Blog Echo Chambers not so Dangerous
I understand the argument that says weblogs are leading to a narrowing of public debate, instead of the widening effect you would think a consumer-driven media would create.
People who agree with each other tend to share ideas, link to each other, and pat each other on the back a lot. You see that kind of behaviour all the time among like-minded bloggers.
What I don't get is the idea that this is somehow dangerous to modern society. Haven't people been e-mailing, faxing, instant-messaging and phoning each other with these kinds of echo-chamber tidbits and sentiments ever since the technology allowed it?
If I surround myself with other football fans who agree with me that the local team needs a major shake-up, that doesn't close my mind to alternate points of view. It just plugs me into an information network that is very efficient at spreading rumours and opinons with that common point of view.
The danger of getting too focused in your reading/listening/viewing isn't new to blogs. Nor is it unique to today's new media. In university, my peers tended to be hyper aware of counter-culture activities such as punk bands, foreign/independent films, leftie publications, anti-fashionable clothes, environmental issues, ethical business issues (boycotts of exploitive companies) and anything in opposition to authority figures.
"Question Authority" was a popular button to wear on our lapels. We were extremely skeptical of the bland, "balanced" coverage of local and international events presented by the TV networks and newspapers (media conglomerates were in their infancy, and were already showing suspicious signs of trying to homogenize the public's perception of events). We operated in opposition to government and corporate attempts to gloss over societal issues.
In essence, we used personal networks and sharing of alternate information sources to explore trends and topics that were deemed too offbeat for the media to focus on. And we insisted that our "radical" viewpoints were as valid as a media baron's. And because many of us were student journalists, we had access to a media channel for our anti-establishment views.
Sounds a lot like the echo chamber effect used to describe blogs and other new media.
Was I aware of the arguments being put forth by Ronald Reagan and Oliver North about why supporting repressive regimes in Central America was a good idea? You bet.
Did I believe that everything Americans did was wrong, and everything punk rockers did was right? Not a chance. But I chose to listen to, discuss, and share news and opinons about U.S. foreign policy that didn't mesh with what a lot of media outlets were telling us prior to the Iran-Contra hearings. And I think society was a lot better served because some people were willing to doubt and speak out against blatant lies being presented regularly by the White House press office.
I'm sure the left leanings in our college paper infuriated some students. But they had two daily papers, dozens of local papers, about 20 radio stations and a growing number of local TV stations already pumping out news and opinions that pretty much supported a status quo approach to society. So I don't think they were ill-served by a student paper willing to stir up debate a bit, even if we were sometimes preachy to our readers and not always fair to the authority figures we were challenging.
There was an echo chamber, all right, but I would argue the mainstream media was the one suffering from an unwillingness to explore alternate viewpoints. If my group of friends and associates retreated to a network of like-minded people who reinforced each other's points of view, it was mostly in reaction to the pressure to conform with official explanations.
An echo chamber situation can be unhealthy. But the fact that people are free to join into networks of people and information sources of their choice, participate in discussion, disagree with their peers, and opt out of those networks, is a healthy sign.
Some discussion on blogs, media and echo chambers:
Why Blogs May Be a Menace to the Craft of PR
The Echo Chamber Project (how media avoided criticism leading up to Iraq invasion)
Early Warning System (Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds on recent non-echo chamber behaviour)
Why Memeorandum and Digg Are Great: They Link Out
Blog Search for "echo chamber": Google Blog Search, Technorati, Icerocket, BlogPulse
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