after Clint Eastwood's deeply weird monologue with an empty chair on the primetime stage of the Republican National Convention. all in preparation for our big event. Looks like the president can take a joke -. at the end of August 1992. armed with a state-of-the-art random sampling scheme we had developed throughout the course that would give every voter in the United States an equal chance of being selected for our representative sample.or at least go with the flow.3683911/barack-obama-s-facebook-photo-responds-to-clinteastwood-s-empty-chair-1. can also become a hot seat in a matter of minutes. a sudden geopolitical surprise. World events don't follow our political calendar. But it's helpful to remember that this seat. The seat President Barack Obama occupies is the center of political action for the whole nation. the photo is a stark reminder to Mitt Romney and the rest of us of the power of an incumbent president to set the agenda. I was then a professor of mathematics and statistics at what is today called Bentley University (then Bentley College) and about to start teaching an advanced statistics course. with all its regions.huffingtonpost. we ran a poll of 1.Newsday: Barack Obama’s Facebook Photo Responds to Clint Eastwood’s Empty Chair http://www. Those surprises can break a president.com/opinion/viewsday-1. I was flying from London back to Boston. area codes. In the middle of all the one-liners. we stayed up late in our "operations center. 12 phone lines. the night before the election. 2012 Exactly 20 years -. and a budget (generously provided by the college) to make a mere 1.ago. and at 41. Huffington Post: Can Facebook Call the Election? http://www.com/amir-aczel/facebook-pollingelection_b_1841296.newsday.html?utm_hp_ref=technology&ir=Technology Amir Aczel August 31. So keep your eye on that chair. can make any president squirm in his seat. and sampling distributions.and five presidential election seasons -. obtain a result of higher overall accuracy than that of Gallup -. Kansas Governor Alfred Landon. and its readers tended to vote Republican. and within 1% and 1. as we know. had been able to call presidential elections so well that the New York Times would regularly report the Digest poll results on its front page during every election campaign. knocking on doors?) and in the meantime phones had become ubiquitous and no longer exhibited a preference to be owned by richer people: so the built-in bias was almost completely gone.4 million could not make that natural bias go away.from phones to the Internet. and the other was telephone numbers! Now. the magazine went boldly out with this prediction -. won the election in a landslide. But this was 76 years ago: People who had cars and/or phones tended to be wealthier.4 million responded -. So why am I telling you this story? In 1936. In 1936. the Literary Digest. respectively. my students told the people they polled that their grade in the class depended on their answering the poll. would guarantee them a supreme accuracy.*) We have now moved to the next level of technology -. Incidentally. so our non-response was close to zero!). By 1992.still a sample that is immensely large. may well contain as little as 1.W. the statistical base for the sampling. 2. for the other two: Bill Clinton and George H. in which good probability sampling is carried out. phones had become the most efficient way to generate good samples because they were easy to use (who wants to travel from town to town. was highly flawed -. The Literary Digest soon closed its offices in disgrace. The point is that.and they are more interesting for us here -. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. the fact that of 10 million people. by 1992. And the question is: Have we progressed to the point at which using the Internet as a source of statistical information valid or not? And this is what brings me to Facebook. an important magazine that no longer exists. they did not fully understand the concepts of randomness and bias.5%. A good experimental design allowed us to do so well -. Another interesting fact to note here is that sample sizes need not be very large.000 voters and still give excellent information.one was automobile registration plates. They would collect a sample of unprecedented size: 10 million voters! (Of these. Because their vaunted sample indicated that the Republican candidate. having lost both face and readership. Bush. would win the election. Before 1936. But two more sources of bias existed -.000. So the frame. telephones had become a viable way of conducting political polls. hoping to gain even more prestige for their magazine. and wealthy people.and our predictions were reported in some newspapers and on radio programs. (There is also the problem of non-response. less than a quarter responded. Both President Obama and Mitt Romney have their own . A well-designed survey. History decided otherwise.prominently reported on the front-page of the New York Times and other newspapers. The Literary Digest was a conservative publication. the sampling error at 95% probability is plus or minus about three percentage points. thus introducing a bias. (I have to say "almost" because there are people with no phones.it had a built-in bias to the right -. and the Democratic candidate. but they are very few and their phonelessness may not be as highly income-dependent as it would have been in 1936).and so even a fantastically large sample size of 2. tend to vote Republican. (The statistical rule is that in a random sample of size n. the researchers believed. The Digest used its readership as one source of sampled voters. today we poll people using the phone all the time. using telephone numbers to generate a frame from which to collect a random sample was a prescription for disaster. But it hasn't always been that way. Ross Perot. Unfortunately.) The hugeness of the sample. for a sample of size 1. And we did it! We were able to call the results of the election to within half a percentage point for one of the three candidates who ran that year. but that is another issue. Thus. the sampling error at 95% probability is roughly plus or minus one divided by the square root of n. Digest editors decided to outdo themselves.our sample. Another question is whether Facebook users are quick enough to "unlike" a candidate once they change their minds about him. because of the cautionary tale of the Literary Digest.918 likes Mitt Romney: 5. This may be an important hidden factor here. and here is what I found: Barack Obama: 28. as measured at a given moment in time. as president for almost four years now. But Romney gained more than 100. I tracked the "likes" for Obama and Romney over three days.482. either richer or poorer than nonusers. by chance. 2012 A day later. and many non-users seem to have an obsession with "privacy. It appears that Facebook users may tend toward younger segments of the population. Then. Is using Facebook like using phone numbers in 1936? -.105 likes on August 28.Facebook pages.524 likes on August 28. 2012 A day later.meaning. several times before its fatal debacle.000 "likes" a day over two days. is there an inherent bias here? The income element is probably not there: Facebook users are not. It appears to me that following the two "like" counts.065 likes And a day later: 5. and more than 40. Then. might be an interesting way of tracking something that may act as a proxy toward the popular vote on November 6 as we move through time -.250 likes And a day later: 28.000 "likes" the day he was formally nominated by the GOP at the convention in Tampa. fast and easy rough source of some approximate kind of information about where the popular vote might be heading. by any indication.000 "likes" the following day. How you can help: You could go to Facebook from time to time and in the "Comments" below paste what you see as the number of "likes" for each candidate.806 likes First. then using Facebook as an indicator of who is likely to win the November election. Facebook and Twitter’s friendly rivalry at GOP2012 http://mashable. but I don't know whether this is a fact. on which Facebook users can click the "like" button. Otherwise. for Obama and for Romney. and the other is sensitivity to privacy issues.something like a continuous kind of opinion poll. after the GOP convention nominated Mitt Romney: 28. But with Facebook there may be two potential sources of bias: one is age. we see some interesting trends here: Obama gained roughly 10.014.023.440. Obama has had more of a chance to collect "like" clicks). we will see whether this polling method worked or not (although one result will not necessarily tell us whether the method is biased or not -.com/2012/08/31/google-facebook-twitter-republican-convention/ . from these data it appears that Obama is more liked than Romney by a ratio of five to one (although.004." If age and sensitivity to privacy move voters either to the left or to the right. I italicize "might. I think that this might be an interesting pair of statistics to follow as they change through time precisely because I want to know whether or not there is a bias in using Facebook as an indication of who might win the election. it may be an excellent.the Literary Digest did get it right." and I am being very tentative here. is flawed. after the election results are out.332.) Mashable: Google. after the GOP convention nominated him: 5. was inarguably the most prominent of the technology companies at the Republican National Convention — a list that also included Facebook and Twitter. in reference to Facebook and Twitter. Despite the technology companies’ obvious rivalry for attention and business.” Joel Kaplan.” she added. meanwhile. Meanwhile. The two shared a co-working space — perhaps in an effort to join forces against rival Google — that became a can’tmiss destination for reporters and socially-savvy politicians. spokesperson for Google. offered a similar sentiment — but he hinted a bit more at the competition lying beneath the surface. said “I think it’s the same synergy you see in our shared workplace *with Twitter+. meanwhile. “We’re all pulling in the same direction. Facebook sponsored a party to celebrate innovation and another event for developers to demonstrate several cutting edge political apps built using Open Graph.com/2012/08/31/4179671/in-the-digital-age-whither-the. vice president of public policy at Facebook. Twitter and Facebook. 2012 . VP at Facebook. backstage “Conversation Room” and end-of-the-week epic party.” said Samantha Smith. Obviously. “Politicians now have many ways to get their message out there.Alex Fitzpatrick August 31. mingled with one another and talked shop. they still made quite the impact. too: a Twitter hashtag. 2012 Google. “We’re excited about 2012 as the first truly social election.bradenton. a role they’re also serving for the Democratic Convention. manager of public policy communications at Facebook.html Peter Prengaman August 31.” Associated Press: In the Digital Age. we think that change should happen on Facebook. We’re excited about the changes social media is making to politics. with its fully decked-out media lounge. That makes sense – Google and YouTube were the official social network and live stream provider of the convention.” Joel Kaplan. #gop2012. receiving visits from such prominent politicians as Newt Gingrich and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy. their representatives sat together on many panels about social media’s impact on politics and were warm towards one another. “We all have the same goal. told Mashable. When asked if the competition between the social networks at the convention was intense. played second fiddle. However. including Facebook and CNN’s analytics platform and the Twitter Political Index. It’s a friendly relationship. overall displaying a “we’re all in this together” attitude towards sparking social innovation in politics. Twitter and Facebook employees. The company streamed content to hundreds of thousands of viewers and also used the event as a coming of age celebration for Google Hangouts. Is There Room for the Campaign Button http://www. Facebook and Twitter used their space to show off their latest political innovations. Andrew Noyes. The two companies made their presence known in other ways. was a part of the official campaign logo and the company kept convention-goers up to date with interesting stats. which were all the rage among media outlets covering the event and the convention organizers. helping people access that information. " and depict a foot kicking a cartoon image of Obama. like hats. who was laid off in May from a product development firm. attendees roaming the convention halls are more likely to have an iPhone strapped to their belt or a Bluetooth hanging from one ear than a button with Romney's picture fastened to their lapel. 60. But most passersby simply smiled and kept on walking. The historic nature of the 2008 campaign. barely looking at the piece of cardboard he carted around with 50 buttons fastened to it. Those eventually gave way to metal buttons with fastening pins. Even if fewer people wear them and their effectiveness is muted.. the more intense the interest in buttons." Campaign buttons have been part of American politics since the days of President George Washington. who traveled with her 19-year-old son from Kansas City to sell buttons that say "Show 44 the door. like: "Sarah Palin. emails to potential voters and on social networking sites. The hotter the campaign. "Who is going to see your button on the Long Island Expressway?" he said. Increasing urbanization and longer commutes have also likely had a role in diminishing the usefulness of buttons. and travels the country selling paraphernalia at political gatherings. "I guess people are just into digital media these days. campaigns have fully moved to online media. Buttons extolling the Republican ticket and tearing into Democrats haven't disappeared entirely.being on the ballot made them more collectible. emails and mobile phone alerts. he said. To communicate their messages. And most vendors supplement by selling a wide range of other items. for example. The days when many delegates were seen littered with partisan messages from seemingly head to toe appear to be long past.30 to make and she sells them for $3." juxtaposing the photogenic looks of the Republican vice presidential nominee and her state of Alaska." said Jane Morton. Today. says her buttons cost $0. "We have had pictures of our buttons taken a thousand times. by virtue of Barack Obama -."buttons" decorating candidate websites. a presidential historian and dean of the school of communication at Hofstra University." said Ola.TAMPA -. vendors say they don't have to sell many to turn a profit because production costs are low. Morton. "Maybe they are just going out of fashion. while many voters express their opinions via tweets. the campaign button has lost its luster as a central way to promote candidates and their causes.Eugene Ola was on a street corner hawking some political buttons with phrases like "Believe in America" and featuring photos of a smiling GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his running mate. D. Facebook posts and blogs. the hottest governor from the coldest state. .the nation's first black president -. the most modern form is the digital variety -. Politicians and their parties instead push their messages with a relentless barrage of television ads.C. or worn similar to a necklace. And there were plenty of opportunities for some catchy phrases that worked well. handkerchiefs and T-shirts. Some of the first buttons were sewn on clothes. Paul Ryan. said Evan Cornog. 46. These days. who lives in Washington. but they are far from ubiquitous. In this era of high-tech and non-stop social networking. football games and medical conferences. The upcoming app is not the only thing Team Romney has been up to. The donation is charged to the donor's cellphone bill. Prior to this. "In just one step. It's also been reported that the Romney campaign is gearing up to roll out donations by text. 2012 In the run-up to Mitt Romney's speech Thursday night announcing his acceptance of the Republican nomination for the presidency. 25. The Obama campaign announced last week that it had its own version of that functionality up and running." said Andrew Malcolm. in an email listed as coming from Moffatt. Over the weekend. The campaign did not immediately return an emailed request for comment. before entering the convention hall. Team Romney rolled out a custom Square application to collect donations at events. On a public Google Hangout Thursday afternoon.com/news/22796/republican-national-convention-romneys-digital-director-dishesnew-app Nick Judd August 30. In an arrangement pursued by people in both parties and approved by the Federal Election Commission earlier this summer. email. with a provider that already handles credit card information. campaigns can collect small donations when users send a given text message to a specific shortcode. or mobile phone. and then promptly put it in his pocket. but an intermediary essentially fronts the money to the campaign until the bills are paid. Victory Wallet is the latest example of the Romney campaign going technologically tit-for-tat with Team Obama. . Are they on display at home? "I just have them in a bag." an analog to the one-click donations feature Barack Obama's campaign and the software firm Blue State Digital released earlier this year. Zac Moffatt. TechPresident recently noticed online ads appearing for Romney and Obama on the front page of the Tampa Bay Times website. the campaign rolled out "Victory Wallets. you can make donations via the Internet. Romney’s Digital Director Hints at New App http://techpresident." he said.Many conventiongoers buying buttons appear to be collecting them as souvenirs. The campaign announced this feature just a few days after Obama's digital group released more or less the same functionality for their supporters. his digital team has been busy. not with the campaign itself — Romney's team can ask donors to re-authorize subsequent donations. a Los Angelesbased columnist who on Wednesday night bought a button. 69. "I have buttons from every Republican ticket since World War II. adding wryly that if he ever wanted to put them on a wall it would require "some serious negotiations with my wife." the campaign announced Aug. I'll update the post if they do." Tech President: At Republican National Convention. Romney's digital director. By storing credit card information where the campaign can access it again — in the Democrats' case. announced that the campaign will soon roll out an event app that will handle event ticketing and provide a "social" component by pulling in Twitter and Facebook posts during a several-hour period around events. ” Facebook held its first Apps and Drinks event at the Republican National Convention today with a similar event planned next week in Charlotte. 2012 The six hottest political apps for Facebook were the talk of Tampa.000 political Facebook Pages in the US. .140 are Pages for political organizations o 43.000 are politician Pages o 2. Facebook also released some statistics about this election season:    This year. Roy Blunt.000 candidates can be found in the system and the average user is connected to 241 voters. today during the social network’s cocktail reception they’re calling “Apps and Drinks. Paul Ryan. N. new media director for Sen. 1. All Facebook: Facebook Highlights GOP-Flavored Apps Over Drinks at Republican Convention http://allfacebook. there are now more people in the U. former Republican National Committee digital director Cyrus Krohn. Votizen allows users to their see how their friends are registered to vote.600 are Pages for government officials o 1." Moffatt said Thursday.500 are Pages for community government Here’s a look at the apps Facebook is highlighting today:  Votizen: Using Facebook login. on Facebook than voted in the 2008 election. 2. According to Pew. "We don't have to run against Barack Obama's digital team. which expanded after the campaign shifted from the primary to the general election. and Lori Weberg. recognizing that users are more likely to be swayed by the opinions of their friends. people on Facebook are 57 percent more likely to persuade a friend or co-worker to vote.S. Engage co-founder Patrick Ruffini. when the Democrats have their turn in the spotlight. Apps are the craze this election cycle. 5. "We have to do what's necessary to be successful in November. The politicos are taking advantage of Facebook’s unique sharing and commenting capabilities.." Moffatt shared the hangout stage with National Republican Congressional Committee digital director Gerrit Lansing.620 are Pages for political parties o 31. and campaign with them to elect candidates with shared values.com/facebook-highlights-gop-flavored-apps-over-drinks-at-republicanconvention_b98629 Jennifer Moire August 30. is not trying to compete with their opposite numbers. Fla.5 million voters have been reached with Votizen.5 times more likely to attend an event or rally and 43 percent more likely to vote themselves. There are 110. Gov.But Moffatt says that his staff.C.890 are Pages for government organizations o 7.500 are for community organizations o 12. Mitt Romney’s campaign drew attention — some unwanted — with its VP app that was designed to deliver information in the lead up to the selection of Rep. Of those: o 11. this app enables people to share pictures or videos of themselves that express their individual. Facebook-CNN “I Voted” app: The Facebook-CNN “I Voted” app makes it easy for people on Facebook to make their voices heard. the RNC Social Victory Center and the Convention Without Walls. encourage people to vote and keep up to date on election issues. People can also easily connect and share with their friends as well as Republicans across the country. Conventioneers can use their Facebook login to tag themselves and their friends in panoramic photos taken nightly inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum and posted the next day at GOPConvention2012. were made by the Republican National Committee. American stories. None of the apps highlighted are from official Democrat organizations. While not an app. there’s an impressive use of technology at these conventions between Facebook and GigaPan. nearly 50 percent of users became active around the time of the Wisconsin gubernatorial recall. events and candidates. People who log in with Facebook can engage in debates. Since launching in May. as well as what it hopes users will turn to as political campaigning increasingly occurs online. With the app. the app has generated nearly one million impressions.these are apps made by software developers outside the company) that it says are "expanding the sphere of political engagement" on the world's largest social network. by joining groups matching their interests. Convention Without Walls: Created by the RNC. Two of the apps Facebook spotlights. Here's the full list. A touchscreen monitor inside the Forum enables attendees to view themselves in the photos. Readers: Do you plan on using any Facebook apps between now and Election Day in November? Talking Points Memo: Facebook Promotes Political Apps http://livewire. Interestingly. people can share their commitment to vote and to endorse the candidates and issues that matter most to them.     WeforPresident: WeforPresident connects users with information about key political issues. register to vote and find organizations that match their political interests. 2012 Facebook on Thursday released a list of third party political apps (not that kind of "third party" -. and share activity back to Facebook.com. online and offline. via Facebook:       Votizen WeforPresident RNC Social Victory Center NationBuilder Facebook-CNN “I Voted” app Convention Without Walls .com/entry/facebook-promotes-political-apps Carl Franzen August 30. Republican National Committee’s Social Victory Center: The RNC launched this Open Graph-powered app to make it easy for people to find ways to volunteer. Facebook points to the apps as examples of what it would like to see from developers going forward. NationBuilder: NationBuilder enables candidates to organize communities.talkingpointsmemo. such as Facebook Events. Campaigns can connect via Facebook and tap into a range of social tools. Four years later. (For the record. and they are very much in use. It’s a loose and varied conversation. the biggest draw in the Google lounge. the Google lounge is colorful and cool. While Facebook.” An instant TV studio in a plastic cube. chat them on any number of platforms. tweet at them. Now. as evidenced by the constant finger swiping. “Everybody here. Not that I’m complaining (much. and just about everywhere else in Tampa. Send a text. the very cool ways – that Google is hosting that conversation is with something called the Google+ “Hangout Studio.” says Google spokesman Daniel Sieberg.) Covering conventions may be many things.) Or that there aren’t exceptions here and there. I think we’re blowing that out of the water.” says Noyes. it’s always the same. they felt more like a side bar for many attendees. . bloggers and other malcontents grinding away on the barren concrete floors of the neighboring Tampa Convention Center.”There’s a lot of things we think are important to the political discourse. While Republican delegates are whooping it up on the arena floor of the Tampa Times Forum – or spending off hours at swanky restaurants – there are thousands of journalists. the coffee cold and your feet swollen. and the campaigns didn’t go much further than offering up a website or sending out news releases on Twitter. He’s correct – everybody here has at least one mobile device. bringing delegates and activists together with people the world over joining via video chats on Google+. Take the Google lounge here in Tampa. Apart from the free coffee. it’s a different world. but swank is not among them. Unlike the harsh light and drab surroundings of most working areas.* Not that many in the lounge seem to be paying attention. it will be exactly the same at the Democratic convention next week in Charlotte. the food is fried. so we’re here in a non-partisan format to just have that conversation here at the RNC. Voice of America: Live from Tampa! Sort Of… http://blogs.voanews. Wifi isn’t just a nicety here – it’s a necessity. has a new focus on social media and sharing. and then next week at the DNC. Twitter and other social networks were up and running in 2008. The hours are grueling.” One of the ways – frankly. brimming with hip displays and tired reporters catching up on the news or with each other. whether you’re a delegate or a journalist.” says Facebook’s Andrew Noyes without much hyperbole. In the eight I’ve attended so far. “We’re really here to create conversations. 2012 A colleague in Washington asked me today: “So. too. Florida. are you getting to see much of Tampa while you’re at the convention?” I’m quite sure they had no idea just how funny that was.com/digital-frontiers/2012/08/30/live-from-tampa-sort-of/ Doug Bernard August 30. seems to be anything on the mobile phone. “A lot of people said 2008 was going to be the social convention.Facebook also noted it had invited the creators of the apps to an "Apps and Drinks" event this week in Tampa. Want to find someone for an interview? Don’t bother phoning – nobody picks up anymore. the set is plopped down in the middle of the Google lounge. which is exactly what one would expect on the subject of politics. when you’re here.) on the social networking site this week.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/246683-facebook-lets-users-tag-themselves-inconvention-panorama Alicia Cohn August 30. The task now seems to be not whether to embrace social media. but rather to learn how to manage it. find themselves or friends in the audience.” I prefer to think of it as tunnel vision. More panorama shots from additional nights of the convention are expected. Whoever you are. an app that allows users to find themselves in a 360 degree panorama shot of the audience at the convention. the rest of the world tends to evaporate into a blur of speeches. Speaking only for myself. And I can’t be the only one. Everything else being equal. The Republican National Convention featured the tool on their official blog on Wednesday. Facebook wants convention attendees to share every moment in real-time with their friends. and tag themselves. Lucky thing there’s always the Google coffee. .) Which leads to a paradox: with all that sharing and immediate access to information. The Hill: Facebook Lets Users Tag Themselves in Convention Panorama http://thehill. although Facebook data provided to CNN shows that when President Obama was in Iowa on Wednesday. everyone’s trying to keep a millisecond ahead of the next guy at the convention. but woe be unto you if you happen to miss the one big thing just because you were unconnected for five minutes. Attendees can also access photos at a touch-screen monitor at the Facebook workspace in the Tampa Bay Times Forum. where convention visitors can quickly upload photos to their timelines without waiting for access to a computer. This week. former colleague and still friend Don Gonyea with NPR has adorned his Facebook page with much more convention stuff than I have. Logging into Facebook through the application allows users to zoom in with almost shocking detail. I’m finding my mobile device only amplifies that. Facebook chatter in that particular swing state was a lot more "blue" than the rest of the country has been this week.But all this leaves one to wonder: just how much sharing is too much? Can there possibly that much interesting happening here? The answer is probably not. whether digi-skeptics such as myself like it or not. it’s all a little overwhelming. American conventions and politics are increasingly an online sport. security cordons and balloons. (For example. Old hands call it the “Convention Hole. 2012 Facebook is offering users attending the Republican National Convention this week a chance to show off their spot in history. it’s become easier than ever to forget that there’s a whole world of news still happening. The shared photo -. The social networking site brought four "Photo Spots" to Tampa. Paul Ryan (Wis. Not like this will change anything. one next guy.which includes an audience of thousands at Ann Romney's speech on Tuesday night -will show up on their timeline. With noses firmly planted in glowing screens. Facebook promoted Gigapan. Facebook is also monitoring a spike in conversation about the Republican presidential ticket's Mitt Romney and Rep. turning a sea of global information into a trickle of convention trivia. “You have companies spending more time dealing with regulation.html?hp=r15 Steve Friess 08/30/2012 TAMPA. the bills were spiked and the tech world realized it could impact public policy in a big way. president and CEO of TechNet. From sponsoring elaborate parties with free-flowing food and wine to hawking their wares on the political elite. Fla. Behind the scenes and away from the cameras. colorfully designed rec room. in some cases. and we want to be able to educate policymakers and their staff about how people using Yelp in their district. Facebook.” It’s a coming-of-age landmark for many in this industry. dealing with Congress. BSA." The oversized show of force is a big change for many tech companies — from Apple to Yelp — that didn't used to pay much heed to politics or Washington D. of course.C. dealing with the administration.com/news/stories/0812/80461. director of public policy at Yelp. Several noted that their members barely understood how much political power they held or why it mattered until the debate over SOPA and PIPA early this year. Now they spend big to fete lawmakers and send representatives to work the rooms as other industries long have. And AT&T's logo is on RNC signage throughout downtown Tampa. at Tuesday’s Innovation Nation party put on to by CEA. “Our power is directly commensurate with the awareness that the tech industry is so vital to the United States economy. “For us it’s not about sponsoring a ton of events. On Thursday alone. “We’ve got a great story to tell. Facebook invites attendees to snap pictures at photo booths that post the image direct to a user's wall. making sure members have our app installed on their iPhones and iPads. Twitter's giving out Tshirts. as sponsorships can cost up to millions of dollars in goods and services. pay. companies as predictable as Microsoft and Apple or as surprising as Tumblr and Uber are bending the ears of officeholders and hopefuls in hopes they’ll make such matters as tax policy and cybersecurity legislation go their ways. the perk of being the event's "official wireless carrier. After a coordinated effort to protest legislation many viewed as stifling to innovation that included blackouts by Wikipedia. something they're pleased to take credit for however unwarranted.POLITICO: Tech Branding Is All Over Tampa GOP Fete http://www. Being present allows politicians to bask in the reflected glow of tech’s record on job creation and innovation. — Walk through the Republican National Convention and it might start to feel as much like a technology trade show as political nominating party. Facebook holds an invite-only "Apps & Drinks" event for various politics-related app designers to show off their wares to politicians and journalists. Google wants attendees to sip free lattes in a huge. Broadband For America sponsors a panel on the nation’s digital infrastructure. it’s really about being present in the room. Darrell Issa and Kevin McCarthy.politico. the industry came to play — and. that tech is a rare bright spot in an otherwise shaky economy. TechNet and others to fete Reps. . And those are just the events made public.” said Luther Lowe.” It helps. ESA. thanks to the branding and lobbying efforts of dozens of tech companies like Google. and realizing they need a voice. and Google wraps up its dominant RNC excursion by linking with the Young Guns Network for one last blowout bash.” said Rey Ramsey. Tumblr and others. Twitter and AT&T. . CEO and co-owner of the campaign software maker NationBuilder.S. Every tech executive and lobbyist interviewed by POLITICO in Tampa mentioned how the struggle to find qualified labor is inhibiting their ability to grow and. for instance. diverse industry. for instance. founder of the tech startup consultancy Purpose. “If you ask any CEO here which would they rather have. they said doing so away from the shadow of the Capitol dome has important merits. public partisanship. That prediction proved true. If it was just about low taxes. Now. CEO Jeremy Heimans. but few industry figures at panels and events dwelled on that. however — loosening up regulations to allow highly skilled foreigners to work in the U. the arrival en masse in Tampa and Charlotte. lower taxes or more visas for high-skilled workers. “Before.” “The Republican party focus on taxes as being the be-all and end-all of what is required for innovation is just ludicrous. different companies have different priorities. While Silicon Valley is a hotbed of social liberalism and Democrats. has IP protection atop its list. every one would take the visas any day of the week. in turn.” said McCarthy. people would be setting up businesses with real employees in the Cayman Islands. whereas Yelp is focused on ways to bolster free-speech protections for the commenters who fuel the site’s ratings and advice. There is one uniting issue.” insisted Joe Green.Thus.” Like any big. “It’s about so much more than low taxes. when you’d go to the tech community you’d talk to tech people. before headlining a Wednesday lunch panel sponsored by Google and Bloomberg.” Heimans’s remarks were a rare example of direct. help revive the stagnated economy. Instead. “The tech industry is stronger and better organized than ever. said that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney “gets it” on tech because he’s visited the Valley frequently and has a background in starting businesses so “he’ll do pretty well. something that has not gone unnoticed in the halls of power.C. with the same politicians and staffers. The Business Software Alliance. they bemoaned the troubled public education system and urged better intellectual property protections. While many of the same lobbyists and execs visit regularly in Washington D. You’re beginning to see a marriage of what tech can do to open up politics as well as the tech community understanding how these policies affect them. said he has complained to Republican officials in Tampa that “the debate is so boringly focused on the role of government versus the role of the private sector in the most generic possible way.” But he balanced that by noting that President Barack Obama “has been very accessible to the tech sector” and also has made several pilgrimages to innovative companies across the country. most tried to strike a balance so as to keep avenues of communication open on both sides of the aisle. I’m seeing young people who are in politics working in the tech community also. Ramsey. the House Majority Whip and Southern California representative. GOP leaders spoke from the convention podium about the importance of changing the tax structure to unleash innovation.” Heimans said. m. Then. 2012 http://politicalticker. too. 2012 CNN's GUT CHECK | for August 30.” said Liba Rubenstein. . “The court’s decision today and the decision earlier this week on the Texas redistricting plans not only reaffirm – but help protect – the vital role the Voting Rights Act plays in our society to ensure that every American has the right to vote and to have that vote counted. The decision is a major victory for the Obama administration and its Democratic allies. from Twitter to LinkedIn. meetings and parties in far less formal attire. “I see Tumblr as a particularly good platform for open government and putting constituents in touch with their representatives. and that’s better.” Case said. so this is a learning experience for them and I think it’s a learning experience for the policymakers as well because they don’t know as much as they think they know. progress or condition of the political news cycle BREAKING: TEXAS VOTER ID LAW STRUCK DOWN… A federal appeals court in Washington has struck down the Texas law that required photo identification for voters at the polls.” Some have thrown their lots in with seasoned Hill vets hired by nascent trade associations and consortiums. Va. white and blue sneakers or not.cnn. 2012 | 4 p. untucked striped shirt. – Terry Frieden . Tumblr.” said Engine’s Edward Goodmann. “It’s great for relationship-building and for seeding some issues that will be covered in greater detail. “Most of the people I work with and interact with are very inexperienced in terms of the political realm. but I think it’s more surprising how much we have in common. “Most people we work with on all levels of government are much more open to your ideas and accomplishing something than they are concerned about whether you’re wearing red.com/2012/08/30/cnns-gut-check-for-august-30-2012-2/ Mark Peterson and Michelle Jaconi August 30. Many tech-related executives are under 30 and in Tampa showed up for speeches. a pause to assess the state. jeans and gym shoes — he said. there’s going to be a culture clash. she said. “Whenever people come from different backgrounds and different points of view.” The industry’s other purpose in Tampa and Charlotte — hawking its wares — is evident everywhere around Tampa. “They’ve never dealt with Washington. That takes some getting used to.“You’re dealing with people in a more relaxed setting. is on hand to teach public officials how to use the blogging site better. pointing to his own clothes — a tieless. Older GOP lawmakers are accustomed to dealing with business leaders their age in suits and ties. senior vice president of the Business Software Alliance. acknowledged Scott Case. a former Senate intern and longtime policy analyst. are joined by lesser-known rising stars like Eventbrite. there is some culture clash.” said Attorney General Eric Holder in a written statement. who had challenged the law.” Nonetheless.n.” CNN: CNN’s Gut Check for August 30. Being at the RNC and DNC.” said Matthew Reid.blogs. including the rollout of vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan in Norfolk. Well-known social media outlets. CEO of Startup America. the site’s first director of outreach for causes and politics. an ticket management site that this year is handling most Romney campaign events. “is an experiment for us. after he appeared on a lunch forum hosted by Huffington Post CEO Arianna Huffington that also included LinkedIn co-founder Allen Blue and Microsoft lawyer Brad Smith. which is not widely understood. R-Florida. Tonight we will be watching a moment in history. Rubio. the rising star.000 balloons rain down from the ceiling … that will help shape the rest of Mitt Romney’s life. This evening will also provide Sen. A Romney adviser tells us that the former governor will make his case to the American people in a speech that can be separated into four segments: .The moment when 120.” Who said this at the 1964 Republican convention? MARK (@PrestonCNN) & MICHELLE (@MJaconiCNN) What caught our eye today in politics Tonight will be about moments … .Biographical . in fact. with an opportunity to introduce himself to the nation. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue. he will turn to friends.And how his vision contrasts Obama In the hours leading up to Romney’s speech. Eastwood will soon do a walk through of the Tampa Bay Times Forum in preparation for his remarks. the LEDE Did you miss it? Leading CNNPolitics: For Romney. family and supporters to help tell his story.The most important moment in Mitt Romney’s political life .A philosophical underpinning about what he believes what the role of government should be . There will be members of his church on the stage talking about how he has “helped people get through difficult times” – fully opening the door on his Mormon faith.The Olympic moment when more than a dozen athletes take the stage . though. Olympians will also take the stage to express their support for him as will Clint Eastwood – one of the few Republicans from Hollywood. our attention will turn north to Charlotte where we will be doing it all over again – except with the Democrats. According to reporting by CNN’s Deirdre Walsh. perhaps Barack Obama’s life and maybe the future direction of the country. tonight’s surprise speaker at the Republican National Convention. could make a run for president himself in 2016 if Romney loses in November.The Marco Rubio moment . the speech of his life The challenge for Mitt Romney as he accepts the Republican presidential nomination is to push past the the .The moment when Romney introduces his faith to the American people .The Hollywood moment when Clint Eastwood strolls onto the stage . Marco Rubio. Come tomorrow.How he thinks government should interact with people . TRAIL TRIVIA (Answer below) “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.DIRTY HARRY WILL BE IN THE BUILDING… Legendary actor Clint Eastwood is. ” – Ryan campaign defends speech. To that point. – Paul Blumenthal Leading Politico: Mitt Romney's make-or-break night Mitt Romney is about to face the most important political moment of his life. another 374.000. He also failed to offer one constructive idea about what he would do to move the country forward. a plant that closed in December 2008 under George W. a “super PAC” promoting conservative candidates. Wisconsin. independent conservative groups huddle in strategy sessions and hold laudatory events for some of their mega-donors. is the Woman Up! Pavilion.000 jobless claims.. OBAMA’S CAMPAIGN MANAGER.000 more applications than previously reported.. in a strip mall next to a Hooters restaurant.. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits were a seasonally adjusted 374. – Halimah Abdullah Leading Drudge: Another week. Leading HuffPo: Awash In Secret Donations. you know that the consensus among journalists and independent observers is that it was . IN A STATEMENT TO THE PRESS: “Ryan voted against the plan because it didn’t do enough on the big driver of our debt: health care. The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits was unchanged last week. samesex marriage. Secret donors and the groups that accept their money have become central to the Republican Party's plan to win the White House and take full control over Congress.. insurance coverage for birth control — that have at times engulfed the Republican nominating contest. He lied about Medicare. He even dishonestly attacked Barack Obama for the closing of a GM plant in his hometown of Janesville. Bush. pointing to a labor market that was treading water. The speech Romney delivers at the Republican National Convention’s final night in Tampa will be one of his last opportunities to sketch a portrait of who he is and what he stands for to a country whose battleground states have seen him relentlessly portrayed by the Obama campaign as a heartless corporate raider — a perception that has dented his approval ratings and made it difficult for the GOP to change the campaign narrative.stiff and reserved perception that's been created for him by opponents and comedians and make a heartfelt and profound appeal to the millions of Americans who will be watching his speech Thursday night. where the Republican convention is taking place. – Susan Saulny TRAIL MOMENTS The political bites of the day – Democrats hammer Ryan on inaccuracies in prime-time speech – JIM MESSINA. But those not willing to be named are the real story. IN A FUNDRAISING E-MAIL TO SUPPORTERS: “If you've seen any coverage of Paul Ryan's speech in Tampa. the Labor Department said on Thursday. at least those who are willing to disclose their names. says it was ‘factually accurate’ – BRENDAN BUCK. sponsored by the Young Guns Network. he worked on the commission with Democrat Alice Rivlin to put together a comprehensive health . RYAN SPOKESMAN FOR ROMNEY CAMPAIGN. What is missing from the all-inclusive spot? Any discussion of the social issues — abortion. He lied about the deficit and debt. – Maggie Haberman Leading The New York Times: Republican Women Play Down Social Issues About a block from the Republican National Convention. The prior week's figure was revised up to show 2. factually challenged. He lied about the Recovery Act. Republicans Reverse Support For Campaign Finance Disclosure Outside of the Tampa Bay Times Forum. but then turning this conversation into how can we create sustained economic growth by using a catalytic converter for growth in the pursuit of dreams.” – More conventions. I think he takes his faith very seriously.” TOP TWEETS What stopped us in 140 characters or less Mark Joyella (@standupkid) The only reason I can think a smart person would identify as an "undecided" voter is that they just want to meet Tom Foreman and get on TV. And as somebody who takes my Christian faith seriously. JEB BUSH IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CNN: “I think the tone can be better. Glen Johnson (@globeglen) MASS.com/2012/08/30/meet-evan-draim/ #cnn via @CNN Paul Ryan (@PaulRyanVP) The issue is not the economy as @BarackObama inherited it. and that's an immigration policy that allows people to come in legally and be able to add value and vitality to our country.” – Jeb comfortable with Romney’s immigration policy. but as we are living it. less reality television – JAY LENO ON HIS LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW: “Did you all watch the convention last night? That's good to see scripted television finally making a comeback. And I think that that is a quality that obviously contributed to his success as a private equity guy. and I am comfortable with those views.cnn. I'm more interested in what president to be Mitt Romney’s views are. http://ti. … The statement was factually accurate and gets to a fundamental contrast: We’re proposing meaningful solutions to balance the budget while the president is on the sidelines. #mapoli Jill Lawrence (@JillDLawrence) Obama tells Time why his 2nd term would be different. One reason: no more GOP imperative to make him a 1-term prez.me/PSOy2F Dan Szematowicz (@CNNDan) From @LisaDCNN.entitlement plan. I think he will be a president that will try to solve our immigration problem by securing the border. but ‘tone can be better’ – FORMER FLORIDA GOV. I appreciate that he seems to walk the walk and not just be talking the talk when it comes to his participation in his church. not the economy as he envisions it. SENATE: Brown describes self as "pro-choice" candidate several times and says Warren wants race nationalized. #RomneyRyan2012 TRIVIA ANSWER .” – Obama complimentary on Romney’s ‘walk the walk’ faith – PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA IN AN INTERVIEW WITH TIME’S MICHAEL SCHERER: “He strikes me as somebody who is very disciplined. the story of the youngest GOP delegate: Meet Evan Draim http://cnnradio. Newt and Callista Gingrich. Kerry Healey. Preston and Jaconi will be joined by Republican Adviser Richard Grenell. Marco Rubio introduces presidential nominee Mitt Romney . Jane Edmonds. Though many reporters and pundits expected Goldwater to temper his far-right conservative views in his run for the presidency. Bob White. the crowd maintaining their applause for so long that Goldwater was forced to stop his speech. the Republicans’ nominee for president outlined his views on conservative principles. Olympians Michael Eruzione. we regret to inform her that the answer was not Ronald Reagan. it was statements like this that earned him the nickname “Mr.Some have called Sen. “And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” The 1964 run was a turning point moment for the Republican Party as it was the party’s first strong showing in the Deep South since Reconstruction. this speech made it clear that the senator was going to do nothing of the sort.S.m. A close second goes to Greg Dean (@gregdean11). Tom Stemberg 9 p. Grant Bennett. Sen. he still failed to reach the massive 98% mark that Democrat Franklin D. And while Goldwater would end up getting trounced by President Lyndon B. Gov.” The line was a hit: The packed Cow Palace arena in San Francisco went crazy. Gov. Rep. Connie Mack. WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT: 5:00PM – 5:30 PM: CNN's Political Gut Check co-authors Mark Preston and Michelle Jaconi will host a Google hangout to announce CNN & Klout’s Top 5 GOP Political Strategists in social media.m. Conservative. GUT CHECK WINNER’S CIRCLE (why aren’t you in it) She may have been second place yesterday.m. Speeches include: 7 p. Craig Romney 8 p. – While we are glad that Gut Check favorite Abby Livingston (@RollCallAbby) decided to play Gut Check Trivia. Congrats to all! P. Jeb Bush (FL). Watch at YouTube.” he said. “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Barry Goldwater of Arizona the ideological father of the current Republican Party and at the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco. Johnson in the ’64 presidential election (the Republicans won only Arizona – Goldwater’s home state – and the Deep South). America Choice 2012: Republican National Convention coverage beings at 7:00 pm live from multiple locations inside the convention hall. chairman of Romney for President campaign. thank the crowd for the ovation and raise his hands like a victorious warrior. Former Massachusetts Lt. Derek Parra and Kim Rhode 10 p. Puck Buddys (@PuckBuddys) and sfpelosi (@sfpelosi). Roosevelt hit in 1936. but LeticiainDC (@LeticiainDC) shoots and scores today. Need proof? While Goldwater won Mississippi with 87% of the vote in 1964.com/CNN. former Massachusetts Secretary of Workforce.m. 2012 CNN's GUT CHECK | for August 29.com/electioninsights. the stimulus program and the national debt.m. says the source. . 2012 | 4 p. .. Christie talks about need to tell the truth to the American people about the problems we face. Read and see the time lapse graphics and watch tonight to see how the different demographics on the main page react in real time to Rep. all pointing toward Mitt Romney tomorrow night.m. In Tampa. age and gender breakdown. You can find more dynamic. Paul Ryan will deliver tonight tells CNN’s Dana Bash that the vice presidential candidate will spend most of the policy section of his speech on “economic issues in his wheel house." SOCIAL WATCH: One of the coolest views of Ann Romney’s speech last night was right on our own website. Paul Ryan’s speech. It is no longer a hurricane and there are no plans to alter tonight’s schedule. real-time charts and visualizations at CNN.including states.com/2012/08/29/cnns-gut-check-for-august-29-2012-2/ Mark Peterson and Michelle Jaconi August 29. but convention officials tell us they are keeping an eye on the storm – as we all are here in Tampa. TRAIL TRIVIA (Answer below) Who said the existence of beach volleyball “is what freedom is all about” in a speech at the 1996 GOP convention? MARK (@PrestonCNN) & MICHELLE (@MJaconiCNN) What caught our eye today in politics Tropical Storm Isaac is continuing to pound Louisiana with rain. The latest weather.” Ryan. Another source breaks down the week’s Republican messaging plan for CNN’s Candy Crowley: "Ann Romney describes Mitt as the man for the job.. progress or condition of the political news cycle BREAKING: RYAN TO ‘DECONSTRUCT’ THE OBAMA AGENDA IN SPEECH… A Republican source familiar with the speech that Rep. ET.Check out our Facebook-CNN Election Insights tool. during the speeches to chart the spikes in political discussion on Facebook . where the CNN Facebook Election Insights showed how discussion among women turned to Romney coast to coast as Ann Romney’s speech progressed. CNN journalists are stationed along the Gulf Coast and we will be bringing you any breaking news on the storm.blogs. Ryan introduces himself and Romney as the ticket of big ideas. CNN: CNN’s Gut Check for August 29.n. which is not going to let up as the Republican National Committee gavels into session at 7 p. a pause to assess the state.24/7 SOCIAL WATCH #CNNGrill: . 2012 http://politicalticker. will split his speech into thirds and discuss his Medicare plan (including Obamacare). the RNC theme is “We can change it” and expect the program to leave the stage at times to highlight “everyday Americans” from the convention floor delivering testimonials on behalf of Mitt Romney.cnn. was born in 1911. Paul Ryan. some names from the past will resurface tonight to show unity for the Republican ticket: 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Ryan’s uncanny ability to develop relationships with like-minded conservatives while he worked on Capitol Hill helped lay the groundwork for his ascension to vice-presidential candidate. One of them. . R-Kentucky will also address the convention this evening in a speech that will criticize the president and praise Romney. Mike Huckabee is expected to be critical of President Obama and will acknowledge that he and Romney were one time “adversaries. in 1970. – Jonathan Martin Leading The New York Times: Fast Rise Built With Discipline Paul D. we hope you join us at home on CNN television and CNNPolitics. Things are tight.” It will focus on the “economy. as he will on Wednesday night in Tampa — foreshadows the type of candidate Paul Ryan would become.com Leading HuffPo: In Tampa Suburb. – Paul Steinhauser and Kevin Liptak Leading Drudge: Out: Yahoo News Chief Says Romneys 'Happy To Have A Party When Black People Drown'. Paul Ryan made lasting mark An examination of that first race – 14 years before he would accept the nomination for vice president. "It would be good if we had a bus that run out here. But expect fireworks earlier in the evening. Rand Paul. Wisconsin Rep. We should also expect to hear Ryan talk about “who he is and where he comes from” – to introduce himself to the voters. the LEDE Did you miss it? Leading CNNPolitics: Five things we learned at the Republican National Convention The first full day of the Republican National Convention was heavy with female speakers and light on the red meat that normally fires up the base.” a top Romney aide said. Adding to the current and future generations’ Republican stars. spitting rain on his neighbors who had to bike to the store or to work. Yahoo just announced they have terminated Chalian effective immediately. We will be watching this Republican all star line-up from Tampa.com." – Dave Jamieson Leading Politico: Mitt Romney: A placeholder for next GOP generation Ask the rising stars of the GOP about their party’s future and two names repeatedly come up.” but they are now “united to defeat Barack Obama. His speech. Neither of them is Mitt Romney...While the focus last night was Ann Romney and Chris Christie – tonight the spotlight is on Paul Ryan. is “designed to be a prelude into what Governor Romney will talk about tomorrow night. – Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weisman Leading Boston Globe: In his first run. – John Nolte on Breitbart. Ronald Reagan. Romney advisers tell us. Here are five things we learned from the convention's first night. Extreme Poverty Arrives While Jobs Remain Distant Having spent most of his life in a low-income neighborhood on the outskirts of Tampa." the 51-year-old Smith lamented as Hurricane Isaac blew past town on Monday. Sen. the other. budget and the deficit. "There's no transportation.” a top Romney aide tells CNN. Raymond Smith has long recognized that being poor in the suburbs is quite a bit different from being poor downtown. and it’s a lot of people out here. This man has his priorities in the wrong place. Those same party bosses and DC insiders have turned their backs on our campaign. it's not just something that Americans wonder. and his longtime supporters paint a portrait of a canny politician from an aw-shucks town who from the start was determined to take on some of the nation’s knottiest issues.ly/OrqBzr via @poynter Jon Ralston (@RalstonFlash) . ROB PORTMAN IN AN INTERVIEW ON CNN’S “STARTING POINT”: “The likability gap is not a surprise. calls him liar. We aren't strong and confident abroad. hundred plus rounds of golf. that's what you've been seeing.” – Portman not surprised by likability gap – SEN. … Not everybody plays golf. And when the United States is not willing to speak with a robust voice for free peoples and free markets. But when you are playing golf and the economy is in the tank … do your job. George Bush did not play golf when we were in the war. the world is a pretty chaotic place. It's something people across the world wonder. Many of them misleading.S. fundraises against party bosses – TODD AKIN IN AN FUNDRAISING E-MAIL: “Party bosses and the Washington elite always seem to want to take the easy way out. chief for joking Mitt and Ann Romney OK with black people drowning: http://bit. his family. And even if he was playing golf and helping the economy that would be one thing. “Not so fast!” … We have received an outpouring of support from people just like you who are saying “No” to the party bosses.” TOP TWEETS What stopped us in 140 characters or less Steve Gurley (@steve_gg) Here I come to save the day! .” – Akin takes party outsider to new level. RICK PERRY IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CNN’S JIM ACOSTA: “Obama. and America is not economically stable at all. – country and markets – FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE AT A DELEGATE BREAKFAST IN TAMPA: “Are America's best days behind us? And I want to tell you that as a former secretary of state. in Ohio. I mean. too. we have been bombarded with negative ads and they have been about Mitt Romney and his character.com/c/nevada/f/e2439e12-fb21-4248-9cc4-a1dbbe5e4b12/?source=twitter .” – Rice: World need’s confident U.@Reince launches on @SenatorReid again. And they are very personal about his business career.. But the people of Missouri and folks across this nation said. on the other hand. Some of them downright inaccurate. wonders how he got rich http://sulia. has had three and a half years.oh crap I am not the nominee! #ChristiePhotoCaptions Society of Pro Journ (@spj_tweets) Yahoo fires D.. it shows. take care of what you are there for. But if you're an Ohio voter.Interviews with his opponent. and saying “Yes!” to our campaign. Because when the United States is not feeling strong and confident at home. – Matt Viser TRAIL MOMENTS The political bites of the day – Perry hits Obama where it hurts: His golf game – GOV.C. Problem is.” Gingrich said. “A mere 40 years ago. His name: Newt Gingrich.chron.com/txpotomac/2012/08/on-social-media-obama-has-many-more-followers-but-romneyteam-says-gop-wins-on-quality/ Richard Dunham August 29. http://pic. and that's what freedom is all about. Gingrich looked for a smooth transition.Jim Acosta (@jimacostacnn) Ryan is at podium http://instagr.ag/Qxsv5n Andrew Rafferty (@AndrewNBCNews) OH delegation is loving Craig Romney right now. American patriotism.am/p/O7FCXLguYT/ Jeremy Harlan (@jerharlanCNN) RT @GQPolitics: A GQ Guide to Covering a Hurricane When You Were Supposed to Cover a Convention. Capital.” Huh? Not surprisingly. Gingrich’s volleyball line was not included in the prepared text of his speech.com/Px744Slp TRIVIA ANSWER It is rare that beach volleyball. “No bureaucrat would have invented it. Much more at ease and engaging than his brother Josh a few days earlier to same crowd Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) Wash Post ad in Wash Post touting its reach on Cap Hill spells Capitol. his transition ended up overshadowing everything else he said – and the line has become another chapter in vintage Gingrich moments. Congratulations to Greg Dean (@gregdean11) for taking home the win today by correctly answering that Newt Gingrich compared beach volleyball to “what freedom is all about. But at the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego. such an opportunity presented itself and one convention speaker seized the occasion. 2012 .. That line was just Newt being Newt. by @lizzieohreally: http://gqm.twitter.” Dean had some competition – both Peter Ubertaccio (@ProfessorU) and LeticiainDC (@LeticiainDC) were close behind today’s Gut Check winner. GUT CHECK WINNER’S CIRCLE (why aren’t you in it) We have a first-time Gut Check Trivia winner today. Houston Chronicle: On Social Media. But Romney Team Says GOP Wins on Quality http://blog. Obama Has Many More Followers. While introducing Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Kent Steffes. and political conventions can come together to make an unlikely holy trinity. beach volleyball was just beginning.. “Then they tried to co-opt it.” notes Adam Sharp. A recent study by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that the president’s campaign “posted nearly four times as much content as the Romney campaign and was active on nearly twice as many . drive their message. He said Romney generated nearly 500. “We’re finding new ways to integrate social media into everything we do. consider this: More tweets were sent during the first two days Republicans gathered in Tampa this week than in the entire 2008 election campaign. we’ve been on the cutting edge of technology and using social networks to reach voters and engage supporters. “We’re ahead of the game on every count. as an example.Need any evidence that social media is transforming the political discourse in 2012? If you do. “It really doesn’t matter how many people you have following you. active and sharing. the aftermath of the U.” he said. tap into like-minded communities and mobilize turnout. “The first thing that campaigns and elected officials did with social media was ignore it.” said Obama spokesman Adam Fetcher.” Fetcher said. Barack Obama’s massive social media advantage over Republican John McCain helped him build support among young voters and maximize turnout across the nation. Twitter’s senior manager for government.” which allows supporters to create an account. “Since 2007-2008. social media sites such as Facebook. Now campaigns hire teams of experts to harness the power of social media to connect with supporters. Supreme Court’s “Obamacare” decision in June. California GOP strategist Jonathan Wilcox. become part of a social network within the campaign. A decade ago. says the 2012 Republican convention represents a watershed in the variety and depth of social media content.” Moffatt said. and that failed.000 “likes” to its Facebook post on the ruling from among his 2.” Four years ago.S.1 million fans — a 27 percent response rate — while Obama totaled about 460. a rate of less than 2 percent. “We define success as having supporters engaged. Social media is “one way in which we can cut through the chatter and empower people to get involved.” Moffatt cited. network with local Obama social communities and instantly share activities on sites such as Facebook and Tumblr.000 “likes” from his 27 million fans. digital director of the Romney campaign.” While the two campaigns debate what constitutes social media success. And then they did the crash course. This year. Tumblr and Pinterest didn’t even exist. Team Romney insists that Republicans have a higher quality operation that will pay off on election day. “It’s how many people you engage. Twitter. a veteran in helping candidates get out their message.” said Zac Moffatt. Obama’s campaign dismisses the Romney talk as wishful thinking.” The Obama campaign this year has built on its 2008 efforts with a tool called “Dashboard. “The 24-hour news cycle has become a 140-character one. it’s clear that Obama uses it more often. news and social innovation. while Obama holds a wide lead over Republican rival Mitt Romney in metrics such as number of followers and number of tweets. but Romney supporters “kept a narrative going that wouldn’t have happened without social media. he points to the ongoing effort to embarrass President Obama after his “you didn’t build this” comment about American business.601 for Romney. no more. Obama taught it to them. says Romney’s digital team deserves credit for its high level of engagement with its core audience. I suspect that there will still be a bit of gap. but nothing like what we saw four years ago.” Obama sent 25 times as many tweets as Romney. 2012 (Reuters) . A winning message trumps a winning social media strategy. Republican convention media coverage. stole the show from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. "Voters and certainly the media are aware these conventions have become hour-long infomercials. “You’ve got to have good content that’s compelling. There is very little suspense. warned political professionals to keep the political role of social media in perspective.” Larry Sabato. “The message matters far more. senior fellow at the University of Southern California's Price School of Public Policy. “The Republicans learned their lesson — and." .106 times versus 8.” University of Texas political scientist Sean Theriault says the GOP has gained significant ground in the social media realm. quite frankly.” Reuters: TV Audiences Go Social As Republican Convention Coverage Wanes http://www. “Obama will not have the same advantage as he had in 2008.Howling wind. Facebook’s chief liaison with political campaigns. “The Romney campaign does a great job with this. “Social media is a communications tool.com/article/2012/08/29/us-usa-campaign-media-idUSBRE87S1GS20120829 Christine Kearney August 29.” Katie Harbath. had twice as many Facebook “likes” and YouTube interactions and was retweeted 150. wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.reuters.” he said. Moffatt dismisses such numbers as “vanity metrics” and says his campaign has been more effective at using social media to shape the campaign debate.” she said. Mofffatt said. driving rain and potential damage in New Orleans from Hurricane Isaac hasn't yet dampened U.platforms. though. Gulf Coast would steal the spotlight eased on Wednesday. a veteran campaign-watcher at the University of Virginia." said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe. "Isaac is sucking out a lot of the oxygen but that's because there wasn't much oxygen in the first place. no less. but early TV ratings proved only so-so while many people instead "tuned in" to social networks. Republican fears that Isaac's battering of the U.S. But the biggest problem for the Republicans was less the hurricane and more dwindling interest in convention-watching by the general public. experts said. As evidence.” he said.S. The story generated little buzz in the mainstream media. a day after a key speech by Ann Romney. " wrote David Frum of The Daily Beast. peaking at a high of 6. high-stakes speech lined with simplistic talk of love was a show-stopper. By contrast.S.Ahead of Tuesday. ABC and CBS.S. Thousands of people visited social media sites to follow the convention live across Facebook. but connected more in her speech's second half when speaking realistically about her husband privileged background. succeeding in its goal major of connecting Republicans with female voters and humanizing husband Mitt Romney. EDT hour when Ann Romney took the stage. Americans are watching the convention differently from four years ago when Twitter and Facebook were little known. Twitter.m. "I can't remember a better convention speech by a would-be first lady than Ann Romney delivered. saw Ann Romney's score rise from 45 to 83 after the speech. Judging by both pundits and tweets. which reduced coverage this year to just one hour per night.triple its usual audience. Ann Romney's rousing. Gulf Coast revived memories of Hurricane Katrina's destruction seven years ago and threw a spotlight on something the Republican Party would rather forget in its convention week -. 37. but TV audiences for U. CONVENTION COVERAGE CHANGES But the story is different on the Web where.9 million viewers . About half of the convention's TV audience watched on cable news networks. alongside hashtags for Hurricane Isaac. Ann Romney gathered the most Twitter mentions of the night. the last Republican president. Bush. #RNC and #Romney were high-trending on Twitter. 1 being not favorable. . news of Isaac's path toward the U. political conventions have fallen steadily in the last 10 years.195 tweets per minute at the end of her speech when her husband joined her on stage. those interested in politics tuned in to hear Ann Romney personalize her husband and Christie tackle the Obama White House -. "Ann Steals the Show" ran the headline on The Huffington Post and CNN delivered the caption "Ann Romney wows the RNC" and quoted reaction as "electric." An opinion piece in The New York Times said she had less impact when comparing herself to mothers struggling to raise children. About 11 million watched on broadcast networks NBC. as Fox News took the lion's share with an average 6. with the exception of 2008 when little-known Republican Sarah Palin captured attention. Topics such as #GOP2012.the botched relief efforts under George W. Google+ and YouTube. social media experts said. Preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research showed that more than 20 million Americans watched TV coverage of the Republican convention on Tuesday night in the 10 p. Comparisons to the equivalent night in 2008 were not available. But even as some networks moved their anchors from the convention in Tampa to Isaac's landfall in New Orleans to cover both events.whether on TV or the Internet.6 million people watched Democratic President Barack Obama's most recent State of the Union speech. The Twitter Political Index measuring tweeters' feeling about a candidate on scale of 1 to 100. The Facebook CNN Election Insights tool. New York Times. Unlike Romney. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. reactions were more mixed. Among people over age 55. live tweeting.blogs. was hard enough on Obama. where the interactive state heat-map shows more women discussing Obama in all of the Western states. Utah Congressional candidate Mia Love. 2012 (CNN) – After the first full day of the Republican National Convention. Facebooking. The conversation also changes depending on the age of the Facebook user. The Republican National Convention on Tuesday evening included several high-profile Republican women. and parts of the Midwest and Northeast. catch the latest updates from the GOP convention on CNN's 2012 Conventions Live Blog. such as Sen. Follow CNN and CNN Politics on Facebook. The Republican National Committee's own live stream on YouTube has attracted 292. And traditional media outlets such as the Washington Post.com/2012/08/29/romney-gaining-buzz-among-women-on-facebook/ Eric Weisbrod August 29. Editing by Bob Tourtellotte. Mitt Romney is dominating the political conversation among women on Facebook. blogging. Mitt Romney has been talked about more than Obama in every state for the last week. Eighteen to 24 year-olds are buzzing about Barack Obama the most. This is a big difference compared to the past seven days of Facebook activity. Mary Milliken and Lisa Shumaker) CNN: Romney Gaining Buzz Among Women on Facebook http://politicalticker.Facebook and CNN's election insights website also showed a 58 percent increase in users talking about Mitt Romney on Tuesday with the number peaking during Ann Romney's speech.000 views since Monday and has some 3. Christie's speech was the second most tweeted-about event at the convention Tuesday. streaming video. .cnn. shows women talking about Mitt Romney more than Barack Obama in every state except Colorado and Iowa. and Mitt Romney's wife Ann Romney. (Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant and Piya Sinha-Roy. and check out the CNN Electoral Map and Calculator to game out your own strategy for November. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. which measures the number of people on Facebook talking about the candidates. the chatter skews heavily toward Romney. and giving former TV watchers more ways to keep up to date. Fox News praised the speech but included debate about whether the governor. Among men.079 tweets a minute. Hawaii. who focused more on his achievements in New Jersey than expected. CNN and Reuters added to social media coverage. peaking at 6.200 subscribers. the two states where Obama campaigned on Tuesday. As of 12 a. Gov. which is the number of people who either include a post or interact with a candidate's fan page at least once a day.The timeline on the Facebook-CNN Insights tool shows a giant spike for the president around 9 p. Paul Ryan. President Barack Obama hits the campaign trail in Iowa and Colorado Tuesday. that post drew 86. CNN: On the Trail: August 28. See a schedule of the day's events after the jump. Santorum and Rep. a graphic was posted to Ryan's page announcing the Republican vice presidential candidate surpassed two million followers. 10 a. More than 160 million Americans are on Facebook. ET – Rep. Reince Priebus. 7 p. 1:30 p.' Ryan has more than five times the number of Facebook fans as Joe Biden.blogs. Martin O’Malley. 1:10 p. congressional candidate Mia Love. CarMax Founder Austin Ligon.000 shares.m. who is the least discussed of the four major candidates. ET – Former Sen.4 million fans. Mitt Romney has 5. Romney's running mate. Cathy McMorris Rodgers address the Republican National Convention in Tampa.m. Late Tuesday night the conversation about Paul Ryan also started rising.000 'likes. 2012 (CNN) – As Mitt Romney heads to Tampa on the first day of events for the GOP convention. 1 p. . Rep. ET – House Speaker John Boehner and Rep. This includes both positive and negative posts. Louie Gohmert appear at the RNC for Life and Family Research Council's "Treasure Life" event.m. Obama's page is the most popular. The Facebook-CNN Election Insights measures daily unique mentions.cnn.m. former AMPAD Employee and Bain Victim Randy Johnson appear at the DNC "Counter Convention" Press Conference in Tampa. Obama Senior Advisor Robert Gibbs. Janine Turner. Iowa. with more than 28 million fans. which as of this post had more than 50.m. Rick Perry. 11:05 a. ET Wednesday morning. ET – Obama Delivers remarks at a campaign event at Iowa State University in Ames. ET – RNC Co-chairman Sharon Day. 12:05 p. Michele Bachmann and Rep.000 'likes' and more than 14.m. Florida. Somerville.m. At 10:40 p. arrives in Tampa.com/2012/08/28/on-the-trail-august-28-2012/ CNN Political Unit August 28.m ET – Romney arrives in Tampa. Rick Santorum. ET – Gov. ET Tuesday. Darrell Issa address the California Delegation Brunch in Tampa. Cyndi Graves (President of Florida Federation of GOP Women) Katie Harbath (Manager for Policy – Facebook) and Anita MonClief (True the Vote and Editor-in-Chief of Emerging Corruption) speak on the WomanUp "Advocacy Means Business" Panel in Tampa. MA Mayor Joe Curtatone. 2012 – CNN Political Ticker http://politicalticker. ET – Boehner.m. This coincides with a Facebook post on Obama's fan page at 9:12pm ET of a picture slamming Christie & Romney.m. ET. 9:30 a.m. D. congressional races and government agencies. temporary home to thousands of journalists covering the event. Bob McDonnell and Gov. it’s living up to that promise. During the convention. candidates and government offices. Mary Fallin. Kelly Ayotte. Facebook’s team is stationed at the Tampa Bay Convention Center. Gov. Ann Romney and Gov.C.S. Both Noyes and Harbath work at Facebook’s Washington. Governor). letting them know about new features and brainstorming new content.com/2012/08/28/facebook-republican-convention/ Alex Fitzpatrick August 28. presidential committees. GOP Candidate Ted Cruz.m. Politics on Facebook page as well as other pages we manage like the Government on Facebook page and Congress on Facebook page.” Noyes: “I’m Facebook’s spokesman in Washington and work on public policy and political coverage. a former journalist who was hired by Facebook in 2009 and now runs the U. Nikki Haley address the Republican National Convention in Tampa.” What’s different for politics on Facebook in 2012 compared to 2008? . Luce' Vela Fortuño. Scott Walker address the Republican National Convention in Tampa. you get everything that’s in the API. Mashable tracked down the company’s U. Harbath: “I work with various campaigns. office. ET – Sen. It’s a lot of answering questions. 2012 The Republican National Convention planners promised this year’s convention would be the most digital in history.S. and Katie Harbath. 10 p. Gov. Politics on Facebook official page.m. Sher Valenzuela (small business owner. having set up Facebook “photo spots” and using the opportunity to launch a co-branded political analytics app with CNN. Tell us about what you do during an average day at Facebook D.7:20: ET – Obama Delivers remarks at a campaign event at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Mashable: Facebook at the RNC: Politicians finally get us http://mashable. like the CIA and the Secretary of State. Facebook’s convention team is sharing a coworking space with Twitter. candidate for DE Lt. 9 p. and with all the major social networks having a presence here in Tampa. Artur Davis and Gov. Sen. Gov.m ET – Mrs. Colorado. Brian Sandoval. John Kasich. Chris Christie address the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Politics team to find out what it’s up to during the convention. Interestingly. Facebook is among the tech giants roaming the halls — the company has become intertwined with the convention. We help them judge success.S.C. who teaches Facebook best practices to elected officials. ET – Gov. I also curate content for the U. 8 p. We spoke with Andrew Noyes. We work with folks to get them to realize things like if you export the insights dashboard. html Steve Friess August 28. which is part of what we’re doing here in Tampa and next week in Charlotte (at the Democratic National Convention). The GOP has touted the “Convention without walls” meme in countless press releases and media accounts. the GOP presidential and vice presidential candidates both tweeted.” said Katie Harbath. Google.” Politico: Social media ‘staged’ at conventions? http://www.politico. What’s changed. A lot of electeds are doing behind-the scenes-photos. “More and more politicians are getting more used to being careful in terms of what they say and what their post is to make sure they think through it just like anybody has to think through what they say when they’re in a public setting representing their company. asking for ideas about what to post to Facebook during the convention. from TV debates to attack ads. is the definition of public. “If you have a business and you started it. Paul Ryan’s Facebook campaign page featured a posting Tuesday of a video titled “The Cheesehead Revolution has hit Tampa!” And at nearly the same time Mitt Romney was being nominated from the floor. Fla. but on a very different basis. I’ve been on deadline. — The omnipresence of Facebook. you did build it. “Many *Republican politicians+ have been reaching out. 2012 TAMPA. And you deserve credit for that. It’s equally exhausting — maybe more so. who leads Facebook’s Republican outreach.” What are your specific roles for Facebook during the convention? Harbath: “I’m the master of things Facebook at the convention. especially at this Republican National Convention.” Noyes: “I’m running the U.Noyes: “It’s different than four years ago because we don’t have to explain to a politician what Facebook is anymore. but perhaps “Convention without backstages” might be more appropriate. Politics on Facebook page. It’s been different.” Noyes: “Four years ago I was covering the convention. they just want to know how to do it better. .” What are you most excited about during the conventions? Harbath: “For me it’s getting to see all these people I’ve worked with for years. grabbing photos and videos (from politicians) to highlight on our page and posting announcements like the I Voted app. We’re helping them optimize their Facebook experience.” Even the purveyors of the major social media outlets acknowledge that the seemingly altruistic goal — to use social media to connect the public to its leaders — can be manipulated just like many of the other tools of modern politics. They’re already there. Logistics and working to make sure our photo spots get set up while still doing my day to day job. now I’m here in very different role. Scott Walker and Cathy McMorris Rodgers posted pictures of the sound check inside the Forum. It’s an awesome opportunity to see a lot of friends and work with people that are usually so spread out brought together for one cool event. FourSquare and other social media at the GOP convention is billed as a way Americans can interact with pols from afar — but some say it’s now just part of the political theater.S. My first job in politics was in 2003.com/news/stories/0812/80319. ” she said. “Is it a false sense of intimacy? No.2817. The idea is to create a sense of intimacy. It’s almost like we’re heading towards a place where everything is constantly streaming. doesn’t tweet. anywhere that someone might be watching me. “Everywhere we are. 2012 . believes the good outweighs the bad. “It almost borders on voyeurism.). “It’s more real because you have candidates now posting and saying things on their pages like normal human beings.com/article2/0. “Certainly. post to Facebook and jump into a soundproof booth where they can engage with constituents or fans back home via a Google+ hangout. because I don’t know how much more intimate or real you can get than having a camera in the front of the stage and the back of the stage and following Romney up into his bus and being in his bus with him.” said Vincent Harris.” Harris said.asp Adario Strange August 28. a prominent GOP digital strategist. “But it’s definitely a move in the right direction. we’re on. The result. “When Sen.pcmag. It’s exhausting. including one from last week linked to a video called “Why The Hell Would I Want To Leave?” All of this is why Sen. Also.” he said. *John+ Cornyn earlier this year posted he’s going to Costco and he always hates how he ends up buying things he didn’t intend to buy.” said a Republican House candidate from Florida who didn’t want to be named. too. Some pols. is a constant state of playing politician and evercarefully scripting what the public can see. FourSquare started a special convention relationship with Time Magazine in which Time helps the app let users know the location of prominent people. people and voters and activists are expecting an incredible amount of transparency at events like this and from the candidates. “And there are times I want to be alone. that was real. to tell everyone what we’re doing. a closer connection between politicians and their constituents.00." Harbath. Wildcard Chris Christie created a new Twitter account just for followers of his keynote convention address Tuesday night.2408981.” Consider the Conversation Room that Google has built backstage for convention speakers to “relax” in: Its actual purpose.” And Harris rejected the notion that social media sells a false bill of goods. though. Google spokeswoman Samantha Smith admitted. But of course I check what I’m saying. “Is it going to be like you went over to their house for dinner? No. is to encourage them to tweet. though.” PC Magazine: Facebook and CNN team up to offer real-time election trending site http://www. “I believe in making considered statements. who isn’t running for reelection. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.“We are under constant pressure to tweet. how I look.” Sharp said. He did this so as not to confuse it with the tweets he reserves for New Jersey residents.” Twitter spokesman Adam Sharp said that’s a tradeoff for something important. can self-censor on social media when they have to. has also worked with companies like MTV. Obama might have the most Facebook fans of any politician — approaching 28 million — but the average number of interactions per day on his page has not been much higher than on Romney’s page. Just in time for the Republican National Convention currently being held in Florida. state. but it also breaks down the data by gender. and Mass Relevance looks to bring that real-time data to your desktop with a project called Facebook-CNN Election Insights. presidential elections have been accompanied by elaborate and increasingly high-tech presentations from television networks such as real-time viewer response metrics during debates. which passed 5 million Likes this weekend.insidefacebook. A new partnership between Facebook. which will also be used by CNN's on-air hosts. CNN Digital senior vice president K. New fans are more likely to see page posts than people who have Liked the page for a while. real-time glimpse into how and where this conversation is taking place across the country. "Facebook is naturally a place where friends engage in political discourse. Estenson said. and the New York Times. vice president of public policy at Facebook. CNN. Fox Sports.com/2012/08/28/does-romney-have-a-better-facebook-strategy-than-obama/ Brittany Darwell August 28. in part because of a strong social ad campaign that takes advantage of the latest opportunities on Facebook. allows website visitors to view the attention a presidential or vice presidential candidate is receiving on Facebook by tracking how many people are mentioning that person. American Express. Larger pages routinely have a lower percentage of engaged users compared to pages with fewer Likes. But while TV magic and traditional polling still play an important part in tracking elections. so Obama might not be reaching much of his audience as Romney currently is. Commenting on the partnership. Inside Facebook: Does Romney Have a Better Facebook Strategy than Obama? http://www. social media promises to offer even greater real-time analytics of trending issues and regional tastes. "We are excited to build on our long relationship with Facebook to transform social media conversation into real-time data." said Elliot Schrage. we can accurately gauge the buzz surrounding this election and deliver it to CNN Digital users. an Austin. The data visualization tool.C. touch screen charts and graphs manipulated on giant in-studio displays. NBC Sports. There are likely several factors at play here. 2012 Republican candidate Mitt Romney is leading President Barack Obama in Facebook engagement and new Likes. Not only does the tool work to present this data in real-time. and 3D visualizations of national polls. and time period. For those with privacy concerns regarding the presidential trending information being drawn from your social media activity. By teaming up with Facebook and Mass Relevance. Pepsi.-based company offering enterprise platforms for real-time social content curation.In recent years. and we're pleased to announce that the Facebook-CNN Election Insights tool will offer an interactive. the site is live and already delivering a new kind of insight into the unfolding election field." Mass Relevance. Tex. literally as it's happening. according to Facebook the data is aggregate and anonymous. . CNN: CNN’s Social Media Guide to the Conventions http://politicalticker. they’re running Sponsored Results so that Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan show up in the results when users search for “Obama.blogs. we're taking a very close look at what voters are saying by teaming up with Facebook for a few big projects: * The "I'm Voting" app invites you to declare that you're voting and share your position on the biggest election issues with CNN and your Facebook friends. many pointed to Obama’s use of digital and social platforms as a key factor of his success. Not only do these ads cost more and have lower average clickthrough rates than others on the social network. For example. Facebook This year. And each new page Like opens up more of an audience to target with Sponsored Stories.com/2012/08/27/cnns-social-media-guide-to-the-conventions/ Lila King August 27. on the other hand. The campaign might be too reliant on organic activity.” “Democrats. including in the News Feed. However. This is something that only became available last week. 2012 (CNN) – The election of 2012 may well be the first truly social election in U. political history with voters' voices heard across the internet well before they enter the voting booth. isn’t necessarily enough to succeed on Facebook anymore.But beyond these inherent disadvantages. leading to more new Likes and a higher People Talking About This count. Obama’s campaign seems to have been only running traditional ads in the sidebar.” “Biden. All these ads drive users to Romney and Paul’s Facebook pages.” “Republicans” and other political pages. CNN presents its social take on the conventions. the national conversation will play a bigger role than ever in the way news organizations such as CNN cover the story. With the kick off this week of the Republican National Convention in Tampa. and his team doesn’t seem to be as up to date as the Republicans are this time around. the Democratic campaign doesn’t seem to be taking the right steps to maximize its impact on Facebook.S. Romney’s team. Florida and next week's Democratic National Convention. is known among social marketers as the worst performing unit on Facebook. which only appear to friends of fans. is using all the newest Facebook marketing and advertising features. .cnn. In addition to posting more than four times per day on average. there is no social amplification of this action. This type of ad. each paid action can result in additional exposure. Obama’s team might also be weaker than Romney’s on Facebook because it is putting more effort toward other channels like Twitter and YouTube. Users’ friends won’t see that they Liked the page or engaged with a post because there are no calls to action from the ad to do these things. which as many marketers are discovering. users might see that their friends claimed an offer or shared a photo. which leads off-Facebook and does not have a Like button or social context. with Romney’s social ads. when users do notice and interact with them. But Facebook moves fast. It’s posting less frequently and seems to be running fewer social ads. The Republican campaign is also running page post ads and Sponsored Stories. Look for new questions off the news every few days until November. As a result. Consider the following guide an open invitation to participate in the way we cover the events of the next two weeks and the entire general election season to follow. In 2008. Twitter CNN is sending a small army of correspondents and reporters to each convention. Instagram So much of the political conventions is pure theater – visuals.com/2012/08/27/facebook-cnn-unveil-election-insights/ August 27. @laurambernardini. Our main hub for all things politics will be @cnnpolitics.cnn.* The Facebook-CNN "Election Insights" looks at the Facebook conversation around candidates by gender. CNN Unveil ‘Election Insights’ http://cnnpressroom. Live blog We invite you to watch the big events and speeches together with CNN's team of political experts and analysts. @pierstonight. Also. you'll get tips from our producers and correspondents on good eats and political news around Tampa and Charlotte. @cnnpolitics. 2012 . @johnkingCNN. FourSquare On the ground in Tampa and Charlotte. Follow along with our boots-on-the-ground lists for the RNC (and DNC coming soon). They will be collecting sights and sounds from the convention floor and reactions to the speeches and events from the nation at home.m. trivia.Alex Anderson. social media reaction and more. CNN will be broadcasting live from the CNN Grill and serving up burgers to convention-goers (and the reporters who follow them). * CNN's home for all things politics is the CNN Politics page on Facebook.com/ConventionsLive. messages. and lists of CNN anchors whose scoops you can follow on Facebook.blogs. All day long you'll find the very latest news developments and observations reported by our team at the Political Ticker. hats – and that means an abundance of photo ops from behind the scenes. Check in on Foursquare for specials. iReport CNN is sending three citizen journalists to each political convention . breaking news and conversation. @shepherdCNN. or by tweeting with the hashtag #cnnelections. Follow these accounts to see how the events come together behind the scenes: @cnnireport. @peterhambyCNN. ET for extra information. @jimacostaCNN. and watch with us using the hashtag #cnnelections. Post your own iReports here for the RNC and here for the DNC. @cnnsitroom. where you'll see the latest data from our app. You can join the conversation at cnn. and @politicalticker will be the place to get every single one of the latest headlines the moment we have it. and then utilize it as a companion to CNN's live television coverage each night from 7 to 11 p. age and location over time. Elizabeth Lauten and Matt Sky to the RNC and Omekongo Dibinga. @andersoncooper and @cnnpr. if you like CNN on Foursquare. CNN: Facebook. Many of the CNN shows and correspondents will post updates of their most photogenic moments on Instagram. GetGlue Use the GetGlue app to check in while you watch CNN's special television coverage of the 2012 conventions and unlock special GetGlue stickers. many of whom will be contributing to our live blog. Melissa Fazli and Willie Harris to the DNC. We'll be publishing the best from each convention into the multimedia gallery and interactive map layout we call Open Story. Ga. America’s most trusted source of news and information for the 2012 presidential campaigns. presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his vice presidential pick Rep. CNN’s daily “Political Gut Check” newsletter and the U. during their coverage of the presidential election. This tool displays the real-time number of people talking about President Barack Obama. Notably.S. Paul Ryan.com and CNN Mobile campaign coverage. was launched last week and can be found at Facebook. Responses are visually displayed on an interactive map of the United States. real-time charts and visualizations using Facebook Insights to gauge the volume of Facebook activity surrounding the election and candidates. Politics on Facebook Page will feature highlights from the tool. and Facebook® today unveiled the Facebook-CNN Election Insights. Working with social integration platform Mass Relevance. mobile and online audiences and Facebook’s more than 160 million U. Earlier this summer. . “We are excited to build on our long relationship with Facebook to transform social media conversation into real-time data. and by age group.” said CNN Digital SVP KC Estenson. · “Like” the overall Election Insights. Facebook and CNN have created an experience that allows people to: · View trends about how many people are talking about each of the candidates across the United States. “By teaming up with Facebook and Mass Relevance.S. · Contribute to the ongoing conversation via a Facebook Comments plug-in.com/ImVoting. female. Biden. a social integration firm that specializes in the curation and display of real-time social content. CNN and Facebook announced the joint creation of an “I'm Voting” application that enables people using Facebook to commit to voting.” "Facebook is naturally a place where friends engage in political discourse. Facebook-CNN Election Insights .found at CNN. which also allows people to view data by geography and demography. & ATLANTA. endorse specific candidates and positions. Obama. The app. Romney. and Ryan Facebook Pages Facebook-CNN Election Insights will be used during CNN broadcasts. and we’re pleased to announce that the Facebook-CNN Election Insights tool will offer an interactive." said Elliot Schrage. including regular segments on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” as well as in CNN. The Facebook-CNN Election Insights tool is powered by Facebook Insights and was designed and developed by Mass Relevance. we can effectively gauge the buzz surrounding this election and deliver it to CNN Digital users. CNN will use the tool. Calif. Vice President Joe Biden. real-time glimpse into how and where this conversation is taking place across the country. and see how their choices compare to what their friends are saying. CNN Politics. literally as it’s happening. available in English and Spanish. Vice President-Corporate Communications & Public Policy at Facebook. – CNN. Today’s launch builds on a previously announced multi-platform partnership between CNN and Facebook intended to bring an interactive and uniquely social experience to CNN’s on-air. users.MENLO PARK.com/FBinsights– displays dynamic. · Understand distinctions between who is talking about which candidates in those states — male vs. About Mass Relevance: Mass Relevance enables entertainment. the campaign has coined its own measurement terms that it calls vanity metrics and actionable metrics. Governments. To support his view. Facebook has connected more than 900 million people around the world and has played a role in encouraging civic and political engagement.5 million @CNNBRK followers. CNN’s applications for iPhone. Moffatt said there’s a big difference between metrics and engagement. and more than 30 million followers across all network handles. Nokia. GE and Victoria's Secret. retail. The company serves more than 130 clients including the “Big Four” television networks. “The Digital Campaign and the Impact of Social Media in 2012. Patagonia. he added his own data point. and manufacturing brands to drive real-time engagement through social curation and integration.. 8. In fact. and tags over the last seven days. . Windows 7 phone. 7 of the top 10 2011 cable networks. The basic version of PTAT displayed on every Facebook Page is based on users’ “likes” (of a page. Target. Facebook is a social utility that gives people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” featured heavy hitters in digital politics from Google and Twitter. 1 in mobile news with an average of more than 21 million unique visitors per month. moderated way that is proven to deliver measurable results. With 3. All Facebook: Facebook. supplemented with aggregate mentions. is the most trusted source for news and information. 2012 It’s all about engagement. media. and Android phone & tablet have been downloaded more than 22 million times to date. in a briefing on social media and the 2012 campaign at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. a page post. as well as top brands like Ford. Inc. MTV. a Time Warner Company. lawmakers. CNN is the most followed news organization on social media and has more followers than any other cable brand. comments. That was the message from Katie Harbath. iPad. Romney’s Campaign Strategist Sound Off on Panel at GOP Convention http://allfacebook. Fla.Facebook-CNN Election Insights Methodology: Facebook-CNN Election Insights uses Facebook Page Insights and the metric “People Talking About This” (PTAT). About Facebook: Launched in February 2004. The National Journal-sponsored panel. to gauge the volume of unique people talking about the candidates on Facebook each day. as well as the digital strategist for Mitt Romney’s campaign.. Universal Pictures. Pepsi.7 million Facebook fans and nearly 6 million Twitter followers of @CNN. About CNN: About CNN: CNN Worldwide. CNN Digital has remained No. and political campaigns around the world are using Facebook to communicate authentically with citizens in ways unimaginable a decade ago. Samsung. Moffatt says it doesn’t matter how many followers or likes you have if users aren’t engaging. Zac Moffatt. manager of policy for Facebook. The company provides a flexible. robust platform to facilitate audience and consumer interactions in a relevant. For more than 5 consecutive years. or other page content). a division of Turner Broadcasting System.com/national-journal-republican-convention-panel_b98302 Jennifer Moire August 27. Monday. The data provided is aggregate and anonymous. The company is privately held with venture capital funding. While participants discussed the recent Pew research that examined the social media usage of both presidential contenders. Moffatt added. Moderator Major Garrett of National Journal questioned whether social media really has the power to persuade. Zac Moffatt played down the social gap. -.com/article/campaign-trail/romney-s-digital-chief-engagement-trumps-raw-numbers/236876/ Matthew Creamer.When the Supreme Court ruling on health care was handed down. Mr. When compared with more traditional campaign tactics. While some messages won’t last long. Paul Ryan (R-Wis. 27%. Harbath said improved cell phone cameras and the emergence of Instagram and infographics are enabling users to share more behind-the-scenes images with their online community. versus 27 percent on Romney‘s page. “Continually building up engagement and giving quality posts that people find interesting or are talking about” are key to stronger engagement. That’s how the Romney campaign defines success — how many likes. Fla. or comments a Facebook post generates. seed a conversation around a topic. than the 1.) was selected as the vice presidential nominee. in turn. Moffatt said that though Mr. The panel also mentioned the potential Facebook has for persuading and influencing more voters by giving instant credibility to a campaign post if it’s shared by a friend in your network. nothing has the scale and reach of Facebook. Romney has far fewer Facebook fans. Moffatt said. Those types of visuals boost engagement more so than a straight text or status update. Mr. 2012 TAMPA. while Twitter is more about broadcasting to your followers. said Harbath. to say nothing of the president he's trying to unseat." counting raw social media following stats as the former. Harbath added that the biggest difference between this cycle and 2008 is having a candidate engaged across social platforms. All of the channels working together extend a campaign’s reach — and that’s really any campaign’s goal.or let an issue come to the forefront. social tools allow a campaign to reignite an issue. which. the rate of engagement was much higher. A recent example? When Rep. Moffatt said he's more concerned with engagement and pointed to the candidate's Facebook page after the Supreme Court ruling on Obama's health-care plan. the engagement rate on President Barack Obama‘s Facebook page was 1. He drew a distinction between "vanity metrics and actionable metrics. . Readers: Are you following the RNC via Facebook this year? Ad Age: Romney’s Digital Chief: Engagement Trumps Raw Numbers in Social Media http://adage. But the digital director of the Romney campaign isn't worried. his Facebook page exploded. Speaking a day before the Republican National Convention kicks off in earnest.5% that engaged on President Obama's page.5 percent. such as door-knocking or phone banking. shares. or whether it preaches to the choir? Facebook is all about sharing and engaging with validators. His Facebook following isn't even a fifth as large as President Obama's. Following the ruling. gets a voter to the polls. Ken Wheaton August 27.Mitt Romney has fewer Twitter followers than the first lady. His growth on Twitter was about 8%. Nor do they show how close the race is based on the latest polling data. Those much slower growth rates come on much larger bases. Mr. manager for policy. Romney has written his own tweets in the past. Romney has already gotten a social bounce as the convention neared. It's worth noting that none of these numbers indicates an intent to vote for either candidate in a half-dozen or so swing states. than President Obama's 1. which basically put the candidates in a dead heat. about one-third of the electorates are "off the grid.) After the convention. Romney has added about 1 million Facebook likes. But that of course is aided by the fact the news cycle is currently consumed by the Republican convention. "it hasn't permeated down to the lower races. It looks like Mr. This reduces the effectiveness of traditional TV advertising and makes digital efforts all the more important."If you're going to get elected what would you rather have. Moffatt offered a peek inside the Romney campaign's digital efforts.000." meaning that they're only watching live TV when they're watching sports.000 Twitter followers (about 2% growth). "It doesn't matter how many people follow you if they're not engaged. National Journal and CBS News. Adam Sharp. He'll eventually stop responding to us. Mr. the three seemed to be engaged in a competition to prove which social-media platform was more relevant to the political sphere. head of government.5 million. Since Ad Age published an infographic comparing the candidates' social prowess a week ago. During the same period. Facebook." Mr. Also on the panel were: Daniel Sieberg of Google Politics & Elections. To Mr. Moffatt's point about engagement." He added that social wasn't as good at helping drum up fundraising as email is. the only thing that matters." he asked an audience at a panel discussion put on by The Atlantic. and Katie Harbath. where they're asking 'How do I buy enough TV to reach everyone. bringing him to 5. but now is more likely to send along an email with a photo that his team can tweet.'" . Mr. more people are talking about Mr. He said that Mr. essentially. "We couldn't talk to Mitt 27 times a day about what he wants to say on Twitter.7 million. Moffatt said that though this dynamic is understood at the national level. Moffatt said that in Florida and Ohio. (At times.1 million. The digital team now consists of more than 110 people. both crucial swing states that will help decide the election. President Obama also added about 1 million Facebook likes (about 3% growth) and about 400. about 1. Moffatt said he expected the Romney social following to increase "exponentially. an increase of about 25%. Mr." Pew found that the Obama campaign is posting nearly four times as much content and is using twice as many channels. Moffatt was in part reacting to a recent Pew study finding that President Obama "holds a distinct advantage over Mitt Romney in the way his campaign is using digital technology to communicate directly with voters. which is. Romney's page currently. You can see how Facebook and Twitter are tracking the political conversation here and here." Mr. news and social innovation at Twitter. to 920. "The entire convention will live through the YouTube channel. Both conventions will live-stream all events through Google and encourage real-time tweeting by attendees through high-speed Wi-Fi access. Mr. 2012 Social media is taking over both political conventions this year. communications director for the Republican National Convention. we want to be part of that conversation. Pinterest and Flickr. but between press-release descriptions of strikingly similar digital strategies and clear competition on the same eight social platforms. “Everybody has a different way of getting their news and sharing it with their friends and family. Our plan here is a great plan.5 million tweets per second. including Instagram.” said James Davis. Moffatt said YouTube will replace the role of the convention site. According to Davis. Dem Conventions Battle to Claim Social Media Supremacy http://thehill. “It’s always nice to know what the other side is doing. new network infrastructure capabilities at the GOP convention can handle sending 37.” Democratic organizers are calling their convention “the most open and accessible convention in history” while the GOP is calling its the “convention without walls. Organizers deny that they are competing against each other. so long as they have an Internet connection. “This is really the first convention in a really mature social-media era. social-networking era." he said. The Hill: GOP. but we don’t take that into consideration in our plans. and both started blogging early about preparations.” . and Democrats and Republicans are battling to prove which party can best take advantage of the new technologies. “It’s important for us to meet people where they are.” Sutton said. digital-media director for the Democratic National Convention. the Democratic hashtag is #DNC2012.” Both have a stated goal of opening up convention events to anyone. “We know the [social-media+ conversation’s going to happen.” The conventions have a presence on just about every social platform out there. The official GOP hashtag is #GOP2012. which will kick off tomorrow.Looking ahead to the convention content. Nikki Sutton. “We’re not worried about what the Democrats are doing. with the Google-owned video site broadcasting speeches and integrating social media. it is obvious neither wants to be left behind. anywhere.com/conventions-2012/gop-convention-tampa/245331-republican-democratic-conventionsbattle-to-claim-social-media-supremacy Alicia Cohn and Julie Ershadi August 27. was just as confident in her team’s strategy.” Davis said. AT&T has invested nearly $625 million in permanent upgrades to the Charlotte area and $140 million in Tampa Bay. Google-owned YouTube will serve as “the focal point for online activity” for the GOP convention.” she said. “It’s one way of really taking what you see from the broadcast and immediately putting it in the online sphere. It’s an opportunity for speakers to “drive conversations with people outside of campus so they can experience the convention just the way they are. delegates. but nearly twice as many people have actually viewed the Democrats’ YouTube videos and three times as many have hit the “Like” button on the Democratic National Convention’s Facebook page. While organizers won’t name one digital tool they are emphasizing more than others. but this year it will host convention-themed Google Hangouts. The benefits for Google include the opportunity to host a daylong dialogue with Bloomberg at both conventions on the Internet and free expression online. the help of Google and Skype indicates they are throwing their resources behind video. . organizers said. It’s their opportunity to showcase Google Plus. Mobile apps for each convention also aim to help attendees actually present at the conventions keep track of schedules and navigate local events using geo-social tools such as Foursquare. When speakers leave the stage. reporters and anyone else who stops by Google’s physical display areas at either convention. they’re usually doing so with their mobile device in their hand or their laptop within reach. and Smith confirmed that “YouTube experts” will be present to assist with the technical production of the live stream. which is online.The parties are scrambling for both online interest and engagement. Google spokeswoman Samantha Smith said the goal at both conventions is to connect candidates with voters where they are. two topics that prompted their share of controversial legislation this year. The Republican National Convention features a digital green room located near the stage in the building where Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will accept the GOP nomination. All lawmakers are welcome to attend. update their Facebook page or conduct a Skype interview. Facebook is also setting up “Photo Spots” at both conventions where attendees can upload photos instantly to their timelines. “Even when they’re watching the conventions *on TV+. The Republicans currently have wider audiences on Google Plus. YouTube and Twitter. they can use this room to tweet. The platform did not even exist during the last presidential cycle.” Davis said. video chats with speakers. a platform that has arguably become more popular with politicians than it is with average users. The Wall Street Journal noted last week that Nielsen ratings for broadcast convention coverage have plummeted since 1980.” The conventions are also an opportunity for the social networks to take over a spotlight that has dimmed through lower viewer interest in traditional media coverage. senior manager for Twitter's government and news team." Social media platforms are also powerful tools for persuasion during elections. another is how to reach out to the growing number of Americans that don't watch live TV. He argued that measuring how many people are talking or sharing a campaign's digital content with their friends on social media is a more accurate metric than the number of followers a candidate has or the quantity of digital content a campaign publishes. "That's an amazing opportunity for people to have in this election cycle no matter what tool they're using. "Social allows things to reignite and some things to come to the forefront. "Sharing is a powerful sentiment. For example. you're always going to have to look for new ways to get into people's stream of . illustrated that point by noting that the famous picture of the US Airways plane landing on the Hudson River was tweeted by a Twitter user with just 33 followers. Katie Harbath. "As a result.The Hill: Romney Digital Director: User Engagement on Social Media Trumps Quantity of Followers http://thehill. but it didn't get much attention until the following Monday." Sharp said. who heads up the digital shop for the Romney campaign. said Facebook users are 57 percent more likely to get friends out to vote. Twitter and Google also echoed that message. a spokesman for Google's Politics and Elections team. Moffatt said Obama made the remark on a Friday." Moffatt said during a panel hosted by National Journal and The Atlantic at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Tampa." said Daniel Sieberg. Zac Moffatt. You're in a sense becoming a broadcaster. Representatives from Facebook. and that she fast forwards through the commercials during the sitcom. While building engagement on social media is one concern for campaigns. Adam Sharp. he noted that his mother records the ABC comedy "Modern Family" rather than watching it live on prime-time TV. a public policy manager at Facebook. "Follower count is not the driving metric for campaigns or for anyone. Fla.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/245625-romney-digital-director-user-engagement-onsocial-media-trumps-quantity-of-followers Jennifer Martinez August 27. Moffatt took issue with the findings of a recent study published by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism that said Obama's reelection team was leading the Romney campaign in socialmedia activity. 2012 The success of a campaign's social-media effort should be measured by user engagement with its digital content rather than the number of followers a candidate has. the digital director of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign argued on Monday. Moffatt said roughly one-third of the American electorate are considered "off the grid" and do not watch live TV other than sporting events. credited user engagement on socialmedia platforms like Facebook and Twitter with helping push President Obama's "you didn't build that" line to the forefront of the national political conversation. Fla. so are online conversations surrounding them. Twitter's user base has grown a great deal in those four years.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/245643-facebook-twitter-provide-real-time-insight-frompolitical-conventionsAlicia Cohn August 27. gender. "Everyone has a phone now where you can take some really good pictures. The Republican Party has dubbed the 2012 Republican convention as "the convention without walls. The tool provides raw trend data but cannot show whether the ongoing conversations are mostly positive or negative. Rep.000 . likely due to the GOP convention starting Monday in Tampa. Google and Facebook noted that this is the first time Americans at home will be able to view the convention through the perspective of the delegates and people on the ground in Tampa. while conversation about Mitt Romney increased. and many of those new users are more interested in politics. There will also be Google+ hangouts where people at home can participate in the convention events via their mobile devices. with the ability to break that tally down by state. Vice President Biden and Ryan all decreased over the past week." Harbath said. Twitter is also monitoring how much conversation the convention prompts on its website. The Facebook data can provide a few anecdotal insights.[consciousness]. Another is by sharing online video. which is viral in nature and therefore has a large reach. anonymous data to gauge the number of unique people talking about the candidates on Facebook each day. the social network said." Moffat said. The Hill: Facebook.) has been prompting 6 percent more conversation than the previous day for the past seven days. CNN on Monday unveiled a new social analysis tool powered by Facebook data. as well. 2012 The social networks want to make sure that this year. such as the fact that among women ages 18. Obama's 2012 State of the Union address generated more than 766.to 24-years-old. age and time range. according to Facebook. The new tool provides access to aggregate." Twitter noted that the use of Twitter to talk politics has grown exponentially this presidential cycle compared to the last. "It's giving you a behind the scenes experience that's not the campaign. The Facebook-CNN Election Insights tool measures how many people are mentioning presidential candidates on Facebook." One way to reach out to these voters is through online advertising. Nationwide. Twitter Provide Real-Time Insight From Political Conventions http://thehill. "If you don't try to have conversations on these [social media] platforms. "before even starting. according to Moffatt. According to a tweet from the Government & Politics team. when the political conventions are just a click away. you will miss these people. Facebook conversations about President Obama." Google will be streaming the convention live on YouTube. an area the Romney campaign has invested in. there were more tweets about the convention [Sunday] alone than the entire week in 2008." The representatives for Twitter. Paul Ryan (R-Wis. For example. the same time his campaign posted a photo of the Obama family with a sentimental message from the president about his two daughters Sasha and Malia.000 comments. 