Technology Changes the Face of Politicking

Taking cues from our tech-savvy President's playbook, some candidates in next month's midterm elections are tapping a new social networking tool to connect with constituents: Gowalla, a service that lets its users check in via smartphone to share their locations with friends and earn colorful digital "stamps."

The Texas-based company has come out with a campaign tool kit that's designed to draw potential voters to town halls and fund-raisers. Governors Charlie Crist of Florida and Rick Perry of Texas are among the earliest adopters of the technology, which enables their campaigns to schedule events on Gowalla and reward supporters with candidate-branded badges for attending and checking in -- a big incentive for the social network's users, who make a game of collecting stamps in their "virtual passports."