Information Gathering And Sharing

[Guest guest]

Information Gathering And Sharing

 

 

Most of us grew up with the idea, without actually thinking about it,

of aquiring information in a mainly passive manner. We got information

via schools, newspapers, TV, our friends and aquaintances tell us

something, etc. Most were all passive means of getting information.

This approach became habitual for almost all of us. Most in depth

research was beyond our physical abilities to do so. We didn't have

access to special libraries, etc. and the time required to do any

research was enourmous.

 

With the advent of the internet and home computers all of that changed

except our thinking. We had the world open to us, but our thinking was

still somewhat stuck in analog in the past. We would go on the

internet and maybe join a group or two. Read s few news services, but

use the internet mainly like we had previously used previous

information sources. we used it as a social channel also. It became a

huge social channel of communication. Most groups became social

channels no matter what the group subject of discussion. Most became

more social channel than anything else.

 

If we wanted to know something, we still asked our friends (now

cyborfriends) what they thought, or passively read our newsletters.

Why else limit an enquiry to a few people's thinking when it is easier

to use a search engine and you can have the choice to read many

thousands of people's thinking.

 

We used search engines in a limited way, but that way doesn't feel as

familar as the passive methods to most of us. And we were not used to

sharing info except to our close friends and family.

 

This group was started around the idea of discussing nutritional

information with a few like minded individuals and sharing information

with one another to further all of our understandings of those

subjects. Since we placed emphasis on the quality of the information

and kept the information flow somewhat restricted as we screened out

most of the chitchat of social communications which can dominate and

over ride most boards to the point of them becoming great social

boards but almost worthless as real sources of good information.

 

The group here grew in spite of our intention to be a small group.

Also our field of interest grew as our understanding of the

interconnectedness of many things grew also.

 

Most of the people who came later along the way, either wanted to play

the familar passive role discussed above, ask their new cybor friends

for information, or they wanted to post a lot of chitchat like they

did on other boards. Also a great many like to have the benefits but

don't like the work involved to give back.

 

It has been hard to maintain the integrity of the board and to keep it

on track so to speak.

 

How this group is supposed to work is that members will research an

area of interest and when they find sonething they then share that

with other members. It is a very hard concept to carry of with a large

group.

 

We do ask each other for information but that has to be balanced with

research on our part also. We need to share information. We all need

to help pull the load with research and sharing. We need to post the

information in a clean readable manner and to do so may require a few

basic computer skills. We need to think beyond the box sometimes

without becoming so extreme that the information appears wildeyed

craziness. And a ton of other things, but basically this is the group.

 

I recommend that people join a few grops, to a few

newsletters, read some websites,journals, online magazines, blogs, etc

on a continuing basis. If yu find somethig that you think is worthy

of sharing do so. If it has interest to you do some net surfing using

search engine results also. each of those results can be a good source

of further enquiries for further searches, etc. Post the nuggets to

the group for sharing.