2012 (CNN) .com/2012/08/27/on-facebook-campaigns-show-the-power-of-a-post/ Eric Weisbrod August 27. Both GOP and Democratic convention organizers are looking to harness some of that interest.blogs. “I’m inspired by my own children. “They make me work to make the world a little bit better. Paul Ryan. each campaign has the ability to drive election chatter with just one post. CNN: On Facebook.cnn. more than 33. Twitter said. CNN has teamed up with Facebook on a new resource that looks into how much the presidential and vice presidential candidates are being buzzed about. how full they make my heart.tweets. The Facebook-CNN Election Insights measures and compares how many people are using the site to talk about President Barack Obama. And they make me want to be a better man.000 likes. Romney drew in even more buzz last Tuesday evening with a post asking for ‘likes’ to help the page reach five million fans. . Obama’s campaign-run fan page has 27 million fans. the insights reveal a giant spike for Obama around noon ET last Saturday. as nearly 700. Representatives from both Facebook and Twitter are on the ground at the conventions to help encourage use by attendees.000 people liked the post and the campaign followed up on Friday announcing it had surpassed the milestone.” the post says. gender or location. while Romney’s page has more than 5 million.With half the United States sharing what they’re doing. Both campaigns have made Facebook a part of their strategy and use it to drive buzz for their candidates.000 shares and nearly 20. The #GOP2012 hashtag is being heavily promoted along with the official logo at this week's GOP convention. emphasizing social media and digital access in convention plans.000 Facebook fans. Facebook also plans to curate what convention participants are saying publicly on Facebook about their convention experience.” Within two days. their photos and their opinions on Facebook. The 2008 political conventions generated fewer tweets than just the first half of that speech. Vice President Joe Biden. presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney and his running mate Rep. The results show the power of the campaigns on Facebook and also reveal how the conversation changes depending the time. Because of the large number of fans amassed by each candidate. The official GOP hashtag is #GOP2012. and Biden falls fourth with 367. Campaigns Show the Power of a Post http://politicalticker. age. what’s being talked about on the site is a telling way of taking the nation’s political pulse. Ryan’s page has 1. the Democratic hashtag is #DNC2012. this post drew in more than 400.8 million. It had a clear impact. West. Terra: How Social Media is Changing the Way Politicians Gather Information http://news.6797917f52c59310VgnVCM10000098cceb0aRCRD. Das was able to gauge that many of those judging the impact on Romney's . and much of the Midwest. vice presidentcorporate communications & public policy at Facebook. that feels part ad agency and part rec room. West Virginia and Utah. More tellingly.com/how-social-media-is-changing-the-way-politicians-gatherinformation. behind only the candidate's first and last name. the word "Etch" ranked third among tags. The tool also shows if a candidate is gaining or losing momentum by displaying a percentage of how much each candidate’s buzz changed from 24 hours before. people older than 55 are discussing Romney more in every state except Vermont and Hawaii.com/FacebookInsights and keep an eye on the trends.. the state in which Obama was raised. This includes all conversation both positive and negative. When Facebook mentions are broken down by age. which is the number of people who either include a post or interact with that candidate’s fan page at least once a day. The age breakdown bar-chart also highlights the power of those who are 55 and older. Romney is being mentioned more than Obama in every state except New York. As the conversation continues on Facebook. a senior Romney advisor had likened the campaign's transition from the primary fight to the general election to shaking an Etch A Sketch. N. The majority of 18-24 year olds mention Obama more than Romney in every single state except Idaho. 2012 In an open-plan office in Durham.html Bruce Schoenfeld August 25. a year of record turnout. real-time glimpse into how and where this conversation is taking place across the country. Facebook averaged 100 million active users worldwide. "Facebook is naturally a place where friends engage in political discourse. Vermont and Hawaii. sifting and sorting by various keywords and metrics. with Obama getting more of mentions in the Northeast.” The number of people on Facebook is staggering and still rapidly growing.terra. Likewise. Today. There are more people on Facebook than there were total voters in 2008. you can take a closer look at the conversation using FacebookCNN Election Insights interactive dashboard at CNN. perhaps. The day before. Das reveals that of the tweets mentioning Romney. Wyoming. as they are mentioning the candidates and interacting with their fan pages more than any other age group. Among women. With the stroke of a key. The chatter is based on daily unique mentions. the statewide heat map highlights a clear skew of younger people talking about Obama and older Americans discussing Romney. Four years ago. that number is rapidly approaching 1 billion. A gender gap is also apparent between the candidates: Among men.” says Elliot Schrage. the chatter is much more split. not all mentions come from the same people. Each candidate has groups that buzz more about them than others. “The Facebook-CNN Election Insights tool will offer an interactive.C. a 31-year-old EvoApp executive named Pritam Das sits rummaging through all the Twitter posts that have mentioned Mitt Romney in the previous 24 hours.– Follow CNN Politics on Facebook With such a diverse demographic on Facebook. in the 1990s. firm that uses digital media for fundraising. It's not accurate. So anyone who can identify voter sentiment or political trends faster or more accurately than the rest of the world will be in great demand." says Rebecca Katz.C." EvoApp. a founding partner of New York-based Global Strategy Group. vice president of Anzalone Liszt Research. That's what Newt Gingrich realized after he started his campaign for president in mid-2011." says Jeffrey Plaut. Not so in politics." The pressure to win is far more intense in the 50-percent-plus-one-vote world of politics than in ordinary commerce." says EvoApp CEO Kip Frey of founders Joe Davy and Alexey Melnichenko. If you win the election or the referendum. "We've reached a tipping point where the people who run . In politics. It's part of a new wave of polling and data firms that are changing the way political campaigns gather and interpret information. If you lose. information-gathering and showing ads. which was the way politics worked the last time he'd run for office. but it's an important one. a technologysavvy Democratic polling firm. "The stuff we used to do even two and three years ago. it doesn't matter by how much. even the smallest advantage can mean the difference. a strategic communications and research firm that works with companies and candidates. D. but followers who in turn have influence of their own. 23-year-olds who met at a specialty math-and-science high school and abandoned college careers to start the company. "Now you can do it in a matter of hours. "And politics is acutely tied to how people get and process information. a partner at Washington.-based consultants Hilltop Public Solutions.000 bet Romney proposed to Texas Gov. That can change the trajectory of a campaign. during which the Obama team made revolutionary use of the internet to solicit donations and communicate with supporters. a D." Eli Kaplan is founder of Rising Tide Interactive.campaign most harshly had the greatest influence in the Twittersphere--not just the most followers. which has landed $2." Adapt or lose. It shows that we can solve difficult problems. "These guys have come up with a way to understand and interpret unstructured data in real time. The debate hadn't even ended yet.9 million in angel investment. we don't do anymore." says Zac McCrary. a veteran Democratic political operative who is running Tim Kaine's Virginia Senate campaign." says Mike Henry. a moment that helped pull even old-school pols into the Twitter era. "All of a sudden. or they lose. but a generation to today's pollsters. it typically took you three to four days. "It's dated. "The information game is rapidly changing. Witness the $10. "If you wanted to know how a certain issue was playing. His staff was reacting to issues on a 24-hour news cycle. That was just four years ago--a short time in traditional political strategizing. and a product with a small market share can still be extremely profitable. within minutes. there was a '#10Kbet' Twitter hashtag.C. "Politics is only one of its uses. Politics drives people to adapt. a customer base can be built up incrementally over years. Rick Perry on national television. The strategy proved disastrous in a world in which even waiting for a debate to finish before responding to it means you've already waited too long. In nearly every consumer category. Many launched after the 2008 presidential election. expects to gross nearly $1 million in 2012. and even that was extremely fast-track. its first year in business. That helps move things along. it doesn't matter how fervently your supporters loved you. "Polling only gives you . there were a lot of firms that built websites and billed themselves as digital strategists." she says. "and our intelligence manages some of the most secret and important projects in the world. But it has become clear that if all you're doing are things the way you always did. it's crazy. "There's a pot of money to be had in politics for people who understand this emerging world. "The thing is." Even established names are getting into the act. The model worked so well that the company has relaunched as Project New America (PNA) and started operating nationwide. blogs." Davy says.campaigns understand that they really need to take this stuff seriously." he says." In 2007 Ruffini founded Engage. who are far more comfortable with programming than with public policy. Michael Dukakis and Barbara Boxer. Patrick Leahy." says Patrick Ruffini. "We distinguish ourselves by showing how to use digital to actually win elections. a research and strategy firm founded with former Clinton political director Doug Sosnik." Some of the new players in the category are political insiders. "Before us. a Republican consulting company based on the idea that the next generation of political data-collection and advertising would be wholly different from the last one. like EvoApp's Davy and Melnichenko. "I see new vendors come in all the time who've never even been involved in politics but think they have the next great idea." EvoApp pulls in data from throughout the internet--Twitter. "We don't describe ourselves as a polling firm. Instead of working for candidates like a traditional pollster. "We were winning races on the local level that Democrats never would have won before." says Katie Harbath." Opportunities abound. "There's still room for traditional polling and advertising. It's this promise of incremental insight through innovative methodologies that is leading the charge." Davy says. Others are not. you're doomed. In the 1980s.Informing the nation: Project New America's Jill Hanauer. a former Republican National Committee (RNC) staffer who is now the manager of public policy for Facebook.000 each. EvoApp's tools analyze conversations and can provide insight into sentiment around a candidate in real time-sometimes a week earlier than Gallup poll results." he says. Jill Hanauer appeared in Time magazine and on the CBS morning news talking up the student movement. "Politics was one of the most obvious uses because it's all about information. "These new firms are looking to bank on the shift from the traditional to the digital. Then it analyzed and integrated the data using stringent metrics of analysis and sold the resulting information to state party organizations and other entities through annual subscriptions of up to $140. Later. "We wanted to figure out why. some of them actually do. In 1994. she worked for Gary Hart. news stories--and gives it structure. among others. Project New West hired pollsters itself in an effort to gather detailed demographic and attitudinal data. "We're 23 years old. "It's a unique business model that allows millions of dollars of research to be shared with our subscribers. she realized that Eastern political operatives didn't understand the West." That led to Denver-based Project New West. the former eCampaign director of the RNC.Photo© Matt Nager After helping Colorado's Democrats take back the legislature in 2004 even as John Kerry was getting trounced in the state's presidential race." Hanauer says. forums. she founded the Interfaith Alliance to protect America's church-and-state separation. Facebook." Hanauer says. When you think about that. " says Luntz. immediately engaging and psychotically addictive. the old way and the new way. campaign data is being collected using even less traditional means. "We're adding value to the work they do. "The Anzalone model is the future." Hanauer says. periodically references an ongoing Wayin poll on his Fox News appearances. "And people are responding. an internet polling and survey tool that works with sports." he says. and they're all invested in it. "Smart campaigns acknowledge that. Because of our information."Meet and greet: Jill Hanauer at a 2009 Project New West Summit with Robert Redford (far left). many industry professionals believe. says John Anzalone.-based polling firm is considered traditional in that it actively calls people and asks them questions. Then he sits back and watches the responses add up."Bridging tradition and technology: John Anzalone of Anzalone Liszt Research. he insists. "Taking both disciplines. the RNC is also a user. amid the sports bars and trendy restaurants of downtown Denver. richer picture that you need. Is it the wave of the future? I don't know. "We have a list of investors that's about as sterling as you can have. and the results are pretty exciting.Photo © Kim Fisher Despite this. who has invested in the tool. campaigns can micro-target in a way that hasn't been done before. Scott McNealy.one snapshot of a deeper. cleanest demographics and geographics of any technology I've seen. Wayin polling is not anonymous (an e-mail address must be provided). his methodology has evolved radically. it will become a necessity.Photo © Tony Gallagher From a staff of two. "This is a fun business." His Montgomery." ." McNealy says. just as hiring a pollster in addition to a campaign manager became de rigueur for national campaigns during the 1960s." Henry says.Photo courtesy of Wayin Frank Luntz. we're not competing with pollsters." Both the Romney and Gingrich campaigns signed on early. But over the years. "I still find a lot of political people have their heads in the sand. But at some point soon. Ala. It's not so much about keeping pace with the competition. and use it to their advantage. you ask a question on Monday morning and you get an answer on Monday morning." says campaign manager Henry. and over time. We've just had our first quarter of revenue. a Republican strategist and commentator."Poll vault: The Wayin team at work. "Thanks to Wayin." Some 15 blocks away from PNA headquarters. And my board of directors is a Fortune 200-caliber board. "I've been able to go to all kinds of buddies. PNA has ramped up to 16 full-timers and expects to gross $5 million this year. It's tremendously exciting to me right now. the idea of hiring a firm solely to handle digital media or internet polling remains an expensive novelty. We pay various pollsters to do work on an issue or in a region--not one data point but many. consumer brands--and politics. but also letting sponsors target their followups. It's the secret weapon to a tool that has enticed interest and investment from some heavy hitters. created Wayin. "Our secret is. founder of Anzalone Liszt Research. and bringing them together. as serving clients by giving them the most accurate information possible. so clients are able to aggregate data about users--not only making every answer more meaningful. and I don't really care. "It allows you to break down an issue to the finest. the co-founder of Sun Microsystems and a political enthusiast with strong Republican ties. "Social media gives us an additional data point. Next comes a private offering that will raise $1 million in investment capital." For many campaigns. Anzalone managed early in his career to intersect with most of the top Democratic operatives of the generation. he believes. Some of that methodology will be cribbed from the corporate sector. conservative strategist Luntz and commentator Sean Hannity fell into a discussion about which issues mean the most to GOP voters. These days. eventually you can say that people who like Obama. So when he decided to set up shop as a pollster." he adds.com and asked listeners to . And you can amalgamate the information in a way that you never could. Anzalone sat in his office on a conference call about a poll he's conducting for sponsors of a California ballot initiative. including Florida.. he worked seven states for the Obama campaign. he added Arizona and Nevada. this year. Yet because he's convinced it yields more accurate readings. Anzalone will bill at least $5 million in 2012 from 60 clients. "There's the ability to get immediate feedback. well. a media personality and a consultant asking a question. including James Carville. N." he says.J. "You're testing 16 different messages in boxes of four. aggregating their opinions with views they'd expressed in the past." he reports. "That if you have this data." Uhran says. They decided to create an instant poll on Wayin. to change things based on consumers' attitudes. and their listeners responding.The son of a long-haul trucker. But since many of those who voted were frequent visitors to the site and had logged in so their views could be recorded. he had the contacts. In 2008. who managed Clinton's presidential run." he says. almost no polling firms in America were calling cell phones. "Most corporate strategic research is now done digitally using rapidly developing tools. The poll had no connection with any campaign or political party." . which is several iterations ahead of political campaigns when it comes to testing advertising and branding messages online. Sarah Uhran. Wayin's director of unusual projects. "People coming out of this campaign will start businesses around analyzing data.000.." says Global Strategy Group's Plaut. Uhran was able to "slice and dice" the votes in a variety of ways. North Carolina and Virginia. former technology director for the Alabama Democratic Party. since federal law prohibits calls to mobile phones using recorded messages or automatic dialing software. It was for entertainment purposes only. for example. Paul Begala and David Wilhelm. He also uses innovative messaging polls on the internet that yield exponentially more data than anything he can do on the phone. "It's 40. It's far more expensive than calling land lines. as a research director and eventually made him a partner. Five years later he added Jeff Liszt. It's repeat business like that that pays our bills. Anzalone now targets cell phones for up to one-fifth of his responses. also tend toward these other attributes that you can list.000 data points instead of 1. On Fox Radio one April morning. but we're also running a poll for the mayor of Elizabeth. bringing all the strands together in ways that haven't been done before in politics. Campaigns aren't the only ones doing the testing. Recently. weigh in." That's just the start of the next great information revolution. "We're seeing increasingly that the political and corporate work feed on and inform each other. "That's the part that Stephen Colbert was so interested in when we sat down with him." Companies such as his that can engineer a successful crossover have a unique product to pitch to campaign managers. The office looked almost the same as it had when he'd handled Obama's polling four years before. sat in a small conference room back in Denver tallying results on her cell phone. But in 2008. "It's great that we poll for Obama. Anzalone is one of the most respected information-gatherers in the business. at Democracy 2. Twitter. "There's going to be a huge team here at the convention who is going to be strictly focused on what the conversation is that's happening online. It's one reason they've joined forces. It's designed to help you take part in the online conversation. all for our strengths and integrating us all together. that number is now down to 1 percent. They'll all take the stage on Saturday. peering at her phone.myfoxtampabay. "Whenever Frank [Luntz] does a poll with us. You don't have to pick between the two of us. and sometimes as many as 30. Google. but more people are online this election than ever before – so many more that every tweet made on Election Day 2008 would go by in about six minutes at the rate we read them today. "It may not be scientific." said Jonathan Torres of Social Media Club Tampa Bay. . "Wait." Vosler said. yet alone spoken on the same panel.eventbrite. Still." FOX (Tampa Bay): In One Room." she acknowledges." Uhran notes--numbers that far exceed the 1. It's a convention in its own right. titans of social media together in one workspace in Tampa. only 3 percent of these hard-core Republicans blame Bush for the economic crunch. 2012 TAMPA (FOX 13) It may feel like the internet been around forever.000." said Katie Harbath of Facebook. along with Yelp." said Adonai Communications' Robin Vosler. They hadn't been screened for gender.000 or so that most traditional pollsters use to create a snapshot of current opinion.com. The best campaigns are using us. "But it is interesting. "I don't even know if these people from different platforms have been in the same room before. we always get at least 2. so they hardly represented a cross section of the American public. "We really hope that other places around the country and even internationally will see Tampa as a viable social media town and city where people do make a living in social media. say. it was hard not to be intrigued that." Uhran points out. These were Hannity listeners. "This isn't the dating game. For more information. Twitter and Facebook know this. geography or anything else. ethnicity. It's a public event at Relevant Church in Tampa beginning at 5 p. Tampa is prepped to get in on the conversation.0.000 votes. on the impact of social media.m. visit http://democracy2-0. Social Media Titans Gather for RNC http://www.com/story/19373344/2012/08/24/in-one-room-social-media-titans-gather-forrnc Jeremy Campbell August 24.The Luntz/Hannity poll generated thousands of responses. businessweek. moderators and Facebook Inc. with separate events for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Univision was acquired in 2007 for $12. Katie Harbath. and members of the media are preparing to make the trek to Tampa. Obama and Romney agreed to participate after Univision Chief Executive Officer Randy Falco released an Aug.” warns the Young Guns Action Fund’s Brad Dayspring “because you are not going to get much sleep between Monday and Friday – nor will you want to once you are there. the whole thing can seem a daunting experience. Manager of Public Policy at Facebook. CNN’s Candy Crowley and CBS’s Bob Schieffer will each host a presidential debate.com/2012/08/23/advice-for-first-time-rnc-convention-attendees/ Eric Wilson August 23. the biggest U. the New Yorkbased company said yesterday in an e-mail. The schedule will be announced later. Martha Raddatz of ABC will moderate a debate between the vice presidential candidates. suggests that attendees “start asking around now about what events are happening and what contacts of yours have tickets. so I turned to some convention veterans for advice on surviving the GOP’s big week.” Univision News President Isaac Lee said in the statement. The candidates will take questions from an audience.000 politicians..com/news/2012-08-23/univision-plans-presidential-forum-with-obama-romney Andy Fixmer August 24. users. according to the website for the Commission on Presidential Debates. TPG Capital and Thomas H. 2012 Univision Communications Inc. but also be asking around once you get down there. Before You Arrive Preparation is key. closely held Univision said.” “Rest up this weekend..” . Spanish-language broadcaster. PBS’s Jim Lehrer. will host “Meet the Candidate” forums.6 billion by Saban Capital Group Inc. in partnership with Facebook (FB). will be hosted by Univision News anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas. like myself. after being shut out of the presidential debates. Romney http://www. volunteers. Lee Partners LP.. Madison Dearborn Partners LLC.S. Providence Equity Partners Inc. “These events speak to President Obama and Governor Romney recognizing the important role Hispanic America will play in the elections and in defining the future of our country. 15 letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates protesting rejection of its news anchors to be among this year’s moderators. FL for the 2012 Republican National Convention. operatives.Bloomberg Businessweek: Univision plans presidential forum with Obama. The two forums. The network will translate questions and answers for the candidates and the viewers. 2012 An estimated 50. For a first-timer. Red Alert Politics: Advice for First Time RNC Convention Attendees http://redalertpolitics. Go down to Tampa with a few tickets ahead of time. delegates. events will materialize once you are on the ground. Members. but the Spanish language . and where the unexpectedly fun events are happening. drink plenty of water and don’t try to make it to everything. “You can only plan so much from afar. Details for. “Just keep your eyes open for neat opportunities!” With literally hundreds of events happening outside the official program. bring an extra tie.” According to Finn. 2012 Univision’s request for an official presidential debate may have been rejected. politicos. Kristen Soltis. “the most exciting things that happened at the convention were totally by chance. avoid the guys walking around with stained ties.” John Feehery. “don’t get stuck in a volunteer job that keeps you working well past midnight.” says Feehery “is what happens outside the convention hall. You’ll be able to quickly find out where the cool kids are. Univision turns to candidate forums http://mediadecoder. of Twitter and a veteran of the 2004 and 2008 conventions.” advises Finn. Dayspring (@BDayspring) recommends building out a convention Twitter list before you arrive. staffers. “Remember that every Republican in Tampa in some small way represents the Romney/Ryan campaign. because you are going to stain yours. ”Don’t forget to eat. cautions against a major first-time mistake.” Lastly. Chance meetings will be more frequent than plans to rendezvous for networking purposes.” says Soltis. “Pick 1-2 events per night. but “don’t worry about the big events. “don’t try to do too much.nytimes.” Once You’re There Flexibility will get you far in Tampa.” advises Harbath. “this isn’t Spring Break.com/2012/08/23/debates-denied-univision-turns-to-candidate-forums/ Amy Chozick August 23. but “pace yourself.” Tickets to the larger parties with well-known bands are hard to come by. President of QGA Communications and a veteran of five conventions.” The Parties “The action at convention.” And while it may seem like one giant party.blogs. where the fun is. and invites to. they’ve likely had too much to drink.” Speaking of Twitter. New York Times: Debates denied. Vice President at the Winston Group. leave your computer at the hotel. Ladies. recalls that for her. The list should be made up of “journalists.” See you in Tampa. a bit of sartorial advice from Dayspring: “Gentlemen. advises first-timers to “travel light — pack your phone and/or tablet in your bag when you head out for the day.Mindy Finn. and VIPs.” counsels Dayspring.” There’s a lot going. As the No.network has succeeded in securing both candidates’ attendance at “Meet the Candidate” forums. According to recent polls. Univision serves as the only source of TV news for many of its viewers who do not watch NBC or CNN. That level of access underscores the importance of the country’s 21 million registered Hispanic voters. . "It is possible that social media and the discourse we can see there can help transform the conventions into something more dynamic again.. “These events speak to President Obama and Governor Romney recognizing the important role Hispanic America will play in the elections and in defining the future of our country.com/ap/2012-08-22/everything-changing-for-convention-coverage#p1 David Bauder August 22. wrote a letter urging the Commission on Presidential Debates to add a debate that would focus on issues like education. a host on Univision’s evening newscast used his prime-time program to urge both candidates to speak directly to Univision viewers. The sessions will take place in front of a live audience and will most likely air on a delay with Spanish-language translation. Last week." said Tom Rosenstiel. The network said it had partnered with Facebook and will solicit questions from viewers via social media before each “Meet the Candidate” forum. health care and immigration that particularly resonate with Hispanic voters. 2012 NEW YORK (AP) — On the surface. director of the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.C. The Internet will give people more access to convention halls and a greater opportunity to become part of the political conversation. Hispanics make up 13. After the Commission rejected Mr. said in a statement. according to the Pew Hispanic Center.businessweek. things are dramatically different. Randy Falco. Mitt Romney will sit down on separate nights for a question-and-answer session moderated by Univision’s Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas.1 percent of the state’s more than 11. Although Univision has interviewed presidential candidates in the past. television networks will cover the upcoming Republican and Democratic national conventions much like they have the past few election cycles — generally an hour each night on the big broadcasters. something that involves the public. 1 Spanish-language network. most dramatically and recently for the Olympics. Below the surface. Falco’s proposal.2 registered voters. Univision’s chief executive. President Obama and Gov. and Charlotte. Romney’s selection of vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan has tightened the race in Florida where. Fla. Mr. the network said late Thursday afternoon. especially in key swing states like Florida. Nevada and Colorado. more or less full time with the cable news networks. Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Everything Changing for Convention Coverage http://www. Univision’s president of news. interactive discussion. The popularity of social media and people experiencing big events on TV with tablets and smartphones has driven up TV ratings. Mr.” Isaac Lee. The dates of the interviews have not yet been determined. the upcoming events will mark the first time both parties’ presidential nominees have sat down for this type of longer. N. and television executives are curious to see if the trend continues in Tampa. a Univision spokeswoman said. Ramos. streaming speeches on Facebook and hiring a company to measure the sentiment of online commentary. "You'd be a fool to ignore social media. and that can be more newsworthy than the actual event. ABC. Others have their own stories. We don't all want to be there but we can talk about it. ABC News' online feed will mimic a television newscast for three hours prior to the network coming on the air. and even voters in key swing states.000 bet to Texas Gov. said Marc Burstein. Bloomberg will stream economy-focused panel discussions that it holds with convention figures. NBC. but exploded on Twitter and influenced ABC's decision to emphasize it in debate sum-up. The activity reverses a decades-long trend of television networks compressing coverage on the theory that the conventions have become stage-managed events largely free of news." said Jeff Jarvis. . Rick Perry in a December debate." The Olympics were NBC's eye-opener to the power of social media. Their growing influence speaks directly to the reasons people follow big events: Asked by Pew two years ago why they keep up with the news. NBC News will host "hangouts" with some of its correspondents on Google Plus. offering the best filter-free way to reach the public along with the presidential debates. "One of the fantastic things about this is you do get real-time feedback about what you do on the air. PBS and C-SPAN are live streaming the convention online pretty much from start to finish." Current TV is trying a bold new approach." NBC is trying several different approaches. setting up several hashtags to gather tweets and give both viewers and correspondents a destination to share thoughts. "and we don't plan to do so. Yet they are important to candidates. a media critic who writes the Buzzmachine. it was barely noticed at the debate hall. John McCain and Sarah Palin on television. When Mitt Romney proposed a $10. producer in charge of NBC's convention coverage. CBS. The tweets will take up more screen space than pictures from the convention or commentators like Al Gore." Burstein said. Twitter and Facebook were barely a speck on the horizon in 2008." said Mark Lukasiewicz. "I can't say anybody has found the secret sauce yet but there's a lot of great experimenting going on. including flashing Twitter messages at the bottom of its TV screen. CSPAN's TV and online coverage is commentary-free. senior executive producer at ABC News in charge of convention coverage.com blog. besides what is being offered on television. For three nights over two weeks in 2008. We could all be there.ABC. what politicos attached to Obama or Romney are saying. "It's becoming fascinating. more than 40 million people watched convention speeches by candidates Barack Obama. The challenge for networks comes in harnessing social media for effective use in their coverage. devoting half of its screen to a real-time Twitter feed divided into dozens of categories. Fox News Channel. by contrast. "Social media adds a new layer to this gigantic nonevent. PBS is stationing live webcams at the convention halls and surrounding areas. is keeping its social media plans quiet in advance. Viewers can see what mainstream media figures are tweeting. the largest percentage of Americans — 72 percent — said it was because they enjoy talking with friends and family about what is going on. who is producing the network's coverage. the latter anchored by Scott Pelley. "There's a swirl of conversation going on right now in the country. compared to 1. The Republicans meet next week in Tampa. With the dynamic media landscape. This is a tough sell. too. post. "I think that's way cool. The online specials allow CBS a chance to reach an audience that doesn't normally follow the network regularly. The raw numbers lean Obama’s way. and TV has never found a way to tap into it. On that day. and spread the word about their candidate. "That's kind of where I max out. our seasoned veterans and coverage that can give you a wide perspective. with the Democrats meeting the following week in Charlotte. Brian Williams on NBC. the Romney campaign saw activity in the form of comments or sharing from 27 percent of their list of followers. NBC is offering an unadorned gavel-to-gavel feed because it is also providing a network summary (except for Wednesday." Lead anchors on the network coverage include Pelley on CBS. The different online approaches also speak to the spirit of experimentation.com/tech/how-mitt-romney-does-digital-20120822#. He cites June 28. Sept. CBS is preparing online specials for both directly before and after its television coverage.” Moffatt says. for example. but by their level of activity. 5. when it is pre-empted by a football game) and full nights of coverage anchored by the left-leaning anchor team on MSNBC. The convention coverage will be much watched to see who can best take advantage of them and rule a world where tablets. versus fewer than 5 million for Romney. the media's long-held role as agenda-setters is changing. The Obama campaign appears to have raised the bar yet again. "I have five screens at my desk right now." National Journal: How Mitt Romney Goes Digital http://www. Current producers choose the Twitter feeds that run on the air. Zac Moffatt.7 percent for Obama.facebook Adam Mazmanian August 22. Obama’s campaign team is legendary for its online prowess and its data-driven digital outreach. viewers can choose what feeds to follow. who runs Current. Romney’s followers are more likely to share information. smartphones and laptops are as much a part of many people's big-event experience as flatscreen TVs. PBS will have presidential historians on hand for analysis of convention speeches.nationaljournal. he says. He has more than 27 million "likes" on his Facebook page. Online.On TV. the day of the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act as an example." she said. says that the Republican candidate is ahead of Obama in terms of building an engaged and dedicated online following. and Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos on ABC. 2012 Mitt Romney’s social-media guru does not quantify success in his candidate’s number of Facebook followers. But according to Moffatt. with the release of a mobile app that integrates digital outreach with the door-to-door shoe-leather efforts of volunteers. said Susan Zirinsky.UDUhOlDR_3E. the head of the Romney campaign’s digital operation." Lukasiewicz said. “That’s how I’d define success for us. "It affords us an opportunity on exciting new platforms to spread our original reporting. providing ." said David Bohrman. Despite a recent Pew report that pegs President Obama as winning the battle for digital audiences. for example. In Ohio. . Netflix.” The Romney campaign “still has millions of doors being hit every month. Romney's sons are active on Twitter and Facebook. the numbers make it impossible to ignore. Moffatt says. neighborhood maps. there are one in three voters who don’t watch live television other than sports. and this has meant greater exposure for the candidate to social media. is on Twitter. In the Nevada caucuses. the Romney team placed an ad on Google’s search engine that directed people searching for information on Newt Gingrich to an ad that criticized the former House Speaker for taking consulting fees from federally backed mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “That just means they live on DVR. “Whenever it breaks into your peer groups.” he says. that figure could be 2 million voters. You should look at that as realistic of how difficult it is to build a multipurpose. Romney’s immediate family is more engaged on digital than in the past. digital has seen a transformation from a “base list-building and fundraising effort” to “becoming a persuasion and mobilization tool. it did generate 100. Using search and other online media as a conduit to more standard advertising fare is an important part of the online media mix. Moffatt says. and criticizes both campaigns for failing to engage ordinary users via retweets. Moffatt’s research has shown that in a given week. The campaign has been mum on how it is going to retool its Mitt’s VP app for the general-election drive.” The Romney campaign does have a couple of apps. He’s a little irate about the Pew report. it makes a difference. and a fundraising interface. Moffatt says. If we ran our entire campaign predicated on TV.” Moffatt says. In the 2012 cycle.” Moffatt says. “The Obama folks knew they were going to be running for president three years ago. digital strategy was not a major piece of Romney’s primary-election bid.” he said.” he says. Presumptive vice-presidential nominee Ryan has a lot of everyday. “The election will be won or lost most likely in that group. whether or not we have an app. but it’s not going to stop us from doing what we do every day. “I wouldn’t be much of a digital director otherwise. which gives the Romney campaign low marks for use of Twitter. but Moffatt says he has a plan. According to Moffatt. and Hulu. Ann Romney was an early adopter of the photo-sharing site Pinterest. campaign talking points. integrated app. Now. R-Wis. hands-on experience with social media.” In 2008. “That just reduces some of the barriers. while gathering e-mail addresses and other data on potential supporters. Although the app failed to scoop the press on the news about Rep. that’s a lot of voters we’re missing..” Moffatt says. Moffatt says.canvassers with voter-registration lists.000 "likes" on the Romney campaign’s Facebook page. “It took them 100 days to build out this app that does all these pieces. Paul Ryan. including one that was built to deliver advance news of the candidate’s vice-presidential pick. the release of this app so late in the game points to the challenges of leveraging digital assets in the real world. Where the election won’t be won or lost. as well as CNN’s Political Gut Check daily newsletter. There are 160 million monthly active users on Facebook in the United States. and this allows us to engage and listen to American voters wherever we are.8 million likes. If that isn’t interesting politically. and he’s like. LR: How is it a new social kind of reporting? Jaconi: It is new mainly because there is no way we could do this in 2008 with the same penetration rate. In the report.com/an-inside-look-at-cnn-and-facebooks-first-analysis-of-the-election_b33289 Natan Edelsberg August 20. 2012 In July CNN and Facebook announced a major partnership around the election. there were 35 million monthly active users in America. The partnership has a robust mobile app. they also look at the candidates Facebook growth. CNN’s Executive Producer of Cross-Platform programming about the results. You can also see how the candidates likes breakdown by gender. We surveyed our Facebook users and integrated their live comments and feedback into our on air broadcast. but Ryan already has over 100. “It’s more often that something will occur. taking advantage of one area in which both CNN and Facebook dominate: Reach. Their first big report is out and we spoke to Michelle Jaconi. The Paul Ryan announcement was a great example of using technology to help tell a story instead of the reverse. editorial content and interactives online. It’s also interesting that Biden is number three after Obama. I don’t know what is? Especially when you take into account that people are most often influenced to vote by opinion leaders in their social circle. Lost Remote: How is CNN approaching publishing content from this partnership? Michelle Jaconi: The partnership is truly cross-platform.com.000 more likes than Biden. Furthermore.' ” Moffatt says.S. In layman’s terms: Facebook has now half of the US population in its networks. Obama’s in a strong lead with 27. it makes this partnership intellectual candy.” That’s not to say that the candidate is tapping out his own tweets. We’re not able to tweet 25 times a day like the Obama folks have. In 2008. 'We should get that out on Twitter. it’s great to see the Facebook data back it up. It limits the amount we do. The major headline of the new announcement is that Ryan has knocked Obama off as the most talked about player in the election. or even dictating them to staff.“We try to keep the Twitter account in Mitt’s voice. while noting the political region most active surrounding the announcement. this has been accurately called the first mobile election. “America’s Choice 2012″ is an analysis of Facebook’s more than 160 million users in the U. which can be accessed on CNN. While this isn’t completely surprising. It is always my goal to get out of Washington and learn from the American voter. and have him be a part of it. Lost Remote: Inside Look at CNN and Facebook’s First Election Analysis http://lostremote. and in politics that is what makes this interesting. and on television. seeing as the big announcement just happened last week. but before Romney. and CNN’s multi-platform audience. LR: How many more of these stories will there be? . The number of items posted on Twitter on Election Day 2008 is equal to about six minutes worth of tweets today.000 followers Friday. 4-6 in Charlotte. Huffington Post: 2012 Conventions Embrace Social Media Openness http://www. Twitter. debate and election broadcasts and will be a consistent part of the digital story from here thru the election. Republicans hired a web vendor to handle all things Internet for their convention.) "We're able to expand it even further and invite the whole country to participate in a more interactive way then you might traditionally experience by tuning into a television. The party's biggest push through the Internet will come through videos on YouTube. whether they are in Toledo." while the Democrats say their gathering will be "the most open and accessible in history.huffingtonpost. In 2008." said Nikki Sutton. . As for the sweeping analytical pieces. "Our goal is to leverage these technologies.Jaconi: Facebook will be integrated into all our big convention. (Republicans meet a week earlier in Tampa. Both parties' ambitious plans reflect the maturation of social media sites that played a much smaller role in the conventions four years ago. with photos of the Republican stage under construction in Tampa or profiles of Democratic volunteers and delegates. no matter where they are. Instagram and Flickr into their conventions. there's a dedicated social media team with its own "Social Media War Room" in the Tampa Convention Center. 2012 CHARLOTTE. Both had more than 10. Republicans have hired a fulltime blogger and a full-time digital communications manager to do nothing but engage people online." Democrats will not just show prime-time speeches live on the Internet. the social media company recently wrote on its blog. director of digital media for the 2012 Democratic Convention. The dramatic changes in social media have required both parties to almost start from scratch in developing strategies for incorporating Facebook. Users can interact with a mouse click. to reach every American. Republican National Convention spokesman James Davis said. N. Now.C.com/huff-wires/20120817/us-conventions-social-media/ Jeffrey Collins and Tamara Lush August 17. — Democrats and Republicans are using social media to turn their national conventions away from the smoke-filled rooms of yore and into meetings where anyone who wants to get involved is just a click away. we will write about the data every time it helps us tell a story. Democrats will have a similar setup at their convention Sept. the convention floor in Tampa or a forward operating base in Afghanistan. but will also stream caucus meetings and the council discussions of the party's platform and ideals over the Web. Ohio. The Republicans call theirs a "convention without walls. The conventions' Facebook and Twitter sites are already stoking interest in the events. such as one who urged friends to help the GOP convention Twitter feed muster more followers than its counterpart. Social media was still in its infancy four years ago. YouTube." he said. has a website. Organizers hope to use the Web to direct people to sites in more than a dozen states where they can take buses to Charlotte to join in the various protests during the week. and both campaigns and their parties think social media will be critical to get their voters excited enough to go to the polls. which plans to bring thousands to Charlotte to rally against big business and economic inequality. Social media is increasingly allowing parties to control their message – and spreading those key messages through an online network of "friends" may allow them to create a sense of credibility. The candidates' overall campaigns are also ratcheting up efforts to reach voters online. Kreiss said. Facebook page and Twitter account. The group's Project for Excellent in Journalism analyzed both campaigns' efforts between June 4-17 and found Obama's team posted almost four times as much content during the period and maintained an active presence on almost twice as many platforms. Social media is allowing modern-day campaigns and political parties to get their messages out unfiltered.And those planning protests are using the Internet to get organized. But Romney's campaign said his Facebook page has more people who share or comment on his posts. "There's just not a lot of convention coverage that is going to be offered by the major networks. said Daniel Kreiss. an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill journalism school who authored a book about the use of new media from former presidential candidate Howard Dean to President Barack Obama. and this becomes a way that individual figures' speeches get publicity. One person holding up his sign on the site is Vice President Joe Biden. promising to either be in Charlotte or to follow the convention online. The app also includes an interactive map to help visitors to Charlotte find convention locations or restaurants. blog posts and photos." Kreiss said. Convention organizers will use social media to emphasize themes that might get lost in the traditional media's limited coverage. a posting showed a picture of lighting rigs inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum and said: "The lights are on and we only have 17 more days to go! Are you ready to nominate the next President of the United States?? The entry had more than 360 "likes" and 400 comments on Wednesday afternoon. too. The March on Wall Street South. A report released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center found that President Barack Obama's campaign was more active than Republican Mitt Romney's on the digital front. Democrats have already released a smartphone app that provides one place for videos. On the GOP convention's Facebook page. Its Flickr page included more than 150 photos from people who printed out a special "I'm There" logo and had their pictures made with it. . the only metric that matters will be votes in November. Their convention Facebook site has been running posts spotlighting different delegates and volunteers from across the country for months. It will be "viewed as more credible and more authentic" than less-personal media coverage. That's especially useful as broadcasters and newspapers have drastically reduced the amount of air time and space they devote to conventions. Of course. . but the site will replace what’s presently viewable at youtube. is coordinating the effort. where most of the convention is taking place the first week in September. social data.The Democrats used Twitter to invite more than a dozen followers on a tour in July. Microsoft." said Carraway.” No beta version or rendering is available. the area's tourism and marketing agency. "where's a good Italian restaurant?" or "What's the closest beach to downtown Tampa?" POLITICO: Republicans Plan a Tech-Heavy Convention http://www.html Steve Freiss August 17. but the political science major in college hasn't forgotten his first love. He plans to attend as many convention events as he can – using his cellphone to make online posts. "This was a great opportunity for me to get an up close and personal look at something I am passionate about. where Obama will give his acceptance speech. Chen said about 50 local experts will monitor and interact with people online. They will staff the center and answer questions about the area from people in town for the convention – for instance. photos and videos as well.politico. “The focal point is actually going to be this highly specialized YouTube page that includes social conversations. and the city's football stadium.” RNC spokesman James Davis said. the tour was a dream come true. 2012 Republicans won’t drive Web traffic during their upcoming convention to the party’s website. . 27. They got to see TimeWarner Arena.com/gopconvention at some point before the RNC opening on Aug. Facebook and AT&T among others. He sells men's clothes online. That move is one of several the RNC will announce later today as plans shape up for what convention organizers hype as a “convention without walls” involving partnerships with Google. the director of marketing and communications for the Tampa Downtown Partnership said more than 15 tourism and convention groups are setting up their own "Social Media Command Center" for the convention. For Rashon Carraway. They'll use the hashtag "TampaBay" to curate the posts. Donna Chen. Microsoft. “It will not look like a normal YouTube channel. info graphics. but rather to a tricked-out YouTube page customized with social media tools and with live video streaming from the podium. Facebook and AT&T among others. That move is one of several the RNC will announce later today as plans shape up for what convention organizers hype as a “convention without walls” involving partnerships with Google.com/news/stories/0812/79831. and I have always wanted to do. Tampa Bay and Co. And it's just not the parties and protesters who have an interactive strategy. “This will be record levels. tens of billions of connections per day. are known for being tech savvy. Another element of the Conversation Room — a Skype station — points to the RNC’s relationship with Microsoft.” Verizon’s Florida spokesman Chuck Hamby said of the 35.000 journalists will be decamped.” One outside event expected to drive a surge of data usage is an all-day rally at the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome on Aug. where some 15. AT&T and Verizon both have worked in recent months to beef up their cell coverage in anticipation of a tsunami of data traffic during the convention. In addition to millions of dollars in additional hardware installed to handle the traffic. . will allow non-attendees to view convention proceedings and participate in online discussions. Ron Paul (R-Texas. its “official innovation provider. saw huge surges at past conventions and expects to in Tampa. “All of that will be on the app before it goes anywhere else. Verizon. and one at the Tampa Convention Center.” “This will be record levels. to be released next week.” The software company is setting up three spaces for politicians. The app.000 visitors expected in Tampa. “These are going to be very data-savvy users. site of the convention. It’s an opportunity to show what Florida is capable of. starring Rep.) Paul followers. “We’re better than ready in Florida.” Davis said. as well as provide delegates and the media with the schedule of convention events.Google.” Verizon’s Florida spokesman Chuck Hamby said of the 35. is also creating the Tampa2012 smartphone application for the party.” Davis promised. Hamby noted. the “social platform and livestream provider” for the RNC. is also building a backstage “Conversation Room” from which speakers are expected to participate in Google Hangout chats as they prepare for or depart from the podium. or cells on wheels. “We’re excited about it. “These are going to be very data-savvy users. the “official wireless provider” for the RNC.” Past conventions have been record-setting events for local data usage — and that was long before Twitter and Facebook gained their current popularity. too. as well as the Democratic convention in Charlotte next month. Microsoft also will have another Skype setup at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. AT&T reported having transmitted 244 million text messages during the four days of the 2008 DNC in Denver as well as high-water marks for data use in the Minneapolis region during the 2008 RNC there.000 visitors expected in Tampa. The Republican convention coming to Florida is a signature event for the state. they may elect to go to the Conversation Room before the speech and do a Hangout with constituents back in their home state. tens of billions of connections per day. both carriers also will deploy mobile cell towers known as COWS. 26. “Say Congressman So-and-So has a speech.” AT&T Florida President Marshall Criser said. experts or journalists to use high-definition Skype video to conduct interviews with local TV stations around the country that can’t afford to send reporters or crews to Tampa. AT&T. 2012 Republicans call Tampa “a convention without walls.” Microsoft director of campaigns and elections Stan Freck said. in addition to hosting several parties and panel events. activating the faithful and showing how modern the GOP has become during a convention that will be devoid of suspense or drama.” They’re not talking about breaking down partisan barriers that drive people away from politics.” The big tech firms will also be there. as well as mobile devices like iPhones and iPads. and as late as 2004 their primary contribution was Office programs used to run registration and other backoffice functions.” Davis said. “We’re doing a lot of firsts. “Unless you were behind the scenes in years past. There will also be some use of Xbox. including Google. Microsoft is providing customized software that makes it easy to sort delegates by region and demographics and will place 82 multi-touch "magic wall" maps around the halls that can drill down to counties “and let people look at what might happen if this county goes to either candidate.” Democrats say Charlotte will be “the most open and accessible convention in history.” said Kyle Downey. will take center stage and other. they’re hoping that the thousands of politicos attending the party gatherings. Convention technology has been advancing in the young millennium.politico. This year’s conventions will be the first in which newer social media platforms like Twitter.” Freck said “This year. in addition to the Skype stations. “We’re trying to make this convention as dynamic as it is transformative. “Even just since four years ago. press secretary for the Republican convention.cfm?uuid=4F4758A4-EB21-45BB-80B0-B89A2846926A Emily Schultheis August 16. Microsoft first got involved in 2000. This time. you as a delegate weren’t necessarily seeing Microsoft technology as much.” All of this is aimed at ginning up interest. It’s the first time the conventions have really gone digital in a major way. the software giant had touch-screen devices at the RNC and DNC that allowed delegates to explore convention history. will happily engage through social media. Facebook and Twitter. you will. . In 2008.On the Facebook front. and the many more back home watching from afar. “This really will be the first national political convention in the social-networking era.com/printstory. the social media company will have “Photo Spots” at various locations around the RNC where conventioneers can swipe a special badge and then shoot “commemorative” photos that automatically get posted to their Facebook timelines.” POLITICO: Technology Giants to Descend on Conventions http://dyn. but the company declined to discuss specifics as yet. older online tools and sites — like Google and Facebook — have come into their own. the entire universe of social networking has changed — we’re going to take advantage of this. They will have an app built with CNN through which users may declare allegiance to candidates and evangelize to their friends in English or Spanish. Instead. which will feature videos and photos from the convention as it unfolds as well as maps and information about the city of Charlotte.” And while Twitter has yet to announce all of its plans for the confabs. not to mention all the social media activity from convention-goers and speakers themselves. meaning people who aren’t at the convention can watch the proceedings on any device back home. Twitter. “This will also allow people who are not in Tampa or Charlotte to easily experience what it’s like to be at the conventions alongside their Facebook friends.Google is planning a big presence at both conventions and will run a YouTube livestream of all prime-time speeches and events. Democrats released their “DNC 2012” mobile app on Tuesday. the convention committees in each host city also have designated staff to work on digital and social media efforts. both Republicans and Democrats have been developing mobile apps related to the conventions. Google+ and other digital platforms. Republicans plan to have an app available before their Aug. “The VP selection. seeing. 27 convention begins. and others on Facebook.” And leverage it the campaigns will: While many plans are still being finalized.” she said.” said Zac Moffatt. “Any campaign that didn’t leverage that would be doing a disservice to the candidate. taking advantage of the fact that most convention-goers — and many people watching around the country — have smartphones or tablets. And in a move that further reflects the growing dominance of smartphones. convention and three debates are structured events where people will be paying attention. Employees on the ground are also setting up “Photo Spots” that will allow convention-goers to upload pictures directly to their Facebook timelines. . friends.” Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said in a statement. Ensuring social media is fully incorporated into the conventions is something both parties are focused on: In addition to the large digital staffs inside the campaigns of Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama. Facebook. and hearing with family. The tech company also sees one of its major goals at the conventions as “giving delegates and convention attendees easy ways to share what they’re doing. who heads Twitter’s strategic partnerships in Washington. Mindy Finn. digital director for Romney’s campaign. Romney and Obama both plan to spread their messages via YouTube. a series of “Innovation Nation” receptions and are participating in briefings on 2012 and the impact of social media. “What we want to do is work with elected officials and campaigns and journalists and others to make best use of the platform around an event where there’s going to be such an intense focus. said the company will have several representatives on the ground to help the parties and politicians optimize their Twitter use and utilize promoted tweets. Facebook will also have staffers on hand in both cities running a series of workshops and events aimed at helping people use the social-networking platform. They’ll have “Apps & Drinks” events where Facebook developers can demonstrate how election-related apps work. It’s not just parties and tech titans that plan to leverage the rise of smartphones and social media: Tampa and Charlotte will see an unprecedented amount of mobile advertising by outside groups. the group’s senior vice president for public affairs. Features like this will give people not at the convention “almost voyeuristic access to what they’re not seeing on TV in prime time. we’ve used social media as a tool to have a back-and-forth conversation — a twoway conversation with Americans from all over the country. said Nikki Sutton.” One such group is the U.S. the all-encompassing presence of social media at this year’s gatherings may actually help create more buzz about the conventions around the country. when Democrats got the keys to the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte to start transforming it into the convention site. may come from the convention speakers themselves.” And given the generally scripted nature of conventions in recent decades. director for digital media at the convention in Charlotte — and increased social media presence was one of their main demands. “We figure there’s going to be a lot of folks on mobile and tablet in those areas so we’re focusing in. a GOP digital strategist who worked on Rick Perry’s presidential campaign.” said Blain Rethmeier. In January. “And that provides a lot of new opportunities for issue-advocacy groups to reach the people who they most want to be in front of. or shuttling from once place to another. They responded. Travel Association.” Some of the advertising. mobile is one place we’re primarily focused on.” Sutton said. “It’s pretty safe to assume that the majority of delegates and media who are in Tampa and Charlotte will have smartphones. “What will Mike Huckabee do during his speech? What will he do after his speech? What will he do to capitalize on the attention after the speech?” Harris asked. plus live chats or Google+ hangouts to give people a chance to chat with major players. the Democratic convention committee asked supporters to share their ideas on how to engage more people in the convention process.Both parties plan to provide behind-the-scenes video and blog access that will be available for people inside and outside the convention hall. both at the convention and around the country. targeted geographically toward people at the conventions. which is buying mobile search ads around terms like “Tampa hotel” or “Charlotte restaurants” to promote its “Vote Travel” ad campaign. .” said Rob Saliterman. the committee held its first-ever “Tweetup” — an effort to give Twitter followers an inside tour of the venue and the ability to ask questions along the way. who oversees Republican political advertising at Google.” said Vincent Harris. “If people are on the bus waiting to get to the convention center. And last month. Harris said. “From the very beginning. “I think you’re even going to see speakers run things like promoted tweets and promoted stories nationally to help capitalize on attention to the convention. Both conventions are also a rich advertising market for issue-based advocacy groups to deliver their messages to likely voters and political activists — particularly through various forms of mobile advertising. and YouTube. celebrity sightings.” Another major aspect of the social media buzz around the conventions will be the huge volume of tweets and Facebook posts that convention delegates and attendees will share with their friends back home. we’d expect Twitter to play an enormous role in how they are communicating." he said of the plan. “Twitter (and Facebook to a lesser extent) allow the conventions to more quickly go off-script. "The website will have basic information but this is going to be the focal point for online activity. is the convention's "Official Social Platform. But there’s also a downside to all the extra attention. "Why take someone to a website that has stale information on it when you can take them to a dynamic and informative and engaging experience?" "Everything is going to point to the YouTube page during the convention.” he told POLITICO via email.” he said. 2012 The Republican National Convention will organize its digital presence around its YouTube page. primarily — in American politics. the political class turns to Twitter. an unconventional move that reflects the central place of social platforms — Twitter.") The center will include a "conversation room" for members of Congress and other top . told BuzzFeed the RNC is about to roll out a customized YouTube page that will carry both the convention livestream and key videos. even when major prime-time speeches aren’t going on. (Google.com/buzzfeedpolitics/for-a-social-republican-convention-website-is-s August 16. “The vast majority of convention participants are going to have a cellphone in their pocket. under the rubric "Convention Without Walls. which has a far larger general audience. The convention's communications director. is a partner with the RNC and has also built the infrastructure for a digital center. and they’re going to be able to share their experience in an unfiltered way with the rest of the world that’s never been done before. James Davis. Website is Second http://www. after-hours events: all will now have an instant audience of millions.” “Really all the blogosphere and the hyperengaged Twitterverse are going to be talking about is what’s going on at the conventions. which owns YouTube.” Finn said.“When there’s breaking news. BuzzFeed: For a “Social” Republican Convention." The RNC's plan reflects a broader shift in the web toward social platforms like Twitter — which captured the conversation that had taken place on political blogs in earlier cycles — and Facebook. Google.” Harris said. but will also have space for the Twitter conversation around the convention and for social metrics indicating what people are talking about. “Minor gaffes.buzzfeed. rather than its website. whose Google + has failed to emerge a as major social space. said Democratic digital strategist Jeff Jacobs. GOP convention spokesman Downey agreed. “There will be different news unfolding throughout the day … with everyone moving around those events." Davis said. Facebook. the world’s largest social media site is offering nearly identical experiences at each convention. that will explore social media's impact on the 2012 races.’ Co-Host ‘Innovation Nation’ and More at RNC and DNC http://www. Facebook will curate and present what participants are saying publicly on the site about their convention experience as well as what users around the world are sharing. National Journal: Facebook Rolls Out Convention Plans http://www. 2012 Facebook has announced its on-the-ground plans for the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa and the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Facebook has more than six times the number of users it had when Barack Obama was elected president in 2008. The briefings will be live-streamed.charlottemagazine. Facebook and CNN plan to demo a new “I'm Voting” Facebook application for conventioneers. enabling users to commit to voting. You’re encouraged to “like” the U.nationaljournal. Here are some edited highlights from the Facebook announcement:     On the Monday of each convention week (August 27 in Tampa and September 3 in Charlotte).Republicans to host Google Hangouts or participate in Twitter. and beyond. Pledges will be visually displayed on an interactive map of the United States.com/blogs/techdailydose/2012/08/facebook-rolls-out-convention-plans-16 . representatives from Facebook’s Politics and Government Team will participate in a briefing hosted by National Journal and The Atlantic. along with CBS News. Like many large companies and media networks. Davis said. Also during the conventions.com/Blogs/The-DNC-In-The-CLT/August-2012/Facebook-to-Offer-AppsDrinks-Co-host-Innovation-Nation-and-More-at-RNC-and-DNC/ Jarvis Holliday August 16. FB is also a co-sponsor of StartUp RockOn events in both cities to celebrate America’s startup culture. which will be hitting newsstands in a few days.S. Charlotte Magazine: Facebook to Offer ‘Drinks & Apps. and solicit support from friends. In addition to events and a physical presence at the conventions. Developers who have built election-related apps on FB’s platform will be on hand to offer demonstrations of their technologies and engage in discussions. or Skype conversations with constituents. will also release a mobile app soon that." Davis said. The app will serve as a “second screen” for CNN’s America’s Choice 2012 political coverage. "We will also have the social conversation embedded in the app. Politics on Facebook page for regular updates from the conventions. The committee. according to a press release from the convention committee. along with including local information for Tampa visitors. Facebook. will allow people who aren't there to plug into the political conversation. In the September issue of Charlotte magazine. look for my article on the role social media and technology is playing at the Democratic National Convention. now with 955 million users worldwide as of the end of June 2012. members of the Facebook developer community and Facebook product and public policy teams will mix and mingle with journalists and other invited guests at an “Apps & Drinks” event. Facebook will also co-host “Innovation Nation” receptions honoring pro-technology legislators and highlighting the contributions of leading high-tech innovators to the strength of the American economy. campaign trail. endorse specific candidates. Apps & Drinks: Members of Facebook’s developer community and product and public-policy teams will meet with journalists and other invited guests and both conventions. one block from the Tampa Bay Times Forum. and they've put together a checklist of best practices designed to help conventioneers maximize their social efforts.. Briefings: On the Monday of each convention week — Aug. At "Apps & Drinks" events in the convention cities of Tampa. All Facebook: What does Facebook have in store for the Republican.. StartUp RockOn: The social network will co-host StartUp RockOn events at both conventions. 2012 Facebook is putting a physical stamp on its virtual service at the Republican and Democratic party conventions this year. and the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. celebrating the country’s startup culture.com/republican-democratic-conventions_b97478 David Cohen August 16. developers of election apps will show off their creations and talk about the intersection of politics and social media. and CBS News. focusing on the impact of social media on the 2012 political races. Facebook also plans to use the convention to launch its "I'm Voting" app. 3. Users who announce their decision to vote and their candidates of choice will be included in a large.. 6. Politics on Facebook page. The briefings will be live-streamed so that remote viewers can participate.C.Adam Mazmanian August 16. . N. Sept. hosted by the YG Network and its Woman Up! initiative. The social network detailed some of the events and initiatives it will bring to both gatherings in a note on its U.C. Photo Spots: 2012 Republican National Convention attendees will be able to swipe special badges at Facebook Photo Spots and instantly upload commemorative photos to their timelines. The social network's in-house team will offer advice on how to communicate messages from the convention to friends and supporters back home. and Charlotte. in partnership with CNN. 2012 With the 2012 presidential election approaching Nov. stateby-state map designed to give a big picture of the voting intentions of the Facebook population. 27-30. N. Aug. 27 and Sept. At "Photo Spots. and share photos with their friends back home. including a Photo Spot at the Woman Up! Pavilion at the Channelside Bay Plaza. with developers who have built electionrelated applications demonstrating their efforts and discussing the social network’s open graph and app ecosystem..S. where delegates and attendees will be able to find advice on using social media for political outreach." convention goers can have pictures taken and uploaded to their profile pages. Democratic conventions? http://allfacebook. Facebook outlined its plans for the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa. respectively — representatives from Facebook’s Politics & Government Team will be part of briefings hosted by National Journal. Fla. The Atlantic. Fla. 4-6. Innovation Nation: Facebook will co-host receptions at both events honoring pro-technology legislators and highlighting the contributions of leading high-tech innovators to the strength of the American economy. interactive. This specific study though has a flawed data set. convention staff and volunteers.buzzfeed. The Chicago Tribune. and for blue ones in Charlotte. and other attendees easy ways to share what they’re doing and seeing on Facebook. and tickers. .com/vincentharris/romney-not-obama-is-winning-the-social-media-rac Vincent Harris 08/16/2012 A Pew Research Center study released this week spurred a round of inaccurate news stories claiming that the Obama campaign is dominating the Romney campaign online. As part of this effort. Look for the red or blue Facebook T-shirts: Facebook will have experts on hand at both gatherings to help convention attendees. Pew has a stellar reputation both in the academic and media communities. Expanding the sphere of social engagement will also enable people who aren’t attending the conventions to experience what it’s like to be part of the action with their family and friends. one that could hardly have been better designed to tell a positive story for the Obama campaign. volunteers. The Los Angeles Times. assorted dignitaries. and drawing more likes. The app enables Facebook users to commit to vote for and endorse specific candidates and issues. The headline from Pew’s website reads. Convention Checklist: Facebook provided this handy guide to best practices for social networking at the conventions. Politico. Web Campaign. Is Winning The Social Media Race http://www. Not Obama. The Hill. or will you use Facebook to help keep you informed on the goings on? BuzzFeed: Romney. we will curate and present what participants are saying publicly on Facebook about their convention experience. and their commitments will be displayed on their timelines. Look for red Facebook T-shirts in Tampa. journalists. news feeds. Readers: Are you attending either convention. with attendees receiving free Facebook advertising credits. engaging with customers. as well as what Facebook users around the world are sharing publicly about these closely watched quadrennial gatherings. Facebook said in its note detailing the initiatives: We hope to give thousands of delegates. Small business workshops: Facebook and the respective convention host committees organized events aiding small businesses owners with topics such as advertising on the social network. state representatives. The study’s results have been featured over the last 48 hours in CBS News.I’m Voting: Facebook and CNN will demonstrate their new I’m Voting app at both conventions. This will encourage discussion. providing dedicated work spaces. civic participation. “Obama Outpaces Romney in Social Media. one that it has built up with a fantastic assortment of research and information relevant to many fields. and uncover the real conversations happening in and around the big events.” According to Pew the Obama campaign is “outpacing” Romney online because he is posting more content on Twitter/Facebook and because his campaign has more accounts on different social media sites. and more. and county parties with their social networking efforts.” and the findings of the study are summed up in one of the opening sentences of the report: “The Obama campaign is posting almost four times as much content and is active on nearly twice as many platforms. into individual states. Many in the press would use these raw numbers to crown Obama king of Facebook — but in reality this should just be where the analysis begins. If the Obama and Romney campaign’s are using Facebook effectively. Those at the Pew Research Center do themselves a disservice by comparing Twitter. or commented on page’s content over a seven-day period. Not only are they running many different fundraising ads but this week they even begun using “Facebook Offers” to sell yard signs and raise money for the campaign. with the average user spending more than 8 hours a month on the site and more than 40% of American users log in daily. Thursday.3 million for Mitt Romney.” I’ve worked with candidates who have created subpages on websites not easily accessible to any site visitor but that exist to serve as landing pages from online advertising which is also targeted based on a variety of different data points. Internet users have accounts. one that I believe reflects the grassroots enthusiasm around the Paul Ryan announcement. As of August 16th Barack Obama has a whopping 27 million fans of his Facebook page compared to only 4. targeting is everywhere. The Romney campaign has been incredibly aggressive and innovative with their use of Facebook. This means that more people are actually interacting with content on Mitt Romney’s page than Barack Obama’s page despite Obama’s having an almost 7 to 1 advantage in total fans over Romney. Let’s be clear: Twitter is a tool for hyper-engaged politicos and grassroots activists. Facebook’s public “Talking About” figure showcases the number of people interacting with content on a Facebook page.579. The Obama campaign also for example could highlight a certain “constituency group” (a term from the Pew study) based on geography. In reality though. Because of all of this. Every study shows that Facebook dominates where Internet users spend their time and my own campaign experience has proved it can be used as an effective fundraising tool. Now. Obama has fewer people talking about his page.354. etc. Twitter is mentioned frequently in Pew’s summaries as well as in many of the related press stories. Internet users use Twitter and only 8% use it daily. Facebook. The Pew study’s failings reflect a new challenge for those of us who try to understand digital content. This is the sum number of people who have liked. Compare this to Facebook where over 75% of U. For example a first time user to Mitt Romney’s website might see a different message and different content than someone who donated at the site or who signed up for a coalition.There’s no doubt that Facebook is the 800-pound gorilla this election cycle. Mitt Romney had 1. Someone in San Francisco could see “Californians for Obama” where someone in Iowa could see “Farmers for Obama. it’s unfair to visit two websites and make a blanket statement about the effectiveness of their functionality and content. . As campaigns continue to geo-target posts. Facebook allows administrators to target posts by city or state. According to a study released by Pew only a few months ago only 15% of U.S. Researchers and reporters should take down this important note: it’s impossible to know how many posts/updates that pages are actually posting unless you are a page administrator. This is a remarkable figure. Even content on websites can be personalized to a user based on such things as cookies or previous visits to the site. the ability of the press and academic outlets to properly analyze pages will greatly diminish.476 people talking about his page compared with 1.m. If Obama were really “outpacing” Romney online he would need seven times as many people talking about his page than Romney has simply to remain proportional. and YouTube to each other when their scales are an order of magnitude or more apart. shared. A closer look of the pages shows the exact opposite conclusion.550 for President Barack Obama. they’d be posting state specific status updates and graphics/videos.S. As of 12:30 a. These posts would not be public to the average visitor to their pages but the interactions with these posts would count in the overall “talking about” number. academics. age 25 and over. they represent a relatively small portion of campaign fundraising.charlotteobserver.com/pages Click “Create Page” in the upper right corner Select your page type.” This unique opportunity to learn “from the horse’s mouth” was put on in partnership with the DNC Host Committee and the Charlotte Chamber. researchers. and others pontificating on the use of digital media in the 2012 Presidential election should read up and understand what they’re writing about before diving deep into subjects and writing misleading headlines read by millions of people. 2012 Yesterday I took part in the Facebook Small Business Boost event in Charlotte. Journalists. along with scores of other small business owners and social media types. The event was hosted by Extravaganza Depot. who led the discussion and fielded audience questions at the end with help from Adam Conner. Mayor Anthony Foxx introduced presenter Brooke Oberwetter. seek. Step 1 – Create your Facebook business page - Start at http://www. and draw. gender. Here’s an overview of the information provided. where we gathered to hear the presentation. Pew didn’t mention the best evidence that Obama continues to set the pace: His campaign’s sophisticated use of split-tests and micro email campaigns. journalists. And even if he was. I created a mobile e-commerce ad for my web development business targeting people within 50 miles of Charlotte. Twitter.com/2012/08/15/3457035/facebook-for-business-in-4-steps.g. text. DC office. “How to use Facebook to promote your small business. age.html Jennie Wong August 15. who are small business owners and college graduates . It’s just simply not true that Obama is outpacing Mitt Romney online. and ads Ads require a headline. For example.There is one area where the Obama campaign does seem to be outpacing Romney: Email. and Google. “Local Business” Complete the short form of basic info Get your page ready for visitors with images. and image and can be targeted by location. posts. e. While Facebook. and interests. a large share of media attention. and other content such as milestones Step 2 – Connect to your fans - Get people to “like” your business page using your “Build Audience” options such as inviting email contacts. Facebook friends.facebook. and competitors like me might not even know it. Charlotte Observer: Facebook for Business in 4 Steps http://www. and certainly Obama ’08 showed that the right digital campaign tied with the right candidate at the right moment can have its place in history. both out of Facebook’s Washington. There’s no doubt that the Obama campaign’s use of digital remains incredible. com/2012/08/15/paul-ryan-obama-social/ Alex Fitzpatrick August 15. you may want to post at least weekly. such as discount codes.Facebook. apps.com/marketing www.com/business www.Facebook. colleges. 2012 .facebook.Facebook.- There are also additional targeting options available such as people who are connected to certain pages.com/advertising http://developers. or employers Step 3 – Engage your fans with content - Once you’ve succeeded in getting people to “like” your page.com/ Mashable: Paul Ryan Helping Romney Unseat Obama from Digital Throne http://mashable. events. perhaps using the new ability to schedule your posts in advance Post Facebook-exclusive content. people are 4 times more likely to make a purchase when an ad is associated with a friend’s name Once you have a good grasp of the basics.Facebook. be human! Step 4 – Influence the friends of your fans - Once your fans start interacting with your business page. their friends are more likely to check you out According to Facebook. to track your results Emphasize visual content such as photos and videos Be succinct. engage them with quality content Depending on your business. use these links to learn more: www.com/help www. ask questions. cnn.500 a day.com/2012/08/13/politics/what-caught-our-eye/index.000 new followers daily.000+ online donations were made.” Still. “If the internet offers the promise of making campaigns more of a two-way conversation with citizens.html Michelle Jaconi and Mark Preston August 14. in an email to Mashable. Excitement over Ryan has benefitted the Romney campaign’s online fundraising. 100. he has less than a half-million users “talking about” his page: an engagement rate of less than 5%. While Obama’s “likes” count still reigns supreme at just under 28 millon.” said Zac Moffatt. CNN: Ryan Knocks Obama off Perch as Most Talked About on Facebook http://www.5 million people are “talking about” him on the social network: an engagement rate of roughly 37%. “For example.000 likes in four days — 166. “In the first 72 hours over 600. despite the occasional Twitter town hall and Google Hangout.” Is Romney beginning to dethrone Obama as the “digital president. the candidates are not participating. with nearly 4. too. neither Romney nor Obama have been extensively using social media as a place for interacting with voters. the Pew study was based on data gathered throughout two weeks in early June — well before Saturday’s announcement of Paul Ryan as Romney’s vice presidential pick. However.000 people join Paul Ryan on Facebook.President Obama has long been considered the most digitally engaged candidate and president of all time — but is buzz over Paul Ryan helping the Mitt Romney campaign generate more online engagement than the Obama team? A Pew study released Wednesday found that “Barack Obama holds a distinct advantage over Mitt Romney in the way his campaign is using digital technology to communicate directly with voters” on the basis that the Obama campaign is posting four times the amount of content and is active on twice the number of platforms that the Romney team. the campaign raised $7.” said Pew.000 tweets per minute about Ryan being sent during the event.000 donations. That announcement immediately led to a spike in interest on Twitter.000 on Twitter and 100. 2012 . while the Facebook page has more than 666. The Romney campaign had just one retweet during this period — something from Romney’s son Josh. According to Romney’s Press Secretary Andrea Saul. which have seen explosive growth: @PaulRyanVP has gained almost 28. “The numbers speak for themselves. the Romney campaigns’ digital director.” or is the Ryan bump just a product of temporary excitement? Do you want the candidates to engage with their social audience more than they have? Share your thoughts in the comments. Romney’s online profiles have gotten a Ryan boost as well: the announcement pushed Romney’s Facebook page over the 4 million mark and more than 1. A radian6 analysis found that the announcement drove mentions of Romney over those of Obama for the first time in three months: Romney’s digital team simultaneously rolled out new campaign-themed Facebook and Twitter profiles for Ryan. just 16% of Obama’s tweets over the two-week period studied were retweets. People across the country are excited about a Romney – Ryan ticket.4 million online with more than 101. D. Republican Rep. Rep. buzzing about Ryan 1.C. New Hampshire 5. Gov. Maryland 6.84 3. Mitt Romney 3. Paul Ryan. Utah 9. Wisconsin 3.C. According to the exclusive Facebook-CNN Election Talk Meter. What caught our eye? The swing states of Virginia (where Ryan was announced) and New Hampshire were also high on the list: Facebook-CNN talk meter scores 1. Top 10 states + D. Vice President Joe Biden 4.21 2.with the Beltway topping the buzz and his home state of Wisconsin close behind.A seven-term Wisconsin congressman.51 on the same 1-10 scale.Washington (CNN) -.74 For perspective. Minnesota 7. he registered a 6. when Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian in history on July 31. just knocked the president of the United States off of his perch as the most talked-about politician on the largest social media platform in the world. Massachusetts 8. Virginia 4.01 4. in the first 54 hours after being announced as Mitt Romney's vice-presidential running mate. President Barack Obama 4. 2. Vermont 10. Washington. who 54% of the American people were not aware of last week. Paul Ryan 5. sucked up the political oxygen in the social media landscape -. North Carolina . Facebook fan growth at publication time Barack Obama • 27. so Ryan's relative anonymity helped him jump up the talk meter scale.100 fans • Since Saturday: Added 237.03%) Joe Biden • 355.8 million fans currently • Since August 1: Added 150.2%) • Since Saturday: Added 728 fans (+0.3%) • Since Saturday: Added 111.900 fans (+107.900 fans (+0.the Facebook term for social approval which enables people to follow your moves closely and voice their support to their social networks.8%) Paul Ryan • 501.1 million fans currently • Since August 1: Added 906. California .000 fans currently • Since August: Fan page didn't exist • On Saturday: Added 222. Yet the growth wasn't just in buzz. already topping that of the sitting vice president.2%) Mitt Romney • 4.Note: The talk meter calculates a jump in buzz.200 fans (+1. but also in "likes" -.000 fans (+0.000 fans currently • Since August 1: Added 4.5%) • Since Saturday: Added 9.400 fans (+2. Joe Biden.600 fans (+28. Ryan's new fan page has grown from zero to more than half a million fans.1%) Fans by state Barack Obama 1. New York 3. North Carolina 5. New York 3. Texas 2. Florida 4. not politics. Texas 5. California 2. Florida 5. California 3. Florida 4. Ohio Paul Ryan 1. Texas 2. Florida 3.something that the insights from Facebook reveal also exist online. Georgia 5. Wisconsin We often say we write about demographics.2. California 4. Texas 4. Illinois Joe Biden 1. Thus it comes as no surprise that we are once again writing about the gender gap and the age gap in this election -. Illinois Mitt Romney 1. Gender and age breakdown of Facebook fans . webpronews.Barack Obama Average age: 28 Male: 51% Female: 49% Joe Biden Average age: 35 Male: 51% Female: 49% Mitt Romney Average age: 46 Male: 50% Female: 50% Paul Ryan VP Average age: 43 Male: 63% Female: 37% How this translates to the election will be something we keep our eye on from now until November. called for drastic changes in entitlement spending – most notably a gigantic shift in Medicare which would introduce a voucher program for seniors.com/who-is-paul-ryan-lets-check-his-facebook-page-2012-08 Josh Wolford August 13. 2012 Over the weekend.more than half the U. In 2008. population. Ryan’s proposals generated controversy then. derided by some and lauded by others.S. His plan. and continued to do so through midterm elections . WebProNews: Who is Paul Ryan? Let’s Check His Facebook Page http://www. It's staggering when you put it in historical perspective: Today there are 160 million monthly active users on Facebook in the United States -. there were 35 million monthly active users. presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney finally ended all the speculation and picked Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan to join him on the ticket. Ryan quickly made a name for himself in Washington. As the author of “The Path to Prosperity” (aka the Ryan budget) back in 2008. Catch my drift? But before all of that gets into full swing. Monty Python’s Flying Circus He also lists a Teddy Roosevelt quote as his favorite quotation: “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena. Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand. at the worst. with economic ideas that would devastate the poor and elderly. You’ll hear that he wants to end Medicare as we know it.” Both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have already started in on the campaign on Facebook. because there is no effort without error or shortcoming. You’ll hear that he’s bold.” as both sides are paying a lot of attention to building a presence. A “Paul Ryan VP” page has already been set up. and reading Interests: economics.000 likes. the Paul Ryan as Congressman page that has plenty of info on the Vice Presidential nominee. Romney: Winning the War of Social Engagement http://www. in the end. knows.forbes. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Hayek. You’ll hear that he’s a rising star. skiing. if he fails. and the future of the Republican party. and who. the great devotions. at the best. The Way the World Works – Jude Wanniski Favorite Music: Led Zeppelin. this is probably the first campaign that could be called a true “social media campaign. In the coming weeks. who strives valiantly. who spends himself for a worthy cause.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/08/13/obama-vs-romney-winning-the-war-of-socialengagement/ . hunting. Lewis.S. Let’s take a look at the man who could be VP. Ryan introduced a new version of his budget. at least he fails while daring greatly. who. and more Favorite Movies: The Good. Forbes: Obama vs.. The Road to Serfdom – F. whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood. a visionary. according to his Facebook about page. Earlier this year. bowhunting. Activities: Playing with my kids. Hank Williams. and brave enough to stand up for controversial ideas that he feels are right. Metallica. Beethoven. Favorite TV Shows: The Prisoner. so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat. who errs and comes up short again and again. Jr. you’re likely to hear a lot about Paul Ryan – positive from one side and negative from the other. Although President Obama utilized Facebook to win in 2008. fishing. mountain biking.A. let’s look at the fluffier side of Paul Ryan – his Facebook info. adding the phrase “A Blueprint for American Renewal” to the plan. Grateful Dead. The Bad and The Ugly. and – most of all – my family Favorite Books: Mere Christianity & The Screwtape Letters – C. and has garnered over 430. You’ll hear that he’s a radical. mountain climbing Colorado Fourteeners. the triumph of high achievement. But it’s his older page. but who knows the great enthusiasms.and beyond. while 38% of Romney’s audience is interacting with that candidate’s post on an average rolling daily basis. Obama had 1. liking. only 16% of people who have Liked a Facebook page will see any given story posted on that page.000 users with each post. On a daily basis. How is this possible? Simply speaking. they’re not effectively leveraging their social audiences.000 people. illustrate those differences: On his three posts.519 shares. and their ability to amplify their messages through social media.6 million for Mitt Romney.489 comments.Jason Beckerman August 13. Over 27 million people currently like the president’s Facebook page. 2012 Election Day 2012 looms less than 100 days away. influence undecided voters. higher reach. However. on the other hand.38 million people per story while Romney is capable of reaching just 416. As a result. content is driving Romney’s performance: . thus creating amplification. At first glance. Three posts from each candidate.209. dwarfs Obama on activity with 485. Only 4% of Obama’s audience is interacting with his content. The President still has a huge and active community nearly four years after his history-making White House run. On the other hand. on average just 3% of users ever opt to unlike it. in some ways Romney is out-communicating a man with 27 million fans. compared to just 2. Facebook made a fundamental switch in the way it measures activity when it launched the People Talking About This (PTAT) score. and both presidential candidates are looking for any effective weapon to add to their arsenal as they try to influence voters. At the most simplistic level – number of fans – the incumbent has a sizable advantage. That is a poor showing for a public figure with such a large following. once someone likes a Facebook page. 38. However.285 comments. or sharing content from their news feeds.452 Facebook users talking about him. With such a stark difference in engagement. Obama racked up 128.000 fans. With just 10% of the fan base. Romney’s fans are 65% more engaged than Obama’s.000. This is a delta of over 300. it would seem that Obama is winning the social arms race.049 likes. After all. and 88. Neither number is small. displayed below. 18. and 63. In July 2012. and user actions. an analysis of Barack Obama’s and Mitt Romney’s Facebook pages reveals that neither is using social media to its full potential to excite his base. Romney. because of Facebook’s changes. but Obama’s audience dwarfs Romney’s in size. engagement is all about content and there are stark differences in the two candidates’ content strategies.119 likes. rally committed voters and attract new constituents. It’s Not Audience Size That Matters: The Battle Is For Engagement Things have really changed since the 2008 election because of changes in the way that Facebook presents content to its users. Obama has a typical reach of roughly 4.280 shares. Team Romney should be asking itself why it’s not investing to acquire a larger base on the most powerful social platform on the Internet. That amplification drives additional organic page growth. but he’s not leveraging it as effectively as he could be. While both campaigns spend ever-increasing amounts on broadcast advertising.000 in PTAT while there is a delta of 23. Romney (and his much smaller audience) has a PTAT score of 992. PTAT is a measure of how many users are commenting. the on-going free media opportunities those audiences provide. 000. Since his user engagement is so high. but follow explicit instructions for what Romney wants his users to do to propel his message to even more people. By combining this strategy with his existing engagement strategies. They need to consume content within the scroll of the Facebook newsfeed if they are going to engage further. Romney Must Drive Audience Growth Romney’s big focus needs to be on audience acquisition. Romney is obviously creating specific content with bright call to actions for his Facebook presence. despite a relative lack of engagement. which would allow him to lay claim to being the winner of the war for engagement. Romney should be looking for new fans who are just as engaged and passionate as his existing base. Romney can calculate the overall ROI of his audience acquisition campaigns and continue to drive cost effective reach into battleground states where he might currently be lacking the user base to compete effectively Much Room For Improvement as Election Day Approaches While both candidates have an active presence in social.000. With the right analytics tools. As an example.000 users.• Obama uses very complex talking points that are heavy on text and numbers. By leveraging paid amplification. With a constant stream of branded messages on Facebook. • Obama seems to use the same content that he would post on his blog or website. Obama and his team can guarantee that his content will reach all 27. It’s clear that while Obama is winning the arms race for the largest audience. given the size of his audience. in the right age ranges. and re-activate the audience which helped propel Obama to the presidency four years ago. it is Obama’s game to lose. This allows users to not only consume the content. . which subsequently raises a PTAT score for a branded page. neither are taking full advantage of the audiences they have. he needs to devote budget to social advertising spend on Facebook. Since each story on Obama’s timeline is reaching an estimated 16% of his total audience. in the most important battle ground states. Romney could increase his PTAT score far beyond what Obama is currently reporting. That is a much more powerful tactic than TV advertising. On the other hand. His campaign should work with industry experts to develop a user acquisition strategy that can be crafted to deliver the right users. Never before in the history of the world have politicians been able to rally their constituents in a hyper-targeted fashion. Obama could have amplified this message to every single woman who likes his Facebook page. So. By turning on Sponsored Story amplification.000 users who like his Facebook Page. and it can be targeted to specific pools of users to drive engagement. what he needs now is to expand his reach. what should the war plan be for each candidate? Obama Must Drive Engagement In order to change the game. and never has the production of content to reach those users been so cheap. the campaign post below reached just four million users’ news feeds. while Romney calls out his points in very simple sentences. Romney is far and away winning the war on engagement. user attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Obama’s message is most likely being lost on the vast majority of his fans due to complexity of messaging. There is a new battleground in this 2012 election and the biggest question is who will take the steps to win this war over the coming months by engaging with social advertising technology vendors to help these candidates drive intelligent consumer activation strategies. So far. Sponsored Stories are a perfect method for driving targeted reach into his 27. featuring Budget Committee Chairman Ryan.S. as a member of the Senate. and it had more than 409. He is an accomplished public servant and a leading voice on the most pressing issues facing our country.    A link to the quick reaction from the Obama Truth Team in the form of an infographic. The Paul Ryan VP is also being promoted via Facebook ads. If we get this wrong.” Video from the House Republican “Young Guns” visit to Facebook headquarters last September. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). I look forward to working closely with a Romney-Ryan administration to restore fiscal sanity and enact pro-growth policies to create jobs. congratulating Ryan: Mitt Romney has made a great choice in Paul Ryan. Senate candidate who will add to the momentum. If we don’t like the direction that . that’s not what we do. and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy.” Links to reactions from former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum and former Wisconsin Gov. Fiscal sanity is back! Looking forward to helping the Romney-Ryan ticket win in November!. with Santorum posting. As the chairman of the Romney campaign in Ohio. but also help pull in votes for the Romney/Ryan team. our best days will be behind us. not take from it. Ryan said during the event: The reason I’m optimistic is this is a very precarious time in this country. 2012 Rep. who was announced as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s running mate Saturday. Shortly thereafter. We see it as our obligation. is no stranger to Facebook. And the U. We fix these problems. We are really in a moment unlike others we’ve seen before. Thompson reacting to Ryan’s nomination. and the social network exploded with activity upon the revealing of the vice presidential nominee. I am the only candidate who will not only win the Senate seat. “Gov. Jane and I wish Paul and Janna and their kids the very best. We need a U. a reported finalist for the VP nomination.S. But that not who we are. “We must surround the Romney/Ryan ticket with the strongest possible candidates on the ballot. posted above.All Facebook: Republican VP Nominee Paul Ryan No Stranger to Facebook http://allfacebook. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. I look forward to working with Paul to ensure that the Romney-Ryan ticket carries Ohio and is victorious in November. Romney has made a great VP pick. including:   A link to the photo from Romney’s page.000 likes at the time of this post.com/paul-ryan-nominated-republican-vp_b97005 David Cohen August 13.). The photo below was posted on Romney’s Facebook page immediately after the rally in Virginia where the announcement was made Saturday morning. A link to a post on the Facebook page of Sen. including sponsored stories in users’ mobile news feeds. Paul is one of my best friends in Congress and someone I have worked closely with as a former colleague on the House Ways & Means Committee. Most important.” and Thompson posting. Politics on Facebook page has been abuzz with Ryan-related activity. Paul Ryan (R-Wis. the Paul Ryan VP Facebook page made its debut. “Five Things You Need to Know About Mitt Romney’s VP Pick. and Republican Senate candidate Tommy G. "For a presidential candidate. Pinterest and Instagram to reach potential supporters. CEO of social media marketing firm Likeable Media.000 — has mastered the technique of merging politics and the presidents personal life. And that is why at the end of the day. "But more important than speed is authenticity and personality. particularly its skilled use of social media. We believe we need to have a safety net to help people who cannot help themselves. So you can choose.m. A fresh Facebook page. says Kerpen. There are tweets from the campaign staff. Twitter and Facebook updates are just two elements in an increasingly complex and crowded social media strategy for those seeking the presidency. "Mitt's VP app" updated around 7 a. signed with the initials "bo. we feel morally obliged to give you. with savvy candidates also tapping into other areas such as LinkedIn. our culture and society’s antibodies are going to kick in. says Kerpen. the duo shared their news via a televised event in Norfolk. as well as from the president himself. which we don’t. A little after 9 a." .Washington is headed. ET with word that Ryan had been selected. also appeared early Saturday. to inform and galvanize supporters.. the people.m. Less than an hour later. but to really be successful. people are taking charge.com/news/politics/story/2012-08-12/romney-ryan-social-media/56987408/1 Laura Petrecca August 12. and they want to do something about it. Romney tweeted that Ryan was his choice. an alternative. But we don’t want to convert that safety net into a hammock that lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency because that drains them of their own incentive and will to make the most of their lives. President Obama's team was lauded for its innovative use of Internet outreach. is reclaim that American idea of equal opportunity and upward mobility. they’re getting involved. What I see happening in this country is that through new media. "Speed is important of course.5 million followers vs. they really should be everywhere people are. and we’ll fix this before we have a real debt crisis. 2012 Traditional media took a backseat to the digital domain on Saturday with Mitt Romney's camp announcing the presidential candidate's running mate — Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan — via Twitter. At 7:43 a.usatoday. what we are aspiring to do. he says. conversational style. Romney's nearly 826.m. under the "Paul Ryan VP" moniker.. We’ve got to kick this thing upstairs so that people can choose. Facebook and a "VP app" before sharing the news on TV. Ryan sent out his first tweet from a new "PaulRyanVP" Twitter profile saying that he was "honored" to join Romney's team. Four years ago. Va. You’d Better Be on Social Media http://usatoday30. to help people who are down on their luck get back on their feet." he says. candidates need to spread their messages through an open. What we are trying to do. before we have a real European situation on our hands." The official Obama Twitter feed — which has nearly 18.." says Dave Kerpen. Now. Updates on sites such as Twitter and Facebook are now expected. USA Today: Running for the Presidency. Constituents want news and information quickly. says Sullivan.politico." On Saturday. mountain biking. Information moves quickly. 9. The Bad and The Ugly and Monty Python and the Holy Grail)." Yet. It lists his favorite movies (The Good.com/news/stories/0812/79619. is particularly important during a time when there are so many negative political ads . "It's very hard to control these things. Yet. — bo. as well as personal interests." she says." With social media updates. skiing and reading. So proud. 2011 . on Aug. "And with all the rhetoric being spewed. bow hunting. she says. politicians have an "opportunity to come across in a much more friendly way and a much more appealing way. Romney did let some users down. women's soccer team for a third straight Olympic gold. the Obama Twitter feed tried boost his re-election effort by posting several negative updates about Ryan. a marketing strategy firm that works with brands and political campaigns. pointing out the social media efforts as well as the quick posting of web sites such as RomneyRyan.html Steve Freiss August 11." he says. Twitter users griped that they weren't the first to know. which was last updated Aug.For instance. Yet. 5. Republican candidates are often criticized for being "older and out of touch." she says. As for the new vice presidential candidate. his existing Facebook page." he says. when unofficial news began to leak late the night before the formal announcement. Beethoven and Hank Williams Jr. But when he does. showcases many of his interests. Romney's campaign is also showing its social media savvy. But the Romney camp showed it was "relevant" and "current" with its prepared efforts to get the word out about Ryan. "People want to know that their candidates aren't robots. preferred music (Led Zeppelin." POLITICO: Paul Ryan VP Pick Adds Social Media Muscle http://www.S. Grateful Dead. and sometimes it can get outside of a candidate's command. That's the challenging part about using social media. Obama tweeted: "Congrats to the U. While personal information about Ryan is limited on the new Facebook VP page. says Jordan Rednor.com. says digital and traditional media advertising expert Barbara Sullivan. Romney representatives didn't reply to e-mail requests for comment. "People want to know who the candidate is. be the first to find out with Mitt's VP app. Ryan is active on Twitter and Facebook and has a Youtube page that is filled with videos of his media appearances.) and favored activities (such as playing with his kids.) Having an outlet to express political opinions. partner at Be A Protagonist. he has a robust social media presence. Metallica. it's really hard to see the personality of the candidate. Promotions for his app said "there's no telling when Mitt will choose his VP. Rob+ Portman. “Ryan's connection to this audience may be an asset to the Romney campaign.000 by early Saturday afternoon. Paul Ryan — he inherited a robust. when he expressed remorse regarding the Sikh massacre in his home state of Wisconsin. That. He’s a star politician who had more Twitter followers before Saturday’s announcement than Republican House Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va. both of which the Romney team rolled out this morning. Brown said. it’s going to explode.’ But with Ryan. During his 16-minute rollout speech in Norfolk. Romney’s social media profile is broad but not deep.com. Engagement is critical to having a following that can be swayed to act on your behalf. Senate candidate Ted Cruz’s upset victory in the Texas Republican primary earlier this month.Mitt Romney didn’t just get a running mate in Rep. “The tea party in its many forms has been rather successful in using social media to raise awareness and mobilize followers. “It kicks up excitement from the social media point of view.000 fans. Ryan’s Facebook page — which already boasted more than 100. the firm that managed U. however.000 more. It wouldn’t be there.” One reason Ryan has such solid social media standings is that he uses the technology effectively.) is an anomaly in the House. you wouldn’t have the reaction you’re having this morning. “With Romney. ‘OK. Ryan (R-Wis.000 on Twitter — but the enthusiasm and engagement expected from such a large audience was muted. so it is more likely Ryan’s campaign tweeting will mainly be found in the new handle @PaulRyanVP and the PaulRyanVP Facebook page.” said Houston-based tea party activist David Jennings of the blog BigJollyPolitics. particularly among conservatives that have been critical of his candidacy thus far. a digital media strategist with Harris Media LLC. on Saturday. engaged social media apparatus that will be critical to volunteerism and conservative voter turnout. The Twitter account gained more .” Brown said. 5. The tea party groups who are crucial to the GOP’s chances may be some of the most active. Facebook about him once in a while. Lawmakers are careful not to use their official Twitter and Facebook accounts to campaign. “He has utilized YouTube to push his Path to Prosperity budget. Ryan’s official Facebook page was growing so fast that it was on track to surpass Cantor’s Facebook following of 144. digital communications professor at Syracuse University's iSchool. say. said Amy Brown. By contrast. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has just 31. we have to tweet about him once in a while. Va. “His youth and continued straight talk on social media will be very successful. and almost any other congressional figure save current House Speaker John Boehner and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.” said Anthony Rotolo.000 fans. savvy online denizens in American politics. meaning he has a lot of followers — almost 4 million on Facebook and more than 800. he posts personal pictures on Facebook of his turkey hunting.” Rotolo pointed out that Ryan hadn’t tweeted since Aug. conservatives on social media were like. could have been because he was in the final stages of being vetted.S. he uses hashtags like #FullRepeal and uses the twitter handles of Speaker Boehner and Harry Reid to debate the issues.” That influence is only bound to grow in the coming weeks. If it was *Ohio Sen.).. added 6. In addition. Ryan is someone who can possibly bring in the youth vote.m. not all the app downloaders received that notice. some downloaders received the notification at about 7 a.” said Dany Gaspar. more than eight hours after the news media had confirmed it was Ryan. Publicists for both of those sites either declined to discuss that or did not respond to requests for comment.000 followers in its first three hours. the Facebook page was adding more than 300 new fans a minute by noon. which will send users a push notification when the candidate makes his VP announcement. Romney’s campaign hawked the Mitt’s VP smartphone application. Some got the text in the middle of the night before the rollout.” The Ryan pick did point up a bit of a social media failure for Romney. as well as the advertising push surrounding it. POLITICO: Mitt Romney Makes Most of VP App http://dyn. and as of an hour after Romney himself issued a press release naming Ryan.” Moffatt said.