Government Computer News Magazine, May 18, 2009 - a little side article called "Night of the Living Tweets" spoke of the CDC's use of Twitter and other "Web 2.0" tools to disseminate information concerning H1N1. Now, here is a great use of the internet. A real authoritative resource getting information out to the masses!! Bravo.
But as the article points out, “The Downside: Other people can tweet, too.” Hmm, I think I addressed just this topic in an earlier post. So, while the CDC is trying to get out pertinent, reliable information, Spoofers and idiots are cluttering the wires with satirical stories and bad information. One story originates from a site designed to look like a BBC web page – complete with links and statistics. The article states, “It was clearly a spoof, so no harm done.” I’m not so sure about that. I’ve heard people talk about The Daily Show and The Colbert Report like they are the only places they get their news. THEY ARE COMEDY SHOWS PEOPLE!! Get Real!
GCN ends the article with this warning: “But it’s worth keeping in mind that in a crisis, which can lead to panic, the unscrupulous might take advantage of these open tools.” - Not if you close them up!!!
OK, OK! I can hear it now! “OH COME ON! We can't shut it down because of what might happen.” Yeah, you’re right. But we can ebb the flow. Not every idiot should be allowed to post just anything. Just the simple act of charging to post would slow it to a crawl.
“Whoa,” you say. “Information should be free.” – Without getting into a whole philosophical discussion about intellectual rights, assuming the information is free, the costs to buy, build, and maintain the servers and infrastructure to disseminate it is not! And we should stop acting like it is and it is our God given right to do whatever we want with it. GROW UP!
ZOMBIES GO HOME!
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