SODAHEAD STAFF: HAVE YOU NO SHAME?

by SmittenKitten Posted 2011/08/31 17:48:42

Related Topics: Opinions, Liberals, Obama, Marketing, Conservative, Live, Rock, Conservatives, The View, Issues, Moved

Read all 476 opinions

Check out the HOT list.

Out of 13 politically-related questions, 12 are from Conservatives. This is better than most days. Most days there are no questions submitted by Liberals. WHY? Sodahead won't tell us.

Look at this one:

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/confirmed-barock-obama-...

Going into it's 3rd day on the HOT list, it has 506 opinions.

My question, which ran over the weekend, now has over a thousand opinions. Within 20 hours of being published, it had more opinions than the top question listed on Page 1 of the HOT list, on that very same day.

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/barack-obama-will-be-th...

My question, however, never appeared on Page 1 of the HOT list. I did find it on Page 2, for a very brief time, but as it received more activity, it was moved farther back on the HOT list. The last time I saw it, I found it on Page 12, even though it was more active than the top question listed on Page 1 of the HOT list.

And look at this question. It's on the HOT list and has only received 33 opinions . . . after 5 HOURS, less than 7 responses an hour!

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/obama-making-speech-wit...

This question is averaging less than 6 responses an hour.

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/a-possible-scandal-in-t...

This is an embarrassing situation for Sodahead. This is what they claim in their marketing propaganda:

"SodaHead is the premier opinion-based community where visitors discover, debate, and discuss today's hottest issues. They share their unique views on breaking news, hot topics and controversial issues and a diverse panel of staff writers provide original and exclusive content daily.

With that many angles, the discussions on SodaHead will open your eyes to a panoramic view of your world that you won't get anywhere else, allowing you to see the big picture and discuss it."

When you only promote the views of one side, the other sides are not represented. That doesn't equate to, "many angles"; it equates only to one.

Don't you think that Sodahead has a responsibility to live up to its claims?

+20

SodaHead 2011/08/31 20:46:41

+24
Hello,

Some members may feel that SodaHead is the site of an epic battle between left and right, where the only important content is political content from the left and right, and every action taken by SodaHead is influenced by some perceived political "bias" that favors one political party over the other.

When we make decisions about changes to the site, or decisions on what to feature on the rotating "carousel" pages, politics doesn't enter the picture. Why would we want to alienate an entire political party and drive them away from the site? That wouldn't be good for our traffic.

The questions you are referring to have worked their way to the 'Hot' section because of an algorithm that allows fresh/active stories with the most raves, comments, votes, replies, etc. Users voted them to the top -- SodaHead has no control over this. Questions with time stamps of 3-4 days older may not appear on the first page of the Hot section. Content that violates the Code of Conduct may be removed by SodaHead.

As always, please continue to produce good content and share your views with everyone -- there's room here for everyone's opinion, as long as we respect each other.

-SodaHead Support

Tips for Getting Featured on SodaHead:

http://www.sodahead.com/fun/s...
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More polls by SmittenKitten

tommyg ... to Smitten... 2011/09/01 01:22:33

+2
At least you still have a sense of humor. Something sorely missing in our political debate.

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Smitten... to tommyg ... 2011/09/01 13:45:34
GINGERBREAD 2011/09/01 00:38:29

+1
Oh well. what do we have here, another "VICTIM" Oh sigh, oh drat. I guess we all have to write our mea culpa to all the "VICTIMS" that we are creating. What's the matter, all you libs, just because you are loosing the debate, you are now claiming victimhood. Question, are you the "VICTIM" the same as the ugly people are "VICTIMS" or what?

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Smitten... to GINGERB... 2011/09/01 00:53:03
Boblawbla 2011/09/01 00:18:55

+2
Sodahead is monitored by filters and an occasional staff person or two to run the flow of the polls just at the edge of respectability to encourage liberals and progressives, middle-roaders to keep coming back. It is no secret that SodaHead is owned and operated by wing-nuts, but it's way beyond that. Almost every politically dividing or offensive poll and many of the individual "regular" member poll are written to push the agenda of the US government, despite the false flag polls that seem to encourage hatred for the president. It's down the rabbit hole, through the looking-glass and gets curiouser and curiouser.

