The political season is upon us. Whether you are a politics-junkie or a couldn’t-care-less, it is fascinating to see what tech is being released to control the message people receive about politicians.
We here at StarterNoise refuse to endorse, don’t share our opinions or commentaries on politicians and don’t want to add to the mindless jabber. There are just two things that have caught our eye: #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain and All Are Green. Both of these releases are browser extensions that help you filter the information you get and control what you see on the internet. Both are voluntary and one of the two is just plain hilarious. (Opinion mine, not StarterNoise).
Messaging is important and these politically-based browser extensions make me wonder what will be offered in the future. Will you be able to filter out all messages about your friends’ babies in the future? Rename your nemesis something stupid? Ensure that a winter’s storm at home isn’t interrupted by a friend’s Spring Break photos of sunny beaches?
There are already plenty of tests that show that what we see is largely dependent on who we know – and therefore we only know as much as the people we interact with regularly. Could this go further? Are browser extensions reducing the possibility of connection and our opportunity to understand the world around us?
When the internet first was rising in popularity (yes, back in the stone age), one of the major positive draws was that everyone had access to information in a way that was never experienced before. You could interact with someone half way around the world, learn a language, and experience another culture thanks to the level of connectivity that was placed at our fingertips. But, would the rise of filtering software and browser extensions shut that down? Do we crawl back into small holes surrounded only by what we know and limiting our interactions and understanding?
What do you think? Would you filter your world or do you pride yourself on being able to see beyond what you experience everyday? Talk to us at @StarterNoise! We want to know how you feel about the power of connectivity.
