[Air-l] 1$CAN on sophisticates and lefties over candidates

[Rod Carveth]

Hey, can I get into some of this action?  Now that I just bought a house, I 
need all the cash I can get.

I'll take JSG's position.  I can't think of a theoretical reason why the Net 
should result in more political sophistication (how exactly would you 
measure that, by the way?) or more liberal political thinking.  In fact, the 
first wave of Internet adopters tended to be Republican (given that they 
were more affluent than the general population), and there doesn't appear to 
exist any research indicating that group has become more liberal.

You could make the argument that the Internet, because of its low cost of 
entry, allows far more voices to enter into the political discussion, and 
hence it's more democratic (though that does not equal liberal).  And, 
unlike radio, the political discourse reflects more positions (other than 
conservative).  In reality, however, most Internet users go to websites that 
are "branded", often through their association with other media (that is, 
CNN.com, MSNBC.com) or mentions on the major media (that is, Matt Drudge and 
WorldNet daily).  Thus, while the Internet theoretically offers lots of 
choices, users tend to select from a limited menu.  In addition, they tend 
to engage in selective exposure when they do select websites and discussion 
groups (you don't see many Rush Limbaugh fans selecting fair.org).

I don't know when a political candidate will be able to attribute his or her 
win due to the Internet (Howard Dean's success so far with the Net appears 
more media hype than reality), but I much more sanguine about those 
prospects than the Internet creating a more politically sophisticated (and 
liberal) voter base.

I'll even put up 1$US.

BTW, JSG, getting midnight blue paint in your hair will probably make you 
popular with your students.  All you will need is a tongue piercing.

Rod Carveth
RIT

>From: "Jennifer Stromer-Galley" <jstromer at albany.edu>
>Reply-To: air-l at aoir.org
>To: <air-l at aoir.org>
>Subject: RE: [Air-l] 1$CAN on sophisticates and lefties over candidates
>Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2003 13:15:35 -0400
>
>Inane rivalries are the stuff of psycho-drama, and perfect for the
>academy. So, you're on, Philip. I'll even have $1CAN after the AoIR
>conference, although I won't need it, as I'll win this bet.
>
>I would be positively shocked (and secretly thrilled) if you could find
>that Internet adopters become either more politically sophisticated or
>more left-leaning. But, if people aren't interested in politics in the
>first place, how will their Internet use somehow get them interested?
>
>Off to paint one final room, ignoring Philip's color suggestion. I was
>thinking midnight blue. . . Buyers will like that, right?
>
>~JSG
>Who is sick of scraping cream-colored paint off her elbows and out of
>her hair . . . .
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: air-l-admin at aoir.org [mailto:air-l-admin at aoir.org] On
> > Behalf Of Philip N. Howard
> > Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 10:12 AM
> > To: air-l at aoir.org
> > Subject: [Air-l] 1$CAN on sophisticates and lefties over candidates
> >
><snip>
>
> > Maybe an important part of becoming a sub/discipline is
> > having inane bets and rivalries.  So I'll bet Jen 1$Canadian
> > that I can show that Americans are more politically
> > sophisticated after making the Internet one of their regular
> > media tools OR that the Americans are slightly more
> > left-leaning after making the Internet one of their regular
> > media tools BEFORE she finds a national political leader for
> > whom their campaign internet strategy was the sufficient
> > condition for winning.  In other words, I'll either find more
> > people engaged in politics, their political sophistication
> > higher, or their political norms more lefty because of the
> > Internet before she can find a candidate who wins office
> > because of the internet.
> >
> > This may take years, but I'll wager another 1$CAN that I
> > collect from JSG before she makes Emeritus.
> >
> > Open to friendly amendments.
> > Phil
> > Philip N. Howard
> > Assistant Professor
> > Department of Communication
> > University of Washington
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Air-l mailing list
> > Air-l at aoir.org
> > http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l
> >
>
>
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