We’ve been talking about content, about who gets to decide what is and isn’t appropriate, and especially about what happens to the content you publish.
A lot of it comes down to trust. Can we trust the content we encounter? How do we know? And, of course, how can we create content that people will recognize as trustworthy?
Meet the Edelman Trust Barometer. Published by the Edelman research firm, the barometer is an international study that focuses on the degree to which people trust “institutions” — defined by Edelman as government, business, media, and NGOs.
Richard Edelman (screen shot from The Battle for Truth)
I don’t think I’m off base if I interchange the term content providers for institutions. After all, the content we consume — the content on which we base our opinions and our worldview — comes predominantly from government, business, media, and NGOs. And the content you create probably falls into one of those categories.
The newest Trust Barometer finds that people’s trust in institutions — or content providers — is dropping precipitously, especially in the U.S.
In the words of CEO Richard Edelman, “the United States is enduring an unprecedented crisis of trust.” Edelman even posted a short video, titled The Battle for Truth, in which he said (emphasis mine):
- “We don’t have shared facts. Therefore, we lack rational discourse.”
- “Silence is a tax on truth, and we have to speak up.”
By speaking up, Edelman means that it’s incumbent on every institution — every content provider — to “fill the void for quality information.” Trustworthy information.
I don’t disagree with him. But I doubt that every content provider is willing or able.
What do you and I, as consumers of content, do then? Continue reading
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