Refni Worldview Explorer

Your Worldview
Explorer

Refni lets you see the world as [someone else]
to diversify your thinking.

Refni lets you break out of your own information bubble and rediscover the world through other people’s eyes.

Imagine: people far from you, you admire, in careers you want to get into, or curious about. See what they see, read what they read, discover what they discover.

You can also help ‘unlock’ your worldview by syncing your digital media to stream what you read and watch. This will allow others to find and gain greater appreciation of how people like you experience the world – and vice versa – wherever and whoever you may be.

The 'filter bubble' problem

Companies such as Facebook and Google make content relevant for us by narrowing down and ranking information based on who they think we are, given everything we’ve searched, browsed, liked and posted.

While this makes our lives more convenient:

We can’t correct suggestions

We can’t see what gets filtered out

We don’t know what informs others

It’s hard to discover things outside of our networks

It’s hard to discover things we don’t yet know exist

Our worlds are narrowing

“A squirrel dying in your front yard may be more relevant to your
interests right now than people dying in Africa.”

Mark Zuckerberg’s reply to a journalist when asked about his view on personalized news feed

approximate number of signals that Google uses to track and guess who you are to tailor information and ads

average lines of data that US data broker, Acxiom, has on each person in its database. This includes 96% of – 300 million – US citizens. Insights are sold to its clients – such as banks, department stores – to help tailor information and marketing messages

Find out more, watch this TED talk (9 min)

“…It really makes you wonder. I mean, how could you have ever found the new and entertaining things you enjoy now if you only confined yourself to learning about similar experiences?”

“…I find I only have about 5 to 7 websites I go to any more. However in the beginning of the internet I really felt I was exploring instead of just getting what I think I want.”

For more viewer comments visit TED.com or TED (Facebook)

Explore the world as [someone else]

From teachers in Lagos to Cubs fans in Chicago: see what they see,
watch what they watch, read what they read.

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Own yourself

Information defines us. It changes and influences how we see the world and what we do.

Filter bubbles make it harder for us to see our blind spots. It also means how I see and understand the world could be very different to how you see and understand the world – but we have little idea of how ‘the other’ has arrived at a different view.

Extremist thinking, for example, is a social consequence worsened by knowledge isolation.

Our Mission

Humans are born to wonder and discover without boundaries. Information is the foundation of
understanding, tolerance and universal elevation.

We are building Refni to help you see the bigger picture – so that you can make more informed
decisions, own your own opinions, and connect with the wider world beyond your own.

Be part of something greater

Let me know at launch

Your WorldviewExplorer