Why ask the doctor when the other kids know the cure?

ImageOft-times, Yahoo Groups and LinkedIn group discussions sound like a bunch of kids or peasants discussing medicine. Yes I know I have said ITSM isn't brain surgery, but nor is it trepanning. People who know little are far too willing to offer advice, which is sometimes so bad it gives the ITIL Wizard an unlimited supply of material.

This is a fundamental problem with the internet: that the Wisdom of the Crowd isn't always all that wise, especially in backwaters like ITSM where the crowd is not that crowded, where the advice is coming from a small number of people fanatical or idle or self-promoting enough to be trawling forums (guess I fit all three).

There is a catch-22: you need to know enough about ITSM already to be able to filter the rubbish. I shudder to think what the web does to the minds of beginners in any sphere. Those of you with true knowledge fight the good fight but I suspect it's a losing battle against ignorance and superstition. What's to be done?

The web needs better ways to guide people to informed sources. Google page rank gives a crude indicator of credibility once they arrive but better measures of trust and reliability are needed too. We see the first feeble signs of this in tools such as StumbleUpon and Facebook Like (and whatever happened to Technorati?). What else is emerging?

Comments

May be layers?

May be Layers can be a solution... but I'm not sure.

http://layers.com/?lang=en_US

Antonio Valle
G2, Gobierno y Gestión de TI
http://www.gedos.es

filter

I'm not so sure. i couldn't find the "stupid" filter...?

mmm

Are you SURE itsm isn't trepanning ;-)

>People who know little are far too willing to offer advice
perhaps it could be related to this - which I find funny because it's kinda true (at least I know I suffer from this)
Male answer syndrome

Male answer syndrome

Now that's funny! And WAY WAY too true. i think you've identified the foundation of much consulting - ever wonder why consultants are so disproportionately men?

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