Alright, some of you know me for my entertaining videos that I did on Youtube and Facebook. I trended towards something that kind of resembled entertainment/ humor, but also provided a valuable service... I tested infomercial products, at least the ones I could get my hands on for free, or nearly free. I stepped back a while, but I started this blog in hopes of creating something a little off center that I could use to entertain, and perhaps use as a compass for LNC. I have arrived at my latest brain-child, and that would be "Dear Flabby".
"Dear Flabby" will work like this: Once a week I take my favorite Dear Abby column, and instead of Abby's response, you will see a kinder, gentler response that I create. What could go wrong?
In my prediction, nothing.
This will stay Late Night Commerce, but I will weekly do my "Dear Flabby" column. First one will go up Monday morning at 5am, so I look forward to people following it.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Manufacturing Rumors
I want to start a Facebook rumor.
However, it can't hurt anyone, and can't do any permanent long term damage. That means my options are limited, but in reality I should be able to cook up something pretty good that can be easily verified if its true or not true at all. I want to do this because I am tired of the way Facebook gives way to the mentality of "so and so is nice enough, so it must be true".
A lot of people I know are smart, very smart in fact. However if you throw them into another planet called Facebook, the herd mentality rules. People become "Sheeple", and go with a cascading of information, especially if it supports what they believe socially, religiously, politically, etc. It bothers me that people have stopped thinking in an age where a diverse and large body of information is available almost instantly via the Internet.
But back to my rumor... I want it to be so painfully obvious that its misleading and not true, but people will spread it anyway because fact checking takes time, so its easier to pass it down the pipe because someone else can figure it out. I have called a lot of people on it and usually they delete the post, or delete my comment, and then usually decide that I am no longer part of their circle.
This brings me to a another question: Why is it not okay to call bull on something that is bull? If you correct someone, or point out that its a rumor with no truth, people think you are being mean spirited and indirectly calling them dumb. Sometimes this is the case, because we can all be dumb. I think its the public calling out of someone that really twists people the wrong way, but I think its a good thing to call them out in a public format and here's why: They will check a viral email, or message before re posting it and thus avoid being called out more than once.
Now I will go even further with this line of thinking...
You can tell a smoker that smoking is bad for them, because smoking is on the outs socially in America. You can also call people out on drinking too much, snorting too much blow, smoking too much weed, or shooting the H. What makes these things the same? They are things that are not clearly visible to the discerning eye. The biggest problem we have in the United States today is an obesity epidemic and all the baggage that goes with it (Type II diabetes, heart disease, etc.) yet you cannot go up to someone and tell them to drop the waffle fries with liquid cheese and bacon because they are too fat. The double standard, and I try not to fall prey to it.
We, as a culture, need to be able to identify our strengths and weakness' and be able to take criticism for what it is... Something we need to improve upon, and someone was nice enough to point it out for us.
But for the time being, I will stick to making things up on the Internet.
-Jon Pee
However, it can't hurt anyone, and can't do any permanent long term damage. That means my options are limited, but in reality I should be able to cook up something pretty good that can be easily verified if its true or not true at all. I want to do this because I am tired of the way Facebook gives way to the mentality of "so and so is nice enough, so it must be true".
A lot of people I know are smart, very smart in fact. However if you throw them into another planet called Facebook, the herd mentality rules. People become "Sheeple", and go with a cascading of information, especially if it supports what they believe socially, religiously, politically, etc. It bothers me that people have stopped thinking in an age where a diverse and large body of information is available almost instantly via the Internet.
But back to my rumor... I want it to be so painfully obvious that its misleading and not true, but people will spread it anyway because fact checking takes time, so its easier to pass it down the pipe because someone else can figure it out. I have called a lot of people on it and usually they delete the post, or delete my comment, and then usually decide that I am no longer part of their circle.
This brings me to a another question: Why is it not okay to call bull on something that is bull? If you correct someone, or point out that its a rumor with no truth, people think you are being mean spirited and indirectly calling them dumb. Sometimes this is the case, because we can all be dumb. I think its the public calling out of someone that really twists people the wrong way, but I think its a good thing to call them out in a public format and here's why: They will check a viral email, or message before re posting it and thus avoid being called out more than once.
Now I will go even further with this line of thinking...
You can tell a smoker that smoking is bad for them, because smoking is on the outs socially in America. You can also call people out on drinking too much, snorting too much blow, smoking too much weed, or shooting the H. What makes these things the same? They are things that are not clearly visible to the discerning eye. The biggest problem we have in the United States today is an obesity epidemic and all the baggage that goes with it (Type II diabetes, heart disease, etc.) yet you cannot go up to someone and tell them to drop the waffle fries with liquid cheese and bacon because they are too fat. The double standard, and I try not to fall prey to it.
We, as a culture, need to be able to identify our strengths and weakness' and be able to take criticism for what it is... Something we need to improve upon, and someone was nice enough to point it out for us.
But for the time being, I will stick to making things up on the Internet.
-Jon Pee
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