Mitt Romney To Announce VP Decision Via Smartphone App 461
redletterdave writes "In 2008, then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama decided to announce his running mate, then-Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, over a text message, which was sent out to Obama's legions of followers. Four years later, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the likely presidential nominee from the Republican Party, has decided to make his VP announcement over a smartphone app. On Tuesday, Mitt Romney's campaign team launched a smartphone app called 'Mitt's VP,' which promises app users will be the first to know the official news of Romney's running mate for the November election. Once Romney makes his decision, he will announce the news over the app, which will alert smartphone owners with a text notification."
Re:Politics aside (Score:5, Informative)
No, this is an example where they understand technology perfectly. You'll install the app to hear his VP announcement, and in the meantime you'll get push notifications to donate to his campaign, the latest anti-Obama ad message, and more notifications to donate to his campaign.
Re:I think everyone has already made up their mind (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mitt-romney/9424524/Mitt-Romney-would-restore-Anglo-Saxon-relations-between-Britain-and-America.html
Re:I think everyone has already made up their mind (Score:5, Informative)
This is not about using social media. It's about using the spying ability of smartphone apps to pad his fundraising mailing lists. Everyone who downloads that app will be giving their phone number and twitter name to the campaign. It could also grab their email address, and all the info on everyone in their contact list.
This is an extremely smart, out-of-the-box way of using social media as a stepping stone to outrageously unethical campaign advertising. It's a shining, heartfelt example of amoral power, a pristine jewel of fucking the public when they're not looking. I'm not surprised the Romney campaign came up with it.
Re:I think everyone has already made up their mind (Score:5, Informative)
He used to be very consistent about not performing any actions in Pakistan, but after OBL was killed he changed his position. Actually he didn't change his position, but he claims that he still would have gone after OBL in Pakistan even though he would not perform any actions in Pakistan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Mitt_Romney#Pakistan [wikipedia.org]
In 2007, Romney criticized then-candidate Barack Obama for stating that, as President, he would launch military strikes against "high-value terrorist targets" in Pakistan, even without the Pakistani government's approval.[123] In 2011, after such a strike resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden, Romney said that, if he had been President, he would have done "exactly the same thing."[124]