133 | Transcending Content
September 19, 2022
Minute of Transparency: Getting fooled...
Today's Topic: Transcending Content
Oh how content has changed
Being an accurate witness
Navigating the chaotic future
// 1. OH HOW CONTENT HAS CHANGED
I should probably explain what I mean by "content" before we go too far:
When I was thinking through this episode
My mind was focused on "information"
The transfer of knowledge
The way we've accessed information over the years
The options we have for accessing information
Stuff like that...
So let's start there.
Here are some of the obvious communication mechanisms we've used - and how they have evolved over time to communicate, transfer knowledge and document things:
Verbal Communication/Oral Tradition:
This is the most basic of course
It doesn't require anything other than two people using their voices - communicating
Face to face in the past - though we can communicate verbally over distance today
Symbols / Cave Paintings / Smoke Signals:
Next we have simple forms of communication
The start of the content revolution
Putting information out into the world
Or physically putting information on something so it can be viewed by others
Written Content (Primitive):
Chiseled on rock
Painted on rock
Written on papyrus
Ancient scrolls
Written Content (Modern):
Letters
Newsletters
Magazines
Books
Written Content (Digital):
Websites
Blog posts/Articles
Facebook
Twitter
Content (Digital Realism):
TV
Movies
Podcasting (audio)
Online video like YouTube
Instagram
TikTok
So these are the ways we have communicated throughout time. But here are some interesting things to note:
We don't move to the next stage of content, and leave the previous stage behind
We still talk to people right? We use verbal communication in many ways - face to face, over devices and now over Zoom
And what is graffiti? If not symbolic cave paintings - painted on bridges and buildings?
What are brands and logos? If not symbols used to communicate ideas
But yes - we have grown in terms of our content creation, and our communication avenues to the point where we have so many more options
Another thing I find interesting is the way we have come full circle in the length of our content:
We started simple, with things like symbols and cave paintings
And we eventually became verbose - writing long articles and full length books - content creation used to educate, communicate and entertain
But instead of continuing in that direction - we turned and headed back
Shrinking our content into things like blog posts, then even shorter Facebook posts and eventually Tweets that could only be 140 characters in length
Then we took it even further - on Instagram we could simply post an image - maybe because a picture speaks 1000 words right?
Today TikTok is all the rage. We've given up the written piece all together - going back to short pieces of verbal communication
And don't forget about the SnapChat phase where we would send a picture to someone knowing that it would only exist for a few fleeting moments before ceasing to exist forever
And while that's interesting to look at and think about - it isn't really what I wanted to talk about in this episode.
What I wanted to discuss was how content has changed in terms of its validity.
Call it the "truth factor" - or how likely the content is to be true.
Because this is something we're struggling with these days. Fake news, lies, misrepresented ideas. It's rampant - and if you're like me - it's very hard to make sense of this very chaotic world. It's like standing on quick sand - never knowing if you've found firm footing, or if you're going to slip and sink another few inches.
Which brings us to the next section:
// 2. BEING AN ACCURATE WITNESS
So my big question is this: Has the validity of our content changed over time?
In other words - was our content more truthful in the past - and is it getting less truthful as we move forward?
On some level - this was my hypothesis. But as I thought it through - I had to admit that it probably isn't true. People had the same ability to lie vs. tell the truth in 3000 B.C.
In fact the Bible includes examples of lying that let to terrible things:
Satan lying to Adam and Eve led to the downfall of their perfect world
Potiphar's wife lied about Joseph and he was thrown in prison for years
Samson lied to Delilah numerous times for the fun of it - but it eventually killed him
So it's pretty obvious lying has been with us for a while.
In fact - the main character in the Bible was killed because of the lies of two people:
Jesus was brought before the Jewish council
They wanted to find credible evidence that He was doing something wrong, so they looked for people who would corroborate their stories about Jesus
The Bible says they found none - but that two witnesses eventually came forward and were willing to say on the record that Jesus claimed to be God
Something they knew would cause a lot of problems for Jesus
Now, in the Jewish culture - the idea of two or more witnesses was key to their judicial system.
If someone was going to be tried for a crime - there had to be two or more witnesses willing to testify to the crime.
Once this was in place - the court could be sure that the crime had been committed - and move on to sentencing.
And this was all tied back to the Ten Commandments. The ninth of which was "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
Pretty clear - right?
