Credibly Critiquing

I choose an article of relevance to breakdown in terms of its credibility. I heard on the radio that there has been some reluctance to travel to the Sochi Olympic Games by Americans. Specifically, I hear that is you wear America’s colors, you could be subject to violence. So I found this interesting and alarming at the same time so I wanted to dig deeper. I stumbled upon an article by Time Magazine written by Michael Crowley entitled U.S. Officials: “Uptick in Threat Reporting” for Sochi- but Don’t Panic. This article explained the thought of these perceived security threats and gave some good information about what our government is doing and thinking. The thought that immediately came to me, was how do I know what is real and what is not. Understanding the specific measure to ask oneself is key in making that judgment either positive or negative. The first thing I did was GOOGLE the author. I skipped the step of worrying about the website, because TIME is a publication that has been around for decades and responsible for reporting some of our countries best and worst news. Crowley is clearly associated with a dominant publication so this gives instant credibility, but why should I believe what the author reports? She/he could be published in TIME and not be credible, but I don’t know this until I research. So as I researched I found that Michael Crowley is a Senior Correspondent for TIME. So right there it shows that he is established within TIME, but also list other publications he has written in including GQ, the New York Times, and reports for the Boston Globe. Not only that, but Crowley is an expert in domestic politics and foreign policy. This answers the question of whether the author has authority in his field, which he does. As I researched more articles that Crowley has written, I found tons, but nothing scholarly. Now clearly I can see that he has had many “tests” of his professionalism because he has written for hundreds of news sites and publications. I believe this serves as that test and Crowley passes with flying colors. Also, with this being a time sensitive issue, I noticed that the article was actually written today. I like that about online reporting because often we can see exactly what time the report was posted and it provides credibility because I can conclude I’m getting real-time information. There was one piece of the report that got me thinking, briefly of course The fact that he quoted anonymous sources from the Obama Administration raised an eyebrow, though seeing that Crowley was evidently credible, I can respect that he must hide his inside sources. Also, due to his track record and the publications he’s been associated with, I can rest my mind and believe his quotes. It is clear to see that with some additional research, I can be sure that what I’m reading is credible and the author is credible in his reporting. The Criteria to evaluate credibility guidelines, put things in perspective as to who, what, when, where, and why of information we are viewing.  Viewing the criteria provided has been helpful for future use, I just hope I don’t automatically discredit information due to me now knowing. I once heard that you should only trust information you’ve researched and due to this assignment I can truly understand and appreciate this.

Crowley, Michael. (2014. Jan. 24) U.S. Officials: “Uptick in Threat Reporting” for Sochi- but        Don’t Panic. Retrieved from http://swampland.time.com/2014/01/24/u-s-officials-uptick- in-threat-reporting-for-sochi-but-dont-panic/

http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/web-eval-sites.htm

The "Trust" Factor

 In today's society everything can be looked up. Simply put, things like Google Search to auto-text, takes the guess work out of our everyday lives. The question of, how do we know what we know, can be taken further into why do we trust what we know. We trust that Google will get us home, find us food, and even make our phone calls. We "trust" because the masses trust. The masses is also how we know what we know. Technology has taken the news straight to our cell phones, tablets, and laptops. Personally, I know my mobile apps have allowed me new avenues to learn information. Instagram alone has opened my eyes up to nature, culinary arts, fashion, etc. Today I even ran across something that caught my eye and not once did I question it's accuracy. I saw that today was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday and immediately believed it to be true. What reaffirmed my belief was that as I scrolled down my feed, I saw the same thing another 11 times! The masses have clearly spoken in that they all believe today to be his birthday and thus I too. This is a prime example of how we know what we know and sadly to say this is what we've come down to as a generation. I can't believe that I haven't opened an encyclopedia since grade school. Even with this evolution and counting on the masses for truth in what we see, I do believe that for the most part what I see is true. Even though I always research anyway, it's a testament to where and what we've become as a society.

