Political mobilization needs new ideas in today's Pokemon Go era
Updated: 2016-08-09 07:39
By Lau Nai-keung(HK Edition)
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Everyone is suddenly catching Pokemon fever again. If you see a person holding a phone in front of them, but they are apparently not making a call or texting, you can be 95 percent sure they are hunting for "creatures" in the game Pokemon Go. It uses your phone's GPS and clock to detect where and when you are in the game and make Pokemon "appear" around you on your phone screen so you can go and catch them.
This is called augmented reality (AR), which is increasingly becoming part of our everyday lives. Many companies are working on the concept with various degrees of success, but we've never seen anything like Pokemon Go, and that's because every other app tried to overlay a virtual world on top of the real one. Pokemon Go does the opposite. Many among the younger generations already have a model of the Pokemon world; it is in their heads - colorful, mystical, and full, with so much yet to be discovered. And the app is overlaying the real world on top of that one.
Smart people in politics have realized Pokemon Go's potential right away. Soon after the game was launched in early July, Hillary Clinton talked about the phenomenon, saying, "I don't know who created Pokemon Go, but I've tried to figure out how we get them to have Pokemon go to the polls."
The creators of the game can of course have Pokemon go to the polls, and for only a small fee. The device in the game is called the lure module, which will bring more Pokemon to a location. It can be purchased in the app, or earned.
Using lure modules, Clinton campaign staffers and volunteers in Ohio have begun setting up voter registration drives at so-called PokeStops across the state, taking advantage of the real-world locations where gamers are gathering to catch Pokemon in order to register millennial voters. So far, the tactic has reportedly been wildly successful, to the point that the Clinton campaign has held an official event in Lakewood, Ohio, for volunteers to "get free Pokemon and battle each other while you register voters and learn more about Hillary Clinton!!!"
These tactics may also be employed in Hong Kong's upcoming Legislative Council election.
If you walk around Victoria Park, you will see people of all ages gathering in specific places inside the park. There are so many of them that you would think that there is a parade going on or something, but no, these people are there because of the PokeStops.
While there are definitely kids playing the game on their parents' phones, and every now and then you can also see middle-aged people of both sexes hunting for Pokemon, the majority of players are clearly people in their 20s and 30s. This demographic, incidentally, is also the most supportive of "Hong Kong independence".
Imagine how much fun it will be if a nativist group holds a political gathering and deploys lure modules. Youngsters can stick around catching a never-ending stream of Pokemon. In the process, maybe they can even make some new friends. If I were that age, I would love to be there too.
On Sunday, I walked past Paterson Street. Two Legislative Council candidates from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) were there campaigning. They were campaigning near the "Mr Tickle" PokeStop, where Mr Tickle is a real location on which a virtual PokeStop is superimposed. That PokeStop was the only one around where no lure modules were activated. I can't help but wonder whether the DAB's campaign understands the power of Pokemon Go and how the game works, and that it may be able to connect with the younger generations. A video of candidates playing this popular game would be a good way to draw them closer to young voters.
(HK Edition 08/09/2016 page12)