-based crisis management firm. 2012 Want to be one of the first to find out the identity of Mitt Romney’s running mate? You can by downloading a specialized app — and the Romney campaign really wants you to.” . Other folks who may have known: The Republican teams at Google and Facebook who help the campaigns place and create their ads.than 44. In the process. too. so check back often and enable push notifications to get the exciting news before the press and just about everyone else (except maybe Ann). Eastern time.C. promising to deliver the identity of his running mate first. Social media is the new grassroots forum in overall society and Paul Ryan has been in the forefront of that. it could be a big new source of voter information for the campaign. Romney’s campaign has launched a major online effort to promote and advertise its “Mitt’s VP” app. “It's already paying dividends and it hasn't even been the 24-hour cycle yet.politico. “Relative to our other advertising we’ve seen. ZIP code and phone number when they sign up. it’s a huge engagement rate. “The downloads and engagement have exceeded our expectations. “Romney’s team saw how much that what Barack Obama did was able to propel the youth vote through social media. Since users have to share their email address.com/printstory.Com. director of digital strategy for Levick Strategic Communications. the app still showed a blurry photo of Romney with the tease: “Who will be Mitt’s VP? There’s no telling when the announcement will be. a D. some received it days later and some never received it at all.cfm?uuid=E4ACDA9C-C40C-4C93-AA60-3AE24CA2A8DD Emily Schultheis August 9. said the app. when it promised to send text messages breaking the news of his vice presidential pick to people who gave their phone number.” The Obama campaign had a similar snafu in 2008. A Google search for “Romney veep” already yielded a paid link to “We’re For Romney Ryan” that leads to MittRomney. have gotten a great response so far. who runs digital operations for the Romney campaign. For weeks. In the end. Zac Moffatt. the campaign is capitalizing on the endless buzz surrounding some of the VP prospects to boost its digital outreach. The Facebook ad includes a photo of smartphones that have the VP app open and allows users to click a link to download the app and also to “like” or comment on the story on Facebook.The Romney campaign’s VP app is reminiscent of the way President Barack Obama announced Joe Biden as his running mate via text message four years ago. It’s the latest in a string of mobile apps released by the parties and campaigns: the Obama campaign and the Democratic convention have both released apps. or the names of several VP short-listers. On Twitter. Bob McDonnell. the first result they’ll see is a promoted link from the campaign. Facebook. The campaign is also advertising the app through Apple’s iAds. advertising on a mobile platform is “the most logical place for them to make that transition” to downloading the mobile app. The app is getting lots of promotion from Romneyland. and the Republican convention is also planning to release one. This type of advertising is called mobile app extensions because it allows direct download of an app from the promoted ad. Marco Rubio. . The promoted tweet shows up when users are searching for Tim Pawlenty. with a link to the site for the app. but the campaign’s advertising efforts around it are targeted to exploit the spurt in online attention surrounding a handful of politicians viewed as VP shortlisters.” a tweet bought by the Romney camp says. Selected users who open their Facebook app on a mobile phone will see a “sponsored” story in their news feed from the Romney campaign. which is available on iPhones and Androids. A Romney campaign declined to discuss its targeting strategy when asked by POLITICO if they were advertising around any other politicians’ names. which places the ads on other iPhone apps. Many of the campaign’s ad efforts are specifically geared toward mobile users. The campaign launched the VP app. given the audience of the app. is a tool the Romney campaign has been using to promote the VP app specifically. and another link that takes users to the donations landing page on the Romney campaign website. When users search for Romney’s name. Since so many Romney supporters are already searching for political information on their mobile phones. along with a link that directs users to either the iTunes App Store on iPhones or Google Play on Android phones. on Google on their iPhones or Androids. it also has a link to share thoughts on the pick via social media. “Who Will Be Mitt’s VP? Download Mitt’s VP App & Be the First to Know!” the ad’s text says. Bobby Jindal and Chris Christie. In addition to alerting users when Romney’s running mate is chosen. late last month. Rob Portman. the campaign is using promoted tweets that show up when users search for the names of VP prospects. Moffatt said. “#MittVP — download the app and you’ll get the news first when the VP is chosen. also focused specifically on the VP app. too. Paul Ryan. a technology analyst with Endpoint Technologies. You can then be added to a caller database. this sharing has become a notch more like selling out your friends. Supporters earn badges and points as they flag these friends. 'With political information.foxnews. noted Roger Kay. sharing has become a notch more like selling out your friends. Social Organizing lets them connect to Facebook and locates friends. to gather voter data in 2008. city and state -.' .Fox News: New Facebook Tool May Turn Friends Into Enemies http://www. told FoxNews. The supporter can then focus attention on calling or e-mailing only the 200 friends who still need persuasion. For example. a new tool developed by Democratic activist group NGP VAN.” Imagine having a friend on Facebook who matches up your privately shared data to a public voting record -then flags you for more frequent campaign calls and contacts.com the company takes privacy concerns seriously. supporters log in at a campaign site. Using it. . based on voting record. President Obama tapped this company." He explained that the app only uses certain pieces of Facebook data -. Many users think the information they post to Facebook cannot legally or ethically leave the site’s confines.to match people with voter records. 2012 Here’s one you may not “like. "Our application is in full compliance with the Facebook policy. the CEO of NGP VAN. and we take their policy and privacy seriously. “*Facebook+ was born on the idea of taking information about people and making it available to others … With political information. Stu Trevelyan. which describes itself as “the leading technology provider to Democratic and progressive campaigns and organizations” and only works with the Democratic Party. pinged for ads and harassed during the entire election. last name.com. but the tool might know that 300 of those friends are already identified as donors or loyal to the campaign.com/tech/2012/08/02/new-facebook-tool-may-turn-friends-into-enemies-fordemocratic-cause/ John Brandon August 8. The supporter can then choose the relationship for those friends. The upcoming presidential campaigns are eager to get their hands on the treasure trove of voter data that 900 million users have voluntarily posted on Facebook. Enter Social Organizing.Technology analyst Roger Kay To use the tool.first name. They may be in for a surprise. your friends can log in to Facebook and tell the service about you. such as co-worker or business partner. a supporter might have 500 friends. That’s exactly what the Democratic party is doing. The data is then matched to voter records.” Kay told FoxNews. this “friend” is using the relationship for political gain. “Done well it could increase dramatically the effectiveness of campaigns. Environment. Iran. for example. “Social sharing became one step more sinister when commercial activity was introduced. he said. when you friend someone on Facebook. He says Facebook users can easily turn off private information such as data of birth or the city where you live. The expert advice: First. and yet you might have any knowledge that this social mining is happening. you are giving them permission to use a tool like Social Organizing and that you might start getting more campaign calls. Health Care. Some users might start turning off more private info.com. Social Security. Education. Government Spending. “It's perfectly legal and not even immoral. and Taxes. Our hope is that you take time to explore a few of the 18 most important issues of the election: Abortion.com. Done poorly this could cause people to abandon Facebook in massive numbers. Immigration. But those are not the friends you want. Medicare. Jobs. They might not be aware that. not realizing that they have been giving campaigns fodder for the election.com/blogs/post-politics/post/introducing-the-issueengine/2012/08/07/0bdfddf0-e09b-11e1-a421-8bf0f0e5aa11_blog. 2012 Which presidential candidate do you agree with on the issues most important to you? The Issue Engine is a place to learn where the presidential candidates stand and choose which candidate better represents your views. Same-sex Marriage. I expect the result will likely be someplace in the middle. a consumer analyst. Afghanistan." Some experts argue the tool might stretch or even violate those policies. with a name lookup" for example. . Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes declined to comment on the service. Rob Enderle. Energy. says most people don’t even know that their Facebook can be mined in this way.” he said. “Anyone can take information and match it with public information and sell the result to someone else. But the social network’s platform policy does explain what information can be shared by applications: “A user's friends' data can only be used in the context of the user's experience on your application.” Enderle says this could be a polarizing problem for Facebook.” Enderle told FoxNews. Foreign Policy.“The Facebook data just makes that process of identifying their friends on the voter file quicker. head to Facebook’s privacy controls and make sure of how much you’re sharing. and with whom.” Washington Post: Introducing the Issue Engine http://www. but this can also be accomplished without Facebook.” Kay told FoxNews. and it is a common practice for campaigns to mine this data. Gun Control. “Facebook has a terrible record on privacy. the product of having to satisfy shareholders with respect to revenue generation. Military Spending. Economy. Trevelyan said the Social Organizing tool uses accepted practices: The voter record is public for each state.html Ryan Kellett and Jeremy Bowers August 7.washingtonpost. In a way. Then choose your friends wisely. the Washington Post will release access to the API and distribute the code that powers the Issue Engine. Later this week. This is because he gives more public speeches and the White House distributes his remarks more frequently. we have ingested 568 transcripts. This is similar to the various other actions you might see in your news feed like the “listen” for Spotify or “read” in the WP Social Reader. we prompt you to log in to Facebook and connect with our app. you post your endorsement (and your optional reasoning behind your endorsement) on your Facebook wall according to your privacy settings. Developer Leslie Passante created a custom Facebook OpenGraph“action for this to allow readers to “endorse” a candidate. By clicking on our endorse button. send us e-mail at opensource@washingtonpost. Many of these are from speeches given by the two candidates. You might notice that Obama has far more remarks than Romney. Issue Engine was built by: . These polls show who Americans trust more to do a better job on each issue.226 statements and Romney has 985. Finally. We looked for remarks going back to Jan. we help you track your endorsements on the issues. Until then. 2010. If you explain your reasoning in a comment.usually a paragraph -. By connecting to the app and endorsing. Poll results are from Post-ABC polls among registered voters unless otherwise noted. and date by rolling over each graph. So far. Take care in choosing your privacy settings. we present statements from President Obama and Mitt Romney. we encourage readers to endorse a candidate using Facebook. we also post a copy of your reasoning with your name and Facebook photo to the Issue Engine page for that issue. After we’ve saved a transcript. we also display who among your friends has endorsed a candidate. we map these Trove concepts and categories to a set of campaign issues that editors believe are crucial to the election. The Issue Engine scrapes transcripts from the candidate’s Web pages. Obama has had 28 statements fact checked and Romney has had 36. Candidate statements: As part of learning about the candidates. which can be adjusted for the entire app when you connect and on individual posts after you have posted your endorsement. only about half of the statements we’ve ingested do. Also note that we have included our curated Fact Checker statements and their corresponding Pinocchios. Where you stand: On the right side. 17. See the specific title of the poll. These are revealed according to your default privacy settings in Facebook. For statements that have not been fact checked. We also give you national polling data to help compare where you stand to America at large. which are broken into 12. Also note that many statements made by the president and the former governor don’t apply to one of our campaign issues.com. So far.211 statement chunks. you may request a fact check. You’ll also notice that once you’re logged-in. Obama has 11. At launch. percentages. we break it down into statements -.and then feed those statements into Washington Post Lab’s Trove personalized news service to apply concepts and categories.Here is a breakdown of the moving parts that go into Issue Engine: Facebook endorsements: After learning about the positions. if you have questions about how the Issue Engine works. the Democrat who the GOP winner will face this fall. as Missourians head to the polls.493 likes (and 144 people liked a picture saying they voted for Akin).S. Louis businessman John Brunner is ahead. Todd Akin. Now everyone declares their ballot box decisions on Facebook. former Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman and U. Embedded developer Sarah Sampsel.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/missourians-declare-political-supporton-facebook-with-brunner-in-lead/article_422316c4-e0ce-11e1-b9b8-0019bb30f31a. Akin had 14.” Even Abe Lincoln would often refer to his listeners that way. But will those "likes" translate to victory? We'll find out tonight. Today.S. has 10. St. Pistor August 7. in the age of Facebook. Social media sites like Facebook are a growing campaign tool where campaigns can target supporters and follow up with them to make sure they voted (the most important part of the electoral process). politicians have used the phrase “My friends.stltoday. National Digital Editor Leslie Passante. Embedded developer Jeremy Bowers.S.C. the three Republican candidates for the U.html Nicholas J. We are also in the midst of what the most intensely fought digital campaign in history. but Akin has closed the gap (but not on Facebook). that familiarity obviously takes on a whole new set of references.and then to tell their friends who they voted for. and images reminding supporters to vote -. (Claire McCaskill.com/2012/08/06/2012-election-big-data-politics/ Adam Hanft August 6. of friends of friends.) Traditional polls have shown Brunner ahead. Brunner had 22. Senate are mobilizing their supporters on Facebook. and asking supporters to do the same. Rep. Design Director St. Today.328 likes (252 people liked a picture saying they voted for Brunner).701 likes. 2012 For generations. 2012 Yard signs are so 1980s.913 likes. More people "like" John Brunner on Facebook than his two opponents. And if "likes" are an informal poll of online activism. We are in the world of friends. Brunner's Facebook page includes a video message from the candidate. and John Brunner is out in front. of one-and-two-degree connections. Steelman had 6. Todd Akin's page includes pictures of the candidate voting. Facebook's U. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missourians Declare Political Support on Facebook with Brunner in Lead http://www. As of this afternoon. The 2008 election cycle will seem quaintly . Venture Beat: The 2012 Election: Where Big Data Meets Politics http://venturebeat. Sarah Steelman prominently features her endorsement from Sarah Palin. Politics page featured the race today.Ryan Kellett. linkages and preferences is where the major candidates will truly demonstrate their digital props. Consider that ObamaForAmerica. while the Romney team has had to construct a digital team from scratch. And while the president’s poll numbers have waxed and waned. including the value of time.com – the social offshoot of Obama for America. (We’ll soon see how his executive chops manifest themselves in building an innovative and flexible digital organization. and his messaging. someone with a low overall score might be incredibly influential in the world of Ohio parents of autistic . 10 terabytes can hold the entire Library of Congress.” rolling out buzzwords like “data harmonization. Facebook usage was just 5% of what it is today. Consider that in 2008. and get-out-the-vote efforts were dazzling in comparison to McCain’s dial-up era lameness. targeting. and CNN postulates that “Obama’s data-crunching prowess may get him re-elected. a candidate whose modernity made him most likely to succeed at the complex economic challenges we faced. online phone banking. to understand the nuances of your social graph. his Facebook page has exploded nearly six fold since he was elected. There is no question that Obama out-digitized McCain in the last cycle – he out-raised him 3-to-1. to understand what you care about and how to motivate you. gender. although the president has some advantages. Complex algorithms will need to be written to track and analyze how often you communicate with some friends versus others. some have said they’ve done this to the point of backfire. if you regularly visit job sites (you care about employment). The Guardian has celebrated “Obama’s Digital Wizards”. had collected an impressive 13 million addresses and just about four million individual donations. the digital divide between the candidates will not be as dramatic. and Big Data was pre-buzz word status. Segmenting voters with simple questions — for example. The ability to process and mine terabytes of data. on the morning of Election Day the website MyBarackObama. To scan that and turn it into actionable intelligence is a profoundly complex undertaking that requires a new. Your friends may or may not reflect your political views and interests. Twitter was a mere zygote. The media has been all over the electoral implications of the president’s digi-muscle. competition and productivity” for some very good reasons. That digital steamroller made Obama not just the hopeful option. hybrid partnership between political strategists and computer scientists.) To put that in perspective. That’s much more of a skill than merely targeting voters by obvious attributes such as age. Politico has written about “Obama’s Data Advantage”. That’s not just a matter of analyzing your friends on Facebook and the people you follow on Twitter. Plus. and it goes far deeper than a simple one-dimensional Klout score. This time around. but the sophisticated choice. geography and website preferences. McKinsey has called big data the “next frontier for innovation. Pinterest didn’t’ even exist.primitive by comparison. and use that to discern patterns. What you need to recognize is that there are 15 terabytes of data added to Facebook every day. influencers need to be identified. the smoked-filled room meets the Red-Bull-fueled room.” What we’re witnessing in 2012 is the convergence of the Big Data phenomenon and politics. movies and music you enjoy. Those need to be viewed in the context of your network and in a macro-framework as well. and to assess the books. Web MD (you’re likely 50+) or sites that aggregate farmer’s markets (you care about environmental issues) — is kid’s stuff. All of those supporters have been emailed regularly with fund-raising blandishments.com has been up and running since 2008. a former Texas Solicitor General. which fills in the dots. and Cruz appears to have met all or nearly all of them in what his Facebook team is calling a "grassroots victory. The voter intelligence systems and targeting capability of digital marketing on the presidential level require skills that no campaign has had to manage before. The Hill: Ted Cruz wins social media victory http://thehill. too.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/241643-ted-cruz-wins-social-media-victory Alicia M. Will this level of nano-understanding and precision targeting make the difference. Facebook's politics and government team on Wednesday offered political campaigns a list of seven tips for making effective use of the social media platform. and atomic-sized clusters. most notably Drew Westen in “The Political Brain. mapped against poll data on a real-time basis. emails and SMS messages will be ground out. when grassroots activism helped Republicans sweep the House majority by electing a huge freshman class. Observers have noted his social media strategy likely deserves some credit. with tens of thousands of individual messages. success will come from the artful synthesis of TV and traditional media — which paints the pictur — and digital. The Tea Party movement has been noted for its use of social media tools since 2010. We’ve seen sophisticated consumer marketing companies make huge mistakes because digital marketing can drive responsibility deep in into an organization where bad judgments find a home. Online marketing can be exquisitely relevant. won the run-off primary election on Tuesday night. and in the competitive frenzy of a presidential campaign. As a result. This elevates the complexity of managing a presidential campaign to new and challenging heights. parsed. The risk to both of the candidates is that digital sophistication doesn’t automatically translate into convincing marketing. but it’s not really able to create big. means that it’s dangerously likely that something leaks out which is pathetically pandering or embarrassingly opportunistic. . Facebook posts. Sarah Palin. to thousands of groups. In the rush to scale a massive digital organization. the promise of digital can create a wave of beautifully targeted catastrophes.” presidential campaigns turn on impressionistic perceptions of candidates that are created and fired up by deep neural associations. as prognosticators are opining? I don’ think it’s that simple. It’s operational. and turned into targeted online marketing. sub-groups. Cruz. likely due in part to his strong Tea Party support. Tweets. 2012 Ted Cruz beat his Republican competition for the Texas Senate primary on social media before he beat him at the polls. The web can activate those imprints. a star on Facebook since notes on her page are one of her favorite ways to communicate with supporters. bold powerful leadership brand and imprints. but it cannot create them. And it’s not just a technological challenge for an organization that is new and untested. a victory that has been called a boost for the Tea Party movement.children. That campaign architecture. relentlessly. As many researchers have pointed out. Cohn August 1. All this needs to be assembled." Cruz was particularly good at leveraging social media in his campaign. Cruz likely got a major social media boost from supporters such as former Alaska Gov. are more likely to visit Facebook than the online population as a whole. according to Hitwise. Kentucky. Cruz has been on both Facebook and Twitter since 2009. Also. Dewhurst has half the Facebook supporters. Hitwise found the New York City DMA provides the largest volume of Facebook traffic while the users in the Charleston. live streaming his election night party on his website and sending out an invite on his Facebook page. The web measurement firm determined that one in every five page views in the U. so offering supporters a selection of "I voted for Ted Cruz" badges to use is an effective technique. so obviously the bigger states.Iowa . In comparison. Maine. In addition to other staggering traffic and timespent numbers. His social media campaign far out-paced that of his competitor. and Alabama. account for 52 percent of visits to Facebook. Political advertisers will be interested to know 10 states. Indiana. Arkansas.clickz. . Using that metric. Mississippi.364 followers on his personal Twitter feed and 6. multimedia and targeted ads. on average this year. Facebook content can be particularly effective when friends share with other friends. "This represents the volume of traffic. and Georgia complete the year-to-date list. Facebook does skew toward women. Another way Hitwise measures traffic is by looking at where it's concentrated.a college town . Gov. and has shared far less content and has been less consistent than Cruz on all platforms. interaction. David Dewhurst (R).147 followers on Twitter. Hitwise reported that users in several states including one other battleground state . Vermont. huge numbers for someone not yet in national office. And. planned for Friday. New York. Texas. and North Carolina.330 on his official campaign feed. the bigger areas tend to visit Facebook the most. Also on that list are West Virginia.are most likely to visit compared to the online population. Cruz even invited his Facebook fans to virtually join the celebration when he won on Tuesday night. Michigan. "We're looking at concentration of traffic by people who are most likely to visit [Facebook]." said Tatham. In particular.S. The firm said 56 percent of Facebook's audience are women. 2012 Experian Hitwise released several data points yesterday about Facebook's audience in preparation for the social site's highly anticipated IPO.Cruz has more than 80. West Virginia DMA . Ohio. ClickZ: Women and Swing State Visitors Big on Facebook http://www. Pennsylvania. Hitwise revealed some factoids that should help marketers get a better grasp on the site's audience composition. where some reports show upwards of an 80 percent female audience. Texas Lt. including 2012 battlegrounds Florida.000 Facebook supporters and 27. Cruz's campaign did a good job meeting Facebook's engagement tips when it comes to consistency. California. Oklahoma. happened on Facebook. while it doesn't match the huge gender gap on Pinterest." said Experian Hitwise spokesperson Matt Tatham. 4.com/clickz/news/2175779/women-swing-visitors-facebook Kate Kaye May 17. He also used Facebook's Timeline feature to share many endorsements as they rolled in. Illinois. who had access to the candidate throughout the race." . Facebook brought in more than 400 billion page views this year and more than 1.” said Sean Theriault.6 billion page views per week. all of it — was brilliant.org. Some more Facebook U." said Dave Jennings.” For all the hype surrounding social media in campaigns. The measurement firm said in March time spent by U. web visits in April 2012.S. resulting in speedy responses to just about every tweet. "bigger than most of the failed Republican candidates for president. in the process. "You could see it work. Then he tweeted it. audience data from Hitwise:     The site attracted 9 percent of all U. Keep in mind the Hitwise data "does not include all mobile traffic. Since then." which. In April 2012. He currently holds a big polling lead over Lt. David Dewhurst in Tuesday's run-off for the GOP nomination. Cruz is among the first American examples of a dark horse candidate who rode to victory by tapping into the vast power of Facebook.cfm?uuid=0BC9A312-8A76-4517-B003-7BBF5AA4613D Steve Friess July 31. a Houston-based Dewhurst backer who blogs at BigJollyPolitics.S. cruzcrew. Nielsen also has some recent Facebook stats. 2012 Ted Cruz announced his Senate run 18 months ago in an unconventional way emblematic of the campaign to come: on a conference call with Texas’s conservative bloggers. Cruz climbed from obscurity to the brink of the year’s biggest upset and. Whether he wins or loses Tuesday. I don't know who was the arbiter of all those decisions. The use of social media ads from the earliest days of the campaign to build a mailing list that is. “It is a great case study of using these tools in politics. Gov. users on Facebook averaged 7 hours." Among Cruz’s smart cyber moves: Weekly calls with supportive bloggers. all those Drudge ads. 96 percent of visitors to Facebook were returning after a previous visit. became Exhibit A of how to effectively use social media to grow a movement.com/printstory.politico. the fact that he emerged as a serious contender — thanks largely to a foundation poured online — has even his opponents in awe. if factored in could alter the numbers presented here. "It was like watching a tree grow. that empowered volunteers to take on tasks and print out campaign literature. blogs and email. but the social media — the Facebook. reported Hitwise. a University of Texas at Austin political scientist. “Ted Cruz is the Barack Obama of 2012. users visit Facebook for 20-minute intervals.S. A microsite. Facebook comment and email. On average. Twitter. the Cruz campaign digital strategist. Two full-time staffers focused on social media content. in the words of Vincent Harris.com. POLITICO: Ted Cruz’s secret: mastering social media http://dyn.Where does the largest volume of visitor traffic to Facebook emanate from? The New York City DMA. 2 percent to Dewhurst’s 44. Cruz showed up at countless tea party rallies in 2011. “Ted Cruz spoke to those people. Meanwhile. for instance. Harris said.” Cruz’s team did what they could to make their Web following feel empowered. forcing Tuesday’s runoff. for instance. “I was on every call.” Facebook’s GOP counterpart Katie Harbath. Cruz’s reliance on online strategy was a necessity given his dramatic financial disadvantage. nailing down grassroots support long before Dewhurst even tried. anti-Obama. I can’t recall ever getting turned down for a budget request.” Jennings said. “And he’s up against a candidate who everyone thought was going to win because he had all the money. The bumper sticker art. many of whom put a prominent “Bloggers For Cruz” badge on their sites. In the May primary. mostly to thank users who wrote supportive messages. pro-Sarah Palin voters who are the most active online. “When there was a debate. his campaign website would post a special splash page to specifically welcome the listeners or viewers who came there during or immediately after the show. I got all the access I ever needed. digital led until maybe a few months ago” when fundraising made TV advertising possible.) and Sen. “He’s been very active in this race.C. both of which have dedicated Republican and Democratic staffers available to offer advice.” Harris said. was picked via an online poll. Dewhurst has about 4. To be sure. but if the experienced guy isn’t getting his message out. so instead he developed a network of online support that began with wooing the state’s conservative bloggers. the Cruz campaign sent city-specific status updates so that. too. The campaign also took advantage of the resources provided by Google and Facebook.“This campaign was unique because digital wasn’t done to check off a box. on Monday alone. only users in Waco would receive the update about Cruz’s upcoming Waco appearance.000 Facebook fans. He has more than 25. “Cruz down in Texas is somebody who has really built up his page and really is doing a great engaging job. Rand Paul (R-Ky. “It is your pissed off.” On Facebook. Cruz tweeted more than 20 times. . Cruz lacked money.). much to the frustration of supportive bloggers like Jennings. A Public Policy Polling survey released Sunday showed Cruz had steamed ahead of Dewhurst by 10 points.000 followers on Twitter and 84. Dewhurst also came late to appeal to a powerful Internet force: The tea party. he had converted local blogger support to support from Palin. views the Cruz surge as an important case study. when his evident surge improved the fundraising picture. he’d call and suggest we go up with search ads at the conclusion of the debate and raise money with messages fighting Dewhurst’s attacks. Jim DeMint (R-S.” Harris said. he nabbed 34. Sen. As recently as this week.” In the process.6 percent in a field of nine candidates. Dewhurst was slow to deploy these methods.200 Twitter followers and 42. nobody is going to see it.” By the time Cruz had clear traction. The candidate had very little money until this spring. the campaign deployed an idea provided to them by Google’s Republican outreach guru Rob Saliterman.” Harbath said. “I sat across the table from him and told him his team was letting him down.000 Facebook fans. The candidate and his surrogates have been active and responsive on Twitter and Facebook. Harris said. “They kept talking about how they’ve got the experienced guy and Cruz was inexperienced. whenever Cruz appeared on national or statewide radio or TV programs. he told ClickZ. Democratic data and tech firm NGP VAN is unveiling a more robust edition of a tool connecting Facebook to its voter file data. was considered a test run for the general election specifically targeting Hispanics under age 30 in Texas who had never voted Republican. a Virginia Democrat running for Senate. part of the party's Promesa Project. Some might be labeled as potential volunteers or donors. which pool Facebook friends of campaign supporters into various categories based on their profiles on the social site.. but the rules have fundamentally changed as to how people do that." said Texas Democratic Party spokeswoman Rebecca Acuna. It's yet another example this election cycle of voter file data being put to use in digital environments. she said." said Acuna of the platform. A key element of the platform is its segmenting capabilities. and others not worth contacting because they don't appear to be sympathetic to Democratic causes or candidates. Only information a supporter's friends allow the supporter to access on Facebook is available to NGP. said Trevelyan. but he didn’t realize there’s been a revolution of how candidates speak to voters. a state party might offer local campaigns access to its NGP data. In some cases. John Lewis of Georgia. The Cruz people don’t.” said Theriault of the 66-year-old lieutenant governor. which if passed would help undocumented youth become eligible for citizenship. an elected official since 1999. NGP VAN CEO. NGP stores the Facebook ID when there is a match between NGP's voter file database and a Facebook friend of a supporter." said Stu Trevelyan. "We were trying to use it so [volunteers] could get used to it for the general election. The people who have surrounded and endorsed Dewhurst have the old campaign mindset.” ClickZ: Democratic Firm Ties Voter Data to Facebook Friends http://www. said Acuna. and Rep. The initiative. “He’s modernized a little bit.com/clickz/news/2193630/democratic-firm-ties-voter-data-to-facebook-friends Kate Kaye July 24.. others as persuadable through a phone call. said Trevelyan. Others who plan to use the NGP VAN system include Tim Kaine. Facebook information that is then appended to voter file data is the property of NGP's clients.“Dewhurst has been running for office for a long time.clickz.to get the vote out. "We can only match based on the info made available . Party enthusiasts logged into the system and received lists of people in their Facebook friend network to call and remind to go to the polls. According to Trevelyan. Phone volunteers encouraged people to come out and vote to support the Dream Act." rather than a random volunteer cold-calling a potential supporter. The Texas Democratic Party has already used an earlier version of Social Organizing to reach Hispanic voters under 30 to get out the vote for the party's primary in May. "We think it has the potential to be a game-changer in elections. The tool allows political groups on the left to find registered voters who are Facebook friends with supporters who log in to campaign sites via Facebook Connect. "We have the ability to leverage the social graph information that exists on Facebook for campaigns. 2012 This is turning out to be the year big political data. "People respond a lot more when it's their friends or family calling. are well aware that half or more of the electorate is on Facebook. Now. and displaying a leaderboard with the most active volunteers. ClickZ asked Facebook for comments on these points. that year. Ultimately. while statewide campaigns would pay more. he said. "We do not transfer any IDs or user data outside our application. Republican digital firm Engage ties volunteer activities to a game platform that awards them with virtual badges and real-life prizes for doing things like making phone calls or sharing information about a candidate on Twitter or Facebook." The upgraded system also now has gamification elements. "The FB IDs are part of the data owned by the client. Chris Hughes. By 2008. letting users score points for taking actions on behalf of a campaign. Howard Dean’s presidential campaign pioneered Internet fund-raising. "I think anytime people are connecting people's records with their profiles…that enables people to do ad targeting.technologyreview. said Trevelyan. The Texas Democratic Party used it to better target mobilization efforts leading up to the May 29 primary. visitors are encouraged to log in with their Facebook accounts and then post messages supporting the candidates for their friends to see. Both campaigns’ websites are entwined with Facebook pages. and distributing precisely targeted political advertising. Facebook is central to the upcoming presidential election. "Tens of thousands" of Facebook relationships were matched to NGP VAN's voter database for that campaign. based on the size of the organization or campaign. Facebook had crossed the 100-million-user mark and was coming to dominate online social networking." An earlier version of the tool was used by labor-backed group We Are Ohio in 2011. analyzing. Both Obama and his Republican opponent. potentially. An average state legislative campaign would pay around $350 to use the NGP VAN system. helped build that site. What Facebook also gives the candidates is an arena for testing. NGP VAN does not own them. which have privacy implications for Facebook users. when Facebook was a new dorm-room plaything. In 2003 and early 2004." he stressed. Mitt Romney. On the right." said Trevelyan. these systems are geared toward helping campaigns track volunteers to get a better sense of who their star volunteers are. A Facebook cofounder. "We take privacy concerns very seriously.to the supporter. Though Trevelyan said NGP VAN is not focused on using the platform to inform ad targeting.com/news/428530/facebook-the-real-presidential-swing-state/ David Talbot July 20. Barack Obama’s campaign wielded a custom social-networking site that helped win the White House (see “How Obama Really Did It”). 2012 Facebook and Internet campaign strategies grew up at the same time. said Trevelyan." he wrote in an email. and which messages resonate best with certain groups. According to Trevelyan. in 2012. to lobby their undecided . Both campaigns can also use Facebook to urge their supporters to vote and. Though the system arguably could be applied to inform ad targeting on Facebook it does not appear that any NGP clients have used it for that. Technology Review: Facebook: The Real Presidential Swing State http://www. usually half of a volunteer's Facebook friends match readily with the voter file based on names and locations. expects that the campaign will use sophisticated methods to determine how and when to encourage peer-to-peer appeals in the final weeks of the race. The Romney campaign’s website also encourages supporters to log in using Facebook. But the permission screen that comes with the app makes clear that it has another purpose as well. the Democratic strategist who pioneered Internet fund-raising for Dean in 2003 and 2004. So don’t be surprised—especially if you live in a state that is considered up for grabs. Social organizing tool a Democratic Facebook app from NGP VAN Making use of social connections can lead to the ideal form of marketing: individual messages of persuasion delivered by trusted friends. the campaign should be able to create tools that prompt supporters to approach voting-age friends in swing states and craft personalized appeals based on what the campaign can infer about those friends’ interests and views. an app that his supporters can use to integrate their Facebook accounts with the campaign’s website.” Facebook’s policies require that such data be used in only the context of the app itself. what is holding them up from crossing the line—but who their friends are in the network that might be able to talk to them. carrying shoeboxes of index cards indicating whether voters said they supported Kennedy for the next year’s Democratic presidential nomination. If you’ve “liked” a page blaming Obama for high gas prices. That means this is where the 2012 election might be won or lost—even if far more money will be spent elsewhere. “I think . but it requests permission only to view the individual user’s information—not information about the user’s friends “right now. Like the Obama app. you might be reminded about his pro-drilling positions. When I installed the app.” Certainly it is more than Trippi could have dreamed of as a $15-a-day campaign worker knocking on doors in Jones County. locations. Massachusetts. NGP VAN’s makes it possible for candidates to execute a peer-to-peer persuasion strategy using Facebook. you might be reminded about his pro-drilling positions. Zac Moffatt. If you’ve “liked” a page blaming Obama for high gas prices. but even so.’ This is a field organizer’s dream. “What’s most important in terms of being able to reach people is to know not only that the voter is undecided—and also what issues. Don’t be surprised if you hear from an old friend with a pitch based on what the campaign thinks is important to you. and “likes. This may change. Iowa. that maintains a database on all registered U.” he says.” says the Romney campaign’s digital director. The Obama campaign didn’t respond to requests for an interview about its plans. though. too. released a Facebook app called Social Organizing. “And then get those friends the information that says. ‘We need you to talk to your friend in Pennsylvania about these three issues that matter most to them. voters and helps Democratic candidates access the data. The app lets Democratic volunteers log in with Facebook and match their friends with voters in the database. especially on TV ads.friends in swing states. for Senator Edward Kennedy in 1979. The same is true for the Republican National Committee’s Facebook app. as suggested by your Facebook data. such as Ohio or Florida—if you hear from an old college friend with a political pitch based on what the campaign thinks is important to you. but Joe Trippi. I noticed that it said it would grab information about my friends: their birthdates. The app’s avowed task is to give people a quick and easy way to access the volunteering and organizing functions that worked so well for Obama in 2008. Similar tools are coming from other quarters. because the Republicans share Trippi’s view.S. a company in Somerville. You can see the president’s campaign reaching for this goal with Obama 2012. In July NGP VAN. On the health care issue alone. a Democratic consulting firm.” . The versions that generated the most clicks would get wider distribution on multiple websites. out of six million cast in that state. And some users block the ability of apps like Obama’s to gather information about them when their friends install the programs (a Consumer Reports study. the version geared to students pointed out that the legislation would let them keep their parents’ insurance until age 26. image. the candidates are already waging online advertising campaigns that are more scientifically designed and demographically precise than the ones Obama and John McCain deployed in 2008. the president’s campaign app would still have intelligence on 2. Reid’s online strategist.” says a Republican digital strategist who spoke on condition of anonymity. according to Well & Lighthouse. But even if these factors make 90 percent of Obama supporters’ friends useless to the campaign.) Given math like that. Harry Reid of Nevada. But the fact that so much more data is available.” says Schlough. the campaign could be sure that. These abilities were brought to bear in an ad campaign that rolled out in March of 2010. the right peer-to-peer and message targeting strategies “could be the difference in swing states. that app permissions will get changed. for each of the 18 campaigns.you will start to see. an ad about being able to stay on parental insurance plans would be shown to a specific 25-year-old four times a day for two weeks. (Facebook is the virtual battleground within that battleground state. the Senate majority leader. found that only 37 percent of users touch app settings). different versions were tested on Facebook.8 million American voters who didn’t necessarily take any explicit action to share it. “Republicans are working on apps that take advantage of all the things in the Facebook social graph. on our side. and “it’s now a component of all campaigns. The midterm elections were just eight months away.” How much information can the campaigns glean this way? Consider that the average friend count on Facebook is 190. say.000 people were using the Obama 2012 app. In 2000. getting strategic insights within hours. is allowing us to innovate a lot quicker.8 million. Bush in office was determined largely by 537 votes in Florida. the founder of Well & Lighthouse. surely many friend lists overlap. It’s called nanotargeting. and offered easy ways to experiment rapidly with different combinations of headline. just over five million account holders of voting age lived in Ohio—out of a total voting-age population of 8. more than 150. when President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—so-called Obamacare. As of early August. developed 18 sets of targeted advertisements for people in different demographic groups. Fast and on target In addition to any peer-to-peer strategies they might employ. Eventually. And in 2004 Bush beat John Kerry by fewer than 120. however. and text. In 2012. Political operatives can now rapidly test ad copy across multiple demographics. the contested election that put George W. Then. “Political types are used to large data-set analysis on things like polling data and turnout data.000 people out of 5. and many of those people aren’t even voters. Now. For example. Persuading just a small percentage of those people could be crucial. Jon-David Schlough.6 million who voted in Ohio. They can even keep track of exactly which ads individual computer owners have clicked on. Multiply those numbers and you get more than 28 million people. Schlough says the site gave him access to a wide range of demographic groups. so much faster. the one for the elderly focused on what it would do to close a Medicaid benefit gap known as the doughnut hole. and the president was concerned for a vulnerable ally. made it possible to place small ads at low rates.” Trippi says. 2% are 30-34. This allows them to deliver messages to a male sub-audience based on their interests and background.3% are 35-44 and 10.com/publications/article/179114/why-the-race-for-the-white-house-goes-throughface. Engaging male voters by appealing to their specific demographic. Consider that his opponent. Nearly 2. such innovations might have been decisive.g.5% are 21-24. but with Facebook’s enormous reach. Facebook claimed nearly 155 million U. Facebook’s incredible targeting options (geo. demo. According to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. 2012 Now that Mitt Romney is the clear front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. Which means the general public. Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle. it now exceeds that of both broadcast and print media.S. Since Facebook’s reach far surpasses that of broadcast and print media. not just sending out blanket messages to a larger demographic or geographic segment.. and men in general.For Reid. 10.html#axzz2DjsxZJsh Rob Jewell July 19. and Facebook makes that easier and more effective than ever. The fact is.).S. 17. The ability to hyper-target men via Facebook is a far more cost-effective approach to political campaigns than other media. sway voters and foster a sense of community and momentum around a candidate. why are politicians still investing their campaign dollars so heavily across print and broadcast outlets? President Obama’s 2008 election campaign was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to leveraging social media.7% are males ages 18-20 years old. more importantly. This is due to the fact that ad spend is not being wasted on audiences that are disinterested in the content and delivery of the information. according to Facebook’s data. interests and issues is key.2% are 25-29. Apple TV. virally seed campaign messages. During that same time period. Facebook’s robust demographic and interest-targeting capabilities allow campaigns to diversify messages to specific voter segments. keyword. Of that. etc. But. there are only 58 million basic cable customers in the U. as of December 2011. Historically. are spending less time in front of the television and more time multitasking on the Internet. totaling 52% of the population. This should come as no surprise. e. In the end. spent about as much as Reid and was ahead in the polls in the weeks leading up to the election. users. Facebook’s hyper-targeting capabilities also make it more difficult for your opponent to track and monitor your campaign. but it did underscore social media’s potential to drive donations. As we will soon learn. Boxee. there are myriad opportunities for both the Romney and Obama campaigns to effectively utilize Facebook to reach male (and female) voters. Reid won by more than 5 percentage points. we’re seeing both Romney and Obama’s campaigns ratchet up their advertising in an effort to reach male voters going into November. 15. MediaPost: Why the Race For the White House Goes Through Facebook http://www. For instance. 13. most of the political spend for a Presidential election would be for television ads. if you’re targeting young male voters on Facebook .mediapost. coupled with its massive worldwide usage volume make it one of the best venues for political campaign dollars. 13.65 million cable and satellite TV subscribers have canceled their service since 2008 and now rely solely on Web-based services. Hulu.4% are 45-54. entitlements and failed “hope and change” rhetoric. With Facebook. what are the chances of that. Jim Messina. 2012 WAUKESHA – Conversations overheard while waiting for the start of the Fighting for Wisconsin’s Future Youth Event: unemployment. which accounted for some 25 percent of his total. Obamacare. criticized Obama for his “tax-and-spend” policies. That work may have paid off for Walker. one even from Boston College.9 percent. the unemployment rate. Now they have committed themselves – in some cases to 40 hours of volunteer work a week – to dialing the phones and hitting the pavement for Romney’s presidential campaign.to 24-year-olds reported in the June Bureau of Labor Statistics report is actually lower than the 17. 20.3 percent rate reported in June of last year. About 18 million of the 24 million votes from voters 18 to 29 went to President Obama in 2008. “I’ve worked my rear end off in college and high school. “The current economic times. and I don’t think that may be enough these days.to 21-year-olds will be eligible to vote for the first time. Wisconsin Reporter: Romney Campaign Battling for State’s Youth Vote http://wisconsinreporter. in an interview with CNN. an archive of political data at the University of Connecticut. Campaign workers with Republican party presidential candidate Mitt Romney say the dozen or so young people gathered Wednesday at the Waukesha County GOP Victory Center are part of a growing conservative youth movement — and an important voting bloc if the Mitt Romney for President campaign hopes to win the 2012 election. Apart from that. an estimated 8 million more 18. He said unemployment was his biggest issue as a voter. Several of the young Republicans in Waukesha said they got their start in politics volunteering for Gov. getting out the vote. “With the total debt being what it is. and Facebook. going away to college.” he said. In January 2009. who lost the typically liberal 18-29 by a slender 51-49 percent margin. my future is not looking good. braces coming off.com/romney-campaign-battling-for-states-youth-vote Ryan Ekvall and Kirsten Adshead July 18.between ages of 18-20 years old or fans of Ron Paul. This year. that rate was only 14.5 percent unemployment rate for 16. your opponent or others in their camp most likely will not be able to see these ads unless they fall within those targeting parameters – and let’s be honest. Tapia sounded more like an out-of-work 30something than a college kid.” The 16. Scott Walker’s recall campaign. Tapia. however. In the fall. according to the Roper Center. some Illinois. a Milwaukee resident who will be a senior at Boston College in the fall. said Obama’s campaign manager.” said Ricardo Tapia. the current outlook is not looking good. . the current scope is not looking good. but it is far more cost effective compared to broadcast and traditional media. the national debt. the deficit being what it is. they intend to take their newly acquired campaign skills to their respective college campuses – some in Wisconsin. not only are you spending ad dollars in the right places. Today’s talk focused on using social media to engage friends and family in communicating Romney’s message of reduced taxes and regulation. Facebook has Democrat strategists. 53. or Pat Toomey. “But then you look at 2010. According to the poll.1 percent). but even less for Romney.7 percent of respondents 18 to 29 approve of Obama. young voters were twice as likely to say they’d vote for Obama (61.” she said. Well versed in Republican politics. Voce said he would like to work for a small business when he leaves college. because it adds a level of trust that people wouldn’t normally get with just a direct-mail piece. a largely Republican district. Romney’s Wisconsin campaign team hosted Katie Harbath. Harbath said she helps campaigns attract more “likes” and. and that’s where you started to see a lot of activity on the Republican side — with candidates such as Marco Rubio. but if you’re going to win 2:1 in a group that has the lowest turnout level. The margin of error was plus or minus 3. Obama has 27. saying unemployment and college loans were the most important issues to him.” Harbath said.738. . than voters in the 2008 presidential election.373. The state as a whole. “President Obama put a lot of effort into (social media) obviously in 2008. hopefully. Gov.” said Charles Franklin. echoed Tapia. too. dwarfing Romney’s 2.2 percent said they’d choose Obama.1 percent who like Romney. but they really used social media early on to build up a foundational base of fans and people who wanted to vote for them. Among the entire population. Even young people have lost their monopoly on social media: Harbath said the 55-plus demographic was their fastest-growing group of users. while 40. Walker — any of those folks who were running for office. however. compared to 31. an 18-year-old who will attend Illinois State University as a freshman in the fall. you want to do as much as you can to get them to turn out. people didn’t necessarily give them a chance at winning. social media sites are no longer Democratic Party strongholds.2 percent. young Republicans might have an easier time persuading their peers to get out and vote GOP.6 percent) than Romney (31. 51. votes. Despite the president’s vast lead on Facebook. When they first started. “More and more campaigns are hoping to use that word of mouth and the power of word of mouth by people sharing content with their friends that the campaign is putting out.9 percent would vote for Romney. In Waukesha. “(Facebook) is becoming widely important. pretty much any candidate would be happy to win a group by 2:1. the University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist overseeing the Marquette poll. A Marquette Law School poll conducted July 5-8 shows limited enthusiasm for Obama among young Wisconsin voters.479. mainly because this is one of the places that people check every single day and where they get a lot of their news.” said Harbath. Facebook’s manager of public policy for Republicans. 122 million. When asked who they would vote for in November.952 “likes” on Facebook. “For Obama.” She pointed out Facebook has more users.Micah Voce. 161 million in the United States. still seems to have more young Democrats than Republicans. 2012 In the 2008 presidential campaign. YouTube and Facebook. Twitter and Facebook. Franklin said that. weren’t as prevalent in previous years as they were as the 2008 election was approaching.html Jamar Hudson July 18. elected officials are using social media to announce political stances rather than promoting their campaign. with 98% of Congress using at least one social media platform and 72% using Twitter. by contrast. An informal poll on the College Democrats of Wisconsin’s Facebook site seems to bear that out. politicians included.” “Interested in talking about how @BarackObama has ensured equality for all by ending #DADT and supporting marriage equality. To be fair. D-3rd District. The research also revealed that politicians are getting more comfortable with social media.prnewsonline.” Congressman Ron Kind. among other social networking sites. particularly to young voters. the jobs emphasis is probably still (Romney’s) strongest suit. PR News: Election 2012: Sizing Up the Social Media Battle http://www. Fast-forward to 2012 and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone without some sort of social media presence.” Franklin said.“I think from what we’ve seen of the campaigns so far. Thanks for being here. Nonetheless.” and young voters prefer the president’s social policies.” he said. Barack Obama became the first candidate to use social media as a campaign strategy focal point. The College Democrats held a “tweetup” Sunday on Twitter to discuss organizing efforts for the upcoming fall semester. but mitigating the loss would be in itself valuable.com/free/Election-2012-Sizing-Up-the-Social-Media-Battle_16704.” It was the same message the Republican Party was selling in Waukesha.” “It would be difficult to win the group. . also tweeted to the group: “#witweetup Your work on college campuses will be pivotal in western WI & important to the entire state. Asked “which one of President Obama’s accomplishments is most significant to you?” 23 respondents chose “extending health care” for young people compared to 14 who chose preventing an economic collapse and creating jobs. Obama has “values appeal. Obama and his team maximized the use of social media to spread the message of “change” to the masses. According to a recent study by the University of Texas. “If he can successfully tie the slow recovery to the kinds of (limited) job prospects those who are 18 to 29 face … then that’s a very pragmatic argument. Among the tweets: “The first step to winning this November is having conversations with the people you know and interact with in everyday life. . and while each campaign is doing its best to present campaign facts and undermine the opposition. told CNN that spending would ramp up as they got closer to the general election.com/html/localnews/2018708721_apusvoterregistrationfacebook1stldwritethru. the power of social media.” As November approaches. but the ultimate measure of success will be activating those likes and followers and getting them to the voting booth. which is largely a low-cost medium. yes. both candidates are effectively using the visual advantages the site provides: Romney with the “upload your photo and stand with Mitt” tab and Obama holding up a smiling baby in the cover photo—a more personable approach for both. However.586 for Romney (@MittRomney). compared to 663. Romney’s digital director. both campaigns are active participants. when it comes to social media. says Marguerite Murer Tortorello.396. Seattle Times: Wash.579. Obama has 27. On Facebook. who advances advocacy initiatives through traditional and social media efforts. an ineffective online strategy would be a recipe for disaster. Obama's official campaign Twitter handle (@BarackObama) had 17. — Facebook users in Washington state will have something else to brag about to their online friends: that they registered to vote on Facebook.694 “likes” on his page versus Romney’s 2. former special assistant to the president and director of presidential correspondence under George W. Both Twitter feeds are actually very similar. Bush.So in this race between President Obama and presumed-Republican nominee Mitt Romney. the fact that social media is a high priority in this election shows that both campaigns are keeping the American people front and center." says Tortorello. To Unveil Voter Registration on Facebook http://seattletimes. It's expected to launch as early as next week. the edge clearly favors Obama as a single tweet can be seen by over 16 million more people than one Romney tweet can. The secretary of state's office said Tuesday it will have an application on its Facebook page that allows residents to register to vote and then "like" the application and recommend it to their friends. For both camps. A recent CNN analysis found that Obama is spending twice as much as Romney on online advertising. has reengineered the political campaign landscape. are spending astronomical amounts on advertising. But numbers aside. public affairs for PCI. “The campaigns are using their Twitter and Facebook strategies to convey authenticity and personality.html Rachel LaCorte July 17. both Romney and Obama will be looking for any possible advantage. Zac Moffat.408. In terms of reach alone. The reach of social media provides limitless opportunities for their messages to reach voters. along with their super-PACs. “While the Obama and Romney campaigns. As of July 17. without demonstrating too much polish in challenging economic times.880 followers on Twitter. On Facebook the messages are more of the same. there is little to no interaction with followers.348. and current senior vice president. Wash. Posts read like prepared statements. 2012 OLYMPIA. Romney staff code each of Obama’s ads according to their distinctive characteristics: content." said Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes. they review Obama’s travels to identify the areas they think their rivals in Chicago are making a priority. At the same time. Hamlin said that Facebook doesn't have access to the state's database. its page just overlays the application.slate. not Facebook. "You are giving your information to us. voters don't need to worry about their personal information being collected by Facebook.000 registrations or changes of address processed through the system."In this age of social media and more people going online for services. Hamlin said Washington state is the first to offer voter registration via Facebook.com/articles/news_and_politics/victory_lab/2012/07/the_romney_campaign_s_data_stra tegy_they_re_outsourcing_. style.. "We are excited that citizens in Washington state will be able to register to vote and review useful voting information on Facebook.and county-level accounting of registration. and turnout targets that offer the basic strategic foundation of every campaign—Romney’s team drew up a set imagining what Obama’s internal projections would be." he said. Shortly after preparing their own vote goals—the state. Slate: The Romney Campaign's Data Strategy http://www. a new data-science team within Romney’s strategy department sifts through reports on Obama’s broadcast buys as assembled by the Campaign Media Advertising Group. They'll need to agree to let Facebook access their information. Such play-acting has been crucial to Romney’s tactics since he secured the Republican nomination this spring. Hamlin said that beyond giving Facebook permission to use names and dates of birth. Users will still need to provide a driver's license or state ID card number to continue. there have been 475. the candidate attributes and characteristics they’re trying to drive—even the gender of the narrator and at what point the legally . this is a natural way to introduce people to online registration and leverage the power of friends on Facebook to get more people registered. which developed the application. persuasion. The state. Voters will also be able to access the state's "My Vote" site with specific information on candidates and ballot measures. Facebook Inc. In their weekly meetings. Hamlin said. Washington is one of more than a dozen states that offer online registration. and since then. Facebook users can click on the application within the secretary of state's Facebook page. and Microsoft Corp. 2012 Once a week. which will be used to prefill their name and date of birth in the voter registration form. Once it's live. Washington state has had online registration since 2008." said Shane Hamlin. have been collaborating on the project since last fall. members of Mitt Romney’s political department gather in the campaign’s Boston headquarters and pretend that they are in Barack Obama’s war room.html By Sasha Issenberg July 17. co-director of elections. while also refocusing them. As the dataset of Obama activity expands over the course of the campaign. TargetPoint Consulting. competing as a well-known front-runner within a relatively small universe of potential voters. feed into nightly simulations of local and state dynamics that spiral up all the way to electoral-college projections. Romney’s advisers are trying to hack Obama’s code and turn it against him. When Obama clinched the 2008 nomination he had more than 10 times the 89 paid staff on Romney’s lean team when he extinguished Rick Santorum’s challenge this spring. Mitt Romney gave his targeters one central task: identify his supporters so they could be mobilized to turn out. Romney’s digital director. and where their candidate ought to go. along with other data from internal polls and the campaign’s interactions with voters through field activity and phone contacts. in-house analytical empire that has developed an unrivaled capacity to churn through voter data and translate insights into tactics. a Romney deputy political director who oversees the weekly meetings. While the political department is developing a plan to use those volunteers for get-out-the-vote activities this fall. Romney advisers assume that what they see the president doing in public must have a good deal of sense behind it. and the two-time candidate outmaneuvered analytically amateurish opponents with well-plotted discipline and attention to detail. staring through Obama’s visible tactics to reveal a latent strategy beneath.mandated “I approve this message” tag is inserted—along with the perceived demographic audience and the markets in which it appeared. Romney’s advisers had little confidence that there was much logic at all behind his rivals’ moves. Romney’s team acknowledges they are not aiming to match what Obama has built in Chicago: A unique. Romney relied exclusively on his party’s leading data firm. 2012 because they've been planning for six years—definitely three-and-a-half years.” says Dan Centinello. but Obama has not been traveling as a candidate for very long. *** Throughout the primaries. the burden of finding those patterns will shift from the eyes of advisers huddled in weekly meetings to the statistical models they’ve written. Those calculations. Only then do Romney’s aides believe they will know enough about how their dollars ought to be spent. the . So instead of devoting their analytical energies to out-strategizing the president. to build the microtargeting models that undergirded those tactics and to advise him on assembling the universes of individual voters to be contacted by mail or phone. Romney demonstrated analytical acumen on the path to the nomination— his campaign’s ability to count votes in Iowa and savvy handling of the early-vote process in later states were both essential to his win—but he developed little institutional expertise along the way. Algorithms will test the association between vote goals and the candidates’ travel and ad placement. Did Obama’s recent Ohio bus tour stop in Sandusky because his analysts detected a large pocket of Romneyleaning voters they thought they could win over? Or because they thought an Obama visit was necessary to jolt their own supporters’ enthusiasm levels? Or did Obama go to Sandusky because advisers wanted to draw a crowd to aid local efforts to register new voters or enlist volunteers? In the primaries. but their likelihood of attending campaign events or agreeing to volunteer. Now forced to play catch-up against a savvy incumbent. "The Obama team had the luxury of knowing exactly what they'd be doing on July 1.” says Zac Moffatt. The turn toward a general election has expanded the Romney campaign’s analytical needs. so Centinello’s team doesn’t yet feel comfortable that they know how to interpret the logic of their opponent’s itinerary.” That is easy enough. “We’re trying to piece together what we think are his top ranks. The political department has instructed its field staff to be more aggressive in collecting information on people who attend Romney rallies so that targeters can build models to predict not only how a person will vote. Because of this capacity. “We watch where the president goes. While McCain’s campaign treated microtargeting as a one-time process. like press relations or constituency outreach. such as the text-analytics initiative called Dreamcatcher—and no dominant outside analyst like Strasma under contract. the campaign’s ambition for using data exceeded the reach of Strasma’s small firm. In nearly all of those states. Romney’s advisers caution. often improvising to solve local problems. will handle the majority of states for Romney. The remainder have been assigned to Grassroots Targeting. Obama made it nearly continuous. Obama had begun 2007 relying exclusively on an outside consultant. so that when Palin arrived on the scene or the global-financial system collapsed field staff could see the events’ impact on the projected behaviors and beliefs of every voter nationwide. his campaign decided to upend the standard structure campaigns used to interact with data. Those targeters had to wait until August to begin to building their state-specific statistical models that generate probability scores for individual voters. to develop his statistical models.campaign’s targeters are more concerned with finding minds to change: those already likely to vote but still not sold on Romney. a veteran of the McCain effort and perhaps the most methodologically sophisticated opinion researcher working in Republican politics. “How do I find them and what do you talk to them about?” When nominee Obama found himself in a similar position four years ago. with dozens of analysts spread among departments in Chicago—some assigned to specific regions and states and others available to work on special projects. even as the dynamics of the race changed through such heady disruptions as Sarah Palin’s nomination and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. That remains the blueprint for Obama’s 2012 data structure. hiring outside consultants (largely through the Republican National Committee) who struggled throughout the summer to get the attention of campaign leadership. and engineered systems so that new information from Republican field canvasses and phone banks can help to refine the statistical models on an ongoing basis. his campaign isn’t aiming to duplicate Chicago’s analytics structure. Expertise was no longer so centralized: by the end of the primaries dozens of employees had worked directly with Strasma’s microtargeting scores to build targeting universes and organizing maps.” says Meyers. Starting that summer. McCain’s campaign never updated those scores.” says Alex Lundry. could potentially prevent a campaign from benefitting from ingenuity elsewhere. charged with leading a data-science team within the campaign’s strategy department.” Meyers’s TargetPoint. targeting and analytics would be treated as a core internal campaign function. including the pro-Romney super PACs Restore Our Future and American Crossroads. But as the general election arrived. Ken Strasma. Already Romney is moving more quickly than McCain’s did four years ago. its leading competitor among Republican data consultants. “The other side has certainly invested a lot of money. Even as Romney now reaches fundraising parity with Obama. which works for a variety of campaigns and independent groups. campaign manager David Plouffe approved a proposal to augment Strasma’s work by having staffers direct regional data and targeting desks at Obama headquarters.” says TargetPoint president Michael Meyers. Innovation to improve their strategy and tactics. they remodeled the electorate in every battleground state each weekend. “The challenge is finding that share of persuadables that are out there. strategists now . That June. A reliance on staff talent. No longer competing in a few states at a time. “but they’ve been operating outside the market for two years. In Chicago. His campaign began assigning its scores this June. “It’s getting a lot faster and a lot more dynamic. Lundry recently moved to Boston to work for Romney full time. Targeting-desk staffers processed the results of hundreds of thousands of weekly voter interviews placed by Obama’s call centers. John McCain stuck to the old model. should come from within. Obama campaign officials have gambled. In politics you don’t typically have that type of opportunity—or not with the time or budget to do it. as ClickZ has reported: Pulpo for profiles of Hispanic sub-segments online.) But the bulk of the online analytics come from commercially available services marketed by outside firms. a consultancy that works with clients in the health care.” POLITICO: The Duo Inside the Facebook War Room http://www.” Romney’s digital department has gone on a summertime personnel spree. partially to exploit the time difference when working on overnight projects. but more importantly reflects the Romney campaign’s acceptance of the David and Goliath dynamic between Boston and Chicago where analytics are concerned.” says Blaise Hazelwood.” says Centinello. “Our idea is to find the best firms to work with us. Campaigns don't want their secret digital strategy revealed to the other side. hiring former employees of Apple." said Vincent Harris. Romney aides scoff at the glowing pieces written about Obama’s data-driven methods. many far less savvy than the presidential campaigns. but their obsession with reverse-engineering his analytics is its own concession. Lundry has been paired with Brent McGoldrick.politico. . who ran the digital campaigns for the GOP presidential bids of Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich. and adjust corporate advertising strategies to better reach them.com/news/stories/0712/78497. I don't trust Democrats with how I spend my ad dollars. It is the statistician’s version of trailing a motorcade in a honking bus to find out where the president is headed. Web ads are largely directed through segments packaged by the company Lotame based its own online-behavioral models. so Facebook will ensure that a bona fide Democrat or Republican will handle their most sensitive requests. and—in the case of the new manager of Romney’s online store— Overstock. and Say Media for online video targeted at voters who do not watch much television and are hard to reach through traditional ads. “It’s one thing to know ours. owner of Harris Media LLC. It's not the world's most impressive war room — just two people in Facebook's F Street office with graffiti and exposed wires. are trying to harness the power of this whole "social networking" thing they hear so much about. including myself. we could be the best at data in-house all the time. Google Analytics. who oversaw George W." It is a sentiment that aligns with the candidate’s own private-sector triumphalism. But it is the place where any candidate. in the hopes of later divining why. and balance different tactical needs in each state. “Lots of us. energy. “but it’s even better to know what his strategy is. (A cluster of newly hired engineers have been permanently situated in Utah.” says Moffatt. "I don't think we thought.com. Ominture. relative to the marketplace. 2012 When President Barack Obama's campaign wants to put out a new message on Facebook. Bush’s 2004 West Virginia operations but eventually left campaigns to join Financial Dynamics. have always done politics.need to make continuous determinations about how to move resources across a national map. "There's a natural trust issue: Republicans don't trust Democrats. it often calls up a Democratic strategist who sits two feet away from a Republican who does the same for Mitt Romney. It's a smart business move for Facebook: cash in on a divided Washington by playing to the insecurities of both sides. and financial-services sectors to segment consumers by their attitudes and behaviors. “He has had the time to experiment with all this. who launched Grassroots Targeting with McGoldrick in 2005.html Steve Friess July 14. Other vendors have been enlisted for their boutique products. the candidate or campaign can work with a fellow partisan to help tailor messages to constituents and voters. gender. and Harbath was the chief digital strategist at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Now they’re unlikely teammates.000 and this is who I want to reach. until last year that "staff" was simply Conner — until he suggested the Harbath hire knowing GOP demand was about to skyrocket. Such information can help target partisan messages to voters. or a message can be tailored to. how to promote themselves on the walls of people who have "liked" their opponents. "Does Adam know what I'm buying? Sure. you better double up. Conner and Harbath would not be working together. But if it’s politically sensitive.) Obama 2008 digital campaign chief Scott Goodstein said there's always risk in this sort of dealing but "at least you have a little bit better chance that Adam's not going to call up a Republican and say. and both say they try to help in a nonpartisan manner. If the question is technical. but I'm not going to bare my soul to someone of the opposite party. and she suggested one way to reach those voters was to advertise on the Facebook wall of alumni from Christian universities in Iowa. campaigns can consult with the other. Under most circumstances. campaigns are looking to harness expert strategy on how to use that treasure trove of data volunteered by users. importantly. but from the other side of the spectrum. Candidates can be shown." The duo. 31. In fact. Eric Cantor. In fact. It works because. comprise Facebook's entire staff designated to help candidates and officeholders use the tools the site has to offer. answering a constant stream of calls and emails from everyone from presidential campaign consultants to small town mayors. 'The Democrat just bought X amount of ads. Conner was on the Kerry-Edwards campaign in '04. if one is not available." said Conner. organizational affiliations). I have to trust. ." Harris said. hobbies. As Facebook's power and reach grows. either one can walk them through Facebook’s tools — from timelines to targeted ads. Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy. from the obvious (age.' The fact that Katie and Adam sit six feet from one another? What am I gonna do? If I want to play around on their network. Facebook has a sales staff. who sat for a rare joint interview with POLITICO last week. for that. It's very different with Harbath. Conner's desk has a Daily Kos water bottle and Harbath's has her framed autographed photo of the Young Guns — Reps.The two strategists are Democrat Adam Conner. Conner and Harbath don't share their campaign confidences outside the office. including some who focus on politics." he said. But they're real-life "friends. say. "We knew the 2012 cycle was coming down the pipeline and there were going to be a lot of Republican presidential candidates that we need someone to work with. "Katie and I had a conversation before the Iowa caucuses when Perry was trying to win over evangelicals. ZIP code and political affiliation) to the more nebulous (TV show preferences. for instance. who served as an aide with the House Committee on Rules before joining Facebook in 2007. 27. (Harbath and Conner don't actually sell the ads. I might go to him to say I'm spending $100. unaffiliated voters who express an interest in women's health topics. and Republican Katie Harbath." Harris has the same approach. staffers for Campaign Solutions. a top Republican digital campaign firm. perhaps unlikely. Wis. for instance. He hails from Los Alamos. paper mill executive who describes herself as a "middle-of-the-road Republican" ever since she watched President George W. whose company is managing Web strategies for hundreds of clients this year and led former GOP presidential contender Michele Bachmann's online effort." Conner said. the firm's CEO Becki Donatelli said. Many companies have in-house lobbyists of various political ilk to cover their bases on the Hill. and half-joked that he was seduced into Democratic politics by the idealism of "The West Wing. we're so busy helping with Facebook and helping getting people on board. "Katie has her opinions as I do. though.Still. As recently as last week. "I trust that what we talk about is not going to the other side of the aisle to be used by the left. "My team talks to her almost every day. "You don't understand what it's like until you've had to go through the campaign manager who doesn't get it or the chief of staff who doesn't quite understand technology or the levels of approval you have to go through to get an email sent out. and I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to change her mind. rapport with one another for people who have long toiled on opposite sides of issues." Conner said." said Donatelli. N." In fact." said Stephanie Grasmick.. or getting into any sort of heated debates. The tools to advertise on Facebook are fairly straightforward. the arrangement is unusual. that it's a common goal." She's the daughter of a Green Bay. . It's not something where there's people fighting at all. Much of Conner and Harbath's jobs are less glamorous than brainstorming how to speak to independents. But Conner and Harbath are both veteran political operatives for their sides who are privy to strategy — the timing. whose firm Rising Tide is working this year with several Democratic gubernatorial and senatorial candidates. back and forth. In fact. they have a common mission to modernize campaigning for both parties. They jointly helm training sessions for Hill staffers to explain how they might use new Facebook tools in governing and trot the nation to evangelize for the site at an endless number of political gatherings. but consultants say it takes someone with intimate knowledge of the medium to divine formulae for speaking to specific segments of voters. in many cases they're the ones providing ideas for how to tactically place campaign messages or donation pleas for maximum effect.M. Despite the inflamed rhetoric — especially via the Internet — that is a byproduct of today's polarized politics. as I am. 11 terror attacks. partisans among digital consultants have found it far easier to get along than other segments of the body politic.. "It's great that they have divided it up along partisan lines because it creates a relationship of trust so that I can call Adam for advice and not be concerned that it's going to make it across the aisle to the other side. and she's passionate about them.com for the Republican National Committee in 2004. were in constant contact with Harbath to prepare how candidates would react in Facebook advertising depending on how the Supreme Court ruled on the Affordable Care Act. size and messaging in each online ad buy — that opponents would love to access." Conner and Harbath have an easy. Bush's rousing address to Congress following the Sept. Harbath agreed: "Here in the office. Among her bona fides: She first developed gop. even Mark Zuckerberg himself to intervene. Since clinching the Republican nomination two months ago. 2012 Boston — Two blocks west of Mitt Romney’s headquarters here. Pump Up Online Campaign http://www.washingtonpost. repeatedly.000 Facebook friends and had to transition from a personal page to a fan page. Take. Pennington had hit the maximum 5. R. Pennington became frantic. Obama delivered more than 800 million paid Internet ads in February alone — six times more than the entire Republican primary field. Yet in the process. Romney’s advisers contend that they can outsmart their counterparts in Chicago in a few important ways — including engaging their supporters online more intensely than Obama’s campaign is mobilizing his. . "I'm pretty sure having met her it's going to change my life politically for the better. and using digital data to identify and woo independent voters in the narrowest demographic groups in states where a few percentage points could decide the election. his campaign has opened a new front. it's remarkable that Conner and Harbath make themselves available to candidates of pretty much any level. resident emails sent through the site. and at least four times more than the Romney campaign. Romney aides acknowledge their online and mobile efforts are unlikely to surpass Obama’s in scale.I.C. Yet even if they are destined to be outspent and outmanned.Conner just returned from Netroots Nation in Providence. Considering how small a piece of Facebook's business politics is. much less respond to. he deleted his own access as administrator and couldn't read. when he was revolutionizing the use of technology in politics. Eventually.C.. Aiming to Pop Obama’s Digital Balloon.) whose staff suggested he contact Harbath. for example. A number of private-sector consultants and past Obama advisers say the technological playing field is leveling. the case of Mayor Mel Pennington of tiny Hartsville. The president’s reelection campaign spent $26 million on online advertising through May 31 — far more than Obama had spent at this stage in 2008.. Romney advisers have significantly stepped up their digital campaign.html Philip Rucker July 13. Lindsey Graham (R-S. hoping to catch up with President Obama in an arena he dominated in 2008. last week. His access was restored within the hour. Washington Post: Romney Advisers. He called Facebook's Palo Alto headquarters. he called the office of Sen. By one measure. where he could have an unlimited number of users." Pennington predicted. unwilling to concede the traditionally liberal-leaning Silicon Valley talent pool. S.com/politics/romney-advisers-aiming-to-pop-obamas-digital-balloon-pump-uponline-campaign/2012/07/13/gJQAsbc4hW_story. while Harbath was in Las Vegas for RightOnline. Romney has hired data analysts and mobile-app developers from places including Google and Apple. emailed the help desk and took to Twitter to beg tech-savvy Newark Mayor Cory Booker and. for instance. We want to leverage Google to be better to win the presidency. I believe the marketplace is smarter. Have you ever actually used BarackObama. a founder of NationBuilder. “I don’t think IBM wakes up every morning and thinks. Facebook and Twitter. too. Moffatt quipped in a recent interview. It has 37 things drop-down just in the menu bar. . . The Romney campaign is building advantages. They both churn out a flurry of campaign propaganda — videos. Another difference: Where Obama’s campaign has engineered its digital products in-house — most notably. for Romney. commenting on or sharing a post or a video — 32 percent of Romney’s are engaged. dynamic Web site home pages as well as state.com on your iPhone? It doesn’t meet the user experience expected from a team that has been planning for four years. In certain respects. We don’t want to create the next Google. “Because they’ve told you they’re the best? . we know best. his decision to support same-sex marriage. “It’s the hubris of the Obama campaign — this belief of. such as T-shirts and bumper stickers.” Romney’s mobile app has had issues. Still. . however. . the Romney campaign’s digital director. keep up with news. Where 5 percent of Obama’s fans are engaging on Facebook at a given time — for example. “What makes them the best?” Moffatt asked. . Romney advisers contend that by turning to outside engineers. ‘How do I get in touch with Obama’s data scientist?’ ” And he tried to pop what he sees as the Obama digital balloon. while Romney is far behind with just 2 million. Both also have sophisticated advertising campaigns built around search terms on Google and YouTube.or issue-specific pages. Obama has 27 million supporters. by liking. ‘Trust us. tweets and informational graphics — and have online stores selling schwag. “The start-up entrepreneurial world is less all-Democrats. I don’t see any reason to believe why they won’t be even on the technology front. a tech firm that helps political candidates build social networks. they can tap into fresh innovations in the free market and “glue” them together in Boston. the campaign corrected the typo. the two campaigns’ efforts mirror each other’s. at least on the surface. Romney’s advisers are trying to debunk the idea that the tech community broadly supports Obama.” Making light of the competition. They both are doing roughly the same things. volunteer and give money — Romney’s campaign is outsourcing much of its development work to private-sector digital firms. And they have successfully mobilized partisans to make online donations at important moments — for Obama. said Jim Gilliam. where the campaigns can interact with supporters and extract valuable information from them. all-the-time than you’d think.“They both have an infinite amount of money. the Supreme Court ruling upholding Obama’s healthcare law. . there are differences.’ ” said Zac Moffatt. noting that he traveled to Silicon Valley last month to meet with entrepreneurs at Google. “I disagree with that. It initially misspelled “America” in Romney’s slogan on the title page. a “dashboard” that debuted in spring and enables supporters to connect with the campaign.” Moffatt said. On Facebook. Both have interactive. The Romney campaign had a major test of its catch-up effort late last month when the Supreme Court ruled on the Affordable Care Act. Romney’s campaign officials do not deny Obama’s advantage. They said Obama has a larger proportion of small-dollar online donations than Romney. “They are constantly promoting vanity metrics — not actionable metrics. “It is like going to the gym just to work on your biceps. taking occasional breaks lounging in beanbag chairs.Moffatt’s evidence: his growing team. according to Facebook — can be presumed to be “friends” with an Obama fan. There was no GOP digital road map for Romney to inherit. There are similarities to Obama’s vaunted team of Web wizards.” he said — but his digital analysts are tailoring marketing schemes to reach them. In the 72 hours after the ruling. John McCain (Ariz. Because of the sheer volume of Obama’s Facebook fans. citing a policy not to publicly discuss digital strategy.” he said. Obama remains solidly ahead of Romney in net supporters on Facebook. tacked to another. . what kind of Web sites they frequent. Romney launched about 60 different initiatives to reach out to supporters online. But privately. Moffatt won’t say what the poll found — “That’s the secret sauce. Moffatt has more than 80 staff members in the digital department alone. The Romney campaign had 87 staff members when the primary campaign ended two months ago. enlarged maps of general election battlegrounds such as Ohio. they said.” such as its 27 million followers. The Romney campaign. Iowa and Nevada. had just four digital staff members and paid little attention to the emerging technologies. The team was annexed from campaign headquarters. for those who don’t. when so few of them are engaged. every adult American on Facebook — there are about 160 million of them. the Republican nominee. And regardless of engagement statistics. has been studying consumer behavior to target voters who might not see television advertisements. Against one wall are the bikes they ride to work. That means Obama’s messages could wind up on the Facebook timelines of virtually everyone. That is what Romney’s advisers say they want people to see. repeatedly accusing the Obama campaign of touting “vanity metrics. In 2008. They said both metrics were indications of Obama’s superior grass-roots organization.” The Obama campaign declined to comment. like Obama’s. Romney’s digital army sits at long tables and toil on laptops and iPads. Moffatt is particularly dismissive of the Obama campaign’s Facebook efforts.). Democrats close to the campaign were critical of the Romney efforts. when the Obama campaign was building its social network to enable volunteers to organize themselves and donate. It commissioned a poll of voters in Florida and Ohio to see how many watch television and. Today. taking over the second floor of the brick building a couple of blocks away that houses the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. so Moffatt — a 32-year-old whose first campaign was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2001 mayoral race and learned to crunch behavioral data on President George W. Sen. either with videos or display advertising or tweets. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign — charted one. until the health-care decision last week.” where it has field staff. or were the campaigns also interested in getting this out there? LAUREN ASHBURN: The majority was civilians. “We didn’t necessarily think.000 people interacted with Romney’s Facebook page Thursday. Ray." And this week. But then there was sort of a counterwave of conservatives defending Romney And taking issue with the somewhat discourteous behavior of some of the NAACP members. creating a new pool of supporters to tap down the road. . And one MSNBC host -. both Mitt Romney and Vice President Biden spoke to the NAACP.com: Absolutely.pbs. For that. The initial wave was sort of one of mockery. Daily-Download. Howard Kurtz is Newsweek's Washington bureau chief and host of CNN's "Reliable Sources.html July 12. Daily Download. The average donation was less than $100. I think.” PBS: An Election on Facebook: Old Media Enters the New World http://www.this was widely re-tweeted or sent out -said that he was deliberately booed because he wanted to appeal to white racists. a GOP digital strategist.7 million online from more than 70. after Mitt Romney was booed yesterday at the NAACP convention. and the median $25. About 70 percent of them were first-time donors. Moffatt said. he said. who after all had invited the presidential candidate. In Florida. Ray Suarez returns with that. we're joined again by two journalists from the new website. Newsweek/CNN: Particularly. RAY SUAREZ: And we continue our regular look at the campaign as it plays out in social media and on the Web. “President Obama could be in a good deal of trouble financially and organizationally. Perhaps more important. supporters were 60 percent more likely to be engaged online than in nontarget states. he said. very upset with what happened. 2012 JEFFREY BROWN: And now back to this country and to presidential politics.000 donors. It wasn’t the style of the campaign or the candidate.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec12/election_07-12. in the Romney campaign’s “core states. Our traffic. Now. RAY SUAREZ: This was all civilians trafficking this image on their own. HOWARD KURTZ. Twitter and Facebook feeds were lighting up. that there would be a grass-roots outpouring for Mitt Romney. This even surprised some Republicans. Romney raised more than $6.Over those three days. Lauren Ashburn is the site's editor in chief. 38. Did it garner much traffic in the online world? LAUREN ASHBURN. for instance.” said Patrick Ruffini. Moffatt said. conventions. and number two. debates. which is another way to saying aggregating the amount of discussion around Mitt Romney. And you have a. for the Internet. yes. I think that television networks and other organizations are interested in partnering with Facebook to cover conventions because it brings a younger demographic. Barack Obama. (CROSSTALK) LAUREN ASHBURN: Yes. legacy media. RAY SUAREZ: A lot of old media.. What do they get out of it? Because a lot of these places have their own Web presence. HOWARD KURTZ: And that's why we have news this week that Facebook is partnering with CNN in a number of ways for this political campaign. Election Day. . And as well. Why would political conventions want to partner up with Facebook and vice versa? LAUREN ASHBURN: Well.. HOWARD KURTZ: You're essentially announcing to your friends that you're with so and so and maybe spreading the word on behalf of that candidate. that's it. (LAUGHTER) RAY SUAREZ: . because Facebook is a social place.. And there are several different components to the partnership. I have a graphic right here showing the campaign partnership. LAUREN ASHBURN: Hipness.. RAY SUAREZ: Now. So I think that by partnering with these organizations. snarky aphorisms and vacation pictures. Joe Biden and whoever Romney ends up picking as his running mate. And Facebook also is measuring what it calls buzz. they're teaming up with conventions. maybe for the older organizations... number one. Facebook very handy for finding out how your high school girlfriend has aged. this week also. where you can put the information in specifically of who you are voting for on your Facebook page. that it lends some. is partnering with online and social networks. not so much. Aren't they picking their own pockets by trying to also be present and get their content distributed on Facebook? LAUREN ASHBURN: I think that the Internet.HOWARD KURTZ: But some journalists and activists who also tend to join these online conversations. The first is what's called an I'm Voting app for your phone and also for your laptop. HOWARD KURTZ: The hipness factor is what you're looking for. to organizations that may be seen by the younger demographic as not with it. the more robust your site becomes. it's a very common practice. the more you share on the Internet. which obviously CNN hopes will drive traffic online and create its social -augment its social media presence. there is a survey state by state also of demographics around key events on the political calendar... 000 times. but in Facebook shares. Can it translate into something real. And I think it wants to become a galvanizing force in the political campaigns. And so. if you go on Facebook. Romney fans energized by the Supreme Court upholding a law that they frankly despise. what. It doesn't ask for much from you as far as commitment. everybody's doing all this stuff. have there been any measurable effects? OK. more than 40.. likability factor. certainly in the media world. I think .. who do spend a lot of time hanging out online. And they have seen a huge Facebook surge over health care. Republicans. So this one particular issue was able to garner that many shares.000. If you looked here at the graphic that I'm putting up here from them.. all of these other points here are the release of different videos. I spoke to the CEO of VoterTide. And that was shared. on June 28. RAY SUAREZ: Now.HOWARD KURTZ: And we see that with the NewsHour having its own partnership with MTV in an attempt to reach younger people.they put some music to it and some nice graphics. President Obama the next day after the high court ruling got a surge in not Facebook likes. HOWARD KURTZ: Which of course is the day of the Supreme Court ruling on the president's health care plan. we had a Facebook surge in likes for Mitt Romney. 40. if you have any number of friends. So you had a significant like factor.. like campaign contributions or votes? HOWARD KURTZ: I think Facebook has become a galvanizing force. And that's just one video. conservatives. (LAUGHTER) RAY SUAREZ: Have the presidential campaigns noticed that they're getting noticed because of this new way of announcing themselves? LAUREN ASHBURN: Yes. with Politico. because he tweeted out information about health care and other people Facebook-posted it.000 times on Facebook? LAUREN ASHBURN: Yes. And if you look at this chart. you're constantly being urged to like things. Facebook has had other partnerships with ABC. LAUREN ASHBURN: . And if you go to the next graphic that we have. RAY SUAREZ: Now. with so with so many people trusting their friends and liking things online and making statements and kind of living their lives online. upholding its constitutionality. HOWARD KURTZ: Obviously. (LAUGHTER) RAY SUAREZ: And it's done with the stroke of a key. almost up to 40. because his speech to the country claiming victory over the Supreme Court ruling included -. an organization that tracks social media. and conducting surveys. news feeds. remember. Ray. LAUREN ASHBURN: Thank you. it could be an argument that was made online. Howard Kurtz. There you are. I’m Voting will enable Facebook users to commit to vote for and endorse specific candidates and issues. You're looking down your column of little missives and things that have been dropped in your lap by your list of friends. 6 with the upcoming launch of Facebook application I’m Voting. LAUREN ASHBURN: And Facebook -. in part because it has such great reach. . And at the end of the videos. so many people now. people like getting it from people they trust. and their commitments will be displayed on their timelines. some hundreds of millions. that Barack Obama posted is always a.Facebook is becoming a real force. as well as combining efforts to measure metrics about the presidential and vice presidential candidates. 'if you click here. Facebook announce several initiatives for 2012 Presidential Election http://allfacebook. RAY SUAREZ: But liking something is done so easily. (LAUGHTER) RAY SUAREZ: Lauren Ashburn. RAY SUAREZ: Maybe that's it.' HOWARD KURTZ: So it can be a fund-raising tool as well. that you are broadcasting not only the fact that you like something. And although we in the media prefer that people get their information from us. All Facebook: CNN. I guess I should say. HOWARD KURTZ: But. HOWARD KURTZ: Same here. to all of your friends. for example. good to talk to you.or narrow-casting. and tickers.Facebook is really now the grassroots campaign of this election. you can donate to the campaign. People now are going to Facebook to see what their friends are doing and how they can join in. You're broadcasting this -.com/cnn-2012-presidential-election_b93836 David Cohen July 9. that I'm not sure it really ends up mattering that much. but it could be a video that could be shared. 2012 CNN and Facebook are gearing up for the 2012 presidential election Nov. (LAUGHTER) RAY SUAREZ: I want them to get it from us. and the U. detailing discussion about each candidate on a state-by-state basis. . 2012 Mitt Romney's campaign continues to innovate in its outreach to supporters on Facebook. state on an interactive map. Facebook is pleased to partner with CNN on this uniquely participatory experience.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/236421-romney-camp-offers-facebook-supportersmerchandise-deal Alicia Cohn July 6. setting a record for the most-watched live video event in Internet history. The offer ran on July 4 and 5. will empower more American voters in this critical election season. CNN. combined with Facebook’s social connectivity. And CNN’s editorial department will join forces with Facebook on survey questions. we will redefine how people engage in the democratic process and advance the way a news organization covers a national election.600 Facebook users. Although the mediums have changed. and the Romney campaign called it a successful experiment claimed by more than 18. the critical linkages between candidates and voters remain.The app will be available in English and Spanish. Facebook Vice President of U. when we teamed up with Facebook for the 2009 Inauguration of President Obama. or do you believe those should remain private? The Hill: Romney Camp Offers Facebook Supporters Merchandise Deal http://thehill. Vice President Joe Biden. And Facebook VP of Corporate Communications Joe Lockhart added: By allowing citizens to connect in an authentic and meaningful way with presidential candidates and discuss critical issues facing the country. Readers: Would you be willing to use the I’m Voting app to share your political views on Facebook. CNN Washington Bureau Chief Sam Feist added: This partnership doubles down on CNN’s mission to provide the most engaging coverage of the 2012 election season.com.S. CNN Digital Senior Vice President KC Estenson said: We fundamentally changed the way people consume live event coverage online. with the results to be published on CNN.S. successfully leveraging a coupon tool this week to offer users 30 percent off on official merchandise. Republican nominee Mitt Romney. CNN’s unparalleled political reporting. Romney's campaign offered supporters a coupon for 30 percent off a "Believe" T-shirt in the campaign store. Public Policy Joel Kaplan said: Each campaign cycle brings new technologies that enhance the way important connections between citizens and their elected representatives are made. Innovations like Facebook can help transform this informational experience into a social one for the American people.S. and commitments will be visually displayed by U. and Romney’s upcoming selection as running mate. Marking the first time a political campaign's online store used Facebook Offers. By again harnessing the power of the Facebook platform and coupling it with the best of our journalism. we hope more voters than ever will get involved with issues that matter most to them. Politics on Facebook page. The cable news network and the social network said they will also team up to measure metrics about President Barack Obama. national field director Jeremy Bird and battleground states director Mitch Stewart pore over maps in one. rubber therapeutic balls. It's as if.theatlantic. . The scene on this floor of downtown's One Prudential Plaza is of waves of hundreds of staffers working amid a sea of college banners. including his response to the Supreme Court's ruling on a healthcare reform act that is hated by the majority of his conservative voting base. you'd have the minds. and the effort has paid off recently in an upward climb in Romney's number of Facebook fans. people to whom they are connected on Facebook automatically see the offer associated with a friend. it's been discussion waged in generalities. skill sets. Teddy Goff and Joe Rospars plot digital strategy in another -but in a switch from 2008. and tools ready to power a decent-sized tech company. cardboard boxes turned into standing desks. For the most part."I would say it is a success and one we look to replicate in the future. the offer reaches an expanding group. have fairly demanding day jobs.Out on the campaign trail." a phrase borrowed from the Washington Post's coverage of Romney's Bain Capital past. One was the belief in the "pod." That's more likes and shares than on most of the other recent items on his page." Rather than distribute staffers in offices according to job function. 2012 CHICAGO -. According to the story floating around. meaning that if one person "claims" a coupon offer posted on a page they already follow. Maybe even a small sovereign nation. The policy shop is smaller than last time. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are at the moment engaged a spirited rhetorical debate over what it means to be an "outsourcing pioneer. Romney got a huge number of "likes" — over 53.com/politics/archive/2012/06/a-tour-of-the-self-contained-design-happy-city-ofobamaland/259145/ By Nancy Scola July 2. said. should the Obama campaign end tomorrow.350 — on an Independence Day photo with the caption: "Some much needed family time this week. The surrogate team is bigger. The campaign is working hard to leverage Facebook as an important part of its social media strategy. Like social advertising. and the president and vice president in particular." Romney's digital director. campaign manager Jim Messina took a year to tap the brains of tech world luminaries like Apple's Steve Jobs and Google's Eric Schmidt and came away with a few new ideas about how to run an organization. Facebook Offers allows for social buying. at long tables arranged in row after row. Romney supporters seem especially to enjoy seeing pictures of the presumed GOP nominee and his family. staffers generally sit in an large open room. Design-Happy City of Obamaland http://www. befitting a situation where much of that agenda is set by Washington. The Atlantic: A Tour Of The Self-Contained. It makes sense: the campaign principals. But a tour of Obama's headquarters half-seriously suggests that the president might just want to point to his own campaign as a demonstration of doing things in-house. In one corner of the open space are a few of your more traditional political teams. A few senior staffers have offices -. Zac Moffatt. this time around much of the Obama campaign is organized around five regional clusters. and a visitor is struck by how much their five-year-old political operation has come to believe in rolling its own creative work. the campaign's two-minute update on how many field offices had been opened. the Obama campaign's in-house approach frees it to experiment. Obama campaign HQ is demonstrably a place where the creatively inclined are allowed to let their design flag fly. handles the dreaming up of new ways to use digital tools. you can begin to see why it might be worth the staff time. It might not be Jony Ive's cave of experimentation at Apple headquarters. that Messina took to heart from the experiences of Jobs and Apple: Keep the means of production close. In one back corner is the Technology team. but after too much time and money spent working with outside print shops last time around. In three months. The facility gives the campaign's creatives the ability to dream up and quickly produce the materials that provide the look and feel of the campaign. There's simply a far larger universe of digital content to be filled this time around. What happens when you put creative talent within easy reach of the means of production? In this case."As we make headway on the crucial issues of our time. for example. though Davis Guggenheim's 17-minute docu-advertisment was a high-profile exception. If it's a few thousand of the right people.) Then there's the team known simply as Outbound. Certainly the Romney campaign has been staffing up in the last few months. That group of staffers is responsible for writing the words that come out of the campaign in electronic form. Digital Advertising gets its own row close to the team that produces the campaign's wide-ranging online video work. is a pair of X-acto knives crossed over an Obama rising sun logo. What does that look like in practice? At Obama campaign headquarters." its logo. It's a lesson. but what particularly jumps out is the way in which the Obama campaign has focused on setting up the sort of creative operations that weren't in the past traditionally associated with a political campaign. says the campaign. though. They call it the "Chop Shop. that let us be much larger than our size. But the Tech team is not to be confused with the Digital Development team. But there's more advantage to it than that. and "team leaders" appointed has been watched fewer than 10. from national ads to targeted training videos. Take. often. staff time can go to producing products that might only reach a handful of people. charged with building out a robust infrastructure for making the campaign run. it means dozens and dozens of staffers with expertise in the digital space grouped into dedicated teams. but back in January the Republican candidate's digital director was testifying to the campaign's belief in staying small." Arguably. And tucked off a back hallway is the lab they need to do it. and the ability to iterate at the ready. let the courageous vision . as the campaign tells it. you get an environment that's a little signage-happy. Without drawing up any big project spec sheet. the campaign decided to set up its own production facility on site. Then there are posters whipped up on site that. (Almost all of the campaign's video is produced in-house. phone calls made.That's all well and good. from emails to texts to tweets to Facebook posts to Pinterest pins to Instagram captions. which. Down the hall and off the main room sits the Design team. One hanging in headquarters (and seen below) riffs off the president's 2012 proclamation for Women's History Month -. and tasking a single team with managing the campaign's voice is a bid to create consistency across online platforms. perhaps. Their tack: "We go out and find companies whose size we can leverage.000 times. like the Dashboard software that aims to bridge online and offline organizing. as you can see below. don't seem to travel much beyond the campaign's doors. Outbound didn't exist in any cohesive way in 2008. with the ability and responsibility to tackle meaty challenges in their particular space. this data-heavy YouTube video produced by the campaign in March. experts we can work with. And it's not by the front door. Instead. But theirs is about a tenth the size. "Made in the U. she says. get a discount. solely for staff and the occasional visitor. "it's lucrative enough to not turn it into a conference room. This time around. you can get a mug bearing Vice President Biden's mug that reads "Cup of Joe. Merchandise gets whipped up and sold. sure. I'm told. ClickZ: Obama Facebook Ads Promote Jobs Act Message http://www. in a bit of Outbound/Design team synergy." -. But that's not to say that the campaign's free-flowing creative experimentation is for naught. Sometimes they get things before anyone else does. all signs suggest that merchandising has been a fundraising boon for the campaign." The Romney campaign has an online store too. Do Obama campaign staff really spend their hard-earned paychecks buying swag emblazoned with the campaign's logo or their boss's name. as was the case with the custom-made Obama iPhone cases listed at $40 a piece. (Staff do. The campaign rather famously turned around mugs featuring the president's long-form birth certificate. the organization is pressed for meeting space. and.com/clickz/news/2188636/obama-facebook-ads-promote-jobs-act-message Kate Kaye July 2. has been known to be out the door. The Obama online store sells nearly 300 items. says Hogan. one piece after another -.50.S. Whether the Obama campaign's heavy focus on its home-grown creative operations is sound strategy is probably a judgment to ultimately be made on November 7. from the pedestrian logo buttons and pints to rather more whimsical items. yes. The idea is to reinforce the same job creation message the campaign has been running in TV ads targeting swing states.and is turned into a visualization with a mapping of famously accomplished women like soccer great Mia Hamm. while the Obama operation won't talk specific numbers. 2012 If it's true that the 2012 presidential election will hinge on the economy and job growth. perhaps. the merch shop is open a few times a week. The line.championed by women of past generations inspire us to defend the dreams and opportunities of those to come. just $12. Michelle Obama. that saying is only known to the world through a Pinterest pin of a photograph of the poster itself. The Obama for America camp has been running Facebook ads targeting voters in swing states such as Florida." Now that's keeping things in-house. But from one angle. senior management decided that giving away bumper stickers to staff was so 2008. it's deep in the bowels. the New York Times' Jill Abramson. ." Have a kitten? Get yourself a "I Meow for Michelle" cat collar. For $22. no matter how well-designed it might be? Deputy press secretary Katie Hogan assures me they do. though. The poster to its left displays the Obamaesque slogan.clickz. But with the staff swag store. There's "I like Obamacare" t-shirts for thirty bucks a pop. "The definition of hope is you still believe even when it's hard. A T-shirt that says "Super Fan" on it as about as edgy as things get. According to the campaign." But a Google search reveals that. it's no surprise the Obama campaign is pushing his job creation record in TV and digital ads. under the tag line.including in one particularly unique offline shop. With the campaign office rather packed with bodies and equipment.A.) This is where Obama campaign aides can pick up their "I Bark for Barack" car magnets and Obama-Biden coaster sets. The Obama campaign headquarters has a paraphernalia shop right on site. Iowa. Florida. it's no surprise the Obama campaign is pushing his job creation record in TV and digital ads. and prompts people to "Call Republicans in Congress and ask them to get to work on these proposals. possibly becoming the first campaign to use the social networking giant's mobile ad platform." and "Expand refinancing for responsible homeowners." states the campaign site. Pennsylvania." The BarackObama. the landing page doesn't allow people to search for their representatives and doesn't single out names of particular Republicans to call.businessinsider. Iowa. Florida. North Carolina. North Carolina.com home page also stresses the President's vision for the economy. The page does include several talking points like "Prevent teachers and first responders from being laid off. "President Obama proposed the American Jobs Act. If it's true that the 2012 presidential election will hinge on the economy and job growth. The page includes the number for the U." Each can be easily tweeted or posted to Facebook. and Virginia. South Carolina." However. Romney's digital team director Zac Moffatt told Business Insider over the weekend.com/mitt-romney-campaign-facebook-social-media-zac-moffatt-barack-obama2012-6 Brett LoGiurato June 18. Nevada. 2012 Mitt Romney's campaign has launched a new Facebook mobile advertising campaign. Pennsylvania. the Democratic National Committee promoted the jobs plan with splashy expandable video ads. Go to the @BarackObama page on Twitter and the message is the same: "32 days until recess: It's time for Congress to act. According to reports. The Obama for America camp has been running Facebook ads targeting voters in swing states such as Florida. and Florida news sites. the campaign has run the jobs-related TV ads in nine swing states including Colorado. New Hampshire. Ohio. The idea is to reinforce the same job creation message the campaign has been running in TV ads targeting swing states. . Ohio. When Obama introduced the act in September 2011. The Facebook ads encourage people to contact congress in support of President Barack Obama's jobs plan. The ads link to a Facebook page featuring video of the TV spot. The ads link to a Facebook page featuring video of the TV spot. New Hampshire. that page links to the Jobs Now page on the official site. It’s been a long road for the Jobs Act and the ads supporting it. Business Insider: Mitt Romney has a new strategy to dominate the Facebook campaign wars http://www. the campaign has run the jobs-related TV ads in nine swing states including Colorado. According to reports. Capitol Switchboard.S. Nevada. unlike many similar campaigns. and Virginia. that page links to the Jobs Now page on the official site. Earlier this year on early primary voting days the Obama camp stressed the administration's record on job growth in fact-filled ads on New Hampshire. but Republicans in Congress have refused to act on many of the common-sense ideas that would help our country continue to recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The call to action: Call Congress.The Facebook ads encourage people to contact congress in support of President Barack Obama's jobs plan. the more it will resonate. "When 70. "It's a good way to feed the conversation. The Romney campaign also recently became the first to launch an advertising campaign with Apple's mobile iAd service on the iPhone." For Moffatt." 