Information is a vital resource in the business world, especially the modern one, and we live in a time when we have an easy opportunity to stay informed on all sorts of topics that might interest us. However, there are two sides to that coin – it’s also just as easy to get lost in a whirlwind of irrelevant information, and many sources are trying to push out as much noise as they can so they can drown out the rest and get some exposure. Maintaining an objective overview of the matters that are important to you can therefore be a bit tricky.
Stick to Sites You Trust, but Vary Them
It’s important to build up a network of news sites that you know you can trust and visit them regularly. However, you also don’t want to limit yourself exclusively to them, as that can create a huge problem in the long run by limiting your outlook on certain matters to what the sites have to say. You should try to vary things up occasionally by including some additional sources in your daily routine. But that doesn’t mean that you should deal away with the ones you know you love and trust – if you like visiting overheadwatch.com, for example, and trust it as a source for your topics of interest, then keep it in your bookmark bar by all means.
Be Careful with Search Engines
Search engines like Google can be incredibly useful in showing you the exact things that you want to see, but this can also be a problem if you’re not careful. The so-called “information bubble” is becoming a more and more problematic aspect of modern society, and unfortunately there’s also no clear answer in sight. The best thing we can do is strive to get multiple perspectives on everything important, and always look for alternative sources on matters that you care about. This can also mean using alternative search engines so that your history does not get “polluted” with your perspective. Services like DuckDuckGo can work well in this regard.
Filter Social Media with a Skeptical Attitude
Social media can allow us to easily spread information to others, but we should be careful who we trust in those circles for that very reason. There’s no guarantee that the posts you’re reading are genuine, and sometimes you may get misled by someone who had genuine intentions from the start, but was confused himself. The fact that others can repeat what you’re saying and add some false sense of credibility to it can make things even worse, and you have to be very careful with what you’re reading on Facebook and similar sites, and take everything with a grain of salt.
The general principles you should stick to are actually not that complicated. Just make sure that you have a group of varied sources for information, and that you approach more problematic ones with a skeptical attitude. The rest is mostly down to common sense and having enough experience with the way the Web works.
