…and bridging internet divides
A Dec. 20 Pew Global Attitudes report found that social networking is widely popular around the world…
(via pewinternet)
Our director, Lee Rainie, recently spoke with ScribeMedia.org at the ARF audience measurement conference. In this video, Lee talks about the three revolutions that are disrupting the way people communicate and view content (the Internet Revolution, the Mobile Revolution, and the Social Network Revolution), as well as trends in methods of news consumption in America.
"The filter bubble phenomenon, I think that noun is applied to the idea that a search engine can get to know you and so it can get to know the source of things it thinks you’re interested in. You will end up in a bubble because you will reward the search engine — you will go to the search engine — it feeds you things which you’re excited about and happy about and it won’t feed you things which get you thinking… . As a result, you end up being dedicated to your tribe. You will never understand as a Yankee why the Red Sox were so ‘cachuffed’ to beat you a couple of years ago. As an Israeli you will never understand why you’re upsetting the Palestinian people. So, there’s danger in the filter bubble… Once you’re bracketed as somebody who buys pretty expensive stuff, the web won’t show you the cheap stuff and so you wont believe that the cheap stuff exists. You’ll have a twisted view of the world."
— Tim Berners-Lee (via azspot)
(via poptech)
"With television, people can limit their exposure to dissenting opinions simply by flipping the channel, to, say, Fox from MSNBC. And, of course, viewers are aware they’re actively choosing shows. The concern with personalization algorithms is that many consumers don’t understand, or may not even be aware of, the filtering methodology."
—
The Trouble With the Echo Chamber Online
(Source: The New York Times)
Everyday we Bubblin’
Found @ Portfolio.com.
Internet radio service Pandora is one step closer to going public, after filing papers that indicate share prices for its proposed initial public offering yesterday.
The company is offering just over 5 million shares, priced between $7 and $9 per share. Existing shareholders will also be offering 8.7 million shares. Combined, Pandora hopes to raise almost $142 million.
An excellent TED video that addresses the implications of the personalization of the web. As Pariser states these Internet filters operate as algorithmic gate-keepers, creating variable access, and by definition diminishing universal access to information. Code invisible to us is reinforced by our behavior, likes and associations. This feeds our biases and screens out potentially relevant information, reinforcing our world-views rather than challenging and balancing them.
