Politicians are progressively getting better at gathering together information on voters and campaigns increasingly can target individual social media users to micro-target their massaging. The average social media user may be tempted to ask questions like: what effect will micro-targeting have on what I’m seeing on my social feeds during the midterm elections? Micro-targeting has become a common tactic in advertising according to Margaret Rouse at TechTarget’s SearchCio:

Micro-targeting is (also called micro-targeting or micro-niche targeting) is a marketing strategy that uses consumer data and demographics to identify the interests of specific individuals or very small groups of like-minded individuals and influence their thoughts or actions. An important goal of a micro-targeting initiative is to know the target audience so well that messages get delivered through the target’s preferred communication channel.

The business model of micro-targeting has come into political campaigning with a vengeance. The Thomas Foley Institute at Washington State University organized a panel discussion on October 25^th moderated by Cornell Clayton, Director of the Thomas Foley Institute, to talk about the microtargeting trend in elections. The panel of experts included:

• TRAVIS RIDOUT: Thomas S. Foley Distinguished Professor of Government and Public Policy at Washington State University, and professor in Washington State University’s School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs.
• SHANNON MCGREGOR: Assistant professor in communication, University of Utah.
• EMILY STEWART: Reporter, Vox News.

The Foley Institute offers programs on public issues and education, supports student coming across in public service, and push academic research on public policy and political institution in a nonpartisan setting. The discussion lasts for about an hour. Take a look:

Also take a look at DC’s Voting Technology section for more.