Unrestricted Web Publishing

I reviewed an online news article posted by The Huffington Post. The headline read, “Sallie Mae Cheated Soldiers on Federal Student Loans, Government Investigators Find.” I immediately zoned into two words, “cheated and find,” and thought I would delve deeper by evaluating the credibility of this story based on guidelines set in the document, Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources.

In determining whether there was a potential impact of unrestricted web publishing through mass media as it relates to the above mentioned article, following is what I found.  The author, Shahien Nasiripour has some authority in the field in which he has reported. He is Chief Financial and Regulatory Correspondent for The Huffington Post, where he covers financial regulation, large financial groups, Wall Street, Washington policy and the ongoing global response to the financial crisis. Previously, he was Financial and Regulatory Correspondent for the Financial Times. Prior to that, he was Senior Business Reporter for the Huffington Post, having first joined the publication in 2009, in addition to Reporter for the Center for Investigative Reporting, Researcher for ESPN, and Reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Providence Journal. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California. He can be reached at shahien@huffingtonpost.com, via Skype, Twitter and Facebook.

The author, Nasiripour, has no peer reviewed publications, on the web or in hard copy. There are no clues in this article that the author is being biased, as he appears to be referring to primary and secondary sources, all fact based. Each web link of information is current and there are a series of related articles posted on the author’s page in date order. The author’s work is cited in the article via inserted hyperlinks, which reference credible, authoritative sources. The article is fully covered with both WWW and hyperlinked print sources to provide balance. The article appears on a news and journalistic web site; www.huffingtonpost.com, and in deconstructing the web address, there is evidence linked back to the title of story, as well as key words from which to further research credibility i.e., “service members and Sallie Mae.”

How Do You Know What You Know?

As I took my structured 15 minute stroll through the home wall of my Facebook account, I came across a notice posted by a friend about the passing of a natural hair “vlogger.”  Her name was Domineque Banks, also known as longhairdontcare11 on YouTube. I read on and “liked” for a few reasons:  my hair is natural by default due to surviving breast cancer; her thick, long hair caught my attention; her smile was innocent; and she passed away from the same disease that haunts my mother – Lupus.

I never watched her videos; never hear of her. But, my immediate connections with Domineque caused me to want to delve deeper. Only 27-years-old? This can’t be true. And, there was a request for money; red flag! I thought to myself, “Did she really die?” So, clicked on the fund raising link of https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/rmd4/in-memory-of-domineque-banks/updates/69537 to see if I could learn more about this young woman. I found out that she had family out-of-state who needed assistance attending her memorial, and that funds were needed for her cremation. I took another step and copied her name into the Google search engine, and there I found three natural hair care sites headlining the passing of Domineque. It was after I read the postings on these sites that I was convinced of her passing.

Some might question, well … my questions to determine fact or fiction. After all, social media sites such as Facebook are not known for credible posts.  Similar to Wikipedia, anyone can submit, add, delete or modify a post to make it what they want, including raise money or to create an up roar.  However, the more I read and learned through my research, the more I believed this announcement of Domineque’s passing to be fact. On the other hand, I am still not fully convinced that funding is needed to cover final expenses.  Though it appears that funds have been raised via Give Forward in excess of $3,000, I needed more details from the fund raisers in order to make a donation, such as specifics on where funding would impact the cause, and why funding was needed in the first place.

I admit, for some, just the fact that Domineque passed away would be enough to make a donation. The post about her passing garnered approximately 7,000 “likes” and 1,500 “shares.” But, for others like me, facts are important to making ethical choices. This is not to say that I wasn’t touched by her story, rather it is more how do I make a targeted difference based on facts.  Full disclosure, transparency could have made a difference in my decision to give. May Domineque rest in peace, and may her family find comfort in her memory and her host of YouTube followers.

Attached at the Hip

Everyday, I wake up to the sound of birds tweeting against the backdrop of a nursery lullaby and ringing bells. It's 6:00 am and I can reach to hit "dismiss" or "snooze." Oh, did I say that I can set the same time for each day of the week? Or, that as the music plays, I also hear a vibration on my night stand? 

You guessed it; my mobile android phone has become attached to my mind, body and soul. Sound effects keep me on alert and entice me to check my emails, Facebook, and texts. I also use Google maps on this device to help me get from point A to B. The weather report for my city is locked in, so I no longer have to access The Weather Channel online before running out the door. Since the screen is in a miniature state, struggles with typing on the screen have led me to, non other than, utilize the voice option. Finally, I browse the Internet in search of local gas prices via Gasbuddy.com and check the status of all kinds of accounts. 

Ok, so my mobile phone starts and ends my day. However, such attachment has caused me to evaluate my need for constant access. I have determined that notifications with pings are really a distraction, especially about posts and new mail. I also realized that just because I can use the voice application to access my contacts, doesn't justify making calls while driving. Furthermore, it's not necessary for my phone to go with me everywhere i.e., the bathroom, the office, and other places, including church and the grocery store. I have seen people do this, and even my students are not allowed to have their phones out on desks, nor use it for capturing notes on the whiteboard. You won't find me talking on the phone in public or while waiting for the doctor. Nor will you see me walking down the street with the phone to my ear. Nope, not me. I have learned to leave the phone plugged in another room. Some might call it "taking a break," but I view it as controlling the phone before it controls my every move, every day. 

And, another thing, new social media has influenced my perspective of events. I have followed current event posts by the news media on Facebook and Twitter. I hear stories about injustice, murder, animal abuse, and most recently, about the weather changes across the country. In doing so, I have been compelled to comment via my iPad, support the cause, or research more information, and I've even been moved to question the way in which the media can impact perspectives; as I am not interested in being stumped. 

These influences are both positive and negative. For instance, the homepage of a news media web site is bursting with everything negative. Some people might praise one media for keeping them informed about current events, even if indirectly affecting them. Yet, they won't access the media site that features the good first, and then events related specifically to them and their communities. People are more drawn to the negative, as it puts them on alert and peeks interest for more details, versus good news, that makes them feel warm and fuzzy, shielding them from possible realities. 

I take breaks from negative media, weather it be on television, or accessed via my mobile phone, iPad or desktop. Unfortunately, we're not always able to do this based on the flow of real time messaging. But, I do believe that regardless of how new media has influenced how we think or what we do, the control of your thoughts belong to you!