In our today’s class, we spoke about politics and participation and if there’s any long tail phenomenon of politics. Nowadays, the internet gets more and more influence to all kind of election information. Politicians use social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs for attain the public’s interest and awareness. Just for my side, I’ve also used the internet for gathering knowledge about the last election in Germany. I told you, that there was an online tool, called “wahl-o-mat”, which helped undecided people to find their favorite party. The tool includes different kind of questions concerning to different political issues. I’ve done some research and figured out that 7 million persons used the tool for helping them to find a solution to vote the right party. All in all, Germany has around 80 million inhabitants, so the “Wahl-o-mat” was definitely successful. That example shows well that the internet can support politics and elections. It is very interesting that a bunch of people try to involve such a online tool for helping them to choose a favorite party.
That sounds like a good filter gizmo, Daniel, and a good way for the folks who have a difficult time sorting out issues. The problem could be with a filter like that one that either one side or another might be skewed. I would hope that its results are shown to be impartial and fairly balanced.
ReplyDeleteI wish that something like Walomat was in America. So many people here determine their party and opinion of parties based on what their parents think. This is something that stunts our intellectual growth, and in my opinion, that is why we are in some of the mess we are in. I often ask people who proudly advocate their party, why they chose it. And I can honestly say, that I have only had one person who gave me a real answer. Most other people stumble and give me excuses that make no sense. So, I wish that there were something here similar to that so people could see how they really feel about a topic without mainstream affecting them, or their families.
ReplyDeleteVery cool. I will look more into this and hope to find it's American counterpart. If it is not already out there I would think that within the next election we should see one emerge.
ReplyDeleteIn class, I held a couple of concerns that this kind of political tool would work in a two-party system, as people's individual predispositions (religion, income, their parents' and peer's opinions) still pose strong determinants of their electoral decision. But after thinking about it, I would definitely say that such kind of a filter would at least help a lot of people make an elaborated and justified decision on election day, regardless of whether only two or six parties exist.
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