Will You Hide from Obama and Romney?
Hello, Intrepid Readers! In my last post, I asked you if you would soon be hiding from Google due to their impending privacy policy change. Today, I will ask you, are you going to hide from President Obama’s or presumed Nominee Governor Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns? As Politico.com writer Dave Levinthal points out in a recent article, political campaigns have invested heavily in “Big Data” and data mining to better target independent voters who often can be pulled to one side or another based on something other than party affiliation. The percentage of Americans identifying as political independents increased in 2011, as is common in a non-election year. Although, the 40% who did so is the highest the Gallup Poll has measured by one percentage point. More Americans continue to identify as Democrats than as Republicans, 31% to 27%. Independents are your neighbors and friends who might say, “I vote for the person, not the party” and often they determine who our nationally elected leaders end up being. Often, these voters have a hot button issue (and in this election cycle, there are plenty to go around) that the Presidential Campaigns can target and use to sway them.
Why is this investment in “Big Data” mining and targeted messaging so key to both campaigns?
First, it is a technology and information leap forward for the political arena in using online activity to understand what gets independent voters to swing one way or the other. Previously, campaigns and the national media have relied strictly on polling or survey data which can often miss the why behind someone’s intent to vote for one candidate or another. Have any of your Facebook friends or Twitter peeps weighed in with a post about Susan G. Komen & Planned Parenthood’s role in Women’s Health? You can bet that both President Obama and Governor Romney’s campaign are watching and figuring out how to appeal to that friend’s persona, depending on the sentiment of their post.
For me, as a former political operative, it is thrilling to see how things have changed and as a citizen it is a little frightening to see how both campaigns will use this in the Fall. What are your thoughts? How do you feel about politicians using this information?
