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In 2008, social media played a big part in the presidential elections as candidates like Obama, Ron Paul, and to some extent McCain utilized sites like Facebook and Twitter to expand their campaigns.  This year, they will be even more important and candidates are already working hard to take advantage of every tool they can to get ahead.

Both President Obama’s re-election campaign and Republican contender Mitt Romney’s campaign have adopted the latest tool in political fundraising: Square.  Square allows just about anyone, including campaigns, to accept donations from mobile phones (specifically smart phones).

More than that, though, Square could be a game changer as it allows campaigns to give workers and volunteers their own Square app that ties in with the main campaign app, thus making mobile armies of contribution collectors.  These people can each individually collect donations for the campaign, automatically keeping proper records, and have the money immediately added to the main campaign Square account.

This means that the individual campaigner for the candidate has no access to the information or money while allowing them to collect on behalf of the campaign safely.

Although in terms of dollar percentages, this tool is not likely to be significant in the monies raised this year, it is a potential game-changer for now and in the future as politics surges ahead with tech.  More than that, though, it creates huge possibilities for the grassroots candidate who may have a glut of manpower in the campaign, but be short on capital contributions.  Turning an army of volunteers into a mobile contribution solicitation service can mean a lot to a small campaign that would otherwise have little chance.

So while social marketing via social networks may be the huge thing for 2012, this new way of collecting contributions will likely be something that shapes mid-term elections in 2013 and beyond.

It’s rare that you come across a game that is a uniquely original take on a relatively standard game type.  We see knockoffs all the time, or games that are basically just the same old game idea with better graphics and maybe different icons.  Unlike those types of remakes, Amazing Breaker is a truly original take on a relatively common game concept.

The premise is relatively simple: you draw back your sling cannon to launch projectiles at an object and break it down – sort of halfway between Angry Birds and Breakout.  Except you have different kinds of projectiles randomly given to you and you can control some aspects of them mid-flight.

There’s one that breaks into three as soon as you tap the screen, one that can go through the object your aiming for and explode at a given point (you follow it with your finger and when you let off, it explodes), etc.  This adds a whole new dimension to the game play.  That’s on top of the game’s other core twist..

The objects your aiming for?  They’re made of ice.  They are beautiful renderings of stained-glass-like artwork and your goal is to break them down in as few shots as possible.  It’s easy to hit the objects (missing is actually more work, honestly), but hitting them strategically so as to do the most break-up per shot is a challenge.

You can bounce your shots off the sidewalls of the screen to hit higher points or get around obstacles and you can use the unique missile type you have on each shot to go for unusual shots as well.

This game is very addicting and a whole lot of fun.

If you happen to enjoy card games, especially online games against real opponents, then you’ll probably love this one.  Poker legend Doyle Brunson refers to this game as “the Cadillac of poker.”

Made by Vaiden Gaming, Texas Hold’em Poker is both beautiful to look at and very fun and easy to play.  I don’t mean it’s “easy mode” poker, I mean the interface is easy to understand.  You can play against the game if you’re not connected or (I recommend) play against other live players from anywhere an iOS device is connected to the Internet.

You don’t play for real money, of course, but you can purchase VIP chips to give you game bonuses in the game’s freemium model.

Before you sit at the table, you can hang out in the lobby where other players who’re online congregate.  This gives you a chance to talk, find fellow players you’d like to friend and get in-game with, etc.  It can also be linked to your Facebook profile so you can not only invite friends from there for friendly matches, but you can also send brags about game events to your profile.

After all, what good is playing well if you can’t brag about it?

Although the game sometimes slows down if your connection is not good or a lot of people are connected – I noticed it was slower to draw cards when at a table full of online players during peak hours.  Otherwise, it’s great.  Some have complained that it crashes once in a while, but I haven’t seen that myself.

This has become one of my favorite apps and I’m not really much of a musician.  It’s fun to play with, allows you to do some really cool mixes, and is simple to learn and understand.

DM1 is an advanced drum machine based on the older vintage style in-studio machines that many musicians are familiar with.  It turns your iPad into one of those machines and allows you to utilize different parts of the mixing board to create beats and changes quickly.

It’s got 29 electronic drum kits built-in and graphics that mimic the original machine, so it’s easier to learn.

Although this may not be stuio-ready, for the home recording artist and someone who needs good beats and sounds for practice or other use (or just to play with, for that matter), this is great.  It’s easy to edit and pull together sequences with a drag-and-drop finger-based interface.

Another limitation is that the app can’t import or export samples.  While for most hobbyists, this probably isn’t much of a limit, for a pro or semi-pro, it will be.  Still, it’s not meant for that market.

Overall, DM1 is a lot of fun and very well made.  Whether you play another instrument and need a backdrop or are just interested in playing with mixes and creating mixmaster fun, this Fingerlab app is for you.

Tons of fun, well worth the $5.99, and runs smoothly while being easy to learn.  A great app.

There’s been a lot of buzz since Amazon introduced the Kindle Fire last week.  It’s been touted as the next “iPad killer” and crows of the imminent doom of Apple were heard.  Except.. the Fire won’t do either of those things.  In fact, it probably won’t even take much of the iPad’s market share.

Why?

Because it’s not a tablet competing in the same market as the iPad.  Simple as that.  The Fire is not a universal tablet that can be customized into any of a number of roles.  That’s what the iPad is.  Instead, the Kindle Fire is a tablet that specializes in the job of delivering content – namely books, magazines, and the like.

That’s a different market.  The only rivalry between Amazon and Apple will be where the two markets converge, but that’s a small segment for both of them.

Here’s what I mean:

The Kindle Fire is a tablet second, an e-reader first.  It’s primary purpose (and the reason, incidentally, that Amazon is selling it at a loss) is to deliver content.  Content which, it so happens, Amazon is the world’s leader in delivering.  It’s not there to act as a platform for apps, Internet connectivity, or as a portable Netbook replacement.  It’s there to make it easy for the user to access books, magazines, movies, and so on from the Amazon Web platform.

That seems very straightforward.  Apple makes its money by selling gadgets.  Amazon makes its money by selling information (content).  The two companies are very different.  They are not generally in competition.  In fact, there’s a Kindle app for the iPhone.

All this talk about the Kindle Fire being an iPad killer is nonsense.

The latest news from Twitter is that it plans to open another office for its international interests – and it will be situated in Ireland.

Appropriately enough, news of the new headquarters was released on Twitter itself.  The Irish Industrial Development Agency made the announcement, which means Twitter will be set to join a number of other large recognisable companies who have set up business in Ireland.  Google and Facebook already have offices in the country, so it is no big surprise that Twitter has chosen to follow them.

However beyond the actual announcement there was little hint of the company’s plans for the HQ.  No one has any idea of how many jobs could be created there.  The only other thing we know is that the office is set to open in Dublin.

We often hear about the Silicon Valley in the US, but now we are hearing more and more about a Silicon Valley in Ireland as well.  This latest move to the country by a social media company will strengthen this vision even more.  However many jobs are created by the move, it will certainly be good news for those working in and around Dublin and have the appropriate experience to offer.

One of the main reasons why the Twitter HQ will set down roots in Ireland is the favourable corporation tax rate.  At just 12.5%, this is one of the lowest rates of its kind in the whole of Europe.  It makes it easier for companies like this to choose Ireland over any other location.