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A record 1.4 billion mobile messages are expected to be delivered nationwide on Inauguration Day, according to estimates based on industry analysts’ findings and calculated by VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media division. VeriSign expects the flood of Jan. 20 messages to easily shatter the previous high mark of 803 million Election Day messages set on Nov. 4, 2008.
Michael Campbell, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing at VeriSign’s Messaging and Mobile Media, said the company anticipates no problems dealing with the glut of messages.
“On Inauguration Day, we foresee the potential to set another single-day record,” Campbell said in a statement. “Based on our recent New Year’s Eve experience managing a single-hour record of over 82 million mobile messages as the clock struck midnight in the Eastern time zone, we are more than capable of handling the increased traffic volume.”
Helping feed the expected record will be the Obama team itself, which famously built Obama’s winning presidential campaign on text messaging and e-mail. Obama’s Presidential Inauguration Committee announced Jan. 14 that anyone can text the word “open to 56333 to receive official news updates, transportation notices and opportunities to participate in the Inauguration, both in Washington and in communities across America.
“Unprecedented numbers of Americans are planning to join us in Washington,” Obama stated on the Inauguration site. “That will mean long lines, a tough time getting around and, most of all, a lot of walking on what could be a very cold winter day. Fortunately, you don’t have to brave the crowds and commotion in order to participate in this celebration, because we’ve made this inauguration open and accessible to communities across our nation.”
On the evening of Jan. 20, after Obama has been sworn in as the 44th president, the new president will celebrate by hosting the first Neighborhood Ball that will be broadcast live on ABC and also Webcast. Tearing a page from the successful campaign, the event will be linked to live parties across the country, complete with live uptakes from the Washington Convention Center.