POLITOSCAPE makes it easy and convenient to explore the spectrum of political views by helping people identify and diversify their media ‘echo chamber’.
This team united around the issue that, in a world where we increasingly consume information that corresponds to what we already find interesting, people are getting narrower in their views. This is likely to have broader educational, social and political ramifications that we do not yet fully understand. This group is building an algorithm that helps people identify and diversify their info/media consumption ‘echo chamber’. They are working on an algorithm and associated applications that can suggest alternative, quality viewpoints and information to users, and focusing their product on the upcoming 2012 election year.
[UPDATE] Politoscape has actively continued to develop beyond the classroom. They were accepted for residence in the Harvard Innovation Lab in early 2012, and went on to win the Institute of Politics Gov 2.0 competition for the “most innovative idea to reshape American civic life”. See Politoscape’s landing page for further updates.