Social and New Media Strategies for a Connected Age
The new Obama 08 iPhone app is amazing and a real political tool. Also, two twitter stories: CNN uses twitter very effectively and ABC uses twitter to launch it’s new show, Life On Mars.
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The Obama campaign for president released today an application for the iPhone that is simply brilliant. It’s a free download from the Apple iTunes store. Not only is the application beautifully designed and easy to use, it has terrific functionality and a clear purpose.
Design-wise, this is one of the best iPhone applications I have ever seen. It keeps well to the Obama campaign colors and graphic themes. It also adhears perfectly to all iPhone application standards. I’ve seen plenty of other iPhone applications from reputable companies that are no where near as good as this one. Remember the train wreck that was the Audi racing application?
But this application isn’t just a pretty face. There is clear purpose here. One of the most important aspects of a national election campaign is phone calling. Millions of dollars are spent setting up phone banks and aquiring lists of names. With this application the Obama campaign can unleash an army of phone callers at no cost. The application searches your built in phone book and by area code determins who among your contacts are in certain battle ground states and sets you up for calling them. It even keeps track of who has been called and who has not. Other features include a get involved button which, using the build in location aware feature of the iPhone, finds your local Obama HQ and other local events and activities you can participate in. The Media section includes lots of video from Obama speaches that you can watch and email to your friends. Again, a method to spread the word. This is how virtal marketing really works. Finally, there is an issues tab which provides detailed information on Obamas positions on a variety of issues.
Obama has been heralded as the campaign that has best used the Internet and new media to great effect. Here we see the campaign really walking the walk and living up to this reputation in spades.
Audi publishes an iPhone application for their A4 car and it’s a complete failure.
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I’m a big Apple fan and I own lots of Apple products including a first generation iPhone. I was somewhat shocked to read some statements from Apple product head Greg Joswiak about some iPhone features customers have been wanting. As far as copy and paste goes, the article says:
Apple has a priority list of features, and they got as far as they could down that list with this model, Joswiak said
Really? Apple’s priority list of features certainly does not match up with its customers priority list because every iPhone owner I know had copy and paste at the top of that list. It smacks of the elitism that has always been a part of Apple if you look closely. We’ll do what we please and you’ll like it. For the most part we do because what they create is amazing. For all the talk of Open Source and freedom on the Internet, Apple is the most closed, proprietry company there is. So, Apple will give you copy and paste on the iPhone when they are darn good and ready and until then you will sit quietly and wait.
Interesting video as President Bush asks that the cameras be turned off and then makes some remarks we have to assume he didn’t want recorded. Unfortunately these days, especially when you are a public figure, the cameras are never off. Somebody out there has a cell phone with video or some other kind of pocket recording device. We live in a time of constant recording. To many people are carrying devices capable of recording and distributing that recording to millions via the Internet is also so easy now. One camera I saw yesterday specifically records video in YouTube compatible format, a feature that was highlighted prominently on the box. Remember when America’s Funniest Home Videos was a top TV show? Now YouTube is America’s Funniest Home Videos. Watch yourself out there in public because the camera is never off. Neither is the audio recorder or the snapshot.
Or maybe I agree with him. Either way, I have been saying for a long time now that how many people follow you on twitter or read your blog isn’t nearly as important as who. Its a principle I learned from Dave Slusher, and I believe it completely. I would much rather have 20 high quality, important people reading my blog than 2,000 everyday joes.
But we haven’t come very far yet as every blog/podcast ad network still works under the presumption of numbers. Lots of raw numbers. They do this because this is what the advertisers demand. As an “old school” podcaster, I belived we were going to change the world. We were supposed to change the very face of advertising, forcing them out of their relentless chance for raw numbers and getting them to understand the power of who and the return on influence. But were trying to change an industry that has done what it does for many many years and change never comes easily. Until then, the fight goes on.
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