Blogging, Media, and Politics

The blogger revolution has opened many people's eyes to politics for the first time. Many otherwise disinterested people have become engaged in ways previously not possible. But does this actually increase their grasp of reality? When political discussion is magnified and distorted as it undoubtedly has been since the advent of the internet, to what degree do people detach in response to the new onslaught of information?

Satire has bloomed in recent years to deliver political perspective in small, high-definition doses, much like the currently popular usage of political talking points as easily processed messages. These messages reduce complex subjects to soundbites and punchlines, and while this may increase perspective, it may not necessarily make one any smarter. If one is aware of the conflict in the middle east, as most Americans today are, one doesn't necessarily have the capacity for independent, original thought on those matters.

This effect may explain in part the polarization of the political landscape, which is undoubtedly affecting the entire globe. As information is dispensed at greater and greater volumes, the individual adjusts to lessen the onslaught by simplifying the messages. Messages may also be restructured (e.g. satire, shout-shows etc.) to deliver more intense messages that have clear value-judgments attached, which make them more compelling and easy to digest.

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AOL's Privacy Blunder

A Face Is Exposed for AOL Searcher No. 4417749 - New York Times

I said it long ago that these types of stories will continue to crop up as long as internet companies come to realize how much valuable information they are collecting through user searches. The focus throughout the 90s on delivering targeted advertising seemed shortsighted and shallow to me, when so much more could potentially be gleaned from the reams of data put out there through search queries. And it isn't comforting to realize that companies like AOL really don't know what they're doing after all. Shouldn't they be the ones who are aware of the huge privacy implications of collecting and compiling search statistics? This is not to say that this data should not be collected, in fact, in aggregate form this data has incredible value, for market research and beyond. But surely AOL and others know better than to release this data to the throngs of net users (and journalists) with nothing better to do than stalk people based on their web searches.

Netroots Fundraising

Jim Buie's Blog: Electronic Democracy

I'm linking to Jim Buie's Blog partly for the article, suggesting that if Al Gore could harness the netroots infrastructure built up by the Howard Dean Experience he could garner tremendous support.

I'm also noticing Jim's "Recent Comments" sidebar, and thinking that's a great idea when starting up a blog. It makes any willing commenters front and centre (well, left of centre) which is far more appealing than simply being buried in a tiny link at the end of the post. Blogs with the comments buried have a hard time starting up because there's a heavy "is this weird?" feeling when you post a comment to an empty blog. The publicity of a front-page comment section would greatly encourage participation. I like it.