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The value of opinion!

Have just finished watching the review of the news on the Andrew Marr show, a political discussion show on BBC UK TV ... nothing out of the ordinary today except a comment that got me thinking.

One contributor to the show was the Editor of 'The Huffington Post' http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ which currently has some 18k likes on their facebook page. At one point Andrew Marr was bemoaning the lack of real journalism and journalists in the press - to which she replied that at the HP there were only ~26 journalists but some 3000 bloggers whose opinions were included. The comment seemed to be expressing a desire for more facts and research rather than opinion.

I also watched the film 'Contagion' last night which included a character, played by Jude Law, who had some 12m followers on his blog post and who swayed public opinion in what transpired to be a very unhelpful way (Hope that is not a spoiler ... watch the film - quite good!)

Obviously Social Media has meant that many, myself included, have a potential platform to air opinion and thought - but is there a point at which this is not only unhelpful but becomes dangerously counter productive.

Take finance ... ultimately however good, well thought through, and well executed a Governments fiscal policy actually is if, in the opinion of the thousands of shareholders in the world, they are troubled they will start a run against a company, financial institution or even Country ... result is panic!

Definition of OPINION
  1. A view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
  2. The beliefs or views of a large number or majority of people about a particular thing.
I love the space that the Internet provides to voice opinion but, like anything else it is best when based on sound reason, research and logic? Many people hold opinions because their friends do, or someone famous does, or ... "I don't want to be seen to be without an opinion so whose opinion can I follow?" Is that genuinely an opinion? Perhaps ... but is it helpful for the development of society to have such a potentially vast audience to communicate it?

As my two eldest children debated quite strongly the other day ... opinion v fact ... it was interesting to watch their arguments develop - with no conclusion of course!

I guess, over the years, my opinions have either been confirmed, swayed or eroded as I have built understanding and facts into them ... however good they might be - does having an opinion and a forum for expressing them bring greater responsibility for others in society ... or is that just my opinion?

Press on!

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 22, 2012 at 11:00 AM

    Social studies seem to suggest that there is a critical mass in a population of apparently 24%. If 24% of the population believe something then the balance of the populatiopn will eventually agree with that opinion or whatever that something is within a short period of time.

    ReplyDelete

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