Dashboard Social Network Unveiled By Obama Campaign

President Barack Obama's reelection campaign on Wednesday introduced its online organizing tool for 2012, called Dashboard. The program enables volunteers to organize events, call voters and stay connected with campaign leaders from their laptops or mobile devices.

In an official launch video, Jeremy Bird, the campaign's national field director, says to "think of Dashboard as an online, nationwide field office." By signing up for the program, volunteers can receive updates on local activities, access phone numbers of prospective voters and participate in larger campaign efforts within a "neighborhood team." Volunteers and staffers can also use real-time data to track their team's progress.

"The immediacy of Dashboard really sets it apart from 2008," Obama campaign spokeswoman Katie Hogan told The Wall Street Journal. "It provides a good volunteer experience online that is directly tied to our field-operation goals."

As The Guardian reported last week, the hope is that Dashboard will be an election equivalent of Facebook applications such as "FarmVille" and "CityVille."

Mitt Romney's campaign launched is own account for online voters, MyMitt, in October.