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Eli Pariser

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Eli Pariser
Pariser at the PopTech 2010 conference in Camden, Maine
Born (1980-12-17) December 17, 1980 (age 43)
Lincolnville, Maine, U.S.
Alma materBard College at Simon's Rock
Occupation(s)activist and author
Known forMoveOn.org
SpouseGena Konstantinakos

Eli Pariser (born December 17, 1980) is the chief executive of Upworthy, a website for "meaningful" viral content.[1] He is a left-wing political and internet activist, the board president of MoveOn.org and a co-founder of Avaaz.org.

Career

Pariser's rise to prominence as a political activist began when he and college student David H. Pickering launched an online petition calling for a nonmilitary response to the attacks of September 11. At the time, he was working as a program assistant for the national nonprofit More Than Money. In less than a month, half a million people had signed the petition.

Pariser joined Moveon.org in November 2001, when founders Wes Boyd and Joan Blades invited him to merge his efforts with theirs.[2][3] During the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign, Pariser co-created the Bush in 30 Seconds ad contest and raised over $30 million from small donors to run ads and back Democratic and progressive candidates. Writing for The New York Times Magazine in 2003, journalist George Packer referred to MoveOn as the "mainstream" element of what "may be the fastest-growing protest movement in American history."[2] Pariser was the Executive Director of MoveOn.org from 2004 to 2008 and since 2008 has been Board President.

Pariser later became concerned about the development of web personalization. He noticed a pattern of differing responses to search engine queries based on a user's past Internet search history, such that a person with a liberal orientation might get an entirely different set of responses than a conservative if he or she used Google, Facebook, or Yahoo to search for a phrase or term on the Internet.[4] For example, a liberal typing "BP" might get information about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, while a conservative typing "BP" might get investment information about the oil company. This led to his development of the concept of a filter bubble, a danger that people do not get exposed to viewpoints different from their own.[4][5] In 2013, Pariser joined the board of advisors for tech startup State.com, creating a network of structured opinions.[6]

Works

  • Eli Pariser, The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You, Penguin Press (New York, May 2011) ISBN 978-1-59420-300-8

Personal life

Pariser was born on December 17, 1980, the son of Dora Lievow of Camden, Maine and Emanuel Pariser of Waterville, Maine. He grew up in Lincolnville, Maine, and in 2000 graduated summa cum laude from Bard College at Simon's Rock with a B.A. in law and political science.[7] In 2005, he returned to Simon's Rock to give the commencement speech.[8] Pariser is married to Gena Konstantinakos.[9]

References

  1. ^ Carr, David (March 26, 2012), New Site Wants to Make the Serious as Viral as the Shallow, The New York Times, retrieved April 11, 2012
  2. ^ a b Packer, George (2003-03-09). "Smart-Mobbing The War". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  3. ^ *Markels, Alex (May–June 2003). "Virtual Peacenik". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
  4. ^ a b Bianca Bosker (2011-03-07). "Facebook, Google Giving Us Information Junk Food, Eli Pariser Warns". Huffpost Tech. Retrieved 2011-04-20. When it comes to content, Google and Facebook are offering us too much candy, and not enough carrots. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "First Monday: What's on tap this month on TV and in movies and books: The Filter Bubble by Eli Pariser". USA Today. 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-20. Pariser explains that feeding us only what is familiar and comfortable to us closes us off to new ideas, subjects and important information. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "State.com/about". Retrieved 2013-09-09.
  7. ^ "President of MoveOn.org, Eli Pariser ’96 Returns to Campus to Deliver Lecture", Bard College at Simon's Rock news.
  8. ^ "Eli Pariser's Commencement Address: Simon's Rock College Commencement Address by Eli Pariser, '96 on May 14, 2005", 2005, Simon's Rock College News.
  9. ^ "Eli Pariser Marriage License". Google Docs. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
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