Contrary to the principle of separation of church and state, "In God We Trust" is plastered all over our currency. There is not too much controversy over this, either. But if we trust in God, in whom else do we trust? Reporters? Family, friends? Neighbors? Our pastors?
It's safe to say that trust has always been extremely highly valued, but today especially, it is becoming harder and harder to come by. Richard Nixon proved that the government isn't always trustworthy. There are daily apologies on the back pages of newspapers proving that they aren't always trustworthy. So who do people trust these days?
This general question parallels the more narrow question of who people trust for their news. Both questions are founded in people's ideals.
With the constantly expanding reach of social media, groupthink is becoming a greater contributor to where people get their news. Does this make news more or less reliable?
This isn't a straightforward question to answer. It also doesn't necessarily dictate the sources that people trust.
With social media, people can find out news from their friends, a source that most people can trust. However, if a friend gives you faulty information, versus a newspaper, you are probably more likely to lose trust in the paper before your friend. This stems from the idea that newspapers are assumed to be experts in their field.
For example, a friend of mine just this weekend posted to his facebook page that Dino Gregory made the buzzer beater for Maryland against Georgia Tech to win the game. Seeing this I looked at the Maryland athletics page and found out that it was Cliff Tucker who made the shot. Knowing this, I still trust this friend--because if I didn't, what's the point of friendship? However, if the Maryland athletics page reported this stat incorrectly I would be wary every time I got information from there.
Expertise is what differentiates my friend and the Web site. This is also what makes social media difficult. If you're not careful, you can mistake a novice for an expert. You have to be careful when getting your information. Trust in a source is something that you build up over time. You know your friends and most likely you're friends with them because they haven't proven that they are untrustworthy.
The sources that you trust are the ones closest to you and the ones closest to the source. When a source proves their expertise, they assume a responsibility to remain trustworthy.
So the final verdict on groupthink? Well what's the source? Groupthink doesn't always have accurate information, so it's important to remain on your toes. But it's also important to know the source of the information. If the source is close to the content in some way--an expert--they are probably more reliable.
How someone builds up their trust in a source or person varies by each person, but closeness to the subject and closeness to you are two major determinants in trusting a source.
Posted by Jordan Powell
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Perfection with a little help from your friend
With the possible exception of The Beatles' music, nothing in life is perfect. This includes the internet. However, with a little practice, it comes pretty close.
You can find almost anything on the internet. Whether or not you want to believe everything you find is a personal choice, but the beauty of the internet is that you have the ability to cross check almost any information that you find.
To test the power of the internet, I was given three things to find: Governor Perdue's campaign finance report, NC Voter registration information, and the salary of a UNC Professor.
The first was a little tricky solely because I couldn't figure out if the information I found was about the most recent campaign. I found that as of July 10, 2008, she reported a campaign finance of $2.34 million and $1.4 million in cash on hand. All I had to do was a quick Google search of Beverly Perdue's campaign finance and I found this data. There was a lot of other information because, apparently, there's a lot of controversy surrounding the governor's campaign finance so I had to filter through some stuff but it didn't take more than five minutes of looking to find what I needed.
The second was much easier to find. After a search of NC voting registration info, I could find any information on North Carolina voters that I wanted. As recently as this past week, North Carolina voters totaled over 6 million, 1.9 million Republicans and 2.7 Democrats. I also found gender and race break-downs.
The third was probably the hardest to find and to fact check. I found a Raleigh News&Observer Web site one which I could search for any university employee in the state. On this site I could see their salary, title, hire date and more. I found that Professor Thomas Thornburg in the UNC Chapel Hill School of Government makes $187,055 a year. I couldn't really find anyway to fact check this number besides actually emailing the associate dean and asking him.
The moral of the story? The internet rocks. It's easy to use. It may take a little practice to figure out how to find your way around, but practice makes perfect. Well, at least as perfect as possible until Yoko finds you. ONO!
Posted by Jordan Powell
You can find almost anything on the internet. Whether or not you want to believe everything you find is a personal choice, but the beauty of the internet is that you have the ability to cross check almost any information that you find.
