Washington (CNN) - In the 2004 election, "new media" was defined by blogs. In 2008, it was defined by Facebook and Twitter. In 2012, those social media tools will move from your computer screen to your pocket, as mobile technology helps define the new terms of campaign engagement.

Political strategists are getting ready for the new era - testing new uses for mobile technology, and generating massive contact lists. Last week, Harry Reid's re-election campaign launched a text messaging program surveying constituents on their feelings about health care. Those results were then sent out for all to see on Reid's campaign Twitter account.

"Last campaign was almost, but this campaign will be, a tipping point for mobile," says Todd Ogasawara, who writes the blog Mobile Content Today.  "A lot of these tools are not only maturing, but the people using these tools are maturing."

A third of Nevada's voters registered after Reid's last re-election bid in 2004. Thirty-seven percent of those are under the age of 30, a demographic that began texting not long after they learned to talk.

They may not pick up a newspaper, but they never put down their cell phone.

"The campaign recognizes cell phones are a primary mode of communication and we need to go communicate with voters on their turf," Reid campaign manager Brandon Hall told CNN. The new technology, he says, is driving traditional political organizing. "Instead of having someone knock at someone's door, it allows you to do all the traditional political organizing online," he said.
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