Margot Bloomstein gave a presentation at Confab 2019 about rebuilding trust by validating users and starting where they are. She discussed how inconsistency erodes our ability to evaluate and trust information. She argued that a consistent and accessible voice, appropriate volume, and humanizing vulnerability can empower users and help regain their trust. Her overall message was that by reflecting users' existing beliefs and helping them educate themselves, trust can be rebuilt.
Rebuilding Trust: Validate users by starting where they are at Confab 2019
1. Margot Bloomstein / @mbloomstein
Confab April 25, 2019 #Confab2019
Rebuilding trust:
Validate users by starting where they are
Margot Bloomstein ⢠@mbloomstein ⢠Confab ⢠April 25, 2019 ⢠#Confab2019
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L â R: Š Jessie Braham White, Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, Edmond W. Rickett, and Charles Buckles Falls; Š R. Anning Bell; Š Joseph Jacobs and John Dickson Batten
6. What do we look for in magic mirrors?
ŠCayuga Productions and CBS
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We look to see ourselves.
We look to see the truth.
We hope the images coincide.
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18. We can literally walk through life in cynicism
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19. We can literally walk through life in cynicismâ
or we can stride with purpose and confidence
toward hope
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20. Insert gut check cycle image
Coached skepticism, false equivalency, rampant air quotes
ŠFox News
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Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, Blur: How to Know Whatâs True in the Age of Information Overload. Bloomsbury, New York, 2010, p. 45
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Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, Blur: How to Know Whatâs True in the Age of Information Overload. Bloomsbury, New York, 2010, p. 47
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Do we get comfortable in our faith,
or confidently test our beliefs through education?
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63% of the general population finds it difficult
to differentiate between real and fake news.
Source: 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer
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Only 48% of Americans say they believe
climate change is mostly due to human
activity.
Source: Pew Research Center âThe Politics of Climateâ
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Only 40% of Americans say they have
a âgreat deal of confidenceâ in science.
Source: AP-NORC Center study Confidence in Institutions: Trends in AmericansâAttitudes toward Government, Media, and Business
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ŠJana Birchum for The Austin Chronicle; from March 12, 2017 panel Good Night and Good Luck: Media in Election Years at SXSW
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How we form our beliefs affects our reality
more than what we already believe
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Cultural predisposition > confirmation bias
âŚand we can work with that.
Vaccine hesitancy study source: Smith, David, Katie Attwell, and Paul Ward. âThe Unhealthy Otherâ: How Vaccine Rejecting Parents
Construct the Vaccinating Mainstream, Vaccine Volume 36, Issue 12, March 14, 2018, p. 1621 â 1626.
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Cultural predisposition > confirmation bias
Reflect the audienceâs beliefs, offer resources
to self-educate, and use their language.
Vaccine hesitancy study source: Smith, David, Katie Attwell, and Paul Ward. âThe Unhealthy Otherâ: How Vaccine Rejecting Parents
Construct the Vaccinating Mainstream, Vaccine Volume 36, Issue 12, March 14, 2018, p. 1621 â 1626.
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A consistent and accessible voice,
appropriate volume for the context, and
humanizing vulnerability together
empower users and regain their trust.