'Hi From the Other Side' app brings together Trump and Clinton voters who want to talk
Once upon a time, they were (Facebook) friends and neighbors. Post-election, however, many Donald Trump supporters and Hillary Clinton voters are looking at each other like they're self-righteous aliens from another planet.
A new app called "Hi from the Other Side" hopes to bridge that divide. Started by 29-year-old Henry Tsai, a student at Harvard Business School, the app brings together Clinton supporters and Trump voters to do the thing they want to do least -- talk to each other.
Interested users are paired up with someone who voted for the other candidate. The site encourages users to not just email, but to actually speak to each other, whether over the phone, on video or in person.
The goal, Tsai stresses, isn't to convince the other side but to get them to listen. The site screens users in advance in an attempt to weed out the trolls.
"We also deliberately ask some more human questions in our sign-up to try to screen for people who seem nice," the site explains. "Finally, when we match you, we also provide a conversation guide to help you get off on the right foot. We put the guide together with input from conflict negotiators and experienced facilitators, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on making it better."
The site hopes that users will have a productive conversation, instead of simply screaming at each other or threatening to purge them from their social media feeds.
Pre and post-election, every politician claimed that Americans were "more polarized than ever." Their refrain is backed up by data. According to the Pew Research Center, Americans are more suspicious of the other party's intentions than ever before. More than 4 in 10 Democrats and Republicans believe that the other party's policies pose a serious threat to the nation.
44% of Republicans and Democrats say they "never agree" with the other party's positions.
Facebook algorithms don't help, either, promoting posts and stories they think individual users will alike (i.e. match their political affiliation).
Hi from the Other Side may not bridge the divide, but at least it's doing something more than acknowledging its existence.
Topics Apps & Software Hillary Clinton
Heather was the Web Trends reporter at Mashable NYC. Prior to joining Mashable, Heather wrote regularly for UPROXX and GOOD Magazine, was published in The Daily Dot and VICE, and had her work featured in Entertainment Weekly, Jezebel, Mic, and Gawker. She loves small terrible dogs and responsible driving. Follow her on Twitter @wear_a_helmet.
