As far as the US is concerned, I think you're right Mashka, as long as candidates reach a certain basic level of likeability/competence. So many of the people who will actually vote are fully committed to one party or another, that a candidate would have to be very poor to keep them at home - let alone make them change their vote.
The GOP, I have to say, have at least looked at candidates who would fit that description: Palin and Bachman, for example. I say that as someone who thinks John Kerry was a terrible candidate for the Democrats, but Kerry certainly didn't sink to that level where he was turning committed Democratic voters away.
Mashka, I don't believe he lost because Orca failed, but Presidential elections in the US are now so closely contested, that getting potential voters to the polls is a vital element of overall strategy. The failure of the system intended to enhance campaign workers' ability to get-out-the-vote is a serious matter, albeit probably not decisive.
Given Election results it is clear to me that camp Romney was not using data to it's best advantage. It is very interesting to see how mauch data and analytics are increasinging providing the difference between seing a whole picture and missing it. I look forward to seeing the use of data evolve by the next election
As most of the people have already here, I'd agree that a mobile app would've been better suited to the needs of the Romney team. Having a web app severely compromises the need for data to be available on the go and as it changes. Plus the with a mobile application, there's a better chance of capturing more data and therefore servicng it to more people than with a web based application.
Here's the story of how Obama's team managed the technological challenge: with forty engineers -- "The team had elite and, for tech, senior talent -- by which I mean that most of them were in their 30s -- from Twitter, Google, Facebook, Craigslist, Quora, and some of Chicago's own software companies such as Orbitz and Threadless..." -- and plenty of advance testing.
Jabailo, I agree strongly. And looking into my crystal ball, I predict that turning out the vote - the ground game - will be key to the next election too. If things continue as they have the last four elections, the "undecideds" who might actually vote will become less and less relevant. It's a dwindling segment, and it's not even clear how to sway it.
What will be more important is getting your committed supporters to the polls.
Perhaps regrettably, this makes debating the issues even less important. Committed supporters don't much care what each candidate has to say about the issues.
dcawrey, it seems part of the problem was that volunteers assumed it was a mobile app. Unbelievable that materials were still being rolled out the evening before polling day.
Jason, I also suspect Obama's team had been putting together their technology for several years. It's widely reported that senior figures from the 2008 campaign went straight back into the field to prepare for 2012. Romney's team probably had a much shorter run-up (post the primaries?) and didn't make the most of it.
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