Hollywood Popular Artists

Sep 17th 2012, 14:44

Having trouble deciding which Presidential candidate your values most closely align with?

Or maybe you know who you side with on hot topics like abortion and gay marriage, but aren't so sure when it comes to less-talked about subjects like global warming, stem-cell research, or if Justin Bieber looked best pre or post haircut. We recently spoke with Taylor Peck, co-founder of iSideWith -- a quiz that helps undecided voters figure out exactly who they'll side with come election day. Since it's inception, over 3 million people have used iSideWith to find their candidate!

ACT: What inspired you and your buddy Nick to start iSideWith?

TAYLOR: Nick [Boutelier] and I were roommates after college. I grew up a political news junkie, whereas he was an undecided voter who didn't know much about politics. We created iSideWith to help remind voters of the issues most important to them, and to show them how their values align with those of political candidates. It's difficult, watching the news, to figure out where politicians stand on all of the issues. Or sometimes politicians tell rather than ask voters where they stand. We wanted to ask people, and to make something that would be accessible to casual voters, and also appeal to advanced ones.

ACT:  How exactly does iSideWith work?

TAYLOR: The quiz can take as little or as much time as you want it to. It includes about 20 yes or no questions, but if your opinion isn't that simple, you can expand each question to reveal more detailed stances. To the left of every question, you select just how important that issue is to you. From there, our algorithm matches you with the candidates. We'll show you where you stack up to each candidate on each issue, as well which party and state your ideals most closely align with.

ACT: You've done a great job incorporating social media into iSideWith. Can you explain what role sites like Facebook and Twitter play in all of this?

We make it easy for everybody to share their results on social media -- Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pintrest, etcetera -- so that their friends can also make confident, informed votes on election day. Quiz-takers also get an "influence score," which is how many people they've influenced to take the quiz.

ACT: Do you think that a misinformed vote is worse than no vote at all?

TAYLOR: No, I think everyone should vote. Even if you tune everything political out, chances are you've been slightly informed by the media. Everyone's vote counts. It's everyone's right to vote, and everyone should vote.

ACT: Humor me for a sec. If you HAD to pick either Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber for President, who would it be?

TAYLOR: Bieber. I saw his documentary. He would really work the crowd at a party convention!

To use iSideWith to figure out who you'll be siding with this November, or to donate to iSideWith so they can add more cool features to the site, follow the Action Link below. You can take the quiz on iSideWith's website, or on both the mobile and desktop versions of Facebook!

Media files:
iside2.jpg (image/jpeg)
iside.jpg (image/jpeg)
alexandraisidewith.jpeg (image/jpeg)
iside-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)