@netd – Yes, reputation is a big issue, but also I wouldn’t want to give people the idea that something is ok providing you don’t get caught.

@David – And sometimes they are the SOURCE of the fiction …

@Mike – as @Lisa rightly says, you can Google it, I just don’t want to single out any one story or person any more than has been already

@Paul – That’s a good point, people wanted to believe it

@Catherine – My choice would be to write the truth, at least as I see it, but there is a lot of stuff to clean up before we get too hot about one linkbait story

@Ellen – We are bombarded with partial truths at best, and we have seen over and over Digg and co communities do not let the truth get in the way of a good story. The scary thing for me is TV is just the same but given way more credence.

@Adam – I think the vast majority of people who do not run in our circles will not even know.

@LA – I think they use the short cut of “if someone else is running this story then they must have checked facts”, which means once you get into one you have a good chance of running in the rest.

@rob – The main reason to keep professional journalists is because they have long held practices and trust, so it is worrying for the profession indeed that this has broken down. Not one journo tried to find the individuals involved?

@cashslacker – Yeah, the old bait and switch is as old as humanity I bet!

@netd – Yes, reputation is a big issue, but also I wouldn’t want to give people the idea that something is ok providing you don’t get caught.

@David – And sometimes they are the SOURCE of the fiction …

@Mike – as @Lisa rightly says, you can Google it, I just don’t want to single out any one story or person any more than has been already

@Paul – That’s a good point, people wanted to believe it

@Catherine – My choice would be to write the truth, at least as I see it, but there is a lot of stuff to clean up before we get too hot about one linkbait story

@Ellen – We are bombarded with partial truths at best, and we have seen over and over Digg and co communities do not let the truth get in the way of a good story. The scary thing for me is TV is just the same but given way more credence.

@Adam – I think the vast majority of people who do not run in our circles will not even know.

@LA – I think they use the short cut of “if someone else is running this story then they must have checked facts”, which means once you get into one you have a good chance of running in the rest.

@rob – The main reason to keep professional journalists is because they have long held practices and trust, so it is worrying for the profession indeed that this has broken down. Not one journo tried to find the individuals involved?

@cashslacker – Yeah, the old bait and switch is as old as humanity I bet!

It’s a shame though that media outlets like Fox don’t employ the resource of ‘critical thinking’ that all we web users employ on a daily basis to help us wade through the information that’s presented online as fact.

It’s a shame though that media outlets like Fox don’t employ the resource of ‘critical thinking’ that all we web users employ on a daily basis to help us wade through the information that’s presented online as fact.

Putting up this fake story, and passing it off as true (despite the absurdity of the story, which should have alerted people to the fact that it was false) on a site known for being a source of credible information may have done permanent damage to the site’s reputation. If nothing else, it will be a long time before the media trusts anything coming from this site.

That said, I still think it was a brilliant piece of marketing, and the news media should have done their jobs and checked their facts before running the story. I just wonder what negative side effects will come of this.

(Note: I’ve intentionally left out the name of the site involved, as well as the author of the article, since Chris opted not to mention it in his post. If it’s OK with Chris, I can provide a link to the original story for anyone who hasn’t read it.)

Putting up this fake story, and passing it off as true (despite the absurdity of the story, which should have alerted people to the fact that it was false) on a site known for being a source of credible information may have done permanent damage to the site’s reputation. If nothing else, it will be a long time before the media trusts anything coming from this site.

That said, I still think it was a brilliant piece of marketing, and the news media should have done their jobs and checked their facts before running the story. I just wonder what negative side effects will come of this.

(Note: I’ve intentionally left out the name of the site involved, as well as the author of the article, since Chris opted not to mention it in his post. If it’s OK with Chris, I can provide a link to the original story for anyone who hasn’t read it.)

People will do anything to get attention. I think netd above pointed out a pertinent idea: that our attention is getting diluted. Who are we to trust anymore?

I don’t trust people who do these types of things. It ruins their credibility. Don’t you talk about trust in some of your posts?

People try to manipulate and play the system any way they can. Some people think this is great when you can play Bonnie and Clyde and get away with it. But, you have to draw the line somewhere, and you do have to judge people. It’s what society is for.

Sure, it’s thrilling. But you need a moral code to live by. That’s why I don’t watch Fox News.

People will do anything to get attention. I think netd above pointed out a pertinent idea: that our attention is getting diluted. Who are we to trust anymore?

I don’t trust people who do these types of things. It ruins their credibility. Don’t you talk about trust in some of your posts?

People try to manipulate and play the system any way they can. Some people think this is great when you can play Bonnie and Clyde and get away with it. But, you have to draw the line somewhere, and you do have to judge people. It’s what society is for.

Sure, it’s thrilling. But you need a moral code to live by. That’s why I don’t watch Fox News.

Ok, so what is the actual story that went viral??

Am I missing the link or something??

Mike

Ok, so what is the actual story that went viral??

Am I missing the link or something??

Mike