Silicon Snake Oil

1. Information available over the Internet is often stale, incomplete, misleading, unreviewed, or simply wrong.

I must agree with this statement but I believe the same is said about most things in a library as well. The internet, like a library, still has older material available at the same location. Everyone using both the library and the internet needs to use their best judgment to decided if the information they are seeking in the best information out there.

2. Face to face meetings are far more meaningful—and valuable—than disembodied network interactions.

It is very important for people to interact with one and other. It is very hard to perceive voice inflection and a general attitude over email or by reading a webpage. Being is person to discuss things it is easier to being up topics that you may question and get an immediate response and not have to wait for the reply in an email.

3. E-mail is clumsy, inefficient, and impersonal. It appears to be free, yet is actually quite expensive, and can be much slower than ordinary postal mail.

I am not sure that E-mail is slower then postal mail, but it can be impersonal if one allows it to be. Being “clumsy, inefficient, and impersonal” are all mostly controlled by the sender, postal mail has gotten lost before and can also be impersonal. This should not be a general statement about E-mail verses postal mail, it should be broken down and discuss the different reasons for each. One is better used than the other in different circumstances.

4. Oh, I care about what happens to our networked neighborhood. However, I care more about—and am affected more by—what’s happening in our larger society. So do parent, professors, teachers, librarians, and yes, even politicians.

This is too general of a statement, Stoll cannot comment on these people’s behalf. The Internet is not meant to become society; it seems to be out there for our advantage and not to take over the world. As a teacher, I feel the Internet opens up communication between several different parties in the education system and allows “our networked neighborhood” to be in contact with each other without having to interrupt class everyday.

5. The Internet provides a vast amount of data. But there’s a wide gulf between data and information. There’s a long distance from information to knowledge.

I agree, but I feel the researcher is responsible for determining what information, if any, is valuable. This statement can be said about any type of information not just the Internet, books and magazines also fit under this vast amount of data and information. One must use caution when doing research to better their materials.