Sunday, December 03, 2006
Like I need another social networking site to be obsessed with.
I've been meaning to tackle this subject for quite some time: MySpace for politicos!
Essembly.com has been discussed a lot lately, a self-described "fiercely non-partisan social network that allows politically interested individuals to connect with one another." I joined the site a few months ago and have only been back a few times since, but was inspired to take another look after stumbling over an article on Personal Democracy Forum examining Joe Green's unique web site.
It's actually a lot like Facebook, with similar profile fields. The big difference, obviously, is the interaction. The site is built around "resolves," ideological statements that you can either support or counter, and you can add your personal comments after you vote. The main focus of your profile is your resolve answers, and you can create resolves if you don't find anything you can discuss. Not only do you have friends, you also have allies... and nemeses. Rather than secretly building campaigns and endlessly fact-checking to disprove people who disagree with you, you can be outward in your dislike of them. You can compare your opinions on resolves to those in your network, and examine the differences in your ideological bases.
I find the site to be really fun and interesting, I just haven't convinced anyone else I know to join it, so I've confined my comments to a minimum. I fear the nemeses. ¶ 10:48 PM
Essembly.com has been discussed a lot lately, a self-described "fiercely non-partisan social network that allows politically interested individuals to connect with one another." I joined the site a few months ago and have only been back a few times since, but was inspired to take another look after stumbling over an article on Personal Democracy Forum examining Joe Green's unique web site.
It's actually a lot like Facebook, with similar profile fields. The big difference, obviously, is the interaction. The site is built around "resolves," ideological statements that you can either support or counter, and you can add your personal comments after you vote. The main focus of your profile is your resolve answers, and you can create resolves if you don't find anything you can discuss. Not only do you have friends, you also have allies... and nemeses. Rather than secretly building campaigns and endlessly fact-checking to disprove people who disagree with you, you can be outward in your dislike of them. You can compare your opinions on resolves to those in your network, and examine the differences in your ideological bases.
I find the site to be really fun and interesting, I just haven't convinced anyone else I know to join it, so I've confined my comments to a minimum. I fear the nemeses. ¶ 10:48 PM
