Clinton, Edwards and Obama Using SMS in Primary Campaign
Seems text messaging has caught on in the Campaign for Presidential Nominee.
Hilary Rodham Clinton announced in May that she would use SMS to gain support for her campaign. The mobile-to-mobile text-messaging push targets the 230 million Americans who use cell phones. Supporters send the word “JOIN” to short code 77007 and will in return receive updates and news, as well as personal messages and photos focused on the area they live in. Clinton wants to use the technology to provide more personalized updates to supporters nationwide.
Within the last week, Barack Obama launched an SMS service for his presidential campaign. Supporters send the word “GO” to the short code “OBAMA” (62262). Users can request information from the campaign, get speeches sent via text and submit their opinions and advise. The campaign will also provide ringtones and wallpaper with an “Obama theme”.
It was John Edwards however, who was the first in this Presidential campaign to use SMS technology. Last year Edwards launched a site dedicated exclusively to tracking and posting his text messages while he travels around the country looking for support. The site is updated constantly and logs both the time and date that the text was sent from Edwards’ phone. The site also includes daily short codes that users can use to receive updated information on his campaign.
