Reference no: EM132965847

Two websites, (www.theverge.com and www.techcrunch.com), provides business information such as company or industry news, trends, analysis, facts or performance data. Using the criteria discussed under "Evaluating Sources", evaluate the credibility of the information presented at these websites.

EVALUATING SOURCES

No matter where you're searching, it is your responsibility to separate quality infor-mation from biased material or unreliable junk to avoid tainting your results. Social media tools have complicated this challenge by making many new sources of infor-mation available. On the positive side, independent sources communicating through blogs, Twitter, wikis, user-generated content sites, and podcasting channels can pro-vide valuable and unique insights, often from experts whose voices might never be heard otherwise. On the negative side, these nontraditional information sources often lack the editorial boards and fact-checkers commonly used in traditional publishing. You cannot assume that the information you find in blogs and other sources is ac-curate, objective, and current. Answer the following questions about each piece of material:

-Does the source have a reputation for honesty and reliability? Generally speaking, you can feel more comfortable using information from an established source that has a reputation for accuracy. For sources that are new or obscure, your safest bet is to corroborate anything you learn with information from several other sources.

-Is the source potentially biased? To interpret an organization's information, you need to know its point of view. For example, information about a company can be presented quite differently by a competitor, a union trying to organize the compa-ny's workforce, an investment research firm, and an environmental advocacy group.