Makes a lot of sense. When you go from three tv networks and a single regional newspaper to cable news and the interwebs people are going to quickly fill the void. the AP and reuters can still be the backbone, but its no longer required for the handful of news outlets to just report because the limited number of news outlets can't support diverse minority perspectives. Now, new guys can just offer to filter, groom, and present in a new packaged form. They'll pitch a tent on some internet real estate and friendly readers will camp out. Really seems like the way things are.
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Originally Posted by jOHN rODRIGUEZ
I know this is cliche, but I believe we've entered a new era of open mindedness. Hopefully.
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But I would agree with John. This is just a beginning stage of the internet, as long as it stays free (am I the only one suprised its still virtually free of censorship?) readership will progress into one that will be increasingly as diverse as the available web sites.
1. The internet graph has too many edges, too many connections. its virtually impossible to not stumble on something outside yer box of gold stamped ideas. Do a youtube search on ann coulter, olbermann might show up. People will have no choice but to be exposed to differing points of view even if its by arguing with PatriotUSA4EVA in the comment section. Thesis, anti-thesis, synthesis. In a way, I'm optimistic to see the internet as an accelerated dialectic process, that will start slowly, but increase in magnitude at an exponential rate.
2. Specific problems facing individuals vis a vis the economy, wars, climate, corporatism, environmentalism, religion, will essentially force people start searching and reading based on problems, not ideologies. As Carl Jung said, Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering. It seems to me that the real problems we're facing will do nothing but make the people who care think broadly and the people who don't care, start. And I honestly think the diversity of one's attitudes is a function of how much one cares.
I personally have everything from worldnetdaily (the birthers) to infowars (alex jones) to huffingtonpost (my favorite) to newsmax to dailykos to drudge, etc.. on my rss feed reader. Part of the reasoning was some attempt to stay intellectually honest even if it means wading through endless nonsense, but anymore, its been just a sincere desire to see all sides of a particular problem, because of how critical the problem has become.
I think our culture is in for some serious legitimate suffering.
3. Ideologies sag and die under their own shelf life.
This poll just came out that showed in the states both parties are losing favorability and voter association. Even more interesting is the independent camp is leading. Next election I plan to either vote for the libertarian or green party candidate, which ever one is less of a wing-nut. And I expect to be joined by more voters than ever in the history of the country.
Bush was dead to me because of the iraq war. Obama is dead to me because of the bailout and the way he's handling it. I think these things will be main stream opinion.
Anyway, no one sounds like mongoose except for mongoose.