“When a man’s life is destroyed or damaged by some wound or privation of soul or body, which is due to other men’s actions or negligence, it is not only his sensibility that suffers but also his aspiration toward the good. Therefore there has been sacrilege towards that which is sacred in him.” – Simone Weil
The internet has been the medium for the discriminating and prejudiced as well as the objective and unslanted. Depending on the topic, mood, and season, there is always a healthy smattering of news and information that denounces and criticizes what is perceived to be biased and subjective. One has to wonder with the millions of bits/bytes of information published on the Net nowadays if there is any source that is truly impartial any more.
My concern is for the Snopes and Factchecks of this world. I am an avid digester of digital urban legends and hoaxes, and nearly a decade ago, I had very few resources to rely upon to validate the soon-to-be-mail-server-busting multitudes of chain emails, scams, malware alerts and vicious rumors endlessly recycled by mailboxes throughout the world. My go-to back then was the CIAC Hoaxbusters site (long since retired), Snopes and the About pages concerning urban legends and hoaxes. Over time the volume of “misinformation” grew and inspired more sites to open shop, sometimes specializing in types of urban legends and spam. TruthorFiction, FactCheck, and the archives at Symantec and Trend Micro are just a small sampling of sites that I added to my roster of hoaxbusters.
Call me a skeptic but I just don’t like being duped. I also like data. Other interesting sites that I’ve visited on occasion: The Skeptic’s Dictionary, Mythbusters, The Straight Dope, Adherents.com.
I confess. I like Yelp. I like that they have reviews and listings for businesses, restaurants and services when the big-name web directories are still 3-6 months behind in posting (think Citysearch and their offspring Urbanspoon). I believe Yelp’s timeliness is due to its very active userbase. Like most social networking sites, Yelp makes it easy to reach out to friends and families–this occurs through the power of reviews.
Much has been said about Yelp’s shady dealings and extortionist practices. More has been said about the low-brow shenanigans and unprofessional reviews. Scandals and lawsuits abound. Again, like the major social networking sites, Yelp was bound sooner or later to suffer negative publicity.
I imagine that some businesses will be hurt more than others. I imagine that more critics and review snobs will turn their nose up at Yelp. But it’s hard to deny that Yelp is a helpful resource…I am one Yelper who reads others’ reviews and take them into consideration before visiting a business. And sometimes I will go despite the one- to two-star ratings, to satisfy my own curiosity.
Yelp serves the local community. Its service is dynamic, ever-changing, always trying to catch up, thanks to the contributions of the masses. They have the listings that they do because their members are a vocal lot–they take the time to post. I feel that other search directories cater to businesses who have the advertising revenue…which unfortunately discriminates against the small businesses and local shops without the big ad budgets. Other directories also try to inflate their self-importance by claiming they have reviews “written by professional critics”–which we all know sometimes goes against popular consensus. Of course, I do prefer writing reviews minus the snarky editorials and blog-style blitzkrieg that some reviewers prefer–if I’m reviewing a restaurant, then I’m judging them on the merits of their food, ambience, service. I’m not going to pen some cutesy anecdote about my dogs just to add “flavor” to my criticisms.
Yelp. Love it or hate it. It’s just another MySpace, Facebook, Twitter…except with reviews by you and me. It’s about the power of choice. Though if Yelp started censoring my reviews, then I imagine it’s time to find the next great Web 2.0 social network. In cyberspace it’s easy to shift your loyalties…
World of Warcraft should be placed alongside Facebook and cigarette breaks as leading causes of declining productivity among today’s workers. The game is just so damn addictive.
Asian parents often have one of two mindsets. They are either motivated by the lack of opportunity provided in their own lives, and are determined to provide their children with the facilities and support to excel that they themselves, never had….The other mindset is one of pragmatism. The ever-worrying Asian parent, fearing mediocrity for their child, pushes the poor kid to their limit, all in view for their future.
The “critical language acquisition” stage ends when a child hits 7. Before that age, languages can be easily learned — one of the reasons why Europe and other Asian countries teach foreign languages before Middle School. Sometimes, it’s just ludicrous how the American education system works.
Asian chicks dig white guys. Somewhere in the midst of the pseudo-nationalistic indoctrination our well-meaning parents inflict upon us, we ladies stop paying attention and allow tall(er), skinny, white boy engineers to steal our hearts.
I found some entertaining reading and speculation on the Asian culture (Stuff Asian People Like) after filling out an amusing quiz on “How Asian Are You”.
Some days, our souls need a little liftin’ after getting dragged down by the grind. Here are some links:
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