On Friday I officially handed in my thesis, titled “Truth Goggles: Automatic Incorporation of Context and Primary Source for a Critical Media Experience.” For those who don’t know already, it was about an automated bullshit detector for the Internet / an interface to help people think carefully called Truth Goggles. The final version weighed in at a nice round 145 pages.

I’ll let the dust settle before putting this monstrosity online. I also want to write some more condensed posts about the interesting parts because I know nobody is ever going to read the damn thing. Those will come later. For now I give you a few bullet points.

The Gist

Here’s the basic story of the document:

• I learned about the millions and millions of reasons why my idea could never work.
• Not having a strong sense of self preservation I kept on going anyway and tried to create “Truth Goggles!”
• I worked really hard to design and implement an interface that people could value even if they didn’t trust the sources behind the tool.
• I ran a user study and learned that the interfaces worked pretty well when it came to protecting people from misinformation, and that almost everyone who took the study really wants to be able to trust information again.

The Gems

I’ll give a quick preview of some lessons learned. Each of these points deserves a post of its own but since this isn’t my thesis I’m going to just put out my own observations and thoughts. The posts later will probably be more “scientific” and “explanatory” (i.e. “boring” and “less quotable”).

• When people consume information they are struggling hard to maintain their identity. That’s all there is to it. There is plenty of evidence that people consume information with ideological motivations. Those motivations often cause them to accept or reject information based on how well it aligns with what they already believe. I have a theory that if you could just remind someone that there’s nothing to fear — that you aren’t trying to change who they are — you will suddenly be able to actually communicate with them.
• Trying to tell people what to think is a losing battle. When the first round of press for Truth Goggles came out back in 2011 I paid attention to every single comment on every single report about the idea I could find. Lots of people liked it, but a lot of people were instantly dismissive due to concerns about bias. I heard their point, agreed with it, and realized what journalists saw ages ago: there is no way to create a universally respected system that also tells people what to think. I changed course and settled for a system that would remind people when to think instead. I think that is a better mission anyway.
• Credibility breeds respect, and respect breeds open minds. Several participants in the Truth Goggles user study commented that having a credibility layer made them more willing to consider perspectives and messages that they might have normally ignored completely. Think about that for a second. It makes sense, right? It is much easier to respect what a person is saying if you can trust them. Usually “respect” and “trust” are like “chicken” and “egg”, but if you’re using something like Truth Goggles it is possible to develop trust and let the respect follow if it ends up being deserved.

This entire experience has given me a lot of hope about information online and the people who consume it. I’ve said before that credibility was the future of journalism and I’m half tempted to expand that statement to say that credibility could save the world. I’ll probably need to run a few more tests though.

As for the next steps for Truth Goggles, that is to be determined! I’m going to at least keep exploring some of the processes and technologies behind phrase detection, but once I graduate and start my fellowship at the Boston Globe in June I’ll need an explicit way to keep it alive. Stay tuned.

SpeakerText is a true blue startup that I joined a few months ago.  We create interactive transcripts for online video which, in addition to providing some pretty great functionality for media consumers, also makes it possible for publishers to get their video content cataloged in search engines (“Video SEO on Steroids”).

The visit was awesome – the team is made up of three guys living in an un-air-conditioned 2 bedroom Pittsburgh apartment plus some people like me who visit whenever they get a chance.  At the cave, shirts are worn less often than pants and it is common practice to remove clothing before meeting new people.  Even before visiting I had already picked up some nice new habits — yammer being the most fun of them — but actually living there really pushed the envelope.

Here are just a few of the things I learned:

• How to use a Mac for dev work (i.e. how awesome TextMate is)
• How to send bananas (i.e. how to use git)
• Bieba time.
• Why Jacob is Better than Edward.
• That saying someone is a “smooth talker” doesn’t mean they are a charismatic and intelligent individual.  Apparently it implies that he will do something like try to steal your wallet.
• I get more awkward than usual around MacArthur Genius Grant recipients.
• Good startups build strong friendships.

Some of the things on this list make it seem like SpeakerText is actually made up of a bunch of 14 year old girls, and I guess that’s entirely possible.  Nevertheless it was an amazing time and the visit made me realize that it is possible to work on a team without feeling like you are working for someone else.  It also forced me to really and truly think about whether or not MIT is what I want to do for the next two years.

While trying to convince me to ditch MIT, team ST asked some really important questions (what do I want to get out of grad school, what do I want to do with my life, etc.) which honestly I hadn’t fully thought through before.  I got there thinking that it wasn’t even a decision, but by the end I was able to treat it like one.  This was the first time I have faced two completely different paths both of which I could take, embrace, and love.

The entire thought process deserves it’s own post, but I can share the conclusion here: despite the greatness of the team and ideas behind SpeakerText I remain steadfast in my current plans.  That being said, I know that I’m going to be missing out on some once-in-a-lifetime stories and experiences by staying on the east coast while they drive to the other side of the country in a UHaul at the end of the month.

Also. We watched Twilight.