Using Social Media as a Venue for Debate

Posted By Amanda Walsh

A new social networking site has been launched to provide a place for people to share thoughts, concerns and predictions about the economic crisis in the United States. The Daylight Network group was founded by entrepreneur, Aaron Day, who created the site to foster "outside of the box" thinking to find solutions for the American public.

According to the article, "'The $5,000 Obama Prediction Market' allows users to follow government money, make predictions on the administration, and suggest non-government responses to the economy."

Day hopes to target economic/financial bloggers who are considered specialists in their field. Outreach is being done to gain popularity among college students, political analysts, and people living in the areas of the United States most affected by the crisis. One goal for the networking site is to grow membership numbers but above all, Day wants to encourage quality content and healthy debate.

"People are turning to the Webs and blogs [in response to the failing economy]," he said. "There is this large mass of untapped energy with ideas for debate."

The group seems to just be getting on its feet and after visiting the Web site, I'm not overly impressed with the layout of the pages or large amount of content but I do like the general concept and goal of the group. I thought this was an interesting story from PRweekus.com to share with readers of The PR Lawyer because it shows the ever growing influence that social media and networking can have on a public. Although, I'm not in the United States right now, I stay abreast of the news going on at home and am aware of the financial crisis that is going on around the world. As a social media strategist, I thought this was a new and creative way to encourage debate and hopefully find solutions for the best future for our country.