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With the recent passing of one of our most celebrated
actresses, it seems appropriate to celebrate the concept
behind “Desk Set,” a 1957 movie starring Katharine
Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. This classic tale of
information technology gone awry is maybe more relevant
now than ever.
You may remember the movie.
Hepburn runs a research department for a major
television network. The department spends most of its
time running down facts and sourcing information.
Spencer Tracy is the computer whiz hired to bring the
research department into the Computer Age with his
high-tech “baby” EMERAC.
The moral of the movie is
that while information may become more accessible, the
ability to sift, verify and corroborate facts is still a
human responsibility. A recent article in industry
publication IEEE Spectrum illustrates that view with
some “facts” that require second thoughts.
For example, did you know
that the information flow over the Internet doubles
every 100 days? Or that the Internet and all of its
technology consume 8 percent of all the electricity used
in the U.S.?
Both of these “facts” are
absolutely wrong, yet the media, industry “experts,”
authors and others continually use them, further
validating an erroneous statement and building what
amounts to an urban legend - or in this case a
cyberspace legend.
In the first example, there
was probably a time early in the Internet age when
information flow did double every 100 days. However,
such a rate would cause the actual amount of information
to compound quickly into a number that is virtually
impossible. The actual rate of information flow is
closer to a doubling every year - and even that figure
may be high.
Those in the PR business
would do well to heed the moral of “Desk Set.” While
we have access to more information than ever, it is
still imperative to validate any information and use it
properly. Failure to do so will reflect poorly both on
PR pros and their clients. |
