Silos
Aemula Writer Spotlight - 11.28.24
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
— George Bernard Shaw
Outside of our immediate communities, we receive most of the information that forms our worldviews through news and stories shared by strangers online.
Since we are unable to consume all global information, we must rely on some process of self-selection to determine how we allocate our finite time and attention. While it may feel as though we are receiving real-time information on the day’s events, we are only seeing the translated bits that flow through the people we follow, the algorithms serving content, and the platforms we choose to use.
Consequently, we choose to engage with platforms that reflect our own beliefs because they make us feel good. Only a small fraction of the population actively seeks out competing points of view, and this minority is likely overstated by a social desirability bias in survey responses.
This process of self-selection is recursive, sorting us into echo chambers that continuously stray further apart — information silos that are increasingly difficult to bridge.
This breakdown in communication leads to worse societal outcomes, as we are unable to optimize our ability to collaborate. The only way to reverse this trend is to abstract away the concept of individual platforms, accept and attract the complete diversity of perspectives, and engage everyone where they are in their current beliefs. The free flow of information from source to reader can allow everyone to discover new viewpoints over time and dissolve the clustering of information we see in today’s media landscape. Achieving these goals requires decentralization — a solution now possible with today’s technology.
This week, we highlight writers who are drawing attention to these silos of information. We encourage you to explore their work and share your thoughts with us below. We remain committed to building tools that expand worldviews and look forward to sharing some exciting announcements on Aemula soon. Happy Thanksgiving!
Sustainable Minimalists
Written by Stephanie Marie Seferian, author of Sustainable Minimalism and host of The Sustainable Minimalists Podcasts, with work featured in Reader’s Digest, Thrive Global, and on NBC News.
“This is what I mean by echo chambers: They encourage polarized, extreme thinking. And if flocking to the newest ‘it’ social media site that allows you to pick your own algorithm sounds like a better choice, know that doing so doesn’t solve the problem because the algorithm IS the problem. Any site that uses an algorithm to choose the content you see limits both your online experience and your ability to access diverse perspectives.
Wherever we frolic online, it’s high-time we ask ourselves: Why are we here? Critical thinking is hard, and we humans are creatures that prefer paths of least resistance. While reflecting on what we read takes work and while admitting nuances in any argument is always the harder path, we simply must do it anyway.”
Let’s Know Things
By Colin Wright, author of Becoming Who We Need To Be and Some Thoughts About Relationships, writer and curator for Aspiring Generalist, and host of the Brain Lenses podcast in addition to Let’s Know Things.
“Each week, I (Colin Wright) engage in calm, non-shouty, non-polemical news analysis, putting a current event into more intelligible, useful context for folks of all backgrounds, beliefs, and leanings.
I started this show back in 2016, and this approach to the news (and to understanding it) has become both more vital and less common in the years, since.”
Why I’m Choosing Mastodon Over Bluesky, Threads, and X
Written by Dan Thornton, Founder of The Way of the Web and Hot Mod Media, Co-Founder of Digital People in Peterborough, and long-time blogger with his work referenced in The Wall Street Journal, Buzzfeed, and The Guardian.
“I’ve loved technology as far back as I can remember, and some of my earliest memories were my first encounters with computers and videogames. Getting a 48k Spectrum for my fifth birthday was just the start.
The biggest catalyst for me was discovering internet access and realising how it broke down the barriers for me to become a journalist and writer. I dabbled in personal websites before starting my employment with Emap, and continued to run my own sites.”
We are expanding the number of users on the alpha test of the Aemula platform! If you are interested in joining the waitlist for free trial access to the platform, please email community@aemula.com.
If you want to support any of the writers we spotlight, we highly encourage you to subscribe to their individual publications. If you want to support independent journalism more broadly, we offer both paid and free subscriptions for you to stay informed!
All subscription revenue is reinvested directly into the independent journalism community.
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