Stay Open Minded to Better the Blogosphere…and yourself

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Republican or Democrat, Right or Left, One God or Many, Black or White? These are all binaries and to which many of us identify with. Societally, lines have been drawn and sometimes we are forced to pick and choose where we fit in.

In the blogosphere there are tons of different opinions of bloggers at our fingertips. But ask yourself, what are you most likely to read: Ideas which clash with what you believe or one’s that you can identify with? Most individuals stick with what they know and build off of one another who share similar opinions… Like last weeks article discussed, groupthink can be a powerful and sometimes dangerous thing. But politically speaking, blogs where others share our opinions can be a highly effective tool.

Howard Dean’s campaign blog, as discussed in chapter 7 of Stefanac’s, “Dispatches from Blogistan,” was a key successor in the amount of money donated to his campaign. It was a centralized location for those who supported Dean to go. 

But what I wonder, is if those who supported Dean ever took a look at his competitors websites? If they had, would their opinions change and be writing checks to an altogether different party? Quite possibly so. But they wouldn’t know unless they actually got a diverse mix of information coming their way. In a country filled with binaries and divisions, it should be on the top of our priority list to keep an open mind and look at both sides of the story. Blogs let us do that ~ there is a vast array of blog genres on the web and we can further educate ourselves at the click of a mouse. I fear that if we don’t open ourselves up to each others differences, then in the end it may even lead to another civil war. 

Things to Ask:
How can we encourage citizens to open themselves up to all political party’s blogs, to become better educated?
 

What are the pro’s and con’s of limiting yourself to one style of blog?

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