Politics Spotlight: Interactive SOTU; Yahoo/ABC videos; GOP mobile spend

In 2008 we saw social media play a key role in the presidential election, with Barack Obama using his network of online supporters to solidify his position. So how big a role will technology play in the 2012 election? So far, digital tools and platforms—for both politicians and news outlets that are covering election events—are already making some serious headway. “Throughout the 2012 battle for the White House, media outlets have been designing web apps dedicated to political coverage, while individual journalists have been tweeting and uploading photos non-stop,” explained Mashable’s Alex Fitzpatrick. President Obama took interactive political efforts to a whole new level with his recent State Of The Union address, which not only involved “enhanced streaming,” but also included a question and answer session with White House officials that people could participate in through Facebook, Twitter and Google+. “There is no doubt that the White House has become more social than it ever has been since Barack Obama was elected president,” wrote The Next Web’s Drew Olanoff.

News outlets are gearing up to offer prime online coverage of the elections, with ABC News recently partnering with Yahoo, resulting in several new political web shows including “George’s Bottom Line” and “Political Punch With Jake Tapper.” Mobile, too, is in the political spotlight, as presidential hopefuls start using it to target certain audiences and locations. “If we don’t hit them on their mobile phones, we’re missing a huge opportunity for people who are voters,” Zac Moffatt, Mitt Romney’s digital director, told Ad Age’s Cotton Delo. After all, as more people snap up smartphones, mobile could mean a big opportunity for campaigns. Paul Winn, political director for the Republican media-buying firm Smart Media Group, tempered that enthusiasm a bit, telling Delo that despite its cost-effectiveness, mobile’s scalability is still questionable. “For a House race where a candidate has $500,000 to spend on advertising, for example, and roughly 10% goes to digital and a fraction of that could be allotted to mobile, campaigns may not see the value of a small buy.”

• President Obama to Give the Most Interactive State Of The Union Address Ever (ReadWriteWeb)
  
• Tonight’s Presidential SOTU will be the most interactive ever. Here’s how you can be heard (The Next Web)
  
• GOP Presidential Hopefuls Experiment With Mobile Ads in Early Contests (Ad Age)
  
• ABC News and Yahoo! Launch New Political Web Shows (Mediabistro)
  
• ABC News and Yahoo! News Launch Daily Political Digital Video Series (ABC blog)
  
• 6 Ways the Media Is Using Digital Tools to Cover the Election (Mashable)
  
• Facebook, Twitter’s roles in campaign 2012 media coverage deepen (Los Angeles Times)
  
• Obama Uses Tech in Campaign, to Host Google+ Hangout (Forbes)