As part of the Gear Diary team, part of what I try to do is wander the Internet looking for useful things to share. Lately, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend on the Internet – people presenting their personal opinions as if what they say is fact.

Let’s be clear – stating an opinion on the net is nothing new. Hey, I’m doing that right now! What seems to be happening with increasing frequency though, is that someone will make a statement online, others will pick it up and spread it, and before you know it people are repeating the original opinion as if it’s a hard fact; when, in fact it was really just someone’s opinion.

Rumor and opinion suddenly become fact, and it’s just wrong. Worse – it seems to be happening more and more.

So how does this happen? Well, in part, it’s happens because people, myself included, are able to state our opinions in venues like this one. There’s a tendency, when things look nice and pretty, for there to be this sort of built-in credibility or authority to what we say. There’s an implied assumption that we’re experts, or that we did all our research, when, if fact, many people who write on the web DON’T do the research and aren’t experts in what they are writing about. For the most part, they’re just ordinary people, with ordinary day jobs, who are taking the time to look at the things around them and write about what they see so that other people can benefit from what they’ve already done or gone through. That’s it. Some of us have specific expertises, some don’t, but all of us have our views and opinions and we are blessed with the opportunity to present them to the world. But sometimes those words and opinions are given more weight than they deserve.

So what should you do? Well, for one thing, do your own research. Really! Glance through a variety of different sites and see what different people are saying about a given topic. Do a Google search and see what’s out there. Odds are good that if you are seeing the same “catch phrases” over and over, that people are just repeating something they’ve heard and they aren’t really expressing their own opinion. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the wording from a product press release repeated over and over by supposed “reviewers” or “news sites” as if it was their own words rather than some marketing information or, as I mentioned earlier, someone repeating an opinion over and over until people think it’s a fact rather than just the opinion of someone who may have little or no expertise in the topic they are blogging about.

There’s something else you might want to consider doing. Take a look at a web site’s “about” area. See what the site’s focus and goal is. Odds are good that an Microsoft or Apple centric site probably is less likely to say bad things about those companies, especially if they are getting any kind of perks or favored review status from them or their partners. They come with a built-in bias. Know that they are NOT unbiased going in. And while you’re on those “about” pages, you might want to see if there’s information about the writer’s/reviewer’s backgrounds. If those aren’t available, you should feel free to ask a writer about their background. They may be an expert in a topic or they may just be someone who is a hobbyist or just a fan. It’s good to know though as you try to weigh what they are saying! And most importantly, you shouldn’t be afraid to comment! Here at Gear Diary, we encourage polite discussion. Other sites seem to thrive on conflict and shouting each other down. Either way, when you comment on an article, you have as much clout as the original author. Really!

The bottom line is that it is easy to glance though your daily blog headlines and RSS feeds, but a little additional research can go a long way to giving you a more complete (and sometimes more accurate) picture of the world; participating makes the whole thing complete. You might have the information that completes the story or tears it down, or simply have the question that helps everyone understand an issue, but that’s what makes this medium so cool! Be informed – be polite – don’t be afraid!

Above all – don’t believe everything you see on the Internet. The loudest person or the person that repeats something the most isn’t always right!

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