By Laju Arenyeka

People say that there has been more information in the past twenty years than ever before in the history of the world. Practically anything you search for on google will yield about 300,000 results. But with this information boom comes loads of challenges.

Carelessly edited, quickly downloaded projects; unchecked facts that could get you into a lot of trouble with your boss, and copying and pasting that could question your creativity. Let’s face it, it is nearly impossible to work without the internet today, but with these simple habits you can override the negatives and click to your advantage.

Write, un-write and rewrite: It’s easy to know information that has been copied from the net. If the blue underlined fonts don’t give you away, the writing style will. So do not be lazy, take out time to put whatever you must have copied into your own words.

Attribute: In some countries, you could get jailed for plagiarism. So if you lift the intellectual property of someone else, be sure to make reference to the writer. If it’s a scholarly work, be sure to use the required style for referencing.

Cross check: Any Tom, Dick or Harry can put anything online. It takes a bigger man to find out just how much of it is true. Being in a rush to share information that you aren’t sure of could jeopardize your credibility before your online audience, your colleagues at the office or the audience you are making a presentation to. Crosscheck with credible online and non virtual sources.

A touch of you: Give information got from the internet a touch of yourself. Personalize it with charts, pictures and creative words.