To test the power of the internet, I was given three things to find: Governor Perdue's campaign finance report, NC Voter registration information, and the salary of a UNC Professor.
The first was a little tricky solely because I couldn't figure out if the information I found was about the most recent campaign. I found that as of July 10, 2008, she reported a campaign finance of $2.34 million and $1.4 million in cash on hand. All I had to do was a quick Google search of Beverly Perdue's campaign finance and I found this data. There was a lot of other information because, apparently, there's a lot of controversy surrounding the governor's campaign finance so I had to filter through some stuff but it didn't take more than five minutes of looking to find what I needed.
The second was much easier to find. After a search of NC voting registration info, I could find any information on North Carolina voters that I wanted. As recently as this past week, North Carolina voters totaled over 6 million, 1.9 million Republicans and 2.7 Democrats. I also found gender and race break-downs.
The third was probably the hardest to find and to fact check. I found a Raleigh News&Observer Web site one which I could search for any university employee in the state. On this site I could see their salary, title, hire date and more. I found that Professor Thomas Thornburg in the UNC Chapel Hill School of Government makes $187,055 a year. I couldn't really find anyway to fact check this number besides actually emailing the associate dean and asking him.
The moral of the story? The internet rocks. It's easy to use. It may take a little practice to figure out how to find your way around, but practice makes perfect. Well, at least as perfect as possible until Yoko finds you. ONO!
Posted by Jordan Powell
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The end of the world? Or just the end of an era?
The world as we know it is changing as we know it. The world today is much different than the one our parents grew up in and this change doesn't seem to be stopping. Everyone is constantly having to upgrade something just to stay on top.
This may be hard for some people to grasp, and a hard adjustment to make for others, but it is certainly not a bad thing. We found out that Americans were ready for a political change in the last presidential election. The time is now to embrace the swiftly changing media as well.
Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites of the sort are becoming increasingly more important in the world of media. Just like newspapers, radio, and television each saw their popularity boom almost overnight, social media sites are finally hitting their stride.
It's extremely easy to get news from these sites. Americans especially, but most people in general today love convenience. When I can use the same device to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, check up on what my friends and acquaintances are doing, AND get my news...Wow. What could possibly be easier?
Many news sources (such as CNN, NPR and more) already post breaking news to their Twitter pages with links to articles. These "tweets" can be sent directly to someone's mobile device.
Facebook is turning out to be just as good a source for news. Most young adults spend approximately 80%* of their free time checking their Facebook page. News sources are taking advantage of this.
In my current town of Chapel Hill, there is a plethora of local news available to me via Facebook. The Town of Chapel Hill has a page for government updates. A local talk radio news station, 1360, even has a page.
Social networking is revolutionizing the media work like cable TV before it, network TV before that, etc.
Hop on the bandwagon if you want. But if you don't, don't be surprised when the train leaves without you. This isn't the end of the world. It's just the end of the world as we know it. One might even say this is only the beginning...
Posted by Jordan Powell
*statistics estimated
Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites of the sort are becoming increasingly more important in the world of media. Just like newspapers, radio, and television each saw their popularity boom almost overnight, social media sites are finally hitting their stride.
It's extremely easy to get news from these sites. Americans especially, but most people in general today love convenience. When I can use the same device to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, check up on what my friends and acquaintances are doing, AND get my news...Wow. What could possibly be easier?
Many news sources (such as CNN, NPR and more) already post breaking news to their Twitter pages with links to articles. These "tweets" can be sent directly to someone's mobile device.
Facebook is turning out to be just as good a source for news. Most young adults spend approximately 80%* of their free time checking their Facebook page. News sources are taking advantage of this.
In my current town of Chapel Hill, there is a plethora of local news available to me via Facebook. The Town of Chapel Hill has a page for government updates. A local talk radio news station, 1360, even has a page.
Social networking is revolutionizing the media work like cable TV before it, network TV before that, etc.
Hop on the bandwagon if you want. But if you don't, don't be surprised when the train leaves without you. This isn't the end of the world. It's just the end of the world as we know it. One might even say this is only the beginning...
Posted by Jordan Powell
*statistics estimated
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