28th
System Overload
Wired is reporting that information overload is being predicted by some analysts as the problem of the year for 2008. “
‘It’s too much information. It’s too many interruptions. It’s too much lost time,’ Basex chief analyst Jonathan Spira declared. ‘It’s always too much of a good thing.’ Information overload isn’t exactly new, but Spira said the problem has grown as technology increases societal expectations for instantaneous response. And more information available, he said, also means more time wasted looking for the right information, whether in an old e-mail or through a search engine.”
I couldnt agree more here. Ive written a few time about how inefficient email is. Between CYA emails, marketing emails and spam (see more from jmarcafella on spam), email has become an incredibly inefficient means of communication. I would argue that the downfall of email is what gave rise to microblogging tools like twitter, tumblr, and even the facebook’s wall and status updates. Unfortunately, even microblogging tools can become corrupted. Tumblr and twitter can easily be overloaded by power users like fred wilson who keep us up to date with all the minutia of life. Even my favorite tool out there, RSS, can bog us down. I less than 6 months I became so hooked to RSS that I subscribe to nearly every feed I come across that could be remotely interesting. As of 9:21 pm, I have 988 feeds i havent gone through. Ugghh. There are honestly days that I feel like I am drowning in information.
Is it any surprise that The 4 Hour Work Week was a number 1 best seller this year? Part of what it teaches is how to disconnect yourself from the wired life.