Authentic information in a socially networked world

Just a couple of take-home messages from an article by Wittenberg (2007) and another by Garfinkel (2008) around the authenticity of information within a socially networked world that inform the work of an information professional.

1. Quality assessment – Publisher-driven vs. Community-based
   
   Friedrich Nietzsche was quoted as saying, “All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.” Wittenberg (2007), in her article, puts forward a parallel notion to this argument when outlining the traditional process for quality assessment; “the authority to establish credibility rests with the publisher, who selects the peer reviewers, interprets their comments, and manages the author’s revision process”. While Wittenberg illustrates the publisher-driven system in her article, Garfinkel (2008) examines Wikipedia in his, which he sees as a community-based model for credibility assessment; “truth is received: the consensus view of a subject” becomes the accepted authority. Both authors suggest flaws exist in each system.
   
   Truth and authenticity are often not easily evaluated, particularly by users, whose information seeking patterns have changed significantly with the advent of Google. To ameliorate this situation, Wittenberg (2007) believes that librarians and publishers need a change in perspective around their work practices. The information professions must respond to the changes in learning preferences of young people, and become leaders through research and innovation to initiate pedagogical change. A commonsense approach that should also include the user in the change process.


2. Policies and procedures, and the power of many
   
   As a university student I am acutely aware of the status of Wikipedia amongst the academic community as a non-reliable source. Wikipedia is fine for gaining background information, but should not be cited in essays and assignments. Wikipedia is not seen as an authoritative or authentic source because the content has not been subjected to peer-review, instead is written and edited by volunteers.
   
   However, according to Garfinkel (2008), “studies have found that the articles are remarkably accurate”. Why? Because the Wikipedia community of more than seven million registered users follow a set of naturally evolved policies and procedures that enable the quick and judicious removal of untruths. This says much about ‘participatory democracy’ and the logical development of governance processes by a group of many. John F. Kennedy was quoted as saying, “A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” We should not shy away from crowd-sourcing and ‘collective intelligence’, but rather embrace it. 

Friedrich Nietzsche quotes. (2013). Good Reads. Retrieved January 22, 2013, from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/search?utf8=✓

Garfinkel, S. (2008). Wikipedia and the meaning of truth. Technology Review, 111(6), 84-86. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=35342513&site=ehost-live

John F. Kennedy quotes. (2013). Good Reads. Retrieved January 22, 2013, from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/search?utf8=✓

Wittenberg, K. (2007). Credibility of content and the future of research, learning, and publishing in the digital environment. The Journal of Electornic Publishing,10(1). Retrieved from ttp://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=jep;cc=jep;rgn=main;view=text;idno=3336451.0010.101