Salon has an article on the marketing of Barack Obama, the "different kind of president."
Well, it may be different in some nebulous, indefinable way, but Obama is just an old-fashioned politician in other ways. First, there's the ever-growing list of flip-flops, and now, there's evidence that Obama's camp is collecting information about voters and potential voters as a way to pander--er, tailor the message to those most likely to respond.
You know, of course, that Obama has your e-mail address. You may not have realized that he probably also has your phone number and knows where you're registered to vote -- including whether that's a house or an apartment building, and whether you rent or own. He's got a decent estimate of your household income and whether you opened a credit card recently. He knows how many kids you're likely to have and what you do for a living. He knows what magazines and catalogs you get and whether you're more apt to get your news from cable TV, the local newspaper or online. And he knows what time of day you tend to get around to plowing through your in box and responding to messages.
The 5 million people on Obama's e-mail list are just the start of what political strategists say is one of the most sophisticated voter databases ever built. Using a combination of the information that supporters are volunteering, data the campaign is digging up on its own and powerful market research tools first developed for corporations, Obama's staff has combined new online organizing with old-school methods of voter outreach to assemble a central database for hitting people with messages tailored as closely as possible to what they're likely to want to hear. It's an ambitious melding of corporate marketing and grassroots organizing that the Obama campaign sees as a key to winning this fall.
Emphasis mine.
Now, I know that as long as we've had campaigns, politicians have told people what they want to hear (and when they didn't, they lost like Walter Mondale). And it doesn't really surprise me to read that Obama is just using high-tech to do some old-fashioned lying.
But I guess this goes back to the same ol' paranoia that prevents me from using grocery store cards or filling out surveys for cash: I just don't want anyone to know any more about me than I have to allow. This doesn't mean I'm naive enough to think lots of groups--including the government--aren't snooping through my records all the time. I just don't volunteer for that sort of exam.
I just found it a bit creepy, that's all.
Some very specific tidbits are available from consumer marketing firms; if you've ever registered a product -- a TV, a computer or a microwave, for example -- chances are the campaign knows you own it. Likewise, they know if you've signed up for the frequent customer club at your local Whole Foods, or if you've joined the American Civil Liberties Union. (Yes, those last two probably make you an Obama supporter). Or whether you own a gun and have a current hunting license. (An indicator you're less likely to pull the lever for him in November.)
There is a part of me that's always curious about what they know about me from my purchases. Does buying organic make me look more liberal? What about the organic lettuce nestled next to a box of Twinkies? Do they balance out?
More than anything, this article points out that Obama isn't any sort of "new politician." He's got new equipment to help him lie better, but he's still a politician.
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