branding

Wisdom of crowds, Folly of crowds

Social media efforts have failed as a resource for serious thoughts, a reliable and credible place of discussion and more importantly, a source that can be trusted to provide information that is true, accurate and timely.

This was the gist of rants that came to my attention - both in the form of conversations in the flesh and online as well as in various news pieces and pundits on soap boxes.

What tripped up the collective wisdom?

Well, it seems that CNN - that super credible source of all things news related *personal opinions aside* - has a section of its online presence called iReport. Yes, we’re all familiar with it - and if you’re not then you should be.

In principle it’s a great idea. The network offers joe/ jane public the opportunity and means to post just about anything they like as long as it’s news related.

The site’s tagline after all is “See it First. Your Stories. No Boundaries.” Now that should be your first clue right there - speed, the lack of boundaries and the quest to see your (meaning anyone’s) stories … they never claimed accuracy in there.

Thing is, iReport ran a ‘citizen journalism’ piece that claimed that Apple’s maestro extraordinaire Steve Jobs suffered a heart attack last Friday!

Given the personal brand affinity between Jobs and Apple, and his past medical woes, the market reacted predictably and dropped its valuations of Apple faster than you could say MacBook Pro.

Although Apple has denied the rumor and since corrected *mostly* the public’s perception of the supposed issue, it wasn’t quite fast enough as the the sharp drop in Apple’s stock price can attest to. Blogs such as Silicon Alley Insider initially published the rumor as written on CNN with the 21st century fig leaf (according to Cnet.com) –a question mark at the end of the headline–but updated its story after hearing from Apple representatives. CNN has since removed the post in question.

So yes, a mistake was made. Someone posted a fake story. Big deal right?

Trouble is, the story caused investors to dump stock. Now, whose fault it that. Did social media and online reporting cause that?

I think that’s the easy way to lay blame and the one that some people are taking. Which is ridiculous! As an investor, the onus is on you to check, double check and triple check your sources. So one news site ran a story - you dump stock based on that? Not much of an investor are you then!

Further, conspiracy theories aside, given Apple’s history with various sources constantly calling Jobs’ health into question, it wouldn’t be too much of a srech to imagine someone/ group trying to benefit from a pre-planned drop instock value. An investigation will probably follow this incident and someone will cap the blame.

But seriously - when dealing with any information source, whether it’s a friend in your office, an adviser, a stock analyst or even a good ol’ newspaper - the onus is on you as an investor (and an adult!) to check your facts before you decide what to do. And this applies to journalist’s as well - online and offline.

The Internet has made sharing information quick, efficient and easy. Unfortunately it has also made sharing lies even easier.

The speed at which we demand and consume information online unfortunately seems to have loosened some of the more obvious demands for veracity and caution in sharing of information - but much like you would with a fast car and how you drive it, this merely calls for more care and attention. Not putting the brakes on it per se.

Sometimes -  in the excitement of Web 2.0, social media, blogging, and any number of the various forms through which we share information and attempt to stay ahead of the curve - we forget this.

The Apple incident is only the latest in a long string of similar incidents. And sadly, I don’t think it’s going to be the last. Not by a long shot.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I just heard that they colonised the moon two hours ago and if you get in line at Kennedy you can get a free ticket on their low cost space shuttle flights - 0.99 one way with meals and air to breathe being optional.

What do you think - where does the blame for the lack of verification lie? And should be suspend our efforts to engage or participate online further … or should we redouble our efforts?

Sources: Cnet, CNN, Silicon Alley Insider

© 2008 Journeys Through The Line.