Computerworld - Given the explosive growth in smartphone and tablet use over the past four years, campaign strategies for using mobile technologies could prove critical in the 2012 presidential election.
So far, analysts say, the candidates in both the Democratic and Republican parties are mostly focused on social networking and connecting to the electorate via desktop computers, apparently eschewing a stronger mobile focus until later on in the campaign.
If the candidates aren't yet working hard on developing mobile campaign strategies, they'd better start soon, analysts say, as the 2012 election season begins in earnest this month with the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
The campaigns of multiple candidates didn't respond to Computerworld's requests for information on their mobile technology plans.
Rob Enderle, an analyst for Enderle Group, noted that many Americans under age 45 are heavy users of smartphones and tablet computers, and increasingly use them as portals to Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.
"Candidates need a good social media campaign to win, and social media done right includes mobile, because mobile allows candidates to loop in supporters in the moment and stay in touch and respond in real time. Mobile makes social networking more important," Enderle said.
"The candidates probably need content that fits the smaller screen, or that's an audience they are not speaking to," he said, noting that "a few hundred thousand people could swing a state."
Experts said that the major political parties should be expected to offer candidate-focused apps via Apple's App Store and the Android Market at least by the time the two nominees are chosen this summer.
Today, Apple's App Store lists hundreds of news and social-media-related apps, but a recent search found none related directly to a single presidential candidate.
There are mobile apps designed to help sports fans follow the NCAA's annual college basketball tournament, "so why not have similar apps to track campaigns?" asked Bill Dudley, group director of product management at Sybase365 and a self-described mobile guru. "There would be lots of mobile engagement for candidates and news organizations to track."
Jack Gold, an analyst at J.Gold Associates, said savvy political organizers need to decide if virtual handshakes in the form of mobile Facebook or Twitter posts are adequate substitutes for meeting and greeting voters in person.
"Certainly mobile extends the reach of the candidates [to far more voters] than those they could meet personally," Gold said.
"But at some point," he warned, "does the mobile message just become background chatter? If I get tons of their messages, I'm likely to just discount all of them and tune out. There's a fine line to balance with the candidate's need to stay in touch with supporters and [becoming] a nuisance."
Dudley, who compiled a 2012 mobile industry forecast predicting that mobile strategies will be a "major means of trying to win votes" in 2012, said he expects that candidates will begin using the technology more actively in coming months. In fact, he predicts that it won't be long before campaigns start trying to outdo one another by seeing who can offer the coolest features and find the most creative ways to engage potential supporters.
Come springtime, "you'll see a lot of mobile campaigning" by presidential candidates, Dudley predicted. If not, he added, "they're dead."
This version of this story was originally published in Computerworld's print edition. It was adapted from an article that appeared earlier on Computerworld.com.
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