Something significant has changed in just the last four years. We are collectively witnessing, and simultaneously creating, a networked public sphere that continuously scours the world for interesting information and collectively bubbles the most important stuff to greater view.
Call it “crowd-scouring” rather than “crowd-sourcing.” Yes, the latter still works quite well, and bloggers like Josh Marshall are showing how you can enlist your readers in bubbling up reports of robo-calls or a mysterious pattern of US attorney firings. But even without central direction, the crowd is scouring the world for interesting news and sharing tidbits constantly.
This is true on the Right as well as on the Left—though with public opinion apparently moving to the Left as the election comes down to the wire, their messages aren’t resonating as widely. But you can look at the continuing conversation on the Right aimed at unearthing more details about Obama’s relationship to Bill Ayers, ACORN, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, etc as evidence of the same crowd-scouring happening on the Left. (I have a small rejoinder on this topic, pertaining to Obama’s relationship to the New Party, which is covered in my book on third parties, here.) Bloggers on the right are trying valiantly to find the silver bullet that will revive their candidate’s chances. It’s looking less and less likely that that will happen, but if it does, odds are it will be because a blogger or YouTuber spotted it first.
” The Crowd-Scouring of the President (TechPresident)