Facebook for News. A Rant

A Little Rant

Do you go to Facebook for news? One of the big stories that keeps clogging my email feeds is the controversy that Facebook is now engulfed in regarding fake news that influenced this years election. Never mind the whole "Silicon Valley is Anti-Trump" line that would actually imply that they would have used their influence to push the election in the other direction if that's what they intended to do.

Here's the thing, why would you go to Facebook for news? I understand that the sharing of links can be helpful. I also understand that trending topics can help keep people informed of what others are saying and doing, but c'mon, man! Facebook for news?

I don't even trust that my friend's photos aren't doctored/filtered/posed to high heavens. Why would you trust Facebook friends for news during an election when so many emotions run high and everyone is divided into one of two camps. (Although you could argue for four camps: 1) For Him, 2) For Her, 3) Against Him, 4) Against Her) Everybody is pushing some agenda.

Curated Content

Is Facebook to blame? We are more likely to blame. Remember that Facebook is a business. While I don't understand everything about how it works, I know that they sell advertisements curated to your interests.

Their algorithm is not something I claim to know, but I do know that I get ads based on my posts, my searches and my friend's activity--particularly friends I interact with a lot. It makes sense that my news feed reflects the views of my peeps.

I repeat, Facebook is a social network, not a non-partisan news outlet. People share what they want and it's up to users to determine whether this content is legitimate or not. I, for one, do not want Facebook to determine what news links should or should not be shared.

More importantly, people need to be aware of who is curating the content for them and whether or not their friends are giving them a balanced view of the world. The best article I have read regarding this election was posted on Facebook by a friend. The article described the phenomenon of living in a social media echo-chamber. That's a real problem. When your echo chamber is limited to your own views, it does not reflect the world at large.

Read this: Dear Democrats, Read This If You Do Not Understand Why Trump Won and be educated.
Good day.
Rant over.

Book Review - The 4-Hour Workweek

The Book

The 4-Hour Workweek
Timothy Ferriss

I was introduced to this book by my colleagues at Florida International University. They were raving about his other book, The 4-Hour Chef, so I decided to look him up. Of course, I did not buy the book. Instead, I borrowed this book from my local library for free. Go libraries! Yay, free!

Technical Merit

As mentioned, I borrowed this book from the library. What I did not mention was the fact that I borrowed an audio-book. As such, I did not get a good feel for the layout of the book. Nor did I really get a chance to analyze the writer's technical merit. What I can say if that it made for a good audio-book which leads me to say that Timothy writes using a very smooth, colloquial approach. The 4-Hour Workweek was not written for pleasure reading, the author is trying to convey a message in the most efficient way possible.

Since the author is trying to be efficient, he uses a sort of template in his writing. He begins with the goal: working less and playing more. Then he describes a method for doing so, like working more productively from home than you do at the office. Then he will show you how to initiate the process of getting to that goal. Finally, he gives homework—like go to the flea market and haggle three vendors down to half their asking price. Finally, he wraps up his chapter with a list of pertinent materials for further research.

I imagine this book (in written form) could be used as a reference book of sorts. Each chapter can stand alone and be re-read when facing certain challenges. Timothy would seem to endorse this approach. He is not enthusiastic of the gathered information for information's sake approach to life and prefers a gather information pertinent to an immediate decision model instead.

In all, I give this book four stars for technical merit. It seems to achieve the purpose it was designed for extremely well. I was able to finish it in two days (without completing the homework).

The Review

This book seeks to help the entrepreneur to establish themselves in what Timothy Ferriss describes as the "New Rich." The New Rich (NR) is a group of individuals that seek to enjoy the things that are typically reserved for the traditional rich while not necessarily having the capital that goes along with it. He argues that by working efficiently, one can complete the typical 40-hour workweek in a fraction of the time. Therefore, they will earn more on a per-hour basis while still having the free-time to enjoy things like extensive travel and fine dining. The NR will also have the time to open new businesses that add to their revenue streams, increasing their ability to live.

The key is that the NR is not waiting to retire in order to enjoy life. The NR works hard and plays hard now. By working efficiently and cutting out superfluous things that gobble up time and capital, the NR can enjoy their preferred lifestyle while they are still young and spry.

This book goes into detail on several topics which include:

• How to get your boss to agree to let you work from home.
• How to train your colleagues to stop slowing you down.
• How to plan for extensive travel.
• What to look for in a virtual assistant.
• How to become an expert at something.

Personally, I find his ideas on information interesting. Ferriss clearly believes that there is way too much information at our fingertips. In fact, he recommends absolutely no reading except when the information has a clear application in the short-term future. This rule only applies to non-fiction, pleasure reading is always ok. Ferriss even recommends zero news consumption under the premise that if something catastrophic happens that you need to know, someone is going to tell you about it.

