Big Brother is Texting You

There has been some discussion in other blogs about the possibilities of using MoSoSo for campaign communications. While this is an exciting technology and I agree with many of the points made by my fellow bloggers, I have to respectfully disagree with assertions that this will have a big impact on campaigning in the future.

As with most new technology, the early adopters of MoSoSo will be young people. Young people love all things Friendster-like and since most are already glued to their mobile phones, this is going to be big. However, young people don't vote. You can make music videos about it, hold concerts and haul out every celebrity on the face of the Earth, they just don't vote. I, for one, say we should just ignore them until they can pull their behinds away from their iPods long enough to get to the polls.

Most of the MoSoSo discussions I've seen talk about a mile to half-mile radius. Contrary to the belief of those who lie on the overpopulated Eastern seaboard, a mile is not very far. People in Texas have driveways longer than that. If you are campaigning in NYC, Chicago or Philadelphia, it would be possible to send out a message that would attract or activate voters, but in most areas of the country that wouldn't be possible.

Another hurdle to MoSoSo in campaigns is alienating voters. I keep thinking of that scene in Minority Report when Tom Cruise is walking through the mall and all of the advertisements are calling him by name. Can you imagine being at the grocery store and having to grab your phone out of your purse every few minutes because it is the day before election day and every candidate in town is trying to communicate with you. If voters feel stalked by candidates, they will feel further alienated from the political process.