Being an avid cryptozoology buff, this blog item on Gawker caught my eye last night. Pictures like these come up all the time and you know at first hand it does look like a monster.

I’ve since come to believe that it is a decomposing dog. Yeah, I want to believe in Sasquatches and the likes. Those are a little different with me because there are lots of eye witnesses and plausible evidence. But things like these where there is little to no history of evidence, plus the evidence is questionable (no size reference) it’s more likely a hoax or sensationalism.

As a business woman, I couldn’t help but notice a few things how this applies to my business.

Sensationalism Can Cost You Money

Every time some new product/coaching package/info product comes out, we tend to jump on it. Affiliates shout about it at the top of their lungs. But, if you have time to think through, examine the information (or evidence if any), your views usually change. Admittedly, I’m not good at stuff like that in my business. That’s why I call on my husband to examine sales letters of products that interest me. He’s pretty good at picking out inconsistencies in the stories, questioninig the facts.

History helps

I’m less likely to believe someone (and vice versa) if I don’t have some kind of history with them. Call it relationship or whatever. For this reason I really like Twitter. It’s amazing how much 140 characters can tell you about that person and the way he/she runs their business. Sometimes, they don’t even realize it.

Everything can be PhotoShopped

Really don’t have to say more about that do I?

When People Tell You Its A Beak You Believe It

If you visit the followup story on Gawker, there’s a video about the story on Fox News. One of the anchors really wanted to believe it is a monster, saying “Racoons don’t have beaks”. Ah! The power of suggestion! The expert (Jeff Corwin) said the ‘beaks’ were really teeth. But it’s too late. The original story suggested that it’s a beak and the impression is already made in millions of minds.

What do you think?