"What Productivity Studies Really Show" By Gina Trapani

1-Sentence Summary*

"The longer I do this, the more I suspect that a good part of the "information overload" story is a myth cooked up by folks who don’t know how to use the internet well in order to demonize something they don’t understand."

It is commonly accepted that so called information overload ruins our life and seems to be a contagious malady. To save ourselves we should compartmentalize our time and attention by following favorite time and information management techniques.

However, since technology produces information abundantly, certainly we could better use smart applications that help us with filtering, spotlighting and contextualizing information that we are interested in.

Wealth of information is an asset not an impediment. Too much effort and attention is given to studying the so called negative impact of information wealth and not enough attention is spend on technologies capable to intelligently mine the information wealth.

Productivity is a very personal issue and with a bit of ingenuity each of us can take advantage of information wealth…

 * 1-Sentence Summary is done using Context Organizer 

 "Google De-Automates Addition of Gmail Contacts" By: Thomas Claburn

1-Sentence Summary*

In truth, Google’s decision to change the way Gmail gathers contacts isn’t so much a repudiation of automation as an acknowledgment that automation must be balanced by human oversight.

By far having Suggested Contacts where Gmail puts its auto-created addresses gives users back the control over their address book. By default, Suggested Contacts that you email regularly are automatically added to My Contacts. And if you do not like this automated step you can still choose to disable usage-based addition of contacts to My Contacts. Once you do this, no matter how many times you email an auto-added email address it won’t be moved to My Contacts.

With these changes it will be much easier to clean up the address book and make it organized and functional. This is yet another step towards reducing information overload.

* 1-Sentence Summary is done using Context Organizer

 "Information overload solutions from a conference dedicated to the topic" By: Jared Goralnick

I’m overwhelmed with ideas from the Information Overload conference this week.  In an effort to reflect, I’ve listed some of the major stats and themes discussed for managing too much stuff.

 That’s according to research firm Basex, which chose "information overload" as its 2008 "Problem of the Year."

"How to Deal with Information Overload: Part I"  by: Damon Hedman

1-Sentence Summary*

 "There is more information online than any one person can ever consume, and it’s only going to get worse."

Damon rightly points out that whenever we search for information we find far too many links and that makes our choices difficult. His sensible advice is: “Only read information that is relevant to the problem at hand.” Isn’t this the goal and ambition of all Internet users?

 * 1-Sentence Summary is done using Context Organizer

"Information Overload Research Group Launches with Conference in New York"

1-Sentence Summary*

The Information Overload Research Group (IORG), an industry and academic consortium dedicated to reducing information pollution, is to hold its inaugural event, a one-day conference on information overload and its impact on knowledge workers and large organizations, tomorrow at the Penn Club in New York City.

Information overload is a challenge for individuals and the work place. Many studies are devoted both to the quantification of the problem and to offering effective technologies and methods to improve productivity and lessen the stress.

 * 1-Sentence Summary is done using Context Organizer

The term "information overload" was coined by Alvin Toffler in his book Future Shock (1970). Here are some definitions:

Source: Wikipedia

Information overload refers to the state of having too much information to make a decision or remain informed about a topic. It is often referred to in conjunction with various forms of Computer-mediated communication such as e-mail and the Web.

Source: PC Magazine Encyclopedia

A symptom of the high-tech age, which is too much information for one human being to absorb in an expanding world of people and technology. It comes from all sources including TV, newspapers, magazines as well as wanted and unwanted regular mail, e-mail and faxes. It has been exacerbated enormously because of the formidable number of results obtained from Web search engines.

 Source: Business Dictionary

Stress induced by reception of more information than is necessary to make a decision (or that can be understood and digested in the time available) and by attempts to deal with it with outdated time management practices.

These definitions leave me somewhat puzzled. Certainly we cannot stop avoiding information. We certainly need lots of information in our work, learning, and entertainment…

The larger question is if there are effective ways of getting the "right information" without excessive stress or effort like working 60, 70 or 80 hours per week. Certainly there are many technologies and methods that can help in finding, filtering, summarizing and negotiating the “right” mix of information we need.

"Too Much Information!" by Tom Valovic 

1-Sentence Summary*

 "As a high-tech magazine editor, then analyst, and now editor again, I’ve thought long and hard over the years about the problem of how IT managers or anyone who needs to keep track and make sense of a fast-moving emerging technology can optimally do that."

 The “Great Information Hunt” is a witty phrase used by Tom Valovic to describe challenges we face with too much information, too many articles to read, and I may add too many meetings to attend. One way to negotiate the computer power is to apply some common sense in choosing information sources.

A focused approach is to wear the blinkers and give attention to narrow range of topics. But then there is the nagging issue of not knowing what we are missing when we dedicate ourselves to exactingly specialized conversations. Is there a happy medium?  

* 1-Sentence Summary is done using Context Organizer.

"Information Overload" by Brendan 

 1-Sentence Summary*

 "The amount of information that flows through a web savvy person’s brain these days is staggering when you take a step back and observe."

As Brendan notices the joy of blogging has been greatly challenged because of the sheer information volume that we feel we should review before posting.

It is not hard to agree with him on this point. However, somehow we should be able to find a way to blog without being overburdened.

Perhaps a way to approach it is to be somewhat lighthearted…and also knowing that readers rather prefer short and common sense writing over longer essays. 

* The 1-Sentence Summary is done using Context Organizer.