As I sit here doing my homework on the plane headed towards Vancouver, I am already realizing how much we have become dependent on the Internet. For everything from school to work, to just finding something to read, the Internet is where we find what we need. You don’t need me to tell you that, though– unless you’re under a rock, but then you wouldn’t be reading this, would you?
What I would like to talk about instead is how finding most (to all) of our information online has opened the door to dishonesty and even slant (something that the PR profession is not a friend of). On the Internet we not only need to worry about what information we put online, like discussed in previous blog entries, but also where and who the information we obtain comes from.
If you’ve ever used Wikipedia, then you know what I’m talking about. Many universities won’t let students use this online encyclopedia, as anyone can edit or add information. But don’t fret too much because, as my university professor found out when he tried to mess with the entries on Beaudelaire and Paris, Texas, the Wikipedia team monitors what goes on to the site. You’re not going to get something too crazy. It’s anonymous, but monitored. Don’t get me wrong, the information is still not always correct, but Wikipedia shouldn’t be your only source anyways.
Let’s take this a step further, though, to compare. What about blogs? Can we trust blogs as a source of information? Blogs, as you may remember, were some of the first sources to declare George Bush the winner of the 2000 election, a win that was later disputed. Could it be possible that these bloggers tried to influence the election results by prematurely declaring the winner? Were they maliciously misleading people to get what they wanted? Maybe not in this case, it might have been a simple mix-up, but it’s a question that should be asked when reading anything online.
Then it begs the question, should they be held accountable for their online actions? Have they done anything wrong?
Maybe we should just consult another source. What about the media? Are they any better?
