Vol. 5, Issue 1 | Winter 2007 

Opening the Door for Political Dialoguing: RedBlue—A New Online Project

Imagine if you could enter a political discussion without another person attacking your viewpoints. Today, party engagement and debate through diplomacy and tact is becoming, to many, a dying cause. As the state of our country continues to be defined by political beliefs, people are finding themselves more likely to disengage from an environment where opinions no longer matter because the members of the other "side" will always think they are right. But what if this could be changed? What if people were able to reach that "Aha!" moment when they actually understand or at least respect the thought process behind another individual's opinion? RedBlue, a new online dialogue project, might be a solution to this problem.

RedBlue, developed in the fall of 2006, is an interactive Internet application that allows for a private one-on-one email-style discussion with someone holding an opposing viewpoint. The program attempts to "bring Red States and Blue States together."¹ According to RedBlue's Executive Producer, Evelyn Messinger, she and her colleagues "realized there is hardly anywhere to go for civilized dialogue, but it is sorely needed."² She believes the project has the potential to change the way our country views politics. Goals include helping individuals to better understand one another by encouraging people to work together to solve the issues that America faces in the twenty-first century.  

So what makes RedBlue unique from other online sites? Messinger relates that blogs are difficult to use because "if you don't [completely] agree with one side or the other, you will get flamed" and "Internet dialogue is in its most primitive form." Online text dialogues are not designed to support understanding among writers. RedBlue is unique in that it teaches participants the ground rules of productive dialogue and then supplies a fictional narrative scenario around a hot-topic issue. Participants are asked to engage in conversation, sharing their viewpoints. Should the debate become too politically heated or intense, a "virtual facilitator" is ready to step in to clarify the problem stated by each party. RedBlue is in the beta-testing stage of its virtual facilitation computer program to ensure that it adequately makes suggestions and provides feedback where it is most needed.

The site is a free service to anyone looking for a new avenue to discuss political beliefs.   Participants are matched based on political leanings; the site hopes to eventually add a more enhanced matching system based on variables such as income level, age, race, sex, etc. Eventually one-on-one discussions could move also into larger group settings. Through the support of Internews Interactive, Gekko Productions, Public Conversations Project, and other supporting partners and individuals, RedBlue hopes to become an "online dialogue that is somewhat evolutionary" to the way citizens take part in civic engagement.³ While disagreements will continue to exist, RedBlue is opening the door to more improved and sustainable political discussions.