shrimpfriedbryce: fatmanatee: Two people argue their differences regarding same-sex marriage in front of City Hall, in Portland, Maine, on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, a day after voters rejected the gay marriage law. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach) There needs to be more of this. I was thinking about how there’s rarely an opportunity to discuss any of these matters with people who disagree.  Tumblr is mostly liberal, and when I say mostly, I mean 99 percent.  Twitter has been more popular for conservatives, but you could very easily filter out whatever you want, and most people do.  Depending on whether you’re a liberal or conservative, you get alarmingly different perspectives on where America is going.  Attempt to venture to the other side, as conservatives occasionally do for Maher or liberals do for basically all of Fox News, and it’s very possible that you leave slightly humiliated for even trying. We’re not helping each other out by constantly serving up articles and videos to people that already agree with us.  I’m reiterating what Winston said, but it’s true… what the heck are we doing here?  Sharing ridiculous teabagger photos isn’t debate, it’s fun and games, but who’s paying attention? We have to figure out how to do this more effectively.  I have to do better. Well said. I was high-fiving and discussing Jon Stewart’s awesomeness with my friends earlier today. However, you raise a very good point - his message resonates with everyone that already agrees with him. We re-blog him ad infinitum (I’m looking at you AdamIss) but it will never move the dial of our collective social consciousness. Pictures like this give me hope that there are people out there willing to listen to each other. I’d like to think these two ladies are debating ideas rather than spitting spewing vitriol at one another. I especially noticed this during the presidential election last year. Tumblr started to become a giant echo chamber, a huge bullhorn that sang the praises of Obama. I was part of it, and for the most part it was fun, but I wasn’t really learning anything. It didn’t make me any smarter, any more informed about the relevant issues. The thing is - Tumblr, and the Internet as a whole can be polarizing; it can lead you towards group think because it rewards our similarities through likes, trackbacks, reblogs, tumblarity, and authority levels. But only when we decide to choose popularity over individuality. You can insulate yourself, and find only those who agree with you - but I went out of my way to find different voices, and that made such a difference. The beauty of technology is that you can find diversity if you really want to. That’s not always the case in real life. if you find yourself reading the same regurgitated message over and over again, you can celebrate it, complain, or do something about it. The choice is yours.

shrimpfriedbryce:

fatmanatee:

Two people argue their differences regarding same-sex marriage in front of City Hall, in Portland, Maine, on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, a day after voters rejected the gay marriage law. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)

There needs to be more of this.

I was thinking about how there’s rarely an opportunity to discuss any of these matters with people who disagree.  Tumblr is mostly liberal, and when I say mostly, I mean 99 percent.  Twitter has been more popular for conservatives, but you could very easily filter out whatever you want, and most people do.  Depending on whether you’re a liberal or conservative, you get alarmingly different perspectives on where America is going.  Attempt to venture to the other side, as conservatives occasionally do for Maher or liberals do for basically all of Fox News, and it’s very possible that you leave slightly humiliated for even trying.

We’re not helping each other out by constantly serving up articles and videos to people that already agree with us.  I’m reiterating what Winston said, but it’s true… what the heck are we doing here?  Sharing ridiculous teabagger photos isn’t debate, it’s fun and games, but who’s paying attention?

We have to figure out how to do this more effectively.  I have to do better.

Well said. I was high-fiving and discussing Jon Stewart’s awesomeness with my friends earlier today. However, you raise a very good point - his message resonates with everyone that already agrees with him. We re-blog him ad infinitum (I’m looking at you AdamIss) but it will never move the dial of our collective social consciousness. Pictures like this give me hope that there are people out there willing to listen to each other. I’d like to think these two ladies are debating ideas rather than spitting spewing vitriol at one another.

I especially noticed this during the presidential election last year. Tumblr started to become a giant echo chamber, a huge bullhorn that sang the praises of Obama. I was part of it, and for the most part it was fun, but I wasn’t really learning anything. It didn’t make me any smarter, any more informed about the relevant issues.

The thing is - Tumblr, and the Internet as a whole can be polarizing; it can lead you towards group think because it rewards our similarities through likes, trackbacks, reblogs, tumblarity, and authority levels. But only when we decide to choose popularity over individuality. You can insulate yourself, and find only those who agree with you - but I went out of my way to find different voices, and that made such a difference.

The beauty of technology is that you can find diversity if you really want to. That’s not always the case in real life. if you find yourself reading the same regurgitated message over and over again, you can celebrate it, complain, or do something about it. The choice is yours.