Month: September 2017

Debuts and Discoveries 2018: Sponsors Needed

While the major University Sunrise Rotary fundraiser is 6 months away (March 17, 2018), we need event sponsors NOW!

Of course, the big reason for soliciting sponsors is to reduce or eliminate the amount needed from our net proceeds to pay our event organizing costs such as rent, permits, beverage curator, printing, PR and more.  The more sponsor dollars we have coming in, the more we are able deliver to our supported charity, Friends of the Children.

In past years, many of you have stepped up to sponsor personally or on behalf of an employer.  We truly appreciate such great support and are hoping that this will be repeated this year.  If neither you or your employer can contribute, perhaps you have a business that you frequent that might be interested in helping.

To help gathering sponsors contact Nancy Bolin: tasting[at]usrotary.org

Sponsorship and the benefits of sponsorship plus details on Friends of the Children are linked.

Sponsor Solicitation Letter.doc

D & D Sponsor Benefits_2018.doc

Beneficiary: The Friends of the Children

Thanks for your wonderful support!

Di Zhang, SPL, “Fake News Survival Guide”

Deluged as we are with news, it has now gotten to the point at which the genuine from the false needs to be determined. Di (Day) Zhang, of the Seattle Public Library, excerpting from the “Fake News Survival Guide”, arrived to be of help.

Referring to online news, he cautioned that it is easy to create content, with the risk of it being false. The information cycle (major event–TV–social media–web) moves so fast that fact-checking cannot easily be done, except for TV. It does, in fact, take time and $ to check facts.

Information goes out quickly and generates clicks. Each click generates ad revenue. Fake news imitates websites. Sometimes, the purveyors of fake news vanish, only to resurface at unannounced times.

Evaluation of information comes under these headings:

  • Consistent with sources found
  • Inconsistent with sources found
  • Inconclusive, given sources found
  • Outside the scope of service.

Three tips:

  • Read article first before sharing
  • Check the sources
  • What is the support?

Also, consider a subscription to a reputable service.

The concept of the “filter bubble” concerns familiarity with one’s interests. Then one receives information consistent with one’s likes, with the dislikes filtered out.

Overall advice: Ask a librarian.

Twain: “A lie is halfway around the world before the truth has its shoes on.”