Of all things fishy

THE recent hoax message about a supposed mobile phone virus spread like wildfire throughout the city. Without checking and verifying, people feverishly forwarded the message to their friends and relatives, warning them against receiving any phone calls which have four digits.

Of course, there were many variations of this rumour. But at the end of the day, what matters is that they all proved false as cellphone companies along with the PTCL issued strong rebuttals against them.

One point that this incident glaringly illustrated was that people are prone to believing almost anything and everything they are told without question. Why else would they have forwarded the aforementioned message without even inquiring whether mobile phones can technically cause such damage to humans? Unfortunately, this mindset isn’t going to go away anytime soon. This is probably the reason why websites like Snopes exist.

Snopes is basically a website which counters all those forwarded emails that are circulated around the internet, by researching their claims thoroughly and publishing their findings and conclusions. Most people reading this will definitely have heard of Snopes at some point of their lives but, sadly, there are a very few who actually make a good use of it.

The way Snopes works is very simple. You log onto the website and use the search engine to hunt down a particular rumour that you’ve heard or received in a forwarded message. If the particular forwarded email is listed in the Snopes database, it will promptly turn up and you can read through the research findings.

The “findings” are presented in a specific format. Firstly, the status of whatever is written in the forwarded email is clarified — whether it is true, false or uncertain. Then, a detailed explanation is given as to why the website reached this conclusion. Variations of the same email are discussed in detail as well.

Let’s take an example. Say, an email tells you that AOL will pay five dollars to a charity cause. You log onto Snopes and enter “AOL charity”. The search results will take you to a webpage dedicated to this hoax. You will find the status of this rumour as “false”. Variations of this hoax email include “Microsoft paying $5” or maybe a difference in the charities that these companies are supposed to contribute to.

Of course, Snopes is not all about refuting forwarded emails. There are appeals for donations and signing petitions for causes which are genuine, but are ignored because they are deemed as a hoax. Snopes has proved that some of these appeals are quite authentic and, hence, it wouldn’t do any harm to sign the petition to contribute for a cause.

For your own information and to see what kind of hoax emails are circulated, you can check out the section on the top 25 urban legends and read up on their details. You will be surprised to see the type of emails that make the rounds — yes, even the ones that would cause many people to raise their eyebrows are somehow believed and forwarded. Moreover, you can even subscribe to the website to receive an email informing you of the updates of the website — in other words, find out what’s the new hoax on the block is.

If you’re really into this stuff, you can even register at the Snopes community and talk it out with other members — rant about the latest hoax or voice your frustration at having received yet another forwarded email in your inbox.

Hopefully, by now, the name Snopes has registered itself in your mind, so that the next time you receive a forwarded email, you can check its authenticity over here. Remember, if something is too good to be true, it probably is.

Get the scoop on all forwarded emails at www.snopes.com

Being self-sufficient is not bad

There is no dearth of people who go running to others whenever they face any slightest problem. These problems can vary from personal and social to economic and cultural. Of course, no one is denying the need for advice along with the way it helps in resolving these problems quickly and efficiently. But the point remains that there are certain things which one can do on his/her own.

‘Do it Yourself’ is a website made for all those who would occasionally like to take things in their own hands. As the title of the website suggests, it is all about doing things yourself. Now the question arises, what things exactly? And how do you do them?

The website is basically about home improvement. All aspects are covered here in various sections ranging from decoration, painting, plumbing and woodworking to crafts, recreation, real estate and personal finance. The latter two sections should ensure that even though this website is all about home improvement, it isn’t strictly a feminine domain (no pun intended).

If one goes into each of the sections in detail, it is easy to discover that they all are extremely comprehensive and have taken care of all minor details. For instance, in the section on “Interior Home Improvement” you can find out all about constructing your house, getting a contractor, ventilating your rooms properly, repairing your doors, different types of flooring and kitchen décor. The section aims to put the installation of new things as well as renovation easy for you.

The section on personal finance has some useful information on how to avoid identity theft and debit card fraud, while household and cleaning section has tips on everything from preparing yourself for natural disasters and pest control to avoiding clutter in your closet.

One of the great pros of this website is that it is very thorough. No matter what problem you face and in which category (interior design, exterior design etc.), you are sure to find at least some solution here. The website has taken care to cover all aspects of the home improvement for the benefit.

Secondly, the how-to articles on this website have been organised to reflect a lot of hard work. This is because all articles have been written in well-defined steps or bullet points. Only some are a bit long and without any bullet points, but a bulk of them follow a format which ensures that you get your answer written in a concise form. Also, if you are in a hurry, this format comes useful. You don’t have to read through pages of text to find the answer hidden in the last paragraph.

One little disadvantage here is that you must know precisely what you are looking for. For instance, if you log onto this website hunting for some gardening information, can easily get lost and over-whelmed. This is because the section on gardening is divided into several topics, and each of the topics is subdivided into minute topics. It is very easy to forget all about gardening and start reading something entirely different, which doesn’t matter if you have loads of time, but would be disastrous if you just came online for a while. On the other hand, if you want to know some tips on how to improve flower garden, you will instantly get the information by logging onto the gardening section.

