Here’s what we learned from the voter turnout during this year’s Midterms: The last time the turnout was this low Adolf Hitler was still in power. Only 36.4% of eligible voters turned out for this year’s election! Nearly 40% of people said they used their phones to keep track of this year’s results.

So how does technology influence politics, voting, and the electoral process?

Today’s guests aimed to answer some of the questions that arise when discussing the potential of digital technology in the political realm.

Randi was joined by VP of Public Affairs at political PR firm, SKD Knickerbocker and National Spokesperson & Senior Advisor for Artist Engagement at Rock The Vote AUDREY GELMAN, and MATT MAHAN and JAMES WINDON, CEO and President of Brigade Media, a company determined to tackle the decline of citizen power while engaging a discussion in democracy.

Here are come choice thoughts from the show:

Taylor Swift pulling her music from Spotify:

MATT: Dislike. “Now I have to refresh Youtube videos to watch ‘Shake it Off.’”

AUDREY: Like. “Reminds me of the dispute with Napster. Musicians are the ones losing in this equation.”

Bono says tech start-ups are the new rock stars:

JAMES Like. “You have to feel like you’re marching toward rock star stardom.”

AUDREY: Dislike. ” I’m sick of Bono’s pearls of wisdom. He’s about 10 years behind everything.”

MATT “I wish it was as much fun as being in a rock band.”

A smell-emitting fork to flavor bland food:

AUDREY: Like. “It’s a savory Willy Wonka, applying tech to the way we eat food.”

MATT: Dislike. “I’m too into real food.”

JAMES: Like. “It’s opened up a whole new range of practical jokes I can play on people.”

Diamonds made from peanut butter:

JAMES: Like. “The more we can move on from the diamond industry the better.”

AUDREY: Like. “Whatever makes my jewelry habits more affordable is good with me.”

ON THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS:

MATT: “Given the incredible reach of social media, it’s surprising we haven’t seen a bigger impact with voter turnout.”

“There’s a much deeper cynicism and apathy we need to address. Brigade wants to connect voters and give them a forum to discuss the issues important to them.”

“The top of everyone’s Facebook newsfeed showed who voted resulting in a larger voter turnout and creating a stronger civic culture.”

AUDREY: “The biggest takeaway from 2014 is that when voting is made easier more people will vote.”

“Only 20 states currently allow online registration.”

“Unfortunately in many states there were places that made it more difficult to vote, not easier.”

JAMES: “The biggest hurdle is going technological.”

“The biggest piece of the solution is understanding the social dynamics of people offline and how that can be mobilized to take action during elections.”

ON BRIGADE MEDIA:

MATT: “We’re five to six months away from launch but the basic idea is to take offline social dynamics into communities where they can get things done. We want to leverage those dynamics in an online space. The issues that effect daily lives and how those tie into the political system along with their friends, family, and other like-minded people.”

“When you get down to local races, turnout is often in single digits. There’s no connection to the things that have the biggest impact in their lives.”

“Our mission is to help navigate the complex system of government.”

ON THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA DURING A CAMPAIGN:

AUDREY: “Spreading the word and increasing engagement in municipal elections are almost more important than on a federal level.”

“Get the facts out there. Information can largely be circulated off social media. You’re seeing the RNC and DNC use social media in creative ways.”

ON TECH’S ROLE IN ELECTIONS:

JAMES: “We are a tech company, half the company is engineers. The solution we are endeavoring to solve is in part a technical one.”

MATT: “Campaigns have always had a quality much like a startup. The hard thing about a campaign is that there’s always an end date.”

DOUG ELDRIDGE of DLE AGENCY called in, “Engaging the youth demographic is more done along the lines of athletes and celebrities. It’s part of the digital youth movement. Kids are typing before they’re learning cursive.”

ON CONTENT CONTROL:

JAMES: “The fact that people are consuming so much content is a huge challenge for campaigns. People no longer see where the information is coming from and they don’t put the information into different buckets. It’s all competing for attention.”

“We’re so focused on the social element because it’s a risky business to make politicians compete with digital content. What we’re focusing on is the relationship between voters, between constituents, between issues.”

For more about Brigade Media, go to BRIGADE.COM or @JOIN BRIGADE 

CHRISTINA GAGNIER called in to discuss how tech inspired her run for Congress:

“I started a company that teaches people how to use the internet to find work. I thought if I can run as a candidate and make tech a priority to people, I can move people to the poll.”

“I was a grass roots candidate, knocking on doors. Many people who are voting not around tech areas still aren’t online. 20% of our population don’t use the internet.”

The COOL GADGET OF THE WEEK goes to BLAZE LASERLIGHT

EMILY BROOKE, CEO of BLAZE:

“The biggest challenge for urban cyclists is personal safety. Side-sweeping incidents and blind spots are the biggest fatality to cyclists.”

“Last year we had 9 fatalities in London just before Christmas in a fortnight.”

“Kickstarter is new to London; it’s Silicon Roundabout here.”

“I did Kickstarter to prove the concept, people want this and will pay. This was my university project and I’m now shipping around the world.””

“Kickstarter is not a very British concept. You need supreme optimism.”

Fave apps: Barclays app to find the nearest bike.

Recently deleted: Daily Mail app.

Learn more at Blaze.cc or @BlazeFeed

Join “Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg on SiriusXM” next week when Randi discusses how to start a winery in the digital age, only on SIRIUSXM Channel 111 every Wednesday 9am PST/12EST.

Comments

comments