The Presidential Debate and Apple/Android: Why Both Candidates Need a Better Mobile

The Republican and Democrat Parties are trying to find more ways to reach voters. Mobile Apps built for Apple’s iOS, Android, and Windows 8 give many politicians that opportunity. This is why both parties need to develop a mobile appvthat works.
By: AB Mobile Apps / AB Small Business Marketing
 
Oct. 23, 2012 - PRLog -- The final presidential debate will include discussion on: the Benghazi attack, nuclear weapons in relation to Iran, and America's relation and support of Israel.  This will be interesting to see as both President Barack Obama and GOP nominee Governor Mitt Romney will have their chance to prove their worth on foreign policy. This debate should be a swaying event, this close to the election.  With all the campaigning that has been going on for the last couple of months and all the money spent on the different sources for advertising it is fascinating that neither President Barack Obama nor GOP nominee Governor Mitt Romney have been using mobile apps to their full advantage.  President Barack Obama just released his new app last week, ‘find a democrat’.  GOP nominee Governor Mitt Romney released his own mobile app back in February “With Mitt”.  Both parties have more than one app either run by them or about them.  Yet both sides have had noticeable problems when it comes to technology.  

While President Barack Obama has had the last four years of pretty much nonstop campaigning, Governor Mitt Romney has only been back at it for about the last year.  With the win of the Republican primary, Romney has been swinging for the votes and until just recently it has looked like Obama had an advantage in the race, but now they are head to head in the polls.  These last couple of days before the election can make a big difference in who will win this race for the white house.

Both sides have had volunteers and delegates pounding the pavement with databasing systems to get to the voters.  President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign has taken its digital infrastructure to the streets, arming its ground troops with mobile software that maps Democratic voters and canvassing strategies, this app was released last week  for free download with Apple iPhone.  The app re-purposes already public information about registered voters, such as their first name and last initial, age, gender and street address. Supposedly the Android version is to be released this Thursday according to the Obama campaign.  

Obama’s new app “Obama for America” leaves a lot of people creeped.  Besides immediately being able to locate, register and tap nearby Democrats for cash and send intel back to a database it basically gives someone access to stranger’s names and addresses at one’s fingertips.  This raises the hackles of privacy advocates, and even some Democrats.  

When the “With Mitt” mobile app was first released users of the "With Mitt" iPhone application were greeted with the message "A Better America", urging them to express their support. The mistake went viral on social networking sites and a website for spoof versions has been set up.   This is only one example of how the Presidential candidates missed an opportunity.  Something as simple as a spelling error can tank how well an app is received and having it go viral only puts a bad feeling on the app in the future.

AT&T released apps for the Democratic and Republican national conventions which allowed people for the first time to be able to feel as if you're experiencing the conventions even if you're not on the ground there. The RNC app is called Tampa 2012, and is available for iOS and Android.  Tap the "Convention Without Walls" button and you will be able to watch live video from the convention or recorded highlights. There's also a tab to see the schedule and another to see tweets from key Republican leaders at the event. There are also photos from the floor.  The  DNC app is called DNC 2012. The Democratic version is available for iOS and Android, has streaming video, a list of tweets from key Democratic leaders, a schedule of the events, and a list of news stories. It also has information about Charlotte, including maps and good places to eat and drink.

Hopefully in the future apps candidate’s apps will be more like the AT&T democratic and republican national convention apps and help the candidates instead of hurting them. A mobile app should have some market research done to understand the needs of their target market, and what kind of functions the users might want. For an example, a mobile app that makes points about a politician’s policies and plans, while highlighting specific negatives to an opponent’s plan.

AB Mobile Apps creates and develops cross platform mobile apps for politicians, small businesses, and organizations. Contact AB Mobile Apps to get your mobile app started, and start making a difference with delivery your message.  Your market is mobile, are You?
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Source:AB Mobile Apps / AB Small Business Marketing
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Tags:Presidential Debate, Apple, Android, Mobile App Development, Mobile Appilcations
Industry:Technology, Government
Location:Michigan - United States
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