Last Wednesday we held PositionDial‘s LSE Launch party in association with Polis. It was a triple-decker launch –
- To LSE students
- Of our new responsive site
- And lastly, most excitingly, of our new action matches feature
As it’s our first post – I’ll summarize PositionDial super-quick..
See the different sides of the story
Seen a trending issue, news story or blog post? Want to see a different perspective? Think there’s a different side you’re not being shown? Check PositionDial – whether left, right, traditional, progressive, pro-independence or pro-union – we show you the different sides of the story in one place so you’re not left wondering.
Get your PositionDial
React to Position statements to get your PositionDial – a dynamic, living representation of where you stand on the issues you care about.
Excited for tonight’s @PositionDial launch at @PolisLSE! Finding out what direction my ‘moral compass’ points (if it exists!)
— Bennett Golder (@btgolder) June 18, 2014
Excited to be part of the @PositionDial launch at @PolisLSE. Do you know where you stand?
— Jemma Louise Smith (@theprgeek) June 18, 2014
Explore your action matches
Action matches show you which brands, organisations and MPs line up with your position. We’ve started with an initial spread of companies and UK politicians – and are building up. If there’s a politician or (independent) company data source you’d urgently like us to add, just let us know. Our MP action matches are powered by data positioned (by us) from TheyWorkForYou.com.
At the @PositionDial LSE launch, an app for defining where you stand & matching you with those who are acting on it. pic.twitter.com/6kmVkIw3ko — Laurie Laybourn (@lesloz) June 18, 2014
Why oh why
During the event I spoke on the deep problems our research at PositionDial has uncovered: from a lack of trust in centers of power, to the decline in participation at elections, to difficulty seeing and navigating different perspectives (aka the filter bubble), to the huge and growing demand from people, institutions, politicians and businesses alike, to know, understand and make better decisions in relation to the issues that matter.
Agonistic pluralism underpins @PositionDial. Sounds fancy, right? — Steve Chambers (@respros) June 18, 2014
I also touched on ‘agonistic pluralism’ – a core concept which underpins PositionDial – essentially it supports providing space for difference, not striving for consensus. And having a deep respect and concern for ‘the other.’
And how
Organising everything by position and perspective makes it easy to see, compare and find everything in an entirely new way.
David, our super-full-stack CTO, who quite heroically rebuilt PositionDial’s whole (big data) platform in a matter of weeks single-handedly – gave a quick tour of the pd magic…
He’ll be sharing more of how he’s making it all happen here when some feeling returns to the end of his fingers.
Never a word wasted
It was a great crowd in the room – we heard a raft of sharp and insightful feedback. If you were there.. be assured not a word was wasted and we will be discussing your ideas in the pages of this blog and more importantly (in keeping with the pd spirit) turning them into action.
Two sides: Austerity
We were also super-stoked to host a fascinating debate on austerity between Richard Seymour (writer at Leninology and The Guardian) and Harry Phibbs (Conservative Councillor and regular at Conservative Home).
Their totally different perspectives on austerity, the UK economy, and the global financial system more broadly – powerfully brought to life the value of hearing both sides of the story.
You can listen to their debate here (Dropbox audio download) and react to Position statements from both on PositionDial.
Give in to us
For PositionDial to work it needs to be powered by everyone. You can add media and opinion right now by clicking on the ‘Position empty’ sign and we will be adding more ways to contribute as the weeks roll on.
In the meantime, we are very open to suggestions via email, Twitter or comments on:
- Topics to cover
- Authors / bloggers
- Action data sources
- Position statements
- Blog posts / articles / videos
- Anything you think should be positioned differently
(We are still bug fixing from the big change over so please excuse any hiccups.)
