Several months ago, I read an interesting blog post, Advice Expires, by Jason Fried. In the article, Jason describes how he evaluates advice that he reads on the Internet.
The Double-Edged Sword of Internet Advice
Internet information can be incredibly helpful. I love how quickly the internet can solve everyday problems.
Earlier today, I looked up vegetarian recipes for Instant Pot cooking, instructions on cooking beans in a pressure cooker, and instructions on creating personal GPTs in ChatGPT. The material I found quickly solved my problems.
As helpful and valuable as Internet advice can be, it can also be incredibly unreliable. These days, it seems that anyone with Wi-Fi and a keyboard can instantly become an expert.
In the past, articles were vetted and peer-reviewed, and there were more reliable sources. Now, except in academic and scientific circles, there is no vetting or peer review, and you have to evaluate for yourself what is worth listening to and what is not.
In his article, Jason talked about several approaches that he uses to evaluate advice.
1. Are They Experienced, or Just Confident?
“I first find out if the person giving it has ever done the thing being suggested.” Many people give advice on the Internet with no practical experience at all in what they’re giving advice about.
I’ve known people who sell online systems purporting to help beginners succeed at a particular type of business—a business they’ve never personally succeeded at. They don’t necessarily know what they’re talking about just because they sound confident.
When I was in law school, we had professors who had gone to law school and then been hired to teach law. They had never practiced law and dealt with clients. They may have known the academic material, but I took their advice about practicing law with a grain of salt.
2. Is Their Experience Still Relevant?
If they have done the thing they’re giving advice about, find out when they did it. ‘When’ matters because things change over time. Did they do this thing last year, or was it 20 years ago? If it’s been years, is their advice still relevant?
One prominent example is advice about working with computers. So many changes have occurred over the last twenty years that 99% of the advice someone would have given based on what they did twenty years ago on computers is pretty much worthless now. Many other areas have also experienced rapid change.
3. How Long Have They Practiced What They Are Preaching?
“Then, if they have done it, and they still are doing it, it’s good to know for how long.” Sometimes, in reviews, we’ll see that someone has started on a new app or computer system and encourages others to do so. How long have they been using it? Has it been long enough to encounter the negatives that come with any app and or productivity system?
Do they tell you how long they’ve been doing it? Or do they write an article about what a great app or system this is without giving you any idea of how long they’ve been doing it?
4. Motivation Matters: Why Are They Sharing This?
Are they selling something related to the advice, such as a book, an online course, or coaching? Or do they have no financial incentive at all?
It can be okay if they sell related products, but that makes me pause and dig deeper. I want to make sure they’re recommending something they believe in and have experience with instead of something they can quickly make a buck on.
I see new diets being advertised all the time, but I always look to see if the author (even doctors) has a financial stake in adoption. If the proponent sells expensive supplements as a part of the diet, I tend to ignore the advice. The same is true of people who push a particular app as the greatest of all time and happen to offer expensive courses to teach you how to use the app.
5. Are They Specialists or Self-Proclaimed Experts on Everything?
Do they give advice on just a few topics or about everything? If everything, do they really know what they’re talking about or have any experience with it?
I trust advice more when it is limited to a few areas of expertise than when it is confidently given on 500 different topics.
Also, thousands of likes or followers doesn’t automatically mean someone knows their stuff. Popularity is appealing, but good advice isn’t a popularity contest.
Beyond Avoiding Mistakes: Developing Healthy Skepticism
Evaluating internet advice thoughtfully isn’t just about avoiding mistakes—it’s about cultivating a healthier skepticism.
Next time you’re reading advice online, quickly ask yourself:
• Have they actually done it themselves?
• When did they do it—is their knowledge current?
• Are they still practicing what they’re preaching?
• Is their advice unbiased, or are they selling something?
• Are they focused on a few topics or “experts” at everything?
Keep these questions handy as a quick checklist. You might even save them in a note on your phone—so the next time you’re unsure, reliable guidance is just a tap away.
AI Note: I wrote this blog post myself, using my own words for the initial draft. I used AI only to suggest headlines, section headings, and improvements to the text.
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