A Quick Guide For Tech Conspiracy Theorists

from the useful-stuff dept

It's a damn slow news week, seeing as it's the final summer week before Labor Day and with the tragic hurricane situation focusing attention (rightfully so) on helping those in need rather than the next latest gadget (well, some of that is still getting through), so it's no surprise to see the filler stories start showing up. Michael Kanellos, over at News.com, has done a nice job picking apart what it takes to create one of the typical tech conspiracy theories we see so often, and suggesting exactly how to create your own. There are a few good lines in the piece, but the best is: "Focus on the omissions. Forget what a company does. If there's an ad on Yahoo's site for a logistics coordinator, does that mean they'll try to take on Bekins and Mayflower in the shipping and storage industry?" Remind anyone of anything recently spread around? The one point that Kanellos missed, however, was that beyond focusing on scant evidence and making loose connections, you also have to inflate any rumored numbers to ridiculous levels -- but perhaps, he glossed over that one, as it was his own News.com that recently was caught doing it.