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WhereIStand Launches - Really More Like WhereTheyStand
A new NYC-based startup launched this week called whereIstand described by the company as a "user-driven opinion and issues site that discovers, organizes and presents a wide variety of opinions, debates and issues discussed all over the Web".
The idea is this: a topic is started and then users find opinions from politicians, athletes, movie starts, whoever and post their evidence that the person is either for/against the topic. Users can then add their own opinions or "stands" on the topic at hand. You can also compare your own views to another person. The concept is very interesting and can really help to see a broad view of opinions on a topic quickly and easily.
What the site needs is a friends option. I don't care as much what some Joe thinks as much as what my friends think. Let me create a topic, send it to my friends via email, and when they reply, it's automatically added to the topic.
Why I called it "wheretheystand" in the title is because it's not so much about normal folk - but about those in the light. We then add our opinions on the topic but it appears only those in the light get into the yay/nay photo display.
whereIstand also needs a big disclaimer on the pages as the content is found and entered by anyone. In one example regarding the Iraq war - it would be easy to switch a politician from yay to nay - and others might then change their vote or thoughts of that person based on erroneous information.
Allen, thanks for mentioning whereIstand. The pics display based on a site ranking and public figures will be more prominently displayed than others. But if you click the "my bookmarks" or "my contacts" links you see those instead. Also, we do show a disclaimer where the opinions of public figures are displayed. It begins, "A whereIstand.com community member has posted evidence of the opinion of this public figure..." The processes of creating issues and of approving public figure opinions involve the collaboration of users and/or site editors, so it's not really the case that it's easy to flip a yay to a nay. Finally, I'd like to mention that our community translates content into six languages (more to come) which you can access through the footer. You'll also be able to see and compare in English the opinions of people that speak only other languages. Hope this helps explain whereIstand a little better! Nick Oliva, President and CEO, whereIstand.com, Inc.