I had never worked in a political campaign before walking into the local Obama office this Election Day and asking how I could help, so my perspective is limited. But everyone tells me that this was a watershed year for use of data-driven technology at the grassroots level. I agree; it was impressive.

My first assignment was to canvas a neighborhood, and the organizers didn't just send me out on a random door-knocking mission. They gave me a packet that included a Google map printout showing me the specific homes to target based on several data sources. Each house was to get a door-hangar telling them the location and hours of their polling place, and who to call for a ride. My targets were either registered Democrat or Unaffiliated voters who had yet to vote. The data on each included name, address, age, gender, phone number, and in some cases, their inclination to vote for a certain candidate.

This reasonably specific targeting based on public data sources was even able to sort through the little lies ("I already voted.") I heard from a few citizens. The data was refreshed several times a day, and people who falsely claimed to have voted could expect another knock on their door. And absolutely no time was wasted on those who could be identified as likely McCain voters.

No doubt this was a labor-intensive process, but near real-time information and a sophisticated Internet-based application created by the Democratic National Committee maximized the efficiency of the volunteers and the value of the data.

The Obama campaign leveraged the data they got from the elections board, but they also gathered and used their own data. If you went online to buy an Obama bumper sticker, you could count on at least several solicitations to contribute, volunteer and vote early. The campaign wasn't the only group plugging away with technology; the DNC and independent groups such as MoveOn.org were also leveraging their databases and technology.

So, how can candidates take it a step further next election?

Perhaps political campaign strategists can find even more useful data, or more sophisticated analytics can make outreach even more effective. Imagine if they tapped into shopping behavior, economic status, and social network/Internet pattern use databases. Microtargeting could allow a campaign to put resources where they would have the most impact. It could also provide individuals with an understanding of a candidate's position on issues of most interest. Some people might fear this level of knowledge is personally intrusive, but I have to believe it would make candidates more responsive to the needs of the electorate. I also hope that it would alert the campaigns that some people such as me are completely turned off by negative messages.