P.S. This post was actually started on January 15, 2014.

Dont believe the "likes"

Good evening folks, question. So is everything on the internet real? This is a question we have all wondered, especially since Google can help us answer seemingly every question in the world. Also, the likes of Wikipedia and Ask.com help with these questions too. But how can we truly know what we read isn't made up or altered? Keep in mind that Wikipedia even lets users edit information. So how do we know. I believe that we live in a day in age where truthfully no one cares how we know or where the source is. We have become so dependent on other avenues to learn information other than doing our own research, that we have become conditioned not to care. We don't care because it is easier to type a question into our search engine and within seconds we have 10,000 responses. Again, if its that easy, why care?
I can remember a time when I heard about a certain movie star had died via Facebook. My timeline was flooded with status updates and R.I.P. pictures and everything in between for the fallen legend. I believed this to be true for about a day or two as many other friends confirmed that the death was true. The thing that connected us all was Facebook. Facebook told us all of this tragedy and sparked a fire within the world to spread this story. You could say I believed it because everyone else did and friends were talking about it at school. Obviously it didn't initially dawn on me that I never read or saw this story on the news, newspaper, radio, or even other social media sites. At that point (about two days into believing this story) I took it upon myself to search this death on Yahoo. The very first search result stated that the story was a hoaxed. I felt duped and played like a fiddle. Gullible me I thought, but then again, gullible us. Us as in the thousands who thought this incident was true. Somehow this story was created and grew to something that took over mini feeds everywhere. It is clear that I got this information from Facebook and believed it as true from friends. Then with simple research I found the story to lack credibility within minutes of searching. I had believed a story for two business days and never thought to research it. This is the issue many of us have and anther way social media can be abused.
Social media sites can be helpful, case in point is how I found the story to be untrue, Yahoo.com. Unfortunately, the internet is a tool for the world and people aren't honest. We should always take what we read on any social media site or internet with a grain of salt. They are useful in spreading a message, but not always truthful in what is spread. The way we need to revert back to are the times when no one trusted information but there own. I practice this method to this day and stand by it because it is proven. I like to take the second guess out and thus I go the extra mile. The fact that answers and information can be so easily obtained is always going to be more attractive though we have to realize that untruths can be easily added to these sites. Once we get this thought process in our heads, we will be better for it and remember to "not believe the likes".

Buzzzz,Buzzz....Message!!

Good morning or afternoon, however you may see this. As technology gets better and better, we all have to get used to the notion of this online writing, i.e. blogging. What an interesting concept I must say though this is my first go round using and maintaining a blog. As I sit and try to figure this out I'm also trying to figure out this interesting Windows 8 software. Not the easiest for someone who hasn't paid much attention to operating systems since Windows XP, but then everything sort of mirrored all the older Windows versions. Now, this is neither here nor there at this point and thanks to technology I am writing to you fine folks today.

As previously stated I haven't used a blog ever so this is a new form of media to me and I look forward to the creativity and of course my two cents to the online world. I mainly use the normal social media outlets to stay in tune with todays society and stay connected to friends and family. My phone and Ipad (which accompany me everywhere) all suffer from short battery life due to constant apps running and of course me staying abreast to what is out in the world. The constant buzz of the vibrations which these alerts give off keep me from sleep, accompany me at work, and everywhere in-between.

Case in point, I use several social media platforms at work on the daily basis. As an IT recruiter I have access to LinkedIn as a recruiter, which allows me more access into anyone's LinkedIn profile. This helps me source better for candidates and also allows for convenience. I also use several media apps related to IT that comes straight to my cell phone, email, and tablet all of which I use at work. Technology and new media has allowed me to be connected to several things all at once. This isn't for everyone, but I do enjoy having an abundance of information at my disposal. I have to go now because as I'm sure you all know, Buzzzzz, Buzzzzz..... I have a message!!

Demetrius