Access to information is easier today than ever. Technology has opened up the world to the world through apps, online news, social media, messaging platforms and more. No matter what topic we’re interested in, there are hundreds of ways to obtain information about it any day of the week!
The challenge for us is to decipher the quality of the information we obtain. How do we defend ourselves from getting duped?
Many educational institutions provide courses about how to spot fake news/information. Fact checking resources have entered the scene.
Remember when snopes.com entered the scene on social media as a source to check “rumors”? The list has grown to include: FactCheck.org, International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), PolitiFact.com
Other sources for you to assess quality of information you find online are: The News Literacy Project https://newslit.org/ ; Pew Research and IFCN is an international fact checking network https://www.poynter.org/category/fact-checking/
Do you ever feel as if there is too much information? If so, you’re in good company. Too much of anything can result in feeling as if a fire hydrant is releasing all its water on you! Sputter, sputter, gasp …
This year Inc. published an article by Howard Tullman, Executive director, Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, Illinois Institute of Technology . Here is an excerpt from the article I found valuable for us as consumers and business people.
“And keep in mind that this is a two-sided problem, where the pain is shared by both the companies and the customer/consumers. It’s an enormous problem for each of us as individuals and an equally sizeable and critical problem for every business as well. If we can’t figure out how to manage the overwhelming influx, to filter and focus the flow, and to create some tools to help infuse some meaning and value into the mess, the emergent digital communication channels will soon resemble all the crappy ad and coupon packages that we immediately discard on Sundays. Or all the 3rd class mail and catalogues that never even make it into the house. “
Filter and focus the flow … was the line that caught my attention. FOMO (Fear of missing out) of new findings, new laws, changes to initiatives that impact us as people … can cause scanning vs. reading and absorbing. Slowing down to speed up may be part of the solution.
In the coming weeks as the year draws to an end we’ll focus on efforts to deliver layperson language to some basic ways for you to cover your bases personally. Promise to keep the information focused and filtered to deliver fact based information for your reading pleasure! Thanks for being part of the community!
Reach out with questions via Email. Additional information is available upon request or on the website @ The Living Planner
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