If being a false witness was included in the Big 10 - surely this would keep people from lying in court - right?
I guess not...
But it's this idea of being a credible witness that got me thinking...
When we create content - shouldn't we be held to the same standard?
Shouldn't we try everything in our power to get it right? To tell the truth? To lead people in the right direction?
Now if you're going to write a fiction novel, or make a blockbuster movie - go ahead - stretch the truth - in fact - make up a whole new reality.
It's all good. Call it fiction and you have all of those liberties - in the name of art.
But if you're going to be working in the Nonfiction world - writing real things about real life - you don't have the same liberty.
Because people are reading what you write, listening to you, watching you - expecting you to be an accurate witness.
For example, if I picked up a biography about some famous person - I would expect that the things in the book were true. I would expect that the biographer did thousands of hour of research, interviewed the person or people close to the person and to the best of their ability - explained the truth about that person's life.
Maybe this will help...I found a website for journalists called The Society of Professional Journalists and navigated to a page that included a code of ethics. So here are some of the big ideas from that article:
Seek Truth & Report It:
Verify information
Get it from the source if possible
Do not misrepresent or oversimplify
Update information throughout the life of the story
Be cautious making promises - and keep them if you do
Consider a sources motives before agreeing to anonymity
Avoid undercover or unscrupulous methods of gathering information
Provide access to source material when possible
Avoid stereotyping
Never deliberately distort facts
Never plagiarize
Always attribute
Minimize Harm:
Balance the public's need for information against the potential harm or discomfort
Show compassion toward people
Protect the vulnerable
Avoid stories that rise out of lurid curiosity
Be careful not to identify criminal subjects before they have been legally charged
Consider the long-term implications of permanent publication - be willing to update this information when appropriate
Act Independently:
Avoid conflict of interest
Disclose unavoidable conflicts
Refuse gifts, favors free travel and special treatment
Do not pay people for information
Do not favor special interest groups, advertisers or donors meant to influence coverage
Distinguish news from advertising - and make sure to prominently label sponsored content as such
Be Accountable & Transparent:
Respond to questions about accuracy with clarity and fairness
Acknowledge mistakes and correct them promptly
Expose unethical conduct in journalism
Abide by the same standards you hold others to
Now, I don't know if this is an all-inclusive list - one that is taught to journalism students in college - or if it's just a code of ethics put forth by this society.
But whatever the case the list seems pretty legit.
When I think about a journalist, or a news reporter - this is what I assume from them - that they're following rules like this so the news we hear and see is accurate and valid.
But let's take this one step further.
Instead of these rules just applying to journalists - what if we applied them to our content creation?
What if I agreed to follow this Code of Ethics when writing for Transcend Human? What if I agreed to them when doing this podcast?
Or better yet - shouldn't I?
As a content creator - do I have some obligation to follow things like this in my research, writing and the things I say to the public?
When you jump on the podcast - what are your expectations?
Are you like, "This must be true - because he did the research and he wouldn't lie about stuff like this."
Or are you more likely to think, "Ya right - this guys is off his rocker - I need to take most of the things he says with a grain of salt."
This leads us to our final section:
// 3. NAVIGATING THE CHAOTIC FUTURE
So back to the two options above.
Unfortunately - in this day and age - most of us probably experience the latter:
"Ya right - this guys is off his rocker - I need to take most of the things he says with a grain of salt."
Why? Because it's the wild wild west out there right now.
Content land is out of control!
In section 1 we discussed how content has changed over time. And how many different ways we can communicate today.
But one thing we didn't touch on is the speed at which we can communicate.
In primitive days - verbal communication had to go from person to person to person in order to spread.
Today - I can post a piece of verbal communication on TikTok and the entire world could see it in less than an hour.
Think about that for a minute. How much information is traveling around the globe at any given moment in time.
Millions of content creators. Billions of pieces of content. All happening at the speed of light.
This is the chaotic present - and there's no telling what the chaotic future might look like.
So what do we do to navigate this mess?
Well let's start with what we can do as content creators - because that's easy.
STEP 1:
We can choose to be credible witnesses instead of false witnesses.
It's really as simple as that:
Tell the truth (in love of course)
Choose to say things that are true
Choose to say things that are kind
Stay away from things that shade the truth
Stay away from things that could harm other people
If that was too general for you - take a look at the Code of Ethics we walked through in a bit more detail.
