133 | Transcending Content

 
 

September 19, 2022

Minute of Transparency: Getting fooled...

 

Today's Topic: Transcending Content

  1. Oh how content has changed

  2. Being an accurate witness

  3. 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:

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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:

  1. 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

  2. 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:

  1. Are you surprised at how content has changed over time?

    • And how much in the last 20 years?

  2. 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?

  3. 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!


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132 | The Transcendent Rant (Chapter 2)