Daily Marauder

DIGITAL POLITICS: THE AGE OF OBAMA by Marauder

DIGITAL POLITICS: THE AGE OF OBAMA

Above are scenes from Times Square, NYC last night as Barack Obama thanked the crowd gathered at Grant Park in Chicago for their support as he defeated John McCain to be elected the next president of the United States.  Last night, over 133 million of us voted.  No matter where you were last night or what side you leaned to, I’m more than sure that the passion exhibited on both sides was palpable.  In Times Square, cabs continuously beeped their horns, crowds screamed, couples kissed mid-street, and a revolutionary spirit hung in the air.

This morning, I made my way to Ad Tech, a conference for digital marketers and technology professionals.  In other words, if you speak geek, this conference is for you.  The morning sessions were devoted to the 44^th president otherwise known as the Ad Age Marketer of the Year.

Shelly Lazarus, Chairman and CEO of Ogilvy, described credited Obama’s win to his “digitalness”.  From the start of this political season, technology has played quite the role, allowing politicians access to an open platform for communicating with the American people.

Milestones

Here are a few digital milestones from this campaign.

Hillary announces her presidential bid via a piece of online video on her web site.  Pant suit supporters everywhere rejoice.

Obama announces VP running mate Joe Biden via text message to supporters’ cell phones.  Long live the age of perfect teeth.

Will.i.am goes Hologram.  I’m still creeped out by this effect but intrigued that the networks went for it.

Digital Gold: Campaigning Intelligently

Throughout this campaign, Obama sought out every possible digital touch point to communicate, engage, and gather feedback from the American public.  No longer was there a man behind a curtain.  Both in McCain and Obama’s case, access and communication was unprecedented.

Here’s a brief recap of some of the tactics used by Obama’s team to get the word out.

Destination Site

E-Mail

Mobile

Social Networking Site

In Game Advertising

Sweepstakes

Ubiquitous Donate Button

You can find me moonlighting on e-mails, web sites, applications, etc.

Ushering in a New Era of Politics

Last night, before Obama took the stage at Grant Park to speak to the crowd, he sent me and the rest of his supporters an e-mail thanking all of us for our support.  At the end of his message, he claimed that he would “be in touch soon about what comes next.”  Obama is about to usher in a whole new world of politics, one in which the American people are truly consulted via online and mobile touch points allowing for a level of engagement in our government previously unimaginable.  Democracy becomes something quite different when the common man feels empowered to engage.  I’m excited to embark on this new era of political discourse.

Of course, I expect the passion in our government to wane over the next couple of months but given these new methods of engagement I don’t expect the age of indifference to continue.  Finally, a president who understands technology.  I raise my iPhone to you sir.

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