The web is bulging with truth and lies. How can we tell who and what’s for real out there?

People and companies can be whoever they want to be online. They can pick and choose their best features and hide their flaws. A company’s website is a lot like a MySpace profile if you think about it — showing only what they do best and only showing the “good” photos. And MySpace members are basically branding themselves — using video, imagery, music, and paying consideration to wardrobe and copywriting. Someone who’s ugly can look gorgeous with the right photo. And a company that sells complete crap can look very polished and slick. Oh, and beauty products can demonstrate absolute “miracles.”

Oh sure, one could argue that this is no different than it used to be. Advertising has always been over-promising; companies have always been showing their “good side.” Consumers should be used to it. Right?

I’m not so sure. Yes, sometimes it’s very obvious that a company is over-promising, for example on the wrinkle cream image above that I found on a flashing banner ad. But what about comparing insurance companies or buying a book? What about meeting someone from an online dating service? Filing your taxes? How do we know who’s telling the truth?

With the abundance of media outlets in our interactive world alone — company websites, blogs, video, social networking, television — everyone is even more pounded by messaging than during the pre-web days. And besides taking in content, average people are pushing content out through these same outlets. Take Wikipedia. Average Janes and Joes are just pushing out “facts” (psst… which don’t always check out, by the way).

Are we becoming too reliant on the internet to bring us the truth? Are there ways that we can all start to bring the reliability of content up a notch? I think so. Here are a few ideas:

Be real
As a designer of websites and other communications, I try to find the balance between what a company is, and what they aspire to be. Making something feel visually true to reality while still inspiring and engaging. A company’s website or any communications piece should feel appropriate to who they are. It should feel true. This requires getting to really know the company and what their goal(s) are. It’s not just about how it looks, though.

Take real photos
Budgets don’t always allow this, but nothing is worse than seeing a bad stock photo used repeatedly. Or worse yet, seeing competitors using the same image. If you must use stock, keep in mind you get what you pay for when it comes to quality. Also try to find photos that don’t “look like stock”; search on more specific terms, search for shots taken from different angles, etc.

Challenge the writing
Oftentimes we design sites with content provided by the client, or written by an overzealous marketing director. The copy might be over-inflated with buzz words. It might not reflect the true personality of the company. It might be overly long, preventing people from even reading it. The navigation could be confusing. There are many things that can be done to enhance the verbal aspects of a website to better represent the company.

Cite your sources
If you’re using references to other websites or materials, tell where they’re from. Better yet, link to them. If you get a quote or testimonial from somebody, ask permission to use it and be prepared to show it’s legitimate.

All of these ideas might help. But probably the most helpful tip is to go with your gut. If something feels off, wrong, or too-good-to-be-true, it probably is.