Every week I try to read one of my magazines so that I can recycle them and start to de-clutter my room. This week's challenge was November's 2009 InStyle which is pictured above. One of the articles, as advertised on the cover, discusses their favorite websites online. In the section, 10 Essential Bookmarks, the editors promote one site, Straightup Headlines (http://www.straightupheadlines.com/). As the article says:We love this site, which serves up scoops according to your specificI thought this piece was very interesting because it related to what we were discussing in class about the democratizing of knowledge on the Internet. Sites such like these tend to promote the idea of personalization, which when all is said and done, do nothing to increase the reader's knowledge of other topics. Because users are able to pick what they want to read, they will bypass all the other news articles that don't appeal to them for whatever reason.
area of interest, whether it's fashion, food or politics. You can scan for
a quick overview of all the important news and then click to see the complete
stories (InStyle, November 2009, pg. 245).
Although I believe that having favorite websites that discuss the kind of information you love is good, it takes away from everything else that a person should read to be able to make an informed decision. In that respect, I believe Sunstein's argument that without expanding a person's horizon of knowledge, individuals will not be able to come together in order to make important decisions that impact society. Everyone needs to have experiences from different backgrounds to make informed choices. Without it, how will they know if their decisions are right?
Furthermore, Internet websites should take a more active stand in being able to make regulations for information posted online. There should be requirements to tell all websites to provide opposing information to allow the readers the option to click on the link (although that doesn't mean they always will). Without some regulation, the gap between opposing minds will only increase.
I completely agree. I'm someone whose definitely fallen into the trap of personalization without even realizing it. I don't think many people know that they are so involved in what they want to see and look at, and therefore can never expand. For example, after reading these articles I realized that I was someone who went on the same four websites daily, and looking back, not one of those websites opened opportunities for me to try something new. I think once people become more aware of personalization, they might make a more concerted effort to broaden their horizons.
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