Young Americans (are) For Edwards; Obama (goes) Mobile

Updates: Two quick updates. First, looks like the Edwards Application is actually a side project of Fred Stutzman of Unit Structures and not an official campaign app. In a very cool note, Fred is open-sourcing his application so anyone can build off of it. Second, I don't mean to imply that the Obama campaign will literally be spamming people with TXT messages, merely that they are using their mobile program as a broadcast tool rather than a targeted, niche tool as I laid out below.
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Obama and Edwards have some new toys for you to play with this week.

OBAMA
Scott Goodstein (who you might remember from such organizations as Punk Voter), writes on the Obama blog to announce the launch of Obama Mobile. My phone is at home (and I'm having lunch in the office), so I tried to sign up via their webpage and got a "service unavailable" message. An inauspicious beginning to a program that I've repeatedly expressed doubts about. Goodstein says:

Millions of Americans relying on cell phones and are cutting the cords to their landlines - so this new service is essential for us to communicate with a growing number of Americans where they’re at.

We will periodically update everyone with campaign updates, local information, public appearances, and other info. We will also use text messaging to ask for your opinions and advice and give you the ability to request information from the campaign.

In addition, I’m excited to announce that our supporters have made a bunch of great free ringtones and wallpaper designs to personalize your mobile phones and show your support.

As you know, I'm skeptical about mobile content in campaigns thus far. The New Politics Institute notes that content is just starting to come into its own, and politics is traditionally far behind the curve, but I just don't see this as the breakout year for mobile organizing in American electoral politics. Maybe in 2012.

Regardless, my take on what Goodstein describes is this: It sounds like the campaign is getting ready to spam news to their supporters. Obama Mobile (like most campaign mobile programs) is a sort of forced RSS straight to your cell phone and you can't avoid the call. This is good for GOTV purposes, but really misses the boat I think for the other 14 months we have left in the campaign cycle.

I can't remember where I read about this, but I heard about a mobile service that you can text in (at anytime) to receive immediate information about local weather. Rather than spam supporters, it would make much more sense to offer services like this through TXT/SMS. For instance, being able to text "obama" to get updates on when he will next be in your area. Or to get 3 short sentences about his position on an issue for those late-night bar debates (Drinking Liberally?) when you can't quite remember what the Senator said about an issue. Haven't we learned any lessons about content distribution from the decline of network television and rise of cable that could be transposed to the mobile market? isn't "niche" the buzz-word du-jour? Campaigns should find a way to make mobile information immediately useful, personally specific, and by request (not forced as part of a mass TXT). This should be a service for supporters, not just a marketing vehicle.

More on Edwards after the jump.

EDWARDS
John Edwards unveiled two new items this week. The first was his own FaceBook application. It's very similar, yet still a few steps behind Obama's application. (That Chris Hughes hire is really paying off for the folks in Chicago.) Edward's application allows you to pull in RSS feeds of video and written content from his site, invite friends to join the Edwards mailing list, and allows the campaigns to use your FaceBook page as a fundraising vehicle by collecting contributions. It lacks some of the more interesting functionality of the Obama Application.

The Edwards Application didn't ask me to invite friends in the early primary states to install the application or join the campaign, and the video functionality, based on YouTube (Obama uses BrightCove) is also inferior as the video is undersized, overshadowed by the Contribute button/box. This feels like a first draft. A rushed product to start competing with Obama in the FaceBook application market.

On a side-note: while I'm not thrilled that Edwards is asking for contributions front and center, I don't think any candidate is fundraising correctly on social networks. Is it really so hard to create a monitored/trackable version of Chip-In? Campaigns (and "Causes") should let people see how much money their social networks raise. Supporters should be allowed to set goals and compete. Sending money straight (and anonymously) to campaign coffers is so uninteresting and inspiring. Why do you think folks kept donating to Dean's "Bat?" In part it was the thrill of seeing your contribution added to the tally and know that you made a difference. Campaigns need to tap into that spirit on social networks.

Young American's for Edwards is the second new item in Edwards bag of tricks. I'm always psyched to see programs of/by/for young folks in politics. Couple quick criticisms: where are the links to the SocNet sites and why is the site written in the third person plural? Content and visitors should be flowing between the SocNets and the campaign site (and as an Edwards supporter is surprised me that I didn't hear about the YAFE launch in my FaceBook newsfeed). And the site should talk about what WE as a generation are doing, not what THOSE "young voters" do.

Right now YAFE is promoting a program called Summer of Action, which asks young Edwards supporters to take action on one of a few major issues - the war, health care, global warming, Darfur, poverty, and student debt. YAFEs are asked to make a video about what they do to make headway on their issue, upload that video to YouTube, and tag it with "summerofaction." The YAFE website then aggregates and displays those videos. It's a very cool tactic and I hope they pull it off. I have one criticism and one caveat:

First the criticism: the campaign needs to provide some sample activities for each issue. It's a HUGE ask to throw this task out to people without any guidelines. One thing I learned at MFA - most people won't just spontaneously organize really good stuff. It takes a special person to self motivate and those folks are few and far between, especially in the numbers game of a campaign. Having sample activities - things folks can do to make headway on each issue - could make or break a campaign like this. People are much more likely innovate around ideas provided by the campaign than come up with totally new ideas on their own.

Now the caveat: It pains me to say this, but does Edwards have enough support among young voters to really get this to take off the way that it could/should?

So that's some constructive criticism and information about new tools/programs by Obama and Edwards. I have just one final thought? WTF is Hillary? Still no visible youth component or strategy to her campaign other than maintaining a presence on the SocNets.