First off I'm sure many will DV because they don't care or will blanket DV anything form a UM fan.  That's cool.  But, because I do get asked quite a bit why I'd bother to come post on a rival fan blog I figured I'd put it in one place, so here goes.

The reason I come here is two part.  The first part is simple.  Eleven Warriors posts a lot of UM specific content.  That drew my attention and often gets me engaged in discussions primarily about UM.  Despite what some posters think, the site welcomes fans from other places and of differing opinions.  The reason I stay despite what some would think is an unpleasant experience requires a bit more explanation.

One of the problems of the social media age is that it drives groups apart.  This has been shown here, here, here, and here.  All sorts of “free” platforms from Facebook, to Youtube, and even Google searches have elaborate algorithms that are made to point you to a specific place.  That place evolves over time because it’s AI.  It can’t tell you where it will point you, however every time you use it it gets better and better at pointing you there.  Some assume two people with the same Facebook friend group see the same news feed.  Not true.  Some assume two people doing a Google search for the same thing get the same answer.  Also not true.  Ever wonder why every time you hit refresh the Youtube it suggests different videos?  These are elegant designs to point you in the direction of your interests or at least your previous clicks.  What this does is it gives you what you want to hear and it divides groups.  It only gives you one point of view and it never gives you the other point of view because it knows you don’t “like” it.  

There’s all sorts of evidence that this polarizes us by hijacking normal human emotions.  Republicans and Democrats are more divided than ever.  OSU and UM fans are more divided than ever.  The list goes on and on.  So, one of the main reasons I come to a “rival” blog is to hear a new perspective.  I purposefully don’t surround myself with only like-minded people in order to keep an open mind to new perspectives.  I may not always agree.  In fact I may only rarely or partially agree.  But, I see other perspectives.  I tease out why they think they way they do with questions and dialogue.  And, that subtly over time opens me up to new ideas and opinions and slows the divide between us as rivals and as human beings even if it appears the other way around in the moment.