Today I received one of those chain emails that always leads me to Snopes, which vets internet and email rumors, as my next click. This one was about the recall of a "pimple ball" toy that has severely injured some dogs tongues. It turns out, this story is true. Chai, a Lab, had to have his tongue amputated after it got stuck in a small hole in this toy. The company took the toy after the market; apparently there had been numerous past complaints.
Fifteen years ago, email was the a pretty sophisticated tool for sending around this kind of information - assuming the people to whom you wanted to transmit it were on email. Today, there are much better ones!
1. Even if you send an email, link to the blog, Website, or news site where you found the item. This saves people having to check the credibility of the story - or simply deleting it because it walks and quacks like another rumor email.
2. Get into the habit of using a site like Google Reader or Digg to compile stories. Again, these provide direct links.
3. Post the links to a social media site, such as FaceBook, MySpace, or LinkedIn, where your friends can read it and actively share it.
4. If you are one of your community's influencers, a go-to person, set up your own blog!
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