8.000 comments and more than 2. in turn." Moffatt said. that sends a far stronger message than if we just go up on television and tell that story.The campaign will pay to highlight sponsored stories. or buy anything in a newspaper. "Our goal as a campaign is to reduce the points of friction to share a message. in order to have a better chance of reaching Facebook users that "like" Mitt Romney's page. "Because we're talking to as many people as possible. Obama's page has more than 27 million "likes" to Romney's 2 million. Moffatt thinks mobile advertising with Facebook will help the campaign as it tries to cut into President Barack Obama's three-plus-year head start on social platforms. Helped with a boost from the mobile app. Facebook adds a unique piece to the mobile advertising puzzle. expand your reach a little bit." Moffatt said. We feel that the more people who hear Mitt's message. it's about making it easier to reach as many people as possible. In early June.500 shares. that's a reach of millions of people that we didn't have to go out and buy anything on television. One of the Romney campaign's first sponsored Facebook mobile stories was a post advocating for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Moffatt said he believes the Romney campaign is the first to use Facebook mobile advertising. We need to get as many people engaged as people into the world of social and the world of digital.co. share it with their friends and provide that first-person validation. Facebook has that audience and platform built in.uk/world/2012/jun/14/romney-campaign-digital-data-obama?newsfeed=true . and marketers can now put ads directly into users' news feeds. "It's just an opportunity for us to share our message to people who are already with Mitt who. It's another way to reach the so-called "off the grid" voters that are now vital to a campaign's winning strategy." Facebook has recently taken some steps to make mobile advertising easier for marketers. If you were to share that on your page or you were to like it." Moffatt told Business Insider. Moffatt said." Guardian: Romney’s Campaign Closing Gap on Obama in Digital Election Race http://www.guardian. nearly 90. "It's another way of being a holistic campaign. research from media analyst Benedict Evans found that about 40 percent of Facebook users are active on a mobile application. On Facebook. the campaign received its biggest Facebook response yet — as of Monday morning.000 people like or share that story. But any success with Facebook is especially valuable because of users' ability to share stories with hundreds — even thousands — of people with just one click. iPad and iTouch devices." he added. In December. the company started allowing advertisers to design ads specifically for mobile versions. "But I think the message is far stronger. "That's what a campaign is supposed to be about — giving people the tools and allowing them to decide what to do with it.000 "likes. and the campaign has been reaching Android users with mobile online advertising through Google. So what we're trying to do is to make it as simple for them on there. no. digital director of the Romney campaign. with Obama spending at least twice as much on online advertising as his Republican contender. or less than three to one. Despite these early encouraging signs for the Republicans. The success the Republicans are having in generating social media interest around the presidential race has not gone unnoticed among Democratic circles. dwarfing Romney's lessthan-two million by a ratio of 14 to 1. More than 60. .000 endorsements. when Romney finally clinched the Republican nomination. A new study by the social media analytics company Socialbakers looked not just at the candidates' wall posts but at sharing right across Facebook. Obama was able to build up his campaign team in Chicago without distraction.000 for Obama and 240. only marginally tops that with 70. But observers of the 2012 election cycle have begun to notice a subtle but potentially significant shift in fortunes.Ed Pilkington and Amanda Michel June 14. They point to some measures of interactive engagement with voters which suggest the president's advantage is far smaller. on equal pay. recent tracking shows that each official tweet from the Republican candidate is retweeted 608 times. they still have a mountain to climb. Yet the gulf between the candidates is much smaller when calculated in terms of the number of people sharing and commenting on their Facebook wall posts – 640. But according to the Romney campaign. according to Romney advisers. almost on a par with the 750 retweets for every official Obama message. Obama had amassed a total campaign team of 750 staff including scores of data analysts and programmers to Romney's meager 87. But Romney's key digital strategists believe their efforts are beginning to reap rewards and make up some ground following months where they were at a natural disadvantage. and found that Obama was still dominant. they are not.000 people on Facebook have "liked" the latest Romney post demanding a repeal of so-called Obamacare. "I give nothing but credit to the Obama folks who run a very successful programme with a very large staff that we are always amazed by. told the Personal Democracy Forum this week. Obama has 27 million supporters who "like" his Facebook page. Take Facebook. Last month he generated almost five times as much social media buzz on Facebook than his rival.000 for Romney." Zac Moffat. 2012 Mitt Romney's campaign is beginning to close the gap on Barack Obama in the increasingly important digital race to engage and mobilize voters through the internet. By 29 May. One prominent strategist for a left-leaning online consultancy told the Guardian that the figures were "terrifying". where Obama has 30 times as many followers as Romney. Romney has been vastly outspent and out-gunned on digital outreach. The most popular post on Obama's Facebook page in the last week. While the Republicans were engaged in the long and bitter primary battle. The same pattern is seen on Twitter. but in terms of engagement. "In size they are clearly ahead. " he said. But the Republicans have been more savvy at applying technology than they have been given credit for.There are a lot of indicators that suggest we are creating the campaign that we need to be successful in November. albeit customising them for a conservative audience. He calls that group "off-the-grid". who has been in the position since the moment when the former governor of Massachusetts entered the race in 2007. inviting his supporters to enter a $3 lottery to have dinner with Donald Trump." said Chuck DeFeo. having founded Targeted Victory. and there is a sense that Obama's digital supremacy may have been overplayed. pointing out that they are immune from a traditional political campaign's main weapon – TV attack ads. Obama supporters were invited to enter a $3 lottery to have dinner with the Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker. encouraging volunteers and eventually getting people to the polls on November 6. The campaign is even using new digital tools that were created by Obama engineers in 2008. "The Democrats have had longer to build. the proportion of off-the-griders rises to 40%. Optimizely. but it's not like the RNC has been sitting still. Romney aped the idea. This is going to be the first cycle in which persuasion through digital paid media becomes a core part of the election process. The Obama re-election campaign. the Romney campaign has unashamedly copied many of the tricks developed by the Obama team. As far back as 2004 George Bush's staff could access the Republican party's data on voters and volunteers online in realtime – a facility that the Obama campaign made a top priority this cycle. has been lauded for being at the forefront of digital innovation." The chief digital wizard for the Romney campaign is Moffat. "This is not a question of if but when. Moffat has latched on to recent surveys that show that in any given week one in three adult Americans do not watch any live television other than sport. But many of the powers that be who determine TV ad buys don't seem to know this. Moffat believes that targeted online advertising is becoming more and more crucial to any successful political campaign. the eCampaign Director for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in 2004. "You don't get a data advantage overnight. demographic and interest groups. Obama for America. Though Moffat is encouraged by recent signs of healthy online engagement with voters. Both main parties have compiled databases storing the personal details of millions of potential voters – allowing them to micro-target their messages in the hope of raising money. he Under Moffat. He is an experienced organizer and data expert. a tool that allows web developers to test different page configurations to see which is the most effective in ." Over the past few years political campaigns have come to lean increasingly on digital technology and 2012 has been described as the first presidential election cycle where "big data" is front and centre of the race. "Our entire consumption habits are changing. one of a handful of consultancies in the US that specialise in micro-targeting online advertising to specific geographical. In the crucial swing state of Ohio." Moffat said. paid a brief visit to his girlfriend. Unlike the Obama campaign. neighbourhood.businessweek. and being a diligent student with access to some very smart people." Gagnon said. he arranged a rolling series of personal seminars with the CEOs and senior executives of companies that included Apple (AAPL). making it impossible to know whether such interaction can be channeled into real political capital upon which the final result may depend. was developed by an Obama engineer. Dan Siroker. and is numbers-driven. is 45 to 54 years. To what extent engagement through social media will translate into votes in November is unknown. This cycle campaigns are micro-targeting individuals by interpreting their consumer and online histories . according to Facebook's "likes" metrics. voting history and interests of each single potential voter. and then commenced what may be the highest-wattage crash course in executive management ever undertaken. but older citizens are more likely to vote. Facebook (FB). Zynga (ZNGA).com/articles/2012-06-14/obamas-ceo-jim-messina-has-a-president-to-sell By Joshua Green June 14. which has amassed a massive digital team numbering more than 100.determining who to hit and how to hit them using thousands of data points. Texas. That reflects Romney's own style as a former management consultant.raising money and energising voters. Messages can be fine-tuned by age. Both presidential campaigns are keeping mum over the number of volunteers actively making calls and going door to door. That allows the campaign to amass huge quantities of personal data on individuals. When it comes to demographics. and DreamWorks . He's comfortable leaning on the private sector. include ones directed at mothers and at golf fanatics. That may give Obama the edge with youth. which has so far been paid $2. The use of contractors extends to Moffat's own company. Despite the similarities.5m out of Romney's election warchest. Like the Obama re-election effort. Bloomberg Businessweek: Obama's CEO: Jim Messina Has a President to Sell http://www. Matt Gagnon. "Romney is a consultant. Recent Romney online ads. Obama's largest Facebook following is located in Chicago – his home town – whereas Romney's Facebook base is in Houston. there are important differences of emphasis between the two camps. Romney's Facebook following is dramatically different from Obama's. in 2008. Obama's is 18 to 24 years. 2012 The day after Jim Messina quit his job as White House deputy chief of staff last January." says the Republican Governors Association's director of digital strategy. Targeted Victory. Salesforce (CRM). He was about to begin a new job as Barack Obama’s campaign manager. Microsoft (MSFT). The most popular age group following Romney. the Romney campaign "has built an army of consultants. which it can then use to hone its messages back to them – a form of micro-targeting that is hugely more sophisticated than in previous iterations. he caught a plane to Los Angeles. Mitt Romney's digital operation encourages voters to engage with them by signing on through the campaign's online volunteer centre using Facebook and Twitter. Google (GOOG). it is now being commercially leased to the Romney campaign. private conversations. Steven Spielberg spent three hours explaining how to capture an audience’s attention and offered a number of ideas that will be rolled out before Election Day. “Last time you were programming to only a couple of channels. becoming known as “Baucus’s muscle” for his skill as a behind-the-scenes enforcer. he is tall and slightly stooped.” says Baucus—and also earnestly devoted to self-improvement in a way few Washington operatives would want revealed. and to business as much as politics. Before joining Obama in 2008. the iPhone hadn’t been released.” Jobs told him. as presidential campaigns also must be. how it had to be interesting and clean. hung with no evident irony and left there by the staff as a token of fondness.” At DreamWorks Studios. He made his name as chief of staff to Senator Max Baucus of Montana. A certain awestruck tone surfaces when Messina talks about these encounters and what they taught him. Google—because people are segmented in a very different way than they were four years ago. Now. at once a hard-bitten political fixer known for handling unpleasant tasks— “In the White House he was given all the.” When Obama declared for president. “He knew exactly where everything was going. In 2005 he ran the Democrats’ successful pushback against George W. Steve Jobs tore into Messina for all the White House was doing wrong and what it ought to be doing differently. YouTube (GOOG). A sign on his old computer in Baucus’s office.” he says. marketing. and a sheepdog friendliness made somewhat surreal by the arsenal of profanity he deploys when not speaking for the record. at spending huge sums over a few weeks to reach and motivate millions of Americans. he alternated between running campaigns and working on Capitol Hill. with an innocent face. mobile technology had to be central to the campaign’s effort. by their reckoning—of Mitt Romney’s career at Bain Capital. meaning the Web and e-mail.” he says at Obama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago.” says Jim Manley. Messina came to this insight through a relationship with someone keenly attuned to these changes and famous for having groomed two other young men to run a very large enterprise: Eric Schmidt. the s–t work. Twitter. Hollywood movie studios are expert. a flop of blonde hair. Tumblr. At 42. who’s from Denver. pardon my French. “What they’ve done is more readily applicable to me. But his obsession runs to the future. Jobs told him.(DWA). Spielberg insisted that Messina sit down with the DreamWorks marketing team. before going on to explain how the campaign could exploit technology in ways that hadn’t been possible before. Messina is convinced that modern presidential campaigns are more like fast-growing tech companies than anything found in a history book and his own job like that of the executives who run them. a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security. Messina helped cut the deal with the pharmaceutical industry that cleared the way for the health-care reform law. Messina. Afterward. Messina is unusual in Washington. Google’s . a website designed by the Obama team to tell the story—a horror story.” Along with his conversations with CEOs. because they all started very small and got big very quickly. Messina’s regimen for the new job included reading a hundred years’ worth of campaign histories piled on a shelf above his desk. “I went around the country for literally a month of my life interviewing these companies and just talking about organizational growth. emerging technologies. “He explained viral content and how our stuff could break out. At the White House. “Be Better Today Than You Were Yesterday. In two long. you have to program content to a much wider variety of channels—Facebook. not the past. “This time. An early example of Spielberg’s influence is RomneyEconomics.” Messina says. managed his first campaign as an undergraduate at the University of Montana and in the 20 years since has never lost a race.com. reads. “He had a talent for getting K Street to see that it was to their advantage to get on board with whatever Baucus was doing. ” Schmidt says. Obama can use the help. not least because the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010 allowed for a flood of corporate cash. they really focus on only a handful of states. A campaign manager’s job is to spin the fantasy but not fall for it. complex enterprise. and the idealism that once vitalized them has given way to disillusionment. November will be a contest between two different visions of government but also between competing ideas about how to reach voters. The unspoken hope in Chicago is that superior strategy and a shrewd use of technology can make up for Obama’s diminished stature and more formidable opponent. whose executive savvy has not just made him rich but brought him to the cusp of the presidency. the excitement surrounding his candidacy. Obama’s will rely on organization. For many supporters. in volunteers and dollars. Obama summons him over. the thrill of electing him has faded. But everything is different now. Ohio. He routed John McCain. So Messina has spent 18 months studying and building. He’s wading through chest-high surf in Hawaii with the president. heavy on television advertising and backed by a massive war chest. Schmidt has become a kind of guru to Messina. and win a broad swath of voters. when Messina. while under tremendous pressure and public scrutiny. was preoccupied with ramping up for the general election. offering sweeping national visions and vowing to represent everyone. Messina is focused on seven states—Florida. as is already evident in Obama’s strategy. Iowa. “I said . the campaign is about how best to run a large. just after Hillary Clinton dropped out of the race. It’s December 2010. which aims not to expand the electorate but persuade a sliver of it. Romney and his allies are certain to hold the financial upper hand. Obama’s campaign earned acclaim for using tech to harness. Virginia. an executive coach and kindred spirit. The last election was unusual in that Obama really did conduct a national campaign.executive chairman. Schmidt stepped back from Google and Larry Page took over as CEO.” Schmidt was an early sounding board and later arranged many of the meetings with CEOs. scaling up to a national level the type of grass-roots effort Messina once ran for Baucus in Montana. Messina considers him a mentor. “I’ve got a favor I want to ask.” “It did. then Plouffe’s right hand. Messina is wagering Obama’s second term on the idea that the collected wisdom of tech’s biggest titans can outsmart Romney. Neither the nature of the race nor the means of reaching voters will be quite the same. This election will mark a return to the mean. and the rest are right about how far technology has advanced—that it’s come far enough to mitigate Obama’s disadvantages and solve what David Plouffe. calls “our Electoral College Rubik’s Cube. outspending him nearly 3 to 1. In 2008. as Messina was beginning his new job. Messina often tries to convey this to donors by telling the story of how he came to be campaign manager. “I’d like you to run the reelect. North Carolina. but he’ll only take the job on one condition: “You have to understand. expand the electorate.” Messina replies that he’s flattered. Last January.” “I thought the last one went pretty well.” he says. the White House adviser who ran the last campaign. Colorado. His big bet is that Schmidt.” In that sense. The two became acquainted during the last campaign. Presidential campaigns are rarely what they seem. Romney’s campaign will take a traditional approach. Spielberg. For all that the candidates crisscross the country. Reelection campaigns are unglamorous affairs. too. is adamant. Since then.” The story is a windup to a sermon Messina likes to give about the importance of technology in reaching voters—a sort of TED talk that echoes a point about which Schmidt. This race will be different. this will be nothing like the last campaign. “We became very good friends. Nevada—that probably hold the key to the election. “Jim and I met in the 2008 campaign and just hit it off on a personal basis. to him.” “What I like about Jim. The campaign estimates each of the Obama snowflakes will produce an extra 1. the best way to do it is analytically.800 right away. who then recruit 20 volunteers apiece. and his top advisers are all prolific tweeters and minor social media celebrities. no more annoying knocks on the door when they’ve just gotten a phone call or e-mail Dashboard is an important component of what the campaign refers to as the “snowflake” model of organizing. about HR. about purchasing supply chains. Plouffe discusses technology’s importance. Obama sent two tweets to his 116. the growth of Facebook. and they’re often right. And you have the tools now. “My advice was to think about it in terms of quarters.’ For three hours we sat in a conference room. Total: 500 people. Obama’s fundraisers pushed big donors to contribute the annual maximum of $35.” As Plouffe put it: “Politics always has room for feel and instinct. You can run political campaigns on the sum of those tools.” In his memoir of the 2008 election. We think from a technology and data perspective that what Jim has built will be the best that politics has ever seen. The earlier they did this.” each of whom brings in five team members. which allows field staffers and volunteers to access and update the campaign’s voter database from an app on their phones. The smart people were using them in 2008.” says Schmidt. And then you build from there. This avoids a common Washington problem. “In 2008 most people didn’t operate on *Facebook and Twitter+.000 votes. On Election Day. In 2008 most users were in their teens or twenties. They’re intuitive thinkers. ‘Yes. to more than 900 million. Everything is updated in real time—no need to lug around a clipboard or check in at an office. it’s not hard to imagine the campaign having a direct line to 50 percent or 70 percent—or maybe more—of the voters it will need to win.” Silicon Valley’s influence is evident even in the layout of the campaign’s headquarters. the floor plan has few private offices and lots of big. So essentially all of the key personnel decisions are made in the first quarter. Canvassers can visit a neighborhood and see which houses are targets and which are a waste of time. the fastest-growing segment now is people over 50. today. “He said. only better. ‘What are the analytical measurements that I should make decisions on?’ Many people in politics have no concept of what I just said.” Despite the last campaign’s success using the Internet. The other obvious ones are the growth of YouTube and Twitter. now everyone’s using them. Designed with input from Facebook executives. This would cover the salary of one paid field staffer. I have. collaborative open spaces where staffers work in pods. which is much. To reach this expanding universe of potential supporters.000 Twitter followers. “We had essentially created our own television network. ‘You’ve done what I’m being asked to do. about the blocking and tackling of growing fast and making sure you have organizational objectives. Last year. first and foremost. You can imagine the implications of that. who oversees five unpaid “neighborhood team leaders.” he says. The history of American . “The difference now is.” he writes.” Schmidt says. and we’ll talk. And for voters.’ ” Messina says. much more deeply penetrated into things. and he just gave me advice about all the mistakes he’d made. the idea that each paid staffer creates and oversees an expanding network of volunteers—a snowflake. The 13 million e-mail addresses Obama collected were not just a potent way to raise money but also a valuable means of talking to supporters. he has 16 million followers. the more voters they would reach. “You really have six quarters between *last spring+ and the election. Schmidt says the world hadn’t yet reached the point where technology could transform how people run for president. But there is so much now that is measurable. the Obama team spent nine months building a platform it calls Dashboard. “is that he starts the day thinking. “because we communicated directly with no filter to what would amount to about 20 percent of the total number of votes we would need to win—a remarkably high percentage. Let me sit down with you. But the difference is that to run a large operation in today’s world. Extrapolating a bit.” Both Schmidt and Messina share a fondness for the metrics that highlight these changes: Facebook users have grown tenfold since the last campaign. ” Messina says. ads. Ohio. and buttons. and management theory really amount to an elaborate. By virtue of his background. “What is the one thing everyone has from ’08? A T-shirt. and generally vacuuming up and analyzing every available bit of personal data—not only voting patterns. ‘Show me what you want on a white board.com. “When people say. topping Obama’s $60 million and marking the first time in five years that Obama had been outraised. mostly the standard T-shirts. was introduced on the runway by Scarlett Johansson. He threw out all the old conventional wisdom and said. and how they respond to e-mails. people who can get stuff done quickly. . political contributions. hats.) Messina sees only the influx of millions of dollars—although he won’t say how many millions. organizing volunteers. determined effort to discredit Romney and win their support. including Bill Clinton and Cory Booker. Early on. Messina may be especially well suited to that job. to the delight of Republicans and cable news producers. and consumer preferences but also what people read and share. I’ll build it for you. Her influence actually runs much deeper. Obama’s staff is spread across a single floor—to all outward appearances. and other solicitations. At the suggestion of another of Messina’s advisers. and persuade voters. veered off message and commended Romney’s business record. At Schmidt’s suggestion. register voters. who’d never worked in politics and was brought in from the online T-shirt vendor Threadless. is a friendly. money.” The campaign’s chief technology officer. “He looks like he’s the heavy-metal lead guitarist in Metallica. for a lot of these positions. whose own fashion sense borders on the tragic. Al Gore’s and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns were riven with factionalism among status-obsessed aides on different floors. “Everything has to feed into those three things. it’s not clear that will be enough. “But if you’re a 45-year-old swing voter in Toledo. Messina is adamant that the Bain attack succeeded among the uncommitted voters he’s concerned with.” Plouffe says.” Messina says. Anna Wintour. hatred. elite opinion was that it mostly flopped. Obama-themed merchandise has become a lucrative revenue source. ‘How’s the Bain thing playing?’ it doesn’t matter what the set of Morning Joe has to say about it.presidential campaigns is full of infighting. including Vera Wang and Diane von Furstenberg. but they net a lot more than $10 Hanes T-shirts. Messina. happily. and rivalries.” Messina says. the Obama team has built systems for registering voters. (The Romney campaign also sells merchandise. Messina bypassed the political pros who usually handle campaign technology and opted to build it in-house. On June 7. All the technology. the Romney campaign said it raised $76 million in May. Messina met. Sure. tweets. Harper Reed. what are you seeing? What’s in your local newspaper? What ads are running? And what’s going on in the local field operation? That’s what really matters. Last fall the campaign held a runway show in Manhattan to unveil a luxury clothing line by celebrity designers. you don’t want political people. “Raise money.” Messina says. the $95 Thakoon Panichgul scarf and $75 Tory Burch tote bag are outlandish. “You need innovators. who created a spreadsheet to convince him that fashion could generate serious money for the campaign. who ignore pundits and are only now beginning to form opinions of Romney.” It’s true these voters will probably decide the election. the editor of Vogue and inspiration for The Devil Wears Prada. “Eric said to me.’ ” Under Reed. after campaign surrogates. and was dazzled by. Republicans gleefully mock Obama’s designer collection as an exercise in narcissism. bearded startup veteran with gauged earlobes and lots of tattoos. Wintour drew conservatives’ scorn for appearing in an online video soliciting donors for a fundraising dinner for the first couple with Sarah Jessica Parker. “But he’s a genius. Despite Spielberg’s input on the Bain ad.” From the outside. Should it come to that. as a narrator intoned.’ ” says Penny Pritzker. We were in Bozeman in a motel. and then appearing to reach toward the man’s crotch.” “Jim is tough. If the European crisis explodes or an attack on Iran drives up oil prices. “You win in Montana by convincing white. as the two leading stories from his Montana career suggest. independent voters to turn out for you. It’s good experience for presidential politics because it’s not about turning out your base. I loved it!” Humiliated. but what only an elect few have ever actually done— make the difference in a presidential election. but it’s almost evenly divided between the parties. Messina is trying to do the same thing. direct mail. Then.S. ‘This is the most important thing I will do in my lifetime. what most Washington operatives brag about doing. “I found out quickly from Messina that there was no honor in politics. Montana is out of reach.” Taylor says in an e-mail. “Democrats usually perform at around 47 or 48 percent. Starting out in Montana provided a broad education in all aspects of a campaign. massaging lotion into another man’s face. Montana is so cheap even a legislative candidate on a $20.html Lois Romano June 9. Messina became known as a “field guy” for his dogged emphasis on voter contact. To protect Baucus. The ad charged Taylor with having embezzled student loans from a cosmetology school he’d owned in the 1980s. so candidates have to run a little better campaign than Republicans to win statewide.” The state also lacks a significant minority presence.” says Dave Hunter. and are expected to. or the old gaffe-prone Romney could return and hand Obama an unexpectedly easy win. who was the target of an ad so devastating it got national attention. it’s about persuasion. Districts are small enough that candidates can. But the seven states he’s targeted. A rural state with fewer than a million residents.” Because Montana typically votes Republican for president. Messina will have a chance to do what every campaign manager dreams of doing. open-shirted disco outfit. a local consultant and early mentor to Messina. Messina had him refuse to participate in any debate that didn’t also include a fringe thirdparty candidate who’d inadvertently dyed his skin blue with homemade antibiotics—a guaranteed distraction.” he says. and Baucus sailed to victory. as well as a few more he hopes won’t end up in play. all lie within striking distance of either candidate.Messina will go a long way to win.com/news/stories/0612/77213. a state senator named Mike Taylor. Set to a porn soundtrack. But its force lay in the music and imagery. Or the recovery could pick up steam. A likelier scenario. what do you think?’ They were afraid I wasn’t going to like it. Both involve the 2002 Senate race he ran for Baucus. only at a much higher level. “Not the way we do business in Montana. though. ‘Max.000 budget can run a sophisticated campaign with radio and television ads. “Politics here is competitive. is that the race will be close. economy may tank and render moot all of Messina’s careful planning. The other story involved his Republican challenger.” Baucus says. The curtains were drawn. it featured snippets of an old television ad for Taylor’s hair salon that showed the candidate clad in a medallioned. the CEOs will come to him for ad POLITICO: Obama’s Data Advantage http://www. the national finance chair of the last campaign. “Jim has said to me. the U.” Ten years later. Taylor quit the race. Messina seems to believe that’s what will happen. 2012 . “We really don’t have African Americans or a Hispanic population. He said. “I’ll never forget when he showed me that ad. and phone banks.” Hunter says. it’s often regarded as a red state.politico. a Democrat seeking reelection in a terrible year for Democrats. knock on every door. “that you can win if you run good enough grass roots and you’re very clear about the differences with your opponent. “It taught me very early on. a technology strategist and publisher of TechPresident. This time. When a race is as close as this one promises to be. It makes the president’s much-heralded 2008 social media juggernaut — which raised half billion dollars and revolutionized politics — look like cavemen with stone tablets. what kind of work you do and who you count as friends.) “It’s all about the data this year and Obama has that. they are constantly experimenting and testing to expand the donor base.” Launched two weeks ago. The depth and breadth of the Obama campaign’s 2012 digital operation — from data mining to online organizing — reaches so far beyond anything politics has ever seen. a new kind of political engagement — and political persuasion — is possible. “They are way ahead of Romney micro-targeting and it’s a level of precision we haven’t seen before. they have found $3 to be a magic number: Asking supporters for that paltry donation to win a chance to attend a fundraiser with the president and George Clooney or Sarah Jessica Parker. experts maintain. more message distribution.” says Darrell M. for sure.” . a Harvard professor and social media guru: “The fabric of our public and political space is shifting.” says Andrew Rasiej. Obama’s newest innovation is the much anticipated “Dashboard. This allows the campaign to tailor messages directly to them — depending on factors such as socio-economic level. For example. more money. that it could impact the outcome of a close presidential election. has generated tens of thousands of responses — people from whom the campaign can collect highly valuable data and then go back to. the campaign is building what some see as an unprecedented data base to develop highly specific profiles of potential voters. (The campaign was mercilessly ridiculed last month when it rolled out a new App misspelling America." a sophisticated and highly interactive platform that gives supporters a blueprint for organizing. by harnessing the growing power of Facebook and other online sources. In addition. They know what you read and where you shop. “*The Obama campaign has] been able to work on it under the radar during the Republican primary season. the campaign was the first to maximize online giving — raising hundreds of millions of dollars from small donors. and more votes. The data also allows the campaign to micro-target a range of dollar solicitations online depending on the recipient. West. If the Obama campaign can combine its data efforts with the way people now live their lives online. the notion that Democrats have a monopoly on cutting edge technology no longer holds water. a leading scholar on technology innovation at the Brookings Institution. In 2008. “More and more accurate data means more insight. They also know who your mother voted for in the last election. and communicating with each other and the campaign. age and interests.CHICAGO — On the sixth floor of a sleek office building here. Mitt Romney indeed is ramping up his digital effort after a debilitating primary and. any small advantage could absolutely make the difference. But it’s also not at all clear that Romney can come close to achieving the same level of technological sophistication and reach as his opponent.” Adds Nicco Mele. more than 150 techies are quietly peeling back the layers of your life. ” The challenge facing both campaigns in 2012 is the changing consumer — and the endless ways they receive information. what is most important is not how many people on any list or how many followers we have — but their engagement level. but today most users expect a more sophisticated way to actually engage –and on their terms. “digital is no longer a part of the campaign.” . who adds that they will target audience through “our partnership with an industry-leading data management platform. grass-roots organizing and fundraising.” “In the end.” Moffitt said.” said one adviser. Four years ago. “It wasn’t something we were going to put resources into if he wasn’t the nominee. they were willing to share some advances since 2008: • Created a holistic. totally in-house digital operation that is the largest department at campaign headquarters. Harvard’s Mele. by reaching deep into communities with targeted online advertising. “(Obama) used the powerful narrative of his 2008 campaign to build a digital infrastructure that remains formidable.” The other hope. “I’m not going to say he can’t catch up because with enough money and intensity. Romney campaign officials acknowledge that they have had neither the time.” said Mele. While the campaign is beginning to increase staff in preparation for the general election. “is that his online reach will outweigh any Superpac funding advantage Romney might have for television advertising. The hope for the Obama team. It is also apparent that the Romney campaign will stick closely to the traditional campaign model of heavy and expensive television spending — with the assist of wealthy conservative super PACs that have signaled a willingness to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat Obama. While Obama campaign officials guard details about its digital operation as fiercely as Romney guards his tax returns. said that even with some obvious attrition to Obama’s 2008 database. Romney is trailing.” said Moffatt. creating “customized solutions” to fit their needs. For one. both in terms of data and sheer know-how and expertise. is that Obama can replicate some of the online excitement that propelled him into office four years ago. It is the campaign. Moffatt says the Romney campaign will outsource much of their data management — instead of handling it in house. it may be doable — but it seems very unlikely to me. As one campaign official put it. who at age 25 helped pioneer the use of social media technology on Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign. of course.Obama already this year has outspent Romney significantly (and outspent his own 2008 levels) for online advertising. according to several market analyses the numbers. nor the resources to build a complex digital operation as they were fighting their way through the prolonged primary season. Romney digital director Zac Moffatt says they will do things differently than the Obama operation. supporters might have been satisfied with just “friending” a candidate on Facebook. much of the social media and video was generated organically from supporters. In 2008. “As a campaign we would not presume to know more than the collective intelligence and resources of the marketplace. And our followers are engaged. says West. Obama has 16 million Twitter followers to Romney’s 500. and has far more personal information available to mine. Messina makes it clear that some tried-and-true methods still apply. How hard is it?’ ” • Developed a more complex symbiosis between the campaign and Facebook. On Facebook.” Messina said. and Michelle Obama has nearly 1 million to Ann Romney’s 45. because what has really changed is the channels are different. persuading undecided voters and making sure they’ll vote on Election Day. “We had the on-the-ground.• Hired a number of nonpolitical tech innovators. and a lot of them are coming in because of things like this. 000 followers at election time and about 2. and then we had the digital campaign. “Last time. it’s the campaign that’s driving and controlling most digital content. “So. • Staffed a full-time digital director in each of about a dozen battleground states to effectively run minigeneral election campaigns in those states. door-knocking.S.000. says Messina. all-digital office in San Francisco where knowledgeable techies drop in for a few hours and strive to develop new software for the campaign under the supervision of paid staff. I want to give them money.8 million. which is 10 times bigger than it was four years go.” says Messina. “responsive design” allows a user to give money and volunteer without bifocals. population using smart phones. which gives the campaign one more avenue for data.4 million Facebook followers. “Call up our website and try to donate on your phone and then do Romney’s. The campaign had 118. “Facebook was just a site to see friends four year ago now it is part of people’s DNA.” Messina said. “The goal is to burst through the wall of those two things. “and that is the kind of the organizing we’re doing. “It’s even more important this time than last time to run a real grass-roots campaign that’s built on turning out our voters. software engineers and statisticians. because people are busy and people want to help us and they think about — ‘Oh. some people like it on text. some people are going to go directly to our website.” Twitter was just gaining steam in 2008 when campaign used the platform largely to notify followers about events.” This time. we had two campaigns.” he says. I saw the president on TV. • Opened the first all-volunteer. Today. Obama has nearly 27 million followers to Romney’s 1. some people now do Twitter. … Those things are important. With nearly half of the U. because all election campaigns are a slave to history. (It’s hard to know how many of either man’s followers are non-American. “More than 40 percent of all our donors are new.” . and the history here is just nonexistent.” • Invested mightily in cutting-edge technology that scales the website to fit the screen of any device.) “We are building content to a variety of different channels. Less certain for Obama is whether his vast digital empire can recreate the movement and excitement of 2008. Obama invites supporters to log on to the campaign through their Facebook accounts.” says Obama campaign manager Jim Messina. some people like it on email. we’ve been able to kind of reinvent it. and so some people are going to get all of their stuff through Facebook. “It has been incredibly freeing. person-toperson campaign. But most of the digital campaign was really organized by [supporters] — by themselves. yeah.000.” notes a senior campaign adviser. a new generation of consultants has its eye on the post-television era. that reliance on traditional media remains the dominant strategy. online spending accounts for about one dollar out of of every four spent this cycle. with the largest portion of it flowing through them -. The Tea Party Texan surprised the Lone State establishment last week by forcing a runoff with Lt.5 million.html?1339087028 Ryan Grim June 8. of course -." . David Dewhurst. very well. however: Fewer people are kicking back on the couch to watch live TV. (Facebook's bipartisan pair of political advisers make themselves available to candidates regardless of party. BPI has so far pulled in $18. Senate seat is at the end of July. Cruz's campaign worked directly with Facebook to craft a strategy that focused heavily online. a long-term trend that shows no signs of reversing itself. blanket the airwaves with it.to pay for television ads.huffingtonpost.S. the overall online spending among the top firms is likely much higher.Huffington Post: Will the Online Campaign Kill the TV Ad? http://www.with the requisite commission skimmed. The consultants face a problem. generating a following that far outpaced his rivals. according to Federal Election Commission filings. who don't have landlines [and so can't be reached by robocalls or pollsters]. As The Huffington Post reported Tuesday. "The amount of minutes that people spend on the Internet has increased each year by double.) "With people watching less television.) Online consultants in the top 150 have combined to gross more than $49 million. That figure likely covers some spending that wasn't purely targeted at online activity. also a Republican. Take the case of Ted Cruz. The fourth biggest firm on the list is Bully Pulpit Interactive." said Taryn Rosenkranz. All told. In fact. The top 150 consultants have so far grossed just over $214 million this election cycle. But they are Internet users.com/2012/06/07/online-campaign-political-advertising-tvad_n_1576434. run a poll and show you it has moved the numbers. a next-generation online consulting shop which runs the Obama campaign's online component. whose consulting firm New Blue Interactive works to build online support for progressive candidates.The political consulting industry knows how to do one thing very. though the amount would be marginal. political consultants have already had their hands on $466 million this election cycle.com. (Disclosure: BPI advertises on huffingtonpost. Gov. The Texas runoff for the U. Give a consultant a few million dollars and he or she will test a message. But nearly a decade after Howard Dean's campaign for president introduced the Internet to the political world. 2012 WASHINGTON -. there's a category of people you're not catching on TV. because many traditional firms have minor online components as well. Even as record amounts of money are being shoveled at local network affiliates lucky enough to have media markets in swing states. according to a HuffPost analysis. and the elite's preferred and very well financed candidate. are generally considered successful if they increase turnout by just a percentage point or two. The study was completed in May 2012 and provided to HuffPost by Teresi. the Internet is increasingly seen as a high-growth potential strategy in the era of unlimited spending unleashed by five members of the Supreme Court in the Citizens United decision. Voters in her control group who were not given a message from a friend about voting on election day turned out at a 22 percent rate. The consulting firm Chong & Koster blasted some Florida voters with an average of five ads a day on Facebook. has shown an ability to move the needle. and even Facebook ads "liked" by a friend. As long as TV can still move the numbers. An eight point jump -. or move people to head to the polls who might otherwise have sat at home. universally acknowledged that the focus is shifting. Those who received messages encouraging them to vote and letting them know when election day was turned out at a rate of 30 percent.means less if the money spent on TV ads doesn't translate into persuasion and votes.000 people talked about the "We Are Ohio" campaign on Facebook.S. According to the firm.most other industrialized democracies have dramatically higher voting rates. But consultants interviewed for this story. Because of Facebook's privacy policies. had no discernible impact on voting patterns. instead. the focus will remain there. but the number is impossible to verify because the company won't allow researchers to compare its findings with voter files. voters connected by social networks can share information and encourage each other to vote. however. Data was collected from several different pools of voters that ranged between 100 and 700. has found promising results. Voters exposed to the ads were more likely to vote no than a typical voter -. If. the former White House chief of staff.Across the political spectrum.000 of their friends. reaching 500. Holly Teresi tested whether status updates from a friend could noticeably improve a person's knowledge of current electoral politics. 12 million people clicked "I Voted" on Facebook on election day. Rahm Emanuel. Teresi's findings blow the typical get-out-the-vote performance away. Facebook ads. The American people are notoriously stingy with their vote -. One study. little academic work has been done to measure voting and political behavior on the social network.is the kind of thing that can turn an election.and more likely to oppose it than a typical Democrat. Getting outspent many times over -. relied on Bully Pulpit Interactive to run a major campaign through Facebook.as happened to Democrats in Wisconsin's recall election -. who now works for the New Organizing Institute. Absolutely blanketing voters with Facebook ads. Major get-out-the-vote campaigns in the U. (In 2010.an increase of more than a third -. For her dissertation at Georgia State University. encouraging a no vote on a proposition that would have increased school class sizes. but in particular for some Democrats and progressives. whether rooted more in traditional or online campaigning.) In Ohio. claiming to have reached 30 percent of all Emanuel voters online. 50. The New Media Firm deeply engaged Facebook in the effort to beat back the anti-union measure SB 5. . Teresi also found that voters who were given some information about the election by a friend were better able to retain it. however. however. the playing field would be (at least slightly) leveled. Meanwhile. The explosion in the use of Google. she said. say.that are a little more innovative. and his method shows the advantage individuals. buys and trades millions of dollars of stocks for private investors based on that number: When everyone appears happy. candidates need to trust their supporters to brawl for them in the seemingly limitless threads that come together to make up the online political debate. companies and governments are gaining as they take hold of the unprecedented amount of data online. Paul Hawtin monitors the fire hose of more than 340 million Twitter posts flying around the world each day to try to assess the collective mood of the populace. Elsewhere Online Redefines Trend-Watching http://www."The Democratic Party's base wants it to go that way. Doing so gives campaigns an unprecedented amount of information on a specific voter. he generally buys. candidates find a wide range of new ways to reach voters.com/business/economy/big-data-from-social-media-elsewhere-online-taketrend-watching-to-new-level/2012/06/06/gJQArWWpJV_story. There's a lot of push from big donors. according to IBM." said one consultant. Some politicians get nervous about the two-way nature of the online medium.washingtonpost. Traders such as Hawtin say analyzing mathematical trends on the Web delivers insights and news faster than traditional investment approaches. Rosenkranz of New Blue Interactive warned candidates not to underestimate the power of social networks and peer-to-peer activism during her time as a top fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. deemed it a new class of economic asset. The consultant. Facebook. or arch conservatives. I've noticed a difference in the last six to eight months in people's willingness to think about things differently. who requested anonymity because he did not wish to speak publicly about donors." Washington Post: ‘Big Data’ From Social Media. in a report published last year. 2012 From a trading desk in London. When anxiety runs high. . Twitter and other services has resulted in the generation of some 2. Rather than advertising to everyone who is watching "Jeopardy.html Ariana Eunjung Cha June 6." she said. "They really become your message megaphone. Hawtin. but you put out a message and your activist supporters are going to defend you. chief executive of Derwent Capital Markets. But. "Even this election. candidates can have their ads appear only in front of users who have already been identified as." Once they do start thinking differently. he sells short. The computer program he uses generates a global sentiment score from 1 to 50 based on how pessimistic or optimistic people seem to be from their online conversations. strong progressives. “Big data. how. allowing messages to be precisely tailored. "People used to be afraid of this consumer-driven conversation. Our big donors tend to be from those realms -. like oil. described tracking users online and matching their IP and home address to the voter file to determine whether they're registered to vote.5 quintillion bytes each day. for instance. has become so valuable that the World Economic Forum. and if so." for example. There's a lot of Hollywood money [that] knows how much the media landscape is changing.” as it has been dubbed by researchers. The Internet also allows candidates to slice the audience much more finely. social media -.venture capital. Hawtin has seen a gain of more than 7 percent in the first quarter of this year. The Obama campaign employs rows of people manning computers that monitor Twitter sentiment about the candidates in key states. and so big data is being fed into computers to power high-frequency trading algorithms — and directly to traders in every way imaginable. calling habits. Investment firms are conducting computer analyses of the financial statements of public companies to search for signs of a bankruptcy. economists. it added. Even so. popularity of sports. chief technology officer at StreamBase. home sales and retail sales when the trends could be gleaned weeks or even months earlier by analyzing publicly available data online? Five years ago. “Big data is fundamentally changing how we trade. And the United Nations is measuring inflation through computers that analyze the price of bread advertised in online supermarkets across Latin America. And nowhere has big data been as transformative as it has been in finance.” the report said.” Honore said. Mass. Many questions about big data remain unanswered. calls it “examining data in motion. Hedge funds are experimenting with scanning comments on Amazon product pages to try to predict sales. a financial services consulting group based in Boston. ‘Data in motion’ Richard Tibbetts. according to a report by Adam Honore. a research director at Aite. for instance. Banks are tallying job listings on Monster as an indicator of hiring.“Business boundaries are being redrawn. Honore said. By 2010.” said Gary King. the share of companies experimenting with this technology jumped to 35 percent. advances in computer power and analytics have made it possible for machines to tease out patterns in topics of conversation. Google scientists are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track the spread of flu around the world by analyzing what people are typing in to search. software engineers. Every little bit could mean the difference between a bonanza or a devastating loss. company that provides tools for analyzing large amounts of data. Concerns are being raised about personal privacy and how consumers can ensure that their information is being used fairly. It enables us to watch changes in society in real time and make decisions in a way we haven’t been able to ever before. policy analysts and others in nearly every field are jumping into the fray. only 2 percent of investment firms were incorporating Twitter analysis and other forms of “unstructured” data into their trading decisions. were able to get the news of Osama bin Laden’s death and a massacre in Norway hours before the . Companies with the ability to mine the data are becoming the most powerful. a Lexington. purchasing trends. a social science professor at Harvard University and a co-founder of Crimson Hexagon. Why wait for the government to release official numbers on auto sales. a data analysis firm based in Boston.” The trick is to be able to find the digital smoke signals amid all the other stuff. that number is closer to 50 percent. sociologists. “This is changing the world in a big way. While the human brain cannot comprehend that much information at once. Traders who were analyzing Twitter for unusual activity. Some worry that savvy technologists could use Twitter or Google to create false trends and manipulate markets.. spread of disease and other expressions of daily life. Wall Street is all about information advantage. use of language. Today. But the interest in his project was so great that in April he began offering his technology to retail investors. and a growing backlash against big data may threaten the flow of that information. If the anxiety continued to trend up the following day. In addition to its efforts to gauge the collective mood of the world. Facebook and other social-media outlets to create measures for individual stocks and commodities. Privacy concerns Companies and governments are pushing the envelope in the use and reuse of data in ways not originally intended.S. has become so concerned about the misuse of personal information by companies and governments that he has warned people to be cautious about what they put online. Civil liberties groups have sued to stop a U. Tim Berners-Lee. Hawtin was studying his global sentiment monitor when he noticed something troubling. “There’s a delay between how you’re feeling about your economic situation and having that sentiment turned into a decision like buying or selling a stock or adjusting your portfolio. tapping $40 million from his now-closed hedge fund. “It’s a very new area we don’t fully understand yet. he said. arguing that it could be used to unjustly label people as bad credit risks — or even terrorists — and chill free speech.information was officially confirmed. government program that monitors social media data for national security threats.” he said. a surge in anxiety after two days of relative calm. making it unclear how it can be used. His investors beat the main London stock index by seven-fold in the first quarter of this year. a founder of the World Wide Web. he decided it was too early to take any action. The numbers support Hawtin’s strategy — at least so far. where certain parties have an unfair advantage because they have better information than others — a phenomenon that some have argued shakes the foundation of a market economy. After deliberating for a few minutes. On a recent weekday. The data sets are so large that they are normally analyzed in aggregate. He has repeatedly warned potential investors that there is a high level of risk.” Tibbetts said. There is also the danger of what scholars call information asymmetry. but privacy advocates worry that information can still be tied to individuals. giving them a significant jump on their colleagues who learned of the events through traditional news sources. “The new generation of trader expects to have dozens of tools at their fingertips instead of just a Bloomberg terminal. . Hawtin began experimenting with trading on a social-media sentiment algorithm in the spring of 2011. The regulatory framework has not caught up with the technology. But programs such as Hawtin’s are only as good as the data being entered. the company now examines messages on Twitter. Even the basic definition of personal data varies widely from one country to another. and privacy groups are pushing back. he would probably start selling.” he said. geeks in Brooklyn will take part in what can now fairly be called a mini-trend in political fundraising: the Obama campaign enlisting its technology staffers to serve as the draw at low-to-mid-dollar events. chief campaign strategist David Axelrod. which is geared towards volunteers with coding. including the Dow Jones industrial average. by between 1. is the lead author of a paper detailing another investment strategy based on Twitter. You can spam Twitter streams with positive words about a stock to make it look as if there is a groundswell of optimism about the company. if Goff's slightly less so. Hosted at the sparely gorgeous bookstore and event space PowerHouse Arena in Dumbo.theatlantic. an associate professor of computer science at the University of California at Riverside. Figures like campaign manager Jim Messina. “A model that predicts the stock market. During a four-month simulation. Vagelis Hristidis. a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington. Tapping campaign aides to headline fundraisers isn't a technique invented by the Obama campaign. and more in its competition against Mitt Romney. But the Obama campaign has also. rights to an open bar.” The Atlantic: At Campaign Fundraisers. and reaching more deeply into its bench. and Joe Rospars. But for some people. $1. if any profile at all. these "tech fundraisers" are one more return on the considerable investment in technology and technologists that the Obama campaign has been making since its own startup phase in 2007. mobile. his approach outperformed other baseline strategies and indexes. and senior White House adviser David Plouffe occasionally serve as hosts for campaign fundraisers. the campaign's chief digital strategist and architect of the 2008 campaign's online operation. Obama for America's digital director. the fundraiser is billed as "The Obama Campaign's Digital Strategy: An Inside Perspective.” said Jay Stanley.4 percent and 11 percent. and both serve in roles that the Obama operation has famously treated as part of the campaign's senior management. “can only be successful as long as people don’t know about it. getting a chance to hear from. and other technology skills. But the organization is using its tech staffers more. offering would-be donors not only a chance to rub elbows with those at the forefront of political technology but also a glimpse at what the campaign has in the works when it comes to the Internet. than has been past practice. like chief technology officer Harper Reed and Catherine Bracy." Featured are Teddy Goff. data streams can be manipulated. the lead on Obama's San Francisco field office. Or you can use the same techniques to try to sink a stock. Beyond the civil liberties issue. and your name on the event invitation. Rospars' name is reasonably well-known. design.“It increases opportunities for those who are already richer and disadvantages those that are poor. 2012 Tonight. Goff about the next generation of the campaign's organizing platform or .500 gets you a pre-event reception. Tickets start at $75 a person with access to a cash bar.com/politics/archive/2012/05/at-campaign-fundraisers-obamas-tech-staffers-arethe-stars/256882/ By Nancy Scola May 8. For those who closely follow presidential politics. say.” Hristidis said. in recent months. included in the fundraising mix aides serving in jobs that traditionally had lower public profiles. Obama's Tech Staffers Are The Stars http://www. As the general election nears. Goff and Reed were joined by both deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter and former U. Tapping Wall Street for dollars is proving challenging this time around. While Sunlight's Political Party Time doesn't capture the entire universe of campaign-fundraiser invitations. The Obama tech group has already served as something of a start-up incubator. Thirty dollars got donors into a panel reception. The 60 or so co-chairs of the Obama campaign's Technology for Obama national committee includes such tech industry business leaders like LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman. Some of that has come through splashy fundraisers. the campaign's young people's project.like NationalField. and that's where the Obama's band of technologists has thus far been deployed. like . Both Democrats and Republicans have been making pilgrimages to Silicon Valley of late. and volunteers is shaping up to form one of the more active corners of the technology world. (The Obama campaign wasn't interested in commenting on this sort of thing. tickets there started at 44 bucks and went up to $1. which collects and posts campaign event invitations. who love nothing better than process. and Amicus -. Obama has raised $2.000.000. But. Moreover. Reed. funders. however. as is the chance to participate in a roundtable discussion that might address not only tech practice.S. with relationships that don't need to end come election day. according to the Sunlight Foundation's Political Party Time project. In midFebruary Goff and Rospars hosted an event at Hudson Terrace in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. there's something for everyone involved to love about these tech world funders.4 million from sources in the computer and Internet industries. Thrown in conjunction with Gen44. there's a bit of fundraising psychology at work: A chance to get the real "inside perspective" on the Obama campaign's operations is an appealing prospect. that list includes about a dozen venture capitalists who have shown themselves willing to dedicate considerable sums to promising technologies. That's likely especially true in the country's technology hot spots. For the geeks. and Bracy hosted a fundraiser at San Francisco's Founders Den. against Romney's $800. he's enjoying nearly a mirror-image reputation. In early March in Austin. a SoMa working space and private club.) Even more than your average chance to financially support the candidate of your choice. a search for digital staffers from the Romney campaign doesn't return results. advisers. the fact that it's playing out that way is a happy accident of the networked world. and many of the VC-funded political tech companies people are paying attention to at the moment -. It would be crediting the upstart circa-2007 Obama operation with an implausible amount of foresight to think that they jumped onto the Internet with historic vigor so that they might tap their tech team's fundraising potential in 2012. but technology and information policy. Goff. and eBay's John Donahoe.intersected with Obama's 2008 run in one way or another. And there are other elbows worth rubbing in the room. with Obama's policies and rhetoric weighing him down in the financial world.from Reed on the work being done to optimize the campaign's database architecture might be an even bigger draw. but that sort of attention has been proving particularly fruitful for Obama. that sort of company might prove to be a perk for entrepreneurial campaign staffers themselves. and $500 gave them access to a "small roundtable discussion" starting an hour and a half earlier. at which point the purchaser became an official co-chair of the event. In fact. Electionear. In the tech world. The Obama campaign's gathering of tech staffers. the campaign held a $500-a-head fundraiser at Six Lounge during the technology segment of SXSW. what with his administration coming against the much-disliked SOPA and PIPA online copyright bills and his recent aggressive opposition to a big cybersecurity bill just as Silicon Valley and others in the tech world were starting to fully sour on it. In late January. According to OpenSecrets. CTO Aneesh Chopra. for them. Salesforce's Marc Benioff. Goff and Rospars will have to do. Huffington Post: Barack Obama.800 per couple to hang out with the president himself." Ann Romney also has an account on Pinterest.com/2012/05/03/obama-romney-social-media-women_n_1475221. responded. closed to the press." he tweeted in April. this evening's tech fundraiser is. "Every mother works hard. "How about the facts: Women account for 92.Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's September event where people paid as much as $35. On April 6. and a display of patriotic photos. Michelle Obama. Sandberg even had an actual rockstar -.3% of jobs lost under @BarackObama. they'll do better Alas. an analyst for Meltwater Group. Nearly 9 percent of Obama's Twitter feed and 8 percent of Romney's mentioned women's issues over the last month. In Brooklyn tonight. "We've really seen the change once Santorum dropped out of the race." Lam told The Huffington Post. She said women's issues rose to the forefront as Mitt Romney cleared the Republican field and began focusing on the general election. The candidates' wives are playing a role as well. By early afternoon. The candidates' online mentions of women were tracked by the website Meltwater Election Buzz. PowerHouse does have glass walls. Twitter and Pinterest are critical for reaching women for the campaigns of both President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney. including a quote.to offer donors. and every woman deserves to be respected. which found 38.' —President Obama" While Obama's tweets were largely positive statements. recommendations for books and recipes. whose tweets often address women's issues. 2012 Social media sites Facebook.000 tweets using the hashtag #waronwomen in April alone. For plenty of people. it had been tweeted more than 2.Lady Gaga -. Obama's campaign sent eight consecutive tweets from his speech at the White House Forum on Women and the Economy. Kimling Lam.npr. Romney's tweets criticized the president's record. Mitt Romney Embrace Social Media to Court Women Voters http://www.html Ariel Edwards-Levy May 3. That said.000 times. linking to an infographic. has been tracking the campaigns online since November.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/05/03/151879422/that-new-friend-you-made-on-facebook-he- ." an online tool highlighting his record on women's issues. Ann Romney's Twitter debut came shortly after Democratic adviser Hilary Rosen said Ann Romney "had never worked a day in her life. We're seeing the candidates really vying for the female vote. says the campaign. which has a 97 percent female user base and features family snapshots. The Obama campaign on Thursday morning released "The Life of Julia. "'Is it possible that Congress would get more done if there were more women in Congress? That is almost guaranteed.huffingtonpost. according to a social media monitoring firm. NPR: That New Friend You Made on Facebook? He Might Be Named Mitt or Barack http://www." causing a flap that largely played out online. The Obama campaign set the template for online engagement with voters four years ago.." Ruffini says.. 2012 As the presidential campaigns refocus on November. the cookie. ." The campaigns are very interested in where we go online.com or a website or something like that. says Abdel-Malik. "Every article. Whether it's an economy article or debt. president of the Republican online consulting firm Engage. especially with Facebook's platform.. And Republicans are fighting back with a new Facebook app called the "Social Victory Center. which is all about sharing. help out by calling potential voters in places that will be highly contested. Equally important for Republicans." says Sifry. the Obama campaign has spent six times as much money advertising online as it has on TV so far." (You have to be a Facebook user to access the site. Visit a campaign website. addresses. Republicans are playing catchup. they're zeroing in on digital domains." says Andrew Abdel-Malik. It also lets users in nonswing states. Sifry says. And that's where things really start to get interesting. everything is tagged. and you get a cookie. He says campaigns on both sides are tapping into a wealth of personal data and raising privacy concerns. says the Republican National Committee is smart to use a Facebook app to reach out to voters. as well as the names and IDs of all your friends. "We've long known that the most powerful thing in determining how you'll be influenced to vote is a recommendation from a friend. In fact. which gets shared with other websites you visit.. say California. blame one of those little data markers in your browser. Patrick Ruffini. though that's certain to change. Sifry edits a blog on how politicians use the Web. You know. watch videos and download materials. who is a part of the Republican National Committee's digital team. ." he says.might-be-named-mitt-or-barack/ Brian Naylor May 3. every video. we can collect those data points. you're given a little warning that says this app is now going to find out everything that you've made public about yourself on Facebook. like Ohio. so it made a lot of sense for us to go to Facebook and not build this on GOP. The app allows users to read articles selected by the GOP. "And the ability to see in your Facebook news stream somebody taking action on behalf of a campaign who's a trusted connection of yours is something that everybody who's going to be active this year is going to want to look to harness. users are sharing data with the party: their names. so on and so forth. "If you sign up to use one of these campaign apps on Facebook. with its MyBarackObama app. says Micah Sifry of the Personal Democracy Forum. . And if you've ever wondered how campaign banner ads seem to pop up on every site you visit. Whatever it might be. phone numbers and interests.) "Politics is inherently social. we have a strategy and a way to win. whether it's Facebook or a news site. The limitation was once that much of it depended on personal interactions. “Politics is inherently social by nature. a process nothing on Facebook is complete without. with the word of mouth being spread by individuals talking and campaigning to each other. One reason the Obama campaign is spending so much on the Web now is to rekindle the online relationships it had four years ago with the 13 million or so email addresses it collected. seeks to create a similar social. Andrew Abdel-Malik. citing how functions of the online center can bring in money to aid fundraising. the Obama campaign has spent almost $19 million for online advertising already. said the hub was conceptualized by “less political. At the same time."The cookie that they've placed on your site from visiting their website is telling those other websites. After granting the standard privacy permissions to the app. Sifry says there is a danger of a backlash. increase voter turnout and volunteerism and amplify the communications team’s message. the activities and reading habits of other friends of the victory center.” he said. users are presented with a series of news updates from the RNC. in a close race. Los Angeles Times: Republicans expand Facebook efforts with ‘Social Victory Center’ http://articles. a member of the RNC’s digital team. most importantly. The Social Victory Center aims for an amplification of those natural activities. 'Hey.The Republican National Committee launched a new social media hub Tuesday. you still need a great candidate with a great message.” “What we want to do is help enhance what other departments do. let's show them one of those Obama ads. that voters might feel they're being stalked by a campaign. Still. great tools don't elect candidates. every shared interaction on the victory center has the chance of expanding across . press secretary at the RNC. procedural and effectual experience to that of the physical Victory Centers scattered across the country. But as Sifry points out. building on established RNC efforts and Facebook’s open graph to create the “Social Victory Center. Built with the goal of going where its audiences already exist and spend a sizable amount of their time (users average six to seven hours a month on Facebook). Kristen Kukowski. with a menu of select articles and. 2012 WASHINGTON -. Romney has had to concentrate on winning primaries.' " says Sifry. Citing that each member of Facebook has an average of 261 friends. Nevertheless.latimes. more tech-minded people. this is a person who visited the Barack Obama website. compared with a little more than $3 million on TV ads. the first of its kind in the political sector. using data gathered online to turn out a few more of your voters could make the difference.” The Facebook app.” she said.com/2012/may/01/news/la-pn-republicans-expand-facebook-efforts-with-socialvictory-center-20120501 Morgan Little May 1. portrayed the victory center as an enhancement of current campaign norms. Abdel-Malik emphasized the sharing notifications in particular. “With the Social Victory Center. they’re greeted by the “news” section.” and are more adept at using platforms such as Facebook. gun control or student loans. allowing the GOP to capitalize on the relationships that users on the social network have already built with one another. the selection of which depends on users’ location (a voter in Maine is going to see Maine-centric stories). and input additional informaiton such as their ZIP code and phone number. The success of the center and other digital ventures could be vital for the GOP as it works to improve upon its online efforts during the 2008 election. engaged voters. state and national elections. The Grand Old Party opened up a new media salvo with Tuesday’s launch of its “Social Victory Center. Mashable: Republicans launch Facebook app to defeat Obama http://mashable. however.” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in a statement.” enables those in noncontentious states to easily make calls on behalf of the RNC to battleground states like Ohio or Florida in hopes of persuading voters one by one.” Users first register with a Facebook profile. It also allows users to schedule their own event. “volunteer” is where the real social meat and potatoes lie. Twitter and Foursquare. “phone from home. The “discussions” section has been designed as a place to get Republican voters talking with one another about the issues that matter to them. which features the latest Republican web ads and an assortment of Republican-friendly news stories. then to another network and beyond. whether that’s the economy. are trying to turn that logic on its head. events attended or campaign efforts aided. when President Obama’s campaign all but dominated social networks.” “discussions” and “volunteer.that immediate friend network. This page’s goal is to connect voters with similar interests and make them feel their voices are being heard by the campaign and other voters.” it builds a map based on users’ ZIP codes and shows them the address and contact information for these local outposts. From articles read.com/2012/05/01/republicans-facebook-app/ Alex Fitzpatrick May 1. there’s a wide breadth of activities that can be shared. we are revolutionizing the way activists and volunteers participate in Republican campaigns. The section is built to get people off Facebook and into a local “Victory Center” (the Republican name for local field offices) to directly engage with a campaign. The three other sections. plan events and volunteer in local. and the online playing field has since shifted dramatically. . Then. “events. As with “events. 2012 When it comes to social media. and invite local Republican supporters to join in. Four years is a long time in the digital realm.” are focused on building a community of active. One feature. “We’re breaking down geographic borders and connecting users to a nationwide grassroots network and a wealth of political resources. The Republicans. such as a telephone drive.” billed as a one-stop-online-shop for Republican voters to organize. Finally. “Events” automatically shows nearby Republican events and candidate headquarters in a user’s neighborhood on the easy-to-read and familar Google Maps platform. the oft-heard narrative of the 2012 election season is that the Democrats are the “social party. And it’s all baked directly into a Facebook app. video or anything else on the platform will be shared deep into their social graphs. In 2008. “There’s a huge comfort level there. which leverages the technology of Facebook and Eventbrite.” Romney campaign digital director Zac Moffat told BuzzFeed.com/zekejmiller/republicans-play-tech-catch-up Zeke Miller May 1. The app will also feel comfortable to users.” said RNC digital director Tyler Brown. BuzzFeed: Republicans Play Tech Catch-Up http://www.But what if a volunteer has an extra 30 minutes in his or her day and can’t make it to a local field office? No problem — users can make phone calls to registered voters through the app and their personal phone. Republicans are also hoping that the broad shift from portals to search to social platforms led by Facebook and Twitter offers an opportunity to pull even with Democrats.” In 2008 Facebook was populated by a surrogate army of teenagers and twenty-somethings ready to take Obama’s message and organize around it. The Social Victory Center is built around Facebook’s Open Graph technology. the same code that powers apps such as Mashable‘s Social Reader. “People are comfortable with this. Today women over the age of 55 are the fastest-growing demographic on the more ideologically balanced. will give Republicans a distinct advantage in this campaign. will give the party the edge it needs in both the online and offline race to the White House. the Republican’s new media team says. GOP. is hoping to cut into both the Democrats’ advantage and the Republican inferiority complex. . “Now.” said RNC Political Director Rick Wiley. Would you engage with a political campaign on a Facebook app? Tell us in the comments. because on our side it was secondary.com. and gigantic. because people are already familiar with Facebook and its myriad apps. expanding the GOP’s reach and visibility. what insiders described to BuzzFeed as an underfunded Republican web operation watched in envy as candidate Barack Obama built a huge online organization and raised hundreds of millions of dollars on the Web — and got treated by the media like he had invented the Internet. our target voters are on Facebook and Twitter.buzzfeed. especially with the use of *social graph+ applications over the last couple of months — we saw a spike with things like Spotify and The Washington Post Social Reader. still playing technological catch-up to a high-tech Obama machine despite the energetic online conservative grassroots. social service. “The SVC. and we’re going where they are. Republicans in 2008 “had less resources than Democrats. and a the same time a mark of the enduring chip on Republican shoulders over the perceived Democratic online advantage. 2012 The Republican National Committee plans Tuesday to hold a press conference about its new Facebook app — a sign of progress. Any interactions that one user has with a piece of news. Republican leaders believe. partially for that reason. Now Republicans. Republicans built the app on Facebook instead of on their homepage.” The Social Victory Center. with a focus on popular portals like AOL and Yahoo to drive the national conversation.” former Democratic National Committee digital strategist Kombiz Lavasany told BuzzFeed.edu addresses (and thus a more-Democratic-leaning user base) until 2006. so it's perhaps not surprising that much of the most innovative stuff on our side was more communication-driven/oriented. "I look at the universe of some of the sites that have fallen out of favor that still have audiences that anyone would be attracted to – audiences in the hundreds of millions. existing on Facebook rather than the campaign website and built to allow supporters to call voters in swing states.” she said.” he said. referring to sites like YouTube and MySpace as “fads. “We were outspent by leaps and bounds in digital infrastructure and marketing preventing true success. I’d be on Pinterest. told POLITICO in 2007.But Republican digital operatives remain intensely conscious of the perception that they’re laggards.” Liz Mair. highlighting it as an example of a rapidly changing web. launched what else but a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #lackluster to rebut the article’s assertion. That’s not the case right now." the RNC’s 2008 eCampaign director. Cyrus Krohn. And some GOP digital operatives question whether the type of grassroots engagement Obama pioneered in 2008 was even possible for Republicans. share news with their friends. The former RNC staffers’ defense of their work was cheered on by many of their counterparts across the aisle. “We actually paid attention to what they were doing. The Republican strategy in 2008 was aimed at a broad audience. “In ‘08 they ran an actual online program and they were focused on getting the message out online.” RNC communications director Sean Spicer told BuzzFeed. the RNC’s online communications director in 2008. “Obama was a community organizer. . pointing to the gap between the medium and the messenger. a sore spot that was prodded when the trade publication ClickZ last week described the RNC’s 2008 efforts as “lackluster. “If I was trying to reach women online now. noting that Facebook was limited to . who may also have seen an opportunity to jab their current rivals. so it's not too surprising that the really innovative portion of his digital stuff was to do with organizing people.” she said.” The new RNC app is designed to be more bottom-up on the Obama model." Korhn told BuzzFeed on Monday that his plan to focus on Internet titans was an “effort unfulfilled. “This wasn’t even possible for us four years ago.” and that plans to pair digital records with voter databases were hamstrung by a lack of resources. and find nearby campaign events. “McCain was the guy who always seemed to be on ‘Meet the Press’ and doing townhalls.” Mair’s job was focused on online outreach — engaging in a Twitter debate about tech policy and using blogs like BlogHer and other networks that have been supplanted by Facebook to reach women. and to share news items and talking points with fellow online activists. helping the RNC combat Democrats online. But Cohan. The “Social Victory Center” is the brainchild of Andrew Abdel-Malik. take apart liberal ones. can be seen above and below. to download state-specific infographics they can take to the PTA or hand out in their neighborhoods. or where you are. Breitbart: RNC to Unveil Social Victory Center for 2012 Online Campaign http://www.But Democrats are still confident in the superiority of their digital strategy. And on Tuesday. who tweets actively and engagingly at “@bccohan. when Tea Partiers she met at a 2009 rally convinced her to be more active on Twitter. “No matter who you are. Marc Ross. Cohan is at the nerve center of national politics. . Cohan was barely involved in politics. Screenshots of the innovative tool. Cohan serves as the RNC’s ambassador to the blogging community in addition to helping the RNC shape its narrative. a 2008 DNC digital staffer. The application serves as a virtual “one-stop shop” for political activists. She uses Twitter and Facebook as her political battlefields. who works in RNC’s political department. Cohan will get more institutional air cover to help her engage the online community when the RNC unveils its “Social Victory Center” Facebook application. providing her online allies with ammunition they can use to defeat Democrats. was barely active in politics when then-candidate Barack Obama was using social media to turn online enthusiasm for him into money and votes.breitbart. People can use the app for phone banking. the Republican National Committee’s social media coordinator. Abdel-Malik told Breitbart News the Facebook application will be like a virtual “Facebook field office” because the application allows those who sign up for it to do many of things people can do at their local GOP headquarters. Just four years ago. encouraged her to join Twitter while she was volunteering for the McCain 2008 presidential campaign. He said what makes the “Facebook field office” potentially more powerful--and influential--is it “eliminates geographical boundaries” and allows the RNC to engage volunteers at home.” AbdelMalik said. you get to be a key player because of this application. Brittany Cohan (above). 2012 Four years ago. and swiftly respond to attacks from Democrats. A Republican operative. provided exclusively to Breitbart News. Four years later.” said Matt Ortega.” did not fully embrace Twitter until a year later. “The Romney campaign and the RNC are just playing catch-up with the Obama campaign four years ago.com/Big-Government/2012/04/30/Exclusive-RNC-to-Unveil-Social-Victory-Center-for2012-Online-Campaign Tony Lee April 30. with one Obama aide questioning why it’s news that the RNC is matching the Democrat’s capabilities four years later. managing director for North America at the Meltwater Group.org to place an ad on the Facebook page of every college student in the US is the opening shot of what some experts are calling a “truly epic war. starts with the student loan issue.” Spicer said. will see social-media use in Election 2012 become far more savvy and sophisticated than it was four years ago.” and she will play a central role in accelerating the trickling up of information from the grassroots to the top echelons of the 2012 campaign. Alaska Dispatch: ‘Epic’ Social Media Ware Expected in Presidential Campaigns http://www. .” The priority given to Abdel-Malik’s innovative idea and the swift rise of social media maestros like Cohan in the political ranks reflect how important media like Twitter are in forming and combating narratives. stories and narratives are generated from the blogs and social media. Spicer told Breitbart News that social media and blogger outreach is a “central and critical piece of our messaging. The campaign. “I would rather have 2.” which forces the mainstream media to address these issues.She plunged into the world of Twitter. a social media monitoring software firm in Boston. which led to jobs on a Wisconsin Senate campaign and in the office of Sen. You can’t fake a relationship with your follower base. “Far too many people get bogged down with statistics and forget that social media is about personally relating with people. and her online street fighting was noticed by political operatives.” says Kevin Phelan. John Thune (R-SD) before she came to the RNC in 2011.org is raising money to target every potential youth vote with an interest in keeping loan rates from doubling in July. Priebus has held receptions at RNC headquarters with bloggers and had multiple conference calls with social media influencers. shortly after Reince Priebus was elected as its Chairman. was ahead of the curve in using Twitter during the 2012 election cycle and is a fierce online combatant. MoveOn. Cohan calls this “trickle up journalism.000 that don’t help amplify a message” Cohan said.” because “countless issues. His deputy communications director. who was formerly the press secretary for the failed presidential bid of Jon Huntsman. “Her credibility and network with the leaders in social media and blogs has been invaluable. Tim Miller. RNC communications director Sean Spicer has embraced using social media as part of his broader communications strategy. 2012 A new campaign by the liberal political action group MoveOn.” And the “Social Victory Center” will make Cohan--and the RNC--even more formidable online. and I think that’s why the GOP dominates especially on Twitter.alaskadispatch." The result.000. and she says the GOP is better at getting its message amplified online than Democrats. “Many times our messaging strategy begins with her getting the word out through her network to begin to drive a strong narrative. “This is a curtain raiser for what to expect in the general election this year. they say. Cohan joined the RNC as Twitter was emerging as the place where the first draft of history was being written and fought over. We are better.000 followers that are actively engaged with everything that’s posted than 2. faster and stronger because of her efforts.com/article/epic-social-media-war-expected-presidential-campaigns Gloria Goodale April 26. launching this week. ” he adds. he points out.” whereby computers gather and collate the tiniest bit of information about online activities. he says. performing in one of the show’s regular sequences. noting advancements in "social media monitoring. It was not enough for the president to simply be interviewed on the show.” that campaign has the ability to track and target you in virtually your every online move to determine how and when you might be useful in getting their word out. he says: "He was actually integrated into the entertainment. he says. Rotolo. “other demographics have joined sites like Facebook. and new networks like Pinterest in much larger numbers. for instance. says Mr. ." known as CRM. associate political science professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. “but it will be much more sophisticated than we have seen before. he adds. While there is a notable social media disparity between President Obama and GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romney – perhaps most visible on their Facebook accounts.” says David Jackson. In the last few years. A key priority is a steadily increasing ability to microtarget potential voters as well as supporters and “influencers” – the social media-savvy partisans who can be leveraged for their wide-ranging contacts.While social media have been playing ever-larger roles in political campaigns. “It may not be things we haven’t dreamt of.” The pressure to evolve new strategies is a direct result of the way users adapt to being targeted. where Romney has under 2 million “likes” to Obama's more than 26 million – the playing field has evened in unexpected ways since 2008. professor of social media at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies in New York. says Mr.” The explosion of companies devoted to “scraping. has allowed them to create a digital profile for virtually every Internet user. he says. learning from them and offering new ways to get involved and share their support. He points to President Obama’s appearance on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on Tuesday – a show that engages online users as well as traditional broadcast viewers. Twitter. “So. Romney to leverage social media to reach audiences who were not as accustomed to interacting in this way on social networks during the 2008 campaign. if you have 600 friends and you have mentioned even once that you support Obama.” he says. "Slow-Jam-The-News. he says. Expect to see both candidates attempt to leverage social media data with the potential of offering a realtime understanding of how the public feels on any issue or how candidates are doing at any given moment in a region. This presents an opportunity for Mr. Our “filters” are getting savvier alongside technology. “the technology available today versus four years ago is so advanced that the battle waged by the two camps should be epic. via e-mail. “to gather passionate advocates and analytics will allow these digital natives to stay behind the scenes but still have a major impact on the election and media. His firm has spent the past year working with some 100 different companies." “We will see new methods of interacting with voters. Phelan.” says Anthony Rotolo. so companies have to continually get more creative for us to get the message. all prepping for this final push. ” Crucially. Arizona (CNN) – Tapping into the online social networks of voters is a top priority for the digital strategists working for President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney . “The data we are going to get. is preparing to launch a new Facebook tool that lets users share news. phone number.blogs. the application is also designed to help the RNC flesh out their carefully-maintained voter files by mining the basic personal information of every Facebooker using the application. When a user “authorizes” the RNC app . That’s extraordinarily valuable information for political operatives eager to tailor specific messages to targeted voters. or members of the House or Senate. The party organization. “It’s erasing the geographic boundaries. lets Republicans go far beyond just clicking “like” on a story about Joe Biden’s most recent gaffe or the latest veepstakes chatter.” said RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski. Now the Republican National Committee is getting into the social media game.cnn. donate to the party or inform their friends about upcoming campaign events using Eventbrite – all while never leaving Facebook. it’s going to be much better than we ever had in the past. which has the mammoth task of turning out Republican voters in every battleground state this November. But the “GOP Social Victory Center.” RNC Political Director Rick Wiley said. religion and gender along with the “friends” in his or her social network. “That was an untapped resource for us. party officials told CNN in a briefing about the new technology at this week’s RNC meeting in Arizona.you have to authorize Spotify to tap into your Facebook account before listening to Lady Gaga or Radiohead. They can fill out and submit absentee ballot applications.” People who sign up for the application will be able to share news pumped directly into their profiles from the RNC’s communications office in Washington. And simply by clicking a button.CNN: RNC looks to Facebook for political edge http://politicalticker. Republicans using the application will be able do the work usually reserved for campaign offices simply by logging into Facebook from their personal computers.and no site offers a larger trove of personal data than Facebook. though. 2012 Scottsdale. for instance . via RNC headquarters. “We will be finding people and engaging them and letting them do the things that can elect a president. talking points and the latest updates about the presidential campaign with their friends.com/2012/04/20/rnc-looks-to-facebook-for-political-edge/ Peter Hamby April 20. . “Just because you don’t live in a battleground state doesn’t mean you can’t help defeat this president. to targeted voters in key states. without actually having to walk into a victory center.” Wiley told CNN.” which has been in development for almost a year and will be released next week.the party is able to access the user’s email address. a user’s phone will ring and automatically re-connect them. allowing GOP researchers to curate the interests and personal preferences of thousands upon thousands of voters. see early voting deadlines. that automatically filled in the name.The new application is part of a larger effort by Republicans to catch up with the Obama campaign’s impressive digital footprint and advanced data collection efforts. 20 percent should go to actually building the app and 80 percent should actually go to promoting the application. birthday and gender of those signing up for the campaign's email list. "I know that can be scary for a lot of campaigns. but that you're given continual opportunities to engage in the legislative process." Once elected. says Harbath. the White House has a "We the People" app that allows users to create or sign onto a petition. "We highly recommend that you encourage comments. But [by] allowing a discussion to go on. Meanwhile. director of new media in House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's office. which are created by third parties and added to a user's profile voluntarily. ." she says. To that end. the RNC will begin moving digital directors into 12 battleground states beginning in June. aren't an online field of dreams. "We have an 80-20 rule.thtml Sean Miller April 19. location. speaking at C&E’s CampaignTech conference on Thursday. "You need to put a lot of effort into marketing them. you're going to have a lot more traffic and vibran[cy] on the page than if you try to have it all just be straight up positive content. if your campaign isn't ready for its own app. 2012 Open graph Facebook apps can improve engagement online. it will be reviewed by the Administration and we will issue a response. or not really much discussion. "If a petition meets the signature threshold. email address." according to Matt Lira. which create online niche communities.campaignsandelections." according to the White House. which allows users to follow bills through the legislative process. they can just click to register." a downloadable Facebook app. for instance. Of the budget you have." Harbath says. could be the answer. only has to provide a zip code. Mitt Romney." says Katie Harbath. if they're maintained Looking for a new way to gather information on potential supporters? Facebook applications. Campaigns & Elections: If You Build It. They Might Not Come http://www. The Virginia Republican recently unveiled “Citizen Cosponsor. "Both 'We the People' and 'Citizen Cosponsor' are designed so that you not only receive information about what the updates are. Harbath had some advice for generating traffic on a regular Facebook page. Along the same line. "Rather than making people fill in a bunch of field forms to sign up for your email list. a public policy manager with Facebook. had a Facebook application. lawmakers can use apps to foster "genuine involvement in the legislative process. A subscriber who signs up through the splash page on the Romney campaign website. or app. meanwhile. But open graph apps. Just building an app doesn't mean that users will engage with it.com/campaign-insider/316962/if-you-build-it-they-might-notcome." Lira says. These are additional weapons in their campaign arsenals.S.” On campaign Facebook pages. interactive conversations with Montanans about issues in the governor’s race.Helena Independent Air: Hopefuls Embrace Social Media http://helenair. besides such traditional ones as going door-to-door. where people can share information on the Internet. organize locally. Tester was second at 5. wrote shortly after the 2008 election. Home at his farm near Big Sandy last week.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/hopefuls-embrace-socialmedia/article_090d70b8-8206-11e1-90e5-0019bb2963f4. To get the word out about a favorable poll in his hotly contested race against Tester. While social networking wasn’t new in 2008. Jon Tester provided brief snippets known as tweets from his Twitter account about his time on the tractor and other topics. Sen. “Instead. Denny Rehberg broadcast it on Twitter last week. Montana campaigns are widely using social media and networking tools such as Facebook. These totals change by the minute. That entitles them to receive regular updates from the campaigns on Facebook and comment or ask questions of the candidates. they created an unforeseen force to raise money. calling voters or sending direct mail. Stapleton’s campaign Facebook page registered the most “likes” of all Montana candidates — more than the other eight governor campaigns from both parties combined. he let thousands of supporters know first by videos posted on YouTube and linked to his Facebook page. Twitter and YouTube to keep in touch with voters via the Internet on computers or smart phones. by bolting together social networking applications under the banner of a movement.” the former state senator said.” David Carr. New York Times media and culture columnist. the Obama campaign did not invent anything completely new.html Charles Johnson April 9. Kevin O’Brien. other users can say they “like” that person or campaign. “The only difference between me and everyone else is I get to start the conversation.” said Bullock’s campaign manager. he says — according to a State Bureau check one day last week.583. but you’re also able to talk with voters in every part of the state. U. many analysts agreed its use played a critical role in Democrat Barack Obama’s victory over Republican John McCain for president. he turned to Facebook.” When Democratic Attorney General Steve Bullock officially announced he was running for governor and later when he named his running mate.S. fight smear campaigns and get out the vote that helped them topple the Clinton machine and then John McCain and the Republicans. Rep. Republican U. 2012 When Republican Corey Stapleton wanted to have daily. every day. “It’s a virtual coffee shop. . They were linked to the Democrat’s blog and photos of him planting crops. “Like a lot of web innovators. “You get to communicate directly with voters and fellow Montanans and create a more personal connection. “Social media are always evolving and changing. YouTube and Flickr. either for or against you. “I have always felt what was absent in the cyber world is conservative commentary on issues.” he said.” Croes said. in military lingo. signed up for the campaign’s email alerts. “It’s free.” Bond said social media are certainly will be part of the campaign’s strategy. Jon and his campaign really broke some new ground in the use of social media. “The difficult thing to tell about it is: are you reaching new people or reaching folks who already have strong opinions. “I don’t know that any of the old ways aren’t being used anymore. there will be 15.000-20. Stapleton said he prefers Facebook finding Twitter less valuable because it’s too one-way.000 voters that will know me on June 5. “In 2006. “Everyone in Montana can have a Facebook account. volunteered to help and contributed $50 to Bullock. “Technology obviously is changing everyone’s personal life and business life. “It can be a really cost-effective way to get out a message to targeted folks. and it’s changing the way politics is done.” Croes said.” The other thing he likes about social media is that if people see something they like. Twitter. a retired Navy officer. a photo-sharing service. O’Brien said. and they have an opportunity to interact. but not the most important part. but technology gives us many more ways to communicate with voters.” Stapleton said. “It’s about Montanans telling the story about how Jon is a Montana farmer with Montana values who represents them.” he said. “That’s force multiplier.” said Rehberg’s campaign spokesman Chris Bond “It’s a great way to interact with people. “My site has sort of become a forum for that — as long as they’re respectful.” Bullock’s campaign manager said. It’s the easiest way to be accessible for ordinary. “From my guesstimation.” said Stapleton.” He said the campaign likes to share photos on Facebook of anyone getting a flat-top haircut to match Tester’s or display letters by people writing about the senator. agreed that social media tools supplement but don’t replace traditional campaign activities. as a “very important part” of the race.” Bullock was talking to some people when one man pulled out his cell phone. .” Brock Lowrance manager of Republican Rick Hill’s governor’s campaign. they can share it with other folks. said staffer Max Croes.” Stapleton said he’s resisted suggestions that he not spend so much time on Facebook. everyday people.” Tester’s Senate campaign will make full use of Facebook.“We put a lot of material out on Facebook. who like me and support me who might not otherwise have had access. who in turn can share it with their friends and so on. all electronically in a matter of a few minutes. “We’ve taken this information that was previously available to 100 people (at the debate) and made it available to everyone in the world. and Twitter. 2012 Six words transmitted wirelessly late in the evening of Nov. “But it was targeted to people that are paying attention to the House race. “Montana’s such a huge state geographically. there are around 250 million Internet users. Though Gore was an early adopter of technology. friend. 7. sent on a hunch.” he said. Only 54 million U. who’s not taking special-interest money in his low-budget congressional race. 2000. Back then. the BlackBerry was little more than a two-way pager with a keyboard. It’s a very effective way for getting information out to a large audience at low cost.” he said. households had a computer. “It’s an efficient way to supplement our ongoing efforts. “It’s incredibly valuable. Campaign manager Donna Brazile sent Al Gore a message on his BlackBerry 850. This ubiquitous access to online devices and social networking channels has had a democratizing effect. Americans are leveraging technology to more fully engage in the political process.” Those six words.” Democrat Rob Stutz. and it’s an easy way for people to make a financial contribution.S. 2006. over 100 million smartphone users. were later followed by an email from the campaign team with more specific information on the Florida vote count.” Stutz said. . That message: “Never surrender. As the chief media advisor for George W.” Daily Beast: How a Tweet Can Beat a Pac: Social Media Gives Voters Muscle in Politics http://www. And the words tweet. His campaign videotaped and later posted all Democratic House candidates’ answers at a Bozeman debate to a question about where they stood on the Keystone Pipeline. and follow had altogether different meanings: Facebook was not introduced until 2004.” Stutz said his campaign has put particular emphasis on posting videos online.thedailybeast. relies heavily on social media. In the United States. and the election of 2000 entered the history books as the most contentious yet in modern times. foretold an event that forever changed American politics. It’s not over yet. YouTube. The presidential nominee of the Democratic Party then withheld his official concession. still relatively new technology that the Bush campaign did not have. Fast forward to today. even he could not foresee the impact of social media on politics today.“One way we utilize social media is to fundraise online.html Mark McKinnon April 1.com/articles/2012/04/01/how-a-tweet-can-beat-a-pac-social-media-gives-votersmuscle-in-politics. and we are all connected—all the time. 2005. Bush’s campaign. just 44 million had online access. I don’t think I can ever forget the impact of those six words. 133 million Facebook users and over 24 million Twitter users. are growing in popularity. dooming it to a lingering—or mercifully rapid—death.” notes Kuhns. the written word with its enormous range.” writes Kuhns. users are now the experts. mentions and retweets. says Kuhns.” Gaffes now travel near the speed of light.” on YouTube in just five days. BlackBerry. enabled by technology. the first effect of our new native tongue is that we want to join in the new conversations burgeoning everywhere around us. a third voice was introduced—the corporate voice. “Clearly. And a viral video or sexted photo can instantly infect a political campaign or career. Today a fourth voice has emerged. “The sit-back-and-watch audience is a relic of the past. thanks to the World Wide Web.6 million watched President Obama’s reelection campaign film. pictures and videos. Scripted cop shows and sit-coms have given way to unscripted documentaries and reality-TV shows. And though a Hollywood-produced online biopic is a first in campaign history. portends the greatest challenge for candidates and campaigns to manage: We trust the messages that have grown from these online conversations.” “For tens of thousands of years. . in my opinion. For like conversation itself. Obama for America already has spent more than $11 million on Web ads and text messages this election season. And this year. the damage amplified exponentially with each repost. it is unsurprising coming from Barack Obama. Twitter and other new media. whose 2008 campaign was the first in the Internet age. “We’re vaguely aware of the difference in the many new conversations we’ve been joining. They now create the messages. the 24/7 nature of social media means the candidate—and the pressure—is always “on. And each change in voice provoked staggering social and cultural transformations. that minimize the coached and rehearsed and instead celebrate the spontaneous and instantaneous. And voters have become more than just passive consumers of these digital messages. as measured by the number of followers and retweets. has now joined Pinterest. It’s no surprise to me then that print newspapers have given way to user-generated blogs. and Republican members of Congress now use Twitter more effectively than Democrats. “The Road We’ve Traveled. And President Obama.” Established authorities are undermined. Buddy Roemer was the most retweeted GOP candidate on Twitter in 2011. over 1. We see it everywhere in our culture. And team sports like soccer. Masters of leveraging technology four years ago. Facebook. That oral tradition of communication then gave way to the second voice. But for all its advantages in engaging voters.” The second effect observed by Kuhns.Fully 73 percent of adult Internet users went online to get news or information about the 2010 elections. with the advent of radio and television. this “new native tongue is relentlessly democratic. Despite Obama’s networking prowess. Republican candidates and voters caught up with Democrats in deploying social media during the 2010 elections. the driver of mass consumerism. Then. the newest social network which lets people “pin” photos to a virtual bulletin board. the oral voice governed every culture.” says William Kuhns in his paper. and the use of hashtags. who leads the four GOP presidential contenders in Twitter followers. “The Fourth Voice: Life in the Age of the Self-Assembling Message. Some 22 percent used Twitter or social networking sites in the months leading up to the midterms to connect to campaigns or the election itself. this is good for the American political process. Though there are risks of imbalance if the voices of those in the middle are muted. Starting next week. Republican sources told BuzzFeed. but sources said the move involve vastly expanding the amount and types of data that can be linked to more traditional information like voters' names. And with this new fourth voice. In my view. and possibly renamed. to the need to share in it. . Your voice matters. "After six year of a much-needed technology upgrades.com/buzzfeedpolitics/the-republican-party-wants-to-be-your-friend-on-fa March 30. the giant. technology-enabled social networking has the potential to return power to all of the people.Though modern communication has always been guided by the implicit rule that coherence in a message grows from exerting control over it. we have made some tremendous enhancements to Voter Vault. Kuhn concludes. centralized file of data about voters that is centralized by the national party and used by Republican campaigns around the country. posted or pinned. the fourth voice emerges from a participatory process that is collective and messy." Spicer declined to discuss the details of the upgrades to Voter Vault. as well as by Mitt Romney's primary campaign this year. Our fourth voice can drive the conversation in the virtual town square. this is my message: “Never surrender. We’ve seen this in the growth of both the Tea Party movement and the Occupy Wall Street protests. and phone numbers. Whether texted. and was used widely by candidate Barack Obama's campaign in 2008." Republican National Committee Spokesman Sean Spicer told BuzzFeed. A messy participatory process is representative democracy at its best. "We are excited that each of our state parties is going to be abel to enjoy the benefits of these upgrades. the value of the communication experience has undergone a sea-change: from the need to share it. 2012 The Republican National Committee is on the verge of a broad technical upgrade aimed at restoring the technical edge it held during the Bush years and at bringing the GOP into the social media era. tweeted. And political change can happen again in under 140 characters. the party will roll out an upgraded. addresses. The party is also developing a set of "Social Victory" applications to integrate political campaigns deeper into voters' lives on the social web. a recent study by Pew found the most active and engaged political participants on social networking sites—those with the loudest voice—tend to sit at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. However.buzzfeed. “We the people” can now compete against the near-deafening influence of unlimited campaign contributions.” Buzzfeed: The Republican Party Wants to Be Your Friend on Facebook http://www. Technology and social media have brought power back to the people. version of Voter Vault. The use of consumer information in targeting has expanded dramatically in recent years. according to party officials and committee members. Get engaged. "We had the best Voter Vault in '04 with Rove. The RNC also changed its Twitter handle today. and the Voter Vault will not at any point switch off. I almost always think to myself: "How could they solve that problem with social?" When fans love a brand. But GOP officials and press reports say Larson no longer has any stake in the company.The RNC announced this week that it had "fully-funded" its $21 million "Presidential Trust.000 more fans. 2012 As a marketer passionate about the huge potential of social marketing. intensified its focus on social media. A spokesman for the Texas Republican Party declined to comment on the contract. Huffington Post: What the 2012 Presidential Candidates Can Learn from Socially Savvy Brands on Facebook http://www. How do the remaining 2012 candidates stack up to this four-step approach? I decided to take a quick look and here's what I found on Facebook: . part of the renewed focus on social media. meanwhile. whenever I see a marketing challenge.html Roger Katz March 29." to be chaired by Rep. an area in which it had falled behind the Democrats. relevant and diverse. which can spend unlimited amounts independently of the presidential campaign and is expected to make extensive use of the new data.com/roger-katz/2012-election-social-media_b_1388232. from @RNC to @GOP. two Republican sources said. which still has some 30. Step 1: Introduce and create an emotional connection with a brand/candidate. that was founded by RNC Chief-of-Staff Jeff Larson. Paul Ryan. "Obama carried it to the Nth degree. they're happy to talk it up and share stories about it on social networks. It has been accumulating thousands of Facebook "likes" a week to its Facebook page. according to a member of the RNC. and has narrowed the gap with the Democratic National Committee's Facebook page. Do the 2012 presidential candidates "get" social? The challenge of engaging with and inspiring a national community to rally behind a political candidate is really no different than any other marketing challenge. and make the experience fun. The data is also heavily used by state parties.huffingtonpost. While we were taught by our mothers to be cautious when discussing religion and politics. Step 3: Make sure the experience can be easily shared and spread. with as little friction as possible. and now Reince Priebus is getting us back up to speed. The RNC has. which in turn influences our network of friends. while staying current. FLS Connect. producing some grumbling in Republican circles." The Voter Vault upgrade is being managed by a vendor. engage with relevant content. whose primary is on May 29. we are increasingly sharing views on social networks that reveal how we think." said one committee member. Step 4: Rinse and repeat. Step 2: Entertain. and other state party officials said they were pleased with the shift. But a national GOP source said state parties will have the alternative of switching to the upgraded system whenever they want. and the timing of the transition drew complaints from Texas Republican Party Chairman Steve Munisteri. as he doesn't have much of an "inside" Facebook strategy. His team's track record on social was reflected in their immediate move to Facebook Timelines for business. essentially "retargeting" the same supporters. and photos in particular create a perfect opportunity for a social connection that can foster likes. His team upgraded his Facebook page to the new Timeline look quickly.8 million fans. With only 296 thousand fans. Obama's longer track record and experience on Facebook should give him a bit of an advantage. This is a clever strategy and lends itself nicely to creating a viral experience. supporters have to do too much work to show their support." asks fans to go to exhaustive measures to show their allegiance. "Stand with Mitt. Mitt's Facebook app. but neglected to tell the Romney story with "Milestones" or relevant history. Newt Gingrich's use on Facebook has been focused on raising campaign funds. the Romney team should move towards simplicity to encourage as much broad-based support as possible. Fans love sharing content that reflects their views. Not acknowledging the importance of keeping things as frictionless as possible. By requiring four steps for possible inclusion in a photo gallery on Facebook. Obama needs to continue to engage that fan base. Rick Santorum It's no surprise that Rick Santorum has only 187 thousand Facebook fans. The Obama team used "gamification" in the leaderboard-style "Are You In" game that rewarded fans by telling them how many people were inspired to join the Obama campaign as a result of their wall post. it was a wasted opportunity since they didn't make the e-book easy for fans to share and spread virally. Romney and Santorum were focused on building engagement and word of mouth. On the plus side. Newt Gingrich While Obama. using several tactics with mixed results. which asks followers to answer various questions like "What is the key issue for you in 2012?" The app creates an open dialogue with mixed negative/positive comments and it's good to see the campaign managers have let negative comments stand. while his team has cleverly built a "Santorisms" e-book. Newt has to focus on getting those few supporters to spread the word easily and quickly. The Santorum team also does little to provide a Facebook experience worth passing along to friends.5 million fans throughout his campaign. Moving forward. where they incorporated fun and interesting Milestones. Also. re-directs almost all links out of Facebook to other sites and has not yet upgraded to the new Facebook Timeline.Barack Obama As the incumbent with an impressive 25. the Romney campaign got a little more socially creative with the "What's your take?" app. comments and discussion. . Mitt Romney Mitt Romney's team has accumulated 1. The RNC plans to livestream events and host live chats on the website. Coca-Cola." and crave photo opportunities where they are eating "down home" food and conversing with "real" people.keep fans where they found you. The website includes a “Digital Convention Hub” with updates from Facebook. on Facebook. "Our goal is to tear down the convention walls and make the 2012 Republican National Convention open and accessible to anyone. simple and frictionless Create an environment that encourage supporters/fans work on your behalf to spread powerful online and offline word of mouth Engage fans in a conversation Be authentic Give fans great content to share Respect the context -. The same lessons apply:       Keep social campaigns entertaining. indicates absolutely no acknowledgement of the potential social power of Facebook to engage fans. On a massive scale. Politicians love to talk about "the power of the people. The Same Social Marketing Rules Apply to Brands and Candidates Alike The practice of social campaigns isn't new and candidates could learn a lot from Facebook heavy-hitters: Starbucks. The candidate that can harness that power has a better chance of spreading his winning message before. 