Echo Chambers are Trumping Good Ideas
by Ian McCallum
 “Twitter can no more produce analysis than a monkey can type out a work of Shakespeare.” -The New Digital Age, Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman
Since time of early Mesopotamia, communities have been in search of pillars of data and good information. Today, we have an over abundance of opinion masked as information and few dependable avenues of information based on primary sources and reliable data sets.
With so much information, average people can choose the information they wish to view – often in very segmented and contrived manners. In the past...read more
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Uncivil Discourse and Mob Mentality
By Stephani Roy McCallum
Uncivil discourse. Mob Mentality. Groupthink. Divide and Conquer. Extreme polarization. You are either with us, or you are against us. You are bad and I am good. Some people just like to say “No”.
Whatever you want to call it, there is more of it, it is louder and it happens with increasing frequency in communities and organizations around the globe. And it takes place in... read more
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DP's Newest Course, When Things Go Sideways
By Kim Kolenc
Many people, including us P2 practitioners, encounter emotion and outrage and want to run and hide. (Want to know what this might feel like… watch this video posted on the European Platform Against Windfarms and gauge your reaction.) Braver souls may want to... read more
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In keeping with our thinking about Groupthink and mob mentality, we think there is always an opportunity to encourage constructive conversation online and face-to-face. We love this social media "Rules of Engagement" and encourage you to use it in your work.
Image source: http://www.technologyrocksseriously.com/2012/09/before-you-fb-instagram-text-tweet-or.html
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Video of the Month
By Tannis Topolnisky
In a recent project with SaskPower and the community of Sandy Bay, we conducted videographer workshops with students at Hector Thiboutot school and provided them with video interview assignments. Here’s a video the kids planned and conducted all on their own! Click here to view the video. You can read the full report on this project focused on transforming conflict and building a better relationship here.
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Photo of the Month
By Erin Pote
With the Stanley Cup playoffs right around the corner, who can forget the Vancouver riots of 2011? A large number of highly emotional hockey fans (and probably some non-hockey fans as well) wreaked havoc in the streets of Vancouver after the Canucks lost game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals to the Boston Bruins. This is an example of group togetherness and groupthink gone wrong. Read more
Image source: The Calgary Sun
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Top 10 Lists
By Stephani Roy McCallum
At Dialogue Partners, we're fans of top 10 lists: top 10 quotes of the month; top 10 conversation checklists; top 10 wines of the year; top 10 places to see before you die; top 10 Public Participation (P2) myths...
So we thought, why not a top 10 list of...read more
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