Tech for Political Participation, Not Tech for Tech's Sake
The following guest entry was written by Chuck DeFeo, general manager of Townhall.com.
I have seen several articles this midterm election about politics and technology. And it amazes me how much people are still missing the point.
The Washington Post just ran an article outlining how in the future candidates will join online games like "World of Warcraft" and send their virtual avitars into battle with warlocks. Because that's where the voters are, of course, so candidates should follow. This is as nonsensical as it sounds.
Too often candidates become enamored with what technology can do when they should be thinking about what it should do. A campaigns goal is still to get 51 percent of the vote in this world, not in the online world. Technology should be employed to move voters from the online world into the offline world where elections still happen.
Smart candidates of the future will keep that fundamental goal in mind as they seek to use technology to expand their base of supporters and increase participation in the political process while they're at it. And who knows, maybe we'll see people investing their time fighting for causes they believe in rather than battling orcs.
Categories:
Campaign 2006
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