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Abraham Lincoln Once Said, "Don't Believe Everything That You Read on The Internet."

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Services for Real Estate Pros

Don't believe everything that you read on the internet.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

I came across this quote on the web recently and it helped me to realize that I shouldn't accept as gospel every tidbit of information that I come across in my travels through cyberspace.  I learned about Abe Lincoln in school and have read the biography Abraham Lincoln by Carl Sandburg.  I have a lot of respect for Mr. Lincoln's leadership and accomplishments, especially during the nation's time of crisis during the Civil War.  If he says that we should be careful about believing what we read online, I'll take him at his word.

Websites, blogs, news channels, political ads, and more are all created and written by human beings with their own biases, opinions, and agendas.  Most things that we read shouldn't be taken at face value.  The content is often intentionally designed to subtly guide our thoughts and emotions in a certain direction.  As we've seen during some political campaigns, it doesn't have to be true.  The means only have to achieve the desired results.

I try to think about the source and their possible motives when reading online.  Of course, you can rely on the absolute truth in this blog post.  As George Washington (who founded the Republican Party) once famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

 

Posted by

Rick Obst is an Arizona native who moved to Eugene, Oregon in 2005 and fell in love with the verdant Pacific Northwest.  He enjoys photography and discovering the many people, places, and events that make this part of the world so special.

To learn more about Eugene, Lane County, and western Oregon, visit 365 and More Things to do in Lane County, Oregon on Facebook.  You'll see hundreds of pictures and links to discover the beauty and attractions of this special area.

 

Jerry Murphy, CRS, SRES
Long Realty West Valley - Anthem, AZ
Anthem, Phoenix, and Scottsdale AZ Real Estate

That "internet" thing you speak of, it's just a bunch of tubes right?  Good post Rick.  Best of luck to you.

Jan 28, 2012 10:13 AM
Cynthia Larsen
Cotati, CA
Independent Broker In Sonoma County, CA

Funny ... I had a boss that told me once "I believed everything I read until my Father published a book". I thought that was mean at the time, but now I completely understand how he felt.

Jan 28, 2012 10:43 AM
Tony & Darcy Cannon
Aubrey and Associates Realty - Layton, UT
The C Team

Rick, Wise advice!  Only I thought it was Benjamin Franklin that had that internet quote! LOL

Jan 28, 2012 11:01 AM
Adrian Willanger
206 909-7536 AdrianWillanger-broker.com - Seattle, WA
Profit from my two decades of experience

Rick, we get so much more information than we used  and it just keep accelerating, your right we need to be very discriminating about what we choose to believe from information obtain from the Internet. 

Jan 28, 2012 11:23 AM
Linda Blumenthal
631-819-2913 - Westhampton Beach, NY
NYS Licenced Real Estate Salesperson, CBR

Hi Rick.  Thanks for posting the chuckle of the day, and at the same time, great advice.

Jan 28, 2012 11:30 AM
Mike Yeo
3:16 team REALTY - Frisco, TX

Rick '- the interenet has become a platform for everyone to voice their opinion. Some are experts and some claims to be an expert. Readers beware.

Jan 28, 2012 01:16 PM
Jeff Markell
Empire Home Loans Inc. - Tustin, CA
Sr. Mortgage Consultant - Forward & Reverse

Rick, I like your post. I recently ran across another Abe Lincoln quote that didn't quite sound like it came from him. I did what I always do when I have any doubt about something I read on the Internet, I checked it out on snopes.com and they confirmed that Abe was not the originator of the quote I had read. I wish more people would check their facts before randomly forwarding emails that are full of bogus information.

Jan 28, 2012 05:20 PM
Liz and Bill Spear
Transaction Alliance 513.520.5305 www.LizTour.com - Mason, OH
Transaction Alliance Cincinnati & Dayton suburbs

Rick, And then you run across the topics that don't have a definitive answer (which is much of real estate actually).  SEO seems to be another topic that gets the experts going :)

Jan 29, 2012 04:33 AM
Malcolm Johnston
Century 21 Lanthorn Real Estate LTD., Trenton, Ontario - Trenton, ON
Trenton Real Estate

I always thought it was Alexander Hamilton who said that, thanks for setting me straight.

Jan 29, 2012 04:39 AM
Chris Lewis
Gracious Living Realty - Front Royal, VA
I want to SELL your home, not LIST it!

Too many youngsters these days take what they read on Wikipedia or some other "authority" site as being fact.  While much of it may be, I know from reading up on subjects that I know well that there are a lot of assumptions made and erroneous information being repeated.  If people use this information as the basis for assignments at school or college, they need to be very thorough in checking the research.

Jan 29, 2012 07:12 AM
Laurie Clark CRB Angel Realty LLC Your Monument Realtor 719-502-6572
CRB-CCSS-ASD-HBS-RSD-Denver Short Sale Agents - Monument, CO
Angel Realty, LLC

This holds true in matters of much greater importance such as our Constitution, our bill of rights and our legal right to representation, the authoritative powers of the presidency, the congress and the governence of the peoplbe by the people. Things appear to be disappearing in our constitution that once was grounded in the minds of many - but now when you look for it - it is no longer there...

Jan 29, 2012 09:51 AM
Lottie Kendall
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality

Ha! Unlike many other Active Rainers, I hadn't heard that before -- very wise!

Jan 29, 2012 03:38 PM
Jark Krysinski *PREC (Personal Real Estate Corporation)
REMAX CREST REALTY WESTSIDE - Vancouver, BC
TeamYVR Team Leader, BA,ABR,IRES,IMSD,LLB

Hi dear Rick, thank you for sharing us your wise advice. You are genius! I will share this great post with my team members and my friends for sure!

You have a great evening!

Feb 02, 2012 01:00 PM
Anonymous
Deresa
cool
Mar 19, 2014 09:47 PM
#14