You’ve been reading about it in social media, perhaps watching it on the news. Flooding, forest fires, widespread power outages, you name it. Now you’ve decided to do something to prepare yourself for whatever may come your way. Now you’ve turned to the largest collection of information in the world…the internet. What could possibly go wrong?
To be honest, a lot can go wrong. The first thing you have to understand about the internet is that there is absolutely no one verifying the information on it. Anyone can put anything online, true, false, or somewhere in between. As you navigate the myriad of blogs, websites, and You Tube channels, you’re going to get flooded with information. Most of these sources will contradict the last one you looked at. I know, it get’s confusing.
There are however a few hints you can pick up on that may guide you away from the misinformation.
1 – Overly political sites
These sites spend the majority of the time yapping and complaining about one political party or the other , sometimes just about government in general. These endless complaints will offer you about as much preparedness advice as a pet hamster. At times, they break down so far as to call for a revolution against a political party that’s in power at the time. Keep an eye out for these sites. If you notice them claiming that politicians are or have destroyed the countries values, stay clear.
2 – Religious Sites
Beware, but don’t completely dismiss these sites. Often they will be preaching about preparing for end times. You will hear about mysterious planets on collision course, how the times have become so desperate that the end of the world is upon us….yada yada yada. On the other hand, you have the LDS church. You can forget about their religious beliefs if you choose to, but these guys have preparedness down to a science. Short version – doom and destruction bad, preparing for hard times good.
3 – Product Pushers
Sure, a lot of legitimate sites run ads and do product reviews. However, if see 7 or 8 out of 10 articles or videos demonstrating a product, especially if it looks brand new out of the box, chances are they just want you to click a lick and buy one so they can earn a commision.
4 – Single Focus Sites
There are tons of sites out there that focus on very specific skills or piece of gear. I always wonder about people who think you need dozens of high priced knives for “survival”. Then there are the sites full of opinions on what firearm you should have. Pay no attention to these sites and look for the ones that have a well rounded perspective on a variety of topics.
5 – Talkers not Doers
It astounds me how many YouTube channels are chucked full of videos of talking heads. Videographers sitting in front of a camera with some sort of camo backdrop talking and talking and talking. For the most part, they have never practiced what they are preaching. They will go on and on about gear they’ve never used and skills they will never have. Look for sites with lots of pictures, videos of people actually doing what they are talking about, and pay extra attention to those that aren’t afraid to talk about their failures.
Part II – Where to Start Prepping will be posted tomorrow.