And think about your content through that lens. If you're doing it right - you'll know - because it will align with these ethical standards.
But if you're doing it wrong - you should be able to see why pretty quickly.
For me - on the Transcend Human Podcast - I try to follow these guidelines. But here are two very important things to consider when listening to my content:
I try to provide factual information as well as my opinions:
I am often providing facts - things I have researched and read
And in order to convey this information I typically quote my sources
And I usually list all research articles in the show notes - under the "References" section
But if I'm proposing something new, or discussing one of my opinions - I try to be clear about that
I'll say something like, "I have no proof of this - it's just something I've been thinking about."
Or "I've always wondered if this could be the case?"
See the difference? I'm telling you I don't have a factual basis for this information - but I'm working through it and coming up with hypotheses to help make sense of it
I have a Christian world view:
This is very important to understand
Because when I'm writing, this is one of my filters
It's a world view that suggests a certain line of thinking
However, this line of thinking isn't the same for everyone:
Not every Christian will see the world the same way I do
And non-Christians will be even less likely to see the world the way I do
But that's ok
When I present something spiritual or religious as being a fact - its because it is to me - based on my world view
But I'm not telling you that it has to be your truth
You have the freedom to choose the way you view the world
And I don't get to dictate that for you
When I listen to other podcasts - I'm listening for little nuggets of truth - things that I can incorporate into my life
Sometime I find a lot - other times I have to wade through some stuff I really don't resonate with in order to find the nugget
So the same is true for TH
Listen with an open mind - realizing that we probably have different world views - and that's ok
Look for nuggets that you resonate with - and take those with you
Now comes the hard part...
We said the easy part was choosing to communicate and create content in ethical ways.
But the hard part is living in a world where not everyone chooses to do this.
STEP 2:
Living in the chaotic present - and knowing that future may only get worse.
So what do I mean by chaotic?:
The ever increasing polarization in our country:
This leads to anger, bitterness and tension between people
As we run our mouths, and create content about our extreme positions - we throw gasoline on an already roaring fire
But this is what we face today
Wading through content like this in the news, online and through social media
We see people bunkering down in order to protect their beliefs and ruining relationships in the process
News outlets with agendas:
Have you ever thought about it this way?
Our news is often shaded with bias - personal agendas we don't see
Even though they are held to similar Codes of Ethics like the ones we just talked about
How do we know this?
Simple...
Something will happen in our country and based on the channel you're watching you will hear two different explanations:
Fox News will explain it one way
CNN will explain it another
How is this possible? It's the same event!
But it is being told through two very different world views
And this is just the tip of the iceberg
Most people understand the political ideologies behind Fox News and CNN
But what about smaller news outlets, and the average citizen reporting things that they see?
Do you question why they are reporting the things they are reporting?
Do you know the biases they have? The political affiliations? The religious beliefs?
This is why it can feel so chaotic these days
With all of the content out there online these days it's really hard to know what is true and what is propaganda
Don't bet on books:
If you are like me, and spent a fair amount of time in the academic world
And in that world, books, and academic journals are king
They are viewed almost as the gospel truth - because we hold writers to similar standards as journalists
We assume they did their research
We assume that they are simply writing about visible, testable factual things
We assume they checked their bias at the door
So what we're reading must be true
But is it? Well, not always
Think about this logically
Well-meaning authors in the past wrote academic books about things we now know are false
Medical journals described procedures we now know harm people instead of helping them
So even though we held these publications in high regard - many of them turn out to be wrong
Now that doesn't mean the author did it intentionally
Many theories have been proposed in good faith - only to be proven ineffective or harmful later in life
And I believe this happens still today - but perhaps at a growing rate
The publishing industry has grown into a monster
Profits are most likely driving the content we see today
And with the birth of self publishing - we're seeing more content with less oversight
Meaning the books with false information are getting published at an alarming rate
Making it harder and harder to view books as a credible source of information
The chaos rises
The power of the soundbite, or the hot take:
These days we have way too much power at our fingertips
The ability to Tweet something in 10 seconds
The ability to record a 3 minute video and shoot it to the world in less than 10 minutes
And with that power available to us - what happens?
