Question everything. That's the mantra I live by when learning new information from the internet.
It tends to begin with one of the friends I follow on twitter or posting some piece of information. I take the bait if it seems liken interesting story. I click on the link if there is one, and so begins my quest to find out if I believe the story is true.
If at first look the link takes me to what I consider a reputable news source, then I might be content. If the story isn't too outlandish, I may be satisfied. If not, the hunt continues. I have clicked on that initial link that peaks my interest several times and then spent significant time in search for the truth.
I feel like I know the truth about a story when there is a first hand account, photographic or video evidence or two or more major news sources use the words "we can confirm."
Depending on the importance of the story I may not go to such lengths. A celebrity breakup may not grab my attention and someone prematurely killed off on twitter for the fifth time might just be too unbelievable to waist time looking up. There's also the occasion where others in social media figure out if a story is untrue before I need to do it myself.
Today I learned that Oliver Stone will not be directing the Martin Luther King biopic via a friend's Facebook post. The friend cited that the studio did not want to allow him to include his documented infidelity in the movie. This particular post was also shared by another friend and included the following link: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/01/17/oliver-stone-martin-luther-king-project/
Within the article there are screen shots from Oliver Stone's twitter feed to validate the truthfulness of the article and to further show his explanation of why he is not directing the film. Stone himself is providing confirmation. For me, this story meets my criteria for truth.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Influence of the Media
When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is check email, then bank account, Facebook, Instagram and Groupme. This is all on my phone and before I get out of bed, and sometimes this ritual is interrupted by me dozing back off into a brief slumber. I just might have a have a problem.
I consider myself to be a media voyeur. On a daily basis I consume as many pieces of information from as many sources that I possibly can, while rarely adding my own comment or opinion. I wake up and turn on CNN while simultaneously playing my favorite radio station in Atlanta from the comfort of my Syracuse bathroom shower (thanks to the wonderful Radio app). I sit at work, headphones in ear listening to Pandora while surfing my desktop web for Army Recruiting relevant photos, video and articles, and stop to check my twitter feed when my boss isn't looking. I'm a sucker for buzzfeed lists and political and media controversy that happens throughout any given day.
I do all of these things but I am rarely the person participating in a juicy hashtag or leaving an angry comment on an article that has made me upset by it's lack of research on a given subject. I update my personal Facebook status only a few times a year and change my profile picture only after a particularly cute night on the town.
The interesting thing about all of this is that I am a champion for social media at work. I am my organization's social media manager, I've been learning all there is to know about optimizing Hoot Suite, I give a presentation called "I love LinkedIn and you should too," I even take the time out of many days to get people's individual twitter accounts set up with a long list of suggestions on who they should follow. I am a participant in all forms of media I can get my hands on…but I keep my personal voice reserved mostly for those who know me personally.
A big news story about an event will completely consume my whole day. There are so many mediums available to get details and I enjoy few things more than watching a story unfold live. I may be a cynic because I enjoy all of the misinformation at the break of big news too. I believe that this has become much more prevalent in the age of having to get to audiences first with the story, when first often means the person on the scene with an iPhone and a twitter account. True and vetted information can't possibly come out that soon, so news agencies and the blogosphere go with first reports in the spirit of half truthful information is better than no information (breaking news was designed to correct earlier ill informed reports right??)
I for one, think the way we get information today is perfect. Story's unfold with us learning information at the same time as the reporters are giving it to us. I have beat Wolf Blitzer several times in the who heard it first game, and I look forward to those moments when I get to spend a whole evening trying to get the correct story from a mix of Reuters news wire updates and reposts on Facebook from someone who has all of the realtime information. This age of information we are in definitely has made me more conscious of what a good source of information is, what isn't and when that is an important factor. I enjoy the challenge.
I consider myself to be a media voyeur. On a daily basis I consume as many pieces of information from as many sources that I possibly can, while rarely adding my own comment or opinion. I wake up and turn on CNN while simultaneously playing my favorite radio station in Atlanta from the comfort of my Syracuse bathroom shower (thanks to the wonderful Radio app). I sit at work, headphones in ear listening to Pandora while surfing my desktop web for Army Recruiting relevant photos, video and articles, and stop to check my twitter feed when my boss isn't looking. I'm a sucker for buzzfeed lists and political and media controversy that happens throughout any given day.
I do all of these things but I am rarely the person participating in a juicy hashtag or leaving an angry comment on an article that has made me upset by it's lack of research on a given subject. I update my personal Facebook status only a few times a year and change my profile picture only after a particularly cute night on the town.
The interesting thing about all of this is that I am a champion for social media at work. I am my organization's social media manager, I've been learning all there is to know about optimizing Hoot Suite, I give a presentation called "I love LinkedIn and you should too," I even take the time out of many days to get people's individual twitter accounts set up with a long list of suggestions on who they should follow. I am a participant in all forms of media I can get my hands on…but I keep my personal voice reserved mostly for those who know me personally.
A big news story about an event will completely consume my whole day. There are so many mediums available to get details and I enjoy few things more than watching a story unfold live. I may be a cynic because I enjoy all of the misinformation at the break of big news too. I believe that this has become much more prevalent in the age of having to get to audiences first with the story, when first often means the person on the scene with an iPhone and a twitter account. True and vetted information can't possibly come out that soon, so news agencies and the blogosphere go with first reports in the spirit of half truthful information is better than no information (breaking news was designed to correct earlier ill informed reports right??)
I for one, think the way we get information today is perfect. Story's unfold with us learning information at the same time as the reporters are giving it to us. I have beat Wolf Blitzer several times in the who heard it first game, and I look forward to those moments when I get to spend a whole evening trying to get the correct story from a mix of Reuters news wire updates and reposts on Facebook from someone who has all of the realtime information. This age of information we are in definitely has made me more conscious of what a good source of information is, what isn't and when that is an important factor. I enjoy the challenge.
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