Blog #11: What I Learned About During the Second EOTO Presentations

Introduction:

During the second round of Each One Teach One, or EOTO, presentations, I learned about several different topics on several social topics, such as alternative media, echo chambers, whistleblowers, and the Overton Window. I was really impressed at the wealth of information I learned from these presentations, and enjoyed the topics thoroughly!

What I learned:

The first topic I found interesting was alternative media, which are "media sources that differ from established or dominant types of media (such as mainstream media or mass media)" (Source).

The pros of alternative media are found through its opinions it can offer on niche topics, the unfiltered information due to not having to keep a sponsor, and readers can feel more connected to the media source, due to its smaller size. However, alternative media can struggle due to its lesser funding, and difficulty in accessing stories in hard to get places. The effect of alternative media is the creation of a space for political analysis that isn't narrated by large companies because they don't have to chase or worry about making a profit.

The next topic I enjoyed was echo chambers, which is when the stream of information and the environment around it creates a bubble, which enforces preexisting thought patterns.

Although echo chambers are a negative concept, the pros are the people inside can find others who share their opinion easily, and it can create a tight knit community and connection. However, the cons are prevalent, as echo chambers can cause disinformation, it restricts the world view of those inside, causing tunnel vision, and generates distrust on opposing sides.

That brings us to whistleblowers, which is someone who is apart of an organization who reveals information about the organizations wrong doings to the public.

The societal impact of whistleblowers is wide, as it brings along culture shifts, distrust in the organizations, disillusionment to the people, and policy reform. Some notable names of popular whistleblowers are Edward Snowden, who raised his concerns on the global surveillance programs in the NSA, and Chelsea Manning, who released a large set of classified documents of the U.S. Army torturing and abusing prisoners'.

Finally, the Overton Window is the range of political possibilities and range of ideas that the public is willing to consider and accept. Politicians tend to focus on this to maximize election chances, as it brings in the most votes. 

Prime examples of the Overton Window in use is same sex marriage, prohibition, women's suffrage, slavery, and IVF, as all of these topics became more popular as time went on, so politicians used them to get voted into their respective offices. The pros of the Overton Window include the allowing of meaningful legislation to forward these changes, but has the con of the changes taking a long time to fix.

Conclusion:

I enjoyed learning about all of these topics by my fellow classmates, as they brought well presented information in clean and professional presentations! My favorite was learning about the Overton Window, as it is a prevalent topic that we can even see today in our current governmental elections.