Well unfortunately our content can become pretty pointed - pretty caustic
We call them soundbites or hot takes
Basically - me throwing out short snippets of opinion that are often controversial, condemning or antagonizing
Why? Because flammable content sells - it goes viral - it gets you likes and follows
Those who created the social media platforms understand this - and it works for them as well
Algorithms are built to harness the power of the sensational
Hot takes rise to the top and are distributed to the world as the most popular content
This increases the viewership, and adds more people to the platform
In essence, it keeps people in a trance - watching, reading and listening
Again, it's all about the profits
Blurring the lines of reality:
The last thing I want to touch on is intentional chaos
Creating things we know are false just to scare people, manipulate people or reinforce a faulty belief system
This can happen in very obvious ways:
Saying things that aren't true:
Saying you saw something when you didn't
Saying somebody did something when they didn't
We have a lot of power when we open our mouths these days
But things are getting even more chaotic these days when it comes to video:
People are posting video clips that are out of context
Show a 30s clip from a 2h interview and you might be able to paint the presenter in a whole different light
Splice together a few clips that weren't meant to be together and you can literally create your own reality
Or simply doctor the video the way you would Photoshop an image
In other words - it isn't hard to take a video clip and add in something that looks like a UFO in the clouds
Paranormal videos are also very easy to create
Simply take a video clip of a dark room and add an element that looks like a ghost - fade it out so you can barely see it, give it some movement and viola! You have a paranormal encounter video
With how easy it is to do this - we really need to be careful what we watch
Or better said - what we believe to be true about what we watch
But perhaps the most dangerous thing people are playing with these days is called the Deep Fake video:
Video produced with the help of AI and Machine Learning
Just search Google for "Top deep fake videos" if you're interested
This is becoming more and more possible with the advances we see in computer technology
Computer processors are getting so fast and capable - they can actually create video content if you just get them started
Most deep fake videos are of people - typically people talking
A famous person is used as the source - then the computer uses that person and animates them based on the words they are to say
In this way a video clip is created where the person - let's just say Tom Cruise for this example - speaks a few sentences condemning the current president
Now this is often done for fun - and used as parody online or on TV shows like SNL
But there have already been instances where it wasn't used this way
It was used to cause harm - to fool people into believing something that wasn't true
At this point deep fakes are still pretty easy to spot with a trained eye
But as they get better and better - it will reach a point where we can't tell the difference
And when this happens - hold onto your butts...
It's going to be very hard to watch TV or surf the Internet
Blurring the lines of reality like this is so dangerous:
In a world where it's already difficult to navigate the chaos
This could be the ultimate form of that chaos
If you watch a video clip of a respected person telling you to do something, or warning you about something that isn't true - it might be very difficult not to be swayed by their appeals
Not just situations like that - but also because of the prevalence of such videos
If they are all over the Internet - we will have no choice but to start doubting everything we see or hear
If it gets to the place where we can't tell what is real or fake - we'll just assume everything is fake and check out
And how sad will that be?
To live in a world where you can't tell what's right and what's wrong?
To hear thousands of messages every day - some that are alarming - and yet be paralyzed because you never know if they are legit or not
Friends, that's almost the world we live in today. But I fear it will only get worse as time goes on.
Let's Land the Plane:
This week things got a little dark again. A little pessimistic - or should I say, realistic?
Content is everything these days - from big media companies like NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, CNN, Netflix, HULU, Amazon, Disney, Apple and HBO to personal content on social media. It's everywhere and it's a lot.
Think about all the messages we're hearing every day. Think about the lies we've been suckered into believing! Or possibly worse - the truths we've written off as lies.
Now don't get me wrong - I love a good movie, TV show and TikTok post like the rest of you.
But you have to admit we're living in strange times. And the ability for the content we consume to guide us down certain paths is only getting worse.
The biggest is probably through the proliferation of Conspiracy Theories. Ideas that sound plausible - but are most likely not true. And the more you hear - the less you feel like you know about the world.
And we wonder why anxiety and depression are at an all time high?
But I digress..
This week - ask yourself the following questions:
Are you surprised at how content has changed over time?
And how much in the last 20 years?
What are your thoughts about being an accurate witness?
Do you think it applies to you and your content creation?
If so - how are you doing with that?
How are you navigating the chaos of the present day?
And have you thought about the way content might impact you in the future?
Well, that's it for this week.
Thanks for checking us out - if you're new. If you're a veteran - good to be with you again.
Until next time, have a great week, be selective with your content, and as always, keep Transcending Human!