Every major technological change has also changed the way campaigns are run and the structure of the campaign headquarters. Television created media consultants, and the internet brought digital directors into the headquarters. Once we started leaning on databases, the people working with voter files, CRM systems and digital advertising moved from the edge of the operation to its centre. I still remember what a revolution it was when we set up the first internet department in a Serbian campaign headquarters, back in 2011. Suddenly the building held people whose job description had not existed five years earlier, while the press office carried on untouched. This text grew out of Miles Maftean’s analysis “Meet the Campaign AI Engineer” (Partisan Hub). His thesis struck me as correct but not sufficiently tested on terrain like ours, so I have extended it with data and with experience from the campaigns of the past year. Everyone is looking for the dragon in the wrong place The curre...

  Wherever people are headed next, politicians are attempting to establish a presence and a foothold. TikTok for politicians is all the rage nowadays. The wager is that those who use it as their preferred social media will be the voters and contributors of the ensuing five to ten years. But how do you execute it correctly? According to many authors, the most difficult challenge is passing the teen eye-roll test. Other obstacles include the need to be completely authentic and to keep videos brief.   You can connect with old friends on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, take pictures with new ones, follow the tweets of people you know or celebrities you sort of know, or look at curated images from everyone's best Insta-lives. TikTok is an entirely different platform. You go there to enjoy the company of strangers. Watching videos made by people you don't know or have any connection with is typically a passive experience. Rather than bringing you closer to your own community, it i...