Nowadays Everybody is a Journalist, and That’s a Problem
But Garrett Hardin offers 3 easy lifelong solutions
Thanks to advanced technology, everybody’s a journalist.
Is this event likely to spark debate in your circle? Record it. Will it interest the public leaders? Edit it. Today’s journalism is easy.
It’s not as hard as it was in the past.
In one of his classic books, Garrett Hardin discusses this problem and offers solutions to live by. But before discussing them, a little insight into the problem at hand is necessary.
Not so long ago, the routes of transmitting messages were limited. It was either word of mouth, travelers, or messengers.
Malcolm Gladwell adds several features about messages to make them sticky for the perfect tipping point.
The chances of spreading information widely were limited.
Technology has changed the game.
Transport systems have evolved to leverage the effortful task messengers and travelers had. But this distance has been reduced further by technology.
I can chat with virtually anyone in the world. And I can read the information posted by CNN or Trinidad and Tobago’s leading influencer in the kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom.
Everyone’s a journalist.
The problem is, who do you trust?
Generating information is easy.
Journalism and content creation, however it is done, have evolved so much, it becomes difficult to tell them apart.
Validating information is hard.
In the past, and current reputable institutions, a journalist was tasked with doing the research and reporting the findings. Objectivity was necessary. The reputation of the institution and the individual was at stake. Credible and valuable work was the only option.
As for content creation, reputation is not an issue. If I post a video of cats mauling each other, I have no institution on my neck asking me to take it down. Neither have I built such a large reputation as to care so much about what it is I post on the web.
What’s worse, everybody is on the Internet.
Companies no longer rely on websites alone. They have developed well-packaged applications downloadable to any device. Facebook has several application options for any user, readily accessible by the touch of a button.
The same companies leverage their users. They use this base to market their other company products. Users create content, and people like, comment, and share. Facebook then uses the platform to make revenue.
The credible dissemination of valuable information and traditional journalism doesn’t stand a chance.
Attention spans are also competing with that of the goldfish.
And large companies are aware.
Rather than spend time pushing a wave, why not ride it? It’s the more efficient option. So 30-second statuses and mini TikTok videos take the lion’s share of attention from the growing numbers of phone users — the youth.
YouTube joined the party with the recent YouTube Shorts feature.
Tell me, where will the heralded profession of journalism fit in such a rapidly evolving world?
Maybe they can do both. A share of its people focus on short content delivery and another focus on those who still have their attention spans intact.
Or, we can all take time to read Garrett Hardin’s book and create filters.
It is not my best to-go-to book when someone asks me to recommend a book by Hardin, but it ranks as one of the most useful books I have ever read.
The practical solutions the author offers are time-tested, robust, and most importantly, easy to use and remember.
Hardin advocates for three filters: Literacy, Numeracy, and Ecolacy.
Catchy, right? That’s the point. According to Gladwell, it is sticky.
And I hope it sticks.
These filters guide you to know what is credible and what isn’t. They help you filter out folly.
They help to tune out the noise and focus on the signal.
Literacy
A simple example to use to remember how this can turn useful is Taleb’s black swan.
When one claims all swans are white, you only need one incident of a black swan to invalidate the statement. Or a purple swan, if they ever exist.
This idea is pegged on the scientific method.
This filter also reminds us that words do not only promote thought but prevent it.
What does infinitely important mean?
Forcefully spoken, we can hardly question such a phrase. However, if well poked, we can find selfish interest in such terms.
My favourite is side effects.
To which I ask: which side?
If the effects intended by a drug were not foreseen, why call them side effects? Are you not putting aside these effects to focus on your interested effect?
The literacy filter reminds us:
Words not only promote thought. They prevent it.
Numeracy
This one can be tough to use, but you only need to have a small set of models.
For instance, regression to the mean, which you can use if the variables of interest are independent. A good example is height.
Your height is different from my height. They are independent. If we sample the height of every individual in your town, they should regress toward the mean.
Dependent variables are different. If your business is dependent on mine, my actions have a way of affecting yours. Regression to the mean might not be helpful as a model.
You can find your own models to fit your daily routine. Farnam Street (Shane Parrish) offers a whole list of models you can use.
Ecolacy
This is my favourite one.
As an ecologist, Hardin gives several examples, but I’ll pick only one.
You have previously heard of the law of diminishing returns. It is the inevitable outcome due to the finiteness of resources.
You can only have too many slices of pizza. But once all the flour gets used, you’ll have to wait for the produce from the farm.
Resources diminish.
If there isn’t a good way to reduce the consumption rate, depletion is inevitable.
Time and attention are resources. They diminish quickly.
I’d rather spend time and focus my attention on valuable information.
How I use it concerns the content I consume by asking myself:
Will I remember this the following day?
If not, I quickly skip it.
But it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Truth is, there are really good copywriters out here.
They have a way of convincing you to click and read their content. Of late, I have been studying their style.
Shifting the focus from simply reading to dissecting the structure of their articles. The structure has a longer half-life rather than the story.
Trendy content bypasses me because of this last filter, but it hardly bugs me. It is the same model I use to avoid the news.
If the news is important, it will find its way to me. I don’t seek it.
These are my personal examples from everyday living.
Hardin, however, uses it to empower individuals who feel lack domain-specific expertise.
The inexperienced ones are, however, the ones who ask practical questions. Yet, they often get discouraged when surrounded by experts.
Examples abound in the book.
The applications are diverse.
The book is accessible.
I guarantee you this: you won’t be purchasing a book, you will be installing three high-yield filters in your life.
With content flung at you every time, you will need it.
So what are you waiting for?
Join 500+ people by subscribing to the lightest newsletter on the Internet for a one-four-all & all-four-one weekly feed, because all you need is one alternative view, only one, to edge you closer to extreme value creation, but I give you four.
