This month Campaigns and Elections Magazine en Español asked me to write about new tools and applications for the political space.  The two types of tools that seem to generate a lot of interest when I travel to teach in Latin America are mobile applications and online, townhall-style tools that can enhance offline political events.

I focused on these two types of tools in my article because they combine traditional with technology-enhanced campaign tactics.

 For example, a mobile strategy that organizes supporters and drives them to take action can have great implications for geographical areas in which broadband penetration and personal computer use is low. They can be simply designed, easy-to-use, and affordable, depending upon the specifications and requirements. The Obama campaign showed how successful a text messaging campaign focused on connecting people to real-world activities (like volunteering, voting, and catching Obama on television) can be. Today, a mobile campaign can and in some cases should include applications that allow supporters to take a number of online and offline actions from anywhere in the world – all from one device.

Campaigns and tech start-ups have explored ways to recreate a traditional townhall experience online. The idea – gathering people on their own time and in their own homes or offices to address common issues – is a good one, but it has occasionally failed in execution. One of the things I look for in a potential townhall tool is its ability to tap into pre-existing networks and habits. Can it be used on the social media sites people already go to, or does it require a separate log-in? Does it tap into a pre-existing community environment in which participation can spread virally, from friend to friend?

You can read the whole article in Spanish here.

The English version is below.

Campaigns and Elections en Espanol
New Technologies in Political Campaigns
Julie Barko Germany

As citizens and voters use more sophisticated tools, from smart phones to social media, to communicate with each other, campaigns and politicians will continue to adapt those same tools to help meet their goals. This has certainly become the case with mobile applications designed to communicate with their supporters, organize advocacy, and fundraise. Political organizations have also started building and adapting different social media tools to create an online townhall experience online.

 What are some of these new applications and tools? How have politicians, political parties, and candidates used them successfully this year to engage voters, organize activists, and fundraise?

Mobile Tools and Applications

Applications designed for smart phones like the iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid help consumers do everything from picking a restaurant to reading news articles to planning a trip.  Now, politicos are building their own mobile applications to help meet the needs of their political parties and campaigns.

U.S. Representative Eric Cantor, the Minority Whip in the U.S. House of Representatives launched a mobile application for iPhone and Blackberry called WhipCast in October 2009. WhipCast delivers text, audio, image, and video updates to users, as well as Republican talking points, policy discussions, polling information, and floor schedule updates.

It was designed to inform and organize Republican Members of Congress, but it was also used by Republican supporters to stay informed and on message. While Cantor’s office can’t give us a definite number, we do know that the WhipCast application has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times by Republican supporters across the United States.

This June Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and entrepreneur  Jim McKelvey launched Square, a device that allows iPhones to accept credit card donations for non profits and political candidates. Just plug Square into your iPhone, and it turns into an instant fundraising device.

Square was launched at a political fundraising event for a political candidate named Tommy Sowers, who is a running as a Democratic Congressional Candidate in Missouri.

Depending upon how complex your mobile application is (and how many devices you want it to work with), a mobile application like WhipCast could cost from $15,000 to $30,000 to develop over a time period of a few months, depending upon your specifications and the vendor you select to develop the application. Simple iPhone apps could cost as little as $5,000 to develop – if you find the right developer and have the right expectations for what can be accomplished at a lower price point.

Before you begin designing and building a mobile application, consider your audience. WhipCast was downloaded hundreds of thousands of times by supporters. This interaction makes the costs of building those applications seem reasonable, especially compared to the large amount of people who downloaded them and took some kind of political or advocacy action using the applications. Both Cantor and the HRC are well-known entities with built-in audiences of people who can afford iPhones. Smaller political campaigns and organizations without that kind of following probably can’t expect the same results and might want to consider looking at different ways to incorporate mobile technology into their political communications and outreach efforts.

Online Townhalls

Politicos are no longer limited by the constraints and costs of holding real-world campaign events to help them reach and communicate with voters. Some elected officials, political parties, and candidates are using online townhall applications, combining video and text in a way that allows all voters to participate in the discussion – on their own time and in the comfort of their own homes. Some applications can even be applied to the policy-making process, as a way to engage voters in legislation.

Some of these services are free. Others cost a little bit of money to set up but often give the campaign more control over participation and data. The Obama White House used Google Moderator to manage its Open for Questions sessions with President Obama and other senior White House officials. Citizens could submit questions in video or text form and vote on which questions they wanted the president to answer.

In March 2010, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty chose Facebook Townhall. Pawlenty, whom many consider to be a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, answered constituent questions for 30 minutes during the townhall.

Another tool developed by House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, called YouCut, uses similar concepts to engage voters in reducing the federal budget. YouCut allows users to vote by text message and online on spending cuts they want to see the House of Representatives enact.

The amount of interaction that collaborative tools like these produce can be an incredible asset for political organizations by raising their legitimacy and giving them a platform to hear directly from voters. Since different townhall tools are available at different price points, cost is not necessarily a disabling factor.

However, if you’re considering this approach, plan to focus some of your resources and energy on promoting your tool and recruiting users. Begin planning your outreach strategy early in the process, and continue to build momentum after the lunch by cross-promoting your townhall tool online, in the media, at political events, and through traditional mediums. Remember, no tool or application is so great that it exceeds the value that your supporters and voters will bring to your organization if you engage them in your campaign or issues.