2012 The Republican National Convention announced a redesign for its official 2012 convention website on Wednesday and emphasized its plan to integrate social media into the national convention in August. Twitter and Google Plus. during and after November's election. social media sites is where it's happening. where they are likely to engage and share. and more importantly their friends.” "The redesigned website will provide an interactive experience to our web visitors while helping us build a community and make history. Asking for name. dynamic and informative. Harris also called the social media tools on the website one of the “most vital assets” in the RNC’s plan to make this year’s convention the most “innovative.newt. Universal Pictures. anywhere. said in a press release. Nickelodeon.org. and the ability to login through Facebook in order to customize the experience." Director of Communications James Davis said in the release. Lady Gaga.Many of his pages send fans off Facebook.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/218839-rnc-emphasizes-social-media-in-nationalconvention-plans Alicia Cohn March 23. William Harris. The Hill: RNC Emphasizes Social Media in National Convention Plans http://thehill. But if they really want to tap into the power of the people. . email and location before spinning the fan off to www. to his site. and get those people working on their behalf.” the RNC’s convention chief executive officer. We learned from 2008 that using the talents and skills of our supporters was key to building the most effective organization. "Many supporters of the President have lent their time and talent to building the largest grassroots campaign in history. 2012 Campaign stickers for Barack Obama's re-election this year have already started popping up on cars all around San Francisco and many campaign events for volunteers have been organized lately in the Bay Area.com/news/21954/obama-campaign-opens-tech-field-office-san-francisco-thursday By Sarah Lai Stirland March 22. in its cross hairs. What is also readily apparent is that all of rhetorical jousting being done by the remaining candidates–Newt Gingrich. "Traditionally. . and in fact there should be a pretty strong local network since there are several veterans of the 2008 campaign now in the Bay area working on other projects." There should be no shortage of talent.humanevents. Mitt Romney. It’s clear that President Obama’s machine is kicking it into higher gear as its views the inevitable winner of this prolonged primary season. Facebook and the blogosphere as their primary medium for insight." reads a note on an online sign-up sheet for volunteer coders.com/2012/03/22/frontrunners-romney-and-obama-intensify-their-social-mediaefforts/ Al DiGuido March 22. TechPresident: Obama Campaign Opens Tech Field Office In San Francisco Thursday http://techpresident. the Virginia-based Campaign Solutions — the consulting firm that also worked on the RNC's convention websites the last two cycles — did the redesign and is helping craft digital strategy. phonebanking. and is calling techies to come and bring their ideas and skills to volunteer for them. 2012 It has become clear to virtually every individual that breathes oxygen that more and more citizens have found the Internet and venues like websites. Now we’re taking the next step by providing the opportunity for supporters in the technology community to help the campaign extend our current tools. Twitter." The campaign is formally opening up the South of Market Office Thursday evening with talks about Obama's tech initiatives. political candidates and their affiliates will spend billions of dollars between now and Election Day on those conventional advertising venues in a vain attempt to shift the mindset of a group of folks that are probably more likely to be on the Internet than watching a 30-second spot on their local affiliate. and hosting house meetings. opinion and research.According to the RNC. What’s also clear from looking this week at the social media landscape. is that there is a new level of intensity and focus on social media by the true front runners in this race–Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama. this has always taken the form of volunteers talking to neighbors. Nevertheless. So it comes as no surprise that the Obama campaign would further capitalize on the region's enthusiasm for the president by opening up a "tech field office. Rick Santorum and to a much lesser degree. Data continues to show that network and cable television viewership is in decline. canvassing. Human Events: Frontrunners Romney and Obama Intensify Their Social Media Efforts http://www. Ron Paul—is taking away from any real opportunity for momentum to be generated by the GOP standard bearer. Rick’s friend base does grow each week.982 Ron Paul – 409. Twitter Followers Newt Gingrich – 1. • Ron Paul – While Ron continues to run a solid online campaign.992 UP 23.618 Ron Paul – 916. A performance that could be a precursor to the fall campaign and an early warning shot to Republicans to end this overhyped media love affair and get down to the business of winning the White House. asking friends to wish him and his wife Happy Anniversary. Here’s this week’s round-up. President Obama surged this week.434 President Barack Obama – 25. Mitt’s page is much more engaging. Right now his Facebook page is gushing about his appearance on Jay Leno last night. just not enough to matter.701 . right now…Ron needs to figure out where he will wind up after the nominee is selected. As challenging as Santorum feels a Romney candidacy would be. While doing a guest slot on the Leno show might be a good thing for a actor or starlet. the race is over for Gingrich.160 – UP 13.732. There may be a lot of bark still left in the dog.296 – UP 501 Rick Santorum – 184. Mitt continues to miss an opportunity though in stating his clear and concise vision for leading the country on these pages.604 – UP 192. • Rick Santorum – There is little doubt that Rick is a solid competitor with a strong message. From a marketing and brand standpoint. Paul’s camp has had a very strong effort online and the Romney camp would do well to join forces if possible. I don’t hear anyone “don’t count Newt out just yet”.039 Newt Gingrich – 296. This may be a case that the candidate has run out of time. Facebook Friends Mitt Romney – 1.177 • Mitt Romney – Mitt is looking much more like the ordained candidate of the Party.541.068 – UP 8.723 – UP 10. • Newt Gingrich – Cover blurb on Time magazine this week “Quit Newt Quit” says it all. but it is readily apparent that no one is listening. attacking the other side will only get a candidate so far.449. reelection candidate Obama is experiencing a surging and/or solidification of the base that won him the White House in the last election.772 – UP 17. As we head toward fall. After weeks of steady growth. my sense is that his message is losing steam even though his friends number rises each week.576 – UP 4. One day last week he showed his human side.Despite a range of issues that should be negatively impacting the President and his re-election campaign. he must clarify his views. He continues to see strong growth week in and week out while others are fading. It’s very clear from this week’s data that the guys in Chicago were told to put the pedal to the metal and let’s start cranking up our strategy online.345 Mitt Romney – 385. his attempt to delay the inevitable may result in further damage to the Republican challenge. No one believes that the process need drag out to the Republican Convention. Newt’s performance on Facebook is the weakest one week total increase that I have seen since we started monitoring this race. Rick Santorum – 174. Regardless of what camp you belong to. Washington Post: Women Set Rick Perry’s Facebook Page on Fire http://www. Santorum’s Twitter standing (in fourth place) shows that while the media may love the message. Romney’s standing will only get stronger in the weeks ahead. There are some that take this data and analysis and discount it as not being relevant to the election. He is most definitely looking for signature issues that will garner strong factions and segments amongst the electorate.washingtonpost. Promising sign here is that Romney’s message seems to be gaining the momentum required to make a significant stand within the Twitter platform. It’s time for the Republican brass to take a hard look at the Ron Paul message and follower base and start figuring out how to bring them along to the bigger party in the near term. While GOP candidates continue to be baited into a false sense of media security through weekly visits to Face the Nation. • Santorum up again – Rick continues to benefit from press coverage around some of the more controversial topics on the campaign trail. A big problem.html?tid=pm_pop Lori Stahl March 20. placing him in second place behind Gingrich in total number of followers. Ron’s online followers continue to grow each week. Meet the Press & Fox News. the campaign online has ramped into high gear. • Ron Paul – Candidate Paul knows the Internet and despite not getting any serious attention or credibility from the mass media. Strong out of the gate.659 President Barack Obama – 13. • Romney out front – Big week for Romney campaign on Twitter this week. The growth in both Twitter followers and Facebook friends is crushing the Republican challenger field. They argue that the online audience doesn’t represent the “true American”. 2012 . Little doubt that after the Illinois win. the only conclusion that one can reach is that the race has started in earnest. Ron is ascending to the Gingrich decline. there is no chance that anyone is going to catch Barack Obama online. As you look at the numbers for President Obama.604 • Newt’s Twitter Followers have grown modestly. it should be crystal clear to both camps that there is a problem. Based on what I continue to see each week. Based on what I have observed online.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/women-set-rick-perrys-facebook-page-onfire/2012/03/19/gIQALJgIPS_blog. The Republican Party and its leadership continue to tease folks like me saying that they “have a plan” and “wait and see”. Candidate is making a move on Ron Paul’s second place slot and leading all others in growth week over week. Still others worry like I do that the leadership within the Republican Party is tragically out of step with the insight and expertise required to leverage the modern day interactive tool kit.677 – UP 19. Like the modest growth in Facebook. it hasn’t garnered the support in the electorate required to be meaningful in a race when tens of millions of votes are required to win the prize.143. the only surprise that awaits this fall will be how large a win the President will achieve. This week’s stance on pornography is a case in point. Those that have read this column and commented along the way can be portioned into several groups. his brand and message isn’t resonating with the audience any longer.775 – UP 292. Once again this week his increase lags the field putting him at the bottom of all candidates in terms of growth rates. The battle over the Texas Women’s Health program. Until this week. which provides cancer screenings. has played out like a gunfight in a spaghetti western. even after high-tailing it back to Texas after a less-than-stellar presidential run.’’ one woman wrote on Perry’s Facebook wall. which Texas respects and the Obama Administration does not. with Perry’s blessing. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sued the federal government over the issue. sounding very much like Perry the presidential candidate. Now Perry’s Facebook page is drawing thousands of comments pointedly taking him to task for cutting off federal funds for women’s health programs because some clinics are operated by Planned Parenthood. And on Friday. birth control and other basic services to more than 130. even though participating clinics don’t provide abortions. Perry and state Republican lawmakers said they can no longer abide that money flowing through Planned Parenthood clinics in Texas. Many of the comments are from women facetiously seeking advice on their menstrual periods.DALLAS — It’s no secret that Gov. “Since you know so much about my healthcare. Federal officials warned that selectively cutting out certain clinics would jeopardize funding. Perry said Texas would pick up the slack so services will continue. What is your medical position on this issue?’’ The mocking comments signal considerable frustration over the Perry’s highly visible role in cutting off federal Medicaid money for the Texas Women’s Health Program. “I would like your opinion since I can’t make medical decisions myself being a woman and all. Texas did it anyway. Rick Perry never stopped campaigning against President Obama. hormone patches. particularly as the state faces another looming budget crisis. that is. I was wondering if you could tell me how to handle my period since it is very heavy 4 days out of every month. What is the best product so I can have a productive day during these times or do you think I should just stay at home and call in sick or better yet quite my job since I can’t make my own decisions maybe I shouldn’t be working. . State officials warned that they would stop accepting money from the federal government unless they could cut off funding for Planned Parenthood clinics. pap smears.’’ Perry said in a statement last week. since he’s styled himself as an expert on women’s health. The federal government halted the money. Previously. Although Texas has previously accepted $31 million per year in federal funds for the program. “This is about life and the rule of law. Perry has said the federal government is intruding on the state’s rights. but he didn’t say how. The governor’s been dishing it out on voter ID and abortion while surrounded by mostly like-minded folk in the red state Texas.000 low-income women. such as it is.) Moffatt described the campaign’s approach to incorporating timeline on Romney’s page: It takes a while to figure out how all pieces come together. Our goal was to build a timeline that was best for Mitt Romney. the rigors of a presidential primary race means timeline has been slow to appear on the Republican candidates’ pages.000 comments were posted on Perry’s Facebook wall. All Facebook: How Mitt Romney Upgraded to Timeline http://allfacebook.com/facebook-timeline-romney_b82028 Jennifer Moire March 15.“It is the height of political posturing for the Obama Administration to put the interests of abortion providers and their affiliates. like Planned Parenthood. while his official page has not. The brief delay in seeing a timeline upgrade on the governor’s Facebook page was. . as Moffatt explained: Politics is different than the corporate world. the protestors have said they’re “seeing red” over the fate of the women’s health program. along with the resources at this stage: Changing to timeline required a determinative approach with staff.000 low-income Texas women. over the well-being of more than 100. Moffatt says. The backlash. even though the former Speaker of the House created a separate page with a timeline that attacks Romney. which is not one-off pages. The ability to see our changes for a day before they went live was good. as protesters take to the streets outside the Capitol in Austin for the third week in a row. We built third party apps into Facebook and had to determine where they work within the new real estate. The app boxes and ability to pin posts and highlight stories will really make our Facebook page more dynamic and engaging. 2012 Romney was technically the second of the Republican candidates to create a timeline page. While candidate Barack Obama’s Facebook timeline launched shortly after the layout was introduced. The governor isn’t going to create any response to the attack on him by Gingrich’s Romney Record page. more than 4. As of Monday afternoon. where there is a tendency to treat all brands positive. Governor Romney’s campaign is embracing what social media should be. a reflection of how busy the campaign is during the primary fight. although the one that Newt Gingrich launched was on a separate page focused on attacking the opposition. There were strategic challenges but timeline is overall a net positive. (Gingrich‘s profile adopted the new feature earlier this month. Clad in red clothes.’’ Perry said in a statement last week. We took an inventory of the posts and graphics in the old format. but we didn’t want to start something and then leave it in the cross hairs. is expected to continue Tuesday. Moffatt said: Timeline is going to be really interesting because it will move the conversation to a far more visual interaction and emphasize the positives of the campaign. What’s the point of having fans and then can’t motivate those people to act. The goal is not to have the smartest Facebook strategy but one that supplements the offline strategies of a campaign. The rest are just gotcha numbers. and he replied: Someone who has worked on a campaign. Moffatt is confident that Romney’s campaign can go toe-to-toe with the president’s re-election team on Facebook and social media in general. and understand that apps definitely feed into Facebook’s massive audience. we monitor feedback and on any given day have 30-plus posts and that’s good engagement to me. Campaigns need strong engaging content more than anything else. We know who we are engaging with. if the former governor becomes the nominee. which some studies show lag behind other Republican contenders with far fewer followers. participate and share content. As a campaign we ask ourselves where each tactic falls based on what we want to achieve on the campaign. Facebook is only as good as the actions you drive them to. We don’t want to talk to people but with people. There are a lot of other metrics that define success.Moffatt sees the campaign’s new Spotify playlist and Ann Romney’s Pinterest boards as a natural progression of Romney’s Facebook page: We are always looking for those components. We asked Moffatt if he was concerned with the campaign’s Facebook engagement figures.com/news/21902/yes-they-can-what-voters-have-lost-and-campaigns-have-gained- . My only concern is to be cognizant of what people are saying on Facebook. Campaigns don’t have to have a fully developed app system to leverage Facebook. We never want to launch a feature and then have it not continue. and we saw high engagement figures with our recent Birthday Note to Mitt. In the coming weeks. we asked if Moffatt if he had any Facebook advice for other political campaigns. We have the most engaged groups. Finally. Facebook is also a way for us to test messages for online advertising and other platforms. We just have to make sure we don’t start a conversation that we can’t finish. Some things don’t make sense given where the campaign is. Look at ballot initiatives. [Obama] is already in a general election mindset and is building out these Facebook components. We asked Moffatt what makes a good Facebook page administrator on a political campaign. You need authentic content and a system to get messages out. large or small. We are going state by state and have to allocate our resources accordingly. because it’s instant feedback that we can incorporate into search advertising.which literally resulted in tens of thousands of fans signing the card. Tech President: Yes They Can: What Voters Have Lost and Campaigns Have Gained from 2008 to 2012 http://techpresident. look for the Romney campaign to introduce new features on its Facebook page as it pivots to more user generated content and introduce more opportunities for people to engage. The platform is a great leading indicator. He said: Facebook is the great equalizer. This connection is far stronger than a mere "like. Claudia Milne. the campaign's innovative social networking platform.BarackObama will live on"). picture. that his wife Ann as a Pinterest. compared to 2004 or 2008. Facebook used to prevent third-party apps from keeping any of that data." but Tufekci and I both tried hard to shift the conversation away from easy patter about the presidential campaigns are making smart use of social media. and Michael Scherer of Time magazine. both the Obama and Romney campaigns are deeply and quietly invested in plugging into their supporters' social networks. the BBC. religious and political views. too much of the mainstream political media coverage of tech's role in the campaign falls for the digital candy: the fact that Romney has a Spotify playlist. In other words. or that they're both using Square to process mobile donations--these stories are great marketing opportunities for all these companies and platforms. but that rule has been dropped. I had three points I wanted to get across. Third. in 2012 the relative balance of power between campaigns and voters--in terms of how they use interactive communications technologies to influence the course of the election. they can also post status messages. birthday. Thus both the Obama and Romney campaigns try very hard to get people to sign up on their websites using Facebook. which automatically enrolls them in the campaign's Facebook apps. but they are mostly a distraction. and onto the harder question of who is actually being empowered by all the new and more sophisticated uses of technology that we're seeing (or that are still hidden from us) in campaign 2012. it's not about broadly segmented advertising. 2012 Here are my slides and a "pencast" mashup of the audio and my real-time hand-written notes on the panel I did Sunday March 11 at SXSW along with Teddy Goff. Zeynep Tufekci of the University of North Carolina. which has gone on for decades (you subscribe to Guns and Ammo Magazine. that Obama has an Instagram account. First.com (MyBO).BarackObama. gender. It's about figuring out which of your friends can most effectively convince you to vote for the candidate. Sifry March 13.com online's North American editor. I think of this whole process--of tapping a supporter's social graph and ." As you'll find if you dig deep into your Facebook privacy settings.2008-2012 Micah L. and while Goff says they're coming back when the campaign rolls out its redesigned version of MyBO. has subtly but substantially shifted back toward the campaigns. including name. or what kinds of signals and messages may be the most effective triggers for your support. we're already more than halfway through the election and those features had enabled Obama supporters to do a lot of self-organizing back in 2007-08. we'll send you a pro-guns mailer). Those features have all been quietly deprecated by the Obama campaign (despite Chris Hughes' promise back in the heady days right after the November election that "The online tools in My. photos and videos on your behalf and access your data when you're not using the app. Obama 2012 digital director. when we saw a flowering of user-generated Facebook groups (led by the "Million Strong for Obama"). who was our moderator. gave supporters the ability not just to create local events and fundraise. both the Obama and Romney apps can not only access your basic info. affiliate with friends and even blog. mine them for insights and then presumably make sophisticated and targeted use of word-of-mouth networks. Our topic was "Election 2012: Campaigns. notes. here the game is all about the campaigns' ability to access their supporters' social graph. Coverage & the Internet. My. I illustrated this point by showing the audience how in 2008. but to also form groups." Unlike four years ago. a process I called "Facebookization. Second. " He cited the Obama campaign's efforts on Tumblr." and thus campaigns have to focus on being "real. it includes all the data exhaust that people share about themselves that the campaigns are trying to vacuum up. Teddy Goff strongly disagreed with this analysis. it's quite smart of them to have a big presence at SXSW.html Kim Hart March 11. She decried the "black box" of campaign secrecy around these practices. she said. "All of us have learned some lessons from postelection 2008 and 09-10. not less. tech junkies and social media mavens spent the weekend comparing ideas that could upset American campaigns and politics. and said that the President personally "really believes in giving ordinary people a seat at the table"--citing the current fundraising effort they have underway now that will include a $3 donor among four random Obama donors who will share a meal with the President. given the tech-heavy scene. 2012 AUSTIN. the user "has an incredible amount of power to do us harm or do us right. he exclaimed. and pointed out that the best response that they've gotten on a volunteer ask was on Tumblr because "people see that we get it. assuming the President is re-elected. Unfortunately.politico. " and hopefully our supporters have too. from upending piracy legislation in Congress to toppling governments in the Middle East. POLITICO: SXSW: Techies Look to Redo Campaigns http://www." He also accused me of being too focused on the changes in MyBO and argued that "There's a gigantic difference that has occurred between 2008 and now: we don't have a need to build a social network and we are not. we only had an hour. it includes more than just the Facebook data." Goff insisted that Obama supporters were more empowered. I have to give Goff credit for showing up and representing the Obama campaign. drawing on her study of the Arab Spring uprisings. and thus didn't have enough time to discuss what might be different about how the Obama political operation might work post-election. . noting that "campaigns have discovered that data mining can help them get people to do what they want. Zeynep Tufekci agreed. authentic. but then made a larger point. "Don't you guys think the Internet brings out the best in people?" The idea that it might be used to manipulate voters was apparently not thinkable to him. tend to be adopted first by outsiders who use them to disrupt the status quo. As you'll hear if you listen to the discussion." We shall see. where they have worked hard to show that they get whimsical Tumblr culture. Texas — Bolstered by the effect Internet activists have had.com/news/stories/0312/73868.then analyzing the larger data ecosystem that results to aid the campaign's messaging." Goff said. To some laughter from the audience. He argues that in today's environment. local and personal. fundraising and organizing efforts--as Facebookization. New technologies. This isn't something ordinary people can do--unless you know not only how to code apps but also how to spots patterns in the resulting data. but with time power learns to master these new tools." pointing to a recent New York Times Magazine story about Target subtly shifting its marketing messages when it discovers that a potential customer is probably pregnant and interested in (or vulnerable to) ads for different products. and to be clear. in 2012. taking swings at each other. you can get a lot more reach. are not starving. . Campaign consultants attended to talk about how voter data gathered by social networks and online behavior are helping candidates target messages to specific demographics. attended in full force — throwing parties. a political consulting firm. “We’re reimagining the entire way the primary process is done. Other startups focus on educating voters about the candidates rather than trying to help candidates get to voters. CEO Kevin McCarthy wants to put a political twist on that by showing campaigns their supporters are also likely to be. was at the conference to pitch itself as a way to let candidates find like-minded voters.” Big media companies — CNN. CEO of Philadelphia-based ElectNext. “If you want to target just Republicans on Facebook. With targeted online advertising.” Voters take a survey that helps them find candidates with similar values. Keya Dannenbaum. and it’s opening up opportunities for new leaders. By going to its website. said McCarthy. like Americans Elect. The New York Times and PBS — gleaned insights on how the Web is changing the means by which viewers get and share political news. you can do that. Byrd said. voters can nominate people they would like to see on the ticket alongside the Republican and Democratic candidates. calls her company an “eHarmony for elections.” said Patrick Ruffini. futuristic “village. campaign fever has taken hold of some corners of the tech Olympics at South by Southwest. turning a block of grungy dive bars into a brightly colored. Established companies. they become ad platforms for politicians. It’s a finalist for an award in SXSW’s experimental category. CEO of Americans Elect. for example. Byrd said Americans Elect has a 2012 budget of $40 million. in Google’s case. like Google. raised through individual donations. That’s driving a crop of new startups to try to get involved in the process. but it’s really only been used as a vehicle to raise money or to help organize people incrementally to get them to the polls. Facebook and Twitter. High-profile election-year politics coupled with the affect of Internet activists have led to a bigger political focus at this lively conference. “Technology has become a huge player in all electoral politics. where techies and investors are typically more excited about the next hot Web startup than about the electoral process. and the nomination process culminates with an online convention in June. so they can be targeted with campaign ads. “The technology is getting more sophisticated and is using data more effectively. president of Engage.” “As social platforms build up. soccer moms or churchgoers.” Byrd said.” said Kahlil Byrd.From crowdsourcing a third-party presidential candidate to serving as the “eHarmony for elections” by matching unattached voters to like-minded candidates. Americans Elect had taken over a lounge in the convention center and had a costumed elephant and donkey wandering around. a five-person company in Seattle. a crucial milestone. Washington gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna is using the app. either.” he said. The candidate will then have to choose a vicepresidential running mate from the other party. The application makes recommendations based on what users post on their Facebook profiles. Likester. Some of these startups. a nonprofit that’s trying to field a third-party candidate through crowdsourcing on the Internet. speaking on panels and. ’” But for all the hype around social media in politics. “We’re moving away from the wisdom of the crowd and really moving toward the wisdom of friends. social media haven’t always been seen as an effective way to convert undecided voters. a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “How do you make voting cool when politics is a dirty word?” asked Heather Smith.” he said. the micro-targeting of ads allows different segments of voters to see different sides of a candidate. said Zeynep Tufekci. Social media’s role in get-out-the-vote campaigns is one of the more obvious uses of sites like Facebook and Twitter.” Candidates are also harnessing the cool applications that are decidedly nonpolitical to help “humanize” their image or find common ground with voters. a Silicon Valley firm that gives voters tools to campaign for candidates they like. “Now we have full psychological profiles of people. They’re creating apps that let online supporters share on their Facebook timelines that they’ve called friends on a candidate’s behalf. “The level of targeting is just phenomenal. “It’s not going to be just.’” Harbath said. campaigns can ask supporters to ask friends in other parts of the country to get involved. meaning that people with similar political affiliations tend to stick together and interact online only with other like-minded people. But new research shows that social media users may be surprised to learn the political leanings of their friends.” she said. The average Facebook user has 130 friends. “Social media can excite people” and make them feel more powerful in the political process.000 voters. says that its 20. an early Facebook investor. and President Barack Obama once posted about making his last student loan payment. recently invested in Votizen and is expected to talk about the company during an event with former Vice President Al Gore on Monday. Social networks are sometimes considered mini echo chambers. As Election Day nears. Harbath said. and it’s going to get worse in the next few years. she said Facebook is seeing more candidates sharing their Spotify playlists.“SXSW was important for us because it’s an acknowledgment that in the political space — where technology doesn’t interact very much — people are really starting to think about technology. which could actually be harmful to accountability. president of Rock the Vote. For that reason. and campaigns are figuring out how to leverage those influential relationships with the theory that people are more likely to pay attention to a campaign ad or a news story if it comes from a friend. ‘Share this with your friends in this crucial swing district.000 users have made contact with about 600. For example.” said Katie Harbath. Facebook associate manager for policy who works directly with Republican candidates. Mitt Romney posted an endearing photograph of him with his father. . donated money or voted. Votizen. Sean Parker. For one thing. it’s far from a panacea. Pinterest finds or favorite TV shows on Hulu. ‘Share this with your friends. especially in trying to reach people who aren’t very interested in politics in the first place. “It’s going to be. About 38 percent of social network users have discovered through friends’ posts that their political beliefs are not what they had thought they were. according to research from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project to be released Monday. he primarily helped redesign Gingrich's website and brought online advertising and Facebook expertise to the campaign.C. On Twitter.As online social networks grow. announced at a campaign stop in Alabama that he just received his 175.cnn. advertising. so does the potential for more conversation — and disagreement — between people over political issues. In late January they hired digital media consultant Vincent Harris to help the burgeoning campaign after Gingrich won the South Carolina primary. Georgia. Gingrich incites chuckles from the younger members of audiences when he tries to explain his campaign's social media efforts. one tweet and Facebook friend at a time. News stories shared on Twitter or political messages posted by a friend on Facebook have persuasive power.000th donation." Four weeks ago Gingrich introduced his plan to reduce gasoline prices to $2." said Harris. who worked for Rick Perry's campaign before the Texas governor dropped out of the race. director of the Pew project. 2012 Dothan. which includes fundraising. according to Harris. The Republican presidential candidate doesn't have as much money to spend on television advertising as his counterparts.Newt Gingrich may occasionally refer to a Twitter hash tag as a hash mark but he is relying on the Internet to reach out to voters. Gingrich spokesman R. so we can run a very inexpensive campaign. "I stepped in to a campaign that was very well-versed with everything online. According to Harris. frankly. "This is part of how we've survived against Romney.400 users.” he said. . Alabama (CNN) -. He raises lots of money off Wall Street and we reach out through the Internet.” CNN: Gingrich Pins Hopes on Hashtags http://www.html Shawna Shepard March 11. the campaign website and social media management. they just didn't have the people resources. “People don’t separate out what influences them.com/2012/03/10/politics/gingrich-social-media/index. and approximately a quarter of that has been spent on digital strategy. Hammond said the campaign has raised a little more than $10 million in online fundraising. the hash tag #$250gas has been tweeted 35.105 times by more than 7. He said he and his firm Harris Media "were able to articulate more about the potential ROIs (returns on investment) for running online ads. “It’s a big mush ball of conversation … but it’s the conversation that matters most. said Lee Rainie." Gingrich said in Savannah. who often boasts that 95% of his donations are less than $250.50 per gallon and the campaign has aggressively promoted it on social media sites. The former House speaker has been able to stay in the race thanks to his online fundraising efforts. on March 2. but Gingrich is devoting considerable resources to maximize his online presence. who is presenting the research at SXSW on Monday morning. Gingrich. Harris said that's because the Twitter audience includes "hyperactive" users like political junkies. but he often marvels at the connective power of social media networks.for free. 2012 Every vote counted on Super Tuesday. They're able to post information about an event to different networks. but according to Harris the average Facebook user has 130 friends. With campaigns scheduling rallies with sometimes less than 48 hours' notice. and if one of those friends clicks the "like" button or makes a comment." That might be a slight exaggeration. as a social marketer I can’t help to wonder if social savvy determined the winners and losers." He may be trying to inject a little humor when he flubs online jargon. "Since we did so well with evangelicals in Georgia. known as micro-targeting. Are 2012 Politicians Social Leaders? ." Gingrich said in Tupelo. you send out tweets to 'tweeples' so everybody who's on Twitter is a tweeple. he says. as Gingrich likes to point out -. reaching voters through social media is the best option. Mississippi." Harris said. but when it comes to fundraising.8% in the Ohio primary. we are going to be advertising to folks in Christian colleges and folks who have graduated from Christian colleges in Mississippi and Alabama. based on a user's location. with Mitt Romney narrowly beating Rick Santorum by only 0. a campaign can bring in the same amount of money raised through Facebook. Facebook has become the best way to reach average voters -."On Twitter if you go to hashtag $250gas and just put that in." TechCrunch: Social Super Tuesday – How the 2012 Candidates Stacked Up on Facebook http://techcrunch. Twitter users make up a much smaller percentage of Americans.50 gallon gas plan. and people involved in politics like local party activists that are "hyper-engaged. When Gingrich asks people at rallies to mention his $2.com/2012/03/11/social-super-tuesday/ Roger Katz March 11. "There are enough people here (that) I bet you reach at least a quarter-million or half-million people just by putting it on your Facebook page. fewer than 10%. depending on crowd size. that post could potentially reach another hundred or so users.with as many as 141 million users who are 18 and over. that's a whole new group that we're building around so we can Twitter and we can send out tweets. to help push people out to events in their area. And the campaign is applying lessons learned in this week's contest in Georgia to next week's in Alabama and Mississippi. While some may argue that the issues elevated Mitt above the rest. "For those of you who don't know about Twitter. The results coming down to the wire. which represents roughly 60% of the population. and they can run inexpensive geo-targeted ads. 7K likes.” really puts fans to work and requires a significant time investment to complete the actions. surrounded by supporters. write on it. . asking followers to answer the question “Have you ever volunteered for a campaign?” While it’s unlikely anyone would want to share any answer other than “Yes. enter their email address. with lots of content that is easy to share with fans.” it is a good effort. The Obama team did an exemplary job telling his life story through milestones — from his infamous birth certificate printed on a mug to his first job at Baskin-Robbins. 21K shares (more than ¼ the likes. The oddly named “What’s your take?” app is slightly more socially savvy. It included a leaderboard-style “gamification” mechanic that rewarded fans by telling them how many people were inspired to join the Obama campaign as a result of their wall post. Key Learning: The “ask” in the “Stand with Mitt” app has significant barriers to participation. Key Learning: His “I’m In” campaign was simple. Obama’s team chose a nice “man of the people” cover photo. but the comments are interesting. and clicking “Share. and send the photo to the Romney team for possible inclusion in a photo gallery on Facebook.Both marketers and politicians alike know that inspiring and motivating fans/supporters to share your story is an incredibly powerful influence. upload the photo. “Stand with Mitt.4M fans Obama’s 2012 “Are You In?” campaign (recently expired) simply asked fans to share their statement of support with their network. and a “Pinned” post that when I looked had 75K likes. fist bumping a blue-collar worker. Barack Obama: 25. Loved it. The Obama Facebook experience is comprehensive. no fuss. And it’s good to see the campaign managers have let negative comments stand. His Pinned post includes Super Tuesday photos. Some of the options in the app don’t appear to work. supporters are asked to download a PDF. which is a very high number) and 25K comments (almost ⅓ of the likes!) since it was posted less than two weeks ago (February 26th).5K comments when I last checked. and invite their network to join. Mitt Romney: 1. engaging and provide an interesting look into the face of a Romney supporter. It did not request the fan to do much of anything other than what they already do on Facebook — typing. take a photo. Though the resulting photos are fun.” No friction. with engagement at 106 shares.4M fans The cover photo includes a bold photo of Mitt Romney and his wife. It just doesn’t feel like an activity tuned for Facebook users. print it (preferably in color). Once someone has decided to support a candidate. His main Facebook app. This campaign feels a lot like one that would have been popular in the early 2000s. Here. You’d have to be a pretty fervent supporter to go to the trouble of doing this. and 1. professional. when he met Michelle. and featured on a campaign microsite. does the candidate encourage them to share that choice with friends? Do they make it easy? Do they make fans break a sweat? I decided to take a quick look this week — focused for comparison’s sake limited myself to Facebook — and summarized my observations below. and more. and authentically irreverent. the Romney team should have made the whole process considerably easier and simpler. 2. But while Paul hasn’t fully embraced Facebook. Key Learning: The Santorum team did provide exclusive content behind a like-gate — a decent social marketing convention — but wasted the opportunity. however. and in the past week. though most are not on Facebook.ronpaul2012. and provides instructions on how to download that photo. indicates little understanding of the potential social power of Facebook. Paul seems to have devoted more of his resources to his websites. and gives them something to share that tells their friends why they love that candidate. The campaign selects a photo for you. Newt Gingrich: 293K fans Newt Gingrich’s Facebook page is focused less on putting his small number of fans to work.org site.584 fans — it points more to the lack of following. and then tells you how to change your profile to the Ron Paul sanctioned photo. viral social content-sharing campaign and would play to the reasons that fans love their candidate. provided a tempting “like-gate” where fans are rewarded with a free e-book of something called “Santorisms” — essential quotes and images of Rick Santorum in a PDF file. Key Learning: Little effort is put into encouraging fans to share their support of Gingrich on Facebook with friends and family. That would have made a perfect. Other links take you to ricksantorum. but probably would also want to add their own personal “spin” to something as critical as that photo. with the largest being Florida. with 2. There are various petitions to sign. and tend to avoid places where they don’t see those traits. The Santorum team has. rather than using the space to primarily ask for donations. and >750K shares by other means. and more on soliciting money for his campaign. it’s surprising that his Facebook presence isn’t more sophisticated. email. email and phone number. and location before spinning the fan off to www. which are complete and highly comprehensive.newt. His “Donate” page. As this app indicates the number of fans in each state — in the case of Delaware 67. They should have taken that PDF e-book content and made each and every quote and photo shareable by fans. Facebook users value authenticity.com has 608K shares. and conversational debate. and also asks fans to change their profile picture to show their support for the candidate. the Gingrich team added a “States with Newt” app that lets fans visit pages such as “Delaware with Newt” to drive local community action. This November the Winning Candidate Will Keep it Simple. 62.” all send fans off Facebook to his www. than a healthy grass roots movement. Gingrich would have been more authentic to himself by engaging fans in sharing his views on Facebook. he does appear to have made more effort to embrace social sharing on his website. The “Ron Paul Facebook Promoter” offers a confusing and poorly designed campaign that requests a name. most savvy Facebook fans would not only already be aware how to change their Facebook profile photo.org.5K tweets. “Sign Newt’s Energy Petition.newt.” and intriguingly named “Newt Live Cam. (His “Choose Your State” app on www.) Key Learning: While the effect of seeing Ron Paul’s brand on every one of a fan’s Facebook posts would be a good brand coup. The first link provided takes you to a “Fundly” page — conveniently pre-populated with your Facebook credentials. Asking for name.com.Ron Paul: 898K fans Given that Ron Paul supporters are generally thought to be in the 18-39 age group. Yet Engaging . Rick Santorum: 160K fans Rick Santorum’s Facebook page is full of things to do. Content speaks volumes. in order to resuscitate his lagging campaign. Ala. fun. Without much money to spend on pricey television advertising.Newt Gingrich is amused at the notion of “tweeples” and for a while was saying “hash mark” instead of the correct “hash tag” to talk about a Twitter tool. He now inhabits everything from Pinterest to Google Plus. simple. Look no further than his pledge that gas will return to $2. The most engaging campaigns have an interaction that’s clean. Gingrich closes every speech with a social media-based appeal. ahem. Social media represents a huge potential to engage followers both locally and nationally. Ala. 2012 BIRMINGHAM. you see a tweet from Obama linking to his energy policy. But the 68-year-old candidate has developed a robust social media operation that experts say is in many ways savvier than his Republican presidential rivals in amplifying his message and engaging the public. telling crowds to write “Newt = $2. Gingrich has settled on gas prices. Perhaps the biggest sign of its influence is the fact that President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign – the Internet politicking standard-bearer -.ajc. “That’s something I actually don’t do.” It’s fitting for a candidate who broke ground by officially announcing his presidential candidacy on Twitter in May.” Gingrich said.” said Patrick Ruffini.50 a gallon if he is elected. and it has been tweeted 35. and Newt. In Pell City. Make fans/supporters work. “That’s good.. and political candidates do have a lot of. but my wife has told me I should. Keep the fan where they want to be — on the social network where they encountered the campaign — and give them something to share. on Wednesday he added an request to take photos of his $2. the campaign said. Atlanta Journal Constitution: Gingrich Engages His “Tweeples” on Social Media http://www. I’m trying to learn all these new things. the president of media firm EngageDC who also has worked on Republican campaigns. Social media lets fans volunteer without even leaving their seats. the Internet is a cheap way to spread the news – and when Gingrich fans do it on social media. “A woman came up to me in Montgomery and told me she used Instagram.50 gas rally signs with the sharable application Instagram. he’s very good in that he jumps on every social network there is.purchased advertising space so if you search for #250gas.” . “There’s all of these niche social networks. Respect the social context and don’t send the fans to your website.Successful social campaigns are actually quite simple. The campaign started a #250gas Twitter hashtag in recent weeks to condense and distribute the message.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/gingrich-engages-his-tweeples-on-social-media/nQR5x/ Daniel Malloy March 10. Chances are the candidate that masters engagement and grassroots community-building will find themselves in the White House after November’s election.105 times reaching as many as 7 million Twitter users. but don’t make them work too hard. Politicians must learn how to put advocates to work on their campaigns and make it easy and fun. and a claim that increased domestic drilling will stem their rapid rise. content to share. it’s free. and rewarding — with as little friction between click and share as possible. That shows they’re diligent. -.50 gas” on their Facebook pages and use the Twitter hashtag. “Obviously they’ve got good numbers. the former Massachusetts governor – basically an opposition research file.” said Heather LaMarre.at reactive uses of social media rather than proactive uses of social media. Other tools include the ability for Gingrich supporters to make phone calls to voters through Facebook. Because Facebook users willingly share so much information. where you can even reach “your 70-year-old tea party grandma. That particular feature prompted the Facebook political team to single out Gingrich’s operation. sorted by year. then he launched a timeline to attack rival Mitt Romney.” But the Gingrich campaign – and all the Republicans in the field – are only beginning to scratch the surface. “If something comes up in the press or comes out in a debate. he is pretty good -. a University of Minnesota professor who researches candidates’ use of social media tools. “Newt Gingrich. capturing data from all these different platforms and transforming it to better targeting. While Perry was familiar with the tools – and even tweeted himself.” said Gingrich campaign social media consultant Vincent Harris. he’s pretty good at using social media to get the drumbeat going and raise attention about an issue. and broadcast how many calls they have made to encourage competition. it allows incredibly precise communication. Ruffini said. “I don’t think we’re quite where the Obama campaign is socially. Harris said the campaign this week is advertising on Facebook ahead of Tuesday’s critical Alabama and Mississippi primaries targeting graduates of Christian colleges in those two states.or he seems to be pretty good -.” Harris insists that Gingrich and other Republicans are matching Team Obama online. . and Gingrich is a prime example. but that’s not the full story. Gingrich was the first candidate to upgrade to a “timeline” page on Facebook. In a December blog post company officials wrote: “Gingrich’s Facebook page is a great example of providing many ways for supporters to get involved. LaMarre said social media has not yet transformed the 2012 campaign.” he said. They are very intently focused on data. Despite all the new tools and ways to engage. … I don’t think Republican candidates are anywhere near close to that.” Harris said.” Republicans also have yet to tap into the get-out-the-vote tools the Democrats have. Harris worked for Rick Perry’s campaign until the Texas governor bowed out of the race in January and Gingrich snagged his services.The platform Gingrich spends the most time – and money – on is social media behemoth Facebook. None of them have shown great strategy at launching initiatives and getting people excited about things ahead of time in social media. data mining. which Gingrich typically does not do – “I wouldn’t say the web is as much of a critical central piece of the campaign as it was on the Gingrich campaign. and noted the campaign employs technology that gathers all the social media chatter around big events like debates and puts it into visual form for easy study. with each of the other contenders taking one state each. how to use it to launch campaigns and get it going rather than discuss what actually happened. drew its results from more than 800. Attensity’s vice president of marketing. referring to televised debates. How Attensity did its analysis Attensity conducted a study of social-networking site Twitter to forecast voting outcomes for Republican candidates ahead of today’s Super Tuesday elections in 10 states. Voters casting ballots in those GOP primaries could determine the Republican presidential nominee. "When you have big data in real time that streams. Calif.” she said.” Attensity connected messages with “positive sentiment” to the overall “share of voice. the pile of social data on voters and candidates grows. “It’s amplification effect. Tennessee.usatoday. According to Attensity’s analysis. Ohio.” or volume of tweets. As people interact with campaigns on these popular Web destinations. 25 through March 2.“The two comebacks he has had. “Whether or not this is true remains to be seen. Idaho. “This is what Twitter is telling us. ." says IDC analyst Mike Fauscette. North Dakota. according to one firm's analysis of Twitter trends.. Vermont and Virginia. it’s not going to be all that mind blowing of a radical change in the way we elect people. Oklahoma. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is poised to win big during Super Tuesday. which is based in Palo Alto. Newt Gingrich.000 tweets Feb.” USA Today: Can Social Media Predict Election Outcomes? http://usatoday30. until they do that.com/tech/news/story/2012-03-05/social-super-tuesday-prediction/53374536/1 Scott Martin and Jon Swartz March 6. it gives you the ability to predict this.” says Rebecca MacDonald. Facebook. That treasure trove of information has helped campaigns target their messages to voters and allowed technology companies to analyze social-media trends and make some predictions about Super Tuesday's winners. The social-analytics company. Twitter and YouTube are key battlegrounds for the campaigns of Mitt Romney. … Until people learn how to make it more proactive. Super Tuesday is election day for 10 states — Alaska. Massachusetts. Georgia. they weren’t from something he did on social media … it was more to do with the traditional campaign. 2012 SAN FRANCISCO – Contenders for the Republican presidential nomination will put social media to the test Tuesday. for each candidate to arrive at its results. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will be the top vote getter in seven states. the ability to amplify a message quickly. Alaska to Ron Paul and Vermont to Santorum. and Twitter is the spot for water-cooler banter. Romney will be the top vote-getter in seven states — Massachusetts. Twitter is "not perfectly projectable to the whole overall population. Santorum. Georgia will go to Gingrich." says Bernardo Huberman. AT&T could measure whether customers were venting on Twitter about bad service." says Forrester analyst Zach Hofer-Shall.000 tweets on Twitter from the past week. "From an advertising perspective. according to the analytics firm. Idaho. Much of this work is based on text analysis that taps into decades of linguistics research." Social strategies The campaigns of Romney.But forecasting election results based on Twitter. Lithium and others provide software that allows customers to do market research based on online data. and skeptics abound." says John Durham. Facebook is the flavor of the day for every political strategist. professor of advertising and marketing at the University of San Francisco." says Hofer-Shall." Romney has the edge at Facebook. "Whether or not this is true remains to be seen. with influence easily gamed." and he scores well on another measure: "people talking about this. To be sure. director of the social computing lab at Hewlett-Packard. Social-media analysis "is a very interesting area. "You can hire people to tweet for you and you can have it (Twitter) robo-tweet. "We're exploring it ourselves. "They realize people are no longer in a passive media source such as television. according to an analysis of Twitter that Attensity conducted for USA TODAY. Attensity. Gallup reported that Romney has a 16-point lead in the national race. for example. and act to reduce customer defections. Using such analytics. Netvibes.5 million "likes. YouTube is where they watch videos." says Rebecca MacDonald. Facebook or other social-media sources is still in its infancy. All the Twitter buzz around Paul. Twitter is something of a marketer's paradise. Political campaigns can be analyzed in similar fashion. but it's not yet mature. Ohio. ." The research drew from more than 800. Also. Oklahoma. His Facebook page has nearly 1. Gingrich and Paul have all embraced social networking." says Noah Smith. "There are a number of problems with it." which refers to unique page views over a seven-day period. forecasting from social media raises doubts. for example. The reasons are simple: Facebook is where people hang out." says Gallup Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport. could easily be misinterpreted as a winning outcome. Virginia. "This is what Twitter is telling us. an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science." "It's a fascinating area of research. If they come close "I would argue it's coincidental. Attensity's vice president of marketing. The social analysis measured positive sentiment and the share of voice for each candidate. Tennessee and North Dakota — on Super Tuesday. " Rezab says. "I would be happier to be in Romney's place in those numbers. Socialbakers analyzes how marketers can reach targeted consumers on Facebook and Twitter.org." says Moffatt. Once the specific categories are selected. to encourage donations and redirect users to the Facebook page of the former speaker of the House. "The other category measures how people share data with others and evangelize. It has measured the engagement of followers of President Obama and the Republican candidates.S. for candidates surges after wins and debates. Newt. Gingrich's numbers climbed after his win in South Carolina in January. city and interests. . "The Facebook fans are going to be a reasonably good predictor on Super Tuesday. they are relatively close on "people talking about this. That's even been the case outside of the U. but it also drives traffic to the candidate's website and other online properties containing donation information and volunteer signups. "If you don't have a campaign around social. age group." McMahon says. the service spits back a "cost per click" for every time somebody clicks on that advertisement. Romney gained traction among users after his debate performance in Florida. Gingrich uses an online phone-bank tool on his new site. a psychology lecturer at the Dublin Business School.000 "talking about this" points. too. says Rezab." Social interaction on Facebook is valuable to campaigns in two ways. says Katie Harbath. his Facebook page gained 9." Republican candidates are using everything from live streams and photos to status updates to engage voters and draw them into their campaigns. formerly chairman of the Internet Advertising Bureau. Ciarán McMahon." Zac Moffatt. says they are using every advertising option available from Facebook. The engagement. After Santorum picked up three wins in one night in February. The social network's self-serve advertising platform makes it easy for campaigns to build Facebook ads that target a specific gender." says online-ad adviser Rich LeFurgy. and buzz factor.000 fans. "Facebook helps you find your most engaged members of the community. such as political parties. you're really going to be hurt. "The targeting capabilities that Facebook provides are really phenomenal.The former Massachusetts governor racked up more than 80. says Jan Rezab. conducted a study last year that found candidates' Facebook popularity had an influence on Ireland's elections. It's a key barometer of user engagement and is closely watched. and interact with them. who works with the GOP on behalf of Facebook. Debate winners usually push ahead of the pack in social media. Although Romney has about five times more "likes" than Gingrich. CEO of website Socialbakers. digital director of the Romney campaign. The end game: find supporters who contribute money and recruit others to the cause. It gives consumers a peek into a candidate's personality. The opposite occurs. when candidates underperform. . establishing Facebook's and Twitter's status in politics." says digital strategist Becky Mancuso of political advertising agency BrabenderCox. Gathering data and targeting Internet ads is "analogous to the way direct marketers used to send political mailers. is a "level of data we didn't have before. President Obama brought social media to the spotlight in his 2008 presidential victory." she says." "With remarketing. "It's been great for activating them and getting them to events and grass-roots initiatives." says Adam Sharp.Santorum's campaign has used Facebook to mobilize the former senator's following. President John F. That allows candidates to fine-tune their message for a particular state. That's because such chatter can gauge how a candidate's message is being received or even warn of a popularity dive. Roosevelt mastered radio. who manages government and politics for Twitter. however. Campaigns are paying close attention. President Franklin D." Steen says. The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence in 2010 reported a study that found Twitter tweets reflect voter preferences and come close to traditional election polls. "Most of the candidates that are running ads on Twitter are bidding on key words around the debates. Jennifer Steen. Kennedy and President Richard Nixon used television." says Rob Saliterman." But mathematicians and data junkies are striving to go beyond behaviorally targeting ads to voters. a Washington-based Google account executive. says today's digital strategies mirror age-old tactics. an assistant professor of political science at Arizona State University." says IDC's Fauscette. Twitter polling Social media is just the latest technology that presidential candidates have embraced to spin their message and build support. somebody has already expressed interest but then is able to be reached elsewhere. Twitter provides real-time feedback on debates that's much faster than traditional polling. A new level of data The rich trail of information people leave on the Internet. YouTube is a good place to target voters seeking information. They'd like to earn bragging rights by forecasting election results. he says. Marketers can also gather a trail of information to track somebody's interest on one website and then advertise to them on another in what's known as behavioral-based "remarketing. which handles Santorum's social campaign. "You could play to your audience. Campaigns that closely monitor the Twittersphere have a better feel of voter sentiment. Twitter's promoted-tweets advertising has also become an important tool. "We're seeing a lot of campaigns use paid advertising in YouTube. the greater the chance of statistical significance.html . The app enables voters who like the page to put a virtual “I voted” sticker on their Facebook profile. We expect more Ohioans will be voting by mail this November and our Facebook app gives them a way they can still get their voting stickers.com/blogs/44/post/president-obama-switches-to-facebook-timeline-includesbirth-certificate/2012/03/01/gIQAVshgkR_blog. "Algorithms are research in progress. "The law of big numbers says the greater the sample size.But social-analytics experts say applying complex algorithms to Twitter data." Still. The “I heart” sticker design was also democratically-chosen as part of an online “Elect Your Sticker” campaign that ran on the official Secretary of State’s website. In a statement. blogs. showing accuracy at gauging political sentiment." he says. The effort to attract younger and more tech-savvy voters ahead of a major presidential primary is a good strategy.com/facebook-pinning_b80406 Jennifer Moire March 2. "Sarcasm … there's no way to actually detect that. it’s been a tradition in Ohio to get a voting sticker at the polls to both show pride in participating and to remind others to vote. As in many other states. It’s free and we think.washingtonpost. Secretary of State Husted tells us that the Facebook app is another way for the increasing number of mail-in voters to share their civic pride. The Facebook page highlights programs to help active military and veterans vote as well as special efforts for small businesses in Ohio. The page also features a carousel slideshow that highlights initiatives and other social media accounts from Ohio Secretary of State John Husted’s office. All Facebook: Ohio Debuts Facebook Voting App Before Big Election http://allfacebook. “We are very excited about the possibilities and new tools (timeline) has to offer! We are looking forward to transitioning our current material and continuing to think of new ways to connect with our constituents. IDC's Fauscette thinks that social analytics applied to politics potentially has an edge over traditional polling. A spokeswoman for Secretary of State Husted says.” Washington Post: Obama’s Birth Certificate Featured on New Facebook Timeline http://www. principal scientist of analytics for Lithium. 2012 Ohio voters who participate in Super Tuesday’s election can show their civic pride on their Facebook profile thanks to a new application from the Secretary of State’s Facebook page. Twitter has played a role in intelligence gathering on uprisings around the world. an engaging way to share important voting information. news sites and other media isn't yet perfect for predicting politics." says Michael Wu. 497.669 – up 15.652 – up 4. There is little doubt that the level of social media debate and politicking is reaching new levels of intensity.382.551 Ron Paul – 882. As for me. The Obama campaign began selling mugs and other memorabilia with images of the president’s long-form birth certificate on its Web site shortly after it was released. and the Obamas’ final student loan payment.153 . From where I sit. The Republican field continues to provide the networks and others with a reality show beyond compare. 2012 President Obama converted his Facebook page to the timeline format Thursday morning. Here’s this week’s view of the data: Facebook Friends Mitt Romney – 1. Twitter http://www.912 – up 17. college and law school graduations. which administers the Barack Obama fan page.245 – up 14. he seems to have the most to lose in Tuesday’s primaries based on the online data we have been collecting.790 Rick Santorum – 159.Natalie Jennings March 2. The campaign filled in several other personal moments on his timeline: his first job in 1978 “working the counter at Baskin-Robbins. 2012 Not many hours left before all the votes are counted in both Michigan and Arizona and every pundit on a broadcast channel seems to be licking their chops about Tuesday night’s primary results. Human Events: Romney Needs to Market Himself on Facebook. the summer he met Michelle Robinson while working as an associate at a Chicago law firm.580 Newt Gingrich – 288.” his high school. Many of us will be glued to our television sets watching each network battle over who will announce the winner in both of these “pivotal” states first. Facebook timeline allows people and now brand pages to note historical moments in their personal or company history on a chronological timeline. Who would have thought that the very important process of selecting the Republican candidate for the President of the United States would be covered like American Idol. a day after the timeline option became available for branded pages. I can’t wait to see which network anchor or “panel of experts” makes the determination that Mitt Romney is “in trouble” just in case he loses his home state to Rick Santorum.819 – up 120. made in 2004. took advantage of the new format by featuring an image of the President’s birth certificate emblazoned on a coffee mug at the beginning of it.humanevents. As we have said many times. The bigger question for my money is where Newt Gingrich finishes after all of the votes are counted. the Obamas’ wedding and the birth of their daughters. mass media thrives on drama and intrigue. Obama’s 2012 campaign staff.com/2012/02/28/romney-needs-to-market-himself-on-facebook-twitter/ Al DiGuido February 28.541 President Barack Obama – 25. 669 – up 9.960 – up 131. Second only to Ron Paul. though. The petition and “bowing” oil barons are still prominent on his page. His message continues to resonate with a growing base.420 – up 11. Paul continues to “rise” each and every week that we have been tracking. while his weekly increase is the best of any of the candidates. The online audience hasn’t warmed to Santorum as yet and it doesn’t seem as though the candidate’s camp is all that concerned at this point. • Ron Paul had another strong week as his followers continue to grow. Unlike Romney. Would Rick benefit by a potential Gingrich endorsement? My sense is yes. Paul is making a big deal about the recent Rasmussen poll that indicates that he could beat Barack Obama in November. like his Facebook. he still has the smallest base of any of his competitors in the field. Paul is pushing his supporters in both Michigan and Arizona to get out and vote Tuesday.442. The Paul camp is tweeting proudly about the Rasmussen poll and his chances of beating Obama in the fall. Paul continues to defy the odds as the only true outlier in the final four. For the last two weeks. It seems that the fire and passion around the posts has left as well. Could a win in Michigan stimulate even more activity? We shall see.744.043 President Barack Obama – 12. .244 Mitt Romney – 351. • Romney rising – Mitt continues to show vitality within Twitter. Newt has been crushed in terms of gaining friends. I continue to wonder if his campaign has forgotten the need to market himself within this venue. Mitt’s tweets lack the real zing and punch of a competitor. it appears that his online strategy hasn’t come close to building a strong foundation here as yet. up close to 10.724 – up 3. Mitt is not connecting in the way that he could and should here. The Santorum page hasn’t changed in the past week and neither has his relative standing in terms of the other candidates. it seems that this horse has run his race and will finish out of the money. His page remained unchanged again this week. • Santorum the Big Winner again – Rick continues to have new energy online based on the high level of broadcast exposure he has received in recent weeks. Twitter Followers Newt Gingrich – 1.414 • While Newt has a strong and loyal Twitter following – Gingrich’s rate of growth here has slowed considerably. Based on the competitive field and their level of engagement in refreshing content within Facebook.• While Mitt Romney continues to maintain his strong leadership amongst all GOP candidates within Facebook. While polls and media have put Santorum in the spotlight. • Rick Santorum has had big weeks back-to-back. • Likewise Newt Gingrich is running a banner unit on the left side of his page urging his supporters to go to the polls.000 new followers this week. Despite a gallant fight. It would be well advised for the Tweet Team in the Romney camp to start leveraging some of those stump speeches in a place where the rest of us outside of the primary states can hear them. Don’t count him out as a factor in the race. We may be seeing the end of one of the stronger players within the field online. • Ron Paul had a big week on Facebook.062 – up 13.421 Rick Santorum – 147. The candidate generated more friends than any of his fellow counterparts. Santorum’s social media strategy seems to be working. and dramatically so. Once again. However.398 Ron Paul – 387. While wishful thinking may lead you down those paths. are the least likely people to vote and far more likely to engage in other kinds of participation. sharing 'I've Got a Crush on Obama' [videos] and volunteering in their neighborhoods. Will every Twitter follower and Facebook friend vote their online preference in November? There is really no way to guarantee it. There is little doubt that Obama re-election team is watching every word spoken by their potential adversaries and using online media to strike back instantly and aggressively. There are some that would like to discount social media and the profile of folks that comprise it as “left leaning” or not in the mainstream of the American voting public. in which he defended the auto bailouts." . --Tea Party belle Sharron Angle had seven times as many Facebook fans as Senator Harry Reid. like "pitching tents in Occupy protests.000) didn't prevent him from losing the last three primaries in Colorado. With a gargantuan audience of followers and friends online. Ten years ago. Minnesota and Missouri." --Mitt Romney's huge lead among Facebook fans (1. we can debate the validity of the numbers listed above.” These comments directly attacking the Republican front runner are highlighted on both his Facebook page and within the Tweets on Twitter. we must look at voter behavior and preference information from a 360 degree viewpoint. In 2012 that potential bias has been totally removed.President Obama continues to ratchet up the volume and intensity of his online platform.000 and Rick Santorum's 149.C." His proof? --"Internet heavyweight Ron Paul hasn't won a single primary. my view is that they all lead to the same dead end." writes Gregory Ferenstein in AdAgeDigital in a lengthy article titled "Waiting for the 'Twitter Election?' Keep Waiting. Under the banner of “Placing bets on the American Worker” and in front of one of the most powerful unions in the country. social network connections are far weaker in motivating people to vote than face-to-face contact --Young people. Obama reminded the audience that Mitt Romney once proclaimed “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt. online data could be viewed as skewed based on specific demographic and geographic parameters. It is truly a viable and increasingly important channel to study and understand. It appears that those running the Obama campaign understand it all too well. but that didn't keep her from losing 50-45% in their 2010 race. no one knows you didn't vote"--that is. --"On the internet. Can the Republican field gain that understanding in enough time to make a difference in November? Anybody want to bet? Tech President: How Social Media is Keeping the GOP Primary Going http://techpresident. there is no solid evidence that it matters in politics. D. His team is holding a clinic on leveraging the immediacy of the medium to be relevant in real time. Each week. who are the most intense social media users. Today Obama’s Facebook page touts a speech that he gave at a convention of United Auto Workers Tuesday in Washington.com/news/21841/how-social-media-keeping-gop-primary-going Micah Sifry 02/28/2012 "Despite the increasing importance of social media in business. there is little doubt that this message is being received in a big way. The online universe represents the people of America. We can act as if what is happening online is truly immaterial to the final results of the election in November.5 million to Paul's 869. Like the poll information based on microscopic sample size data that we are fed each day by mass media as gospel. the conservative online strategist who worked on Paul's 2008 web campaign. but have the effect of leveling the playing field for at least three and sometimes four contenders. by the way. is the way that social media and social networking is empowering many more conservative voters and activists who care passionately about certain issues. but he's not that much weaker than Bob Dole. Consider. You can see from the regular polls done on the site. for example: On Facebook. which hasn't gotten nearly enough attention. discussing things on FreedomConnector. the rise of SuperPacs and billionaire donors like Sheldon Adelson and Foster Freiss. that Paul. and they've each got anywhere from a handful to hundreds of members. This isn't just the Ron Paul story. which in the past was enough to get party leaders and members to close ranks behind the frontrunner. But politics isn't only about voting.com. including one for every state. briefly battled challenges from Patrick Buchanan and Steve Forbes. As Martin Avila. and then rapidly won almost every contest from late February forward. . Three factors have changed the contours of the GOP contest in this cycle. Gingrich supporters on Facebook are similarly distributed. The mainstream media definitely over-hypes factoids like how many followers a candidate has on Twitter or Facebook. They say Romney's got it locked up. you'll miss a lot of this picture. then you had the Tea Party movement. on Twitter. Exhibit A: the current Republican presidential primary. and those companies are all too happy to keep getting that simplistic coverage. it's more deeply about organizing to get and keep power. -FreedomConnector. enabling them to create strong factions within the Republican electorate that are less controllable by party leaders. Most are closed (you have to ask to join. have enabled them to get a second. On the left that happened a long time ago.000 users who are largely beyond the control of any Republican organization. I would argue. whose injections of huge sums of cash in support of Gingrich and Santorum." And knocking on doors is the most effective way of getting out the vote (plus timely reminders from people who know you). said to me last Thursday on the PDPlus call: The pundits are completely stumped as to what's going on. who in 1996 won Iowa. Why isn't the primary over? Mitt Romney "won" Iowa and he definitely won New Hampshire. and now you have the evangelicals on Facebook. narrowly lost New Hampshire. First. and then everything just changes. an open social network for conservatives (built by Avila) that launched a year ago at CPAC. Ron Paul was the start. Gingrich in particular has benefited from this dynamic. "we're getting tired of stories or services claiming to find a clear correlation between chatter on Twitter or Facebook and the fortunes of the candidates running for president of the United States. has more than 168.and maybe even third-life after weak showings in early battles. the neverending series of TV debates--21 in all so far--which not only pull candidates and their senior teams away from retail politicking and towards mass media politicking. I think that's a real consequence of what is happening online with the conservative movement. Obviously he's a relatively weak candidate. which means these are trying to be real organizing hubs). respectively. But the third factor. Second. even Freedom Works which runs the site. As I wrote back in January. These kinds of groups have social capital that can't be turned off from above. conservative grassroots activists haven't been online as much. If all you do is look at how many followers a candidate has to their own Facebook or Twitter profile.Ferenstein has a point. And the evidence that social media is helping organized groups get more power--sometimes more than their raw numbers might get them at the ballot box--is staring us in the face. Up until this cycle. there are dozens of groups devoted to Santorum. social media isn't changing politics.com. Santorum's victories revived his campaign. Santorum. think again. Before Feb. according to Compete. a hub for Paul supporters. as Avila put it to me last week. There are nearly 7.000 groups on FreedomConnector and they've organized more than 2. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia in most major national polls. Or.000 unique visitors a month. Santorum was generally running third behind former Massachusetts Gov. New Analysis Shows http://usnews.000 events using the site. "Social tools don’t create collective action-they merely remove the obstacles to it. a former senator from Pennsylvania. he soared to the top of the major national polls. Santorum is being lifted by an outpouring of small donors--more than 100. and he has remained there since. 7. -In addition to billionaire Foster Freiss. Right before our eyes. Alex Johnson February 24. Facebook Buzz.000 in February alone." The fracturing of the Republican base is a natural by-product to the emergence of more lateral. with little official impact on the delegate count. The DailyPaul. On the RonPaulForums. Missouri and Colorado on Feb. "Broadbased. one of whom is his son Tagg. Local groups that reinforce each others' beliefs are not as easily controlled as national groups with big top-down email lists. networked activity by grassroots activists reinforcing each other. Romney has two donors who have created personal fundraising pages on the site.000 donors who have built personal fundraising pages generating an average of about $80 each. principled factions within the party have a much stronger voice. his campaign says.Santorum and Gingrich are all benefiting from passionate support bases that refuse to compromise on their beliefs. By contrast. For the first time. politically engaged users of Twitter and Facebook are buzzing about Santorum more than about any other Republican candidate.nbcnews. As Clay Shirky wrote in Here Comes Everybody. making him a much more viable contender than he'd be if it were up to elite gatekeepers from the media to the national GOP. Although all three contests were essentially beauty contests.com. the Rick Santorum page has nearly 3.000 unique visitors a month." So. 2012 Rick Santorum is coming under much closer — and more skeptical — scrutiny since he jumped to the top of Republican presidential polls this month. -And let us not forget the broad-based network that has grown up around Ron Paul. Following those contests. there are literally hundreds of people active on the site at any given moment. a social fundraising site.com/_news/2012/02/24/10490055-rick-santorum-leads-rivals-in-twitter-facebookbuzz-new-analysis-shows M. On Fundly. another hub for volunteers which is currently getting about 100. 7. issue-focused. MSNBC: Rick Santorum Leads Rivals in Twitter. . who tend to view him as a wacko. when someone says. And some part of that is due to grassroots conservatives using social networking. according to a computer-assisted analysis of social media data. The list goes on. the power balance within the Republican coalition is being remade. is getting 250. swept Republican voting in Minnesota. The analysis examined posts through Thursday about the four remaining major Republican candidates.com began collecting data. after a debate Wednesday night in Mesa. when msnbc. Consistently. But other issues are now emerging around which significant opposition is crystallizing. Santorum. The results aren't a scientific reflection of national opinion.com's analysis of nearly 2.. a union of a man and woman – and for a reason. This week. And as the spotlight has focused on him. Thursday. 8. or are not able to procreate. (The analysis uses a tool called ForSight.) Nonpartisan research indicates that Republicans and Democrats use social networking sites in roughly equal proportions. 15 percent for Gingrich and 12 percent for Rep." So. Twitter or both. Beginning Feb. Ron Paul of Texas. These unions are special because they are the ones we all depend on to make new life and to connect those new lives to their mom and dad. 1 topic of conversation. Santorum has been the No.2 million tweets and Facebook posts that expressed clear support for or opposition to one of them.. the largest driver of sentiment about Santorum is his strong stance against same-sex marriage.2 million posts on Twitter and Facebook this month. Ariz. On Feb. such as tweets noting that a candidate would be making a campaign appearance. however. filtering out straight news reports and neutral posts. the breakdown was 38 percent to 62 percent. Jay A. those Facebook and Twitter users preferred to talk about Romney by a ratio of more than 6 to 1 over Santorum. they're not any more enthusiastic about the man himself. making up 18 percent of all opinions expressed about him and 28 percent of all negative sentiment this week — proportions that have remained remarkably consistent since June. The resulting sample was 1. studies indicate. it has drawn opponents of his sharp-edged positions out of the shadows. they're a broad look at what is being said by Americans who follow politics and are active on Facebook. The demographics have gradually been trending older and more conservative as the sites are adopted by a larger proportion of the American public. 42 percent of Santorum's comments were positive to 58 percent negative. your religion's typical intolerance must then also stand for banning marriage between couples who do not choose. In a Facebook post typical of the anti-Santorum commentary. more than twofifths of every post expressing an opinion — 41 percent — were about Santorum. Wash. and has always been through human history.Santorum's rise has been mirrored on social media. The sentiment that Santorum is "too conservative. In the week leading up to the Feb. where Santorum came under sustained attack from Romney and Paul.com analysis suggests that while people are much more enthusiastic about talking about Santorum.. Instead. wrote this week: From Rick Santorum's website: "Marriage is. Mr. a data platform developed by Crimson Hexagon Inc. Small of Vancouver. 7. 7 contests. before results of the three contests were known. The msnbc. compared to 32 percent for Romney. which is used by many media and research organizations to gauge public opinion in new media." particularly in the prominence of his religious views — previously just one of . according to msnbc. among them the Pew Research Center and ESPN. That suggests his supporters could be swayed by other candidates — or that he still could galvanize support with clearly articulated positions. Even in Michigan — his native state.com's analysis) has yet to give voters a clear reason to vote for or against him. which holds an important primary Tuesday — the single most mentioned word in social media posts about Romney this week (after his own name) isn't any political issue or position. 2012 Barack Obama’s campaign manager." or not truly conservative. Likewise. 'Most electable'? In fact.com/articles/4542/barack-obama-campaign-manager-jim-messina-urges-millennialsto-use-twitter-and-facebook-to-win-the-social-media-war-against-republicans Justin Miller February 23. as in this tweet from Michaele Swiderski. But is there still the excitement there? A Students For Obama campaign kick-off event at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis featured the campaign manager and former deputy chief-of-staff explaining what the 2012 campaign can look like for college students. Jim Messina. a sentiment that has driven 36 percent of all positive opinions this week: A quarter cite Romney's competence or leadership. "Republican In Name Only. such as this tweet by an Alaskan woman who describes herself as a Christian "pro-life supporter": The picture is different for Romney. who (at least according to msnbc. .policymic. and 14 percent pinned the RINO label on him — that is. with many suggesting that he is out of touch with the majority of Americans. the No. The new plan is to revitalize this support through an intensive social media campaign using college students as the foot soldiers. rising to 13 percent of all commentary and 20 percent of all negative opinion. another 15 percent thought he was too closely tied to corporate interests. is working to solidify a strong student supporter-base much like that in the 2008 campaign. 1 reason social media commentators give for supporting Romney — both this week and going all the way back to June — is their belief that he is the "most electable" Republican in the race. no other issue even makes it into double digits. a Tennessee woman who describes herself as a Jesus-loving conservative: But 15 percent also expressed concern over his Mormon faith. opposition to Romney is widely scattered." PolicyMic: Barack Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina Urges Millennials to Use Twitter and Facebook to Win the Social Media War Against Republicans http://www. It's "Santorum.several scattered notions — has broken into double digits this month. The campaign is looking to keep what was working with social media in ’08 and hang on to that for dear life. He is sweeping across the country’s college campuses in partnership with the Students For Obama group encouraging college students to get out the vote. A quarter of those expressing negative opinions this week cited his wealth. it is sure to be interesting. Twitter. which have borrowed tricks from Madison Avenue for decades. Two million supporters will be recruited to debunk false myths about Obama and give automatic response to negative coverage. It creates a strong grassroots following with much less effort. geared toward voters who have not yet aligned themselves with a candidate. The first. Rybak. Do whatever you need to do to show your support for him. fight back. focused more on Mr. It also brings Obama’s message to young people’s home turf: the internet. The second video ad.” showed the candidate on the campaign trail explaining how this was an election “to save the soul of America. “Post responses on Twitter. Obama is this and that. “When you hear people saying Obama is Kenyan. The plan might just be the final answer to how candidates will use the internet to their advantage. made it clear what is expected from college students supporting Obama: Make your voice heard.com/2012/02/21/us/politics/campaigns-use-microtargeting-to-attractsupporters.” It was aimed at committed party members to encourage a large turnout. .Messina and the other two speakers. called “It’s Time to Return American Optimism.” In addition to traditional social media platforms. post on Facebook. are now fully engaged on the latest technological frontier in advertising: aiming specific ads at potential supporters based on where they live. encouraging them to vote. If Messina has his way.” Messina said. the Web sites they visit and their voting records. While there are many unknowns as to how a crusade of young students using social media will battle Republicans. the Obama campaign will be implementing “truth teams”. But this strategy could also take the control of out the Obama camp’s hands. The Messina strategy of putting publicity in the hands of supporters through social media shows a greater trend developing in politics. which focused on Mr. Romney as a family man. One recent ad from the Mitt Romney campaign was geared toward committed party members. Obama is a socialist. was shown to undecided voters.T. New York Times: Online Data Helping Campaigns Customize Ads http://www. Facebook. and other popular social media sites will be heavily utilized as tools to show support for Obama and act as weapons to counteract attacks against him. New Hampshire and South Carolina. Iowa.html?_r=0 By Tanzina Vega February 20. In recent primaries. Versions of the two ads were seen online in Florida. bona fide liberals Congressman Keith Ellison (MN) and DNC Chairman and Minneapolis Mayor R. 2012 Political campaigns. Hoards of supporters offering their messages on such a large stage could end in a lack of cohesion and unnecessary confusion. Obama is an Islamic fundamentalist. Romney as a family man. Essentially it could create a grassroots PR campaign for Obama. A second ad.nytimes. two kinds of Republican voters have been seeing two different Mitt Romney video ads pop up on local and national news Web sites. Instead of buying an ad on.” Mr. In the last few years. Representatives from the Obama campaign and the Gingrich campaign would not confirm whether they were using targeted ads tied to voter data. “We can now literally target the household. the digital director for Mr. Goldstein. Campaigns are able to aim at specific possible voters across the Web. the president of the Campaign and Media Analysis Group at Kantar Media.” Mr. Romney’s directed ads represented a sea change in political advertising. “Two people in the same house could get different messages. “Forty years ago. chairman of the Republican National Committee on Technology. what type of credit card a person has and what type of car he or she drives. the type of content will change. Saul Anuzis. say. The companies are reluctant to discuss which candidates are their clients. So while the campaigns are not aiming at consumers by name — only by the code — the effect is the same. .” Endorse Liberty. The political consultants then take a third step and match that data with voting records. Throughout the process. microtargeting allows campaigns to put specific messages in front of specific voters — something that has increased in sophistication with the large buckets of data available to political consultants. As a result. “Not only will the message change. But the chief benefit of microtargeting is that campaigns can spend their money more efficiently by finding a particular audience and paying $5 to $9 per thousand displays of an ad. for example. The first two are common to any online marketing: a “cookie. hotel ads online to people who had shopped for vacations recently. including party registration and how often the person has voted in past election cycles. The process for targeting a user with political messages takes three steps. is dropped on a user’s computer after the user visits a Web site or makes a purchase. The technology that makes such customized advertising possible is called microtargeting. a campaign can buy an audience. you’d watch the same evening news ad as your Democratic neighbor. Anuzis said. part of the advertising giant WPP. which is similar to the techniques nonpolitical advertisers use to serve up. but not whom that person voted for. removing their names and making the data anonymous. Mr. Microtargeting is largely done by a handful of campaign consultant groups including Aristotle. Moffatt said. the targeted consumers are tagged with an alphanumeric code. said he expected spending on digital political ads to reach 10 to 15 percent of campaign budgets in the 2012 election season. The Miami Herald Web site. said Mr. which collect some of their data from direct marketing companies like Acxiom and Experian.” or digital marker. Anuzis said. companies that collect data on how consumers behave both online and off and what charitable donations they make have combined that vast store of information with voter registration records.Kenneth M. and that profile is matched with offline data like what charities a person supports.” Few campaigns like to talk about this kind of advertising. worked with a company called Targeted Victory for the online ads. Romney’s campaign. CampaignGrid and Targeted Victory. Those numbers pale beside what campaigns will spend on television or direct mail.” Mr. Goldstein said. but according to a Federal Election Commission filing. CampaignGrid does work with the Ron Paul “super PAC. Zac Moffatt. said bidding technology means strategists can “get a campaign up and running very fast and also potentially pull it down very fast.” Ms. “Different people getting different ideas about a candidate maximize the chances that a person would agree with you. then a candidate for governor in New Jersey. There were more registered Democrats in the state. Corzine that he supported cutting health care coverage including mammograms. “If you can get in front of a news story. Christie’s campaign quickly created a video ad showing him sitting at a kitchen table with his wife and telling the story of his mother’s struggle with breast cancer. but it kept us from losing. Critics say that the ability to limit political messages to registered voters toes the line of social discrimination. an assistant professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. his campaign used a number of ads with different messages.” John Simpson.” Mr. Hazelwood said. the company that worked on Mr. leave entire segments of the population out of the political communication of the campaign.” When Gov. as they get more sophisticated. Joseph Turow of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania said that ads aimed at registered voters. for example. said of the ad: “I think the biggest thing in politics is just being able to move quickly. adding that “campaigns aren’t going to spend resources on people who aren’t seen as being important. worked with CampaignGrid to respond to accusations from Gov. The digital campaign ran in September and October. In response. “We want to hit the people who can actually go out and vote. Christie’s campaign. which worked with the Obama campaign in 2008. “These practices. Jon S. Anuzis said. and early polling had shown that some were “favorable towards Jindal. and the company placed ads online to reach registered Republicans as well as registered Democrats. a partner at Mercury Public Affairs who ran Mr. benefited the candidate in another way. the president of Grassroots Targeting. “that makes a big difference.” .” In 2009. Christie said at the end of the video. Mike DuHaime.Another advantage is that these ads can be bought quickly — using an auction process to obtain ad space — when campaigns need to move rapidly to aim at an audience. called some of the targeting techniques a form of political redlining.” Prof.” Professor Kreiss said. It was aimed at female Republican voters who were searching for information on breast cancer. Jindal’s campaign. said voter registration data was critical to the success of the digital campaign.” Mr. Chris Christie. to counter a bad debate performance or an unflattering newspaper article.” Ms. “It’s awful for the governor to try to desperately hold on to power by scaring people. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana was running for re-election last year. Hazelwood said. Mr. media director at Blue State Digital. if you can help frame the debate rather than respond to the debate. while efficient for the campaign. I don’t know if it won us the campaign. Blaise Hazelwood. Daniel Kreiss. Rick Santorum is next to last with nearly 130.5 million Twitter followers. ranking him the second most followed 2012 election candidate. the 2012 presidential candidates post to their accounts two to five times per day. but do you think a candidate’s following could turn into votes? The Hill: All Politics is Social http://thehill. 2012 President Barack Obama’s Facebook and Twitter following leaves Republican presidential candidates in the dust. In 2012. a blogging site used by tons of young people. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made a digital declaration that she was ‘in it to win it. A former Gingrich staffer told Gawker that Gingrich purchased Twitter followers on eBay. Check out the infographic below. but Obama signs the tweets he writes with -BO. shiny object. In October 2011.000 Twitter followers. social media was the new. Obama found one more way he could connect with young voters: by joining Tumblr. They have signed up for social media platforms and their staffs post regularly.4 million Twitter followers. it is an essential component of any serious political campaign. He was and still is the social-media-savvy candidate who reaches out to voters on the online platforms where they communicate. Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich split second place. He has more than 23.000 Twitter followers and more than 138. although many of his followers’ accounts are inactive. The president has more than 25 million Facebook Likes and more than 12. 2012 Social media was in its infancy during the last presidential election cycle. has the least amount of Facebook Likes and Twitter followers. When it comes to followers and Likes. Gary Johnson.000 Facebook Likes. the Nevada Republican . Since his 2008 campaign for president. bright.4 million Facebook Likes.000 Facebook Likes.com. but he is building his following. Followers and likes don’t always translate to endorsements.Mashable: Who’s Winning the Twitter and Facebook Presidential Election http://mashable. according to PRMarketing.com/2012/02/18/presidential-election-infographic/ Alissa Skelton February 18. Obama has changed the way the public engages with political candidates running for office. while Newt Gingrich has 1. Twitter and Facebook numbers have increased for all candidates since the infographic was made. Other candidates have followed Obama’s tech-savvy lead.com/opinion/op-ed/211439-all-politics-is-social Jonathan Spalter February 17. Romney comes in second with 1. In 2008. Ron Paul is the third most followed candidate with more than 862.’ while candidate Obama famously announced his VP choice with a few taps of his thumbs.000 Twitter followers and 149. Earlier this month. President Obama’s social media accounts are primarily run by his campaign staff. the libertarian who has been in and out of the race. On average.000 Facebook Likes and more than 130. who created the infographic below. When the Obama camp recently joined the popular photo-sharing mobile application Instagram. behind-the-scenes view of a campaign and its candidate. In 2008. of course. During the Republican primary debates. Around the world. Earlier this month. From Herman Cain’s smoking chief of staff to the rebuttal video from Jon Huntsman’s three daughters. there is certainly no shortage of feedback available for leaders in this country — and around the world. resources. Four years ago the presidential election cycle redefined traditional campaigning with the rapid embrace of social media. social media can offer a personal. and much of it will take place over mobile devices. dialogue and information. The best campaigns understand that Twitter. the Nevada Republican Party set a precedent by becoming the first state party to use Twitter as the primary means of releasing official results from its presidential caucuses. Social media was in its infancy during the last presidential election cycle. social media has led to a classic case of disintermediation — the act of cutting out the middle man — delivering an authentic connection between candidate and constituent. The connection caught fire with voters who were starved for something more than the usual soundbite. And. personal and immediate connection with voters. discipline and a message that connects with the American people. Now that smartphones outsell personal computers in this country. as they sit on their campaign buses between stops. Today. Then. the first pictures featured the commander in chief speaking to Iowa caucus voters via video chat. social media was the new. Some 26 photos were uploaded to Instagram every second. there is a growing shift in the way information — political and otherwise — is consumed and shared. there were more than 100 million . more and more candidates are turning to their mobile devices and using social media platforms to build a direct. From texting supporters to “Get out the Vote” to surprising your own aides with the news that you’re pressing on to South Carolina (as former candidate Rick Perry did via Twitter). campaign slogan and 30-second ad. Elections are fought and won with strategy. prepare to give a big speech or leave a town hall meeting with local voters. but invaluable real-time tools for getting messages from voters. Harnessing the chatter around key issues and looping it back into the campaign as platforms and strategies is considered a valuable information tool. This growth shows no signs of abating. 103 million tweets were sent from a mobile device every day. social media offers a 24x7 give and take of opinions. it all gets distilled down to simple math. and Facebook reported more than 425 million mobile monthly active users in December 2011. the Twitter-verse exploded with real-time discussions. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made a digital declaration that she was ‘in it to win it.Party set a precedent by becoming the first state party to use Twitter as the primary means of releasing official results from its presidential caucuses. we prefer our Internet to go. Engaging voters at the nexus of mobile and social is now common practice on the campaign trail. on Election Day. With almost half of Americans getting their news using mobile devices. In 2012. as well. Facebook and YouTube are not just platforms to get the message out. Not all of the dialogue is substantive. 2011 produced a veritable cacophony of digital speech and opinion.’ while candidate Obama famously announced his VP choice with a few taps of his thumbs. Rather than simply a 24-hour news cycle of information coming at us. bright. it is an essential component of any serious political campaign. Other uses are more formal. In 2008. shiny object. the old adage from former House Speaker Tip O’Neill — “All politics is local” — might be in need of an update for the wireless age — all politics is social. retweets.000 tweets daily. mathematicians." For the past nine months a crack team of some of America's top data wonks has occupied an entire floor of the Prudential building in Chicago devising a digital campaign from the bottom up. The team draws much of its style and inspiration from the corporate sector. Optimizely. most detailed and potentially most powerful in the history of political campaigns. Already more than 100 geeks. Today." says Dan Siroker. So far. But the question remains if all those likes. political activists are using social media to rally like-minded voters. internet advertising experts and online organisers. there are more than 800 million. Facebook is also being seen as a source of invaluable data on voters. and shares will translate into actual votes. that number is the equivalent of 2 days. Digital analysts predict this will be the first election cycle in which Facebook could become a dominant political force. to gauge hot topics and key messages. At the same time. 2008 also saw 300. every presidential contender’s level of influence is being measured.uk/world/2012/feb/17/obama-digital-data-machine-facebookelection?newsfeed=true Ed Pilkington and Amanda Michel February 17. hashmarks. 200 million tweets are sent every day. will be inviting its supporters to log on to the campaign website via Facebook. at least in part. software engineers. Campaigns are analyzing the quantity of tweets. data mining experts. Guardian: Obama. The re-election team. Facebook and the Power of Friendship: The 2012 Data Election http://www. rendering it for the first time a major campaigning tool that has the potential to transform friendship into a political weapon. some recruited at top-flight university job fairs including Stanford.Facebook users. by their digital visibility. If 2008 was all about social media. unobtrusive and ruthlessly efficient.guardian. thus allowing the campaign to access their personal data and add it to the central data store – the largest.co. Today. and tech-savvy campaign volunteers are immersing themselves in all things “social” to maximize engagement and recruitment. . “likes” and unique visitors. 12 hours of video were uploaded to YouTube every minute. If so. "Whichever candidate uses Facebook the most effectively could win the war. The social media giant has grown exponentially since the last presidential election. "Facebook is now ubiquitous. This influential and powerful information serves as a roadmap to campaigns as they navigate social media investments to attract more votes. are assembled in the Prudential drawn from an array of disciplines: statisticians. bloggers. Obama for America. predictive modellers. Today. with its driving ambition to create a vote-garnering machine that is smooth. 2012 Barack Obama's re-election team are building a vast digital data operation that for the first time combines a unified database on millions of Americans with the power of Facebook to target individual voters to a degree never achieved before. In 2008. 2012 is destined to become the "data election". a former Google digital analyst who joined Obama's campaign in 2008 and now runs his own San Francisco-based analytics consultancy. better. Every time an individual volunteers to help out – for instance by offering to host a fundraising party for the president – he or she will be asked to log onto the re-election website with their Facebook credentials. told a seminar at the Guardian-sponsored Social Media Week that the aim was to create technology that encourages voters to get involved. 2012". in tune with Obama's emphasis on community organising. 98% of whom have contributed $250 or less – that's more than double the number at the same stage in 2008. At this rate. says there is a leap forward in technology every presidential cycle. Obama is also well on the way towards staging the world's first billion-dollar campaign. Mark Sullivan. Joe Rospars." a digital campaign organiser who has worked on behalf of Obama says. and 2012 would be no exception. now the campaign has connected you with all your relationships. Under its motto "Bigger. The database will allow staff and volunteers at all levels of the campaign – from the top strategists answering directly to Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina to the lowliest canvasser on the doorsteps of Ohio – to unlock knowledge about individual voters and use it to target personalised messages that they hope will mobilise voters where it counts most. But that should not obscure how significant this year's presidential cycle will be in putting to the test the first custom-made digital campaign. which manages the Democratic party's central database of voter information known as Vote Builder. the Chicago team intends between now and election day in November to create a campaign powerhouse which will allow fundraisers. The Obama campaign this year has attracted about 1. The potential benefits of the strategy can already be felt. date of birth. Judith Freeman of New Organizing Institute. crucially. interests and. That in turn will engage Facebook Connect. Consciously or otherwise.3 million donors. "If you log in with Facebook. "There's a deadline – it's got to be done by election day – and that provides a huge push to make things happen. says that "what we will see in 2012 will make 2008 look really primitive"." In 2008 the Obama digital team was lauded around the world for its groundbreaking work on internet fundraising. Campaign insiders say that the emphasis this year will be on efficiency more than any headline-grabbing technical wizardry. who worked on both John Kerry's 2004 and Obama's 2008 presidential campaigns. . the digital interface that shares a user's personal information with a third party. Yet in fact. the campaign's chief digital strategist. the separation of its data on voters into several distinct silos forced high-level staffers to spend hours manually downloading information from one database to another. advertisers and state and local organisers to draw from the same data source. founder of Voter Activation Network. the individual volunteer will be injecting all the information they store publicly on their Facebook page – home location. network of friends – directly into the central Obama database.At the core is a single beating heart – a unified computer database that gathers and refines information on millions of committed and potential Obama voters. Jeff Chester of the digital advertising watchdog Center for Digital Democracy. releasing extraordinary fundraising energy in the process that raised about $500m online. a list of email addresses of supporters that it has amassed and that now stands at about 23 million. Obama's chief blogger in 2008. the digital director of the re-election team. as well as the contact information of Obama's 25 million Facebook fans. It lines up and matches those voter files with data gathered from online interactions with the president's supporters – notably the millions of pieces of information its army of canvassers collected across the nation during the 2008 race. told Social Media Week that as the year progresses there would be more and more "persuasion through interaction". Rebuild the Dream. "Fusing your data into one central store is cheaper." First among those possibilities is that the campaign can distribute customised content designed specifically for its Facebook fans to share with their much wider circle of friends. postal address. The messages can be honed to a particular demographic – age. This year the Chicago team hasn't knocked down the walls so much as dispensed with them altogether. quicker and allows you to be more targeted." says Sam Graham-Felsen. the Obama campaign appears to be ignoring the ethical and moral implications. The Obama database incorporates Vote Builder. occupation and voting history drawn from the voter files of 190 million active voters. etc – as well as set of interests. and targeted on the most hotly contested parts of the most crucial battleground states. that opens up incredible possibilities. "If you can figure out how to leverage the power of friendship. "We are just one campaign now – we built it from scratch. "This is the Moneyball moment for politics." said Jim Pugh. . They have built from the ground up a unified database that incorporates and connects everything the campaign knows about a voter within it. said that "this is beyond J Edgar Hoover's dream. now there are more than 160 million – incorporating almost the entire voting public. a store of essential information such as age. Rospars said that in 2012 they no longer had to try to integrate data in the campaign." But from the vantage point of the campaign the benefits are evident. simply by dint of its exponential growth. The significance of the fusion of Facebook and voter file data is hard to overemphasise. which has been calling for regulators to review the growth of digital marketing in politics. who was part of Obama's 2008 digital team and now works for the progressive online movement.The Obama team in 2008 did a good job in beginning to tear down those walls. Teddy Goff. Facebook itself has been transformed as a political campaign tool since 2008. gender. In its rush to exploit the power of digital data to win re-election. Four years ago there were about 40 million Facebook users in the US. "Influencers" – those people who tend to act as thought leaders among their friends on Facebook – can be identified and prioritised." The centralised nature of the database may raise privacy issues as the election cycle progresses. claims to be able to online market direct to targeted households. The Obama campaign has already tailored a single donation request to 26 distinct segments of the voting public. you are vastly more likely to respond than if the request comes from an anonymous campaign staffer." Goff said the campaign was focused on building relationships through social media. Jeff Dittus. and it is only a matter of time before such hyper-targeting is standard across political campaigns. The Republicans are also getting in on the act.000 individuals who had voted in at least two of the four previous Republican primaries. that could be achieved to some degree through direct marketing – ie leaflets dropped into the letter box – but that is expensive and far too slow with today's 24-hour news cycle. Indeed. People's own stories really moves votes. that serves mainly Republican candidates. He worked on behalf of one unidentified Republican presidential candidate. The adverts were further customised for gender. That helped her win Iowa's vaunted straw poll in August 2011 (though that didn't help her in the long run). The technique has begun to spread widely among commercial businesses over the past year. The other door that data integration will further open in 2012 is personalised marketing. In the old world of snail mail.Individual voters would be given access to digital platforms from which they will be able to tell their own stories "and that's far more powerful than anything we can say". we've already started to see it this year. Goff said. Rick Perry sent God-praising commercials to Iowans who listed themselves as evangelicals on Facebook. This has been the Holy Grail of political campaigners for decades: the idea that you can talk directly to voters and serve them customised messages. The bottom line is that if you are sent a message from your Facebook friend encouraging you to turn up to an event or donate to Obama. the company's co-founder. sending to their computers messages with a local spin for each of the state's 99 counties. They were distributed to the individuals through internet ad exchanges that allow for instantaneous filtering of users the nanosecond they click onto a video on any one of four million websites. following them wherever they are browsing on the internet. if you fitted the criterion you were served with a 30-second pre-roll video from the candidate delivering a message to you that you would have found remarkably personal. Michele Bachmann used customised online advertising in Iowa to reach Republican voters only. The company CampaignGrid. In that flash. and for Spanish speaking. "That will be the story of this election. It has an integrated database on 110 million voters across America – some 65% of the electorate – to whom it can serve personalised ads. illustrates what this means. The fusion of information into a centralised database allows you to direct market online at much less cost and virtually instantaneously. An Obama message would be crafted so that "not only can it be passed to your friends but to those friends that we think are most in need of passing it on to". . serving online ads in the Miami-Dade region of Florida specifically to 400. Dan Sinagoga. has run trials of commercial as opposed to political addressable advertising in Baltimore. That allows for microtargeting depending on the average income bracket. of course. Technically. Comcast Spotlight. including concerns in Washington about the privacy of cable TV consumers. The tighter the geographical area that can be drawn. Years earlier. the more efficient the TV advertising becomes as campaign managers can focus on primarilyDemocratic. Drew Brighton. 