Socialcaterpillar’s Weblog

After a brief hiatus from long-form blogging, what is it that has brought me to post again? The answer is this: that the internet needs more diversity. 

After the late Tim Russert’s recent leave of absence, I gave pause to how I get my news. He was a fine newsman, and one of the few I enjoyed watching, but the simple truth, is that I don’t not watch the televised news. I rely on social media.

I’m a massive fan of Digg, and (to a lesser extent, although I actually prefer their content) Reddit, and have been known to troll a couple of others. These sites are typically a good source for liberal-leaning articles and opinions on breaking news. Now, while I value the leftist lean of these platforms, what I don’t value is that my non-leftist friends (in fact not many of my friends period) use the site. This set my mind to wandering.

The issue with these types of services, is that they are targeted (albeit indirectly) towards the technologically oriented Gen-Y liberal types, who, as one might think, tend to use social media in general. This is a problem that keeps most Digg comments sections from being a debate between, say, McCain and Obama supporters, but between Obama and Hillary supporters (or at least before the ‘end’ of the Democratic primaries).

This isn’t a unique situation, but merely perhaps the most salient example of the ‘digital divide,’ when not only are opportunities lost by those who don’t participate, but a new media elite emerge. Do we really want a television media pushing a Fox News, right-wing agenda, and an internet media pushing a Bill Maher leftist agenda, with less and less crossover of truly meaningful debate on either?

Despite these problems, I think it is still apparent that the internet is the more open and accessible medium. It might be that this is simply an issue of critical mass, and the question is not if, but when will the hype surrounding social news sites such as Digg, spill over beyond not only the political, but also the religious, racial, and ethnic divides, which might act to keep it a walled garden. It seems however, that a new initiative might be in order; one akin to that of web accessibility. 

The core issue (as I give it some thought), might be a flaw in the Google-age mindset of advertising is king. Web advertising gives us a lot of democracy; by having corporations essentially subsidize our favorite and most useful websites, we enjoy free access. The drawback to this scenario being that it’s far cheaper to advertise to a well established market, than to make a concerted effort to reach out to a new (and potentially more diverse) target audience. With Digg this audience is the techno-crunchy left, and as more and more liberal Gen-Yers flock to social media, that leaves television with a more concentrated portion of aging conservatives. This isn’t even taking into consideration the ethnic, racial, and religious aspects affecting the situation.

The solutions to this be innumerable, but all I have to say is this: here’s hoping for more single Muslim ads.