Trust+in+Blogs+Response+(gadgetpants)

We are inundated with information from various media types on a nearly constant basis. This is simply the world for us in the information age. The philosophy for us when trying to navigate opinion, fact and fiction is to “take everything with a grain of salt.” There are few statements which ring as vaguely as that. What it becomes is more of a “never trust anyone about anything.” Between naïve belief in everything and nothing is a hair-thin line of skepticism that we must try to walk as well as we can. When it comes to blogs, especially those of a potentially volatile (political) nature, I think you really need to take things on a case by case basis and work back from the extremes. For example, political commentator, [|Ann Coulter], does us the favor of expressing herself with an obvious anger towards anything liberal/progressive/democratic. Less indignant though still obviously partisan is [|Code Blue Politics] which, though offering tempered rhetoric, is still of a singular objective and opinion. What is important to note is the tone used by bloggers and noting how it affects you intellectually and emotionally. Taking from my own experience: if I feel myself getting angry or heated because I disagree OR agree with what I am reading, I generally don’t trust the material. If I find myself intrigued and compelled to read for the sake of increased clarity; that allows for a new level of analysis to be reached. So tone is important. A moderate view on politics is usually imparted with a moderate tone of discussion which is inherently more rational than a rhetoric driven by sentimental ideology. Our human-human interaction is cut short, reduced to a screen and text. Yet we can, with a little reading, extrapolate tone and intent from a writer. That is about all we can hope for in regards to building a mental connection. But there are other quantitative means by which a blog may be judged for acceptability. Hyper linking to other sources is a necessity. Anyone can spam an opinion but to have points to their argument reinforced by trustworthy sources greatly increases their legitimacy. Of course “trustworthy sources” is another beast entirely. You can also look for information of the authority, what credentials they hold or training they’ve received. [|Paul Krugman], with his PhD in Economics from MIT, might be considered one of the most trustworthy sources for political/economic commentary. These are some thoughts to keep in mind as we travel through the blogosphere.