EEDA Newsletter Vol 6, Res 36: Avoiding Fake Products, Images, and News
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends! We’ve been trying to keep the cleaning and decluttering momentum going and our bedroom got a good cleaning this weekend, which included going through the nail polish collection. We’re talking about hundreds of bottles and some of them are vintage at this point. Pretty sure one of them was one of the colors I wore for my high school senior ball. I went through each one and there are 159 bottles I’m letting go of. Many of them need restoration (dried out, thick, etc) and though I kept a handful to restore myself, I am happy to have put the 150+ up for sale. Hopefully I’ll get a taker!
New episode of EEDA Pod this week! Homemade Isn’t Holy: Debunking the DIY Superiority Complex
In this episode of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice, Patricia and Nicole discuss the myth of moral superiority in doing things the hard way versus accepting help, especially around the holidays and everyday tasks. They share personal stories about overcoming the pressure to do everything from scratch, highlighting how accepting assistance can be just as valid and rewarding. The hosts encourage listeners to let go of unnecessary guilt, embrace community support, and find joy in making things easier for themselves.
You can find our show, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also support the show on Patreon, where we have some perks for paid subscribers with even more coming this year. You can also just make a recurring donation through subscribing to our Patreon, as our show is independently run and without ads. It helps keep us going!
It’s a resource week so let’s get to it!
Resource 1: To avoid fakes when shopping online, watch out for these 4 red flags via NPR Life Kit
The scammers are, and have been, completely out of control. This short article (or podcast, if you would rather listen to it) has some very helpful tips. I am a habitual review-checker for items I want to buy. Another thing I would like to add that this article doesn’t is that I always ask, “Is the price they are charging for this a reasonable price for what they say they are selling?” If the product image is a gorgeous gown and they’re selling it for $30? It’s going to be trash. I’ll tell you that right now. If it is a cool looking bluetooth speaker but it’s $20? It’s also probably going to be trash, or only work for a week before having to toss it. The market is so saturated with garbage that it has skewed our understanding of what good quality things should cost.
The other thing I stand by is that if the image used for the product is AI-generated, then I do not trust that they haven’t cut corners with the actual product (or maybe it doesn’t even exist if they can’t take a picture of it). How do you tell if an image is AI-generated? Take a look at the next resource below!
Resource 2: Reporter’s Guide to Detecting AI-Generated Content via Global Investigative Journalism Network
So this link isn’t about product images and much more about spotting AI-generated news images, but a lot of the advice is transferable. This is a long, in-depth resource that I highly recommend you take the time to read. I appreciate that there are different levels of detection recommended and multiple tools linked.
Recent & Current Reads
Inclusion of a book in this section is not necessarily a recommendation and these books won’t always be added to my Bookshop. Links are affiliate links.
Recently Read:
Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi
Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love: A Cookbook by Samin Nosrat
Currently Reading:
The Best American Food Writing 2019 edited by Samin Nosrat
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
You can find our podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.