TNW Weekly: To be honest with you…

Every week we send out a weekly update with some of the best stories of the week, a few apps we like and the ‘Red faces of the week’.

Sign up now to get it delivered to your inbox every week. Here’s my introduction text for last weeks issue:

A few years ago I vowed never to lie. That doesn’t mean I’m an open book, but I really dislike lying so I try to avoid doing so at all costs.

And it’s harder than it sounds.

I like pranks – like the one we did last week – but part of a prank is not telling the truth. And what about when someone asks how you are and you tell them you’re good, but you actually feel awful? If you’re talking to someone with bad breath and you don’t say anything, is that being dishonest? Or when you brag about how well sales are going, knowing full well it could be better… are you lying?

Any story you tell can be done so in a variety of ways, and it’s your decision whether you want to make it seem more positive or negative. When you come back from your holiday and someone asks you how it was, are you going to talk about the delayed flight, the shitty AirB&B and the food poisoning you had for two days? Or will you leave that out and talk about the great sunsets your watched, the kind people and the amazing beaches? It’s all about perspective, and while both stories are true, telling one without the other may not be the whole truth.

At TNW, which is a source of information and news for a lot of people, we often struggle with these questions. We review products and apps and the review won’t just be the facts, but a large part it will be our personal opinions.

I ask our writers to find stories that provoke an emotional response, and often that means a story is really about one person’s perspective, and that colors and influences the story. Personally I like that. You can give me all the facts, but I love hearing your opinion.

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