I just stumbled upon and deep into Standpedia, “The Social Encyclopedia of Belief,” which, as the name implies, is an experiment in debate, wiki- style. The site allows users to make an argument (links to back up your perspective if you like) on all the burning and non-burning issues (gay marriage, war in Iraq, the origin of life, Lance Armstrong as role model, existence of UFOs, which game console will be the biggest hit). Clicking on different areas of an argument in progress allows you to track the discussion, and literally view it from a different perspective. I don’t know if Standpedia will gather enough moss to make it as a business, but it’s a terrific social experiment made possible by the technology and user-driven belief systems that can bubble up so well in the best of this Web 2.0 world.
Tip o’ the ‘pedia to Solution Watch.