There is a problem with having almost any piece of information available over the Internet. How do we comprehend and manage all the facts, figures, pictures, graphs and fibs we can access?

A new sort of software, RSS, is attempting to handle this information overload. It scans the headlines of sites chosen by the user, and delivers directly to their computer. No more searching numerous sites, if the headline grabs the user they are linked straight to that website. Wow, those headlines better be catchy. And newspapers worldwide are catching on.

New sources for journalists are emerging, such as Twitter, a micro-blogging service where people can post quick short updates. Breaking news is likely to be found on services like this.

The key to all these new technologies is efficiency, but can we lose quality and accuracy in our rush for the story?

Well yes, I think we can. Just look at Terry Lane.  But there are some ways to assess the quality of information found on the internet.

Always look for author contact details, earlier dates of registration and good spelling and grammar on blogs, and this integrity scale can help determine the quality of websites.

Reliability may always be an issue with Internet sources, hell I’m still not allowed to quote them in half my university essays, but the Internet is the library of the future and we can’t ignore its vast (and ever more manageable) resources.

Twitter Image

Image courtesy of twitter.com