People tend to get lost on the Internet and I do not mean lost in thought or mindless drivel, though these things are true, too. I mean lost as in they don’t know where the heck they are.
Many of you know that I write a blog – called Buzzblog – in addition to filling this space in our print edition. Oddly enough, confusion has arisen between my blog and the exceedingly more famous Snopes.com, online arbiter of fact vs. fiction.Fact-checking the fact-checkers” almost a year ago. That post was circulated widely on social-bookmarking sites, generated robust discussion (much of it inane) and – here’s the most important part pertaining to the confusion – settled prominently on the first page of search results returned by Google on any query for Snopes.com.
This has occurred because I wrote a blog post about Snopes headlined “
And query they do, as even though that post of mine is approaching its first birthday, a stream of 75 to 100 visitors a day stumble upon it, the majority having arrived at Buzzblog via Google.
Only problem is that somewhere between Google and Buzzblog they forget where they were going, or, once landing there, they become disoriented and convinced they’re at Snopes.
I know this because they leave questions in the comment section; Snopes-like questions; questions readers don’t normally ask me. And I see all of these oddball questions because each generates an e-mail alert that lands in my in-box.
A William Perry writes shortly after the item was published: “Is the e-mail re: Obama’s handling of the pirates situation true? Did he not give permission for the Navy Seals to take action, and the Seals commander finally had enough and gave the order to shoot.”
I didn’t know then and I don’t know now.
Dottie writes: “I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM A FRIEND, SAYING THAT SONY ERICISSON IS GIVING AWAY A LAPTOP COMPUTER IF YOU EMAIL 8 FRIENDS, A DIFFERENT MODEL IF YOU EMAIL 20 FRIENDS. IS THIS TRUE?”
Not a clue, though I presume Dottie wants a new laptop because the one she has types only in capital letters.
Phil M asks: “Is it true that the ACLU is trying to remove all the crosses from the military cemetery in Washington?”
Huh? How do the Snopes people stand this stuff?
Linda wants to know: “Got an email that says that margarine is like plastic, and very harmful, and that real butter is the only thing people should eat. Is this true?”
On and on they go: Did Obama say (fill in the blank with something unimaginable)? Is this Web site that sounds like a scam really a scam? Will I get a $50 gift certificate for forwarding this e-mail to my equally gullible friends?
And then there is the latest, offered by Bob R8: “Is Elin living with Tiger? If not where is she living?”
OK, finally, allow me to take a swing at this one: The last time I spoke with Tiger, he said … No, BobR8, I don’t know whether Elin is living with Tiger. Try TMZ.com … Just don’t go through Google to get there.
This e-mail address does, in fact, lead to me: buzz@nww.com.
