Ever Think About Your Reach...Around the World?

Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world,
​doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.
Edward R. Murrow

by Skip Cohen
 
Typical of Sunday mornings, I'm off the topics of business and marketing but not stepping away entirely from imaging. Today's Reflections, like the description of a good bourbon with "hints of toasted wood," there are hints of a rant as I think about the power of the Internet and how many people we all know who abuse their ability to communicate.

The Russians perpetually spread misinformation across the Internet, but what about your neighbor down the street? I'm so tired of seeing inaccurate statements that become gospel because somebody heard it through the grapevine.

The rumor mill was bad enough long before the Internet, but technology has given a whole bunch of really stupid people the ability to become authorities on virtually every topic. Moreover, true to Edward R. Murrow's quote above, they reach all around the world!

In the old days, the grapevine was the vehicle for spreading rumors and misinformation. But the Internet gives even the dumbest kid on the block a level of reach that twenty years ago was reserved for small newspapers and magazines.

So, how about this for a suggestion - let's start neutralizing the world's know-it-alls. Let's challenge their sources, and when we hear something that doesn't make sense, how about questioning its validity. Then, the next time you want to share something on social media, make sure you're being accurate - the best way to shut off rumors is not to start them!

It's not just the Internet - we're plagued with politicians and the media who have made careers out of sharing lousy information. This is why Sheila and I rarely watch the news - we have a few resources we've grown to trust, but that's it. Furthermore, before going to bed at night, we always try and watch something upbeat, funny, and light. It sure helps to go to sleep with a non-threatening foundation for dreaming.

Just to keep it light - since you can find anything on YouTube - how about this flashback to the 80s...at least the humor here, with raisins singing about the grapevine, makes sense!

Wishing everybody a day ahead when whatever you hear on the Internet is true and hopefully enriches your life. Take the time to appreciate everything in your life and especially those people closest to you who you trust the most. As always, go for those eleven-second therapeutic hugs and remember, if you're having a tough day, it's only a bad day, not a bad life!

Happy Sunday...or Monday if you're on the other side of the world.