We’ve all seen the stats about the explosion of the mobile web.
There are four billion mobile phones in use globally. One billion of these are smart phones. By 2014, more people globally will access the Internet from a mobile device than a desktop computer.
Depending on who you talk to, mobile is either the next big thing or the big thing right now.
Given all this, I’ve fully expected the 2012 Presidential candidates to break some ground in their use of mobile. It is still really, really early - many candidates haven’t launched version one of their full websites yet and mobile is a technology that lends itself to the ground game. The cool stuff will come later.
But taking an early look at the state of things, the situation is pretty bleak, with most candidates not even doing the basics well at this point.
I analyzed the mobile programs of the fourteen candidates who have either formally announced or launched formal exploratory committees. Here are the key takeaways:
Below is a full table showing all the relevant data, as of June 20, 2011.
Candidate | Mobile Optimized Site | Text Message Sign Up | Mobile App for iPhone |
Michelle Bachmann | No | Yes | No* |
Herman Cain | No | No | No |
Newt Gingrich | Yes | No | No** |
Jon Huntsman | No | No | No |
Gary Johnson | No | Yes | No |
Fred Karger | No | No | No |
Andy Martin | No | No | No |
Jimmy McMillan | No | No | No** |
Roy Moore | Yes | No | No |
Barack Obama | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Ron Paul | No | No | No** |
Tim Pawlenty | No | No | No |
Buddy Roemer | No | No | No |
Mitt Romney | No | Yes | No** |
Rick Santorum | No | No | No |
*Michelle Bachmann has an app for her most recent Congressional race.
**Various candidates had apps created for them by supporters or companies seeking to capitalize on their popularity.
Like I said, it could be too early to be looking at this stuff. Great things may be on the horizon.
But at this point it is hard not be underwhelmed by the strategies being deployed by every candidate, with the notable exception of Barack Obama.
Note: If I missed anything, please let me know in the comments. I’ll update the table periodically as new candidates announce and new versions of the sites are launched.
Barack Obama Mobile Site
The Obama mobile site is the best of the bunch, by far.
Roy Moore Mobile Site
This site is even harder to read and weird looking on the phone itself.
Newt Gingrich Mobile Site
A solid start by the Newt folks.
Update: This post was edited on 6/21/2011 to reflect Jon Huntsman’s entry into the race and on 6/27 to reflect a new version of Michelle Bachman’s website..
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