2012 On Jan.html By Sasha Issenberg February 15." Slate: Obama's White Whale http://www. "would like to be doing addressable advertising yesterday". is hoping to do the same hyper-targeting for Democratic and progressive politicians and causes through his new product Target Blue. 22." said CampaignGrid's CEO Jeff Dittus. It matches up the details of up to 50m cookies embedded on individual computers with voter files and uses it to identify Democratic-leaning individuals to whom it can serve customised ads wherever they go on the web. the young woman had registered for updates on Obama’s website. The prize would be to be able to fuse cable subscriptions with voter files so that TV adverts could be sent to households of a specific political persuasion.slate. The results confirmed the power of the technology: homes receiving addressable adverts tuned away a third less of the time than homes receiving untargeted commercials. but political ones in particular. As an Obama insider puts it: "Give us less wood. and she responded to one that required that she provide her . the emails she received from Obama and his Organizing for America apparatus were appeals to give money and sign petitions. and we'll make more fire. But he said it was unlikely to happen in any great quantity in 2012 as there are too many hurdles. The elephant in the room. Republican or independent neighbourhoods. The company is also developing a system for targeting Democratic voters through their computer IP addresses down to such tightly drawn areas or "IP zones" as just 20 households. that's already possible. Most analysts agree that 2012 has come too soon for any equally transformative leaps forward in targeted or "addressable" TV advertising. says that all advertisers. No such impediment will hold back the digital explosion this year. But its still a relatively blunt instrument. Adverts custom-made to speak to various demographic groups were piped into 60. who specialises in political advertising at Comcast Spotlight. is television. a deputy campaign manager for Barack Obama. though the personal details were removed to protect privacy.com/articles/news_and_politics/victory_lab/2012/02/project_narwhal_how_a_top_secret _obama_campaign_program_could_change_the_2012_race_. age profile and concerns of that tiny locality. Cable television can close in on geographic zones ranging from a few thousand to up to 100. the advertising arm of Comcast Cable."I'm sure this is the future of digital political campaigning. completing a form that asked for her email address and ZIP code. which continues to dominate advertising spending by political campaigns. For a while. CEO of TargetSmart Communications.000 identified households. a young woman in a socially conservative corner of southwestern Ohio received a blast email from Stephanie Cutter.000 viewers allowing campaigns to shape their messages to those clusters. Wade.” It was a message that sat well with the young Ohioan who received it. overturn Roe v. often through systems incapable of communicating with one another. and encouraged her recipients to see the policy as reason to rally around Obama’s re-election. the campaign stuck to safe topics for email blasts and reserved its sharp-edged messages for individual delivery by direct mail or phone call. however. This year. and certainly not the type of hard-edged political message that could scare one away. sensitive to medical costs—but she had never told the campaign any of those things. Such information-sharing would allow the person who crafts a provocative email about contraception to send it only to women with whom canvassers have personally discussed reproductive views or whom data-mining targeters have pinpointed as likely to be friendly to Obama’s views on the issue. liberal. From a technological perspective. Indeed. . as part of a project code-named Narwhal. rarely with anything an Obama supporter could disagree with. different vendors developed distinct software packages for the varied work that went on there: volunteer-management programs. and the one piece of information she had provided (her ZIP code) could easily mark her as the type of traditionalist Midwestern woman who would recoil at efforts to liberalize access to birth control. like 1996’s debut of candidate Web pages or their use in fundraising four years later. The data were stored in different places. Obama’s team is working to link once completely separate repositories of information so that every fact gathered about a voter is available to every arm of the campaign. and the engineers at Obama’s Chicago headquarters racing to complete Narwhal in time for the fall election season may be at work at one of the most important. She was single. There will not be a major innovation that seems to herald a new era in electioneering. the 2012 campaign will look to many voters much the same as 2008 did. even the campaigns most intent on gathering varied types of data have had little strategy for getting all the information to work together. not even their age or gender or party registration. In those channels. the donor. and everything in between. voter-file interfaces that could spin off mailing labels or walk lists ready for neighborhood canvassers. the offline voter. The campaign knew very little about the 13 million people who had registered for online updates. When computers started regularly appearing in campaign offices in the 1980s. She boasted of a new administration rule that would require insurance plans to fully cover contraception as part of the president’s health care reform law. she found it hard to believe that many other residents of her ZIP code would look as favorably upon a rallying cry to defend Planned Parenthood as she did. If successful. the campaign could be certain of the political identities of those it was reaching. unified political profile. Those who have worked with Obama’s data say that it is an email that would have never been sent in 2008. “Think about how different that is from what the candidates on the other side would do. Traditionally. campaign finance and budgeting tools. like online organizing for campaign events in 2004 or the subsequent emergence of social media as a mass-communication tool in 2008. Without the ability to filter its recipients based on those criteria.” Cutter wrote. “Our opponents have been waging a war on women’s health—attempting to defund Planned Parenthood. because the recipients had been profiled based on hundreds of personal characteristics—enough to guarantee that each message was aimed at a receptive audience. Narwhal would fuse the multiple identities of the engaged citizen—the online activist. But Cutter’s note was different. The emails kept on coming. the volunteer—into a single. This year’s looming innovations in campaign mechanics will be imperceptible to the electorate.name. ” says a staffer at Obama’s 2008 headquarters. as many as 100 volunteers enlisted into a virtual typing pool. 3 million campaign donors and at least as many volunteers—but no way of knowing who among them were the same people. Campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt refused to discuss the project. In the case of Cutter’s blast. called Build the Hope. the campaign could come up with only what national field director Jon Carson described as a “Rube Goldberg” data apparatus. By Election Day in 2008. after the tusked Arctic whale whose image (via a decal) adorns a wall adjacent to the campaign’s engineering department. Full data integration would allow the campaign to target its online communication as sharply as it does its offline voter contact. that might mean pulling email addresses only for those who had identified themselves as women on their registration forms and whose voter records included a flag marking them as likely pro-abortion rights. Narwhal would bring new efficiency across the campaign’s operations. State-level VoteBuilder databases could access rich information about people’s political activities that helped to refine statistical projections about their beliefs. People were very proprietary about their data. When it comes to sensitive subjects like contraception. The field team had its database of volunteers. but could rarely keep up with the volume of new people to track. Narwhal remains a work-in-progress. and how they responded to different appeals. The online databases developed by the firm Blue State Digital contained records of who registered for website and text-message updates. the integration project is known as Narwhal. Those familiar with Narwhal’s development say the completion of such a technical infrastructure would also be a gift to future Democratic candidates who have struggled to organize political data that has been often arbitrarily siloed depending on which software vendor had primacy at a given moment. at one point. the departments of his campaign followed this pattern and developed their own repositories for the data they collected. emails will stop hitting him up for money and start asking him to volunteer instead. No longer will canvassers be dispatched to knock on the doors of people who have already volunteered to support Obama. copying Blue State Digital online contacts into the voter records. 13 million online supporters.When Obama launched his candidacy in 2007. the campaign could rely on its extensive predictive models of individual attitudes and preferences to find friendly recipients. More broadly.500 in permitted contributions. Staffers would take the finance department’s contribution records and flag each donor’s record in a VoteBuilder database. Permanently linking the campaign’s various databases in real time has become one of the major projects for Obama’s team this year. No one ever thought System B would get useful data for System A—and we weren’t planning for the long run from the beginning. “They started as separate systems because that’s the way it works. and the actual origins of their project’s code name are . “Every unit within the campaign had their little fiefdom and a chief. The campaign’s fundraising team assembled its own list of donors. Obama campaign staffers were exasperated at what seemed like a basic system failure: They had records on 170 million potential voters. And if a donor has given the maximum $2. Even as the outside world marveled at their technical prowess. New email signups came in even more quickly. In a campaign that has grown obsessed with code-naming its initiatives. as first reported by Newsweek. that depended on manually moving individual bits from one database to the next.” By the time campaign officials realized that they were agglomerating unprecedented volumes of political information—and that it would all become more valuable as it was allowed to mingle across categories—it was too late to rebuild their systems to make that sort of data-sharing easy. But it’s also important now. his entire social media strategy is lacking the most important ingredient for social media success – genuine engagement. and an apparent lack of desire to engage? After the narrow victory in Maine. The aloofness could matter deeply later in the year. Like much of what changes politics this year.S. It’s almost as if the Romney team is not really trying. but at Obama’s headquarters the joke has become that reference to a mammal often called “the unicorn of the sea” has come to accurately describe an elusive quarry. And it suggests: Mitt doesn’t care. invisible to the outside world. On the creative side. senior VP at Edelman. What prompted the thought was the incredible job Barack Obama is doing in building his personal following and carving his Facebook presence between different interest groups that he needs to appeal to during the Fall campaign. Forbes:What Mitt Romney Should Do With His Facebook Page Now http://www. Romney’s page on Facebook strikes me as particularly bad for a politician who needs to connect and for a campaign that is well aware of Obama’s social media pedigree. Narwhal will remain below the surface. It’s bad enough to be culpable. right now Romney’s social media platform is completely one-sided. It looks like there are too many banner advertisements and there is way too much scrolling to get all the content. Amy Porterfield: For Romney. To put it right. but rather more about getting involved in the conversations. I speculated in an earlier post that the U. election could be won on Facebook. there are a few things I would advise him (or his campaign to do) in order to maximize its effectiveness. Unfortunately. Haydn: I agree.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2012/02/12/what-mitt-romney-should-do-with-hisfacebook-page-now/ Haydn Shaughnessy February 12. I threw some of my own thoughts into the mix too. What I do like is the live Twitter feed and would recommend that is higher up on the page. it’s no longer acceptable to solely push your own agenda online. I called on Amy Porterfield.forbes. Romney is stuck in the traditional media rut where the focus in on pushing out messages. . the welcome tab is a little bland. and Michael Brito. 2012 Is Mitt Romney’s Republican selection campaign hampered by his poor Facebook presence. Facebook and social media expert.obscure. Michael Brito (who is a little kinder and more pragmatic) In looking at Mitt Romney‘s Facebook page. Because of the rise of social media. and an expert in social business and social media. it’s time to look at what his social strategy says about the real Mitt. The posts are shared on the page in some random order. A profile with only broadcasts and no tweets that begin with the “@*twitterhandle+“. valuable relationships with Facebook users. I would advise the Romney team to begin using a social CRM publishing tool like Spredfast or Syncapse to help identify the right time(s) and the right content to post in order to achieve the maximum amount of engagement (i. Not a single sign of engagement. When you check out Romney’s Twitter profile. there’s absolutely no engagement. If Romney or his team took 30 minutes each day. but he would also create solid. A few back and forth conversations with your fans will go a long way with loyal supports as well as those that are still on the fence. he (or some intern on the team) should periodically say “thank you” or respond to various questions within the comments. means that there are no back and forth conversations taking place. By posting and ditching. stick around for a few minutes and get involved in the conversation you started. On Facebook. etc. there is little consistency of the content shared in terms of time of day and frequency. Thousands of people have posted on his page. all you see are messages he’s pushed back.4 million). realizing that Mitt is super busy and can’t respond to every comment. it looks as if Romney is not interested in his fans opinions or feedback. Likes. commenting on their posts and listening to their concerns. Michael: . Comments. thanking his supporters. Team Romney is notorious for posting and ditching. Michael: Of course.) Haydn: I think he also needs to look at how Obama is carving up his Facebook presence to serve special interest groups. it’s important to recognize that it does not have to be all or nothing. Quick tip for Romney: When you post something new.e. he would not only have a keen understanding on what people are talking about. and then let everyone else “talk amongst themselves” without ever jumping back into the conversation. He has plenty of followers (over 1. Specifically they post something. Amy: Don’t Post and Ditch – On Facebook. Amy: On Facebook. Shares. It’s a good gesture and shows that he is an actual human who cares about people. a surefire way to see if someone on Twitter is purely broadcasting (pushing out messages without interacting) is to check out their Twitter profile. That’s where it really counts! Engagement is where the real relationships start. a loyal supporter) is by getting involved in the back and forth conversations.Also. and I could not find one fan post that was answered by Romney or his team. As for Twitter. Although it’s not possible to address each post. Haydn: I wonder why Mitt is so under-invested in his Facebook presence. the way you create a fan for life (or in his case. But if not they should help anyone who is tempted to use Facebook to develop a personality fronted-brand. compared with 7 percent of 25. doesn't exclude Democrats or independents.to 49year-olds and 8 percent of all other age groups (or users who didn't list their age). but on Facebook. The Facebook poll. Step away from the political soapbox and mix it up to have a little fun with your social media audiences. Of course. the stronger the support. Facebook and POLITICO are running a daily poll to gauge Facebook users’ opinions about the 2012 presidential primaries. Amy: Go Behind The Scenes: A great way to create a connection with users on social media sites it to have a little fun. 12.slate.to 24-year-olds said Florida might affect their vote. The first poll.html Emily Schultheis February 3. fun stories about people he meets and short quips about his experiences. for instance.to 34-year olds. The more real you come across. but Nevada Facebook users aren't basing their votes on that win. you lose your audience fast.politico. POLITICO: Facebook/POLITICO Poll: Florida Results Won’t Influence Nevada Voters’ Decisions http://www.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/02/facebookpolitico-poll-florida-results-wontinfluence-113400. Twitter and all the other social media sites. Eighty-five percent of those surveyed said Romney's Florida win won't influence their vote in tomorrow's caucuses. compared with just 8 percent who said it would affect their vote and 7 percent who said it might affect their vote. or in this case candidate. he needs to get his message out there. 3 percent of 35. if you focus completely on business. friendly tone. like a busy leader. was released on Jan. The message is clear – engagement takes something extra. The poll surveyed 1. That would certainly drive up engagement and increase his fan base at the same time. Romney’s posts tend to be stiff and lack a conversational. One surefire way to show the human side of his campaign is to pull back the curtains and post more pictures from the campaign trail.com/articles/news_and_politics/victory_lab/2012/01/the_co_op_and_the_data_trust_the . not registered voters or likely GOP caucus voters that tend to be more reliable barometers of caucus elections. of South Carolina Facebook users. Haydn: I hope those points raise some interest in the Romney camp.I would suggest some type of live chat in Facebook or a live stream of him interacting with the Facebook community. The results only represent the sentiments of Nevada users on Facebook. Younger voters were more likely to be influenced by the Florida results: 12 percent of 18. Slate: For Sale: Detailed Voter Profiles http://www. showing himself willing and humble enough to mix it with his fans. according to a Facebook/POLITICO poll. 2012 Mitt Romney may have won a big victory in Florida Tuesday night.001 adult Facebook users in Nevada on Thursday. the voter file provided enough texture to offer an ethnographic lens on local activist culture. and subscriptions. McAuliffe’s database was largely a flop. with less interest in returning a profit to its investors than becoming an indispensable tactical resource for the American left. the most prized asset a state Democratic Party owned was its voter file. On the Democratic side. Computing power had improved dramatically. memberships.html By Sasha Issenberg January 30. however. flagged individuals who had displayed lawn signs or brought food to a campaign headquarters to feed volunteers. outside the Federal Election Commission’s oversight. 2012 The big story of this campaign season has been the rise of Super-PACs. those same regulations limited a party’s ability to share its resource with its allies. This was information that campaigns could not get elsewhere. In some states. A list of nearly 170 million adults—larger than nearly all commercial databases except for those maintained by credit-rating agencies—required computing power and engineering expertise that could never be satisfied by party budgets that had been reined by new campaign-finance laws. for instance. some of those allies set out to develop their own voter file. and only under his successor Howard Dean did the party realize its goal of developing a workable national voter file that presidential candidates and state parties could use. Called Catalist. but they are not the only quasiindependent power that could redefine the modern political enterprise. The New Hampshire file. But state parties were able to add reams of individual-level information gleaned from years of interacting with voters: their phone numbers. volunteer histories. The world of campaigns was undergoing a major shift from looking at voters primarily at the precinct level to profiling them according to individual attributes. But it quickly became evident that a national party was a poor custodian of such an asset. the national party would return the records brimming with new personal details acquired in bulk from commercial data vendor InfoUSA. and pet issues. and party bosses put a price on it. including George Soros. Even once a list had been developed. Democratic strategists at the national level came to believe that having their party’s voter data divided across 50 different fiefdoms—often maintained in distinctive formats. allowing campaigns to process voter files in new and productive ways. either selling their voter file to candidates or saving it as a prize that could be extended only to those they endorsed—often a crucial way of protecting incumbents or playing favorites in primaries. Party bosses have collected information about voters that interest groups like labor unions and the Koch-funded FreedomWorks would pay big money to access. As the 2004 election season approached. Will the parties be willing to trade their most sensitive. accessible only by incompatible software systems—limited its value. DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe offered state parties a deal: If they shared their files with the DNC. . to build a private data warehouse with records for the entire voting-age population. After 2000. the theoretically for-profit company imagined itself as a public utility. In 2006. former Clinton aides Laura Quinn and Harold Ickes—among a cadre of old party hands suspicious of Dean and his “50-state strategy”—raised $5 million from private investors. a voter file is a roster of registered voters assembled from the rolls of local election authorities. Both the Democratic and Republican national committees have embarked on plans to develop data hubs in the hopes of becoming players in the vibrant private-sector marketplace for voter data. tactically valuable data for an influx of cash? For decades._dnc_and_rnc_get_into_the_data_mining_business_. In its simplest form. especially when they could be mashed up with records from commercial data vendors that documented individual buying patterns. and Catalist created such a robust demand for it that the DNC has embarked on an ambitious plan to win back some of their lucrative business. Catalist did the basic work of stitching together lists from local election officials. The freshness claim is based on the fact that political parties still have a privileged place in reading the electorate: Party activists take stock of who has moved or died before local election authorities get around to pruning their files and they keep the most current updates on who has voted early or by absentee ballot. who leads the Association of State Democratic Chairs. which prize their autonomy and generally feel they owe little fealty to party bosses. state party chairs will have a veto over each sale. party support is at the heart of the sales pitch the Co-op is making to customers currently paying Catalist subscriber fees: If they switch. and occasionally campaigns who considered the DNC’s database insufficient—including Barack Obama’s in 2008. Other Catalist clients would add data points from their own interactions with those voters: EMILY’s List flagged some as pro-choice. (Some local authorities release that information to parties before it’s available to the broader public. TargetSmart Communications. women’s and environmental groups. Indeed. The DNC will keep some of the boutique data it manufactures— statistical models for candidates and parties to use—out of the databases that most Co-op clients will be able to access. party officials announced that they had partnered with one of Catalist’s competitors. their money will no longer go into a private company’s coffers but help to fund party activities. “We are not Democrats and not all of our members are Democrats.) A share of each purchase from the Co-op will be sent back to the state parties. allowing them to deny rival operatives’ or dissident unions’ use of their data. Rock the Vote used Catalist to identify adults it could target as part of its registration drives—in exchange. to make the party voter files available to lefty and nonpartisan groups on a state-by-state basis. algorithms could mine those portraits for patterns for socalled look-alike models: What traits predicted whether someone was a likely donor to an environmental cause? Or an unregistered pro-choice voter? Political data was being converted from a commodity bought in bulk to a boutique creative product. The company described itself as a consortium. (All but a handful of state parties have signed on thus far. “Making them accessible on a national level creates a whole new revenue stream. And the Co-op will closely monitor its clients. It is an appeal that may be more persuasive to consultants and pollsters who rely on state party chairs for their business than outside groups. but some of the most valuable data came from its customers. too: Under its rules. it put personal information gleaned during those drives back onto Catalist’s servers. particularly in primaries.) This new Voting List Management Cooperative—which Democratic operatives are calling “the Co-op”—offers electoral data that’s being marketed as fresher than Catalist’s. the Sierra Club marked others as donors. Democratic leaders have been wary of relinquishing control over some of their most valuable resources to paying customers who could use it to undermine the party’s interests. It has the potential of a good return or an awesome return.” says Mike Podhorzer. the political director of the AFL-CIO. which was one of Catalist’s first customers and relied on the company’s data when it . and every contract required a customer to contribute something of value back to Catalist. Those touches of individual detail helped to form well-rounded individual portraits of political behavior that didn’t exist on file at the board of elections. After a while.” But despite the prospects for new revenue. In an email to liberal interest groups and consultants earlier this month. which helped to create and maintain the lists but never before had a steady channel to sell them to a broad audience. “It’s not costing us anything.” says New Hampshire Democratic boss Ray Buckley.Their customers included the major labor unions. there is little ambition for it to develop the data-mining expertise to work through it. that having our own independent source of data was important. “We’re very much in the same boat as the Democrats. “I think in 2009 and ’10 they did move ahead of us.” says former Michigan Republican Party boss Saul Anuzis. There was a sense. Years ago. and three seats on its have been given to former committee chairmen: Ed Gillespie.backed a liberal challenger to dislodge incumbent Democratic Sen. at least for progressives. now the chief strategist behind the American Crossroads Super-PAC.” “Our philosophical model is a little more open-source. finds himself in much the same situation Democrats did six years ago. that they had to do it on the outside. Karl Rove looked warily upon Catalist’s efforts to build an apparatus outside the national party leadership to house the data for targeting voters. (The role of Howard Dean was played by Michael Steele.” Rove. .” says Anuzis. when Catalist started. Negotiations within the RNC had focused on how much influence should go to outside players —like Rove’s Crossroads or the network of groups funded by the Koch brothers—and for now the party’s interests have won out. the entire Data Trust staff is likely to be smaller than the number of Catalist statisticians who work only on developing what they describe as data “synthetics.” Now Republicans. the RNC technology committee chair. Tea Party challenges to Republican incumbents have shown how easy it is for the party’s interests to diverge from those of its interest-group. a private company that party bosses built but can’t formally run. In fact.) When Rove first convened a group of Republican operatives to his home on Washington’s Weaver Terrace nearly two years ago with the goal of designing a single electioneering machine to consolidate the right’s fragmented interest groups. who developed their own national voter file 15 years before the Democrats. His party was outmaneuvered in the last presidential election. Blanche Lambert Lincoln in a 2010 Arkansas primary. Republicans have struggled to build a party-chartered independent business that allies will want to use. “A lot of other groups are in the same position. and Mike Duncan. the Republican faith in markets will be tested in more ways than one in 2012. looking for a better alternative in terms of how to manage our database. the Data Trust recently established by the Republican National Committee will be a hybrid. Like the Co-op. “I thought at first it was a comment on their inability to raise money on the national level. Catalist was an obvious model.” Given the importance. settling on a model closer to the Democrats’ new data Co-op than to Catalist. who now chairs the RNC’s technology committee. The terrain is perhaps even more precarious than it was when Catalist was formed. In designing the Data Trust. Party officials are insistent that the arrangement is only a short-term contract that can be easily severed: Because the deal is for a list share. “It doesn’t make sense for the Republican party to duplicate what the market can do. While the new company will add commercial data to party files.” Rove says of the Democrats. are scrambling to come up with an apparatus to share and market voter information. The RNC has structured the Data Trust as a private company with as much party DNA in it as possible: Its CEO is former RNC chief of staff Anne Hathaway. and value. Jim Nicholson. but it may have been that they were just ahead of the power curve in figuring out how to do it. and responded by anointing a party chairman so distrusted by party elites that many reconsidered their thinking about the value of outside institutions to manage an entire movement’s tactics. In the aftermath of 2004. of data in this election. that was part of the reason for doing it. because of the inability of the national party to keep pace. the RNC can pull its data out on a whim and quit the trust for good. The new app was created during a 24-hour “hackathon” this month with engineers from Facebook and representatives from the advertising agency R/GA. the developers decided to focus on nine issues: the economy. “Facts don’t spread.com/2012/01/29/facebook-users-to-put-political-views-up-in-lights-ontimes-square/ Tanzina Vega January 29.New York Times: Facebook Users to Put Political Views Up in Lights on Times Square http://mediadecoder. a group of about 20 broke into three smaller groups to brainstorm on how to create an app that brought together the billboards. they can rank the three issues that are most important to them and opt in to having the results. including their Facebook profile photos. Nike and McCormick.” John Mayo-Smith.” he said. “We’re at the intersection of social media and branded event advertising. The result was an app called 2012 Matters: What Matters Most. When a user answers the question. health care. executive vice president and chief technology officer at R/GA . a brand experience manager at Facebook. . broadcast on the Reuters billboards. Facebook users will see poll questions in their newsfeeds asking them which of two issues matters more — say. is intended to encourage those who are not as engaged to talk about the election issues that are most important to them. Social Security. “We need to think about what an interaction looks like in that environment. on other interactive projects for brands including Verizon. Facebook and the election. 2012 As the country prepares for this year’s presidential election.” said Paul Adams. political devotees have been following the nuances of every debate. at Facebook’s Manhattan headquarters. The friends also will be prompted to take the poll. R/GA has worked with Times Square2. caucus. immigration.com/2012matters. Starting this week. social issues. To limit conflicts. national security and the environment.nytimes. At Facebook headquarters. the economy or the environment. Data showing which issue is most important to users in each state will be posted across the street on the Nasdaq digital billboard. Once the app is installed. referring to Times Square. allowing the app to be used throughout the election cycle. the result will show up on that user’s personal news feed and on friends’ newsfeeds. debt. They also decided not to focus on a specific candidate. The poll questions will lead users to the page where they can install the app from their mobile phones or from their desktops — facebook.blogs. The groups agreed that politics was a polarizing subject that could be tricky to deal with on Facebook. A new application for Facebook users. in a presentation before the group. energy. however. which owns the Thomson Reuters and Nasdaq signs in Times Square. straw poll and primary. part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. Emotions do spread. said to the group. The goal was to create a social application that could share users’ political views on digital billboards in Times Square. Rick Santorum. is a co-founder of the political action committee. YouTube videos and advertisements on Facebook." . "It's significantly more effective. there are no limits on what a Super PAC can raise or spend. an Internet advertising network. President Barack Obama. a Super PAC backing Texas Rep. Endorse Liberty declined to reveal its donors.com/article/campaign-trail/paul-affiliated-super-pac-tests-limits-digital-campaign/232261/ Ana Radelat January 21. not votes. with the exception of Endorse Liberty. Mr. used the Internet in 2008 and 2010 primarily to raise money. former Massachusetts Gov. Paul's strong support among young voters in that state's caucuses. FEC documents back this up. A Google employee familiar with the matter said Endorse Liberty is the frontrunner in web-based advertising. Paul and his position on issues. That's changing this time around as candidates and PACs look to drum up as many votes as they do dollars on the web. 2012 Endorse Liberty. The Super PAC was founded by young internet entrepreneurs who like Mr. Harmon credits Endorse Liberty's Internet campaign in Iowa for Mr." Mr. Harmon said they were "entrepreneurs and artists. including President Obama. Harmon said. Ron Paul. But he admits there's one weakness -. The group's "Fake Politicians Channel" on YouTube features impostors of Mr. The group has spent nearly $4 million since it was founded last month. Unlike candidate campaign committees.a big one -. Endorse Liberty's Internet campaign was used ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire and is now running in South Carolina and Florida. Harmon doesn't own a TV set. Jeffrey Harmon. Endorse Liberty is running its first TV ads in Florida. former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen.in Endorse Liberty's digital campaign. It's not all positive. who has a background in social media marketing. Paul's brand of Republicanism. none of the campaigns or Super PACs involved in the presidential race have concentrated the overwhelming majority of their efforts on the Web. home to many older Republican voters. Still. Mitt Romney. however. most politicians." Mr. "We have a hard time reaching 50-plus voters because they're not on the Internet. has made it its mission to focus almost solely on Internet advertising. of course. And while it's had success so far. Paul's political rivals. the 30-something CEO of Smiley Media. And while many followed suit. He believes the internet is the future of political advertising because it allows you to target your message. Mr. Most of the pop up ads have positive messages about Mr. 29. most of it on Google pop up ads." And we know what we're doing." he said. was in the forefront of digital political advertising when he ran for the White House in 2008. So is Steve Oskoui. it's now brushing up the limits of an all-digital effort.Ad Age: Paul-Affiliated Super PAC Tests Limits of Mostly Digital Campaign http://adage. Twitter and YouTube." There are estimates that some presidential campaigns will spend 10% or more of their advertising budget on digital ad buys and in expectation of this growing trend. Republicans are chipping away at that Democratic dominance. Fox News: Republican Candidates Challenge Dem Dominance of Social Media http://www." he said. Harmon said he has never met Mr. for example. too. cutting into the advantage Democrats have traditionally held in online outreach. the popular social networks have become a key battleground in the 2012 campaign. Indeed. Rick Perry. President Obama used social media and online communities to out-organize and out-fundraise his opponents on the way to the White House. Texas Gov. Mr. allows campaigns to target a specific demographic and certain interests because its pages contain a slew of personal information. In the past two presidential election cycles. In 2004. Endorse Liberty recently changed its disclosure frequency with the Federal Election Commission so its donors don't have to be revealed until midnight on Jan. . . marketed his faith-based campaign to Iowans who identified themselves as Christians on Facebook. 2012 COLLEGE PARK – The crowded pack of Republican presidential candidates has made social media campaigning an integral part of their effort to win the White House this year. While TV advertising will take a lion's share of the advertising dollars in this campaign cycle. Politically active web users searching for Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich. With Web users spending more and more time with services like Facebook.foxnews. social media analysts said. they're increasingly turning to behavioral targeting.com/politics/2012/01/20/republican-presidential-candidates-rely-on-facebook-twitter/ Brooke Auxier January 20. Facebook. harnessing the power of the Web helped Democratic candidates develop an advantage over their opponents. In 2008. Paul or anybody on the Texas congressman's campaign staff. 31—after polls in Florida are closed. the Google salesman said "digital is going to have more and more impact. Geographical targeting on the web isn't the only method being used by politicians these days. One of the few limits imposed on the groups is that they cannot work in conjunction with the candidates they seek to support. would eventually be served Endorse Liberty ads featuring positive messages about Congressman Paul. This year."We're not your typical businessman. Howard Dean's online outreach helped him raise more money in small dollar amounts than any other Democratic candidate that cycle. who dropped out of the race this week. Google has bolstered its online sales force. Newt Gingrich -." said Leonard Steinhorn. Going forward. But the Gingrich campaign turned the exercise into a social competition. creating their own Internet memes and have transformed phone banking -. two websites that monitor the social network. "I think they have certainly closed the gap with the Democrats. for example -.com. Social media is a valuable and low-cost method for campaigns to reach supporters. an effective social media strategy has become increasingly important as the impact of traditional campaign techniques -. Frontrunner Mitt Romney. "Where voters are." . and there is perhaps no better medium to do that than social media right now. "In the future. But. Ron Paul.a traditional tactic where supporters make phone calls to voters on behalf of candidates -. the mix of campaign tactics may shift to favor social media as more voters use social media networks. professor of public communications at American University. tracks the day's top callers and displays their name." Supporters are instructed to add their names to the sign. be-all. They allow supporters to make calls to voters in critical states identified by the campaigns directly from their computers or smartphones." she said. take a picture and then share that picture on Facebook.has diminished and the reach of social networks has grown. constantly motivate them.and spending money on -traditional political tactics such as in-person organizing and TV advertising. Twitter's user base has grown from 75 million at the end of 2009 to 468 million this month. the number of active Facebook users has grown from 100 million to 800 million today. The campaign website newtsnetwork. I don't think it is the end-all. "You are building a campaign in which you're going to engage people. Despite the growth. for example.television ads. Another popular social media campaign tactic this cycle: producing premade Facebook and Twitter profile pictures of the candidates that supporters use to show off their political affiliation. For many candidates." Moire said. "Social media needs to be an important part of the overall communication mix for campaigns."I definitely think Republicans are in the game when it comes to social media and the 2012 elections." The Republican candidates are developing interactive applications for fundraising. according to RJ Metrics and Twopcharts. and keep them in the loop. avatar and numbers of calls made. a communications consultant and social media and 2012 elections blogger.and President Obama -. Moire said. Since August 2008. introduced a Facebook initiative called "Stand with Mitt" where supporters are encouraged to print a sign produced by the campaign reading: "Stands with Mitt. Mitt Romney. campaigns will follow. campaigns still appear to be paying more attention -." said Jennifer Moire. that is likely to change.into a social online game.all have online call centers. take it to an event or display it in their home. The result: a flood of pictures of Romney supporters across the country holding similar signs posted to Twitter and Facebook. Today, simply having a presence on the social networks is not enough. Presidential hopefuls must work hard to stand out. Jon Huntsman, who dropped out of the race last week, developed a Twitter campaign called the "Huntsman Twitter Take Over." His goal: generate 1,000 tweets per day that included @JonHuntsman, Jon Huntsman, or the hashtags #Jon2012 and #JointheHunt. The number of tweets per day was displayed in real-time on the campaign site, jon2012.com. A critical aspect of social networks is the ease with which candidates can spread their message not only to supporters, but to supporters, friends and acquaintances with no additional cost to the campaigns. Gingrich, for example, made it simple for his supporters to share selected positive news stories about the candidate on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, dubbing people who do so "Newt Influencers." Though Republicans have caught up, analysts said Obama's campaign will be a dominant force on social networks during the general election. Their latest innovation: an official blog on Tumblr, a social blog network. The blog highlights relevant infographics, tweets and photos from the campaign, making it easy for supporters on the network to re-blog the items and share them with friends. The Atlantic: Doing Digital For Romney: An Interview With Zac Moffatt http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/01/doing-digital-for-romney-an-interview-with-zacmoffatt/251495/ By Nancy Scola January 18, 2012 What exactly do you spend your days thinking about when you're a digital director of a presidential campaign that's on track to win the Republican nomination? Zac Moffatt, 32, leads the digital side of the Mitt Romney campaign. He moved up to Boston last spring with his wife after some years in Virginia and jobs throughout Republican politics, including work on Bush-Cheney '04, with the Republican National Committee, and a variety of high and low profile races with his firm, Targeted Victory. We talked recently about the shortcomings of judging digital by the same sort of raw metrics we apply to, say fundraising (see, the Washington Post's @MentionMachine ), about how much of tech politics is happening behind the scenes, and about what digital success looks like. "It's amazing to me that people are talking about social media, about counting numbers," observes Moffatt, "and yet aren't getting on ballots in primary states ." When it came to qualifying Romney for the Virginia primary to be held in March, "the political team knew two months in advance what we wanted to do," he says. "We sent out emails segmented to specific areas, with different senders tied to each area. When people came in through Twitter, we moved them through the funnel into signing up an account with MyMitt," the campaign's internal mobilization tool, "and we followed up with a phone call." That top-to-bottom, proactive, thoughtful application of digital tools to political necessities is what everyone talks about doing, says Moffatt. But not all campaigns are. It helps, he says, that he's senior staff, with the same access inside the campaign as the political or communications director. One group of folks known for a similar approach: the Obama campaign, which Moffatt is quick to compliment -- with a dash of expectation- setting. "Obviously, they're very fortunate," he says. "They have a huge head start because they've been building it for six years." WHAT IT TAKES TO GET STARTED Romney '12 started from scratch, says Moffatt. Challenging, yes, but not without its advantages, such as having no legacy of circa-2007 tools and thinking to build from. Of course, that presented endless choices to be made on the compressed schedule of a presidential campaign. Moffatt describes his strategy as creating for the short-term with one eye constantly on the long game. "We're building the perfect digital and offline model to make it through the primary process," he says. "It wouldn't make much sense for me to build out a national program if we didn't make it through the primaries. And if we make it through the primaries, we're going to run a very different campaign in the general." The nature of a presidential campaign can create tensions for website designers and architects. For example, the "carousel," a design feature popular with many sites today that presents a shifting array of images and topics on which to focus, can be used to speak to true believers, potential converts, influential observers, or some mix of all. But the choices get even more difficult when it comes to increasingly important mobile technologies. "Mobile is about what you can strip down to the most basic and still do the most for the most people," forcing decisions about who to appeal to in that reduced real estate. And the unique chronology of an American presidential race -- both incredibly short and sometimes painfully long -- leads to choices made under the gun that stick around for the duration. Does your call-from-home tool connect you right to a voter, as Romney's does? Or does it rely upon the volunteer to make the call, as Obama's does? There are legal and data implications baked into each, says Moffatt. "You're making certain structural determinations," he says, "about what CMS [content management system] to build on, how you're going to run your ad program, what you're design process is going to be, how you're going to do your list segmentations, all that, that you're going to have to live with for the next year." Some of those structural choices, Moffatt suggests, reflect more of a commitment to the long-haul than others. MittRomney.com runs on Drupal, a robust open-source system. A close observer of WordPress, the blogging and CMS tool, noted back in May that six Republican presidential candidates were then running on that platform : Bachmann, Cain, Johnson, Paul, Perry, and Roemer. Meanwhile, Santorum, Gingrich, and Huntsman joined Romney on Drupal. "Building a website on WordPress is awesome for a congressional or statewide race," says Moffatt. "But I don't know how you would run a presidential built on that. If people had done better, I think they'd have to rebuild everything in the next two months." Moffatt does it all with a digital team of ten people, he says, some of them shared with other departments. That can seem low, especially given the prominence and significance of the Romney campaign; according to a knowledgeable source, Obama '08 at this point in the process had about double the number dedicated to its online team. "No doubt," he says with a laugh. "I'd love to have their design and creative teams." PLAYING BIG BY REACHING OUT "That infographic that they did for their millionth donor?," he says of this cycle's Team Obama. "That was awesome. But that's three or four designers and programmers dedicated to that for 'x' amount of time. What primary candidate can do that?" Team Romney's not above the occasional, humbler visualization of their own. But he insists that stacking up his team next to their team is not an apples-to-apples comparison. Running small, Moffatt says, means "that we go out and find companies whose size we can leverage, experts we can work with, that let us be much larger than our size." Often, that means getting used to outsourcing much of your engagement to platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, which Moffatt calls the biggest change from 2008 to 2012. "We're going to have people watch one of our rich video units online," says Moffatt, "engage with our campaign, syndicate the message through social sharing, vote for us, and convince their friends to do the same, and yet never have been MittRomney.com. We're totally comfortable with that. You want someone to go to your website, because that's where you're going to have the richest conversation. But you're not going to pass on someone who only wants to engage with you on Facebook. Romney's strategy requires homing in on people we're they live online -- and often, in 2012, they can only be reached online. "We call them off-the-gridders," says Moffatt. "We buy advertising for people who don't watch live television any more. We have to find ways to get them to watch our video online. We have an active engagement with Hulu, with YouTube. We're seeing that again and again in our polling and focus tests: people haven't been seeing our TV spots, but they know what they are, because they've seen them on Hulu. It's a testament to a new model of consumption. Governor Romney gets it. He's on the road all the time. He doesn't get to sit in front of the TV. He has his iPad, and when he gets home, he probably has a DVR that lets him skip ads. How else would we get to him?" Other targeted strategies include tapping into what Google calls the "Zero Moment of Truth," when people are searching, often at the last moment and often on their mobile devices, for the information they need to make their decision. "You look at an iPhone 4S, and the next thing is going to be Siri optimization," says Moffatt. "When someone talks to their phone, how do you make sure your stuff comes up first?" The techniques made possible by today's technologies aren't always the easiest of sells, inside the campaign and out. "One of the biggest challenges this cycle is getting people to understand remarketing," as in the use of behavioral ads that trail users as they travel around the web. "People think you're advertising to a page," says Moffatt. "No, I'm advertising to that user. It's a commentary on that person, not that site." "I can't help it if people go to MittRomney.com and then go somewhere else," he says. In some cases, the choice to go third-party is less about meeting people where they're socializing than it is about making the most of what's available. "We'd argue a Republican concept: we're never going to do it better than firms that do it all the time." MittRomney.com makes use of Storify, for example, to embed together tweets, video, photos, and more on Romney's weeks on the trail. "Some people might look and say, hey, only two thousand people engaged with it," says Moffatt, "but our argument is that that's two thousand people who for all intents and purposes are coming into our headquarters." THE TROUBLE WITH SOCIAL But blending the political campaign with even best-in-class social technologies presents its own challenges. Those tools' makers aren't necessarily thinking about information management in the ways that campaigns are. And even when they are, their interests aren't always aligned. "If the data's not writing back," as in, being collected by the campaign, "then what's the point of this stuff? That's a challenge with technical firms," says Moffatt. "They don't always understand why you'd want to write back to the voter file." Moffatt runs through the pros and cons of the social tools. Facebook's ease of use makes it immensely powerful in politics, but the company's priority is collecting data to sell stuff to users according to terms of service entirely up to them; total dependence on the platform is ill-advised. Google+ has enormous potential, but campaigns lack certainty that they can go there to talk politics and ultimately grow their list. "You can spend a lot of time talking to 40 people," he says. Social influence measurer Klout is neat, especially if you could use it to find the 40 people in a state most worth talking to. But at the moment, a necessary refinement is missing. "Are they even primary-voting Republicans?," raises Moffatt. "You don't know, and that, I think, is the missing link of this cycle." If, in 2012, much of the talk in digital politics is about devolving conversations away from campaign websites to third-party social platforms, it's worth remembering the talk of 2008, and even the 'Howard Dean days' of 2004. Digital politics were said then to promise a devolving of power away from campaigns to voters and volunteers themselves. Doing that successfully from inside a campaign, says Moffatt, is a challenge. He frames it again in terms of information management. Barack Obama was skilled in involving volunteers in myriad ways, says Moffatt. The story of Ron Paul, too, is one of often self-directed supporters. "Getting all that siloed data to write back," says Moffatt, "is the hardest part." Of course, there's still a fear factor. "These enterprises are relatively risk-averse by nature," says Moffatt, and the one-headline-and-an-embarrassing-picture news coverage isn't helping much. "You kinda have to sit down with the team on day one and set the ground rules, and say, 'Listen, we're going to have some good stories and we're going to have some rough ones.'" Another remembrance from 2008: that cycle's obsession over list size, especially the idea that Barack Obama's 13-million-member email list that was said to give him a historic power to shape the course of the universe. That, arguably, hasn't exactly panned out. Is it still right to obsess? "You'd be crazy not to," says Moffatt. But he offers caveats. First, it's about digital audiences, not just list sizes. And second, when it comes to audience, we're often counting the wrong things. Case in point, says Moffatt, a recent tweet from Obama's campaign manager. "Stats that matter," zinged Jim Messina, "we've gained more twitter followers in the past three weeks than @mittromney has total." Messina's right on the numbers, says Moffatt. At the moment, Obama has a whopping 12 million Twitter followers, and Romney only a little more than a quarter of a million. But he's off on the 'mattering' bit. "It's funny," says Moffatt. "When we put out a tweet, we have 500 retweets. When they put out out a tweet, they have 1000. Their engagement is only two-to-one to ours? That would seem to show a fundamental weakness in their argument." Judging retweet advantage from the cheap seats is tricky; Twitter doesn't make that data easily understandable. But Moffatt shores up the argument with Facebook. At 25 million fans, Obama has an 18-to-1 Facebook advantage over Romney. But according to Facebook's "People Are Talking About This" metric , rolled out in October, the president only has two and a half times the number of people engaging with this Facebook presence. Could being President of the United States be inflating Obama's social media standing without conveying anywhere close to the equivalent amount of actual interest and excitement? "That's the sort of stuff that would be making me nervous," says Moffatt. Of course, that's what Mitt Romney's digital director would say. But the truth is that one of the glossed-over realities of the digital politics space is that reporting on its substance can be quite difficult. (I know, you feel tremendously badly for me.) Data can be difficult to come by. Much of what happens is, by design, targeted and thus obscured. And so instead we fixate on purported feats of technological genius, shiny ad buys, and raw numbers. NO INTERNET STRATEGY IS AN ISLAND "We talk a lot about motion vs. movement," says Moffatt. "I can do a lot of things to make people think I'm doing a lot of things, but is it worth it?" It gets press, but not all of it good or useful. Moffatt raises #fitn, as in the "First in the Nation" hashtag. "Of course we have conversations about how to leverage a hashtag. But it's conversations about how to leverage a hashtag to get someone to take an action in New Hampshire. Now, with Twitter, maybe you can't geo-locate a tweet to the degree that you would like to. But with Facebook, we probably had [during the New Hampshire primary] 30 different posts targeted to a five miles radius," including event invitations and other encouragements to do something to benefit Romney that are only ever seen by those in that geographic sweet spot. "People look at websites," says Moffatt, "and say, 'They all do the same things.' But I know that our Florida state page is broken down into 67 different counties and that I don't see that level of granularity being put in by other campaigns," he goes on. "It's easy for Politico to get a third-party source to say, 'This person has more friends than that person, so they must be winning.'" He goes on. "The way that the data is writing in, automating the process for your field staff so that they don't have to log in -- that's the nuts and bolts that a reporter won't ever see. But, to us, that has all the value in the world." The worst digital strategy, suggests Moffatt, is one that exists in a vacuum. During our conversation, I raise a point made by the New York Times' Nate Silver and Micah Cohen in their recent reporting on New Hampshire . No Republican, Romney included, had more than two field offices in the state this cycle, yet in 2008, Obama and Clinton each had 16 there. Money might be a factor; at this point in their respective cycles, the Democrats had far outraised even Romney. And, come general election, the GOP leans a bit on their party infrastructure for their ground game. But Moffatt suggests that all isn't what it appears from on the ground. "When you looked at Iowa, it didn't look like there were a lot of people," he says. "But we were making tens of thousands of phone calls through our phone-from-home program into the state from across the country. The parameters have changed." That said, there's no ignoring that digital and field are inextricably linked. Once built, technology tends to be easy to scale, says Moffatt. "But the hardest part is who on the ground do you turn people to? The real story of the Obama campaign in '08 is that they had more people in Florida than we [Republicans] had in the whole country. You're driving action, but you can only drive people someplace if there's someone there to catch them. It's a question that every campaign has to ask. If you ask someone for their opinion, you'd better be prepared to be respond. I'd rather not ask and not let them down, than ask for it and then leave them hanging. He gets in a gentle dig at Obama. "Sure, there's head count. But I bet they had more bodies on the ground in New Hampshire than we did, and he only got 82 percent of the vote and wasn't running against anyone." Still, Moffatt admits that he keeps an eye on what the Obama 2012 campaign is up to. And the decisions being made in Chicago and in Boston's North End are adding the small but growing body of practical knowledge about how you use the Internet to get very close to becoming President of the United States. "Everyone telling us what we should be doing has never run it," says Moffatt. "There's only one other person in the country that's really having the same experience I am, and they're at the Obama campaign. There aren't many peers." POLITICO: The 2012 Tech Primary http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71461.html Kim Hart January 16, 2012 As GOP presidential contenders stump for votes from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina, Google, Facebook and Twitter are in a race of their own — for millions of dollars in political ads. The tech giants are offering candidates new ways to advertise — Mitt Romney has spots on YouTube and Rick Perry’s Facebook ads target Christian college kids in South Carolina — and hiring political consultants, sponsoring debates and poaching from each other’s ad sales teams to jockey for the top spot in political social media circles. “This is the Twitter election,” boasted Peter Greenberger, who Twitter recently lured away from Google, where he started the search giant’s political ad sales team in 2007. “We’ll be a core component.” Not so fast, says Google, the most experienced Web company when it comes to political advertising. Google has expanded its team to work directly with campaigns to come up with ad strategies and every Republican presidential candidate has already bought in, and several have also bought newly refined YouTube ads that target viewers in specific states or cities. “What we saw in Iowa and New Hampshire was campaigns using search ads to recruit volunteers and get out the vote,” said Rob Saliterman, who heads Google’s political ad sales on the Republican side. “They’re reaching people at the exact moment where someone has expressed interest in the campaign.” In 2008 and 2010, candidates largely used Google ads to fundraise. Now, in a sign of new sophistication, candidates are using the ads to persuade voters. For example, they’ve begun to run search ads on each other’s names. In Iowa, a Google search for Rick Santorum would bring up a critical ad paid for by Perry’s campaign. When New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie endorsed Romney, his campaign bought ads to pop up when voters searched for Christie. Google also owns YouTube, the Web’s biggest online video network, where candidates frequently post short ad spots and commercials. New for this election, YouTube offers a “TrueView” feature that tracks how long viewers watch a video ad, so campaigns only pay when a viewer watches most of the ad. Then there’s Facebook, which also has practice when it comes to working with politicians, though its user base was smaller for previous elections. The social networking behemoth allows campaigns to target voters of a specific demographic with specific interests because users volunteer their personal information. In Iowa, for example, Perry’s campaign marketed his faith-focused commercials to Iowans who identified themselves as Christians on Facebook. The campaign also made sure a spot featuring his wife, Anita Perry, was prominent on the pages of conservative women in the state. Last week, Perry’s campaign launched a new ad targeting students at Furman University, a Baptist college in South Carolina, according to Vincent Harris of Harris Media, who manages Perry’s digital strategy. Twitter, already central to the national political conversation, is a newcomer to the political ad arena. In September, it launched its first political product aiming to get a cut of the lucrative 2012 ad spend. A candidate can buy a “promoted tweet,” which will appear when a certain term is searched for as well as in the timelines of campaign followers, and have a small logo and disclaimer. Twitter also offers a “promoted account” to help boost the number of followers and a “promoted trend,” which will put a campaign ad atop popular lists of trending topics. The tech contest to be the wired candidate’s answer to the TV buy has caught the attention of campaign strategists. “They’re each trying to have the value add of being the fastest-moving vertical,” said Zac Moffatt, digital strategist for the Romney campaign. “When I started doing this three years ago, Google had two people, Facebook had no one and Twitter didn’t have advertising at all. Now I’m watching them all expand.” Television ads will continue to attract the bulk of campaign advertising spending in 2012, strategists say. But they predict social media will play a larger role this year — in both national and state contests — because growing numbers of voters are getting their news online rather than from TV. In the 2010 elections, 73 percent of adult Internet users went online to get information about the elections or to get involved in a campaign, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. While it’s not the first election cycle in which campaigns have tried to engage voters online, “it will be a seismic shift in terms of the amount of budgets these mediums are getting,” said Josh Koster, Managing Partner of Chong + Koster, a digital media firm. Google and Facebook will probably get larger pieces of the budget pie, he said, since Twitter has a more limited number of ad products. To capitalize on their growing political roles, the companies are also trying to increase their visibility on the campaign trail. Google and Facebook have already sponsored GOP debates, and Google is sponsoring media hangouts at the primary caucuses. Not everyone thinks Google, Facebook and Twitter need to compete to attract campaigns. “They all have large audiences, so it’s in the best interest of the campaigns to be on all the platforms,” said Alan Rosenblatt, associate director of online advocacy for the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank. “Is there a competition between ABC and NBC to get political ads? I don’t think so. They’re all going to get political ads.” That’s not stopping the companies from hiring top digital and political strategists to drive their efforts. Saliterman, who held several communications jobs in the George W. Bush administration, joined Google in September to leverage his contacts with Republicans. Andrew Roos, former Democratic campaign manager, handles sales to Democrats, and a new hire, Sean Harrison, is in charge of selling ads to super PACs and independent-expenditure groups. To get ready for 2012, Facebook hired Katie Harbath, former chief digital strategist for the National Republican Senatorial Committee who also worked on Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, to reach out to Republican candidates. Adam Conner, a longtime Facebook staffer in D.C., handles relationships with Democrats. In addition to Greenberger, Twitter hired Mindy Finn, one of the Republican Party’s top digital strategists and founder of consulting firm EngageDC. One of Twitter’s big advantages: Its users are ultra-engaged in politics. A candidate can buy a “promoted tweet,” which will appear when a certain term is searched for as well as in the timelines of campaign followers, and have a small logo and disclaimer. Twitter also offers a “promoted account” to help boost the number of followers and a “promoted trend,” which will put a campaign ad atop popular lists of trending topics. The tech contest to be the wired candidate’s answer to the TV buy has caught the attention of campaign strategists. “They’re each trying to have the value add of being the fastest-moving vertical,” said Zac Moffatt, digital strategist for the Romney campaign. “When I started doing this three years ago, Google had two people, Facebook had no one and Twitter didn’t have advertising at all. Now I’m watching them all expand.” Television ads will continue to attract the bulk of campaign advertising spending in 2012, strategists say. But they predict social media will play a larger role this year — in both national and state contests — because growing numbers of voters are getting their news online rather than from TV. In the 2010 elections, 73 percent of adult Internet users went online to get information about the elections or to get involved in a campaign, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. While it’s not the first election cycle in which campaigns have tried to engage voters online, “it will be a seismic shift in terms of the amount of budgets these mediums are getting,” said Josh Koster, Managing Partner of Chong + Koster, a digital media firm. Google and Facebook will probably get larger pieces of the budget pie, he said, since Twitter has a more limited number of ad products. To capitalize on their growing political roles, the companies are also trying to increase their visibility on the campaign trail. Google and Facebook have already sponsored GOP debates, and Google is sponsoring media hangouts at the primary caucuses. Not everyone thinks Google, Facebook and Twitter need to compete to attract campaigns. “They all have large audiences, so it’s in the best interest of the campaigns to be on all the platforms,” said Alan Rosenblatt, associate director of online advocacy for the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank. “Is there a competition between ABC and NBC to get political ads? I don’t think so. They’re all going to get political ads.” That’s not stopping the companies from hiring top digital and political strategists to drive their efforts. Saliterman, who held several communications jobs in the George W. Bush administration, joined Google in September to leverage his contacts with Republicans. Andrew Roos, former Democratic campaign manager, handles sales to Democrats, and a new hire, Sean Harrison, is in charge of selling ads to super PACs and independent-expenditure groups. To get ready for 2012, Facebook hired Katie Harbath, former chief digital strategist for the National Republican Senatorial Committee who also worked on Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee, to reach out to Republican candidates. Adam Conner, a longtime Facebook staffer in D.C., handles relationships with Democrats. In addition to Greenberger, Twitter hired Mindy Finn, one of the Republican Party’s top digital strategists and founder of consulting firm EngageDC. One of Twitter’s big advantages: Its users are ultra-engaged in politics. Slate: Project Dreamcatcher http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/victory_lab/2012/01/project_dreamcatcher_how_cutting _edge_text_analytics_can_help_the_obama_campaign_determine_voters_hopes_and_fears_.html By Sasha Issenberg January 13, 2012 “Share your story,” Barack Obama’s Pennsylvania website encouraged voters just before the holidays, above a text field roomy enough for even one of the president’s own discursive answers. “Tell us why you want to be involved in this campaign,” read the instructions. “How has the work President Obama has done benefited you? Why are you once again standing for change?” In Obama’s world, this is almost a tic. His transition committee solicited “*a+n American moment: your story” on the occasion of his inauguration. The Democratic National Committee later asked people to “*s+hare your story about the economic crisis.” It’s easy to see where this approach fits into the culture of Obama’s politicking: His own career is founded on the value of personal narratives and much of his field staff takes inspiration from Marshall Ganz, the former labor tactician who famously built solidarity in his organizing sessions by asking participants to talk about their backgrounds. But might a presidential campaign have another use for tens of thousands of minimemoirs? That’s the central thrust of a project under way in Chicago known by the code name Dreamcatcher and led by Rayid Ghani, the man who has been named Obama’s “chief scientist.” Veterans of the 2008 campaign snicker at the new set of job titles, like Ghani’s, which have been conjured to describe roles on the reelection staff, suggesting that they sound better suited to corporate life than a political operation priding itself on a grassroots sensibility. Indeed, Ghani last held the chief-scientist title at Accenture Technology Labs, just across the Chicago River from Obama’s headquarters. It was there that he developed the expertise Obama’s campaign hopes can help them turn feel-good projects like “share your story” into a source of valuable data for sorting through the electorate. At Accenture, Ghani mined the mountains of private data that collect on corporate consumer servers to find statistical patterns that could forecast the future. In one case, he developed a system to replace health insurers’ random audits by deploying an algorithm able to anticipate which of 50,000 daily claims are most likely to require individual attention. (Up to 30 percent of an insurer’s resources can be devoted to reprocessing claims.) To help set the terms of price insurance marketed to eBay sellers, Ghani developed a model to estimate the end-price for auctions, based on each sale item’s unique characteristics. Often, Ghani found himself trying to help businesses find patterns in consumer behavior so that his clients could develop different strategies for different individuals. (In the corporate world, this is known as “CRM,” for customer-relationship management.) To help grocery stores design personalized sale promotions that would maximize total revenue, Ghani needed to understand how shoppers interacted with different products in relation to one another. The typical store had 60,000 products on its shelves, and Ghani coded each into one of 551 categories (like dog food, laundry detergent, orange juice) that allowed him to develop statistical models of how people build a shopping list and manage their baskets. Ghani’s algorithms assigned shoppers scores to rate their individual propensities for particular behaviors, like the “opportunistic index” (“how ‘savvy’ the customer is about getting better prices than the rest of the population”), and to see whether they had distinctive habits (like “pantry-loading”) when faced with a price drop. If there was a two-for-one deal on a certain brand of orange juice, Ghani’s models could predict who would double their purchase, who would keep buying the same amount, and who would switch from grapefruit for the week. But Ghani realized that customers didn’t see the supermarket as a collection of 551 product categories, or even 60,000 unique items. He points to the example of a 1-liter plastic jug of Tropicana Low Pulp Vitamin-D Fortified Orange Juice. To capture how that juice actually interacted with other products in a shopper’s basket, Ghani knew the product needed to be seen more as just an item in the “orange juice” category. So he reduced it to a series of attributes—Brand: Tropicana, Pulp: low, Fortified with: Vitamin-D, Size: 1 liter, Bottle type: plastic —that could be weighed by the algorithms. Now a retailer’s models could get closer to calculating shopping decisions as customers actually made them. A sale on low-pulp Tropicana might lure people who usually purchased a pulpier juice, but would Florida’s Natural drinkers shift to a rival brand? Would a two-for-one deal get those who typically looked for their juice in a carton to stock up on plastic? The challenge was, in essence, semantic: teaching computers to decode complex product descriptions and isolate their essential attributes. For another client, Ghani, along with four Accenture colleagues and a Carnegie Mellon computer scientist, used a Web crawler to pull product names and descriptions from online clothes stores and built an algorithm that could assess products based on eight different attributes, including “age group,” “formality,” “price point,” and “degree of sportiness.” Once the products had been assigned values in each of those categories, they could be manipulated numerically—the same way that Ghani’s predictive models had tried to make sense of the grocery shopping list. By reducing it to its basic attributes— lightweight mesh nylon material, low profile sole, standard lacing system—a retailer could predict sales for shoes it had never sold before by comparing them to ones it had. Ghani’s clients in the corporate world were companies that “analyze large amounts of transactional data but are unable to systematically ‘understand’ their products,” as his team wrote. Political campaigns struggle with much the same problem. In 2008, Obama’s campaign successfully hoarded hard data available from large commercial databases, voter files, boutique lists, and an unprecedented quantity of voter interviews it regularly conducted using paid phone banks and volunteer canvassers. Obama’s analysts used the data to build sophisticated statistical models that allowed them to sort voters by their relative likelihoods of supporting Obama (and of voting at all). The algorithms could also be programmed to predict views on particular issues, and Obama’s targeters developed a few flags that predicted binary positions on discrete, sensitive topics—like whether someone was likely pro-choice or pro-life. But the algorithms the Obama campaign used in 2008—and that Mitt Romney has used so far this year— have trouble picking up voter positions, or the intensity around those positions, with much nuance. In other words, the analysts were getting pretty good at sorting the orange juice drinkers from the grapefruit juice drinkers. But they still didn’t have a great sense of why a given voter preferred grapefruit to O.J.—and how to change his mind. Polls seemed unable to get at an honest hierarchy of personal priorities in a way that could help target messages. Before the 2008 Iowa caucuses, every Democrat’s top concern seemed to be opposition to the Iraq war; once Lehman Bros. collapsed not long after the conventions, the economy became the leading issue across demographic and ideological groups. But microtargeting surveys were unable to burrow beneath that surface unanimity to separate individual differences in attitudes toward the war or the economy. If a voter writes in a Web form that her top concern is the war in Afghanistan, should she should be asked to enlist as a “Veterans for Obama” volunteer, or sent direct mail written to placate foreign-policy critics? Campaigns do, however, take in plenty of information about what voters believe, information that is not gathered in the form of a poll. It comes in voters’ own words, often registered onto the clipboards of canvassers, during a call-center phone conversation, in an online signup sequence or a stunt like “share your story.” As part of the Dreamcatcher project, Obama campaign officials have already set out to redesign the “notes” field on individual records in the database they use to track voters so that it sits visibly at the top of the screen—encouraging volunteers to gather and enter that information. And they’ve made the field large enough to include the “stories” submitted online. (One story was 60,000 text characters long.) What can the campaign do with this blizzard of text snippets? Theoretically, Ghani could isolate keywords and context, then use statistical patterns gleaned from the examples of millions of voters to discern meaning. Say someone prattles on about “the auto bailout” to a volunteer canvasser: Is he lauding a signature domestic-policy achievement or is he a Tea Party sympathizer who should be excluded from Obama’s future outreach efforts? An algorithm able to interpret that voter’s actual words and sort them into categories might be able to make an educated guess. “They’re trying to tease out a lot more nuanced inferences about what people care about,” says a Democratic consultant who worked closely with Obama’s data team in 2008. Obama’s campaign has boasted that one of their priorities this year is something they’ve described only as “microlistening,” but would officially not discuss how they intend to deploy insights gleaned from their new research into text analytics. “We have no plans to read out our data/analytics/voter contact strategy,” spokesman Ben LaBolt writes by email. “That just telegraphs to the other guys what we're up to.” Yet those familiar with Dreamcatcher describe it as a bet on text analytics to make sense of a whole genre of personal information that no one has ever systematically collected or put to use in politics. Obama’s targeters hope the project will allow them to make more sophisticated decisions about which voters to approach and what to say to them. “It’s not about us trying to leverage the information we have to better predict what people are doing. It’s about us being better listeners,” says a campaign official. “When a million people are talking to you at once it’s hard to listen to everything, and we need text analytics and other tools to make sense of what everyone is saying in a structured way.” POLITICO: Facebook Users Have A Lot to Say on Debates http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71386.html Rachel Van Dongen January 13, 2012 POLITICO has joined forces with Facebook to offer readers an exclusive look at the conversation taking place on the social networking site about the Republican presidential candidates ahead of South Carolina’s crucial primary on Jan. 21 Facebook users have strong opinions about presidential debates, according to a Facebook survey of its U.S. users. And they don’t always mirror those of voters. On Dec. 16, for instance, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman shot to the top of the GOP pack in terms of positive “sentiment” — roughly 70 percent of the postings and comments on Facebook about them were positive — according to a monthlong survey done exclusively by Facebook and provided to POLITICO. That was the day after the Sioux City, Iowa, Fox News debate, the last before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. While the Facebook chatter presaged Santorum’s surge, users of the social network were more inclined to be supportive of Huntsman than Iowa voters, who gave him just 1 percent in the caucuses. It was also a day when most of the mainstream media covered the debate and judged who won and lost, and could have been when most Facebook users shared and commented on articles, or even watched the latenight debate, or clips of it, for the first time. This is the first time that Facebook has undertaken such a survey of its users about presidential candidates. And the results do not always accurately reflect what happens in the early states. The survey, for instance, is not of registered or likely voters, and includes people from all political parties. It also examines Facebook users nationally, not just those in early states such as Iowa. (See Also: Romney, Paul lead Facebook primary) But the survey of how popular the GOP contenders are on Facebook is nonetheless revealing. Facebook uses a software tool called Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to search for positive words like “love” or “nice,” and negative words like “hate” and “nasty.” Facebook surveys its users automatically and does not read any of the posts itself. On Jan. 3, the date of the Iowa caucuses, positive sentiment for all the candidates was actually tanking, reaching a low on Jan. 4, the day after Mitt Romney won, trailed closely by Santorum. Facebook did not measure “neutral” chatter about the candidates. On Jan. 8, the night after the ABC-WMUR debate, Facebook users had nice things to say about Huntsman, Romney and Newt Gingrich. After the Jan. 9 NBC-Facebook morning debate that followed it, Rick Perry seemed to be the one who spiked. But any of that data could have been influenced by the Jan. 10 New Hampshire primary, in which users were feeling good about Gingrich and Romney on primary day. Romney won, but Gingrich placed fourth. POLITICO: Facebook Primary: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul in the Lead http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71345.html Rachel Van Dongen January 12, 2012 POLITICO has joined forces with Facebook to offer readers an exclusive look at the conversation taking place on the social networking site about the Republican presidential candidates ahead of South Carolina’s crucial primary on Jan. 21. If Mitt Romney was worried about a late surge from Rick Santorum toppling him in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, his fans on Facebook knew better. According to an exclusive survey of all U.S. Facebook users provided to POLITICO by Facebook, the volume of posts, status updates, links shared to friends’ walls and user comments about Romney in the days leading up to the Granite State primary predicted a strong finish. On Jan. 10, primary day, Romney reached over 100,000 mentions on the social network, about the same number as Ron Paul, who finished second in New Hampshire. Although Paul finished 17 points behind Romney in New Hampshire, his prowess on social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, where he has legions of devoted fans eager to spread his message, is well-known. Though Santorum shot to within eight voters of Romney in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, he actually saw a significant drop-off in Facebook interest immediately afterward. Santorum reached a high of over 100,000 Facebook mentions, to match Paul, around the 3rd but saw a steady slide in Facebook chatter leading up to New Hampshire. By the time of the primary, far less people were sharing information about him with their Faceboook fans. Santorum ended up placing fifth at the Granite State polls. This is the first time that Facebook, a powerful social-networking utility with 800 million global users, has surveyed its U.S. users around a presidential contest in this way. It not only examined the volume of posting, sharing and linking about candidates from Dec. 12 through Jan. 10, it also studied the “sentiment” around such data, or whether the comments being made about a candidate were positive or negative in tone. Facebook does not publicly disclose its number of U.S. users but does say that more people in the U.S. use Facebook than voted in the last U.S. presidential election. To gather the data, Facebook uses an automated process to analyze all posts and comments from U.S. users that mention presidential candidates. To determine whether Facebook users had nice or nasty things to say about the GOP contenders, Facebook employed a tool called Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), which it says is a “well-validated software tool used frequently in social psychological research to identify positive and negative emotion in text.” Facebook employees did not read any user content or posts in doing the survey. Facebook, for instance, used the software to search for words like “love,” “nice” and “sweet” on the positive side about candidates. And on the negative side, it looked for terms like “hurt,” “ugly” and “nasty.” As with any automated system, however, there are quirks, and sometimes positive and negative sentiments were found in the same post about the same candidate. That comment would get counted more than once. But some things stand out from the monthlong data. For example, Newt Gingrich by far received the most consistently negative comments on Facebook for the month examined. The reasons for the trend aren’t exactly clear, but the data began trickling in shortly after Gingrich surged to the top of the GOP field for a brief period in early December. The moment Gingrich became a real contender to win Iowa, a super PAC financed by Romney supporters began bashing him with a barrage of negative advertisements in the Hawkeye State, the ramifications of which could have worked their way through cyberspace (though Facebook surveyed national users, far beyond the scope of the advertising buy). The national news media also began paying more attention to the former House speaker and the negative ad barrage around the same time. Right around the caucuses, over 50 percent of the Facebook activity around Gingrich was negative. Or maybe Facebook users simply were down on Gingrich at that point in time for other reasons. Negative sentiment for all candidates, including Gingrich, dropped markedly on Jan. 3, the day of the caucuses — suggesting the nation’s first contest might have given all Facebook users a warm feeling about the candidates for just 24 hours. Declaring a winner of the Facebook primary — or the candidate viewed most positively over the past month — is far more difficult than tallying votes. Santorum didn’t see a spike in positive postings on Facebook around his Iowa win, but Gingrich did. Jon Huntsman seems to have been a Facebook favorite, but won less than 1 percent of the vote in Iowa. Romney did well with users around the time of Iowa, and Paul, with his zealous fan base, held pretty much steady. WCSH (Portland): Social Media Throughout the NH Primary http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/185328/2/Social-media-throughout-the-NH-Primary Brett Whitmarsh 01/10/2012 MANCHESTER, NH (NEWS CENTER) -- As we've been telling you throughout our Primary coverage, this campaign has been a busy one for social media. NEWSCENTER'S Social Media coordinator, Brett Whitmarsh, has been keeping an eye Facebook and Twitter all day, and breaks it down for us. Social media has been an opportunity for passionate fans of each candidate to connect with other voters and campaign for their candidate virtually, but how does that online support play out on the day itself? Well as Jon Hunstman said the other day, you can't win an election with social media alone. Early this morning each candidate posted links to polling places throughout the state and some candidates even invited voters to check-in on Facebook or Four-square when getting to their polling place. Ron Paul for example is offering a service on his Facebook page asking voters to phone a friend essentially. If you've already voted or live out of state, you can sign up to ten people who are eligible to vote in NH to receive a call from Ron Paul. It's basically a pre-recorded message from Ron, but encourages people to vote. Also going into today various organizations have been monitoring the Twitter chatter for each candidate. While Ron Paul always has a big social media presence, Jon Huntsman has had the most Twitter growth in the last couple of days. A blog called "Storyful" studied the tweets from today and showed that Huntsman had the most twitter buzz. Based on the text of Tweets, he had the most mentions. Ironically, a new Public Policy Poll in South Carolina shows comedian Steven Colbert ahead of Huntsman in a new poll that came out today. Huntsman is 2nd to last in that poll though. What is the mood of New Hampshire voters now that the day is starting to wind down? There was a lot of excitement early this morning as we were live tweeting the Dixville Notch voting process. Since only 9 people voted, that was rather exciting to watch as a community on Twitter. I think too the momentum will pick up tonight as the results are coming in. People will really tweet their true feelings once the polls have closed right now most of what were hearing is just support of each campaign. That being said, some voters are saying how much they are ready for this to be over. I heard from a few independent voters saying that they felt the "robo" calls were a bit excessive than in past years. A lot of people preferred the campaign to stay on social media because they can control the level of how much they get involved with each campaign. One "Facebooker" had this to say: Larry: "All the phone calls are what I disliked most. Politicians should have to abide by the Do Not Call List" I have one comment that sort of sums up some of the folks I'm hearing from: Amanda in Lee, NH from Facebook "So happy that it will be done! I love that NH is the first primary in the country but I'm tired of seeing all of the political ads. Plus it is the only thing that the news focuses on. I'm pretty sure there is more happening in NH right now than a candidate town hall... Super excited for tomorrow! :)" All Facebook: Will Facebook Debate Spur a Huntsman Shakeup in NH? http://allfacebook.com/facebook-huntsman-shakeup_b72968 Jennifer Moire 01/09/2012 Sparks flew at the Facebook/NBC News “Meet the Press” Republican Candidates debate ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. But will the drama affect the outcome of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary? The issue before the first primary in the nation is not who will win — most polls indicate that will be Mitt Romney. Despite the blows he took at Sunday’s debate, Romney still has the most Facebook fans of all the GOP candidates at more than 1.2 million, adding nearly 5,000 new Facebook fans in the past day. The bigger question is, who will capture second place? Jon Huntsman appears to be the man with the momentum. Here’s a look at where the candidates fighting for second stand using Election Tracker 2012. Jon Huntsman While Huntsman had a strong debate performance Sunday (see his post-debate Facebook message at the end of this post), he hasn’t seen that translate to Facebook enthusiasm quite yet. He remains in ninth place among the GOP contenders in Facebook fans, with 33,396. That’s roughly half the fans of his next closest competitor, Rick Santorum, who saw a bump in likes after his Iowa caucus win. In the past seven days, Huntsman has added 2,772 new Facebook fans. At least someone — or three — in his family have a strong social network presence. Three daughters have taken to Twitter, @Jon2012Girls, to pump up their dad’s candidacy. Ron Paul Despite two polls Sunday night showing Ron Paul in second place, experts predict his New Hampshire race may be faltering as Huntsman closes in, with Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich on his heels. Paul remains a solid second in total Facebook fans among the contenders with more than 702,329. He added 3,296 fans in just the last day, one of the highest daily totals among all elected officials. Rick Santorum Talk about an Iowa bump! Rick Santorum, the man who came from behind to virtually tie Romney last week, has seen his Facebook fan page growth steady. But not before garnering more than one-third of his total Facebook fans in the days following his improbable caucus showing. Will waning enthusiasm online, and lackluster debate performances, indicate a stall in his campaign? A note about the Facebook debate: The integration of Facebook into the event coverage really worked. NBC News used the last 15 minutes of the debate to ask the candidates questions from the “Meet the Press” Facebook page, where more than 4,600 comments were shared, and posts were culled from the social network and featured on-screen during the program. (see above.) Readers, do you plan on tracking the results of the New Hampshire primary on Facebook? Mashable: Facebook, NBC joining forces to host social presidential debate http://mashable.com/2012/01/05/nbc-facebook-debate/ Alex Fitzpatrick January 5, 2012 NBC and Facebook are teaming up to co-host a Republican debate Sunday night with a unique social media component. The debate, moderated by Meet the Press host David Gregory, will air on NBC Sunday, Jan. 8 at 9 a.m. ET, two days before the New Hampshire primary. The debate will also be streaming live on MSNBC.com and on Facebook, allowing political junkies to tune-in online. Users who watch online (or on T.V. while online) will be able to submit questions directly to candidates via a Facebook widget. They will also be able to interact with one another in real-time as part of a comprehensive “second screen” experience, a setup familiar to many television fans. “By allowing people to connect in an authentic and meaningful way with presidential candidates, we hope more voters than ever will get involved with issues that matter most to them.” said Elliot Schrage, Vice President of Global Communications, Marketing and Public Policy at Facebook, in a statement. We originally reported on the NBC/Facebook debate in July of last year. Since then, NBC and Facebook have been asking users to share issues they would like to be addressed during the debate. And, as former President Bill Clinton famously said, “it’s the economy, stupid.” Facebook Data The Facebook portal isn’t constrained to a simple poll. It features a widget for more complex debate where 2,000 comments have been left over the past few months. Users aren’t just dropping comments and leaving, either. They’re replying and coming back to answer other users, showing real interaction on the site. This isn’t the first time Facebook has been heavily involved with a political debate, but the built-in stream and widgets are a significant evolution in Facebook’s involvement with politics. In 2008, Facebook partnered with ABC News and featured “Debate Groups,” simple spaces where users could discuss the night’s events. When President Obama was sworn in to office in 2009, Facebook brought users streaming video via CNN alongside “Livestream,” an instant chat tool. And during the 2010 midterm elections, Facebook and ABC again teamed up to livestream a town hall broadcast from Arizona State University. Other social media networks are in on the politics game, too. In July of last year, Twitter joined up with the White House for President Obama’s first “Twitter Town Hall.” The president took questions live from Twitter users and answered them via an online stream hosted on the White House’s website. To follow the debate Sunday, tune your TV to NBC or point your browser at MSNBC or Facebook. Then, check out Facebook’s politics portal to get involved with the social debate by asking questions for the candidates or by having a conversation with other online users. Are you excited about taking part in the NBC/Facebook debate? Let us know in the comments below. All Facebook: GOP gears up for Sunday’s NBC News Facebook Debate http://allfacebook.com/facebook-debate-3_b72763 Jennifer Moire January 5, 2012 The GOP candidates are getting ready to rumble this weekend in New Hampshire at the presidential primary debate streaming on Facebook through a partnership with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” presidential primary debate. Set your alarm clocks, because this debate starts Sunday at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, only two days before the nation’s first primary in the Granite State. The audience can tune in or log on in a number of ways, in what promises to be a spirited debate following the wild finish between Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney in Iowa. Not only will the debate stream live on the “Meet the Press” Facebook page and Facebook’s U.S. Politics page, but viewers can share questions and comment on the action throughout the event. Care to skip the morning alarm? Facebookers can also ask their questions in advance, here. A sampling of recent questions are posted below. The debate will also be available on-demand on the “Meet the Press” Facebook page and Facebook’s U.S. politics page. Facebook’s U.S. politics page is offering a look behind-the-scenes in the days leading up to the battle in Concord, New Hampshire’s Chubb Theater. The Facebook and NBC News debate will be moderated by “Meet the Press” host David Gregory, who will be joined by the New Hampshire Union Leader. An NBC News/Marist poll of New Hampshire voters due out Friday may give a better indication of whether the man with momentum, Rick Santorum, is catching up to front-runner Mitt Romney after the virtual tie in the Iowa caucus, which should make Sunday’s action that much more interesting. All Facebook: Economy is Top Concern for Voters on Facebook http://allfacebook.com/poll-economy-remains-top-concern-for-voters-on-facebook_b72499 Jennifer Moire January 3, 2012 The economy tops the list of concerns for voters on Facebook, according to a new study conducted by the social network and NBC News ahead of the pair’s Republican Presidential Debate on “Meet the Press” Sunday, January 8 at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. The social networking site and the news network asked voters on Facebook about the most pressing issues facing the nation in the past month. Facebook users could choose among the following five issues: The economy, the federal budget deficit, health care, illegal immigration and foreign policy. The results were released today, within hours of the start of the Iowa caucus and one week before the nation’s first primary in New Hampshire. Below is a sampling of the results from Facebook, based on regions. marketing and public policy for Facebook. Eastern Time Sunday to watch the action.com/InsideCover/Facebook-Twitter-Social-Media/2012/01/03/id/422891 Paul Scicchitano January 3. The debate. moderated by “Meet the Press” host David Gregory. wrote a countdown to the debate on the company’s U.S. a mainstay of New Hampshire politics. Politics page. vice president of global communications. NH. will stream live on Facebook as part of the multi-platform event. 2012 As GOP presidential candidates try to make a final connection with Iowa voters today.newsmax. politics page on Facebook at at 9 a. The debate takes place two days before the New Hampshire primary in the historic Chubb Theater in Concord. .m.S.New Hampshire Economy: 58 percent Federal Budget Deficit: 19 percent Health Care: 11 percent Illegal Immigration: six percent Foreign Policy: five percent Iowa Economy: 57 percent Federal Budget Deficit: 19 percent Health Care: 12 percent Illegal Immigration: eight percent Foreign Policy: four percent Nationally Economy: 56 percent Federal Budget Deficit: five percent Health Care: 12 percent Illegal Immigration: nine percent Foreign Policy: five percent Facebook users have also been sharing questions for the debate and interacting with others interested in the event on the sponsors’ pages. post questions or comment during the debate or do the same at this MSNBC page. Joining the questioning will be The New Hampshire Union Leader. Elliot Schrage. some also are using social media to throw final jabs at their opponents and galvanize supporters. Candidates Trade Final Jabs on Social Media http://www. Viewers can tune in to the U. Do you plan to participate in Facebook’s interactive stream of the debate on Sunday? Newsmax: From Facebook to Twitter. Take action today & join the GOTV from home team. “You can understand foreign policy. whose campaign has experienced a late surge in recent days.” Santorum encouraged the students to look for differences in the way the candidates propose to solve such problems. “The purpose of the Constitution is to restrain the federal government. “Today is the day we conservatives have been waiting for! The eyes of the nation are watching Iowa. the presumed frontrunner in Iowa's caucuses. whose campaign released a video critical of Santorum’s record in the Senate.” he wrote.” he said.” Santorum later told an audience of Iowa high school students that their concerns over career and education will be short-term worries. “The longer-term problems are the ones that are going to affect you more profoundly. You can understand economic policy if you understand the principle of economic liberty. who has also been gaining momentum in recent days. of an exploding debt that’s going to crush your economic future.” Texas Rep. started caucus day by declaring in a message on his Twitter account that today is “Game day” and thanking Iowans who are trying to make a difference. “Iowa can help put an end to @BarackObama’s failed leadership. not just in the short-term stimulus but for long-term stable growth so you and your family can live free and prosper in a safe country. Perry.“Rick Santorum is unelectable and we need to defeat Barack Obama.” according to a post today.” he said. “Hold those candidates to the standard of solving the intractable problems of an exploding federal government. Ron Paul took a swipe at Santorum on his Facebook page. Look at them. “He spends too much money. and we need your help to ensure a strong showing at the caucuses tonight. appealed to high school students at the same rally where Santorum spoke. If you agree. not to restrain you as an individual. “Barack Obama has one way and I have another. Romney also posted a link to his petition to limit government spending on Facebook. “Take a look. Meanwhile.” He warned his young audience that there is a danger the federal government will attempt to take away . “We have a moral responsibility not to spend more than we take in.” Paul told the students. He wasn’t leading the charge to slash the budgets and vote against big government. Santorum.” Perry said on Facebook. Rick Perry. Paul. former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. stand with me and sign the petition.” tweeted Texas Gov. There are different ways of solving these problems.” Participating in “Rock the Caucus. tweeted: “Morning Iowa! Today is the day. who has been trailing in most polls. called his supporters to action and took jabs at President Obama. Make sure they are real.” he tweeted. Make sure you can see how we can accomplish this vision of getting this economy going. . “Newt's economic plan is ‘the most aggressive now. including the business of reminding themselves not to be so serious. which was blaze orange and said “Big Cock Country” on the crown. Ben LaBolt. A stuffed Rastafarian banana. very valuable. if I were the Obama campaign. “If you lose the privacy of the Internet. the president’s job-approval rating is loitering around 46 percent. there was a blue Ping-Pong table in the middle of the office—custom-made. no president since Franklin Roosevelt in 1936 has been reelected when the unemployment rate is as high or higher than it is now (8. closed their doors as I walked by. too. There was a mesh trucker hat from South Dakota. Daily Beast: Yes We Can. having somehow teleported the 50 yards from where I’d last seen her. the Internet is very. and he's the smartest guy on the stage. I recently visited its headquarters in Chicago. “Believe me. At one point my minder agreed to let me out of her sight for a few milliseconds.” The next day it was covered by a tarp. not sounding sorry at all. But do not be deceived. and Stephanie Cutter." tweeted the Gingrich campaign. In short. let alone survived it. “Sorry. With 10 months to go before Election Day. and it shows you how timid Romney's is in comparison.) There were printouts of people’s nicknames—Sandals! Shermanator!—where corporate nameplates usually go. you have lost a big hunk of your freedom. Obama’s press secretary. (Twice. 2012 The Obama campaign is not kidding around. but then I got too close to a big whiteboard covered in hieroglyphic flow charts and she instantaneously materialized at my side. An underling clammed up when I asked what she and her colleagues do on the weekends. evidently. While none of these afflictions is fatal in and of itself.6 percent).html Andrew Romano January 2. "Newt's the only candidate that will balance the federal budget. the place is intense.’” the campaign tweeted. “You can’t look at that. Obama has to overcome all three of them at once. There was a cardboard speech bubble (“nom nom data nom”) affixed to an Uglydoll.” she said. There was also a chaperone following me everywhere I went and digitally recording everything anyone said to me.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Obama’s minions are very serious about lots of things.” he explained. A narwhal mural. and no president since Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 has won a second term when GDP growth is as slow or slower than the current pace (2 percent). because the incumbent party has lost the last five times its president started Election Year below 49 percent. Other tweets talked about Gingrich’s involvement in passing the largest capital gains tax cut in history and his role in balancing the budget for “four straight” years.thedailybeast. who made headlines early in the day by acknowledging in an interview that he believed Romney to be a” liar” sent multiple tweets attempting to play up his experience in Washington and differentiate himself from rivals. There was miniature air-hockey table. Yes. which is a problem. But then I would be intense. because the Obama 2012 logo was emblazoned on it. Can’t We? http://www.com/newsweek/2012/01/01/inside-president-obama-s-reelectionmachine.Internet privacy. his deputy campaign manager. No other modern president has even attempted this daring feat. Likewise. including Romney. and I can personally vouch for how much it’s not kidding around. ” Consider the numbers. And because the presidency is theirs to lose. to form any particular expression. I discovered in Chicago. In January 2004. seemed to delight in answering my questions as curtly as possible. In 2008. Before my chaperone apprehended me near the whiteboard. Messina. At the start of our interview. that the 2012 roster represented a “B Team” of sorts. another impossible victory to engineer.” Messina told me. “That’s just a huge piece of business. *Mitt+ Romney and *Newt+ Gingrich don’t have operations on the ground in these states. 42. with top advisers talking out of turn for the first time since he was elected (Exhibit A: Ron Suskind’s Confidence Men). The Obama campaign. he tends to roam the office blank-faced. in .” But he has something to prove. even smarter. held 57 . to a politician’s less celestial aura. “I got this. While the GOP candidates have spent the last year parading and pirouetting on Fox News. worried about losing it. “I will give you what I want to give you. a proud Montanan who spent two years as Obama’s top Capitol Hill fixer before taking over the campaign. Messina’s got this. his staff has been able to dedicate the past 10 months exclusively to general-election preparations—a head start not only over 2008 (and previous incumbents) but over a bumper crop of clumsy Republicans who have been too distracted by 2011’s 13 televised debates to bother with old-fashioned chores such as fundraising or field organizing. and for the rest of the twitchy Chicago crew: chilled-the-fuck-out-or-not. “There are going to be some white-knuckle moments. David Plouffe. “Everyone chill the fuck out.” as Politico recently noted. buzz-cut operative who smiled inexplicably after every sentence.” one 2008 veteran told me. But this year. They know the White House has had trouble selling what they see as Obama’s impressive record—and now the burden falls on them. which include a pair of rather prominent. according to a source familiar with the White House’s inner workings. Obama’s staffers are. his shoulders slumped forward and his head cocked at an inquisitive angle. who believe in this guy. there was always another fight to focus on. and even more surprising than their revolutionary 2008 operation. “It’s going to be really hard. five years in our system and know how to do this.” it said. of necessity.” I knew the line. 700 miles away from the Beltway big top. and not a syllable more. by comparison. as if to say. Who knows? It may even turn out to be true. a boyish. No doubt it was a comforting mantra for the developer. understandably. scowling and resolute. In Washington. and who are trained. 