Candidates Use Technology To Woo Voters

WASHINGTON -- The presidential candidates are reaching out to tech-savvy voters like never before. They’re using social networking, video sharing websites and instant messaging to build support and share news and ideas with potential voters.

Sen. Barack Obama has promised to alert voters about his vice-presidential choice by a mess text message. Unlike 2004, both candidates have posted all of their campaign commercials and attack ads on the Internet.

“You really have to have a message that moves through different mediums, and I think both candidates are doing that, but they’re doing it at different levels,” said Republican strategist David All.

Political analyst Julie Germany said Obama’s text messaging strategy gives the campaign an opportunity to target voters with specific messages that could boost turnout on Election Day.

“It treats the average American voter as if they are as important to the campaign as the media,” Germany said.

Both candidates have moved beyond traditional campaign Web sites where voters can read about issues and make donations. Today’s versions are filled with multimedia, Germany said.

Candidates are also trying to reach more voters through social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

All of this social networking stuff is great at encouraging community, but the real impact will occur on Election Day and I think we will be able to look back and see which candidate used it most effectively,” Germany said.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project said 46 percent of Americans have used the internet, email or text messaging to get news about the campaigns.