Sounds like a virus to me.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign is winning the tech-off against Donald Trump, with an update to its iPhone app that allows users to find potential supporters among their Facebook friends and message them directly.
The app, simply called Hillary 2016, takes advantage of how Facebook’s iPhone app syncs with users’ cell phone contact lists, allowing supporters to use Facebook as a guide, but text messaging to reach out and ask friends if they’d be interested in making calls for Clinton or traveling to battleground states.
Politico first reported this tweak, noting how President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign used Facebook to access supporters’ friends lists, before the social network yanked the tool two years ago, citing privacy concerns.
Now, the Clinton campaign has figured out a work-around with just 22 days to go before Election Day. Facebook had no comment to Politico, about the Clinton campaign’s move.
The way the app works is that supporters download it and they’re immediately asked for permission to connect to Facebook. They’re also asked to type in their cell phone number.
Then it shows them a personal Hillary Clinton campaign HQ, in cartoon form, on screen. They’re told to turn on the headquarters’ lights and explore various challenges, including committing that they’re voting for Clinton and sharing that image – one of several ‘Team Hillary’ badges – with friends. In exploring the headquarters, supporters are asked to ‘reach out to friends.’
From there, a dialog box pops up asking users’ permission to scour their contacts. Then, similar to the popular dating app Tinder, Clinton supporters can swipe through their friends and text the ones who might want to help elect the Democratic nominee.
The app also includes an ‘impact tracker,’ which uses friends’ profile data to determine where they live, so that they can be targeted by swing state.’Check out what states your friends live in,’ the apps says. ‘Ask them to get involved.’
Clinton supporters can ask their friends to chip in, volunteer, get texts from Hillary, register to vote, find their polling place, travel to key states or make calls – with an already-scripted text message popping up ready to go out.
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