All philosophical nuances or followers are given just enough credibility here to keep everyone thinking the owner(s) are legitimate and even-handed. There are reviews from Alexa dot com and other forums that spell it out. This place is illegitimate and it's a great place for the government to keep an eye on the we "the people". Just a little investigation bears this out.

For one thing, just take a look directly below at the "Top Opinion" and who wrote it... Mr. Sodahead. Have you ever taken a close look at the profile of the owner "Fef"? He has butt-kissers all over him, some are staff who pretend not to work for the man, and some are just the overall kissers who love the boss to love them......

Thanks for bringing it out in the open Kitten!

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Smitten... to Boblawbla 2011/09/01 00:55:58
Boblawbla to Smitten... 2011/09/01 01:22:58

+1
It goes much much deeper than that Kitten, and it's not just SH, it's Facebook and Digg for sure, probably Twitter and Linkin too. Have you ever been asked for extra info from a membership than would seem necessary? Have you had two or three sites get you to sign in through google or some other forum or website that you are a member of? You've noticed that Sodahead leans politically, and it is a right-wing website and they encourage people to hate one another, the poll questions are invariably over stated or meant to get people mad. Did you see the alternet article about Digg manipulating people, and it's happening as the onslaught of 9/11 ten-year anniversary television shows are going to hit. The official story from the government is going to be crammed down everyone's throats and it is the mission of the forums like this to occupy people with all the trivial crap so they won't listen to anything aside from the main stream 9/11 patriotic duty to believe the government stories. Did you see the Digg article?

http://blogs.alternet.org/ole...

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Suzy to Boblawbla 2011/09/01 01:49:47

+1
"It is no secret that SodaHead is owned and operated by wing-nuts"

What does this mean? Who are the owners? And, what do you mean by "wing-nuts"?

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Boblawbla to Suzy 2011/09/01 02:59:38

Take a look at FEF..... he is co-owner, and see Alexa.com for the rest of it, it's a vastly conservative and a government mouthpiece.....

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Suzy to Boblawbla 2011/09/01 03:20:06

+1
Ok, will do. What is FEF?

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Boblawbla to Suzy 2011/09/01 04:22:43

Fef's the owner/coowner of Sodahead, type his name in the top-righthand of this webpage, search his profile..... nice family...... right-wing-nut but a nice enough millionaire....

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JP 2011/09/01 00:15:51

+1
If the diehard liberals would quit blocking everyone who has a different opinion they may have a chance!

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Smitten... to JP 2011/09/01 00:56:31
JP to Smitten... 2011/09/01 13:29:56

+1
Good for you. I haven't blocked anyone for ages. Had to try it once. My rebuttal to your question here is yesterday Obama unveiled his 40th jobs bill, calling for infrastructure repair and more construction jobs to lower unemployment. Instead of having a good back n forth over this as a SodaHead Politics question, we are treated to some Dick Cheney story, something about Bachmann invoking God and O'Reilly misusing cops. I think SodaHead the site is seriously like MSNBC, while the users are just the opposite.

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Smitten... to JP 2011/09/01 13:51:33
JP to Smitten... 2011/09/01 15:03:08

+1
Most of the time when I look at the posts by Lucsey, SH Politics and others it is your typical distraction type post. It has no real substance and offers no ideas, just allows the liberals to bash. I think that the people put a much better product on here, and that includes the liberals. I miss the days when the main topics would be from BOB the union iron worker and the Simmering Frog...

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Smitten... to JP 2011/09/01 17:31:25
Chet 2011/09/01 00:14:14 (edited)

+1
Maybe its because you dress funny? Could be because no one likes you.

Most likely you just didn't like the fact your opinion piece wasn't put on the top of the list and you got pi$$ed off and wanted to blame someone....... damn conservatives and their algorithms.

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Smitten... to Chet 2011/09/01 00:56:58
Chet to Smitten... 2011/09/01 02:19:40

+1
The point is....... and I think most people will agree, Its kind of a childish move to bash a website politically because you didn't like where in the pecking order your question fell into.

