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Obama Machine Knows What You Want

Posted Jul 16, 08 10:21 AM CDT in Technology,  Politics 

(Newser) – Although Barack Obama's campaign might have your email, you probably don’t know how much more data it's got on you, and how effectively it's using it to try to win in November. Salon looks into Obama’s incredible effort to glean powerful demographic information from voters—address, income, grocery store preference, and much, much more—to custom-tailor messages for a diverse electorate.

Information is compiled from what supporters volunteer, then combined with independent research and sophisticated marketing software. This complex approach allows the campaign to target a message about education, for instance, to a voter deemed statistically likely to have children. "It takes getting out the vote from the horse and buggy era to the space age," says one Democratic consultant.

Source Salon

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Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., bottom center, shakes hands with supporters at the National Council of La Raza Convention in San Diego, Calif., Sunday, July 13, 2008. The...   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., greets supporters at the NAACP convention in Cincinnati, Monday, July 14, 2008. The Obama campaign is using a sophisticated combination of...   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, Tuesday, July 15, 2008. The Obama campaign is using a sophisticated combination...   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., greets supporters after speaking at the National Council of La Raza Convention in San Diego, Calif., Sunday, July 13, 2008. The Obama campaign...   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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