Even More on Information Overload
April 22nd, 2005IO has become a hot topic this week (I even set up a PubSub subscription to track the conversation). Noah Brier (whose blog I’m going to subscribe to after I post this) has a few comments on dealing with IO:
“Well, for me it’s all about accepting the fact that I can’t read everything. It’s impossible. There’s just too much information out there for me to possibly wade through it all. So what I’ve done is create a list of trusted media outlets (NYTimes, WaPo, Guardian, etc.) and a lot of blogs, del.icio.us feeds, etc. that aggregate other information for me. I am trusting these secondary sources (blogs, etc.) to provide me with what I’ve missed from my mainstream sources (as well as what the mainstream media has missed, additionally commentary and other goodies). I truly believe that if something is that important to read, it’s going to get to me somehow. Essentially I’ve embraced the overload. I say BRING IT ON! Why not?”
I once had a conversation with a colleague about keeping current. He was making a point that if I might miss something important if I only use RSS to stay current. I might miss something on a listserv or new information that shows up on a web site that is not syndicated. He’s a popular librarian blogger so I asked, “Well, you won’t miss that stuff, right?” “No,” he replied. “So, I won’t miss it, because I read your blog, right?” “Well, I guess not,” he said.
Noah nails it with his comments. If it’s important enough, I’ll see it. My fellow bloggers will link to it. Someone will send me an IM or an e-mail (yes, I still read e-mail). Somehow, the information will get to me. So, no, I don’t have to read everything to stay current on what interests me. I’ll use the power of my social network to help.
Also, on a similar note, Michael pointed to an article on CNN (after he unplugged for the weekend - I’m right behind ya buddy) about multitasking:
“Workers distracted by phone calls, e-mails and text messages suffer a greater loss of IQ than a person smoking marijuana, a British study shows. The constant interruptions reduce productivity and leave people feeling tired and lethargic, according to a survey carried out by TNS Research and commissioned by Hewlett Packard.”