Mobile is one of the key factors affecting Americans' perceptions of the political landscape today.

SMS news alerts, mobile polling and other mobile related services around this year's election are getting Americans more involved in what is going on in the country.

Eyal Yechezkell is CEO of NextWeb Media's Predicto. Predicto.com reaches thousands of Americans every day through mobile marketing and SMS texting by asking them to predict the right answer to a wide range of questions.

Mobile Marketer's Giselle Abramovich interviewed Mr. Yechezkell to get insight into how mobile is changing the way Americans stay up to date on subjects that have been under the radar in today's headlines. Here is what he said:

How is mobile changing this year's election and other political hot topics?

I think when you look at the elections when it comes to Predicto we are reaching a base that some polling companies are not reaching because we are making use of mobile.

We are reaching a younger demographic, who until now may not have been very active or alert when it comes to politics. Other companies that I know of are calling people on their landlines and polling them this way.

Mobile gets us to a younger demographic, people ages 18-24.

Why do you think so many companies are using mobile to forecast the outcome of the election?

I think mobile is a great medium. Reaching users on mobile and getting their view, in our experience, is highly personal. If we ask a question and someone answers, it interrupts their daily lives but they are giving their true perception and they can see what others in the Predicto community voted.

Using mobile to forecast the outcome of the election gets people excited and creates a buzz around the event.

How accurate do you think these polls are of the actual outcome? Why?

In some cases they tend to be highly accurate and predict the correct outcome. But in other instances we have seen that people in our community have been wrong.

Either way it is about fun with Predicto. It's exciting to voice your opinion and then see whether you were right or wrong. Additionally it is also fun to see how other members of the community voted.

What is the current state of mobile political polling?

I don't think there are a lot of companies who do this. It's like an interactive game. Its fun, people don't feel like they are being polled.

Right now mobile polling is a way for people to voice their opinions and be reactive to today's headlines.
It's a way to get people more involved and educated with politics and how current events will influence future events.

Our service also serves as a news alert service, bringing people's attention to what is happening in this country.

Do you think a lot more people are in tune with current events because of mobile?

Absolutely. Americans are consumed with work, family and friends. They don't always have the time to sit down and watch the news.

A lot of people are turning to mobile for news and sports alerts. We think this will increase with the adoption of smart phones coming to market.

Do you think mobile has influenced more people to vote this year?

I think what's happening is just by delivering content and asking questions, younger voters are going to get involved and actually participate, register and vote.

Historically the percentage of people who vote is not high. Services like ours will get their appetite going, not just on mobile but at the actual polls.

How has mobile changed the presidential campaigns in terms off what candidates are doing?

Well obviously Obama has made it very successful. He announced his choice for VP using SMS. This will make people's perception of mobile as a channel more serious.

I believe that mobile is changing the landscape. The next presidential election will have mobile in the forefront.