Conclusion

This is an interesting read. I doubt that the tactics described in The 4-Hour Workweek are applicable on a widespread level, but some of his points are key to personal development and can be implemented for success within one's organization. For instance, Ferriss makes a lot of the 80-20 principle and applies it to every situation, both professional and personal. This could easily be applied in any situation. He also refers to Tom Rath's Strengthsfinder when noting that we sometimes spend too much energy improving weaknesses when we should be highlighting strengths.

I recommend this book for the ambitious who are able to take the principles and recommendations of this book and find creative ways to apply them in their lives.

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American News

Just The Facts

We all rely on some news outlet to get information about the world. There is no way we can personally everything that is going on even on a local level, much less across the globe. However, sometimes we get discouraged at the way news is reported. For those times, we can turn to Glove and Boots to tell it like it is:

Infographic: Chocolate!

Here is an interesting infographic on Chocolate. Happy Friday!

Explore more visuals like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

COMPS

The Comprehensive Examination begins today. It is the culmination of my studies and the fruit of my labors. I can't wait to be finished with it and on my way to librarianship.

Is Information Hindering Society Socially?

Real Talk

I just saw this infographic video on the affect of Social Media on our loneliness. It raises some interesting concerns about the sociology of human interaction and how Social Media changes that. While I don't believe we need a clean break from Social Media, we do need to remember these points for a healthy, complete social life. The video makes some excellent points, including the following.

• We're sacrificing conversation for connection.
• We're expecting more from technology and less from each other.
• We slip into thinking that always being connected is going to make us feel less alone.
• If we are not able to be alone, we're only going to know how to be lonely.

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

What do you think? Do you feel lonely when you're online?

Preparing Instructional Media

I know my avid readers are clamoring for my latest experiences in the world of Graduate Studies in Library and Information Science. So here's a bone.

Actually, it's a web-portfolio of my projects and reflections for LIS 6303: Preparing Instructional Media. It is my final project and should be completed by the end of this week. It has all the interesting things we learned to use in a pedagogical manner like blogging, podcasting, screencasting, presentation software, social bookmarking (which includes Pinterest) and Wikis.

So there, you can't tell me I don't show you something exciting every now and then.

Why I Hate Summer

Semester C is a Bad Word

I'm not sure how this is possible

It's been quite the semester

I took the classes Organization of Information I (LIS 6711) & Information Management Systems (LIS 5937) during summer C. I found that I was able to keep up (& stay interested in) the pace for about 5 weeks (the length of Summer A) before I got complacent. The last half of the semester was a drag. And that's not good when you have a research paper & a presentation due in that half of the semester. I probably would have felt more accomplished with Summer A/B classes, but that's not an option so I need to move on from that & not get bitter.

It wasn't hard...

...I was just a tad bored. I learned stuff, plenty of stuff. But mostly it put things I already knew into a library context. I knew about Metadata, I just needed to get procedural things strait--which is critical. I already knew the value of MIS in today's society, & most of the elements thereof, but I still needed to get a systematic overview of it.

Looking ahead

Now I get the privilege of looking forward to a new semester & all the bills & new syllabi & life-planning that goes along with it. Woohoo!

Pathfinder Project = Finished

I just submitted the most practical & informative assignment I have been tasked with in my Graduate career up to this point. I created a pathfinder on the topic of my choosing. In the process, I learned how to use the HTML 4.01 markup language to create a webpage. I also learned how to use FTP to upload the assignment to my web page. It's pretty sweet.

A pathfinder is a resource that librarians put together in order to help patrons get familiar with a topic. It's a tool for Bibliographic Instruction. That's a big term for "teaching people how to get the information they need on a given subject."

My subject was "Origins & Distinctives of the Plymouth Brethren." I found a bunch of informative sources and organized them in the pathfinder with a few short annotations to aid in the research process. The pathfinder is really only supposed to get people started on their research.

You can find the finished product here: http://bit.ly/HD9j3d

The Nature of Info

This week's discussion regarding the difference between Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom.

I found the section concerning the nature of information to be enlightening (pages 286-287). I particularly enjoyed the fact that Rubin made distinctions between 2 pairs of similar terms.

The first pair was Data and Information. Rubin considered data to be pure fact, while information was data that has been applied meaning. Information, therefore, is potentially useful while data could just be a random set of facts.

The next pair is knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge encompasses both data and information, but adds the element of application. Hence, the potential use has been realized. Wisdom adds values to the knowledge. This final term fits into the mission of libraries, which are to affect society for the better through the application of information.