Cruxlux.com - Perspective Search, Debate, Blog Tools

An interesting online resource, Cruxlux offers a few different services. The first is a perspective-based search engine that lets you get an overview of a current topic (in politics, sports, etc.) from all sides, or focus in on video and articles from just your favored view, by getting a map of content. It also offers a powerful platform for online interaction between people/communities who have different vantage points, from various sites. The idea is to, as the site itself points out, “identify the root causes of disagreement on a question.” Lastly, it offers a pretty interesting micropayment system for bloggers and site administrators.



While search and finding interesting reading/videos seem the main focus of the site (and perhaps the most novel), the dynamics of Debate on the site are as follows: the user can post questions or join existing debates. The latter deal with general assertions or a concrete news article or blog post that merits attention. What’s more, the Cruxlux platform allows users to challenge people in the blogosphere. Algorithms move the best points of each side up, and people can participate from Facebook or embedding blogs too. Note that the full features of the site are available to those who register only. The registration process is free and instantaneous.



The site also includes comprehensive information on how the user ratings work, and the four parameters at play (“Strength”, “Leadership”, “Judgment” and “Participation”) are concisely described.



A nice touch is that CruxLux can be integrated into any existing site, enabling visitors to take part in debates from there.

“Shining a light on the crux of things. If something's true, it should withstand scrutiny, and if something's wrong, we should be able to help uncover that. With our novel and powerful technology, we allow interactive back-and-forth between different views, making it easy to see counterpoints to a given argument and to identify the root causes of disagreement on a question.”

It offers a map of web content by viewpoint (interesting to the casual reader or to the diehard of a particular view) and brings online debating to a whole new level. The micropayment integration could catch on.

Are there companies providing similar services, or is this a first?