quantmleap

As an avid reader I use Google Reader as a window into the vast ocean of information produced and published over the Internet. My interests lie in areas like Business Development, Project Management, Science and Technology and World News. Given that range of interests I have and the large number of Internet sites and blogs that make contributions in the above subject areas, sifting through the material, day in and day out, it a challenging process. Given my fairly constrained and limited time I need sometimes to ‘judge the book by its cover’ and decide whether or not to read a particular news items based on certain key parameters I have developed for my self. First and foremost I read the title. Does the title suggest a topic close to my heart? Is there any intellectual suggestion in that title to draw my attention and make me dig any further? Once an article has gone through the first stage I subject the article to the ‘practicality’ test. I scan the article and normally look at the first and last paragraphs. I look for action points, suggestions that imply a ‘doable’ and practical outcome, a call for action, something I can grasp and, if appropriate, implement or adopt into my professional or personal life. Should the article pass that ‘do-ability’ test there is a good chance I will read it in its entirety so I can understand the principles and guidelines behind the call for action.

It is in the context of the above that I came across an interesting article in the Journal of Software Technology, by R. David Lankes, titled “Trusting the Internet”. The author makes the observation that with the explosion of information provisioned over the Internet we are entering a new era where, as a society, we will need to give more thought to the question of how to identify credible information and how to assess the “believability (i.e., the trustworthiness and expertise) of some source of information“.

So, given the vastness of data sources on the Internet, how is one supposed to identify those sources worth listening to and whose advice they should heed? The advice David Lankes makes is that in this new era, authority should be granted on the basis of perceptions of trust and expertise. This perception will be developed over time based on an appreciation of reliability, and this appreciation will be associated with the perception that something or someone is dependable and consistent in quality.

When I sift through blogs and articles I am continuously looking for that affirmation that the author is credible and reliable. This appreciation is based largely on my own experience and also on the ability of the author to provide me with practical, actionable tools with which to advance my professional and personal conduct. 

And there is a lesson in this for me as well. In my own writing I need to practice the same rigour I expect from others and attempt to dispense of the unnecessary fluff while providing my readers with a practical outcome they can incorporate into their own personal and professional circumstances.

So this is what YOU should take from this post:

• Look for writers who present you with a clear and concise action plan
• Avoid (or at least minimize) reading articles that do not have any actionable outcome
• When you find credible and reliable writers, share the news, let the world know, use Twitter and other social media avenues to indicate to others where their precious time should be spent.

Think about it!

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