So in a nutshell, it is about knowing exactly what your problem is, and logging onto this website so that you can get a solution easiest and fastest. Plus, there’s nothing like doing things yourself to derive the greatest amount of satisfaction at a job well-done.

Find out more about how you can handle your own work at www.doityourself.com/

Pointers Galore

When it comes to journalism, there are always two kinds of professionals. There are those who go through the formal degree program for this subject at any university and learn the technicalities of journalism and the tricks of the trade in the classroom, along with some practical experience in the form of internships.

The second kind is of those who do not study journalism formally, but simply pursue a degree in their subject of choice and then enter in the field, as a journalist. They rely totally on, on-the-job training to learn how to go about in this field.

Whichever category you happen to fall in, there is one website which will make sure that you are well-equipped for journalism, whether you are learning it in a university or training for it in an organisation. And that website is Poynter.

The Poynter Institute is basically an institute for training professional journalists as well as those aspiring to be journalists. It regularly holds seminars and courses as a part of the training process. The details of which are given on the website for the benefit of those of you who have the time and finances to attend. It is however, heartening to note that there is quite a lot of material on the website which can be perused, and the website has not chosen to dedicate itself purely to disseminate information and testimonials about its workshops, conferences and seminars.

To that effect, the best thing about Poynter is that all information is categorised very thoroughly. So if you’re a television journalist, you have your own section to browse and you need not to worry about having to go through the stuff on photo journalism or writing and editing.

The sections are very precise as well as informative. The Career Centre for instance, is one section where you can basically get all information about the aspects of job in journalism. Of course, it is possible that some of the information here may not apply to newspaper and other media organisations in Pakistan, which have their own system. But nonetheless, it wouldn’t hurt to find out how things work in general and what problems can surface in journalism jobs.

The “TV/Radio” section is all about broadcast journalism. Here, you can read up on the experiences of broadcast journalists, who have travelled to war zones to do their reporting and access tip sheets on how effectively to report from an audio visual medium.

The section on ethics should probably be read by every journalist who wishes to be socially responsible while performing his/her duties. Here, you can find out which questions to ask when facing a confusing situation, how to handle personal prejudices when reporting, and how to deal with the line between fact and fiction. There are loads of articles here which make really an enlightening read on media ethics. The issue of online ethics is also discussed in detail.

The high point of Poynter (no pun intended) is that it has made the layout in such a way that one can easily read articles off the webpages. The teal and white colour scheme and the variation of fonts highlight is a fact that a great deal of thought goes into website designing, something which ultimately benefits all those who want to peruse material online, rather than print outs.

So whether you are suffering from a writer’s block, can’t think of how to approach a sensitive topic or aren’t sure whether taking a specific angle of a story is appropriate, Poynter is the place to reach out to for help and solve all the illusions.

Visit http://www.poynter.org to learn more about the tricks and tips of journalism.

The smart (website) reviewer

Mention the phrase search engine or web directory and the first word that springs to mind is either Yahoo! or Google.

The more astute Internet users may mutter “Ask Jeeves.” The fact remains that when a person wants to go through any web directory of links pertaining to various categories he only select those websites which are used over and over again.

There are, however, a myriad websites around the Internet which feature web directories. And although these directories have much the same categories as those of the high-profile websites like; Yahoo, it doesn’t make them any less in either quality or functionality. One of the high points of these lesser-known websites is their one feature which can make you a pro in writing website reviews.

One such website is Illumirate. The unusual name is derived from the word illumination which is the reason behind the tag line of the website which reads, “Lighting your way through the web.”

So what makes this website different? At the outset, it may seem like a waste of time to go through it but considering the number of links in each category is far less than what a person would find in more popular websites. But if you notice carefully, you’ll find a review beneath each website. Where does this review come from? The answer is ‘link editor’.

Yes, link editing is one of the major means through which the website keeps itself updated and inundated with new and improved links to websites. Illumirate editors are no different. They keep a watch out for interesting websites and the minute they find one which fits the bill, they write a small review, keeping in view the extensive guidelines of the Illumirate. The name and description along with the URL of the website is submitted for a review by the senior editors, and if it is approved, the website is put up in the appropriate category.

The categories, however, are also decided by editors. When they stumble upon a good website, they have to ensure that they know which category it would be suitable for. For that, they have to be well-versed in all the different categories which are on Illumirate.

All those internet users who have some extra time on their hands and would like to share their wealth of links with others can avail this feature of the website, by using the on-site form to apply for the position of an Illumirate editor. All that is needed is a sample website review so that your expression and language skills can be evaluated.

Of course, not everyone is interested in becoming a link editor. If you are one of those who aren’t interested in sharing websites, maybe you just want some extra publicity for your own website. And it wouldn’t hurt to have it featured in Illumirate’s directory. So while you are here, you can access the link submission form. There are some extensive guidelines which you must follow to ensure that your website is accepted and put up. You also must know the relevant category in which your website is to be featured.

And finally, all those who access this website mainly to surf and find new websites can browse all the different categories to hunt down quality websites. There are also some pretty interesting categories ranging from education and social issues to travel and security.

Visit www.illumirate.com to learn more about reviewing.