There are different kinds of people in the world. On one end of the spectrum are the skimmers and the other the researchers. The skimmers want information fast and they want it easily. They rely on things like friends’ advice and light reading to make decisions. The researchers enjoy or feel compelled to dig deep and muddle through full reports and various sources before making ‘informed’ decisions.
This isn’t a shaming article. Skimmers are what they are as are researchers. Regardless of where anyone is at on this spectrum though, no one has the time to research everything. Even researchers have to give up their power and rely on other [select few] sources at times.
The question here is whom do you trust? Is there such thing as a truly unbiased source? No. But some sources are better than others.
Take where you donate your money for example. Maybe you care about animals but that is one of many categories you care about. Drilling down you specifically care about wildlife conservation. What now? How do you choose the best organization to give to? This particular category is less likely to have you finding an organization in your community, so that option is off the table. Many people still don’t know about nonprofit rating organizations like Charity Navigator or Charity Watch and thus don’t turn to them. So where now?