6. Without a primary war to wage. All of which is just to say: it didn’t take long for Messina to start crowing about the intricate machine he’s managed to assemble. Unlike his celebrated predecessor. that will be even bigger. and there have even been skeptics in the West Wing. the rangy Messina. His team didn’t have time for anxiety. Bush’s aides bragged that they’d held a grand total of 52 training sessions around the country for precinct leaders. where the 2008 veterans joked. Democrats “wonder whether Messina can make the leap from trusted No. The president’s legendarily leakproof operation has splintered. rarely permits his features. there is only one: Nov. 2. But the president wasn’t in this particular picture. too. Obama was the underdog. The president’s greatest advantage.. is time. The halo that hovered over Obama’s head back when he was a hopey-changey candidate— the halo that lured a vast army of political neophytes to the polls—has given way. Messina explained.” The good news for Obama is that it may be harder for Republicans. I noticed a photograph taped to a developer’s Mac. methodically channeling their worry back into the campaign—and creating something. at least initially. purplish lips. that went viral in September 2008. In his place was the operative in charge of getting him reelected: campaign manager Jim Messina. And then there’s the expectations game to contend with. George W. during one of the Democratic Party’s inveterate panic attacks. the president’s team has been quietly. “We now have people on the ground all across the country who’ve spent four years.So it makes sense for Chicago to be uptight.. it had first appeared on a JPEG of Obama. When I asked Obama’s top lieutenants about his image problem—how he manages to get caricatured as both a cryptoMarxist radical and an unprincipled. with nearly half of the campaign’s cash now coming from donors giving less than $200—a much higher percentage than in 2008. and analysts expect the campaign could reach $1 billion by November. we really have passed a lot of legislation. Translation: voters should expect (1) more talk about the future than the painful recent past. Right now.. Messina says he’s ready. of course. there are more than 200 paid staffers working in Chicago—double Bush’s head count at the beginning of 2004. it’s hardly the kind of rallying cry required to remobilize millennials and independents. who are tinkering away on a top-secret application that will track every conversation that every single Obama volunteer has. which is roughly quadruple Romney’s projected 2011 haul. or twice as fast as last time around. Obama’s fundraising brigade hit the million-donor mark in six months flat. more than the entire Republican field. Chicago and the DNC have raked in an estimated $190 million to $200 million to date. Even the corner-office crowd is sticking with the president. for example. in June. Not at the beginning. (More on that later. “We took a guy who speaks about vision and values in as compelling a way as anyone of this generation. “This is what we looked like toward the end of the 2008 primary season. are only as good as the message they help to convey. as Beltway scorekeeping goes. And so Chicago is crafting a new. and in-house tech developers. key constituencies among whom Obama’s support has plummeted more than a dozen percentage points since 2008. behind-the-scenes grind of maximizing turnout and persuading voters to support the president. and more than double Romney’s current total. would approach the larger economic challenges” facing the middle class. But while that analysis is basically accurate. is to tout the president’s achievements while also recognizing that “people are less interested in a tote sheet of what has been accomplished” than in “how we. however. will be even more important than it was four years ago.” because it “would be a really profound mistake” to “assume these problems will be solved somehow outside the political system. to ensure that “whoever starts with the advantages will likely multiply them.” The campaign recognizes. both online and off. and (2) a merciless populist assault on the Republican nominee’s alleged belief in “trickle-down social Darwinism”—an “every man for himself” ideology designed. confessed.. “will make 2008 look prehistoric. anyway. (Bill Clinton employed only 40 people at this point. Obama’s chief political strategist. Which means that the unglamorous.” . and alternatively how the other side.) As one returning staffer put it. “You’re looking at a lot more competitive situation.a single December week . the first President Bush was still stuck in the single digits. in a single state. professorial pushover.” Axelrod admits.” But keying them in (along with the rest of the 2008 coalition) won’t be easy. an in-house gear team.” David Axelrod. all at the same time—they responded. that its new tone is unlikely to inspire the sort of dreamy fervor that first swept Obama into office.) Messina has already hired an in-house design crew. while everybody else pedals faster and faster just to keep up. every action they take. All told. according to Axelrod. a prominent Democrat familiar with Chicago’s thinking said he “hope*s+ those folks are keyed in to the debate. more combative message. Money and manpower. and. “I speak as one who has responsibilities in this regard. and that’s what we’re preparing for. Iowa. “Our efforts on the ground and on technology. and we made him into a narrator of the day-to-day decision making of government. “It’s going to be a very vigorous debate. with the usual excuses: we inherited a terrible economy. every door they knock on. almost reflexively. according to Axelrod. at least for the moment: together with the Democratic Nation-al Committee.” The plan for 2012.” Think No We Shouldn’t (elect a Republican) instead of Yes We Can.6 million from financialsector workers through September.” he promised me. Obama raised $15. Asked about Occupy Wall Street.” Meanwhile. so I take a good deal of the blame. ” The campaign.” Slaby’s second insight is that Obama’s online and field operations need to be far more integrated than they were in 2008. Back then.” Slaby told me. woo him first. it requires us to evolve. bouncy yoga balls. meanwhile.com. a team of more than a dozen developers sat on big. and that kind of efficiency translates into . “If my mom. “And for us to communicate with them in an integrated and intelligent way. they respond to different incentives. the campaign encouraged supporters to create profiles on a social networking site called MyBarackObama.” according to Michael Slaby. volunteering. In 2008 the campaigns focused on SMS because texting was the most sophisticated thing most voters could do with their phones. “You don’t need to create an account. in real time. which has since become the world’s default social network. plus whatever information you choose to enter about the voters you eventually contact. In a dark. The first is that the campaign can do a much better job of “treating people like people. or unusual piercings. then that’s huge. on your computer. who’s 62. Don’t reach out to a supporter who donates $5 during the State of the Union the same way you’d reach out to a supporter who donates $5 during a Republican debate. The campaign still isn’t ready to unveil its MyBO replacement. distant corner of the office. “People can now make calls. volunteers get immediate access to “any tool that you can get in a field office. “We’re not building a social network. they have been figuring out how to rewrite the campaign’s code—created when the iPhone was a novelty. The final piece of the tech puzzle is smartphones. and when Facebook was one tenth its current size—for this year’s digital landscape. “we can say. Don’t ask a disenchanted Ohioan for money. and be engaged on a deeper level from wherever they are. The motivation wasn’t merely aesthetic. the campaign redesigned its website so that it would look and work the same on every platform: PC.” Last November. “Share this with your four Facebook friends in Pennsylvania’s crucial Lehigh Valley swing district who are worried about the president’s tax policies. So for 2012 Slaby decided to ditch the site and start from scratch. a site that renders properly on a smartphone makes it easier for volunteers to register new voters and call undecideds on the go. mobile. mobilization. You can have that at home. “The voters we need to reach and the donors that we’re trying to raise money from and the supporters and volunteers we’re trying to activate—they’re all the same group of people. when Twitter barely existed. But while MyBO was advanced for the times. is working off a smartphone and is a supporter of the president. the insider explained. canvass. but I managed to collect a couple of clues during my visit to Chicago. the developers were very much welcome at One Prudential Plaza. This way. now. and connect to Twitter and Facebook. For months now. Many of them had unusual facial hair.” Nonetheless. gets immediate access to your Facebook network. by logging in with their Facebook ID. or both. tapping away on the customized black keyboards they brought from home.” one insider told me. play and share video. where all of those things get met and we listen effectively. then use it to personalize every interaction we have with the campaign: fundraising. almost every mobile device can surf the Web. it will say.From what I saw in Chicago. And they’ve come to some interesting conclusions. persuasion. “Share this with everyone you know”. Obama’s chief integration and innovation officer—provided it harvests the right data.” Slaby told me. ‘Call your friend of a friend who is a lot more likely to be persuaded if you talk to them’” than if an anonymous volunteer were to call instead. and what each of us wants. in a way that connects to what your friends are doing and what the people around you are doing.” In 2012 the Obama campaign won’t send its backers a video and say. it was also weirdly detached from the actual field structure—and from Facebook. which may be why I heard someone refer to them as “those guys who look like they’re Occupying the office.” Instead. You don’t need to upload a photo. To figure out who each of us is. Messina is right to boast. tablet. Slaby and his team are constructing a “microlistening” and computer modeling program that will comb online and offline behavior patterns for voter information. The South Path runs through North Carolina and Virginia (274 electoral votes). I called Axelrod and asked what worried him most about 2012. “Do we have carsharing systems online so that people can car-pool? Do we have people from Springfield. a dozen staffers. going into Nashua [N. Foxx wound up winning by 35 percentage points.” A week later. similar operations are already underway in more than a dozen key swing states. so they get to know the people they’re talking to? It’s just a big opportunity.extra votes. I’m coming off the front lines—it ain’t fun and we better be ready.” The offline operation is just as cutting-edge. “One of the defining issues of the Republican primary has been the complete race to demagogue immigrants. Mass.” Messina told me.H. regulation. In North Carolina. are preparing for the Democratic caucuses as if they were contested. hundreds of volunteers. As Slaby put it: “The ’08 campaign doesn’t win 2012.280 official events. The contours of the contest were already clearer than they’d been in Chicago. and now Obama’s Iowa operation—eight offices. so they get to know the turf they’re walking. so they get to know the organizers. which will host the 2012 Democratic convention. the Democratic incumbent.. where volunteers teamed up with labor groups last November to sink Gov. Obama’s wonky national field director. for 275. Finally.” The opportunities aren’t limited to the early primary states. and middle-class boosterism into a coherent. several of which hinge on the president increasing his margins among Latinos. New Mexico. But it’s a new world. “The Latino vote will be absolutely crucial in this election. as a dry run for the general.000 calls to supporters—likely surpasses that of any Republican running. and 350. because the general election will kick off that night. he made it clear that Chicago isn’t just speculating about these routes—they’re actively testing the waters. campaignlike appeal.. Meanwhile. while the Midwest Path includes Ohio and Iowa (270 electoral votes). for example. when everyone does their fair share. practicing for next November. Messina’s Five Paths spiel may seem like straightforward spin: the president can’t be in trouble. He sees five paths to 270.” according to Bird. By Election Day. Bird & Co. where the campaign has already opened three offices and recruited a Latino candidate for Senate. John Kasich’s ban on collective bargaining. Obama had just delivered his much-ballyhooed speech in Osawatomie.] always.C. there’s the Expansion Path: Obama carries all the Kerry states except blue-collar Pennsylvania and libertarian New Hampshire. including Ohio. 4. Or so Chicago hopes. Kan. which was uncontested in 2008. and John McCain’s home state of Arizona. just look how many options he has! But when I met with Jeremy Bird. Nevada. and there will be a price to pay politically for that kind of rhetoric. and have been for a while. so there were deadlines and people were focused the way they will be next year.000 one-on-one conversations. road-testing their voter-registration and turnout tactics “with an actual election coming up. for obvious reasons. I’ve seen it.” The West Path would add Colorado. Bird’s plan is to treat Caucus Night like a massive statewide organizing session. and Arizona. “The primaries and caucuses allow us to test our systems. blending the populist notes he’d recently been sounding on taxes.000 phone calls—10 times his challenger’s tally. instead he will be content to recapture the 251 electoral votes that John Kerry won in 2004 and build from there. then compensates with victories in Colorado. As one Republican strategist from Raleigh. 1.. and when everyone plays by the same . the fastest-growing subset of the electorate.” Two weeks after I left the Windy City. Obama staffers and volunteers used last year’s mayoral race in Charlotte. and Nevada to the Kerry states. for 272 electoral votes. and be smart about things that worked then still working now. N. Obama volunteers from Massachusetts will flow across the border into New Hampshire. In Iowa. “This country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot. The Florida Path would add just Florida. “training *caucusgoers+ for what we have to do and giving them specific goals. We should learn what we can from last time.” Bird explained. Messina’s plan is not to go after every state Obama carried in 2008. New Mexico. supporters of Anthony Foxx. had made more than 200. recently told The New York Times: “This is real. Their first paid staff members arrived in Des Moines nearly two years ago. either. said that the campaign is using data collected over 6 months to coordinate their geolocation-based digital effort. for that split second. then independents may side with the GOP. If Obama’s new middleclass message doesn’t resuscitate his approval ratings. who turned out to be a particularly demonstrative fan. you can go watch it. at least from my vantage point: one moment. But it isn’t as strange as it was in person. by the time the Secret Service agents lunged forward. Romney is using Storify to share information about campaign stops and post behind-the-scenes pictures as he tours Iowa. the implications of which can’t be known. say. the more you control what little you can. Not this year. they’re using pre-roll video footage .” Out in Chicago. which has slipped several points since 2008. “Between now and November. Romney’s digital director. What online strategies are each of the candidates using to ensure that Iowa votes their way? Mitt Romney Mitt Romney’s digital team has been hard at work in the Hawkeye State. Is the crowd embracing Obama again? I wondered. Still. Pa. Romney was just about to become the frontrunner (again). Outside the high-school gymnasium. in his white shirtsleeves. 3. And so on. If Romney secures the Republican nomination. I remembered something I’d seen a few weeks earlier at an Obama rally in Scranton.rules. Here’s what happened. Not Messina. shaking Scranton’s hands across a steel barricade. If the president’s support among Hispanics. The campaign is using popular services like FourSquare and Tout to engage supporters. then several of Messina’s Five Paths may turn out to be dead ends. doesn’t bounce back. This is all online. Zac Moffatt. One of the seven remaining candidates will move a step closer to becoming the GOP’s choice to run against President Barack Obama in 2012. reelection will be far more difficult than if. he had already escaped his captor. Gingrich had just started to slide in the polls. loose-limbed and grinning. with all the rage outside. or come close. Iowa Republican caucus-goers will pick their choice for presidential nominee. which are lower than his disapproval ratings (and have been for months). in head-to-head polls. Obama had just ambled into view. “That’s something you have to live with during those sleepless nights.com/2012/01/01/republican-digital-strategies/ Alex Fitzpatrick January 1. Not Axelrod. to the predictable peal of pubescent delight. On Jan. things will happen. Gingrich were to prevail.” Axelrod answered. a process known to cause confusion for first-timers. in the Scranton gymnasium. No wonder Team Obama is so controlling: the more you can’t control. And then he was gone. 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls are turning to the web and social media as weapons in the war to win Iowa. The president’s disappearance was brief.” he’d said. According to Moffatt.” Inside. or is it swallowing him up? Mashable: Republican Candidates Take to the Web in the Battle for Iowa http://mashable. a phalanx of local Tea Partiers was holding signs and shouting about a president who “hates America” and a first lady who “wants to take your kids away because they’re fat. They released a YouTube video explaining the caucus. Obama was there. I wasn’t sure what was happening. But no one really knows if Chicago’s meticulous planning will be enough to protect the president from defeat. As I was talking to Axelrod. Romney tends to tie Obama. an army of brilliant worrywarts is slaving away to ensure that Obama won’t lose the 2012 election because of organization or technology—and thanks to them he probably won’t. com. a subtle appeal to Iowans. but it upped the ante after surpassing that mark. ronpaul2012. According to The New York Times.” Ron Paul Ron Paul has a huge online following. It also offers a widget for supporters to embed on their own personal websites and encourages donors to post about their donation on social networks. Iowa. ricksantorum. Like Paul’s page. The widget automatically shows recent donations along with donors’ names. complete with a countdown to the Iowa caucus. “It’s fine for people to talk about how great social is. and his campaign is seeking to tap into that precious resource. Santorum has been tweeting mentions of the word “Iowa” more often than other other candidate aside from Michelle Bachmann. Paul’s site provides a number to call to hit the streets and volunteer.” The first hit when searching for “Santorum” isn’t a campaign website or WikiPedia article. and visitors can find more about upcoming Gingrich appearances. South Carolina. the widget also automatically increases and proudly displays the names of donors. Santorum’s digital team is still being haunted by his “Google problem. “but you have to leverage offline. asks visitors to donate and make calls. Facebook users who “like” Paul’s page have been seeing an abundance of photos and links to live streams of Paul events in Iowa in their news feeds. but Google has yet to do so. it’s a crude joke started by columnist and gay rights activist Dan Savage in response to Santorum’s controversial comments about homosexuality made in 2003. Paul’s website. newt. Another system allows out-of-state Paul supporters to dial into Iowa to encourage caucus-goers to vote for Paul. Florida and Nevada.” said Moffatt.com. Instead.— short advertisements placed before other video content — in an effort to show Iowans how and where to caucus. features a donation drive with the goal of raising $6 million “to win in Iowa. Moffatt understands how to use social media and digital advertising to generate offline action. presumably for fear of providing other campaigns with sensitive insider info. and gotten them in the door to volunteer in the real world. For those in Iowa. The Romney campaign has identified supporters online.” The campaign originally called for $4 million. . Newt Gingrich Newt Gingrich’s campaign website.org. will find his “Iowa Surprise Moneybomb” donation page. His featured photos on Facebook are of a recent pheasant hunting trip in Adel. Blog posts written about campaigning in Iowa are featured on the main page. New Hampshire. Santorum asked Google to remove the search result this year. the Paul campaign has been asking its volunteers not to tweet about their activities or share them on any other social networks. Rick Santorum Visitors to Rick Santorum’s website. There’s a Google Map featuring Perry’s campaign bus stops. Huntsman is attempting an ongoing “Twitter Takeover. which shows users a simple “I will caucus for Rick Perry!” option along with Perry’s controversial “Strong” YouTube video. . Perry’s Facebook page has an “Iowa” tab.” which encourages supporters to donate to his efforts there.” where visitors are greeted with a 30-second clip of Perry’s travels through the state and a call to action to get involved with the caucus. The site has an “Iowa Action Center. Rick Perry Rick Perry’s website. Jon Huntsman Jon Huntsman is choosing largely to ignore Iowa and focus on New Hampshire instead. Twitter is where the Perry campaign has been fighting hardest to win support in Iowa. Gingrich has built a vibrant online community of fans who interact with each other on his page. Bachman’s Facebook fans have been receiving a steady stream of Iowa-related posts and can view a “Caucus Countdown” tab which lets fans sign up to caucus or volunteer for Bachmann in Iowa.” a reference to the 10th amendment. Newt’s online strategy doesn’t show an obvious Iowa-focused strategy. rickperry. aside from the prompt for phone calls. is a unique crowdsourcing platform where users vote on which issues Gingrich should bring to the forefront of his campaign.” featuring campaign swag dedicated to Iowa. and she’s keeping a blog. The widget on the page isn’t moderated.com. so plenty of negative tweets about Huntsman appear on his site. posting videos and tweeting prolifically about the tour. Through these interactive features. but it isn’t easily readable. 10. also opens with a donation drive and countdown to the Iowa caucus.org. where a primary is scheduled for Jan. michellebachmann. The Huntsman website is unique in that it also calls on supporters to call in to talk radio shows broadcasting in New Hampshire to spread the Huntsman message. offers a “countdown to New Hampshire. blog posts and a few tweets. but no tallying widget or donor shout-outs are to be found.com.Gingrich’s Facebook page offers many unique tabs and widgets. Huntsman’s website and social media accounts reflect that decision. jon2012. However. is chock-full of information about the Iowa caucus. “Team 10. @TeamRickPerry started “#PizzaBomb” Thursday. asking supporters to donate slices of pizza to Perry’s “Iowa Strike Force HQ. His site. Bachmann is on an ambitious tour of all 99 counties in Iowa before the caucus. however.” Michelle Bachmann Michelle Bachmann’s website. Perry’s site offers a unique question to visitors: “Do you blog?” Bloggers who support Perry are encouraged to add Perry widgets and graphics to their personal site. Visitors can find out how and where to caucus and purchase a “caucus kit.” which asks supporters to make sure Huntsman’s name is mentioned on the micro-blogging service at least 1.000 times each day. Romney's caucus-specific ads link to a page on the campaign site featuring upcoming Iowa events and instructions on how to caucus for the former Massachusetts governor.000 times since it was posted December 21.com/2011/12/29/us/politics/republicans-shake-more-hands-using-social- . 3? We’ll be doing additional coverage featuring social media sentiment analysis. for instance. An "Endorse Ron Paul" button displayed at the end of the video enables a video share on Facebook. but are going to do so for one year to ensure that Ron Paul wins the Republican nomination for President in 2012. However. two days after Endorse Liberty was officially established. But that's not all: Once the Paul endorser enables the Facebook share. while Romney's camp is promoting an endorsement by the Des Moines Register in some ads.clickz. in some cases by registering Republican. "Watch this video to see why so many people believe Ron Paul will be one of the greatest Presidents in American history. According to the BlueRepublican. New York Times: Republicans Shake More Hands Using Social Media http://www. in addition to the more standard Facebook and Twitter profile image dedications. However." notes an ad seen by conservative and Republican voters in Iowa on Facebook today. national polling data and caucus results early next week. Perry's camp. an independent expenditure group established just days ago. In an array of Facebook ads. is putting a new spin on the "donate your status" tactic by asking supporters to dedicate their Facebook timeline cover images to Perry. "Blue Republicans are people who have never before thought of joining the Republican party. 2011 A newly established organization is supporting Ron Paul's presidential bid in Iowa. both campaigns are also using Facebook ads to encourage Iowans to caucus for them on January 3. however. the effort also serves to educate voters on the best way to support his candidacy in other states. The video has been viewed around 20. Endorse Liberty. The ad links to a lengthy 12 minute video on YouTube featuring a clickable button that allows people to post a message in support of Paul on their Facebook pages.com/clickz/news/2134700/pro-paul-pushes-video-shares-blue-republican-plan Kate Kaye December 28. he is automatically taken to another YouTube video providing detailed instructions of how to best serve the Paul campaign in other caucuses and primaries across the country. Perry is pushing a variety of videos." Rick Perry's and Mitt Romney's campaigns are also combining persuasive messaging on Facebook with voter action through ads targeting Iowa Republicans.Will These Efforts Pay Off? Will the candidates’ online efforts make a major difference during the Iowa caucus on Jan. is targeting ads to Iowa Republicans on Facebook. That video suggests that "Blue Republicans" could be key to Paul winning the GOP nomination. On its face the goal is simple: persuade Iowa Caucus voters to support Paul.org website. ClickZ: New Pro-Paul Group Pushes Video Shares and ‘Blue Republican’ Plan http://www.nytimes. according to the Federal Election Commission. media. And.” said Timothy Hagle. “There is no more powerful endorsement than the one from someone you know and trust. Gingrich is relying heavily on social media and online tools to bolster a campaign organization that did not have much of a structure in place until late October. Mr.” said Matthew N. Paul. “They are out there recruiting people. For Mr.” Mr. After using Facebook and Twitter in recent months primarily to broadcast their messages and raise money. Andrew Hemingway. the Republican presidential candidates are increasingly turning to social media sites and other online tools to mobilize voters before the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday and in the other hotly contested early-nominating states.H. Strawn said people throwing their support behind a candidate on Facebook or Twitter could affect the outcome. In New Hampshire. like most of the other candidates. is a Tea Party activist from Bristol. Mitt Romney’s tutorial on how to caucus pops up. and then they broadcast those messages to their networks on Twitter and Facebook. Hemingway said. will it be enough to stave off the recent surge in support for Representative Ron Paul of Texas. Mr. Mr. the question is whether his targeted online advertising and social media strategy in Iowa will help make up for his belated decision to compete aggressively there. “Just like you would have county captains or city captains. we have people doing the same thing but only on Facebook and Twitter. a professor of political science at the University of Iowa. His state director. Strawn. And. whether it is a Facebook post or a knock on the door from your neighbor. who is well acquainted with leveraging the power of social media platforms. And Representative Michele Bachmann is creating videos from her bus tour of the 99 counties in Iowa as part of an online get-out-the-vote toolkit for precinct captains to share with friends and family..” he said. A big test for Mr.html?_r=1 Jennifer Preston December 28. chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa. “That is what could sway an undecided voter. 2011 When Iowans search for information on politics on the Web. having helped organize the first Tea Party presidential debate on Twitter earlier this year. One of his first moves was creating the Web site NewtHampshire. and they show up. Gingrich is recruiting volunteers online to make calls on . will be translating his online support into votes since so many of his supporters are college students now home on winter break. giving them messaging. however. where he and other campaign leaders engage regularly with supporters. Romney. Newt Gingrich is using Facebook to recruit volunteers to make calls on his behalf to Iowa and New Hampshire. who has managed to produce both highly enthusiastic supporters online and large crowds at rallies across Iowa? “Ron Paul’s supporters are intense. With recent polls showing that more than half of likely caucus voters have not made up their minds. N.com and New Hampshire-specific Twitter and Facebook accounts.” He said the campaign had already started to urge supporters to identify family and friends to join them at the polls. “Through Facebook.” said Aaron Smith.” said Mr.” Vincent Harris. digital adviser to Mr. Hagle. you pull down a link and you can call from home. said he used geo-location mobile advertising to help deliver the Texas governor’s faith message to students at 10 Christian colleges across Iowa.000 signatures he needed to get on the ballot in Virginia. Mr. opponents responded with their own videos. “We are doing more calls per hour than any campaign in the state. “These are tools that can be used to drive real-world action and encourage people to take action beyond posting news and talking to their friends.his behalf to prospective voters in New Hampshire and Iowa. the political science professor. During last year’s midterm elections. Republican candidates and voters caught up with Democrats in deploying social media. “Our view is that social media allows a campaign to identify those rock-star supporters and get them to take action on their behalf.” Digital strategists for the candidates said they were mindful that online efforts alone would not be enough to mobilize the foot soldiers they need to get out the vote and win. Hemingway. so candidates have been bombarding them with mailers. Gov. criticizing gay soldiers. “Jesus Responds to Rick Perry’s Strong Video” has had more than 145. it was this collection of Bible study groups. galvanizing supporters online to raise hundreds of millions of dollars and integrate his digital efforts into the field operation to mobilize voters. After his “I’m proud to be a Christian” video. Gingrich. half of Iowans are not on Facebook. who are all vying for the support of the state’s evangelical Christians. a senior researcher at the Pew Center. said social media were not expected to replace old-fashioned retail politics. homeschooling parents and other evangelical Christian groups that helped the Republican Mike Huckabee win the Iowa caucuses in 2008.” said R. “People want to take a measure of a candidate.” he said. whose phone bank room at Gingrich headquarters in New Hampshire is equipped with netbooks and headphones for supporters who want to go to traditional phone rooms. Perry’s campaign also learned about the perils of social media. Gingrich’s hundreds of thousands of Facebook fans and Twitter followers were not enough to get him the 10. One of them. traditional television advertising and automated phone calls from candidates.000 views on YouTube. Also. “It is the old concept of coalitions made new again. “It is about finding people who can amplify your voice to them. In studies released this year. Rick Perry of Texas and Mr. went viral on YouTube. Striking that balance between old and new is vital for Mrs. anti-abortion activists. digital strategist for Mrs. Rebecca Donatelli. the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project found that 40 percent of Republican online users turned to social media to get information and to become politically involved in a campaign during the midterm elections last year.” . Still. or at least we think it is. People can also see which of their Facebook friends have already made calls for Mr. Perry. Mr. While Christian conservatives — and Tea Party activists — now have a robust online and social media presence. Mr. Gingrich. Bachmann.” Republicans are looking to duplicate what President Obama managed to do four years ago. Bachmann. Rick Santorum. “It is an important part of the process here in Iowa. Romney’s latest campaign ad. 2011 I know there are lots of people out there who have passionate feelings about Ron Paul. Gingrich‘s campaign manager took to the candidate’s Facebook page over the weekend with a statement regarding the campaign’s failure to appear on the Virginia ballot on Super Tuesday. but the cumbersome process in Virginia.All Facebook: Paul. Romney. We are exploring alternate methods to compete in Virginia — stay tuned. In other campaign news. or someone who let idiotic racist stuff get published in his newsletters decades ago… or whatever else it is that you see about him that makes you react. despite a week when the spotlight was on Paul for inflammatory content in a newsletter that was published in his name in the 1990s.000 likes and 644 comments.com/paul-gingrich-up-on-facebook-prior-to-iowa-caucus_b72162 Jennifer Moire December 27. Mitt Romney at 20 percent. followed by Gingrich and Romney. UPDATE: A poll released Tuesday night by Public Policy Polling had Gingrich slipping and Paul rising. and Newt Gingrich at 19 percent. with more than 1. however. I’m just writing this article to point out that he’s been gaining the most new Facebook fans every day for most of the past month. titled “Conservative Agenda. Romney at 20 percent. In remarks that were shared 67 times. He’s a principled and independent fighter for old-time American values. New polling from the American Research Group of likely Iowa voters effectively showed a three-way tie between Ron Paul at 21 percent.” Do you think the growth in Facebook fans will indicate who will win the Iowa caucus Jan. still holds a commanding lead among the presidential hopefuls in overall Facebook fans. 2011 With exactly one week before voting gets underway in the Republican presidential primary contest. March 6.252 times since it was posted Monday on the campaign’s Facebook wall. Michael Krull said.com/2011/12/23/ron-paul-is-the-second-most-popular-republican-candidate-onfacebook-and-hes-gaining/ Eric Eldon December 23. I’m not here to take sides and tell you how to vote.” has been shared 3. or a conspiracy theorist loon.236. He’s now the second-most . and Gingrich at 13 percent. Our Inside Election Tracker‘s look at Facebook fan-page growth in the past week supports the notion that Paul is a front-runner. new polling and the Inside Facebook 2012 Election Tracker convey a fluid field before next Tuesday’s Iowa caucus. Gingrich Up on Facebook Prior to Iowa Caucus http://allfacebook. 3? TechCrunch: Ron Paul is the Second Most Popular Candidate on Facebook (And He’s Gaining) http://techcrunch.857. “This was not due to a lack of effort by our volunteers. with more than 1. He showed the most growth in new Facebook fans among the top three GOP contenders. with Paul at 24 percent. com/social_media/barack-obama-becomes-more-social-for-the-2012campaign Pooja Thakkar December 23. Paul currently has 655. But now he’s also winning real-world polls. 2011 Call him the Digital Candidate or a Social Candidate: President Barack Obama is active on almost all social networking platforms including Facebook. plan events and recruit friends in ways that email couldn't in 2008. and anyone in the world can like Facebook Pages. half of Romney’s 1. Meanwhile. with monthly growth highs among all candidates at nearly 7. Maybe it’s because of how people are receiving his debate performance. The rise began around when previous top outsider candidate Herman Cain announced he would drop out. who has appeared at many points in recent weeks to be Romney’s main Republican challenger.technology-digital. Paul has had the most new fans every day since December 5th. online success for Paul might have been chalked up to the relatively small but very earnest group of online supporters. according to the Inside Facebook Election Tracker. The President is asking supporters to use Facebook to declare "I'm In!" for his re-election campaign and is personally tweeting to blast out messages to his nearly 9 million followers. who have helped him win online polls for years. It’s just that most people don’t.000 new fans per day at some points last week.3 million. so this is a subpopulation of politically involved people. So maybe Perry gained some Facebook fans even though he created the most disliked video on YouTube? But as Perry’s blip tapered down towards zero. or promote their Like buttons on their campaign web sites. Fan counts are not a perfect proxy for real-world popularity because candidates can do things like buy lots of ads on Facebook. His Facebook fan growth is looking more and more like a proxy for his overall trajectory. like in the Iowa primaries. when Perry released his widely hated “Strong” video against gays in the military. allowing supporters to share content. Google+ and more recently Tumblr. What does it all mean? Until a few months ago. and a fraction of Obama’s 24. By numerical gains. Also worth noting: the fan counts here are far lower than the active voters out there. Twitter. Facebook has around two-thirds of the US online population. but Facebook brings Obama's campaign to millions of news feeds. of course). but he’s well ahead of third-place primary candidate Michele Bachmann. But Paul has gained even more every day. has had pretty minimal growth. both Gingrich and Paul grew. right around the 8th of the month. It’s true that Romney has surged over the past week or two as Cain. run contests on their Pages to bring in more people.000 fans. It leveled off for a bit during a short Rick Perry resurgence. Perry and Gingrich have faded down. . Technology Digital: Barack Obama Becomes More Social for the 2012 Campaign http://www.23 million. The Obama campaign declines to say how many of its supporters have clicked the "I'm In!" button. the election tracker shows. Newt Gingrich. But the trends do seem to reflect many of the voter shifts in the primary over the last month.popular candidate behind Mitt Romney (and Democratic incumbent Barack Obama. co-workers. talking to neighbors. The campaign's website helps supporters find local events. and readying ourselves for next year's fight. New Digital Targeting Helps Romney Campaign Reach Voters http://techpresident. but this time nestled in the "0" of 2012. “Social media has gone from a publishing platform to a really interactive space. The new campaign logo featured on the items includes the celebrated image of a rising sun used in 2008." By its nature. Emails to supporters seek small-dollar donations in exchange for campaign coffee mugs or a chance to win dinner with the president. inspiring new ones to join the cause. According to a recent national poll of America’s 18 to 29 year olds by Harvard’s Institute of Politics (IOP). TechPresident: From YouTube to Facebook. a rise of six percentage points from IOP polling conducted last October. “It begins with us. telling supporters he'll regularly send personal tweets signed "-BO.com/news/21546/youtube-facebook-romney-digital-ad-targeting Sarah Lai Stirland December 22. respond to critics and shape the news. Obama’s betting big on Social Media support Obama relied heavily on the web during his 2008 presidential campaign for organizing. fundraising and communicating and his recent reelection campaign with a social media barrage launch made it clear he plans on doing so again. text messages and the Web to reach voters.If Obama broke new ground in 2008 using email. Obama said "the politics we believe in does not start with expensive TV ads or extravaganzas. In his message to supporters." Obama added. This time.with people organizing block-by-block. not a vehicle for pushing out traditional campaign talking points. plan meetings and raise money.” said Andrew Foxwell. Obama also released a two-minute YouTube video telling viewers. reconnecting old friends. a majority of Millennials (55%) approve of the job performance of President Barack Obama. was still in its infancy when Obama first ran for president and played little role in that campaign. "We'll start by doing something unprecedented: coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state. building a grassroots campaign online. Obama has signaled the value of his (at)barackobama handle.”The Video does not feature the candidate himself speaking but a diverse range of supporters explaining why he should be given another four years in the White House in the November 2012 elections. Twitter. Obama ‘s 2012 campaign aims to take the Web campaign to the next level – harnessing the expansive roles that the Internet and social media are playing in voters' lives. but with you -. The Obama campaign can however take a different approach to social media by treating it as a gateway to open a two-way dialogue. manager of marketing and new media at iConstituent. 2011 . meanwhile. and friends. Twitter allows the campaign to monitor public opinion on a minute-by-minute basis. and the digital advertising agency SAY Media to buy ad space and tailor the messages there to those audiences who've "cut the cord" with their cable companies. The Romney campaign is exploring how to target those ads more efficiently. as well as buying keywords on Twitter and Google. Va. or to get engaged in some other way with the campaign. The question is whether those ads are reaching the intended audience. "We've made a very conscious decision to reach out to folks who might otherwise miss our message. . or who simply don't turn on the television anymore. We're the only one running it in those two states. they're likely to see Mitt Romney appear in unexpected places." He adds that the Romney campaign has bought all of the pre-roll ad space on longer-form content shown in Iowa on YouTube for the entire month going up to the January 3 caucuses. political polling firms Public Opinion Strategies and SEA Polling & Strategic Design and SAY Media earlier this year. they're likely to see a 30-second spot for Romney on Hulu or YouTube in the days leading up to the contests in those states." said Zac Moffatt. the campaigns have spent $1. the Romney campaign's digital media director. are part of the mix too. SAY Media promises media buyers that it can reach 165 million people a month on the web and on mobile devices who are not likely to be big watchers of live television. and working with audience measurement firm Quantcast to develop its model. Or if they own a mobile device. "The majority of all our digital advertising at this stage is video advertising.As potential caucus goers and voters in Iowa and New Hampshire go about their lives this Christmas season. Moffatt is working with his old colleagues at the Republican digital strategy consulting firm Targeted Victory in Arlington. and we're also up on Hulu. Worse news for campaign advertisers is that in the battleground state of Ohio.4 million on television ads. "We have all the reserve inventory in Iowa and New Hampshire for pre-roll for YouTube. the group also found that most voters with digital video recorders skip ads. so it's highly-targeted rich media. They found that about a third of likely voters don't watch live television. Targeted Victory conducted a bi-partisan study about the television viewing habits of likely voters along with their Democratic counterparts Chong & Koster. and that 45 percent say they watch "something else" other than live television as their primary form of video consumption. It also only charges ad buyers if members of the audience engage with their ads. Unsurprisingly. they found that nearly 40 percent of likely voters surveyed had not watched live television in the past week that they were surveyed. but search and zip-code targeting on Facebook." says Moffatt. in Des Moines. It reaches these people by conducting surveys of the audience. IA market alone. despite their findings. Team Mitt's work largely involves online video. they might see an ad that asks them to volunteer. Already. It's all part of a wider ad targeting campaign that the Romney team has carefully planned over the year as it hunts for voters in every virtual nook and cranny in the emerging post-live television world. If they watch on-demand content online. according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group and The Washington Post. The group acknowledges that the lion's share of the projected $3 billion in political ad spending in 2012 will still be in television. blanketing Iowa in targeted online ads that use just about every new trick in the Internet marketing playbook. The company is also working with the online audience targeting firm Lotame. Other mobile ads. Facebook is a very positive way of doing it. Those people are naturally built in. Targeted Victory has worked with Lotame in the past on the campaigns of Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Washington State's Dino Rossi. but who are not watching live television as much.) The Romney campaign isn't the only one that's trying to bridge the gap between television and the web. who lost his bid for a senate seat against Democratic incumbent Patti Murray in 2010. Voters who've texted the campaign to be updated with Romney's whereabouts in New Hampshire are notified by text when the candidate is about to make an appearance at an event in or near their zip code (if they've provided it to the campaign. Another set will feature buttons that connect voters directly to the campaign. he adds. Ron Paul has been aggressively advertising on television with his hard-hitting ads against former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. "We've found for crowd-building. and if you want to engage.' who are likely voters." Moffatt explains." Mobile phones are another big tool in the toolbox of geo-targeting. The ads and their placement are based on a year's worth of work of doing surveys of the kinds of people the Romney campaign hopes to persuade to vote for him.com political news blog as well. But Facebook and Google play a role too. Texas' Rep. "Intent marketing is obviously going to be your highest-return-on investment because someone has gone into Google and typed in a word. "Everything we're doing on TV. Eric Frenchman. chief Internet strategist at Connell Donatelli & Campaign Solutions. and so we're either targeting individuals based upon what our modeling shows are 'off-thegridders. will contain pre-roll YouTube ads. "If you're in a certain geolocation we think is important. Moffatt says that in addition to the ads that are designed to persuade voters. we can turn those people out. we're aligning with online. So links to the Iowa GOP's page for caucus information and locations are embedded in some of Romney's videos. Facebook's new zip code targeting feature is useful to mobilize people who have already indicated that they 'like' the campaign." Online or mobile video placement can also be used to engage voters. "We have a kind of a holistic buying strategy. there would be an ability for you to click-to-call within the ad unit. . other ads are designed to mobilize those who already support the former governor of Massachusetts. served up via Google's mobile advertising company AdMob." Moffatt says. and most of that is spent on actionable video as he just described. says that he's actually surprised at how little he's heard about political campaigns buying ads on platforms like Hulu. "You would call our volunteer location and then be connected with someone to get involved." he says. so if Mitt's going to be in a certain geolocation. and they have an intent to take an action." Moffatt says that the Romney campaign spends a minimum of 10 percent of its ad budget on its digital strategy. Those ads have run online and have been placed in conservative outlets online such as the IowaRepublican. the Obama campaign built their own proprietary social network and wrested control of unofficial groups and pages away from volunteers. More importantly. In 2008. you’re going to see those lines blur. But perhaps that's because the campaigns have been flying under the radar. and what an online media buyer would do." POLITICO: Campaigns Capitalize on Facebook http://www. -.Newt Gingrich.com/politico44/2011/12/campaigns-capitalize-on-facebook-108411. 2011 Ron Paul is averaging $2 million a day. Newt Gingrich is putting his supporters to work making online phone calls. It's a sea change from 2008 —when campaigns floundered in using social networks to either raise funds or engage volunteers. "But we'll see in two weeks. He has added over 6. which is designed to scale to accommodate rapid growth in support.President Obama has launched a full merchandise store. mobilizing volunteers and engaging supporters. -.html Byron Tau December 21. has developed an application that allows volunteers to make campaign phone calls. he could raise $25 million before the end of the month. using a custom Facebook application to raise more than $4 million in two days in an online 'moneybomb.politico. including promoting his campaign's Win A Dinner with the president contest. And he has also used his page to put out calls for help getting on the Virginia ballot. "I would never underestimate Ron Paul's supporters." he says. .000 a day in the last two weeks. And President Obama and other candidates have embedded Facebook into the very DNA of their campaign websites. Moffatt says that his team has kept its head down working on its infrastructure. Some highlights: -." he says when asked about the rival Paul campaign's success in packing Iowa events with supporters of the very age and demographic that Romney's campaign is also after. This social game also tracks canvassing efforts. Is this the cycle in which presidential campaigns finally figure out how to effectively use Facebook as a campaign tool? An internal Facebook analysis shared with POLITICO shows how three presidential candidates in particular are leveraging the social network effectively — raising money. He's also added an element of competition to the mix. and I think in 2012. and has used the platform to engage his massive 24 million fan audience. he's been able to leverage that support into a substantial amount of money."I think GoogleTV and Hulu bridge the gap between what a traditional offline media buyer would be doing. who actually launched his campaign on Facebook. there was the famous 'One Million Strong for Barack Obama' group but the Obama campaign itself treaded carefully.Ron Paul —surging in the Iowa polls — is adding Facebook fans faster than any other candidate.' The company estimates that at this rate. allowing users to see how many phone calls their friends have made. Instead of engaging on third-party sites like Facebook. Paul is adding the most Facebook fans of any presidential candidate: over 6. they have embraced the upside. That would place him among the top tier of candidates by quarterly fundraising value. Apparently. Ron Paul leapt from fourth place to first place in Iowa public polling. And Paul’s social Money Bomb isn’t over yet. Supporters can also let their friends know they’ve donated. The first Ron Paul Money Bomb was held in February of 2008. shirts and other campaign paraphernalia. At the current rate of donations. Now Paul is mobilizing a fleet of custom Facebook apps to turn his 650. e-mail and cell phone numbers in exchange for access to “VIP information.And earlier this year. encouraging supporters to purchase campaign posters. Paul supporters can provide their name.” and thanking them for the work they’ve done to promote the campaign. “It’s not about me. Paul reached the summit of social fundraising by leaning on some of Facebook’s embedded tools: The Donate to Ron Paul app encourages Facebook supporters to submit contributions directly through Paul’s official page. almost entirely through Facebook outreach. Fans could also share links to their favorite campaign merchandise with friends. Obama kicked off his re-election campaign by asking Facebook supporters. It’s not surprising that Paul has seen a swell of contributions – Facebook users are more than twice as likely to click links and support pages if their friends share them.” The app also allows fans to ask their friends to join. Nationwide. it’s about you. “Are you in?” through a custom Facebook app. and allowed them to recruit other friends by sharing the badge and the app. Paul’s remarkable surge hasn’t just occurred in Iowa. This is substantially the same platform Gingrich has expanded upon with his online phone application. hats. Texas Rep. The Ron Paul Facebook Supporter app is unique among candidates. Ron Paul: Fueling a Cinderella Rise with a Multi-Million Dollar Facebook Money Bomb Over the past week. . broadening vital campaign e-mail and cell phone contact lists. Obama recently posted a video update on the contest. and raised over $1 million in a 24-hour period. I reported on how campaigns were eyeing open platforms like Facebook and Twitter with a touch of wariness — particularly after supporters of the president turned his website mybarackobama.com into a platform to sound off on the President's policy on the Patriot Act. telling his supporters.000 a day for the past two weeks. This week marks Paul’s second “Money Bomb” fundraising drive. Obama also launched a full campaign store in a Facebook tab. Full analysis after the jump The Obama campaign has been engaging with constituents in a few unique ways: Dinner with Barack – the Obama campaign has used Facebook to encourage the president’s 24 million supporters to support the campaign for a chance to join Barack and Michelle Obama for dinner. The app displayed a badge on users Facebook walls if they joined the campaign. Paul could bring in a staggering $25 million or more before the end of the month.000 fans into vital campaign dollars. Fast forward to December 2011: this year’s Facebook Money Bomb has already raised $4 million in under two days. Newt Gingrich: Regaining Momentum through a Social Engagement Push With harsh campaign ads from Republican challengers Mitt Romney and Ron Paul denting his poll performance in Iowa." Nahigian said. with the number of new Facebook supporters falling by over 60%. Facebook. videos and volunteer appeals. Thousands have signed up for Gingrich’s phone application.” More importantly. New Hampshire and South Carolina. Gingrich is pouring more time and effort into Facebook outreach – and there are signs he’s reaping the benefits." "They will help people: This is the caucus.Unlike other 2012 Republican contenders. Social Media http://www. which tracks how many Facebook users are liking a candidate’s page every day. and he isn’t giving up the fight. told The Huffington Post the clip would be part of a "caucus training video." .Michele Bachmann entered the Pizza Ranch.huffingtonpost. Keith Nahigian. and his donor page assisted in an early December fundraising “Money Bomb. A Bachmann staffer held up a small camcorder and recorded the Republican presidential candidate giving a short greeting directly to Palo Alto County residents. Bachmann's campaign manager. shook a few hands. Gingrich posted his Virginia tour schedule in a Facebook note and used a new app to encourage supporters to “Get Newt on the Virginia Ballot!” As the Iowa caucus rapidly approaches. Gingrich is taking a page from social gaming by providing friendly competition that also canvasses the vital early primary states of Iowa. while also showing supporters how many calls their friends have made. The figures are stark. and then went behind the counter to pose with the chain store's staff for a video. Gingrich recently debuted a new social app that allows supporters to make campaign calls on behalf of the Gingrich campaign. Gingrich launched his campaign on Facebook. Gingrich is also prioritizing the Virginia primary in a series of posts on his official page. 2011 EMMETSBURG. here Saturday afternoon. "What we're doing is 99 different county videos to give back to our county chair -. The Inside Facebook Election tracker.we have county chairs in all 99 counties -. Gingrich is engaging voters by connecting directly through personal photos.to give to their precinct captains to send out on social media. Inside Facebook’s Election Tracker shows the results: Paul’s campaign has nearly doubled its growth rate over the past two weeks. Previously the most popular candidate on Facebook by new likes – over 2. this is the time. while Newt Gingrich has suffered a 50% drop in social engagement. embattled Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich is turning to Facebook to regain his momentum. this is the day. Gingrich “likes” his chances of pulling a social media upset.000 a day – Gingrich has fallen to a distant third place. Will other campaigns follow his lead? Huffington Post: Michele Bachmann Woos Iowa Voters with Video. Iowa -. Paul is parlaying his fervent Facebook support into an expanding web of connections. shows Gingrich suffering a steep drop during the first week of December. a ubiquitous chain in Iowa.html Jon Ward December 18.com/2011/12/18/michele-bachmann-iowa_n_1156369. this is what it is. said Michael Beach." Nahigian said.mcclatchydc. but won't replace them. largely over social media." Campaign Solutions. campaigns are making much larger staff and financial investments in social media marketing. Beach estimated that the average campaign spends about 25 percent of its budget on online strategy. Bachmann told HuffPost he was performing a variety of functions.m. a Virginia-based firm.com/2011/12/15/133210/election-2012-campaigns-are-all. encourager. 2011 WASHINGTON — As more presidential candidates ask us to "like" them on Facebook. according to Pew Research Center researcher Aaron Smith. a co-founder of the Republican digital-strategy firm Targeted Victory. is helping the Bachmann campaign target the videos to Facebook users in the right counties. McClatchy: Election 2012 Campaigns Are All Over Facebook http://www. "Time keeper. But at most of them. Nahigian said. police. consisted of her walking in the door. and while he thinks the amount will increase as it gets closer to Election Day next November. where someone wants to stand up and hold an iPad and play her video. like the one at a very crowded coffee shop in Algona on Saturday. It will be a direct appeal to that county. Bachmann visited 13 different towns in 13 counties on Saturday. some campaign consultants argue that targeted Facebook political advertising will change the coming year's election map. The online strategies will be strong supplements to traditional outreach such as get-out-the-vote campaigns and TV spots. Beach said in explaining the importance of Facebook now. and then being gently pushed out the door by her husband. and finishing up more than 12 hours later. "It's night and day different" from 2008." "No one's ever done this. the percentage will not. for example. Marcus. Bachmann on Sunday is launching day three of a 99-county bus tour that is ambitious in scope to the point that some campaign stops. The Bachmann campaign has been innovative in its use of technology already this cycle. all 99 counties. Bachmann was taping a video to arm their campaign with an individualized message to recruit caucus-goers."We have ability to email according to their zip codes and their Google imaging mapping of like on Facebook and other things. muscle." he joked. starting at 9 a.html Laura Phelps December 15. This election cycle. so it's kind of cool. so we can place them right in the counties. shaking hands and posing for photos for a few minutes. "We are going to have 99 localized videos talking directly to that unique county. and some pass in the blink of an eye. So each stop is rushed. She is doing 28 events over the first three days of the bus tour starting Sunday. "We will also do a different version for caucuses. to keep her on schedule. . targeting Bachmann ads to land on the smart phones of Iowans at the state fair in August. Mr. from the presidential race to local elections." Nahigian said. Koster said. a co-founder of techPresident. Leading up to November 2010's midterm elections. according to the Pew Research Center. Beach said. then to be able to donate where the conversation is happening is key. a blog that covers how candidates use Web technology. On Facebook. They're more likely to vote. Republican or Democrat. Pew's Smith said Facebook users tended to be more engaged. But this year's budgets reflect today's new media market as more Americans go to the Internet for news.S. Directing supporters away from Facebook to make donations on campaign sites leads people to websites they've never heard of that don't surround them with the peer pressure of their friends' engagement. But ultimately.Consultant Josh Koster. Beach said. Facebook remains a key platform for candidates because of the sheer volume of messages they can send. As of May." but that it was an even playing field now. a managing partner at Chong and Koster.24 million Facebook supporters. Koster said. Facebook lets the candidates reach voters several times a day. candidates are running similar campaigns on Facebook. campaigns try to copy one another whenever a new tool is proved effective. according to Pew. This is the first major election cycle that online strategy is receiving a large media budget for advertising. they're just at different phases. "If a political conversation is happening on Facebook. he said. Republican Mitt Romney's supporter list of just more than 1. it's not always about the money. But even Facebook donation apps aren't one-step. This year.S. Koster said he thought Republicans were slightly more aggressive with online ads in 2010 because they were "playing catch-up. adults and 76 percent of U. a progressive digital-media communications firm. adult Internet users are on Facebook. Facebook implemented stronger ZIP code targeting. according to Pew. Koster said. 22 percent of adults online used social networking sites such as Facebook to connect with campaigns or learn about the election." he said. he said." said Andrew Rasiej. ZIP code targeting will become important during persuasion pushes for casual supporters closer to the election. so some campaigns prefer to direct them to campaign websites. said campaign budgets used to be about two things: raising money and spending it on TV. ZIP-code targeting for ads allows even "dogcatcher" races to become visible and contested. 60 percent of all U. . "Facebook and social media make it much easier to organize to raise money and to engage supporters because successful campaigns ultimately are about social organizing.2 million is in the shadows of President Barack Obama's 24. and that's changed the game. Facebook users are five times more likely to consider themselves politically engaged than non-Facebook users are. where they have more control of the content. While email campaigns are restricted by the number of emails they can send to supporters before becoming invasive. to attend rallies or meetings and to try to convince their friends to vote. Facebook and Google are the two most popular places for big ad buys. Rasiej said. gathered by the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Moffatt said the campaign decided to go where the people were instead of waiting for Facebook users to discover Romney's website. endorsements. incomes and races — when compared with sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter. news. big news help. Moffatt said the president's huge database of names from the last six years. was both an asset and an anchor to outdated technology." Just because someone is highly engaged on Facebook doesn't mean he doesn't interact with the campaign elsewhere. said the campaign's digital director. Beach said." Moffatt said. to compare Romney with Obama wouldn't be an apples-to-apples comparison. he said. Romney's team launched a new welcome page on Facebook a couple of weeks ago. Still." Facebook is unique from other social media sites because it's not only the largest. Tech decisions made in 2008 would be quite different from decisions made about infrastructure now. "The people who are engaging on your website are probably engaging also on your Facebook page or YouTube channel. The page isn't a typical "wall" for users to comment on. Romney's online campaign has been building only since April. "The Obama administration has the advantage of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. "There probably aren't mutually exclusive groups. "Facebook and social media is like a water cooler discussion on steroids. of course. "Regardless of which candidate. It links to videos. "Facebook has the ability to get people to take another action. but it also has a more demographically broad user base — a mix of ages.That's why applications that allow campaigns to access their supporters' data to automatically publish when supporters RSVP to events or share articles about the candidates will be important tools for campaigns in 2012." Rasiej said. The candidate often updates in the first person on Twitter. but Facebook is a place for a larger campaign discussion between staff and supporters. Zac Moffatt. Smith said. Moffatt said. "It's about the timeliness of what it is you're trying to do: debates. the Republicans are going to be playing catch-up. Moffatt said." he said." Moffatt said he fully expected that there would be people who voted for Romney and never visited his website. . Obama. has the advantage of powerful analytics that measure how users interact with the campaign's content. however. Romney's team uses Facebook differently from the way it uses Twitter. the store and other features." Smith said. St. yet they say they hope the skills he brings are a secret weapon: he’s a software engineer. can usually be found sitting on an exercise ball in the back of President Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters. his or her campaign has to manage it in real time. 'check-ins' at events. mentions in speeches. mobile. sometimes before a debate is even over.949 Bloomberg: Obama's Re-Election Path May Be Written In Will St.com/news/2011-12-14/obama-s-re-election-path-may-be-written-in-will-st-clair-scode. a plaid buttoned-down shirt. links on TV ads and more.) and Facebook can be a component of other political activities as well."Political campaigns are also realizing that Facebook exists beyond Facebook.220 _ Mitt Romney: 1. Clair's Code http://www. 6: _ Barack Obama: 24.468 _ Rick Santorum: 34. etc.592 _ Ron Paul: 612. "We've witnessed Facebook integration with websites. Clair. FACEBOOK SUPPORTERS AS OF DEC.243." he said.351 _ Rick Perry: 171. "Spin is being created on social media faster than it can be created by spin doctors. 8.com (apps.210 _ Michele Bachmann: 272. social media has changed stagnant TV debates. If a candidates makes a gaffe on TV. The 23-year-old’s job is a mystery even to some senior staff in Chicago.bloomberg. 2011 Will St." With an NBC/Facebook GOP candidate debate approaching Jan.com/USPolitics. jeans and Adidas sneakers. wearing semi-rimless glasses. Clair is among more than a dozen developers hired by the campaign to leverage technology to wring out more votes in what Obama’s advisers say may be an election as close as the contested 2000 race between .207.html By Julianna Goldman December 14." Facebook has created a new page for the 2012 election to curate campaign information: Facebook. his eyes trained on his computer screen." Facebook's Andrew Noyes said. Rasiej said.405 _ Newt Gingrich: 205.171 _ Jon Huntsman: 26. "The candidate who doesn't pay attention to social media as they're on TV is blind. who worked on voter targeting for Bush’s successful re-election effort in 2004. took note of last spring recruiting “quantitative analysts. no amount of technological sophistication may be enough for Obama to overcome stubbornly high unemployment.. mathematicians. who faced 7. may be ideal for the world of innovative political warfare. “Right now. CEO of TargetPoint Consulting. “We are a multidisciplinary team of statisticians. Bush and Al Gore. which his administration forecasts will be above 8 percent next year. not hit up for money.making. they’ve left lucrative jobs to mine for swing voters.all striving for a single goal: re. “The things we did in 2008 in many ways were prehistoric by contemporary standards. the experience of trying to outmaneuver rivals like Google Inc. no U. Clair and his team are creating tools to connect with people properly.” Gage said. president has won re-election with a jobless rate above 6 percent. disenchanted voters are wooed. “In 2008 we were very adept users of technology. For example. now consulting for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. “Will they surpass them? No. with the exception of Ronald Reagan.” said Michael Slaby. actionable insights that drive our decision. 7 Bloomberg View lunch.George W. Since World War II.” Axelrod said at a Dec.2 percent unemployment on Election Day in 1984. “We are much more ambitious about what we’re capable of building on our own. and I’m reasonably confident they will. The Obama campaign is guarding the details of the operation like the political equivalent of nuclear secrets: “I’ll be happy to discuss what we’re doing after we do it. general analysts and organizers -. “There’s a lot you can do in the way of more finely targeting voters so they’re getting information that’s useful to them. and Facebook Inc.” While it’s the first foray into campaigning for many of Obama’s quantitative analysts. “Republicans realize they have to catch up. .” Micro Campaign St.electing President Obama.’ clearly Democrats are ahead. From Seattle startups to International Business Machines Corp.” “The Obama for America analytics department analyzes the campaign’s data to guide election strategy and develop quantitative. They've added a new term to the strategic lexicon: microlistening. They call it microlistening.” Political Hurdles To be sure.” The Obama team is taking technology development in-house. if you want to call this the ‘data arms race. the campaign’s chief integration and innovation officer.” said Alex Gage.” it says. Obama’s opponents also are seeking new ways to employ technology and build on the voter targeting effort in Bush’s 2004 re-election. Other hints can be gleaned from an Obama campaign job posting that Gage. software developers.” said David Axelrod.S. Obama’s chief political strategist. synthesizing it and making use of it most effectively. the work is more valuable than any poll. Reed’s is black and has no labels -. many sit on large exercise balls. Reed convinced Conbere to leave his job as a software developer for Estately Inc. Artist’s Brush Like artists who only paint with certain brushes. Reed.” said Anders Conbere. an engineer who brought his own keyboard when he moved from Seattle.“We have all these engineers here.” said Harper Reed. They are parsing constituent concerns in fine detail. “They had a bunch of idealistic volunteers who came out of nowhere to help them. for $6 billion in 2007 -. It comes down to data -.” O’Reilly coined the term microlistening when he met with campaign officials and heard what they were trying to do. a computer book publisher. 33. It’s easy to generate a lot of data and miss the point so. is emblematic of a hipster style coexisting with the traditional. The privately held company lets artists submit designs for a public vote. according to Tim O’Reilly.” O’Reilly. who advised the campaign earlier this year. said. Reed said the company’s revenue increased 10-fold from when he started with Threadless in 2005 to when he left in 2009. They’re trying to do deliberately what happened by magic last time.ups and almost all of them competed against some giant behemoth. who recruited based on who he’d want for any start-up. with black plastic-rimmed glasses and stretched earlobes adorned with metal hoop earrings. founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media. the campaign’s chief technology officer. a Chicago-based T.the biggest acquisition for the company until it bought Skype Technologies SA earlier this year. if done right. 28. who were part of start. “There was a weird sense when you came in here that you were changing the campaign just by coexisting in the same spaces as everyone else. many of the engineers brought their own keyboards.he likes the noise it makes and the bounce to the fingers.” Earlier in his career. Rather than chairs. and the right staff is critical. The data comes from conversations on the ground and behavioral patterns on the website. Analysts may try to determine how to best target a voter who gives $5 to participate in a raffle to have dinner with the president versus $5 during a Republican debate. there’s little room for error. a real estate index described on its website as a “Seattle-based team of geeks taking on the $50 billion real estate industry. Staffers joke that facial hair is required in the dimly-lit back section of the office reserved for Slaby’s team. Conbere worked at aQuantive.. an Internet advertising firm. Deliberate Magic “They got lucky the first time. Business Model Reed was formerly CTO of Threadless. . Unshaven.shirt company whose business model relies on crowdsourcing to design and sell its products. To make every vote count in this difficult election climate. Or they don’t sit at all. strategists say. electing instead to prop their computers on cardboard boxes and work standing up. when it was purchased by Microsoft Corp.collecting voter information. one group of engineers noticed that people trying to buy products like Obama T-shirts using mobile devices weren’t completing their purchases. “The question is whether they can be persuaded.Approach to Voters If a supporter tells the campaign that a neighbor who voted for Obama in 2008. Anders was 2. pushing faith-oriented messaging to country and holiday music listeners on Pandora. they’re finding ways to boost efficiency at all levels of the organization -. 2011 Rick Perry's online campaign is targeting faith-based Iowa caucus voters. the most important distillation of that information may be that sending someone out to ask for a donation could cost Obama that vote. . author of “The Information Diet. and driving pro-Perry mobile messages to students at Christian colleges in the Hawkeye state.” Slaby and Reed hope to keep expanding. lost his job. “We never would have figured it out” during the last campaign. A newly-strengthened digital staff has been targeting Iowa evangelicals through Facebook ads. ‘Let’s move to Chicago. organized and activated enough to get to the polls and technology is going to be the thing that does that. is frustrated with the president’s handling of the economy and is now undecided. driving home from work with his wife when he received a 2-word text message from Reed: “Dude. a key fundraising tool.’” ClickZ: Perry Pushes Iowa Faith Message on Pandora and Facebook http://www. Others on the team quickly realized that the site.even the online store. another group of engineers changed the interface and sales went up that day. which managed Obama’s online campaign in 2008. “There are always going to be enough people out there to vote for Barack Obama. Obama.clickz.” said Johnson. founder of Blue State Digital Media LLC. recruiting engineers largely by word of mouth. Within a week.” Beyond targeting. Reed told Slaby he’d join the campaign and immediately wanted to lock in their next hire. wasn’t user friendly for smart-phones. It’s how Anders decided to move to Chicago only weeks after purchasing a home in Seattle. Over coffee last spring. “We didn’t have enough skill in any of these three places to put data in a place that could be intelligently analyzed and acted on quickly.” “I just turned to my wife and said.com/clickz/news/2132869/perry-pushes-faith-message-pandora-facebook Kate Kaye December 14. Quick Analysis Last month. Slaby said.100 miles away.” said Clay Johnson. targeted to Iowans listening to country. recently joined the Perry camp in a lead digital role. Last week. Iowa residents reminiscing with Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" on Pandora may hear an audio spot in which the Texas Governor professes. Perry's campaign had done little online advertising.com/issues/57_73/political-campaigning-enters-age-of-technology-210975-1. Like the "Faith" video which the campaign is still heavily advertising online.com. Vincent Harris." declares Perry in the Faith video. A favorite for attracting traffic to Congressional campaign websites is Google AdWords. Several different ad creatives on Facebook and in Google's content network linking to related videos are aimed at veterans.including a new addition to the digital staff . evangelicals. founder and CEO of Republican digital shop.Primary observers suggest the Perry camp's message to Iowa voters is focused on conservative Christian ideals." has attracted media coverage and taken flak. are accompanied by standard display and large background ads on the streaming audio site. holiday. in part for its implication that gays should not be allowed to serve in the military. 2011 With more and more constituents looking for information about their Members of Congress online. but changes to the campaign's digital media approach . The site encourages people to share the video via email. include a special Facebook tab aimed at Iowa voters that links to a "caucus for Rick Perry" signup form. New digital campaign elements. EstablishmentInsider. along with the online ads and increase in web video. and Iowa-centric profile images on Facebook and Twitter. While traditional banner ads and video advertisements that play before or during online videos continue to be used. or Twitter. in Strong. Longer versions of the "Faith" ad have been running on TV and radio. Advertisements are targeted to appear alongside specified search terms and within specified locations. Christian. With AdWords. which features a negative TV spot lumping together Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as supporters of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform.rollcall. Harris Media. another recent video. Until recently." Most of Perry's YouTube videos feature overlay ads that link to the campaign site or elsewhere. but both have similar messaging. Other recent online efforts include a new microsite. The winning bidder gets an ad displayed alongside the organic search results until another advertiser places a higher bid. . "I'm not ashamed to talk about my faith. offices and campaigns are spending more time and energy focused on online advertising. Facebook. and 80s music. The campaign is no longer doing much to promote the Strong video.html?pg=1 Kate Tummarello December 13. and are also aimed at mobile Pandora users. some offices and candidates are reaching out to constituents.seem to be changing that. and his online ad and social media efforts appear to be in lock step. "I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian. the search engine giant allows advertisers to bid against one another to see who can place their text-based advertisements on a search result page. Perry ads on Facebook encouraged former supporters of Herman Cain to make the switch to Perry." The 15-second ads. and plays on the "Washington Outsider" reputation Perry is hoping to cultivate. and other groups in Iowa. entitled "Strong. "I think we all need God's help. Roll Call: Political Campaigning Enters Age of Technology http://www. he says. glossy paper mailer for one-tenth of the price. Donehue’s firm has worked with Rep. use ZIP codes as their most fine grained level of segmentation. Targeting Constituents The advertising technique that is gaining in popularity for Senate campaigns and House offices and campaigns is Facebook ads. Facebook’s ZIP code targeting is mostly accurate in directing Congressional ads to that Member’s constituents. Google AdWords is the place to start when people are looking to find out more about a candidate or current Member. searching terms related to the sexual harassment claims being levied against him — including the name of one accuser.” According to franking rules. explaining that the targeting “opens up another avenue for advertisers to market to their desired audience. Most influential research on demographics. giving it a better ability to target advertisements. Facebook is the way to go if you want to target specific groups in a geographically small district. said Andrew Foxwell. Google then would have access to similar information about its users. including the U. ZIP codes have become particularly useful for detailing definable community populace attributes. who became the target of much Google searching after he yelled. CEO of political Internet firm Donehue Direct. *Google+ is the place to go. Census. Foxwell estimates that about 150 Congressmen are using Facebook advertising. According to a blog post by Facebook that was last updated about four months ago.” the blog post says. Herman Cain’s presidential campaign used Google AdWords earlier this year. manager of new media and marketing at iConstituent. The case study summarized the results as being a “10X return on investment as compared to a traditional. specific information. gains steam.).According to Wesley Donehue. “When a hot news story breaks and people want to learn more about it.” or “Herman Cain Scandal” — would bring up sponsored results linking to his campaign material. who helped Wilson direct traffic to his campaign website after the incident. “You can’t get that level of targeting through Google. “Intentionally or not. which can now be narrowed down to target certain ZIP codes.S. . “You lie!” at Obama during a 2009 speech. a digital communications firm that has worked with more than 300 Congressional offices and has done ads for 90 of them.” Donehue added that this could change if Google’s social media platform. offices that placed Facebook ads with the help of iConstituent for one week received three times as much constituent interaction on the Member’s official Facebook page.C. targeting by ZIP code was introduced to give advertisers better access to users in more specific locations. Google Plus. “Sharon Bialek. “Facebook is the best way to go if you’re trying to reach a really niche audience. as long as the advertisements are directed only to constituents and do not include pictures of the Members.” he said. Joe Wilson (R-S. For a while.” said Donehue. House offices can advertise online.” For Donehue. According to a case study done about the company. citing Facebook’s ability to target based on user-supplied. 000 email addresses than 100.” he said. you’re not looking for that information like you are when you’re searching on Google.” he said.Two-Way Traffic Foxwell views Facebook ads as a way not just to advertise to constituents but to engage with them. reasons. then we are doing something right by ensuring these mediums are used by Members’ official offices.000 Facebook fans. although the Virginia Democrat lost.” On the engaging aspect of Facebook: Well-known politicians don’t need to advertise to get feedback. Graves said. “Facebook and Twitter are essential tools for a 21st-century democracy.” he said. But that doesn’t bother Foxwell. which appear slightly farther down the right side of a user’s home page. not political. promoted tweets.” Of course. Jacobs said Facebook users are often on the website for social.” Jacobs said. “If we can collectively reengage our citizens using technology and social media by breaking down barriers for meaningful dialogue. adding. and lesser-known politicians can look like they just want attention. Tom Perriello. at least their voice is being heard. such as describing oneself as a “political junkie. Both of those features operate on a bidding system. But Facebook users have already become savvy enough that they see through gimmicks designed to get them to click on an ad. According to Graves. the marketplace of ideas is a rough-and-tumble place. According to Twitter Director of Communications Matt Graves. is not necessarily the same as getting voters. such as getting people to “Like” a page or status update.” he said. you’re not getting their email address. “You’re getting them into your Facebook group. which appear within a user’s Twitter feed even if they are not following the advertiser’s account. Bid on a Tweet The next big thing on the horizon for Congressional offices and campaigns? Promoted content on Twitter. he urges clients to also devote resources to other methods. “We had far more success with video and paid search. where advertisers bid to have their tweets or account names appear on users’ Twitter home pages. . were introduced in April of last year. and promoted accounts. which appear as the first suggestion of “Who to follow” along the right side of a user’s home page. targeting on Twitter is done by a few factors. were introduced in June of last year and can be purchased for $120. “I’d rather get 10.” Graves said that a benefit of the promoted content on Twitter is its placement within the site. including which accounts — and national campaigns — a user already follows. both in terms of the percentage of the clicks that turned into sign-ups and the cost per acquisition. While Jacobs would suggest covering one’s bases by purchasing Facebook ads. despite the low price. Others have reservations when it comes to Facebook ads.000 per country per day.” he said. “Even if you get people speaking negatively. referring to the 2010 campaign of then-Rep. any lists the user is on and the self-reported content of a user’s profile. Promoted trends. Jacobs also said that getting the attention of Facebook users. “When you’re on Facebook. “You want to at least show the flag. were introduced in October 2010. 573. he said. Gingrich grew his Facebook fan base by 10.000 last week.” Jacobs said. But whether you’re in office or running for one.950.” Although it’s not accessible to Congressional offices just yet.362 fans. Saturday’s ABC News Yahoo debate should help: It was the most watched of the GOP primary season.500 fans within 24 hours of the most watched GOP debate of the year. Typically. strategists often stress the importance of tailoring online advertising strategies to the race. every district is different.” Donehue said.” he said. using Google AdWords or Facebook. followed by Ron Paul with 12.729 fans in the last seven days. Gingrich. slowly but surely. Jacobs also pointed to the placement of advertising on Twitter. “They’re appearing where people expect them to appear. followed by Ron Paul with 620.” he added. every candidate. users read more of the top of a website and less as they scroll down. people are already looking forward to the continued opening of promoted content on Twitter. . according to our own Election Tracker.000 fans. Given some Facebookers’ reaction to Gingrich following the debate — a few of which are pasted below — maybe the social network just isn’t his platform. “Ad placement is much more advantageous than Facebook. “I think it’s fantastic. Gingrich is turning that around. Here are the gainers and losers this week in Facebook fans among Republican presidential hopefuls. Twitter’s setup encourages users to leave the site to consume outside content more than Facebook’s does. who still maintains 394.529 and Michele Bachmann with 458. while he leads in most national and early primary state polls.400 fans. The presidential candidates adding the most Facebook fans this week? President Barack Obama bests them all. adding 29.       Newt Gingrich ranks fifth in the Republican field in total Facebook fans with 211.“These are just normal tweets.com/facebook-debates-newt-gingrich_b70168 Jennifer Moire December 12. with more than 1. “People are much more accustomed to click links on Twitter that take them off Twitter. The former Speaker of the House is bested by a candidate who’s already out of the race — Herman Cain. then Mitt Romney who added more than 8. 2011 Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is leading in the polls yet lags in the race for more Facebook fans. “Every race.” he said of the material that appears either within a user’s Twitter feed or directly alongside it. or waiting patiently to hop on the Twitter bandwagon. Gingrich added 1. explaining that. All Facebook: Debates Help Gingrich Catch Up in Facebook Race http://allfacebook. Despite trailing in most polls.2 million. in his experience. citing studies that show how users read websites. Mitt Romney still leads the pack of GOP presidential contenders in Facebook fans. “Twitter advertising is much more mobile-friendly than Facebook advertising.” he said. which offers its services for nonprofits. Correlation Ventures and Accelerator Ventures among others. to date. which include a 2011 Pollie Award for best Facebook application. will be more than we’ve ever seen before.” Boyce said. The 2012 Obama campaign. of course. Razoo and Rally. and expectations for the 2012 election.Will Newt Gingrich continue to pick up momentum on Facebook as voting in the GOP presidential primary draws nearer? Washington Post: Campaigns Harness Social Media Graphs for Cash http://www. who presented the Palo Alto-based company’s past successes. Boyce unveiled the Fundly Political Index. The index rates social fundraising on a four-week average. social media fundraising race. using Jan. e-mail campaigns. . but social fundraising was still slightly less than six times more active than Jan.” said Boyce.washingtonpost. Chairman and chief executive Donald E. in this 2012 cycle. 2011 The days of rubber chicken campaign dinners are not behind us yet. Fundly competitors include Crowdrise.com/blogs/innovations/post/campaigns-harness-social-media-graphs-forcash/2011/12/08/gIQAXI1ZfO_blog. online fundraising platform. Barack Obama harnessed the power of his supporters’ social graphs in 2008 to create an unprecedented momentum when it came to online political fundraising. According to Fundly’s findings. political campaigns.2 million in funding with its investor list including Kapor Capital. and the company plans to continue the rating system through the 2012 election. with the peak of the cycle occurring in the third quarter at 44 times more activity than at the beginning of the year. “Because we have enough of a share of the social fundraising volume. Facebook campaigns and general online donations are all possible with Fundly.) Bundlers. 1. During his presentation. But that doesn’t mean lesserknown candidates with smaller campaign budgets should feel left out of the high-stakes. Why not? Just ask Fundly CEO Dave Boyce.html Emi Kolawole December 8. (Full disclosure: Washington Post Co. likely to produce the first billion-dollar-candidate. including educational institutions and. funneled over $230 million through its system for large and small donors alike and has secured $8. “This election cycle will definitively be the most social of any election cycle that we’ve seen. But they have an increasingly powerful digital counterpart: social media fundraising platforms. 1 at its lowest. Graham is a member of Facebook's board of directors. we think that we can provide insight into the velocity of social fundraising that. social fundraising is 13 times more active today than it was in January. money bombs. How big of a player is Fundly? The company has. Activity fell off in the summer months. going on to cite the exponential growth of Facebook. has a custom-built. a chart depicting the social fundraising activity on Fundly. 2011 as a baseline. His rejection of business-as-usual in Washington has been a valuable part of this campaign." Former New Mexico Gov.” said Boyce. and clearly resonates with a great many Americans. I don’t know if that’s cause or effect. "Encourage your friends who supported Herman to head to http://www.” Social media fundraising users are able to create profiles that broadcast their support for a particular organization or candidate while giving other users an opportunity to donate and/or create their own profiles. "I have no doubt Herman Cain will remain a significant voice in the dialogue about the many important issues we face. The system. according to Boyce makes a campaign “smell like 2002. 2011 Republican White House hopefuls are courting Herman Cain supporters on Facebook following Cain's decision to suspend his presidential campaign." and urged. Obama raised half-a-billion dollars online. Rick Perry posted a picture on his Facebook page on Sunday of himself standing next to Cain.” Asked what role Fundly may have played in the momentum of Herman Cain. “People ask people to give.rickperry. "Cain supporters: Join Team Perry. With social. said Boyce. is merely a digital translation of the core concept behind fundraising.org/cain to learn more and join my campaign. 3. It has always been a social activity. The text on the image declared the candidates "Both Washington outsiders. It’s how it’s always worked. argues Boyce. "I know from having worked with [Cain] for more than a decade he will continue to be a powerful voice in the conservative movement for years to come. “I will admit I was surprised at how vocal his supporters were online and almost every donation resulted in a solicitation from that donor." "With Herman Cain suspending his campaign. Individual giving can quickly gain momentum.” Back then. Separating the two." Perry wrote in the caption. the transaction is just the beginning. Texas Gov. who suspended his campaign on Dec.” The Hill: Republican Field Woos Cain’s Facebook Fans http://thehill. I think each of the presidential nominees will do that and more. “The transaction was the thing. Newt Gingrich wrote in a Facebook post." . He went on to predict over $1 billion in online fundraising in the 2012 cycle. “I don’t know what role we played. since individual donors can bring their social networks along with them when they donate — something that was not possible when voters mailed in a check or shared their credit card information in a single transaction. Isn’t that how all fundraising works? Yes. They wanted to wear it on their sleeve. the other candidates have also turned to the social network in their bid to lure Cain supporters.” said Boyce.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/197461-gop-candidates-look-to-lure-cains-facebook-fans Brendan Sasso December 6. saying that there should be no air between a campaign’s online fundraising strategy and its social strategy.“In the 2008 election cycle. I am truly the only Washington outsider left in the race. Gary Johnson wrote." Although Perry has been the most direct in trying to win "likes" from Cain's Facebook fans. " it declares.another candidate whose campaign has shown little interest in online advertising thus far . and who hasn’t spent his life cutting deals at the expense of conservative principles. Meanwhile. Click to learn more. too.207. All Facebook: Gingrich’s Facebook Popularity Rises as GOP Race Shifts http://allfacebook. "Cain Supporters: Texas Governor Rick Perry is the only Washington outsider left in the Presidential race. Perry's ads link to RickPerry.a man with extensive experience in Washington as former speaker of the house began his surge in the polls. Ads in Google search results that link to the "Meet Newt" page on his campaign site read. Newt Gingrich . The Perry camp has been employing the anti-Washington "outsider" rhetoric for a month or so. 2011 As the dwindling field of Republican presidential hopefuls aims to win over former Herman Cain supporters. It remains to be seen whether Perry. "Herman Cain's appeal was that of a Washington Outsider . "His announcement today was based on what was best for him and his family. A post to Perry's Facebook account displays an image featuring Cain and Perry. "Cain supporters: Join Team Perry." notes the Perry site.com/clickz/news/2130258/perry-looks-lasso-cain-supporters-facebook-ads Kate Kaye December 5.clickz." However. Gingrich."Herman Cain's campaign was one of ideas." The Perry ads on Facebook speak directly to Cain fans. who has topped some recent polls.410 fans.is trying to capture Cain backers and others on Google. I am truly the only Washington Outsider left in the race. while the Gingrich ads link to a generic page. Ron Paul is second with 611. As the race goes forward. and Michele Bachmann is third with 485. Until now. Perry's campaign has done little online advertising. "Cain is Out Support Newt. with the Iowa Caucuses 32 days away. 2011 .someone not beholden to the entrenched Beltway interests. has 205." With 395.com/newt-gingrichs-facebook-popularity-rises-as-gop-race-shifts_b69272 Jennifer Moire December 5. Mitt Romney is first with 1.org/Cain. and portray Perry as a "Washington Outsider. himself a career politician who has held statewide offices in Texas for over two decades." just like Cain.609 fans. We wish Herman and Gloria the very best." Mitt Romney said. But ads and messaging seen today on Facebook suggest his campaign sees value in locating Cain supporters there in the hopes of winning them over to his flock. Rick Perry wants to wrangle them on Facebook. around the same time that Gingrich . ClickZ: Perry Looks to Lasso Cain Supporters with Facebook Ads http://www. Perry is also using Facebook ads to drive people to his new faith-centric TV spot on YouTube. can convince primary voters that he and Cain are truly alike as outsiders. and also plays on the Texas Governor's arguable outsider status.832.900.078 fans. Cain is the fourth most popular GOP candidate on Facebook. who hasn’t had the staff or money that the other candidates have enjoyed to build a strong state staff or advertise on TV.425 fans in the past seven days. They asked fans to change their Facebook profile picture to a photo of Ron Paul for a day. with more than 1.3 million followers. Gingrich still falls behind three other GOP hopefuls in terms of Facebook fan base size: Michele Bachmann. but Iowa political experts say a hybrid mix of networking old and new will be key in mobilizing the foot soldiers that candidates will need to perform well in the Jan. his Facebook fan base is growing as well. Our Election Tracker 2012 shows that Gingrich has added 12.2 million. Do you think Facebook and other social media will influence the results in the Iowa caucus? Des Moines Globe Gazette: Networking – New and Old – Key to Mobilizing Supporters for Candidates http://globegazette. 2011 DES MOINES . his meteoric rise in the polls is due in part to a new style of campaigning. as a new poll shows Newt Gingrich leading the pack in a key early caucus state. Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. and they follow Gingrich in the latest poll.The twists and turns in the Republican presidential primary race gave plenty for Facebookers to talk about over the weekend. 3 GOP caucuses and beyond. a “substance-based. Rise of the Right. Internet-based. Former Speaker of the U. According to Gingrich. For example. Newt Gingrich is running away from the other candidates on Twitter. Drake University instructor Chris Snider believes there is a correlation between the candidates with the strongest social media presence and those that are leading in the polls. The Iowa caucus — the first in the nation — is scheduled for January 3. . followed by Representative Ron Paul of Texas with 18 percent and Governor Mitt Romney in third place with 16 percent. it will be interesting to see how many of the business executive’s fans throw their Facebook support (and votes) to Gingrich. Snider also says that going viral is key. As Gingrich’s poll numbers rise. House of Representatives Gingrich now has the most support among the GOP in a Des Moines Register poll.555 Facebook fans total.” system. and more than 1.Advances in technology and social media have the 2012 presidential race churning at 140 characters per tweet. with more than 1. according to the new e-book. volunteer-centered.800 today alone. With Herman Cain suspending his campaign this weekend. And Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have the most Facebook fans among the GOP presidential hopefuls.html Rod Boshart December 4. With more than 201.com/news/local/networking----new-and-old---/article_8858deb0-1ecf-11e1-a88a0019bb2963f4. Former Massachusetts Governor Romney leads the GOP in Facebook fans. Facebook is key for Gingrich.S. In a Patch story out of Iowa. citing Ron Paul’s campaign as an example. with 25 percent of likely caucus goers in Iowa. "There are so many of us. "Romney ran the traditional campaign with the phone banking and the ads and the mailers. "The Huckabee people . really kind of organically and on their own. a three-time gubernatorial candidate who led Huckabee's 2008 Iowa campaign and now serves as chief of the Pleasant Hill-based Family Leader organization. While the organizational power of social networking in targeting a message and raising campaign money became painfully evident to Iowa Republicans during Barack Obama's successful 2008 presidential bid. Home-school groups helped propel George W." said Butch Ward of the Poynter Institute." said Tim Albrecht. there are so many of us who are still authentically undecided." said Steve Grubbs.S. and I include myself in that. they also saw the value of going old school during Mike Huckabee's ascent in the state's lead-off precinct caucuses four years ago . electronic tablets. deliver mass-blast emails. ambassador to Barbados who is backing Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential bid. blogs. Twitter. They did the same thing on behalf of Mike Huckabee. constitutionalists. but ultimately it was the networking of the Huckabee supporters that proved successful on caucus night. "It's completely rewriting the playbook. but so far Iowa conservatives in the Republican camp have not unified behind one candidate with one month remaining until they travel to their 1. and conduct organizational operations in the trenches are dramatically reshaping the way "real time" political races are being run in Iowa and leveling the playing field for candidates with limited financial resources.that GOP candidates like Rick Santorum. home-schooling parents.it was all networking and it wasn't necessarily social networking. laptops. Michele Bachmann.784 local precincts to start the process of selecting their 2012 presidential nominee to face Obama. a GOP activist currently serving as Gov. anti-abortion and single-issue activists. YouTube and Facebook used to communicate campaign messages. deploy damage control. "If those of us who live and breathe this every day are still authentically undecided amongst what I would consider four really . the nation would never have been introduced to Mike Huckabee. Bush in 2004. to some degree. "They are work horses." said Bob Vander Plaats. said West Des Moines Republican Mary Kramer." Anyone who signs up as a Facebook friend with a political campaign is likely to receive three or four messages a day. and evangelical conservatives who united under his presidential banner. "Like-minded people tend to flock together and they all got behind Mike Huckabee.Cutting-edge tools like smart phones." Albrecht added. Terry Branstad's press secretary who worked for Romney's Iowa campaign four years ago. a former Iowa Senate president and U. raise money. They packed phone banks to help get him elected. a Davenport political consultant who managed Republican Herman Cain's presidential campaign in Iowa up until the Georgia businessman suspended his 2012 bid Saturday afternoon.along with Tea Party activists . an average of 190 million daily "tweets" were shipped on Twitter last May. Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich hope to tap. who cited data that 132 million Americans will use Facebook this year." Those are the networks .a come-from-nowhere victory that was fueled by little-noticed networks of church Bible groups. Rick Perry and. "I would say that a combination of the social media world and the debates have changed the way voters choose their candidates. and Pew Project for the States research found that 35 percent of social networking platform users (21 percent of online adults) used the sites for political reasons in 2010. They organized themselves. "Suffice to say we can stipulate that social media has become an absolutely essential part of many campaigns. Without those networks. "When you have that kind of exposure in a tiny town of 2. Vander Plaats said the other "networking" that has and will continue to influence the political process this election cycle is the network-televised candidate debates and the role that Fox News network in particular has played in covering presidential candidates. 15. Romney and Bachmann." political candidates have technology advisors and social media coordinators to constantly monitor the Internet to identify and correct whatever negative or misinformation emerges. you don't forget that. said he believes Iowans won't make their final choices until the final week leading up to the caucuses." he said. while hurting Perry and others who have stumbled in the camera's glare. I've got to believe 80-plus percent of Iowans are still fluid. 30 years ago. but now it's a 140-character news cycle and you'd better be ready and you'd better have your people on Twitter sharing the views that you need to get out there. mailers." he said." Albrecht said.good candidates." Also. noting that he got involved in politics due to the impression he got as an elementary school student when candidates like presidential Pat Robertson. Given the interactive nature of campaigning. 3. you had a 24hour news cycle. "We've seen more up and down moves in the polls this year I think than any year that I can remember and I think it's going to be a case where we're going to see four or five more twists and turns between now and Jan. "It's not enough to just put up a web site any more because you're engaging in hand-to-hand combat in real time now via Twitter and Facebook." Eric Woolson. bloggers and others drill down into their positions and pasts. "That's what closes the deal. ultimately. real-time tweeting during live debates and the volume of information moving in the "blogosphere. Those forums have aided Gingrich. a social or civic organization. "It's gotten to the point where campaigns have multiple people monitoring the situation so they can quickly correct it.' " Albrecht said campaigning in Iowa is still about the traditional network of phone banks. Bob Dole and Vice President George Bush visited his western Iowa hometown of Ida Grove during the 1988 caucus race. This is very. a friend or a relative at a holiday event make a pitch for support trumps social media messaging." he said. "You can have all the networks in the world. nothing beats a good candidate. 3. maybe more. Whereas 20. very unusual. then it's not going to matter on caucus night. "I still get that thrill when a candidate comes through. who currently manages Bachmann's Iowa campaign and held a similar post for Huckabee four years ago. The closing month includes televised debates in Des Moines on Saturday and Sioux City on Dec. but if you're not a good candidate. and .400. "Not a lot of voters are going to say ‘I'm going to support candidate A or candidate B because I received a mass-blast email from them." he added. Albrecht said the most effective campaign tool remains personal contact." Woolson agreed that a personal appearance by a candidate or having someone you know from your church. but often the picture is blurred and several candidates have suffered from overexposure as media. Public-opinion polls have captured snapshots of the race. paid media advertising and having precinct captains selling their candidate to other caucus participants on Jan. "But. a natural supporter. if you have a shiny. "A lot of the social media is talked about and it's kind of the shiny new toy in the room. Thank her for standing up for progressive values.have made Senate hopeful and consumer protection crusader Elizabeth Warren an online poster child. brand new car but it doesn't have a good engine underneath the hood." he said. said Shah. and for showing Democrats how to fight!" MoveOn has also featured Warren in email messages linking to petitions and donation pages. a group associated with Republican strategist Karl Rove that launched around the same time. as well as Credo Action.the test of the new evolving social media and electronic tools is scored by the campaigns that utilize them most effectively." The ads should run for a few more weeks. A goal is to combat ads from Crossroads GPS. Like Brown during his much-watched run in the 2010 special election for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. She was instrumental in the establishment of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Credo. DSCC press secretary. Even before her run for office. MoveOn . "Join the DSCC and demand a stop to their false attack ads." ClickZ: Groups Make Crusader Elizabeth Warren Facebook Poster Child http://www. The firm's advocacy arm is running Facebook ads encouraging people to "Sign our thank-you note to Elizabeth Warren.and even progressive cause-based telecom service provider Credo . is also hoping to bask in Warren's warm glow." In its November 27 Facebook post about the statement. Warren's candidacy has garnered national status. a telecom firm that supports liberal causes. "Hands down. "Don't let Karl Rove's group smear Elizabeth Warren. all you have is a good-looking car but it doesn't do you much good. founded earlier this year to help guard Americans from predatory lending and other shady financial business practices.clickz. as well as in Facebook posts such as a post praising her for suggesting that successful entrepreneurs "take a hunk of [their profits] and pay forward for the next kid who comes along. So. If it's new to you. keep it going!" . who is looking to unseat Republican incumbent Scott Brown in that state. Democrats and liberals inside and outside Massachusetts are seeing the face of Warren grace Facebook ads for groups hoping to harness the momentum behind the candidate. this is one of our most widely shared pieces of the year. The DSCC ads launched a couple weeks ago. are glomming on to Warren's charm in their online ads. They link to a petition with a related message on the DSCC site. it may come as no surprise that organizations like the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. 2011 The Democratic Party. Warren became a symbol for people supporting increased government oversight of financial institutions. according to Shripal Shah.com/clickz/news/2129852/crusader-elizabeth-warren-facebook-poster-child Kate Kaye December 2. MoveOn wrote. "However. Both organizations feature Warren in Facebook ads currently running and appear to be targeting supporters of left-leaning groups and causes." state the Facebook ads. Meanwhile. . Louisiana.bases. when. roll out pilot programs offering voters the chance to do everything from marking their ballot on a tablet to finding a polling place on a smartphone app. There are also new programs on tap for the back end — in Long Beach. North Carolina is considering implementing it as well.com/news/stories/1111/69402. California. Delaware. rather than going negative. On tap for next year: secretaries of state offices are set to carve out a larger presence on Facebook and Twitter. Kansas.or potential customer . And the state’s step forward could very well spark a trend: the secretary of state’s office told POLITICO that Washington state. almost iconic figure only helps in generating a strong response from progressives and Democrats across the country. and MoveOn all want to build up their supporter . Ahead of Nov. West Virginia and Johnson County. officials say they are ready to deploy the tablets again in January. Utah and Washington — that currently or will shortly offer online voter registration. In Oregon. Oregon. 6.html Mackenzie Weinger November 30. Colorado. In 2010. where officials have previously had to do the tally by hand. Kansas have all contacted Oregon about the use of the iPads for voting. and how to vote. And in Connecticut. Idaho. Nevada. California. There are 11 states — Arizona. The Warren ad theme also represents a somewhat rare occurrence in politics in which outside groups see value in running positive messages in support of a candidate. the location of the polls and whether the results there have been reported will light up on a bingo-type board and show if the ballot boxes are securely in transit or scanned and at the dropbox center. Throughout election night.000 ballots every fifteen minutes.S. said Brennan Center for Justice’s Voting Technology Project director Lawrence Norden and U. POLITICO: New Voting Tech Innovations for 2012 http://www. and allow expanded online voting for some in the military or living overseas. where disabled residents used iPads to cast ballots during a pilot test for the special election earlier this month.000 a piece — will likely be used in 2012 and allow the state to read and count 10. a kind of high-tech barcode. high-speed scanners — at about $100. . Calif. But for most voters around the country. Election Assistance Commission spokesperson Jeannie Layson. 2011 Election officials are going high-tech for the 2012 election season — from iPads to online voting to a social media blitz like never before. Indiana. states are making innovative changes to make it easier to cast ballots and get information about where. Credo. The new scanners would mean a big change for the state. they’ll encounter the newest innovations in the voting world before even heading to the polls in 2012. Secretary of State Denise Merrill said. And the fact that she is a national. where election officials must contend with a stringent post-election audit. for example. town by town.politico. City of Long Beach clerk Larry Herrera said.Why Warren? For one. the DSCC. eight states provided the service to all their voters. officials will track the city’s polls and their contents with radio frequency identification chips. as election officials say it will cut down on problems with handwriting and last-minute registrations that miss the mail-in deadline. The option is slowly picking up steam. Pew Center on the States’ senior associate Matthew Morse said the center has one major goal in particular with its updated app — they plan to “make it a one stop shop for voting” in 2012 with links to states’ online registration portals and other information people will need to know how to get to the polls and vote. a multilingual polling place locator. On the new write-in ballot tool. will likely benefit voters who might have limited access to information on all the candidates. and maybe even give voting that elusive cool factor that could help increase participation. “This tool could be particularly useful in enfranchising them in the 2012 election. West Virginia and Washington state have so far taken the biggest leaps forward in online voting.” Washington co-director of elections Shane Hamlin told POLITICO. as well as those with bad handwriting.” Ertel said. he’ll be designing his own Facebook ads to reach residents living in the right geographic area and those that update their status with key words that could likely mean they are qualified voters for the county. Pew’s director of election initiatives David Becker said. what district they’re in.And even more states are turning to the Internet to bombard potential voters with information on Facebook. especially those overseas. This election season. casting a ballot on the Internet is an idea still rife with controversy. to know who their congressperson is. By joining up on social media sites — 21 secretaries of state offices have Facebook pages and close to 30 are now on Twitter — officials say they’re hoping to spread the word on important dates and deadlines. The app currently offers information on how to register to vote and where to find polling places. “Facebook is looking for a way to link in or tie in our online voter registration service with Facebook and use the advantages Facebook offers to get the social aspect of registering to vote and telling friends they registered to vote online. This new process. it’s going to be particularly difficult for people. In Washington — where the elections office has long partnered with Microsoft.” Becker told POLITICO.” For Seminole County. whose headquarters is located in the state — Facebook is also joining in to boost the state’s already high-tech elections operation. West Virginia ran a pilot program in 2010 allowing some military and overseas .” While online voter registration looks set to be the next big thing in elections. and an expansion of their existing smartphone app to make it available on more platforms. Next year. “And with the redistricting. “Microsoft is doing the tech work of developing the connection between our online registration tool and Facebook. overseas voters will receive a PDF with a drop-down menu prepopulating their ballot with all the available candidates and offices. Florida’s supervisor of elections Mike Ertel said Facebook offers a new way to target voters and get information out. And 35 states have partnered with Pew Center on the States to use the tools the center and its partners are building and developing to pump up voter technology for 2012. users will likely be able to access Washington state’s online voter registration tool through a tab on the popular social networking site. The three main tools Pew is rolling out next year are an app to help military and overseas voters fill out their Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot. but it doesn’t account for all of the states signed on to the project or work on any other platform but the iPhone. They’re planning to expand the app’s functionality to work with other platforms and add in all the details from the new states that recently joined Pew. smartphone apps and Twitter. “It’s target marketing on steroids. “We got through the legislature in this last session a bill that would allow us to not only email ballots — which we have been doing since the 90s — but also allow military and overseas citizens to return their ballots by email. Election watchers particularly cite the2010 internet-based voting test in Washington.” Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed said. “We would never suggest electronic mail because email’s not really secure. as we have a large military population in the state. .S. Depending on the jurisdiction.000 voters abroad to do so in 2012.” As more states work to comply with the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act of 2009 — a law that attempts to make voting easier and quicker by sending blank ballots overseas electronically — election experts say voters in the future may confront a very different voting experience than popping into a poll booth. states and businesses are already delving into its other prospects as the next frontier in voting innovation. said she’s confident that in 2013 and beyond there will be a dramatic adoption of software-based voting. The endorsement comes more than 30 days ahead of the New Hampshire presidential primary. Lori Steele of Everyone Counts.” Steele said. Among those who could be voting abroad in the future is Tennant’s husband. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich has taken to Facebook to defend and promote his record in Congress following a major endorsement yesterday by the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper. in the cases of those who were looking for most secure way. hacking and other technology risks. 2011 Former Speaker of the U. the company behind both West Virginia’s online pilot project and Oregon’s iPad voting technology. who is currently on active duty in Afghanistan with the Navy. submit it through our electronic ballot return system that would encrypt the ballot and keep it secure until it was ready to be downloaded and counted.” Alexander Shvartsman of the University of Connecticut Center for Voting Technology Research added. D. Or. you would either print it and mail it back or email it or fax it back. state Sen. as a major impediment to making the jump in the near future: the system was completely hacked within 36 hours and officials promptly scrapped the whole program.” For West Virginia’s Secretary of State Natalie Tennant. the push for online voting for military servicemembers is personal. “I would not recommend that for any political election where the outcome is important. “It’s kind of the wild west out there.C.voters to test out returning ballots online and Washington is set to permit its roughly 52. depending on the law. experts told POLITICO..com/newt-gingrich-turns-to-facebook-after-endorsement_b68373 Jennifer Moire November 28. citing concerns with security. “Going to electronic voting over the Internet is an inherently risky proposition. Erik Wells. “We’re enthused about it. just in individual contact between them and their county office. “The states trying to provide secure and accessible electronic ballots will be using systems such as ours.” While that technology may not be ready just yet for its big debut. Online voting won’t be available to most citizens anytime soon.” elections expert and MIT professor Charles Stewart said. All Facebook: Newt Gingrich Turns to Facebook After Endorsement http://allfacebook. numbering more than 375. An Iowa poll out today shows Cain.500 new fans in the last seven days. The Republican hopefuls still can’t lay a glove on President Barack Obama‘s solid Facebook showing.000 fans in the past week. following the recent GOP presidential primary debate on foreign policy. Gingrich and Paul all in a four-way tie for first.com/facebook-elections-2_b67000 Jennifer Moire November 15. for a grand total of more than 170.Through Facebook. are reflected in a steady rise in his Facebook fan base.500 new fans each day in the past week.000 likes on his page.700 new fans in the past week.000 fans to just 2.000 daily fans. Cain’s Facebook fan base has dropped from a high of 7. . Gingrich has a platform to share the details of his 21st Century Contract for America. He has averaged about 1. the endorsement by New Hampshire’s only statewide newspaper. While Herman Cain still has a much larger Facebook fan base. According to our 2012 Election Tracker. and almost 1. According to our Election Tracker.500 in the past 24 hours. and almost 13. the GOP candidates with strong Facebook showings still appear to be polling well. and he has added nearly 100. All four candidates still have a strong overall Facebook fan base. including a “Wayin Debates” section. along with Gingrich’s recent debate performances. 2011 The shuffling of the leaderboard in the Republican presidential primary race continues to affect the candidates’ popularity on Facebook. his momentum on Facebook appears to be stalling given the drop in new fans he is accumulating each day. Gingrich has also added new applications to his Facebook page in the last week. His gain may come at the collapse of former pizza company executive Herman Cain.000. former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is doubling his daily number of new Facebook fans. following a pair of strong debate showings last week. President Obama’s campaign fan page has more than 24 million likes. Romney. The former speaker has added nearly 12. What do these results tell us in terms of predicting the election that is one year away? Nothing official. Here’s the breakdown: Gingrich has had more than 8. Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich have all held the top spot in overall fan page growth at some point in the past 10 days.000 today alone. Do you think the GOP presidential candidates are leveraging Facebook effectively? All Facebook: GOP Contender Newt Gingrich Doubles Facebook Fans http://allfacebook. However. While Mitt Romney leads in overall fans among the GOP presidential contenders. a revised version of the famous Contract for America that he drafted when the Republicans took over the House of Representatives and he was elected Speaker in 1994. as his candidacy is plagued by allegations of sexual harassment and a bumbling debate reply on Libya. the key demographic of 18-29 year olds.and to act. a media darling today may be road kill tomorrow. events and opinions focused on what the specific audience wants to hear. but content that recipients will likely want to circulate peer-topeer. supporters want to help -. They'll be more likely to "share" links to content explicitly designed for them. . That's 5% more than among millennials -. Social media is all about word of mouth. only about a third of sharing is happening on Twitter and Facebook. Drive Discussion Campaigns are long roads with many stages and twists. Calls to action should be part of the package.Which candidate are you supporting on Facebook? AdAge: Elections Will Turn on Which Candidates Use Social Sharing Most Effectively http://m. but targeted communications that can be messaged instantly. It means engaging communities of likely supporters in conversations across the Web -.or don't share. campaigns should avoid spray-andpray advertising. according to the Associated Press. as against only 18 percent of 18-29 yearolds. We share things that we have a vested interest in. what will politicians do with these tools? How will President Obama capitalize on the fact that 23 million-plus people "like" his Facebook page? How will Mitt Romney reach new voters via his more than 93. political campaigns can spread not only targeted ads. 2011 Eighty percent of House and Senate members have social-media accounts. using sophisticated ad-network tools to see how much of it they share -. are personal and are relevant to our friends. It's much more efficient to track and capitalize on social interactions as they are happening. but can they use them effectively? The most successful candidates will use social-media sharing at every step of their campaigns. This is not just about the swapping of virtual campaign buttons on Facebook. This campaign cycle will not be about clicks. It is vital to use the entire open Web. It's key to share only the most relevant information with each constituent group. the question is.000 Twitter followers? Politicians have the tools in place. Step One: Build a Constituency By using today's sophisticated ad networks to understand early supporters' online sharing patterns.com/article?articleSection=digitalnext&articleSectionName=DigitalNext&articleid=http%3A% 2F%2Fadage.adage. With a presidential election approaching next year. based on real-time information.com%2Fdigitalnext%2Fpost%3Farticle_id%3D230816 Burbaksh Chahal November 4. Congress has adopted Twitter far more widely than any other group recently surveyed by Pew Research: 81 percent of the House and Senate's 433 members use the platform.on every possible device. They can track in real time how recipients react to their news and that of their competitors. Candidates need to micro-target their base via a steady drumbeat of news. Even more surprising. Step Two: Create Momentum. which the Obama campaign promoted in 2008. While hyperlinking to everything and anything can help spread the word. for example. product .com/blog-entry/backchannel-%E2%80%94-frictionless-grassroots-part-1 Chuck DeFeo November 3. Other sites like Yahoo News reader have embedded this Facebook functionality and experience into their website. Zuckerberg discussed at a minimal level the impact this could have on several media industries such as music. the inquisitiveness of marketers evaluating the potential.. it is posted to my timeline. ticker.” there was the usual variety of reactions that tend to happen with Facebook product announcements – from the giddiness of a shiny new toy. conscious choice to “Like” something) we will be publicly endorsing an artist. The scope of communication expands once again and just as importantly the depth of commitment to that product or cause is going to be better measured. continually engaging with that brand and . Now with our actions (not just our active. Part 1 http://techpresident.with tweeters checking in from various polling stations. etc. news. “Liking” a brand page is one level of support. Now or Never Studies show that both major political parties' use of social media is neck-and-neck.who we are as individuals or possibly who we would like people to see us as is becoming more accessible. such as a sharing option. This sharing on Facebook can happen in the news feed. Consumers want information they can easily share and view without going somewhere else -– all from within an ad. a television show. This level of transparency and connectivity is a marketer’s and a grassroots organizer’s dream come true. As Facebook continues to propel us into a society of personal sharers -. displayed to my “friends” who are also using the app that I read that article and an aggregate of the articles I read is placed in the newsfeed for my Facebook “friends” to see.. Facebook and the app they are using can share an individual’s actions with their “friends” on Facebook in real time or in aggregate at a later time.. books. So what is “frictionless sharing”? Simply put.the-vote display ads. and candidate or cause. 2011 When Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook is actively using the open graph to encourage a new form of “frictionless sharing. Which will execute better and emerge as the people's choice will undoubtedly come down to which campaign understands sharing best. Tech President: The Frictionless Grassroots. People don't click unless they're given a strong reason to do so.But a word of warning: don't expect voters to automatically click on ads. and the usual outrage of privacy advocates. The social web can help get the vote out in ways never before possible -. Step Three: The Home Stretch Calls to action are most important in a campaign's final days and hours. movies. but I have yet to read a discussion of what this could mean for grassroots activism – around a cause or a candidate. or interactive get-out. or notifications. television. Phone banking and street-sign waving can't compete with the scale of that type of sharing. An example that was rolled out with Facebook’s announcement is the Washington Post’s social reader that is an app inside Facebook. after initial permission is given by an individual. When I read an article inside the Post’s Facebook app. Why does it represent that level of disruption? Because it returns us to the social and emotional experience that for the decades prior to earbuds was so important to the music industry: real-time sharing and a shared music experience among friends. For those paying attention it represents an important opportunity for the 2012 election cycle.a “recommendation from people (they) know. Associated Press: Social Media Companies ‘Friend’ Politics http://usatoday30. It is an opportunity for your best possible surrogates to be on message. If Spotify users cotton to using its Facebook app because it makes their music experience social in a better way. What is the potential for bringing a similar (not the same but similar) shared social and emotional experience that comes with involvement in a candidate or cause? Seeing a friend listening to a candidate speech. the campaign that successfully introduces itself most frequently and effectively but from a better starting point of trust through frictionless sharing experiences through Facebook will be the frontrunner in the use of digital media and most likely leading in the polls as well. Seventy-six percent trust -. a 73-point differential in favor of word-of-mouth marketing.18% “completely trust” -. spreading your message effortlessly and continuously. as Ogilvy’s John Bell points out. Search engine text ads. hosting debates and sponsoring presidential town halls while remaining indispensable tools for candidates looking to connect with voters in the digital sphere. watching an online video. Spotify’s relationship with Facebook has the potential to disrupt the music industry as much as the launch of the iPod and iTunes had roughly a decade ago. feel free to share this and start the discussion on what you think it could like and who is best positioned in 2012 to take advantage of open graph.usatoday. there is still an important role for advertising as it is the neutral point where companies (or causes) “introduce ourselves. and how that might intensify your friends’ interest in that candidate as a result. signing a petition—all seamlessly. 2011 NEW YORK – Social media companies have "friended" the 2012 presidential contest at a level almost unimaginable just four years ago. Now. the most common form of reaching people who may be interested in your campaign or cause have a 21% level of trust.” In 2012. Only with Facebook it will become the serendipity of seeing a friend listening to a song and choosing to listen/download that song as a result instead of sitting next each other or sharing a bootleg CD. . ” Only 3% have any level of “distrust” from what is recommended by people they know. In my next post. Nielsen conducted a study that included questions on the level of trust consumers have in the sources of marketing messages they receive. Someone not quite paying attention may ask: Why would you want frictionless? Politics is an industry built on friction and contrast.allowing your engagement to be shared continuously to your Facebook “friends” will demonstrate a person’s passion and level of commitment to that brand. I will discuss what a frictionless campaign could look like and what the potential is for voter engagement at various levels.com/tech/news/story/2011-10-15/social-media-politics/50757208/1 Beth Fouhy October 13. In the meantime. older platforms like iTunes may well be in trouble. Imagine an Obama or Republican candidate Facebook app that lets your friends know when you’re interacting with the candidate’s website or in a Facebook app (like the Washington Post’s social reader and others) taking an action. formed a PAC this month to make contributions to candidates.000 to candidates in 2010. patent and regulatory issues. Paid political advertising on Google. too. Ted Kennedy. worked for then-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers under President Bill Clinton. like which one has the most video views. a journalism professor at the University of Minnesota who studies politics and the Internet. almost like a television series. "The color of the site is blue. That figure is small compared to other media companies of its size. The company is stocked with political veterans. form political action committees and nurture their relationships with lawmakers whose policy decisions affect the companies' bottom line. by far the largest and most influential of the online social networks. which studies political money and influence. The company also spent $550. like Facebook. But their stepped-up political presence comes as those companies and others hire lobbyists. "When they appear to be socially active and engaged in democracy." spokesman Jake Parrillo said. Ramya Raghavan.Giants like Facebook and Google cast their involvement as civic engagement. Facebook's chief operating officer. already popular in 2008.000 for 21 lobbyists in the first half of this year to help it navigate potential legislative battles over privacy. saying they are eager to help facilitate the national political conversation and encourage people to vote. the leading Internet search company. the popular video sharing site owned by Google. Facebook has boosted its visibility in the presidential contest. but well on its way to double the $350. Google. according to the Center for Responsive Politics. has become a prominent player in the presidential race. they develop a vast well of good will with the political elites who have the ability to make or break them in the future. has spent $3. The company this week launched a dedicated politics channel where users can watch campaign-related videos and compare candidates' statistics. does not want to be viewed as partisan. .000 it spent in all of 2010. Sheryl Sandberg.5 million on lobbying so far this year while its PAC contributed $345. cohosting a GOP primary debate with Fox News in September and planning another with public television and the Des Moines Register before the Iowa caucuses. The company also recently hired Joel Kaplan. "Our products aren't political. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg interviewed Obama at the company's Silicon Valley headquarters last April." said Heather LaMarre. said viewers can expect candidates to do more live streaming of campaign events on the site and posting episodic content. Google. YouTube. to head its public policy office in Washington. has also boosted its political profile. but the color of the company is definitely purple. news and politics manager at YouTube. "The exposure — being branded as 'the' place to go for social media — has huge economic consequences for these companies. It." Facebook. a former domestic policy adviser to Republican President George W. subscribers and shares. surged in 2010 after Republican Scott Brown's strategic use of Google ads helped fuel his upset victory in a special election to replace the late Democratic Sen. At the same time. it's about connecting voters to information. Showcasing both sides of the political divide has helped Facebook stress its neutrality. Bush." Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said. The company is scheduled to co-host a Republican primary debate in New Hampshire with NBC's Meet the Press show days before that state's first in the nation primary. In your news feed. we (heart) data. . the primary reason is cultural relevance. to be the primary place where people talk about politics.engagedc. Adam Sharp. We think that Big Data harnessed from the social web can oftentimes better tell us what’s happening in real time than a traditional opinion poll.Twitter. Twitter's political influence was all but cemented in July when Obama sat for a live Twitter town hall at the White House." She added. who recently worked as senior counsel to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. LaMarre of the University of Minnesota noted that a presidential visit to Twitter or Republicans participating in a Facebook-sponsored debate was essentially "picking winners and losers in the industry." Engage: Tracking the Most Talked About Candidates on Facebook http://www. who’s up and who’s down. The company recently hired Colin Crowell. which will appear in users' Twitter feeds with a purple icon that includes information about who purchased the ad." Sam Weston. Former New York Democratic Rep. after sending a sexually suggestive photo to a woman using the site. Anthony Weiner even saw his career unravel over Twitter. a digital communications specialist who has worked in Democratic campaigns. they're the popular sites and it's where the people are now. "It's not intentional. He began by tweeting a question — "In order to reduce the deficit. Obama and all the GOP presidential candidates have Twitter accounts. which seems to yield a new frontrunner every week. Twitter recently began to accept paid political advertising. Twitter does not lobby yet or have a PAC. has worked with members of Congress to use Twitter more effectively.com/2011/10/12/tracking-the-most-talked-about-candidates-on-facebook/ Patrick Ruffini October 12. There’s no better test of this than the Republican presidential primary. what costs would you cut and what investments would you keep?" and replied to questions submitted to him through the site. Facebook announced the release of its “People Talking About” metric. politicians reinforce these companies as institutions. "For all these companies. Facebook will tell you how many people are talking about that topic across the entire site — and that’s regardless of whether these people like the given page. For any Facebook page or topic. based on the world’s biggest platforms for real-time conversation? Last week. 2011 At Engage. barely a player in the 2008 campaign." Weston said. By partnering with the big ones. has become a go-to digital hub for political conversation in 140-character bursts. It makes sense for them as they pursue their own agenda. as do 85 senators and at least 360 House members. Wouldn’t it be great to tell in real time. to run its global public policy division. "This will be one of the most discussed topics of the next year. that day. said social network sites were interested in presidential politics as much for the coolness factor as for business reasons. you may have seen stories aggregating your friends’ conversation around hot topics like Steve Jobs or the Occupy Wall Street protests. but has begun to ramp up its political and policy presence in Washington. But there are hundreds of social networking sites out there. a former Democratic staffer on Capitol Hill. have only been building national Facebook audiences for a few months. combined with 199. or your friend. a political candidate who is saying everything they can to get elected. a page visitor (fan or not) is recommending that content to their own friends. often above all others. Right now. Former frontrunner Rick Perry languishing at around one seventh of Herman Cain’s current buzz is already not a great sign for his campaign.189 million Facebook fans and Rick Perry only has 167. commenting. Think about it this way: who are you more likely to believe. He’s followed by Mitt Romney. Perry and Cain. Herman Cain far and away leads the field in Facebook buzz. and these aren’t always the highest vote getters.034 for the Republican field in total. There are two key considerations that we must make to make a proper comparison between these two candidates’ Facebook presence.060 fans that Romney is more successful on Facebook than Perry. Tech President: Don’t Confuse Number of Facebook Fans with Success: Mitt Romney. audience engagement. who you trust because he/she is like you. 2011 It would be a serious mistake to think that just because Mitt Romney has 1. focusing on the size of the audience ignores the most important social networking metric. with his 9-9-9 plan and his recent surge in the polls. That means he has been building a national audience for four years. We think that the best way to draw useful conclusions from this is to look at trends as well as the absolute numbers — and these trends will become more evident over time. because you know them. they send an endorsement of that candidate to their friends via their newsfeed. fueled by enormous press coverage during his 2008 campaign. the surging Herman Cain has 255. who’s also been on the rise — especially with his endorsement by Chris Christie. Romney has been building his Facebook presence since he launched his last presidential bid in 2008. If Cain were to fall below his previous performance while other candidates gained. Second. By liking. but it has a ways to go before it rivals the guy they’re going after: Barack Obama. leads. A quick note: Any measure of Internet buzz — be it tweets.The results for the Republican candidates for President are revealing. First. with nearly 80. the stark difference in the number of fans each has is directly the result of time. and we plan to track them in this public Google Spreadsheet every day through the primaries. or searches — will reward the most controversial and talked about public figures. that would be a sign of trouble.315 fans. with a total of 443. on the other hand.882 Facebook users talking about him currently. We’ll periodically post our analysis of what the numbers mean to Twitter and Facebook. commenting or sharing content on a candidate's page).129.000 people talking about him daily. Meanwhile. and why Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul place strongly. because they . Facebook posts. And Facebook buzz surrounding the entire field of candidates seems to be slowly but surely picking up. Herman Cain and Rick Perry http://techpresident. This peer to peer referral is far more influential than any candidate to voter messaging because people trust their friends. That’s probably why Cain. or sharing content from a candidates page.com/blog-entry/dont-confuse-number-facebook-fans-success-mitt-romney-hermancain-and-rick-perry Alan Rosenblatt October 11. Why? Because each time a fan engages with a candidate on Facebook (by liking. but that buzz has far less substance to it. This conversation about a candidate among friends is a significant departure from the historical patterns of voter engagement in electoral campaigns. Cain outperforms Perry and Romney generating likes on his wall. it is very likely that Perry and Cain will catch up to Romney in total fan/page likes. I have liked a politician’s page and quickly received questions on my wall asking me why I liked them. Cain and Romney are having on Facebook. On many occasions. and Cain does even better. more interestingly.000-6.000 likes per post. By June of 2008. priming the conversation pump. Romney gets 500-6. generally.000 likes per post and Cain get 1. but there is a far greater chance that the comment will start a conversation among the commenter and his/her friends. Perry has a slight edge in likes per post over Romney. But that has changed. we should expect Perry and Cain to generate many times the level of engagement than Romney. most voters waited until the last two weeks before an election to consider their options. They are sharing his messages with them and discussing them. While not as conversation provoking as comments or shares. Perry gets over 1. 46% of Americans had already used the Internet to learn about the candidates. Cain’s fans are generating significantly more buzz than either of his top contenders. low-cost hits that alert the friends of the fans liking the candidate. Cain’s wall gets surprisingly few comments compared to the other candidates and.000 comments on wall posts. but also in absolute terms. Perry buries Romney. In order to truly assess the level of success Perry. albeit qualitatively different from each other’s. Rick Perry is outperforming Mitt Romney in terms of engagement (likes and comments) and the extended reach that produces.000+ in one instance in September). likes are akin to opening volleys.000 (or 3.000-12. When that happens. Romney rarely gets more than a 1. according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. There may be a slight chance that the candidate replies directly to the commenter. if we extrapolate their current performance numbers.000 likes on his posts.000 comments on a post. with a rare flare-up to 1. 160. It’s like Cain’s fans are really good at clicking buttons. extrapolating his current performance levels. At some point. Meanwhile. far more than they are opening a conversation with the candidate. This creates a much deeper level of political engagement within the electorate. Despite having significantly fewer fans. but they are talking about him with their friends. specifically. we clearly see that not only fan for fan. Prior to the rise of the Internet. Americans are also talking with each other about the candidates. . let’s dive into what their fans are doing on their pages. we can quickly see that Cain and Perry's reach far exceeds the number of fans who like their page. Now. but lags considerably on comments.000 comments on every post and frequently exceeds 3.aren’t a politician. far in advance of traditional timelines. Perry’s fans are generating a lot more conversation than Romney’s. compared to the number of likes he gets. As a result. but not so interested in writing down their ideas. Most are in the 300-800 comment range. When it comes to comments on posts. Simply scanning the wall posts on their two pages shows that Perry consistently gets 2. with dramatic increases in the use of social networks like Facebook and Twitter. though. These likes are quick.000 Perry fans are not just discovering who he is. and social networks. If we look at the numbers. When we consider that the average Facebook user has 130 fans. When people post comments to or share candidate’s wall posts on Facebook they are opening up a conversation with their friends. legislative caucuses would summon as many supporters as they could to sit in front of a computer running VAN's voter file software. (They can also type names in one at a time. but from their own politically active friends. As campaigns become more savvy about their data on supporters and voters. The union-backed We Are Ohio campaign. the tool then presents the user with each voter's phone number and a script. told me Monday. This is already leading to new tools. accessible via a web interface. organizing against changed collective bargaining laws in Ohio. Tech President: How Campaigns Use of Facebook Data Might Change the 2012 Election http://techpresident. this tool is called the "friends and family program" — and it taps into the personal connections of thousands of supporters. they won't be random. they are also becoming more and more sophisticated in the way they plan voter contact. uses a tool built by NGP VAN that serves as a prime example of this kind of strategy. 'you've got to get everybody you know to come and do this thing. can build a list from among their Facebook friends by logging in with their account. then separate companies. But it's also a digital version of an analog tactic that's been in place for years. "Everybody likes telling you how many people they know. Users who visit the tool. Stu Trevelyan. . "In key legislative races they'd tell the candidate. their focus on total number of fans/page likes misses the primary point of social networks: getting your fans to spread the messages of your campaign and creating conversations and buzz that are driven by YOUR trusted messengers. If those messages come. that don't just encourage users to spread the message of a campaign — they help each supporter make a data-driven decision about who to contact. At We Are Ohio. Sullivan told me that in Iowa in 2006.'" Sullivan told me. Americans may experience the 2012 presidential election through precisely targeted phone calls. When the user has a list of the right kinds of people to call. NGP VAN's chief executive officer. she said. tweets and Facebook posts — messages not from the candidates themselves. This combines the kind of do-it-yourself action that defined the Obama 2008 campaign — in which both NGP and VAN. limited in some sense by Facebook's restrictions on which data about users that applications can keep and how long the data can be stored.So. with their friend's name and return address." This takes that idea and digitizes the entire process. "We know that messages coming from your friends or your family are more powerful. and VAN founder Mark Sullivan told me last week. and each eligible voter they identified would get a card addressed to them. visits. a spokeswoman for We Are Ohio.) As they identify people they'd be willing to reach out to. 2011 More than in any other race to date. played a role — with the data-powered strategy that may become the defining characteristic of Obama 2012. The NGP VAN tool is just a starting point. with Facebook integration for good measure. like one built by NGP VAN and used in an ongoing labor campaign." Melissa Fazekas. the tool checks an NGP VAN voter database for an existing record of that person's name. The volunteers would check as many names as they could think of against the voter database. while we expect to see lots of stories comparing the three GOP frontrunners on social media that point out important similarities and differences (like this one). phone number and voting status.com/blog-entry/how-campaigns-use-facebook-data-might-change-2012-election Nick Judd October 10. It's a new idea. But on the micro scale. for instance. It's a given that people are more likely to listen when they're contacted by a friend." The same system could ask different portions of an email list to do different things with their friends — knock on their doors. what's new here is the level of social intelligence going into what the campaign is asking the volunteer to do. and its use in the Ohio campaign to restore collective bargaining rights is an early experiment. how often they talk online. and other candidates would have to do the same if they hoped to compete: For a campaign that tapped the volunteer energies of millions of people in 2008 and appears to need all the help it can get in 2012. and it marks the early appearance in the field of a new strategy — merging campaign data with the data each supporter keeps about their contacts. and it's unclear yet if there will be a winning formula for putting it into practice. Trevelyan was focused on NGP VAN's software as part of "the mechanical turkization of politics" — but that's a trend that has been burgeoning on the right and the left for years. Again. these kinds of fine-grained technologies could make a key difference. what they talk about. it's just now being tested out. While the Republican field (and bloggers and the press) has been focused on how their candidates are doing with social networking. he's more interested in the way Obama's data scientists may be determining where the campaign puts boots on the ground. we'll have a better idea of how it might be used in the 2012 campaigns. Writing for CNN. Earlier this year. Politico's Michelle Quinn called me to ask about a new tool Votizen built for acting San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's campaign. This strategy is already starting to spread. even when they go to the same events. stored away in places like Facebook profiles — that I expect we'll be seeing more of in the future. Integrate that into the kind of data alchemy that's already going on and it has the potential to change the way campaigns work — imagine if those precisely placed campaign door-knock teams were built such that each member was going to be visiting some people they already knew. any campaign volunteer or staffer with Facebook on their phone is carrying around a treasure trove of data about their contacts: Almost all of their friends. techPresident editor Micah Sifry observed in a piece that ran on Sunday that President Barack Obama's re-election campaign will be focused on data. Obama's campaign operatives are devising a new kind of social intelligence that will help drive campaign resources where they are most needed.Sullivan says the tool is primarily interesting as "a really strong foundation for a system of delivering Internetbased tasks to groups of users. But it isn't the only example of campaign software developers starting to think about what could happen when campaigns integrate the data available to them. Neither Sullivan or Trevelyan was ready to say that this tool would reappear in its present form on the 2012 campaign trail. using social media in this context is about increasing the number of those personal interactions on a campaign's behalf. Facebook's role as a data source is not quite what Micah is focused on. for instance. based on a quick check of their Facebook profiles. And it puts into focus one aspect of an abstract principle we've already spotted. After ballot initiative votes are tallied for Ohio's November elections. In our recent conversation. which does more or less exactly the same thing that the NGP VAN tool does. . But the idea is tremendously interesting. his team is way ahead of the Republican pack. in real time. Users of the Obama 2012 . but when it comes to the modern mechanics of identifying. number of doors knocked -. gender. He tweeted a link to the ad. Later in the conversation. mathematicians. ran an unusual listing in its jobs section. she added. there is only one campaign that is doing cutting-edge work with data.com/2011/10/09/tech/innovation/obama-data-crunching-election/ Micah Sifry October 9. So far in the presidential election of 2012. data mining experts. an online newsite focused on data mining and analytics software. "We are a multi-disciplinary team of statisticians. to join our department through November 2012 at our Chicago Headquarters. of We Are Ohio. current city. they are sharing their list of friends and information those friends share. . Modeled on Facebook.all striving for a single goal: re-electing President Obama. religion and political views.Are You In? app are not only giving the campaign personal data like their name. told me." CNN: How Obama’s Data-Crunching Prowess May Get Him Re-Elected http://www. it has a Facebook app that is scooping up all kinds of juicy facts about his supporters." The job listing caught the attention of Alex Lundry. general analysts and organizers . Inside the Obama operation. the Obama campaign not only has a Facebook page with 23 million "likes" (roughly 10 times the total of all the Republicans running).com. connecting with and mobilizing voters. like their birthday. 2011 (CNN) -. how people are doing against all kinds of metrics. "We are looking for Predictive Modeling/Data Mining Scientists and Analysts. KDNuggets. As Facebook is now offering the geo-targeting of ads down to ZIP code." Fazekas." read the ad.cnn. knocking on doors. Obama may be struggling in the polls and even losing support among his core boosters. his staff members are using a powerful social networking tool called NationalField.In July. a Republican data-mining expert at TargetPoint Consulting. the tool connects all levels of staff to the information they are gathering as they work on tasks like signing up volunteers. religion and political views. "the first time you ever really use something you have to work out the kinks. Facebook apps and other tools Alone among the major candidates running for president. "The Obama campaign is taking #bigdata seriously.and see. commenting. identifying likely voters and dealing with problems."It's a new technology that's never really been implemented before. this kind of fine-grained information is invaluable. birthday. software developers. as well as the challenge of integrating voter information with the complex internal workings of a national campaign. Managers can set goals for field organizers -. which enables everyone to share what they are working on. predictive modelers. what about the GOP candidates?" The question almost answers itself. current city. at both the senior and junior level.number of calls made. these kinds of fine-grained technologies could make a key difference. NationalField runs on a hierarchical social graph: Higher-level staff get a broader view of the state and local work below them. His firm. but it's incredibly hard to implement. he argues.In additional to all the hard data. or master data management." Most political campaigns tend to rely on consultants to carry out part or all of these functions. so people can see where successes are happening or challenges brewing. "To have political talking to finance and finance talking to field. Like Lundry. which has grown to 150. Avila's flagship project is a conservative social-networking hub called Freedom Connector. users can share qualitative information: what points or themes worked for them in a one-on-one conversation with voters. And unlike an open social network. built Ron Paul's 2008 Web operation and works closely with the tea party movement. "They have to stop seeing a website as a piece of direct mail that people will receive. resulting in even greater obstacles to sharing information.000 members in a matter of months by giving right-wing activists tools to organize local meetings and discussions. "They have to see a website as the equivalent of a campaign office in Iowa. for example. but actually. For a campaign that tapped the volunteer energies of millions of people in 2008 and appears to need all the help it can get in 2012. This year. connecting and synchronizing the data a campaign collects from its field operation. Terra Eclipse." "Downs" and "Solutions" are colorcoded. "If you can make that initial response a phone call from someone in their town or a neighbor." And campaigns need to know how to take quick and well-targeted action to respond to every expression of interest they may get online. "Ups." Power of personal connections Without good data management. While the Republican field (and bloggers and the press) has been focused on how their candidates are doing with social networking. Avila doesn't think any of the Republican presidential campaigns fully understand the power of data today.it sounds easy." Lundry said." he said. where everyone is equal. it did some work on Tim Pawlenty's website until that campaign folded. . asking them to come to a county fair tomorrow. fundraising operation and Web operation isn't a trivial task. Simply sending a generic e-mail reply isn't enough. "The holy grail of data analysis is data harmonization. because voter interest in politicians is fickle. and data is flowing back and forth and informing the actions of each other -. the different legs of a national campaign can trip over each other. one that is open 24/7. Republican technology consultant Martin Avila is worried. 'Data harmonization' It all sounds like common sense. that's much more powerful. Obama's campaign operatives are devising a new kind of social intelligence that will help drive campaign resources where they are most needed. To be clear. "The ability to connect to people on a one-to-one basis.huffingtonpost. Seventy thousand myBO members had used the site to conduct their own personalized fundraising campaigns. is still too much shaped by pre-Internet politicking using broadcast advertising. The clock is ticking and the learning curve has never been steeper. At its annual F8 developer conference last week. and his following on Twitter now stands at 10 million. is way more powerful than that. His base on Facebook has soared nearly six times from the 4 million he had on Election Day. enthusiasm for Obama has waned. it had amassed 13 million supporter e-mail addresses. So even if Obama isn't drawing millions of people off their sofas to rally to his side on their own in 2012. Since 2008. dwarfing the Republican field. there will be more than 240 million Americans online. and encourage them to connect with one another." Lundry said. subscribers and followers. . while not political in nature. By the end of the election." the notion that spur-of-the-moment discovery and sharing shapes online experiences. presidential candidates will need to add a few zeros to previous numbers. according to Avila. friends. However. there was no official mention of 2012 or any one political campaign at last week's conference.html Sean Donahue September 28. his team has a huge amount of raw data to work with as they build his re-election machine. is set to redefine how candidates interact with voters. the move by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to make Facebook far more social through features that support "real-time serendipity. In 2012. we may come to see Obama's investment in predictive modelers and data scientists as the key to victory. where a few percentage points change in turnout in a few key states making all the difference. To remain competitive. "Not many on the Republican side know how to technically accomplish that. If the 2012 election comes down to a battle of inches. the social-networking pioneer cemented the most influential organizing force in modern political history: the degree to which candidates in next year's election will be required to utilize the full social Web to win the hearts and minds of voters.com." How powerful? The 2008 Obama campaign offered an early glimpse of the potential of data-driven politics. But. Facebook's latest changes."One hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing quite often in campaigns. Huffington Post: Why 2012 is Shaping Up to be the ‘Verb’ Election http://www. "With master data management across a campaign.000 Twitter followers by election day. Barack Obama amassed more than 100. he adds. collected nearly 4 million individual donations and tallied about 2 million registered users on my. are symbolic of how our world is changing. 2011 Verbs have become powerful enough to shape the presidential race. you can see how often you're talking to a person" and thus not bombard them with untimely or poorly targeted requests. in terms of fans.BarackObama. but his online presence hasn't. Consider the following: in 2008. the campaign's social networking platform." Their approach to the Web.com/sean-donahue/social-media-presidential-campaign-_b_983182. it will be as obsolete as the fax machine is today. the opportunities to weigh in with one's opinion or frustration are far greater." They lead us to our favorite community sites where we hang out.S. adults were using social networking sites. will find themselves at a clear disadvantage when it comes to fundraising. Today's candidate needs to build their SocialCloud that shares content across the 10 channels of online (video to audio to blogs and more).50 million will soon be the new normal. This is what matters. never has it been more important to help supporters share and navigate basic content. shaping conversations and. Traditional websites will simply be storage closets for approved content.Tweets." "subscribe. market uncertainty and overall dissatisfaction with Washington. blogs. building supporter communities.com and many others have built. in 2005 only 8 percent of online U. Google. -. it wasn't until Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean's Democratic primary campaign in 2004 that its power to organize and activate became readily apparent.will require that candidates at all levels become far more participatory and prescriptive. but will be vastly outnumbered by those who embrace it. Said another way. First. the standard four-part "ask" was simple: come. The ailing economy. Candidates expand their supporter networks far faster and more effectively by embracing the vision that Facebook. Unlike 2008. When this happens. particularly the need to tap into the full power of social networks. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. By 2016. join. donate and vote." or "friend. signing up supporters for an e-mail list signified a tactical win. Finally. earning votes. This will require that candidates reassess their approach and replace a "boots on the ground" strategy with "fingers on a keyboard" mindset. those who choose to ignore the social Web will not just be left behind. In a "word" or "verb" election. the individual word is as important as the message. etc. In an increasingly interconnected media environment." "recommend. status updates. videos. the explosion of content -. While the Internet has been a political tool for more than a decade. photos. a post from a highly influential supporter becomes just as useful and important as a front-page story in the New York Times. while still a box to be checked. . the campaign Website is quickly becoming obsolete. podcasts. Eight years later. Largely driven by traditional Websites and blogs. especially if it's actively re-Tweeted. Twitter and mainstream media. news stories. above all. all in the midst of the social media revolution. Those who neglect specific "asks" of their supporters. the four key drivers of news flow today are the Facebook Wall. a vastly different set of verbs will define which candidate(s) drive the most share of conversation online. Today 65 percent use them. In 2008. dislikes. likes. And the stakes have never been higher. salesforce. Keywords lead us to the right places where we can "like. In 2012. are laying the groundwork for a highly polarized and vocal electorate. Second. as pages on social networking sites quickly take over. tailoring a speech or message to encourage supporters to "share" a blog post or favorable op-ed will become commonplace to ensure that campaigns stay ahead of the content game. Mideast conflict." "Tweet. Senate in Virginia know the lay of the land: They can stump. glad hand and drop their g’s with the best.com/video/campaign/184335-cain-thanks-facebook-friends-in-web-video Geneva Sands September 28. Love ya and I appreciate your support.217 . Michele Bachmann has 461. Washington falls behind the eight ball when it comes to technology adoption. Mitt Romney has 1.740 "likes" on their presidential campaign Facebook pages as of Thursday morning. Perry had 165. "Thank you and let's take the 200. The Kaine campaign uses social networking to spread and control its message in traditional media. 2012 will be different. Americans will soon demonstrate what this means. Cain. Old Dominion Watchdog: Kaine.000 to the next level.399 and Texas Gov. Allen in Social Media Shootout http://watchdog.S.682. It just goes to re-enforce what I have said … that in this campaign the voice of the people is much stronger than the voice of the media and you are a big part of the voice of the people. What could help decide the dead-even race between Republican George Allen and Democrat Tim Kaine is the ability to reach supporters on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The nation's first "verb" election will require much more." said Cain in the video. the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza. including rising poll numbers and a surprise win in Florida's straw poll Saturday. “I’m running!” He linked supporters to a YouTube video.” Kaine campaign spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine said. This is Herman Cain. The announcement gave way* to 9.Far too often.000 "likes" on his Facebook page. Smith September 27. Former Massachusetts Gov. "Thank you for being a part of that major milestone. followed by a press release and a press conference the next day. Gone are the days when launching a Website and joining a social network was enough. 2011 ALEXANDRIA — The two former governors running for U. The Hill: Cain Thanks Facebook ‘Friends’ in Web Video http://thehill.122. 2011 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain released a Web video Tuesday thanking his "friends" for helping him pass 200.” Rather than announcing his candidacy through traditional news media.org/37470/odw-kaine-allen-in-social-media-shoot-out/ Peter J. “We’ve found that Twitter and Facebook can be good ways of amplifying your message from other platforms. “Twitter was an integral part of our strategy. Minnesota Rep. Kaine entered the race in March — three months after Allen — with a single Tweet." says Cain in the end of his video message. said the Facebook number is representative of the upward momentum his campaign is experiencing. The Facebook "friends" of other GOP candidates vary widely. bloggers and activists on the political left and right.887 — and more than 23. and. His lead has grown. On Monday evening.000 more than Allen. so if your friends and neighbors.375 fans compared to Kaine’s 10. Allen’s campaign spokesman. Riggs said. as well as grassroots supporters. he has captured the most important lead of all: Facebook fans. Kaine also has turned Internet hits into dollar signs.200 Facebook followers with 14. a social media consultant who has worked with several GOP campaigns including Gov. Instead of shying from the medium in the 2012 race. The goal.” Allen has turned these conversations into a following on Facebook where he has an advantage over Kaine. While Twitter may be a good way of controlling the message among the political class.” Delany said. George Allen wanted to make effective use of every communication tool available to reach people.” Twitter users treat the site as a news ticker. as of publication.” Delany said.” Vincent Harris. He lost the 2006 senate race to Democrat Jim Webb due in part to an off-the-cuff racial remark to a Democrat operative with a video camera. “Getting individual supporters to act in places like Facebook is probably more important than anything the campaign does itself. .091. “People listen to people they trust. “From the outset of this campaign. The incident gained traction in the media thanks to YouTube. is to “carry on similar conversations we’ve been having with Virginians across the state online. “If you’re trying to influence the public media and opinion leader discussion.Twitter followers — more than three times Allen’s 2. He pulled in more than $500. or colleagues.com. then you are more likely to listen to that. Bob McDonnell’s 2009 governor’s race. Allen led Kaine by more than 5. Twitter is where you need to be. founder and editor of Epolitics. a liberal fundraising website designed to match small money donors to candidates. Allen has 22.053. Allen embraced social media on the online campaign trail. said the Facebook gap is more important to the race than Allen’s weakness on Twitter. Kaine pursued the right strategy. But experts say that while George Allen lags behind Kaine in Twitter followers.260 Youtube views — 10. More than 5 million Virginians are registered to vote. an online site says its work is “dissecting the craft of online political advocacy. At the start of the race the Kaine campaign posted a profile on Act Blue. Allen added 24 fans to Kaine’s two. are talking up a candidate. In June.” said Bill Riggs. Delany said Facebook is “a great place” to recruit rank-and-file voters.000 from contributors across the country within the first three months of the campaign. Allen knows the perils of social media. and it is no accident the most widely followed tweeters outside of celebrities are reporters. said Colin Delany. including the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. without trying to get information back. and looks carefully at the overlap of relationships and . “It seems like Kaine’s releasing information. Allen’s chief online advantage lies in advertising. Kaine and Allen are running to replace Webb. The debate regarding the political merits of Twitter and Facebook is unending among the technology savvy. and he also engages directly with fans in comments. “George Allen. and that is just a fact. “likes” supporter’s statuses and solicits feedback — features absent from the Kaine page. the company goes beyond follower numbers. Twitter accounts “are not at all engaging average voters. That’s the highlight of a new study by Colligent examining politicians’ presence on Facebook as well as Twitter and MySpace.” Harris said.” Delany said.” according to its website. who has served as an online media consultant for left-leaning organizations. who chose not to seek re-election. providing a 21st century version of the direct mail campaigns traditionally used to drive support. First. while Kaine’s page seemed far less engaged than his initial announcement video or Twitter account.” Harris said.com/study-romney-is-most-popular-politician-on-facebook_b59630 Jennifer Moire September 23. All Facebook: STUDY: Romney is Most Popular Politician on Facebook http://allfacebook.” Harris said. Facebook allows candidates to target potential voters based upon profile information. “Facebook really has the most advanced metrics in terms of online advertising. The results couldn’t come at a better time because the Republican presidential hopefuls are getting ready to kick-off another debate tonight from Orlando. but Harris and Delany are unequivocal about one thing: the candidate who wins online will come out on top on Election Day in 2012. said Twitter solves the problem of minority outreach — for free. The Leadership Conference works with “more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Harris said Allen has taken advantage of the personal or social touches of Facebook. who has a problem with women and minority voters. 2011 Facebook users like former Governor Mitt Romney more than President Barack Obama. is going to be able to micro-target with specific messages just seen by that specific niche audience. The Colligent methodology is unique in a couple of ways. Allen’s page allows supporters to post on his wall. such as Newt Gingrich’s one million Twitter followers. 7 percent use Twitter. Twitter’s ability to connect directly to cell phones engages a “black-centric Twitter universe” not so accessible on Facebook.” Delany.More than half of Americans have a Facebook account. “Candidates ignore the Internet at their own peril. html Elizabeth Dwoskin September 21.According to the study.. 2011 Michele Bachmann wants to be your friend. Washington and Maine are leading the pack. As for the most social congresspeople themselves.networks among social media channels that provides a more rounded view of a politician’s social media brand. some of the findings are startling. According to Colligent. South Dakota. The complete study may be found here. how do your political affinities ompare with Colligent’s findings? Bloomberg Businessweek: Facebook and the ‘Like Me’ election http://www. Wyoming.The least socially networked delegation in the House belongs to Idaho. such as musicians. Jr.5 million are fans of at least one advocacy group or organization.com/magazine/facebook-and-the-like-me-election-09212011. who sees a 59 percent increase in followers every two weeks Most Social In the U. Second.In the 2012 mid-term elections. His fans’ number one advocacy group? The very right leaning Heritage Foundation. and more than 7. or who had posted messages in favor of tax cuts or . when she won the Republican straw poll in Iowa in part by zeroing in on the Facebook pages of potential supporters who lived nearby. too. as compared to President Obama’s broader base of support. 2012 Presidential Race Romney leads President Barack Obama in the intensity race among his Facebook likes.businessweek. So much so that her campaign is scouring your travels on Facebook for the things that matter to you most. the firm measures a politician’s strength on social media against other brands with large followers or likes. more than 9 million or 3. The Surging Candidate That honor goes to former Governor Jon Huntsman. three percent of the social profiles measured show Romney with an intense but small base of politicos and insiders. 22 percent of online Americans used social networks to engage with a campaign.19 percent of the social network profiles Colligent measures are fans of at least one politician. Bachmann did this to great effect in August. Then she can place a customized message on your page assuring you that those things are important to her. Montana. Readers. Facebookers who had identified themselves as Tea Party supporters or Christian rock fans.S. As a result. House of Representatives Colligent also measured the sociability of state delegations in the House of Representatives. Representative Danny Rehberg (R-MT) helped lead Montana toward the top of the findings. including Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. While some candidates are still trying to get their heads around social media —Rick Perry has been known to block people he doesn’t like from following him on Twitter—Bachmann and other well-funded candidates. “They may not know we’re looking for them.” says Rebecca Donatelli of Campaign Solutions. Facebook hired Adam Conner. then a 23-year-old Democrat staffer on the House Rules Committee. “The majority of social gamers are stay-at-home moms over 38. campaigning for real-life candidates and placing yard signs on their lawns. The company has stocked its Washington operation with political pros who speak the language of campaigns and elections.. (Sometimes the same people use the tools for politics and commerce. found an ad from Bachmann waiting for them on their profile page in the weeks before the vote. which was hired by Bachmann.” Unlike expensive radio and TV ads. In 2007. “So we have to give them the opportunity to be found. reaching them on a site where they spend a lot of time and are less likely to tune out the pitch. The software allows candidates to target campaign ads to individuals in ways that weren’t possible a few months ago. He has written software. but some Republicans viewed him with suspicion. I’ve designed over 1. Democratic politicians were happy to hear Conner’s social media spiel. to be launched later this year.” In virtual reality games such as Facebook’s popular FarmVille. Their online characters will be able to go door to door to other players’ imaginary farms. Facebook hired Katie Harbath. Hendrix handles social media for Moët Hennessy (LVMUY). Hendrix is blunt about his intentions. they’re jokingly known as “the R” and “the D. “In the last 45 days. a 30-year-old digital strategist for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.” says Hendrix. And they vote. he sees a demographic frontier for Republicans in 2012. Bachmann’s campaign says a significant portion of the people who pushed her over the top in Iowa— they won’t say how many—came as a result of the ad campaign. a GOP consultant working for Romney. So in February. to help the company break into the capital. these appeals are often aimed at just a few hundred or even a few dozen potential voters who may never have expressed interest in the candidate. Facebook ads can be had for 50¢ or less per click—and by counting those clicks.) But the pitch is different. “You’re trying to figure out which message will drive a higher response.” . Working with Facebook’s Washington office. asking for their support and directing them to a link where they could arrange a free ride to the polling place. a social media consulting firm in Alexandria. The ads use information Facebook constantly collects about its users to connect with people. which can reach many more people but not necessarily the ones most likely to respond favorably. the campaigns know within minutes whether they’re working.” says Michael Hendrix. are putting Facebook at the center of their campaign strategies. in addition to his work for Bachmann.000 ads. Around the office. He hopes to use the game “to target soccer moms again. He started out slow. which are blasted out to thousands or millions of people and hit the eyes and ears of as many opponents as supporters. they are taking advantage of just-released advertising tools the company is marketing to politicians.against abortion. the Champagne maker. Va. a Dallas-based consultant who works with Donatelli on the Bachmann campaign.” Hendrix’s latest Facebook project is what he refers to as “the gamification of politics. The campaigns are able to churn out so many ads because Facebook makes it cheap and easy to do. teaching politicians the basics of setting up a Facebook page.” Facebook’s voter-sifting tools are the same as those it markets to corporations. “We’ll throw out four or five different messages targeting different demographics. that will allow FarmVille players to get active in politics within the game. especially compared with TV spots or even Google (GOOG) Ads.” says Michael Beach. “How many people are liking it. The tool is a social payment system developed by two R/GA employees that allows people to easily exchange virtual goods for a tweet. according to Moffatt. commenting. and ultimately votes next November? The answer is: They don’t know yet.” ClickZ: Romney Offers E-Book for Price of a Tweet http://www. Before tonight's NBC News/Politico debate. “At the end of the day.C. While the e-book is available for free download as a PDF document on MittRomney. published today in anticipation of tonight's debate and President Barack Obama's jobs plan speech scheduled for tomorrow. commenting on it. keeping the candidate’s name in the conversation even as her poll numbers slide compared with Romney’s and Perry’s. It won a Grand Prix at this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. “What’s the point of having a fan or a follower if they don’t do anything?” says Donatelli.you have to have these digital embassies all over the web. The goal for the Romney campaign is to generate social buzz around the former Massachusetts Governor's ebook. they say." The tweet-for-download option will be promoted on the campaign's Facebook page. 2011 At tonight's presidential debate. What Facebook provides at the moment is an efficient way to reach someone without having to reach everyone and an enormous platform to get a message across without interference from the conventional media. "If you send a tweet out we provide you with opportunity to download it right there. Bachmann’s team believes conversation will translate into action and money.com/clickz/news/2107574/romney-offers-book-price-tweet Kate Kaye September 11. the campaign considers the tweet offering to be just another way to get it in front of voters where they are. how many people are interacting with it really matters. digital director at Romney for President.” says Donatelli. Otherwise. "The premise we've always worked on is. “It’s not in the sheer numbers.with a tweet from the @MittRomney account. sharing it with their friends. Ultimately. The candidate is making a splash on Amazon and across the web. No one has figured out how to “monetize the like.” says Harbath. they wouldn’t bother wasting precious resources on it. while the fan count matters. this is a persuasion tool. “What I push with folks is that. who is one of a dozen people working for Facebook in Washington. donations. as Republicans complain that Americans can barely afford to fill their gas tanks. Mitt Romney will offer his new jobs plan book at a rock bottom price: the cost of a tweet. She says that Bachmann fans tend to be issue-driven and feverishly post and cross-post on Facebook.” Which raises an important question: Is the effort and money Bachmann and her rivals put into all this liking. where guests are invited to write on the walls with brightly colored Sharpies. web site... the Romney campaign plans to push out a "Pay with a Tweet" option for downloading the digital book .clickz. .. and sharing bringing tangible results that can be measured in volunteers. like they say it did in Iowa this summer.” Donatelli says. may be the most un-Washington workplace in the city. as his just-published "Believe in America: Mitt Romney's Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth" e-book rapidly climbs the Kindle Store charts today. but in the intensity of your followers. and ." said Zac Moffatt. rather than driving them to visit the campaign site or Amazon.of course .com/Jobs and on Amazon.Facebook’s post-industrial space in downtown D.which is also available for free on Amazon. com/rick-perrys-campaign-facebook-is-not-a-gimmick_b56350 Jennifer Moire August 26. Will your social media strategy differ from the approach used in the Governor’s 2010 campaign? It’s always evolving to take advantage of the current situation. whether it’s on Twitter or Facebook. Facebook is a great platform for our campaign to push a message in Governor Perry’s voice to his supporters. we wondered whether numbers really mattered. people bond with him when they meet him. I like where we are with quality and social reach on Facebook. Now that we know the quality of the engagement matters more than numbers. Unlike many of the campaign's heavily-produced videos for YouTube. a former journalist who recently joined the Rick Perry for President campaign. and is currently number 19 on Amazon's Kindle Best Sellers list after debuting today. which enables 15second video updates for Twitter and Facebook. The book puts forth several specific proposals to boost the U. The Romney team has also experimented with short-form video platform Tout recently. we will connect with more and more supporters on Facebook. It’s a quality that sets him apart from other candidates. said Moffatt. talked with us about Facebook strategy in the Republican presidential primary. No doubt. All Facebook: Rick Perry’s Campaign: Facebook is Not a Gimmick http://allfacebook. While audience size helps improve those numbers. the Tout videos are quick snippets of raw footage of the candidate elaborating on where he is and what he’s doing . so does the quality of those connections. I measure our current reach and engagement numbers on Facebook. and because of this. 2011 Ryan Gravatt. So. How will the Perry campaign use Facebook? What tactics will you employ to boost engagement? Well. we’re going to focus on that. when they read a post from our campaign. it reinforces the connection people have with him and with each other as supporters of a terrific Republican.The campaign in the future may run Facebook Sponsored Stories ads to push the book. How will the campaign’s approach to Facebook differ from the other GOP candidates? We are going to stay focused on genuine interaction and conversations that reinforce relationships that Governor Perry builds while he campaigns. In 2010. said Moffatt.such as opening his Florida campaign headquarters. I’m more concerned with our social reach on Facebook. and I’ll be looking daily to improve that. . A giant Facebook audience does no good if it’s dormant. He is a tireless campaigner and he enjoys people and mingling with crowds.S. social networking and Facebook are perhaps the most complementary online tools for Governor Perry. The campaign plans to post its fourth brief Tout video featuring a debate walk-through tonight. I’m not concerned with follower numbers. However. economy and create jobs. Even Kennedy would say. good spelling and polished mass communication experience. Kennedy in the nation’s first televised presidential debate was so bad that it not only left him ruing his own mistakes — saying “I should have remembered that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’” — but also imprinted a lesson about technology and politics that many on the Right side of the aisle have forgotten: You must go beyond simply using a platform. Pew figures from shortly after the 2008 election showed digital making major strides in its role as a key news source for voters. 2011 Richard Nixon’s performance against John F. Some of us vet the ideas. There’s no closet of gurus or experts on this campaign. poor makeup work. he’d rather sit with each and everyone of them for coffee and talk about politics. both Nixon and Kennedy were on stage for every major debate. and everyone is allowed to say what they think we need to do on Facebook. but there are no walls.com/sites/realspin/2011/08/25/a-plea-to-the-gop-dont-pull-a-digitalnixon/?utm_source=Red+Edge1&utm_campaign=7a3f4a2fe0-ForbesFBFail&utm_medium=email Bret Jacobson August 25. following his victory. that “It was TV more than anything else that turned the tide.forbes. then candidate Obama . We’re all thinking about social media and the best ways to capitalize on it. So stay tuned. So. and profuse sweating left him at a disadvantage that helped turn the tide. TV remains a dominant power in today’s political outreach.” Kennedy used TV and used it well. college football and barbeque. He would. from staff. both had equal access to an emerging medium. but we have to keep him moving. In 1960. confidence to seize the day. We’ll never treat the social network as a gimmick and we’ll never take those relationships for granted. Do you have any favorite Facebook applications or tools you are enthusiastic about? We’re building a couple of our own that are unique.In this campaign we are going to continue to make sure our online activity bolsters the message Governor Perry delivers — let’s get America working again. In that sense and through the ability to buy television ads. you have to use it well. There was little doubt that Nixon’s post-illness weakened frame. How large is the campaign’s Facebook team? Everyone on the campaign is on Facebook. Certainly. if the schedule allowed. but we just can’t let him do that. but it is no longer a solo superpower. Forbes: A Plea to the GOP: Don’t Pull a Digital Nixon http://www. and from supporters. and social tools are making it easier for outsiders to make waves. What kind of skills do you think are necessary to be successful in social media on a presidential campaign? Quick wit. Governor Perry wants to connect with as many voters as possible and he understands that Facebook allows him to do that. but for the most part great ideas come from all over the campaign — from Governor Perry. a handful of us are responsible for the page content. Of course. Paul. Mobile. presidential candidates are now participating in innovative Twitter debates. donations. You’ve likely already heard chatter about the importance of mobile in the next election. Bachman. Congressional Members frequently dialogue with their constituents. One area where the Right is clearly outpacing the Left is the 140-character juggernaut. encouraging “check ins” at events and campaign offices. Anything short and it’s the equivalent of Nixon eschewing proper makeup before the big debate — you get sweaty but you don’t win. The most important social platform. successful push in Iowa. The phenomenon makes sense when you consider Harvard professor Barry Burden’s words: “In elections such as congressional primaries. using tools well can facilitate attention-grabbing wins along the campaign trail. Mitt Romney. has grown tremendously — from 130 million users at the last election to 700 million worldwide. location. according to a May release of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Perry and the Republican National Committee — combined. but what does that mean in the real world? Facebook. In a world of 100% text-message open rates. location. pulling in donations from users without making them leave the platform. and advertising to mobile users based on their location.demonstrated the ability to upset establishment favorites by directing passion into action — organizing. Smart campaigns on the Right will attempt to answer. (The same source adds that 25% use smart phones. with twice as many U. with Paul coming in second at the recent Ames Straw Poll—just behind Michele Bachmann. Obama had four times as many Facebook followers as did John McCain. But it’s not just about size on Facebook. and making a seamless tie-in with “real-world” campaign strategy. While there’s always similar frothy talk from purveyors of the “new. GOP candidate Ron Paul also demonstrated in 2008 that online coordination tools enable activists to help a lesser-known candidate shape a national debate. Obama’s “MyBO” efforts to bring activists together in their communities by organizing events. taking the next step in mobile technologies to support voter registration and GOTV. But as Bachmann and Paul showed this week. Obama 2012 has about four times as many adherents as Sarah Palin.S. for a majority of web surfing. name recognition is perhaps the most important factor. and more — online. Facebook. where information levels are extremely low and party cues do not help voters distinguish candidates. users as those watching the last Super Bowl. It’s about high levels of user engagement — incorporating and analyzing data from permission-based applications.” So it’s all well and good to say that political candidates need to use digital tools well. candidates and causes to simply open a Facebook and Twitter account and call it good.) Location. who invested in shrewdly integrating digital boots on the ground to her overall. In 2008. Twitter is just one of the important battlefields in the digital map. Right now. and the Party infrastructure has hired clever Tweeple. not computers.” the numbers are eye-opening. . This summer. it’s good to know that 83% of Americans have cell phones and 42% have web-capable smart phones. and the obvious temptation is for campaigns. registering voters. Yet. then best. Twitter. Those efforts paid dividends this year. " said Ryan Gravatt. As in 2010. but says the campaign hasn't picked a vendor yet to do this." The campaign will try to cultivate the support of people with large social media followings — influencers — to help create online donors. Software targeted specifically for the folks who tap their connections on the campaign's behalf — bundlers in political parlance — was one of the evolutions that began in 2008 and carried through to 2010. he sealed his 2010 gubernatorial re-election without investing much in collateral like yard signs or direct mail. But that's just one way to work online.So successful campaigns using digital tools well should always be congratulated. Gravatt told me. sometimes emulated (never duplicated). This will probably be of special importance for Perry.com/blog-entry/heres-dish-tweeter-using-texan-rick-perrys-online-presidentialcampaign Nick Judd August 16. that might invoke the image of an Obama-style online campaign. it was reported that he tried to block specific reporters from his personal Twitter account even though the account is public. that may just be his accent. To keep its gears turning. "He's from West Texas and. too. the Perry campaign for 2012 will lean on many of the same online tactics that kept him in the Texas statehouse in 2010. gubernatorial and campaign accounts — and his campaigns are savvy. For many people.' he knows how to use it. Rick Perry has come out shooting on the campaign trail. and plans to roll out a special tool for its top fund-raisers to use to solicit donations. full of phone banks and campaign emails to motivate repeated donations from small-dollar donors. Ben Smith passed along one former Perry opponent's allegation that his 2010 gubernatorial campaign "created artificial people to Tweet. with headline-grabbing bluster aimed at Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and President Barack Obama himself — but underneath that rough exterior is a famously well-oiled fundraising machine. 2011 Texas Gov. and always topped. He called Twitter "tweeter" in a video address to the Right Online conference in Minneapolis in June. Perry has taken some jabs for demonstrating a less-than-complete grasp on social media. And bundlers won't be the campaign's only focus. Perry's fundraising modus operandi is to collect donations with higher dollar amounts from fewer donors. Today. Showing up is a great first step. Perry's 2012 website uses software that presents visitors with different messaging depending on how they got there and whether they've been there before. who has a reputation for tapping into networks of highdollar donors. That could have been as much a function of Perry's habit of winning as anything — he was en route to a third term as governor — but it's not a campaign move you'd make if you were wary of bucking the script and trying new things online. Gravatt is hip to the idea. "But whether it's Twitter or 'tweeter. Perry 2012's online strategist and a veteran of his 2010 campaign as well." But Perry was one of the first governors to have a thoughtful Twitter strategy — keeping separate personal. In March. all from a web-based interface. Gravatt said. and one of the Texan's online consultants says the campaign will be deploying online tools to make that easier to do. . Last year. New software products for bundlers allow volunteers to do things like process credit card donations and mine their Facebook contacts for potential donors. but his campaigns have been social-media savvy. Tech President: Here’s the Dish on ‘Tweeter’-Using Texan Rick Perry’s Online Presidential Campaign http://techpresident. Then it’s time to understand how to win in an emerging medium. at this writing. Rep." Gravatt said when I asked him for more details about Perry's weekend haul. The debate didn’t disappoint judging by the reaction on Facebook. "I really don't want to get out there and brag on it. we're going to ask them to make a donation."If they come to us from Facebook. The Fox News GOP Debate Facebook app generated more than 1. at political gatherings and yes. but dramatic changes in social media following can be an indicator of forward or backwards momentum. The debate was a precursor to the main event: The Ames Straw Poll at Iowa State University tomorrow." Gravatt said. He wouldn't give specifics.000 people on Friday afternoon to over 116. without question. and Republican voters are posting up a storm on Facebook. Last weekend was. All Facebook: 2012 GOP Hopefuls Descend on Iowa and Facebook http://allfacebook. . we're not going to ask us to like them on Facebook. Audience totals don't mean much. Not surprisingly. from about 85.com/2012-gop-hopefuls-descend-on-iowa-and-facebook_b54658 Jennifer Moire August 12. 2011 The Republican Party’s candidates for president — and their supporters — are descending on Iowa this week as the primary season officially gets underway.000 today. The straw poll has become a right of passage for Republican presidential hopefuls as it marks the unofficial launch of the GOP primary campaign season before the first votes are counted at the Iowa Caucuses early next year. a buzzworthy one for Perry — but it has yet to be seen if that momentum is an indicator of a campaign fameball or a contender with a demeanor and a set of policy messages that will propel him through the primary elections. "I don't want people to think we feel like we've got this locked up and we're on easy street.340 comments from viewers with dozens of posts going up each hour during the two-hour event. for a current total of 65. Paul won the debate with 46.900 followers in the last 24 hours. Status updates during the debate ranged from how each of the candidates were faring to the strength of the questions posed by the Fox News hosts. reaching six-figure traffic numbers.org has had a good couple of days. on Facebook. The festivities started last night when Fox News hosted a GOP debate with eight of the main candidates at Iowa State University in Ames. Facebook was flooded with posts devoted to Texas Representative Ron Paul. whose legions of fans are renowned for their extremely vocal support of the candidate during radio and TV call-in shows. according to 2012twit. The online consultant had a busy weekend. he gained nearly 1." Update: Deeper into history — techPres editor and chief politicotechnical historian Micah Sifry drags up this Perry for Governor 2006 campaign artifact through the Wayback Machine: A points-based social activism network that may well have been the first of its kind.com. And.000. Perry's Facebook audience exploded over the weekend.52 percent of the vote according to Fox News’ Facebook poll. but said RickPerry. He needs it. Instead of sound bites on the nightly news and one or two televised debates.And even politicians who neither participated in the debate nor will be at Saturday’s straw poll are getting attention on Facebook. UPI: Politics 2011: Politics Gets Real in the Virtual World of Social Media http://www. The governor himself took to Twitter and Facebook to share his views as the debate rolled along without him.csp Thomas Burr and Matt Canham July 24. and he seems to be losing another test of support: Facebook likes. their temporary address are bombarding potential voters on the airwaves and through the Internet.html. This isn't our parents' presidential campaign.571. candidates hoping to make 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Huntsman? 9.com/Top_News/US/2011/07/24/Politics-2011-Politics-gets-real-in-the-virtual-world-ofsocial-media/UPI-97211311497640/ Nicole Debevec July 24. Huntsman has yet to make up much ground in national or early state polls. To be fair. Mitt Romney has racked up more than 1 million supporters on his Facebook page. Herman Cain has 153. 2011 Want to catch that debate among U.S. didn’t participate in last night’s debate but received plenty of attention nonetheless on the social networking site. social forum or photo-sharing site. 2011 Former Utah Gov.sltrib. Jon Huntsman retooled his presidential campaign staff last week. Notebook: Huntsman Losing Facebook Primary http://www. Need that candidate's position on a subject? Check a Web site. Huntsman has only officially been a candidate for a little over a month and didn't take over his Facebook fan site until right before he announced.com/sltrib/politics/52241982-90/huntsman-facebook-com-lee. Whatever you need from a political candidate. Take New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. Michele Bachmann has 430. His Republican opponents have had much more time. elevating his communications director to campaign manager and promising a more aggressive effort. you can probably find it online -. presidential hopefuls but aren't near a television? Go to Twitter. Both former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. he's got a long way to go before he can catch up to their support level.518.upi.576 and Tim Pawlenty 103. Still.C.be it Web site. . Gotta follow a candidate's schedule? Log in to Facebook. Do you think the enthusiasm for a candidate on Facebook will translate into votes? Salt Lake Tribune: D. whose supporters complained on Facebook all day long that he was excluded from the debate. and Texas Governor Rick Perry .634 who have signed on to her fan site. who is expected to jump into the race officially on Saturday. who is busing into Iowa this weekend. articles were written about Republican congressional members' general reluctance to embrace Facebook -. this is where they have to go. we don't.com reported.certainly in the public policy space." A branding effort is under way at Facebook to make the 2012 election into "The Social Campaign" by linking candidates and campaigns to all of the site's networking capabilities. One main reason: They want to learn how Facebook works so they can pass along that knowledge to their party's politicians." Earlier this year." Hemingway told the New Hampshire site. Ron Paul. R-Texas.the limit on Twitter posts. Just last week. it was very good. chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Liberty Caucus. Facebook. With the onslaught of super-PACs.but more readily taking to Twitter than Democrats. public policy for the site. "But I don't know any candidate who's going to allow their junior staffer or new-media guy to go answer questions in a debate for them. RealClearPolitics." Of course there's a certain amount of trust in who's posting what on Twitter during a candidates debate. wants to let Republicans play in its sandbox. Bush's former deputy chief of staff now vice president of U. "Facebook is changing the way people are living their lives -. President Obama successfully used the Internet to get his message out while taking in hundreds of millions of dollars from small donors using Facebook. free speech trumps regulation online. no matter what format.S." Joel Kaplan.simply isn't enough." Hemingway said. "There was a lot of public interaction. told RealClearPolitics. A mere Web site -unheard of even a few elections ago -. which permanently stamped its imprint on national politics since Obama used it in his 2008 run. from Twitter. to Facebook to YouTube.Candidates are already staking their claims on what may be one of the most important pieces of real estate during the election -. Obama also used online media to announce his re-election bid and conduct a virtual town hall. use online "moneybombing" to raise donations. The debate was organized by Andrew Hemingway. the first-ever Twitter debate was conducted among six of the announced Republican candidates vying for the 2012 presidential nomination. .com. Also. "We had an immense amount of traffic and there is no way to predict or know the type of reaction there was going to be. shaping the political landscape between now and November belongs to those who can get their messages out effectively in a digital world. "President Obama proved Facebook can be a very potent tool in elections.com the event was a success. "Do we have some secure way to prove they are [the ones posting remarks]? No. The candidates spent 90 minutes answering questions using no more than 140 characters -. both declared candidates in the Republican presidential nominating race. The Huffington Post wrote recently. who told ConcordPatch. George W.social media Web sites. Five high-profile GOP strategists have joined Facebook's outreach team in recent months. Businessman Herman Cain and Rep. too. overall. Social networking has grown exponentially and if politicians and parties want to tap into the voting pool. 2011 The 2012 election is more than a year and a half away. they are overlooking one crucial element: in another year they could both be diminished by an even earlier vote -Facebook.html Hillery Nye July 20. said. In today's digital world.com in a statement."The color of the site is blue.use by people age 50 or better is on the rise. taking advantage of those 15. (Notice how the first three letters spell "aim" -. The majority of all Internet ad impressions occur on Facebook and Facebook apps. Three things give social media the power to influence campaigns.to 30 seconds of ad time before video clips running on sites such as YouTube and Hulu. .com reported. text. and 39 percent of the viewers shared the message with an average of 130 online friends. mobile apps and social networks -. Ad Age said. If a candidate wants his message heard by the critical 18-35 demographic. "The successful campaign is going to be one that integrates all the various elements of the digital channel -e-mail. so getting a political message into those news feeds on a Facebook page is the vital. Ad Age reported. targeted audience. "We're getting a lot of questions now from people thinking strategically on how to drive their message next year online. a recent Ad Age study indicated: Audience: Social media isn't just for the young -. Ad Age said. rippling beyond the initial. "but the color of the company is purple.and their ability to go viral. Voters of all political stripes now rely on social media to connect them to campaigns. Influence: Television isn't as influential as it once was and the average age of the nightly news viewer is nearly 63." Andrew Roos. Web site. the Obama campaign's chief digital strategist. Huffington Post: Is Facebook the New Iowa? http://www. Facebook friends' suggestions matter more than a TV commercial or newspaper editorial.social media." Kaplan notes.which candidates must do to reach their virtual friends successfully?) Plus. and already the candidates are positioning themselves to take on what will undoubtedly be one of the most important battlegrounds -." In his re-election bid. political messages within social media promise to engage users. Money: Serious money is being directed into online and mobile advertising because of their size and power to influence -. a political ads executive with Google. yielding more bang for the buck. told TMCnet. While Iowa and New Hampshire can bicker about which is more important to the early voting process. TMCnet. that candidate best have some social media chops. An Ad Age SocialVibe study found that 94 percent of social media users of voting age engaged by a political message watched the entire message." Joe Rospars.huffingtonpost. Obama again will use social media networks to reach all of his online friends. Political campaigns also are bumping up their use of online advertising.com/hillery-nye/is-facebook-the-new-iowa_b_904476.together as one digital program and also mixing the digital program together with the offline reality of field organizations. candidates will have an opportunity to create tailored and personalized appeals to these voters. this is where they need to go. in a new socially-driven world. through strategic use of targeted campaigning. Federal Election Commission (which struck down the 20+-year ban on certain political contributions by private corporations). . Think Obama's online fundraising was impressive in 2008? That will be nothing compared to the amount of activity that will happens in the 2012 race. Twitter. their traditional commercial advertising efforts will suffer. As each candidate spends more time on personalized social media campaigns. political action committees (PACs) and campaign supporters will have unprecedented freedom to campaign and raise funds online for their chosen candidates. As Obama proved in 2008. This is the first presidential election where we will see the practical impact of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United vs. Now. voters. Twitter and YouTube than TV or traditional media. Two reasons why we will see this shift to social media: (1) social networking has grown exponentially -. we could experience more pop-ups than political ads. political parties. by social media. but the modern equivalent of the telephone and town square. Social media could also erode the traditional advertising market for TV networks. not just shaped. For the first time. Why? Facebook and SuperPACs are now friends. The upcoming presidential election will be the first in history to be truly defined. the political landscape will be highly influenced by those who are promoting a particular agenda and those who can do it online.if politicians and parties want to find friends and curry voters. PACs and voters. More money is going to be raised and moved through social networking sites and other online campaigns than ever before -. Expect all of these rapid changes to create a considerable amount of turmoil in the campaign process as candidates and parties will have to "re-learn" campaigning. Television's shrinking reach simply cannot complete with Facebook.and with the new phenom of SuperPACs. YouTube and their growing audiences. as social media becomes the key battleground for candidates. Today. These changes will dramatically transform the landscape of the 2012 election. voters are more likely to receive and share information about politics and politicians from Facebook. It's also going to be the key to fundraising.making them critical to a campaign's success. Coupled with the relatively low costs of online engagement. and the fight for these dollars will be more competitive than ever as each candidate adopts similar tactics into their fundraising strategies. (2) free speech trumps regulation in the online ecosystem -.Facebook could very well replace Iowa and New Hampshire as the most important early voter forum in the primaries. the power of small online donations can be profound. This is also the first presidential election where social networking was more than a fad or fringe experience. According to ClickZ. that action becomes part of their friends’ news feeds. automatically display the latest post made to a page. because for the first time. his digital media team has been testing a sponsored stories campaign on GFacebook. Page post ads. What do you think of political campaigns’ use of Facebook ads? Washington Post: Facebook. 2011 Since former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced last Sunday that he was throwing his hat into the Republican presidential race.com/blogs/the-fix/post/facebook-president-obama-and-the-youth-vote-in2012/2011/04/20/AF9zCwCE_blog.washingtonpost. videos. Whether it is through advertising. But there is no doubt that it will have a game-changing effect. We'll have to wait to see how social media shapes the election and change the landscape for future elections. President Obama.com/tim-pawlenty-testing-facebook-sponsored-stories_b44916 Jennifer Moire May 27.Thanks in large part to content sharing. which in turn notifies their friends of the liking action within their news feeds. These ads are both relatively inexpensive and yield a generally higher engagement rate because its targeting people who are already engaged (but might be overwhelmed with updates on their news feed if they like a lot of pages). and build relationships. the digital firm representing Pawlenty’s campaign. the ads pull in the latest status update made on the candidate’s page. 2011 . and dynamically create ads featuring the post in copy. The ads entice users to hit like. All Facebook: Tim Pawlenty Testing Facebook’s Sponsored Stories http://allfacebook. and the Youth Vote in 2012 http://www. social media has become the most effective and affordable way to brand a campaign.html Chris Cillizza April 20. the sponsored stories ads give the candidate a prominent placement among news feed posts and when supporters click the like button. The true winner of the election will be the candidate who effectively uses these digital platforms to influence and ultimately connect with those voters who might not otherwise enter into the political arena. Now the elusive question: Is there evidence that these ads were effective in the Pawlenty campaign’s first week? Engage is measuring the ads against engagement and action but so far it looks promising. one of a few variations of the sponsored stories units. social media allows countless ways for candidates to get their message heard. has been working closely with Facebook on a variety of new ad formats. or personalized tweets. So. According to Engage. surveys. reach the masses. TBG Digital says sponsored stories have a 46 percent higher click-through rate than other types of ads on the site. Engage. how an election is won and lost will be decided online. But there is still widespread misunderstanding about the real impact of young voters.” says a young man identified as “Mike” in the video. meaning that young people accounted for roughly 20. 120 million people voted. a first-of-its-kind event and the latest sign of his renewed courtship of young voters in advance of the 2012 election. What’s clear is that the Obama political team views young voters a s a fundamental building block to him winning a second term in 2012. John Kerry by a nine-point margin. comprising just 12 percent of the electorate and watching their overall numbers drop from 23. “President Obama is going to help us [get the youth vote] because a bunch of people that voted for him last time feel duped. In 2004. In the wake of the 2008 election. young people were only a slightly higher percentage of the electorate — 18 percent — but Obama won them by 34 points. with 23.8 million in 2010. In 2004. young people — defined as those aged 18-29 — comprised 17 percent of the overall electorate and went for Massachusetts Sen. turnout rose by 10 million overall between 2004 and 2008 and three million of that — 30 percent — came among young people. Obama’s decision to trek to the hub of the social networking movement comes on the heels of a heavy youth presence in Obama’s web video announcing his plan to seek a second term that was released a few weeks ago. In 2008. But. Whether it’s realistic for President Obama and his team to think that they can sustain his 2008 appeal among young people is a point of considerable contention. The harder question to answer is whether they can they re-create the political magic Obama demonstrated with young people in 2008. The only race that came close was in 1992 when nearly 22 million voters aged 18-29 turned out.4 million votes.” former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty (R) told the Vanderbilt University newspaper late last month . In 2008. Doubters also point out that young people largely checked out of the 2010 midterm elections. 130 million people cast ballots. (That was the largest turnout of young voters in terms of raw numbers in modern presidential history.5 million in 2008 to just 10. That simple piece of math explains everything you need to know about why Obama is re-targeting young people so aggressively. “Even though I couldn’t exactly vote at the time. it wasn’t only Obama’s increased margins among young people that mattered.4 million of those cast by 18-29 year olds. The naysayers note that Candidate Obama was able to channel young peoples’ hopes for politics (and society) in a way that President Obama — saddled with the constraints of governing — can’t hope to equal. much was made of the power of the youth vote and the ways in which it helped Obama. I knew that someday I’d be able to help re-elect him and that’s what I plan on doing.President Obama will host a town hall event today at Facebook headquarters. and they aren’t going to sign up again for dupe version two. .) So. Those numbers. Zac Moffatt. In the latest indication of the site's reach and influence. The candidates and contenders have embraced the Internet to far greater degrees than previous White House campaigns. next year's race will be the first to reflect the broad cultural migration to the digital world.huffingtonpost. are evidence that Obama’s connection with youth voters amounted to specific moment in time that cannot be re-engineered in 2012. Presidential Campaign Edition http://www. "You have to take your message to the places where people are consuming content and spending their time." said Romney's online director. presidential campaign edition. On the symbolic level. Rival Mitt Romney did it with a tweet. Obama and his campaign are hoping they can re-tell it again in 2012. President Barack Obama kicked off his re-election bid with a digital video emailed to the 13 million online backers who helped power his historic campaign in 2008. If Obama's online army helped define the last campaign and Howard Dean's Internet fundraising revolutionized the Democratic primary in 2004. that segment of young voters could more than make up for any dropoff Obama might see in the broader age demographic — particularly if his campaign can win them at the two-to-one rate he did in 2008. and Twitter. Obama plans to visit Facebook . (Turnout in midterm elections. All the campaigns have a robust Facebook presence. is traditionally lower across-the-board than it is in a presidential race. The case they make has a symbolic and a demographic element. The youth vote was the story of the 2008 election. and on their terms.) Obama allies insist that there remains a plausible case to be made that the youth vote of 2008 is repeatable. using the site to post videos and messages and to host online discussions. they insist that young voters retain a genuine connection with Obama and that there is a level of personal investment in him (and what they believe he represents) to think that there will be no lull in excitement within the group heading into 2012. Facebook. they argue. Welcome to The Social Network.html Beth Fouhy April 17. Theoretically. according to calculations done by Obama’s chief pollster Joel Benenson. the cacophonous conversational site where news is made and shared in tweets of 140 characters or less. 2011 NEW YORK — Republican Tim Pawlenty disclosed his 2012 presidential aspirations on Facebook. Huffington Post: Elections 2012: The Social Network." The most influential of those destinations include the video sharing website YouTube. there will be eight million people aged 18 to 22 who will vote for the first time in 2012. communicating directly with voters on platforms where they work and play. however. On the demographic level.com/2011/04/17/elections-2012-social-media_n_850172. "We have to recognize that people have choices and you have to reach them where they are. the giant social network with 500 million active users. Just as social networking liberates candidates to take their message directly to voters. D-Mass. He first advocated military engagement." Mississippi Gov." Conant said. The 2012 hopefuls have worked hard to prove their Internet savvy. should intervene in the conflict in Libya was discussed widely and amplified online. a candidate's gaffe or an inconsistency on issues can be counted on to go viral immediately. Spokesman Rick Tyler rejected such criticism and said Gingrich has pioneered the use of digital technology. Conant pointed to efforts to live stream videos to Facebook and award points and badges to supporters in a way that mirrors Foursquare. Palin has been criticized for treating it as a one-way form of communication that allows her to bypass direct questions from reporters and voters. The party's 2008 nominee. then came out against it after Obama ordered airstrikes. has made Facebook a centerpiece of her communication efforts to supporters. The fear of higher taxes tomorrow hurts job creation today. Twitter lit up with the news that a photo on Gingrich's exploratory website showing people waving flags was a stock photo once used by the late liberal Sen. Candidates have embraced Twitter with an intensity that rivals pop star Justin Bieber's. "The president's plan will kill jobs and increase the deficit. Twitter was the Republican hopefuls' platform of choice last Wednesday. "President Obama doesn't get it." former House Speaker Newt Gingrich warned in a tweet. Sarah Palin." Republicans once seemed slow to harness the power of the web. His apparent back-and-forth on whether the U. moments after Obama gave a budget speech calling for some tax increases and decrying GOP proposals to cut Medicare. with dozens of fake Twitter accounts and Facebook pages popping up daily that are intended to embarrass the candidates.S. but it needs digital embassies across the web. McCain's 2008 running mate and a potential presidential candidate this time. "the campaign site may be headquarters. We are going to compete aggressively with President Obama in this space.headquarters in California this coming Wednesday for a live chat with company founder Mark Zuckerberg and to take questions from users who submit questions on the site. Haley Barbour tweeted. John McCain. Also. not less. Pawlenty "understands the power of new technology and he wants it to be at the forefront. Former Alaska Gov. Gingrich has gotten ensnared in some online traps. attaching a link to a more detailed statement posted on Facebook. Ted Kennedy. Other Republicans insist they're willing to wade into the messy digital fray and cede some control of their message. Arizona Sen. it offers plenty of pitfalls as well. Now. candidates would have pointed supporters to their websites for such a response. particularly with social media. as Moffatt puts it." spokesman Alex Conant said. . told reporters he didn't even use email. the emerging location-based mobile site. "We trust our supporters and want to err on the side of giving them more control. In the past. It's prone to mischief. but they're coming around. will probably be more nimble." The Hill: Cornyn: Lawmakers Having to Conquer Fear of Social Media http://thehill. He also acknowledged that President Obama's campaign in 2008 was especially skillful in using online resources to help win the election. office. a top GOP senator who actively uses Twitter and Facebook. 2011 Lawmakers are coming to grips with how "essential" social media tools like Facebook and Twitter are to spreading their message and connecting with constituents. Sen.C. . who tracks GOP candidates online for the Center for American Progress. Strategists also say the greatest digital innovation in 2012 may not even have surfaced yet. "As with anything. who in 2008 had to recover from plenty of web-amplified flubs such as his comment that bitter small town voters "cling" to guns and religion.. are working on building their own infrastructure. He has a very active Facebook. a former online organizer for the Democratic National Committee. "In politics today. If you're not conversant with the social media . there's going to be a shiny new cell phone every six months." he said." Dorner said.4 million people follow him on Twitter. Cornyn said. and none of the Republican candidates understand the media environment in which they're operating.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/155587-cornyn-lawmakers-having-to-conquer-fear-ofsocial-media Michael O’Brien April 12. even as campaigns figure out how to do effective microtargeting ads for Facebook and work to develop "apps" for smart phones rather than laptops and traditional TV. "You're going to see both new tools and more sophistication in existing tools. "Frankly. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Tuesday. Republicans have kind of come to it a little slower than others. But Josh Dorner. There are eight websites connected to organizations started by Newt (that) use social media platforms to communicate to their coalitions. Dorner said. "I think a number of our senators are not comfortable with it. but they're having to learn. "We are moving in a warp speed environment. Republicans. Cornyn." Cornyn said in a webcast hosted by Facebook at its Washington. Obama. D. He said that one of the biggest pieces of advice he offers to recruits is to be sure to engage with social media and blogs and to actively pounce on stories that could spin out of control otherwise. you're really going to be hurting yourself."Over 1." said Matt Ortega.. acknowledged that not all of his colleagues were comfortable with engaging social media. It puts them at a huge disadvantage to the president." Cornyn leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). the committee leading Senate Republicans' campaign efforts. a liberal think tank. said the Republican presidential hopefuls appear to be unprepared for the unforgiving pace of the digital age." Tyler said. it is absolutely essential. org/blogs/talk/2011/04/10/135241350/politicians-take-to-technology-for-2012 Colin Campbell April 8. like President Regan in 1976? Even President Obama. with a video posted on his website and an email and text message blast to supporters stating. You can just imagine the growth of similar technologies come 2012. While many lawmakers have their staff assemble tweets or Facebook postings. we are filing papers to launch our 2012 campaign – because we've got more work to do. several campaigns produced mobile apps to connect with voters.The Texas senator is one of the rare members of Congress to personally engage the social media services on a regular basis." Whatever happened to politicians announcing their candidacy outside of state capitols. For the first time. to a room full of reporters. Twitter feed. and these launches are already hinting at what next year's presidential race is going to look like. Sure. for example. whose campaign is credited for pioneering campaigning in the digital age. With more people than ever using smartphones and tablets to access information. though..location based applications." he said. I am sure that the 2012 will be no different. Cornyn more often posts his own content -. "I will say that one of the things that strikes fear in the heart of my press shop is that I'll send out some unfiltered thought. of his staff. the two social media behemoths are going to play a large role. Will GOP candidates release them during the Republican primary to beat up on their opponents? Or would that be too politically risky (not to mention expensive)? Since Howard Dean's run in 2004. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. opted for a traditional announcement declaring his candidacy on the steps of the Old Illinois State Capitol. took to his Facebook page and announce in a slickly produced web video that he would be forming "an exploratory committee to run for President of the United States. 2011 President Obama kicked off his re-election campaign earlier this week." Two weeks earlier. a presidential race will exist primarily online.. who found himself in a particularly competitive race. but a suite of other technologies are going to change the landscape of grassroots campaigning as well . Think beyond Facebook and Twitter for a moment. videos and other content to the app to share with the campaign. is when they will become available. But it wasn't just one-way communication — he also asked his supporters to "upload their own photos. So as more candidates jump into the race over the .and it's going to be markedly different. Tim Pawlenty." NPR: Politicians Take to Technology for 2012 http://www. the former Governor of Minnesota. sometimes. It also provided a database of linked contact information to reach members of Congress. "I find it kind of exhilarating. The announcements by Governor Pawlenty and President Obama mark the kick-off of the 2012 campaign calendar.npr. released an iPhone/iPod app that integrated his website.to the dismay. All of this specialized information was based off of the user's zip code at the time of launching the application. campaigns will want to reach voters in the palm of their hand. Facebook page. with candidates embracing personal apps for the Apple App Store. the Democratic National Committee came out with a mobile app that integrated tools that allowed users to find political events in their community. YouTube channel and Flickr account so his followers would be able to be to track his every move. to reach people on every platform. What will be interesting to watch. During last fall's midterm elections. Android Market and BlackBerry App World. like Bill Clinton in 1991? Or in person. Last summer. "Today." I imagine that the 2012 presidential race will see a similar approach. campaigns have been creative in leveraging technology to advance their message. they’re starting off ‘small’ both online and offline and plan to boost efforts at a later stage: One thing that may strike you is that there’s just not as much here as there used to be. When you connect to your Facebook account on the campaign website. We’ll be adding to this site. for whatever reason. TechCrunch: Obama's Re-election Campaign Puts Facebook Front And Center … Literally http://techcrunch. scrap what hasn’t. All Facebook: STUDY: Millennials Prefer Facebook Politicking http://allfacebook. technology will play a major role. According to a message posted on the campaign website. seems to be not that big a deal for the campaign. and you can add an optional message when you opt to post to a friend’s wall. Twitter. The first step of all this is an unprecedented program to hold one-on-one conversations with millions of supporters about where they want this campaign to go—look for lots of news about that over the next several weeks as the process unfolds. training organizers. And you can be sure to bet. 2011 U. and build a campaign that reflects the thoughts and experiences of the supporters who’ve powered this movement. As this campaign gets off the ground. and developing plans every single day.next several months. the video below was promoted. make sure to pay attention to how and where they announce. The idea is to improve upon what’s worked for the past four years. And later: This is just the beginning. 2011 .com/study-millennials-prefer-facebook-politicking_b37412 Jackie Cohen March 31. and it – again – makes clever use of Facebook as a tool for spreading the word and amass supporters. we want to start small—online and off—and develop something new in the coming weeks and months. You can easily scroll to your friend list by skipping from one to the next. opening new field offices. it is one of the first indicators to the kind of campaign they will run. YouTube is also one of the things that have apparently worked over the past few years. profile pictures included. an interactive banner will appear on the top of the website that shows you which of your friends aren’t “in” yet.com/2011/04/04/obamas-re-election-campaign-puts-facebook-front-and-center-literally/ Robin Wauters April 4. and we hope you’ll play an active role. President’s Barack Obama’s re-election campaign just been kicked off.S. You’re invited to put post a message to your friends’ walls to prompt them to join the ‘Are You In?’ application. Obama’s Facebook page has been ‘liked’ by close to 19 million people. In emails and text messages sent to supporters earlier today. in which Obama announced that he would be filing papers to launch the 2012 campaign. to 29-year-olds — called Millennials by marketers — in the U.” “Today. and 90 percent of all of the current college students polled by Harvard have accounts on the social network. Usage of Facebook by millennials has grown to 80 percent from 64 percent over the past year. Pawlenty announced — through a video posted on his Facebook page this afternoon — that he is forming a presidential exploratory committee. and tackle entitlements.S. limit govt spending. The survey found that 27 percent of 19. .Facebook is the most effective way for politicians to reach 19. according to a new survey by the Harvard University Institute of Politics. Pawlenty’s clearly has a Carhartt label). putting him in front of the pack of potential candidates. It’s interesting. Growth in Facebook usage outpaced that of Twitter by a three-to-one ratio among those surveyed by Harvard. “We know what we need to do: grow jobs. I’m announcing the formation of an exploratory committee to run for president of the United States. with soaring music in the background.” he says toward the end. Some 2. The committee allows him to begin raising money for a presidential race.to 29-year-old Americans. Minn. “Join the team. and together we’ll restore America.html Glen Johnson March 21. millennials’ approval of President Barack Obama’s performance went up — had to give so much of its focus over to Facebook.com: Pawlenty accounted presidential exploratory committee http://www. and skating on an ice rink. posing for pictures.091 millennials participated in the poll. how a poll overtly intended to measure political opinions — oh yeah. “There is a brighter future for America. believe Facebook.boston. as fighter planes blast through the sky and fireworks go off.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2011/03/ap_pawlenty_ann. The video shows Pawlenty in St. but necessarily surprising. The heavily produced video also shows Pawlenty shaking hands. dressed in a beige jacket that is strikingly familiar to the barn jacket Scott Brown wore to victory in Massachusetts (Brown’s was made by Golden Bear Sportswear. what do you think of these findings? Boston.” he says at one point. other social media and blogs together have more of an impact than any kind of in-person advocacy in election campaigns. Readers. The percentage with accounts on the microblogging site grew from 15 percent to 24 percent over the past year.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich previously declared he intends to form an exploratory committee at some future date. Paul. likely in May.. 2011 WASHINGTON — Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is taking the first formal step today toward a presidential run. even while not technically being a formal candidate. formalizing a campaign for the GOP nomination that he’s been methodically working toward for well over a year. Paul.m. “Join the team. . Rather than staging a press conference or addressing supporters in a ballroom. the brave men and women throughout this country’s history that have asked for nothing more than the freedom to work hard and get ahead without government getting in the way.” “We know what we need to do: grow jobs. the small business owners.” the aide told POLITICO. factory workers. foreclosures and his hometown of South St. 2011 Tim Pawlenty launched his presidential exploratory committee Monday afternoon. the first bona fide Republican contender to form an exploratory committee. But by the time his video was posted online." Pawlenty. The announcement also reflects the new-media tools available to candidates. For the last eight years.Pawlenty has already traveled to New Hampshire and hired aides to work on a campaign. especially as it’s aided pro-democracy protests around the world." Against a montage of fluttering American flags.politico. limit government spending and tackle entitlements. unlike the millions he's collected through his various state and federal PACs over the last couple years. And he previewed his platform for a “brighter future.” he said against the kind of soaring soundtrack that has become typical of his movie-trailer style campaign videos. we’ll restore America. the campaign had already allowed news to leak out through a conference call he held with supporters Monday morning. Forming an exploratory committee allows Pawlenty to begin raising money that can directly fund a presidential race. “It also underscores our commitment to using technology to creatively communicate with people and run a campaign that connects with people on their own terms. the hard workers.cfm?uuid=D9DD8032-B138-F909-071F76CB14B1FBB5 Kendra Marr March 21. but a Pawlenty aide called it a nod to the increasing role of Facebook in people’s lives.” An Internet announcement is nothing new. began hyping his “exclusive” message Monday morning on Twitter and Facebook. “As we seek to turn the tide of history here in America. “Be sure to visit my Facebook page today at 3 p. but the committee step is the next available to candidates to earn free media coverage in advance of a pomp-filled formal announcement. ET for a special message exclusive to Facebook supporters. “Together. “We need to encourage the dreamers and innovators. in how they choose to make major political news.” Pawlenty posted this morning on his Facebook page. we chose Facebook because a community of motivated citizens will be central to the success of our efforts.” the former two-term Minnesota governor said in a video message on his Facebook page. He sent a similar message out on his Twitter feed. Pawlenty talked about hardship and struggle. that’s just what I did here in Minnesota. Politico: Time Pawlenty forms 2012 presidential exploratory committee http://dyn. Pawlenty is choosing to weigh in on the most popular social networking site.com/printstory. With a softer rhetorical style that he couples with strong pitches to each constituency of the conservative movement. and so I've given you my Minnesota approach. Pawlenty got about 2. then serve two terms as governor. In a recent swing through South Carolina. He tiptoes around criticism of Sarah Palin. There's going to be a lot of time to discuss these issues. rallied evangelical audiences in Iowa and attended small house parties in New Hampshire." Pawlenty started his political career on his hometown’s city council. his wife Mary Pawlenty. he's also the kindest. And while I believe Tim is the strongest and one of the smartest people I've ever met. He's been winding down the cash-on-hand in his various federal and state political action committees. an evangelical Christian who inspired her husband to convert from Catholicism. Pawlenty is comfortable at pizza parties with College Republicans and playing a pickup game of hockey. Pawlenty enters a wide-open field of White House hopefuls. but Pawlenty is the first contender to do so. Pawlenty has positioned himself as the candidate of all things to all GOP voters.000 Facebook “likes” between hyping his Facebook message and the announcement’s wrap – a 3 percent growth. who beat him to become John McCain’s vice presidential pick in 2008. It includes possible candidates who have run before like Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. Long-shot presidential hopefuls Buddy Roemer and Herman Cain have also formed exploratory committees.Pawlenty's camp is also expected this week to announce new hires in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire. "After 23 years of marriage you know everything about this person. a politics and technology blog. and I know you're very interested in this angle. But he faces an uphill as one of the hopefuls that is less known by Republican voters: Almost six in 10 GOPers said they didn't know enough about him to have an opinion in a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll. He went on to spend a decade in the Minnesota House. but I just took a different approach than Massachusetts.” True that image of Minnesota nice. has long been considered an all-but-certain presidential candidate. He’s addressed a recent Tea Party Patriots conference. According to techPresident. Nikki Haley. can you?" Pawlenty told reporters gathered for his visit to a New Hampshire hospital. He’s avoided lambasting Mitch Daniels’ proposed “truce” on social issues. Mary. has become a familiar face on the stump. he talked to a local Republican club and met with Gov. Recently she stood by him during in a two-day trip through New Hampshire. And he’s brushed off repeated questions about the Massachusetts health care law that has conservatives so suspicious of Mitt Romney. as well as presidential newcomers like Michele Bachmann and Jon Huntsman. "You guys just can't let this one go. and what I do." she told the crowd of evangelical voters. Pawlenty has been reluctant to attack other likely 2012 contenders. 50. At the same time. . Pawlenty. with a heavy travel schedule that has repeatedly taken him to the early voting states. also joined her husband in Iowa for the inaugural presidential lecture series sponsored by The FAMiLY Leader. Newt Gingrich has said he's "testing the waters" — a legal and semantic couch that's one small step away from a formal committee. money that can't be used to directly fund a White House bid. "You know the core of who they are and you know their heart. "I'll just tell you what I stand for. serving as majority leader.