Obama vs Clinton -- the battle of the text messages

Jose at the Washington Post published this overview of how texting is being used to help shape the developing democratic elections:

Early this morning, Sen. Barack Obama sent the first of three text messages to supporters who’ve signed up to his messaging program and live in the D.C. area. It’s a jam-packed message, starting out with an Obama quote, then asking supporters to forward the text to their friends. Most importantly, the text provides an 866 number to call to find your polling location. All you’d have to do is click on the number on your cellphone to make the free call.

“One voice can make a difference. Make that voice yours! Fwd this msg and make sure all your friends vote today for Barack. Questions, call 866-675-2008.”

That text is superior to the relatively generic message sent by Sen. Hillary Clinton this afternoon. Compared with Obama, Clinton rarely sends out messages.

“Election Day — don’t forget to vote! Every vote counts in the race for the nomination. Thank you so much for your support.”

At some point, the candidates are going to actually notice that texting is the best possible medium for immediate call-to-action responses. Obama’s team are certainly getting it.