Politically Inspired Technology - The AAP’s my.aamaadmiparty.org platform

Politically Inspired Technology - The AAP’s my.aamaadmiparty.org platform

Very often, you find new technologies in search of a market. But in other instances, it is the reverse; new technology solutions are developed to address a specific need and then it turns out to be a winner. The rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has created some interesting opportunities for its young and technology savvy members to channelize their skills to solve pressing campaign problems. One of the primary goals of any political party involved in a campaign is to get access to data or information about its voters, its supporters, its members, its donors, etc. These “users” are scattered out across the globe and their identities are buried in various email systems, social networks and other Internet platforms. People from all over the world using a plethora of devices such as computers, phones, tablets, etc., to access and consume information, unwittingly leaving traces of their identity at most places. Then, in the physical world we have the age old technique of pen and paper based registration, hand written cheques, etc.

How does a political party collate all this information and harness the true power of its support base and grow this over time? How does a party identify and target audiences with specific messages? How do you reach out to your volunteers for help? How do you cater to different language requirements in different states? How do you address relevant news to voters based on their profile and location? How do you target NRI news to the overseas audience? Ultimately, it’s about gathering data and intelligence and mining that to your advantage. With advancements in technology, there are plenty of commercial solutions out there that can assist with tackling this challenge. But trying to do things on a zero budget, while under extreme time pressure, but purely driven by sheer passion for a cause is an entirely different story.

It is in this context that the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) newly launched “my.aamaadmiparty.org,” an innovative, first of its kind platform, built entirely by volunteers, makes a great story. One can register on the portal using credentials from Google, Facebook, Live, and Yahoo! So to start with, the registration process is just a simple click. Once you register, you have choice of becoming a member, volunteer, donor, etc. Further, you have the ability to create your own personal donation link which you can then pass on to your friends through email, social networks, etc. When this link is passed around and your friends donate to the party via that link, you get to see and keep track of it. In other words, you are not just a donor anymore, you are a donation generating engine of sorts. You can sit within the confines of your home, office, or pretty much anywhere, and fire away this link and generate donations for AAP. You could even be more aggressive and bombard your network with reminders. This network donation facility is called “The Ripple” as it slowly but surely flows through consenting adults’ bank accounts and credit cards to fuel the dreams and aspirations of the Aam Aadmi.

In the true spirit of "Swaraj" these donations have been decentralized such that donors can actually donate to specific candidate at a constituency level. Further, the system has the ability to display targeted donations for specific candidates based on the user's profile information such as the constituency. For the die-hard AAP supporter, the system gives you the embed code that you could use to add your favorite candidate to your own personal website.

Next, the system also gives you the ability to empower AAP to spread messages on your behalf on Twitter and Facebook. The portal can simultaneously fire a series of Tweets and posts on Facebook walls in a matter of minutes. This facility is rightly called the “Voice of AAP,” because each registrant can choose to become a carrier of AAP’s message. Most importantly, technology is letting the AAP do things for you with minimal effort on your side.

A big part of technology is its ability to provide metrics. The portal keeps track of your efforts for you so you can actually put some value to your contributions to the AAP. The portal will be able to give you real time data about how you helped AAP - the donations you helped raise from your network, and the number of Facebook posts and tweets that were done on your behalf.

What I have described here is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a whole host of things that can be done with this system and possible extensions, given the amount of data and intelligence that is available in just a few mouse clicks.

One of the AAP’s biggest challenges after Delhi has been its inability to manage the huge groundswell of supporters and volunteers who desperately want to help the party. Today, AAP has a simple solution: join the network, and get to work or let the technology do some of the work for you instead!

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this platform is that it was built and setup entirely by volunteers burning the midnight oil for months from across the globe. These folks have had several virtual meetings but never met in person. The biggest common factor that unites them is their love for the country and their firm belief in AAP’s dream for India. Never before in the history of Indian politics have IT professionals been inspired to such an extent. No matter which way this election turns out, the AAP surely deserve credit for inspiring and motivating techies around the globe.

The above has been written by Pran Kurup for The Economic Times