How Do I Know What I Know?

http://news.msn.com/in-depth/history-buffs-race-to-preserve-dialect-in-missouri

I used MSN to read this article. I guess I chose this one because out of all the media things that were listed on MSN this one caught my eye the quickest. It was off to the left in the in depth section of the website. I thought the article was interesting because it showed how many things from the old times are dying in this country. Many of the practices that came with our ancestors are now falling much to the wayside, this can be said with regional dialects, styles of cooking, ways we live and just our overall ways of thinking. Here is a quote from someone in the article, "
Missouri French "was on the verge of being lost," she said. "People are passing away. It's the end of an era." Carol Diaz-Granados, an anthropology researcher at Washington University in St. Louis who studies the region's Native American archaeology, heralded Stroughmatt's historical preservation efforts. Diaz-Granados is a board member of the Old Mines Area Historical Society, a volunteer group working to restore an old log cabin on the outskirts of town that would serve as the centerpiece of a 19th century village and history museum commemorating the region's deep French roots.This is one element of the article that made me believe it was true, there was a quote by someone who is a scholar and working on the subject, willing to have themselves quoted. I believe if this was not something that was true in nature they would not take the chance of having their career being put in jeopardy. There are only a mere 30 individuals left speaking this dialect in this town of Missouri. I believe it will be interesting to see how things turn out, but sadly I believe just like many things of old, this to will fade away.

I believe that sites should be reliable when they are coming across to the public as being credible and presenting credible information. Most people want to believe that the information they are retaining for the most part is true, unless they are reading the Enquirer magazine and many people want those articles to be true as well. If I am doing something for school, work or any other kind of research I want to have the confidence that the resources I'm using holds some creditability. I want to believe the information that I am gathering and retaining is of some worth.

3 Questions

In your first entry, answer these questions: What forms of new media do you use daily? How has new social media influenced your perspective of events? Are these positive or negative influences?

The main form of new media I use at least a few times a day is facebook. Though I don't normally post, I do enjoy looking around at the various pages and happenings on the site. Since I have so many family and friends who live out of the area and in various states, I have an up to date feed of what has been going on in their lives. I also use Linkedin at various times. Outlook and Yahoo Mail are also daily use items for me as well.

I don't believe that new social media has really influenced my perspective on events. I believe it does influence my husband to some degree, (laughing). I tend to just do some research and try to formulate my own opinion on things. I believe that if I read everything that is going on in the world on a daily basis based off media postings, I would never eat, drink, sleep, or better read breathe again. I try to live my life based on the largest impacts and greatest amount of effect. Such as, the HIV epidemic, or when H1N1 was happening and even than I was not in that much of a panic. You just take precautions in your life, even if social media did not exist.

I believe there are plenty of positive influences, it does keep many people informed has to what is happening in the world. Like the reading stated, now people can listen to podcasts while brushing their teeth and stay in line with the events of the world. I remember my grandfather reading the paper every morning. That was his dose of staying in touch of what is happening in the world. The downside is that we can get to much stimulation, to much feedback, to much knowledge as to what is happening in the world and it can create a large amount of paranoia. I don't believe I would want to know what is going on in all parts of the world at all times.