Just The Truth Please, Google Watches

“The reason why we are so willing to talk (or write) is, because by discoursing together we seek comfort from one another . . .
Avoiding superfluity of words, Thomas a’ Kempis.”

No doubt, talking, communicating, discoursing with each other is one predisposition quite difficult to curb or supplant. We long for company. We are by nature social beings. We are not complete unless and until we become part of the social structures around us, be they family, clubs, friends, gangs, office mates, and yes, even fellow bloggers.

This new medium of blogging allows us to pursue this yearning in a much more efficient and universal way, traversing beyond geographical frontiers and great distances.

And now also beyond just keeping touch with our little worlds, this new medium takes on a myriad of functions, not only in our social milieus, but also in such other narrower or more specialized areas as politics and business. This medium now transcends all aspects of human living. In all aspects imaginable. Namely, in education, news gathering and broadcasting, and still more countless others.

So pervasive as to be confusing and overwhelming.

And thus, aside from information overload, the more critical issue of where the truth lies in this swirling universe of data, opinions, news, images, etc. becomes truly a critical concern.

While in the pre-electronic stages, man could search through fewer sources, “bibles” that could be regarded as universally reliable in discovering and discerning known truths, such as why not, holy books and works of great men, in this now indefinable universe, where any eager beaver with typing skills and Internet access can add to the exponentially expanding chest of electronic knowledge base, learning the truth can truly be a very daunting task.

Take a cursory test, and browse through, for example, sites that do round-ups whether of political news/developments, or fitness programs, or sports, or science news, or even with uncontroversial subjects such as, say fishing. Or results of war?

One can readily get the impression that the world of knowledge and information has become one big “he said, he says” game. The head or tail odds game of learning where the truth lies. 50-50 chance of being right or wrong. (Though many would opine that truth usually hides somewhere in between two very opposing views.)

Regardless, the advent of electronic media has as a largely unintended consequence made arriving at the truth a more difficult task.

But let us not be disheartened, the maid of truth is not done yet. She continues to find ways to elevate her ways to man’s consciousness. With able assistance of the same tools that allow for the quick dispersal and access of available knowledge, we might be in the threshold of yet another milestone in the continuing flux that electronic technologies are bringing us.

Google predicts that in the very near future, we may be developing what it calls “truth predicator” software. While this eventual reality is not expected to unquestionably mark out truth in every and all statements made publicly available, we should be able remarkably increase the probability that readers/hearers can arrive at the truth.

As Google declares, “We (at Google) are not in charge of truth but we might be able to give a probability..”

Comment Moderation

Vox populi: Civility in the blogosphere" addresses the issue of civility in an electronic age. Cronin notes that the "technology of blogging is a marvelous innovation." But the concern he raises is: "The pivotal issue is the atrophying of civility in the public sphere and the emergence of a brutish me-centeredness which acknowledges no social norms, no form of cognitive authority and wraps its barbs and banalities in the cloak of First Amendment rhetoric. Blaming the technology for the dubious and deviant is, of course, infantile..."

Bothered by unacceptable commentaries in your blog? And desirous of elevating the civility and relevance levels of comments in your blogsite?

Instead of completely eliminating the comments option, maybe comment moderation is the answer.

Here's one personally recommended as a model to follow, extracted completely from Donald Sensing's blog, One Hand Clapping:

Comments policy

Commenting is provided as a courtesy only. I review all comments before they appear. I do not edit comments, I only approve or delete. My criteria for approving or deleting generally correspond to the following guidelines but in the end are subjective.

Comments using profanity automatically get tossed into the bit bucket - I never see them and neither does anyone else.

No personal attacks, name calling or commercial commenting. Links to your own blog site or relevant other web pages are fine.

Please be brief and relevant to the post.

I rarely answer comments, I just don't have the time.

Many high-traffic blogs, especially those that are essentially one-man operations, inundated daily with hundreds (or thousands) of comments, of course, will find this solution quite burdensome and tiresome.

But there are enough blogs out there whose traffic levels will allow the hosts to have time to permit moderation.

Will the desired or desirable effects of moderation be reason enough to try it to improve the tenor and civility in the blogosphere?

Collective Responsibility In The Internet

The Sassy Lawyer, popular Philippine political and cuisine blogger, assesses her participation in a contest promoting SEO as a marketing tool to improve search engine rankings, and documents her reservations.

Having previously scanned through the several articles linked to this brewing issue, I agree with her reservations/ observations.

SEO (search engine optimization) was initially devised as a marketing tool for commercial websites, but since blogs now are either hawking merchandise or at the very least, carrying commercial ads on their pages which can potentially earn some money for the hosts, one can understand the interest in pursuing SEO.

But at what costs and through what means?

Reminds me of those pernicious chain letters still popular among email groups, or even many of those on-line petitions with their expanding name lists, or those perpetually circulating urban legend items.

They may pale in comparison with the fast-spreading viruses that virtually everybody disdains, but as she observed, the result is still - mess and clutter.

In the process, Sassy also reveals her preference for a MacBook which she purchased over the PC laptops at about 100k pesos. While I concede that if one is heavy on graphics and media, i.e., video production and editing (or terribly afraid of infection from viruses in the Internet) that would be one’s choice, still the price differentials are quite gaping.

Here in the US, starting at $400, one could own a PC laptop (Gateway or Dell), which would be a little over 20K pesos. And typically are women-friendly weighing as light as 3.5lbs.

In trying to break into the PC’s markets, Apple’s thrust continues to be that their products may also run Windows. And their current use of Intel chips (and I suppose chipsets) makes the transition even easier. Still, one needs to remember that MacBooks were not technically designed to run on Windows.

Useful Admonitions

Here are some short and quick admonitions on judgment quite apropos for us, bloggers, avid disciples of written words and ideas:

Then wilt thou rejoice more that thou has kept silence that that thou has made long discourses or talked much.

Then will holy works be of greater value than many fair words.

Then a pure and good conscience shall be a greater subject of joy than learned philosophy.

If it be lawful and expedient to speak (or write), speak (or write) those things which may edify

Extracted from an eminent work written more than 6 centuries ago, Imitation Of Christ by Thomas ‘a Kempis.

Another Old Elvis Treat

Through the courtesy of YouTube, here's a special treat for Elvis fans.
Click to view.