After reading many reports on the controversy over the upcoming gun show in Saratoga Springs, I'd like to point out that this should be what we call a "teachable moment" when it comes to modern communication.
Without taking sides on the matter (both camps have some strong points as well as some ridiculous logic), I call attention to how laughably easy it is to get people to affix names, "likes," comments or anything else to an online petition on virtually any topic. That is evident in the sort of silliness that goes on every day via Twitter, Facebook, etc. Simply put: There is absolutely no conceivable way they should be taken at face value.
Media specialists, social scientists, etc., should be easy to find to comment on the efficacy of such knee-jerk "petitions," often "signed" with unverifiable online pseudonyms and unknown geographic origin.
Lacking that sort of perspective, I find the stories published by the Times Union and other local media shallow journalism that is misleading, especially to people not well-versed in the intricacies of social media.
