The First Law of Social Networking

There’s an alarming trend racing around the Internet.

Actually, scrap that, this isn’t a trend. It’s been going on for a while and it needs to stop. It’s the fundamental flaw of social networks, human curiosity and gullibility, it is the Patient Zero of panic, hysteria and misinformation.

It is the breaching of the First Law of Social Networks.

Disclaimer: I’m not sure if there is an official set of laws regarding social networks, however, as far as Nate-Radio is concerned, this one needs more publicity.

The Law goes as follows:

Research before you Repost.

And it is a simple premise. It takes five minutes and it saves a lot of bad e-Chinese-whisper-like embarrassment. Here’s how you do it in five simple steps.

1.     Select the text of the article you are about to repost.

2.     Copy (Ctrl + C) the text.

3.     Open a new tab (Ctrl + T) and go to http://ww.google.com/

4.     Paste (Ctrl + V)

5.     Hit your Enter/Return button and browse the first page for the most legitimate looking site.

There are dozens of e-myth busting sites out there, snopes.com are reliable, it will take you literally ten seconds to find out if Ebola causes Zombies, Germans found definitive proof of the afterlife, You can lose fat by eating this one weird ingredient and every other outlandish idea that pops up in your feed. If you cannot find any subject hits for the main headline, try Googling the source of the article. Satire news-sites like The Onion and Viral Update make bank because people are unaware that every story they post is fake. A quick search of their website name will usually let you know if they’re legitimate news-sites or fakes.

Once you have confirmed your story is accurate (and only then) you are free to share, repost, retweet or do whatever it is your chosen network does to repost information. Up until then, don’t. Just don’t.

Please don’t.

Summer Satisfaction

A few summers back, I opened the door to my sister with a laundry basket loaded to the top with freshly picked lemons. Now that may sound pretty plain but make no mistake, these are not ordinary lemons but the most deliciously sweet lemons anyone could have the pleasure of tasting. So sweet, in fact, that if not for a slightly sour edge, you could almost mistake them for oranges.

They’re not oranges though, they’re lemons. Delicious, yellow, home grown lemons

.

We all know the saying “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, right? Well, why stop there? Why not say “If life gives you lemons, make the most amazingly refreshing summer drink ever?”. Because that is just what I did- it’s called Icy Lemintade.

And as summer is right around the corner and this is indeed refreshing, here’s how it works:

Icy Lemintade

You Will Need:

1 amazing lemon tree in season

1 garden mint plan, teeming with leaves

Ice

White/Caster sugar

Food processor/Blender

More Specifically You Will Need:

The fresh juice of two lemons

A handful of freshly harvested mint

1 tray of ice cubes

1/8 Cup of sugar (less or more depending on how sweet your tooth is)

How To Do It

1.     Mix lemon juice and sugar until sugar is fully dissolved.

2.     Throw lemon syrup, ice and mint into a food processor/blender

3.     Process/Blend to the consistency of a 7/11 slurpee

4.     Drink and enjoy! If feeling especially fancy progress to step 5

5.     Garnish with a lemon slice and extra mint leaves

6.     Drink and enjoy your fanciness.

And that’s all there is to it. You may need to experiment once or twice with sugar to find what works for you but I promise you that you wont find another drink with this much ‘refreshment potential’ without using some type of unstable radioactive isotope.