Don't Hold Your Breath:

Managing the

Information Cascade

April 8 - 14, 2013

Intro to Don't Hold Your Breath

Read tips on creating more successful blogs on Blogging: Purpose and Strategy
Find blog posts on the Internet or ask a blogger about why they blog. Then contribute to the Discussion: Why Do We Blog.
Even if you won't be creating a blog, you should read about Getting Started with Wordpress and Getting Started with Blogger.
If you're planning to start a blog, you should watch the appropriate tutorials too.
Contribute a blog to the Discussion: Blogging Purpose and Strategy.

Journalism has really been hit hard by the abundance of information. Read about The State of Journalism and watch the associated videos.
Read about the Deluge of Information and watch the two videos.
Watch the video on The Filter Bubble.
Watch the two videos on Is the Internet Making Us Stupid or Smarter? (warning: this is a 2-hour task) Then share your thoughts in the Discussion: Stupid, Smart, or Something Else?

Have some fun visiting the sites on Don't Believe Everything You Read On The Internet and reading the associated articles.
If you have a favorite fake website or story of someone believing a parody story, share it in Discussion: Look before you Leap.
Watch the videos on Getting Ahead of Information Overload.
Read the news articles and try out the RSS apps on RSS: Dead, Dying, or Thriving?
Try out one of the tools on Reading Management Tools.
If you have questions or tips you'd like to share do so in Tips and Questions: RSS and Reading Management Tools.

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, by Nicholas Carr [under $15]
Cognitive Surplus, by Clay Shirky [under $15]
The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption, by Clay A. Johnson [under $15]

Gain a better understanding for the role that social media plays in our lives by participating in a Social Media Fast.
Explain some of the reasons why individuals and organizations blog.
Give tips for best practices in blogging.
Explain the benefits and drawbacks of Wordpress vs. Blogger.
Outline how social media has affected journalism.
Explain the effects of the Filter Bubble on the average Internet user.
Share arguments from both sides of the argument about whether the Internet is making us stupid or smarter.
Give examples (or tell cautionary tales) for why you should not believe everything you read on the Internet.
Explain how to create better information filters online for social media and news.
Explain why some people say RSS is dead.
Use reading management tools to view RSS feeds and other social media content.