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In applying Rheingold’s techniques to this chapter of Net Smart, I would use what he calls the “triangulation” method that journalists use (p. 79) and look for three sources of credibility. In this case, I have to look at the book itself, though. The first thing that makes me trust the content is the book was published by a reputable publishing company. Not that self-publishing is bad, but I put more stock in a book that has a publishing company behind it. The book is professionally designed and illustrated, not sloppily put together, which is helpful towards establishing trust. Rheingold also cites his sources, which goes a long way in establishing trust as these sources can be found and used to fact-check what he writes.
I think this triangulation method is a good rule of thumb to be applied online as well, except my opinion of the book design cannot equate to website design. As Rheingold points out (p. 79), just because a website is professionally designed does not mean that the content is accurate; however, aside from design, citing sources and having an about page or bio that speaks to the author(s) work/life experience is a good starting point to finding another credible source to verify the author is who they say they are and have the experience listed.
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First submission: https://dailytranscriber.wordpress.com/
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I think the authors’ digital koan that fits the definition Wikipedia gives is Koan 6: Nothing Goes Away. It fits the definition, as I understand it, because this koan describes how technology makes it possible for anyone to find out anything about another person, which, to me, is a double-edged sword. While I think it is absolutely wonderful to research and find the information we need from anywhere in the world, instead of having to travel to a library, for instance, or courthouse, etc., this type of accessibility is frightening when it comes to personal privacy, which I am a staunch supporter of.
The authors describe how electronic birth records now contain not only basic information, but intimate details about the mother and the pregnancy and also the Social Security numbers of both parents (p. 11). This means not only do we have our trusted (hopefully) physicians and nurses looking at our most private of information, but regular, everyday people who can access our information and possibly release it for nefarious means.
I love having “the world at my fingertips,” but this is truly frightening, not just from an identity theft standpoint, but just the thought that not only does the government peek into our private lives whenever and however possible, but the guy next door can do it too!
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This reply was modified 9 years, 3 months ago by
JenM. Reason: To add page number
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This reply was modified 9 years, 3 months ago by
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The first thought I had as I began reading the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Net Smart is I could not be reading this at any better time than now as I have been struggling for quite some time with distractions while working. Since I am self-employed and work out of my home, I am very easily distracted with all the ways in which I am “connected,” whether it be Facebook or Twitter or clicking on links within articles where I end up reading something that I don’t really care about. I waste a lot of precious time during the day. The issue is that my work is based on production. If I do not produce, I do not make the amount of money I need to make, nor will I meet my deadline, which means I have to pull an all-nighter because I never miss a deadline. I am going to follow the tips Rheingold provides (p. 75) because while I have started to pay attention to how long I allow myself to be distracted, I have not yet taken steps towards curbing my behavior. Now is a good time to do so as I have a lot on my plate and every minute counts.
I found Rheingold’s connection between always-on media, lack of attention, and how this impacts our health incredibly interesting as well. As he describes the conversation he had with Stone in which she described us as always being in a low level of fight or flight (p. 45), a light bulb went off. Since I spend an inordinate amount of time online every single day, I imagine it contributes to my stress levels.
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Hi, everyone. I’m Jennifer Murray. I am working towards an RBA degree and two minors, Professional Writing and Editing and Entertainment Media. I’ve been a freelance legal transcriptionist for the past 12 years. I also dabble a bit in online writing. What I hope to gain from this class is to learn how to hone my writing skills in order to make the online content I currently create better, to master the various tools we’ll be using to create content, and also to more fully understand what it takes to create effective content for various media.
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I performed searches on Rheingold as well just to verify his accomplishments, etc., which of course checked out. I didn’t think about checking the people he mentions in the book, though. That’s a good idea. I did go to Rheingold’s Twitter account just to see if he is active and to read some of his tweets. My thinking is with the topic of this book, he better have some type of social media account in which he’s active and providing value-add to his followers.
I agree with you on the medical information. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had friends or family members say, “Well, I have this symptom and I Googled it and oh, my God, I think I have X” (some really serious disease) and it’s turned out to be nothing serious. Googling, I think, is the worst thing to do before speaking to a doctor because based on some results I’ve seen for some minor symptoms, the search results will have you dead by morning. I think Google’s algorithm, though, is getting better at detecting “crap” sites and you have to really dig to find them.
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I’ll have to watch that documentary. I lead a rather uneventful life as well, but I try to be a private person and I would like to keep it that way. Unfortunately, I do not think that is possible any longer. Like you, after reading this chapter, I am stuck with the feeling that “Big Brother” is watching, no matter where I go or what I do.
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Sbloxton,
Yes, the reward card information, which was new to me, certainly made me think. I have about 10 in my wallet and I’m tempted to throw them out. I should have known better than to think that huge corporations wanted to do something nice for little ‘ole me by providing me a discount. It also upsets me to know that if I want to keep my information private, I need to “pay extra” (p. 11).
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Jablosser,
I totally agree with this: “Being able to be connected at all times has become an obsession for some, and for others, it is just habit to continually check their online connections.”
My continually checking my email and social media accounts really is just out of habit more than anything else. So I think retraining my mind, as Rheingold suggests, could work just as well in forming a new, better for my production habit of not continually checking out things online and “getting lost” for hours on end looking at pointless (to me) pictures on Pinterest or reading articles I couldn’t care less about. It gives me hope!
