Local politicians have lauded Barack Obama’s savvy use of technology to build support — and, in some cases, are already emulating him.
Tech-watchers enthused about his campaign’s presence on close to 40 social networking sites, including Facebook, which helped to mobilise and connect supporters and volunteers both in their localities and across the United States.
Volunteers were mobilised or urged to pledge money through his website.
Obama raised more than $600-million for his campaign — more than any presidential candidate in US history — and half of this is estimated to have been in the form of pledges of less than $200 made via the internet.
In addition, Obama’s camp monitored blogging sites to test shifts in public opinion and to respond to often vitriolic criticism, while political messages were posted on free video sites such as YouTube.
Obama’s announcement that his choice of vice-presidential partner Joe Biden was to be made by text message drew three million phone numbers.
The proposed ”Shikota” party uses cellphone pledges and its websites (sanationalconvention.com and novemberconvention.com) to raise funds and interface with people, but it is the DA that seems most open to the use of technology in the build-up to next year’s general elections.
The DA’s director of relationship management, Anthony Hazell, says electronic electioneering is ”definitely a much higher priority than ever before”.
In the run-up to the Independent Electoral Commission’s voter registration drive on November 8 and 9, the DA recently posted videos of political messages from leader Helen Zille on sites such as YouTube and its South African equivalents, myvideo.com and zoopy.com.
Hazell says there is a DA Facebook page, while Zille has her own page. ”You need to engage with people where they are engaging and the youth are all on Facebook,” he says.
Hazell also uses an online reputation management programme that picks up on pre-determined key words (like Zille or DA) recently published in the blogosphere, allowing him to monitor and respond to what is being written about the party on the internet.
”It’s important for rectifying and engaging with bloggers on issues,” he says. A similar strategy was employed by Obama’s campaign team to ward off, or wage, blogging wars.
Johan van der Berg, the DA’s national volunteer co-coordinator, says the party’s two-week-old contributetochange.co.za website has already attracted 2 000 volunteers.
On the site volunteers can access telephone lists of voters in their area to call if they wish, or donate money or mobilise.
”The old idea of membership of a political party was extremely time-consuming: attending branch meetings, going door to door — you had to be massively committed,” says Van der Berg. ”Now you can donate money or volunteer time from the comfort of your own home.
”This country has the second-highest proportion of people using cellphones to access web platforms and email, so it important territory for messaging,” says Van der Berg.
According to a publicist from Verbal Images, a public relations company employed to help the Shikota party, the ANC breakaway grouping is keen to use technology to access funding and support.
”We will be creating a blog and website, we’re just waiting on the finalisation of the name,” said the publicist, who asked to remain anonymous.
”We’re using SMSes to solicit opinion on our declaration [from the national convention], get party funds and also interact with people. The whole ethos of the convention was to embrace people nationally and to get their opinion on issues, so this will continue through the internet and cellphone contact,” he said.
”Our current website has a comment box and we’re receiving about 400 to 600 comments a day, some of which is useful,” said the publicist.
He said Shikota was planning viral video and SMS campaigns.
The ANC was, predictably, taciturn on its own tech-strategy: ”There is much that we can learn from the techniques used by Obama, particularly in the use of new technology,” said Jessie Duarte in response to emailed questions.
However, she said that from the ANC’s point of view, there is no substitute for ”old-fashioned campaign work on the ground, getting out to meet voters face to face”.