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Smitten... to Chet 2011/09/01 13:58:47
Chet to Smitten... 2011/09/01 16:33:03

+1
LOL first of all, the insults were not directed at you, the were to make the point that I felt your argument was childish. Insulting each other is not the reason I come here.

That being said, you are entitled to your opinion, and honestly if you feel you are not being represented fairly, you can always not post here.

Losing the opposing viewpoints and arguments would hurt the format of the website a lot more than baseless accusations about liberals being shunned.

Bottom line that would be the most adult thing to do.

But, hey we are sitting here having this conversation so your obviously still getting your thoughts and viewpoints out there.

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Smitten... to Chet 2011/09/01 17:38:33
Chet to Smitten... 2011/09/01 17:57:38 (edited)

+1
Sodahead provides a format for you to express your views, period. I cant speak to their motives because personally I don't know them.

I do know that in a forum such as this the questions you ask, or the polls you put forward, should stimulate debate, agreement or dissent from BOTH sides. If a "liberal" posts something and it is wildly popular with other "liberals", while getting alot of response from people, its not from everyone.
That kind of goes against what this site stands for, which is open debate for ALL.

The job of the staff here (I would hope) is to present as many ongoing discussions,on as many subjects, being discussed by as many DIFFERENT viewpoints as possible. Sometimes less popular posts are being discussed by alot of DIFFERENT people, so they go to the top because they are more broadly viewed. This is only my opinion of course, but it seems a lot more likely than the staff burying "liberal" posts.

I do understand your complaint though, and I myself instead of complaining about what they are doing, would make them work harder to bury you.

Post more, answer more, make your voice heard.

THAT is the American way!

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Smitten... to Chet 2011/09/01 20:36:12
Wahvlvke 2011/09/01 00:05:18 (edited)

+1
Looks like SH questions from libs is akin to lib talk radio ... boring and uninteresting drivel.

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Smitten... to Wahvlvke 2011/09/01 00:57:50
Wahvlvke to Smitten... 2011/09/01 12:34:50

+2
Practically every one has failed. I think there is one on XM. The one started by Albore was involved in a scandal about misappropriation of some funds. Thay have no listeners ... hence the whine about wanting equal time.

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Alleycat 2011/08/31 23:52:32

+2
jr's post had 60 raves and yours only 20, his was a question and yours was a blog. I concur with the sodahead post, the algorithm used for top comments has worked well for some time now, why change it....

I remember when the liberals dominated the top slots and I believe it cycles according to who's in power.

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Smitten... to Alleycat 2011/09/01 01:00:16
Alleycat to Smitten... 2011/09/01 13:32:58

+1
116 comments and 26 raves, that's batting 21.42%... You blog got a lot of activity but no one particularly liked it, 1000 + comments and 20 raves, that's less than .02%.

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Smitten... to Alleycat 2011/09/01 14:02:20
Alleycat to Smitten... 2011/09/01 18:28:53

+1
No, I just know that raves on a poll or blog weighs heavily on its position, what I gave you was just a comparison in percentages.

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Smitten... to Alleycat 2011/09/01 20:40:28
Alleycat to Smitten... 2011/09/01 23:26:55

I would guess that the algorithm has been developed over a period of time and is proprietary and private. How they run their website is none of my business and If I feel they are treating me unfairly I would find another blog site to participate in. I would suggest the same to you.

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Studied 2011/08/31 23:31:30

+3
Maybe the Libs just do not ask relevant questions. What is it you are proposing? Do you want forced equal time? Ask a controversial question that will be debated by most.

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tony to Studied 2011/08/31 23:52:57

fairness doctrine? lol

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Smitten... to Studied 2011/09/01 14:05:19
FreedomFighter 2011/08/31 23:13:21

+1
The Hot list, if my assumption is right, is made from your topic raves, your topic only had 20 raves. Other topics have more, and you topic was on the first page of the hot list for about 2-3 hours when I was on the other day. That was the time I logged on until I logged off, it could have been up there longer. I do not understand your complaining.

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Smitten... to Freedom... 2011/09/01 14:49:25