As a democratic nation, every four years, the citizens of the United States would have their eyes on the presidential election progress. As the election date of 2012 gets near, the debates between the two candidates Mr. Barack Obama and Mr. Mitt Romney have drawn great attention from the public.
Despite all the political talks that have been going on, and despite the attacks reasonable or not on one another and often third parties, mobile devices have played its role in this year more than ever before.
It seems that people do not only care to hear what the candidates have to say, but also care to check the credibility of their talks. It is not hard to portray someone googling for some preliminary facts online while or after watching the debates on TV or computer screens. The difference is the platform people use to do these searching tasks now. In previous election years, internet has been used as sources to look into the content of the debates; but this time around, with the boost in mobile technology and network, the most convenient and readily accessible tool at the moment of the debate for those caring audience is probably mobile devices, either their smartphone or tablet that they hold on to while watching a bigger screen.
Despite all the political talks that have been going on, and despite the attacks reasonable or not on one another and often third parties, mobile devices have played its role in this year more than ever before.
It seems that people do not only care to hear what the candidates have to say, but also care to check the credibility of their talks. It is not hard to portray someone googling for some preliminary facts online while or after watching the debates on TV or computer screens. The difference is the platform people use to do these searching tasks now. In previous election years, internet has been used as sources to look into the content of the debates; but this time around, with the boost in mobile technology and network, the most convenient and readily accessible tool at the moment of the debate for those caring audience is probably mobile devices, either their smartphone or tablet that they hold on to while watching a bigger screen.
A concrete example is offered by a report from Burns & Haberman,“After the question on energy policy, energy-related mobile searches jumped 311 percent; during and after the heated Libya exchange, mobile searches for Libya increased by 3,300 percent.”
By having a mobile device at hand, it seems that the audience could dig into the facts a lot easier and immediately without even having to move their butts. Combined with the easy sharing through all types of social media tools, no doubt we see so many postings everywhere before, after and as the debates go on. Some even argue that "Twitter has become a major force this election season, providing a platform for immediate spleen-venting." while some others argue "it's also shaping media coverage of major political events like debates, television interviews and conventions". It is seemingly true that social media has an impact on how the traditional media reach the audience now, but it is still yet to be determined to what extent that influence is going to be.
My mind just keeps having crazy ideas like what if one day people could vote on their smartphones or tablets? What would happen in that situation during a debate? Will the debate strategy be geared more towards trigging impulse consumption (in this case voting)? Will voters be able to regret their voting and take it back like we do return a product we are not satisfied with within a certain period of time? ... Too many interesting crazy ideas!
But for now, let's see what will happen in November! I am not sure at all who is going to be elected the president, but I am sure there will be another huge wave of social media postings and mobile searches after that !!
References:
Mobile search & Google info graphic: http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/infographic-presidential-debates-bring-out-mobile-search-activity-26342/#
Twitter and social media in election: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/world/Social+media+fuels+election+snark+less+than+weeks+before+vote/7454522/story.html#ixzz2AXPuEL60
Debate picture source: http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=808768#.UIxQG7S84w4
By having a mobile device at hand, it seems that the audience could dig into the facts a lot easier and immediately without even having to move their butts. Combined with the easy sharing through all types of social media tools, no doubt we see so many postings everywhere before, after and as the debates go on. Some even argue that "Twitter has become a major force this election season, providing a platform for immediate spleen-venting." while some others argue "it's also shaping media coverage of major political events like debates, television interviews and conventions". It is seemingly true that social media has an impact on how the traditional media reach the audience now, but it is still yet to be determined to what extent that influence is going to be.
My mind just keeps having crazy ideas like what if one day people could vote on their smartphones or tablets? What would happen in that situation during a debate? Will the debate strategy be geared more towards trigging impulse consumption (in this case voting)? Will voters be able to regret their voting and take it back like we do return a product we are not satisfied with within a certain period of time? ... Too many interesting crazy ideas!
But for now, let's see what will happen in November! I am not sure at all who is going to be elected the president, but I am sure there will be another huge wave of social media postings and mobile searches after that !!
References:
Mobile search & Google info graphic: http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/infographic-presidential-debates-bring-out-mobile-search-activity-26342/#
Twitter and social media in election: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/world/Social+media+fuels+election+snark+less+than+weeks+before+vote/7454522/story.html#ixzz2AXPuEL60
Debate picture source: http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=808768#.UIxQG7S84w4