“They can’t put anything on the internet that isn’t true.” ――― “Uhh … bonjour?” State Farm Insurance commercial
You can find anything on the internet. After all you found this blog, didn’t you? But then again, if you have the same web surfing skills that I do, you were probably looking for some scrumptious recipe for split pea soup. That’s how it works for me. I start out with a clear goal and high hopes and end up somewhere in fantasyland. Hours upon hours of required research eaten up by cute cat videos or worse yet, adult oriented material. Well, I’m glad you stopped on my blog. You’d be amazed at how many split pea soup porn sites there are.
One of the most useful research tools is the free web site Wikipedia. (Although they have recently begun seeking donations to keep it free, otherwise hello commercials.) It’s like having an inexhaustible reference library at my fingertips in the guise of a little old Ipod touch I keep beside me when I write. Take coal for example. Wikipedia will give you the meaning, the description, the history, the chemical makeup, the many uses for, and will give you pictures of the different types and where they’re mined. Pretty snazzy, huh? But if you go to the very bottom of the entry it says: Last edited 11 hours ago by Jklamo. Now I’m wondering, who is Jklamo and what did they edit? If they know as much about coal as I do then I could be in some pretty serious doo-doo. Because if I write something involving coal you can bet your sweet bippy there’s going to be some coal aficionado reading it and they’re going to rip me a new one for not researching the facts before I started spreading slanderous misinformation about their beloved coal. No doubt they’ve spent waaay too much time on some of those adult coal sites.
Then when you tack on the recent internet snafus and gaffs with the ongoing hacks, fake news, and photo cropping, can you really trust the internet as a research tool? Take my blog as an example. I’ve never had any formal writing training; I’ve never had anything published; and yet here I am blowing smoke up you’re keister like I’m an expert. If Stephen King were reading this I’d wind me up in one of his books as a character who gets run through a wood chipper … twice!
I guess what it boils down to is how much you trust the internet. I’m sure it’s great for an initial look see but take notes and compare them to other sites about the same subject. If you have a good rapport with a professional then use them to double check your facts. Promise them a shout out in the acknowledgements. Since I don’t play well with others, when I have medical questions, I have to schedule yet another physical with my, the new term is, health care provider. It doesn’t really bother me until the colon check. He dims the lights, starts up the Barry White CD, and slips on the latex glove with a come hither smack. For legal questions I have to use the excuse my will needs updated for the fifth time this year. Either that or get arrested.
But all in all, I still trust it … kind of. Since I’m unpublished no one has called me out on anything I’ve written. And if they do I’ll just pass the buck or wave it off as poetic license. After all, fiction is fiction, whether I made it up or somebody named Jklamo. Besides, I was under the impression they can’t put anything on the internet that isn’t true. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m feeling a little frisky and I thought I’d look up some split pea soup recipes.
