Big data is all the rage in the business world, but its making significant strides in politics as well. One need to look no further than the 2012 U.S. presidential election. While no single element can be credited for President Barack Obamas reelection, theres little doubt that big data was a major factor in his victory. What started in 2008 turned into a full operation managed by data scientists and analysts, all with the goal of getting more voters to the polls on Election Day. Its was one of many big data use cases that got results. Considering the success, many are even predicting that big data will be the biggest determining factor in who comes out on top once all the votes are counted. So does big data really have the bright future in politics many experts say it does? While its certain to play a major role, others arent quite so convinced of its efficacy, while some think big data is actually starting a detrimental trend in the political sphere.
In much the same way businesses can use big data to target specific segments of consumers, political campaigns see big data as their ticket to reaching out to individual voters. This is a noticeable change on traditional tactics, which would instead seek to divide up the population based on demographics: gender, financial status, marital status, where they live, etc. Campaigns would often tailor their messages to specific demographic groups. It was more targeted than communicating with a general audience, but not by a lot. Big data has changed that tactic, instead gathering information on individuals and crafting messages that can be molded based off of the person theyre trying to interact with.
Much of this data can be collected from the digital footprint people leave behind when theyre browsing the internet. Campaigns can know what sites people visit, what they purchase, what they post on social media, and any other bits of information found on the web. From this data, messages are designed that are intended to get a reaction. This was most often seen in the Obama 2012 campaign with targeted fundraising emails. The message would change depending on the individual, each with a different set of issues addressed and a different call to action posted. The goal is to get individual voters to turn out in bigger numbers, eventually leading to an election victory. Some political experts say a more personalized message could spur more people to vote after decades of declining turnout rates.
But campaign messages arent the only things affected by big data. Campaigns can now analyze big data in real-time to determine how well a candidate is performing. Big data may also be used to figure out how best to allocate resources. In a political campaign where time and resources are limited, its important to know where best to spend money on ads, rallies, and get-out-the vote drives. Resources that are spent on ineffective strategies could prove damaging to a campaign, perhaps even costing a candidate the election.
All of these possibilities show how big data is changing the world of politics, but some are skeptical about the overall effect its having. One of the biggest concerns is voter privacy. Campaigns are now amassing loads of data on individuals, and a security breach could not only hurt voters, it could send a campaign into a tailspin it wont recover from. Businesses already have difficulty guarding their own data; that task is even more formidable for something as fluid as a political campaign. At the same time, many are criticizing the use of big data, saying the emphasis on basing messages to an individuals taste and preferences only represents more pandering to the electorate. The critics contend that big data is now replacing actual leadership and principles, which would be a bad direction for the countrys politics to go. Others have expressed worry that big data is only being used to create messages that are apocalyptic in tone in order to get a reaction out of people. At the same time, skeptics say the result of big data use will only fragment politics even further by appealing to base voters and ignoring the casual audience. The result may be a more alienated population and a lower turnout.
Its still too early to say whether the big data critics are correct in their skepticism. Whats clear is that big data will become a central strategy as political campaigns finally shift from traditional tactics to more technological strategies. As such, we can expect campaigns will approach voters with tailored messages designed to get people to act. How this will affect politics in general and the nation at large will be interesting, to say the least.
