A Case For Digital Media Literacy: Tracking Down A Meme

Here are things to think about before retweeting something that you might need to “re-call” later:

• If a tweet sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This theme is very common in email hoaxes and legends.
• If a tweet sounds too bad to be true, it probably is. Think “so-and-so just died!”
• If the tweet contains a call to action but no link for verification, do not retweet without verifying!
• If the tweet is full of ALL CAPITALS and !!!! you probably want to run away.
• If the tweet is time-sensitive (related to a natural disaster or a major news story) then put on your virtual hoax-meter.

In other words, THINK before retweeting. Re-read the tweet; think critically about its message.

Source: Kathy Gill, Senior Lecturer at University of Washington, Blogger and Internet Consultant (WiredPen)

This entry was posted on Friday, January 15th, 2010 and is filed under Databases, Directories, and Guides, Information Literacy, Search News, Social Media, Source File, Technology and Internet, Web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.