So Scoble's new guest blogger, "Bubba" posted about information overload today. The shocking information though was that one of his solutions was to "stop using an RSS reader." Wow! Here is an excerpt...
More recently I've tried two ways dealing with info overload. Ones I never thought I'd try.
The first was un-subscribing from almost all e-newsletters, internal microsoft distribution lists, and setting up very strict email rules that filter away other sources of bulk mail. I went from a lot of mail, to very little mail. This was cool because I found myself walking around my office more, having more face to face conversations and just generally connecting with people at a deeper level. On the flip side, I was the last to know about things like the new google calendar launch. But, I still found out about it relatively quickly - the day it launched. The interesting thing was that I my "virtual" relationships actually got better because I had (made?) the time to really engage people that weren't geographically co-located with me.
The other method was to stop using an rss reader. I know this is like blasphemy here on Scoble's blog and I'm kind of scared to admit it. My logic was that I my brain would only remember a handful of sites and thus regulate how much time I spent absorbing information. The weird thing is that it actually works pretty much like un-subscribing from bulk email sources. The really important stuff found its way to me anyway (like bootcamp) and I spent more time out in the world.
"Scared to admit it!" Bubba says! This reminds me of my mother! She still won't use ATM machines and consistent with that bizarre fact she refuses to get a computer or even use free email. No digital camera either. She doesn't like technology (her words) - however the cordless phone and fax machine did make the cut. That said, she has also cut down on information overload because she gets no e-mail. None. She has never gotten one e-mail message! She has an hour or day that most of us don't have as we sort through email, and now, RSS subscriptions. But sheesh, she's a 70 year old artist, so I can get it if she doesn't want the noise. Bubba needs to learn to adapt besides dumping his RSS reader
People in business will find RSS inescapable to effectively do their job in the future. And accordingly, they will require tools for efficiently handling "information overload" that is the unfortunate byproduct of this innovation we now call RSS. It's just like email all over again with numerous positives and negatives but at least this time there's no spam.
Tags: Scoble, Information Overload, Attensa
Comparing "Bubba" to your mother is not an effective sales strategy - you sound like a politician throwing mud. Personally, Bubba's solution sounds very healthy to me. Limiting subscriptions and applying strong filters mean you get what you NEED without wasting time on the excess.
Posted by: Ross | April 19, 2006 at 08:24 AM
I think Craig hits the nail on the head (and not just because he's my boss.
His point is similar to a discussion regarding attention I had with David Berlind. David was concerned that by cutting off sources of information you risk missing something useful. In attempting to cut through information overload the downside is information underload.
I've tried controlling my subscription trigger finger and using persistent search tools to control the flow. A culled list of high value subscriptions and a quick daily scan of headlines on topics of interest brought in through RSS search doesn't take much time and every day I find learn something useful.
Posted by: Scott Niesen | April 21, 2006 at 05:34 PM