Posts Tagged ‘Information Overload’

« Older Entries

We Cannot Have Too Much Information

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
 
We are used to looking at information in a linear way. Typically when we read web pages and documents we are like hunters trying to spot the most valuable information that is hidden in the text.
 
Our mind directs us to filter information until we find the relevant pearls of wisdom we are searching for. The sifting through vast reams of content is not efficient and mostly tedious.
 
So the question is: what if we had an ability to quickly access the content according to our wishes? This could mean that  we could directly ask a retrieval system what we need and the system would give us relevant choices.
 
For example, if we were interested in a specific topic, the search would provide a rich selection of relevant summaries – not links only – directly pertaining to our interests.
 
So instead of getting a long list of links to documents containing our search term we would get a handy list of the most important excerpts! And all this without the need to analyze each link.
 
This way of using content makes a huge difference. Instead of being crushed by too much information to analyze, we have direct access only to information that is of immediate interest to us. No more we need to spend time on fruitless sifting and sorting. Instead we get the relevant information directly.
 
How this is possible? By organizing and indexing information according to the summaries. Very much similar to the way we used to access information using the back-of-the-book index. Only now we can build a web-based back-of-the-book index that serves as an intelligent shortcut to getting desired information quickly and accurately.

 

 * This mind map was produced using Comapping online collaborative mapping software with Context Organizer automatic summarization.

 
For more information contact us at sales@contextdiscovery.com
Tags: , , ,
Posted by Henry | 1 Comment »

Treat any Web page like a Twitter summary

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

 

We live online where immediacy, brevity and speed are of great value when we interact with the World.  For example, what do we most love about Twitter?

The speed with which Twitter allows for a fast and easy sharing using no more than 140 characters to tell the entire story: beginning, middle and the end.
 
Brevity helps with getting to the point. Twitter is the ultimate summarization media. Tell your great idea and point me to some page. And if I’m interested in the detail I’ll go there and even tell other people about it. I will re-Twitt. What a caring treatment of the reader’s time!
 
Brevity promptly reveals the essence. So what can we do with the non-Twitter media where we are faced with long stories….much longer than the 140 characters on Twitter.

The answer is that we can summarize web pages and documents. And when the keywords and the key sentences pop up we instantly see the focus of the page. Very much like in the Twitter message.

See Brian Friedlander’s demo on how Context Organizer summarizes Google searches:

 

 Try Context Organizer summarization power and treat any Web page like a Twitter summary.

 Download and try out Context Organizer for free today

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted by Henry | No Comments »

62 percent of professionals report sifting through irrelevant information

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

 

New Work and New Work Skills by Tony Karrer

1-Sentence Summary* 

A recently released Workplace Productivity Survey, reported by MSNBC, had the following findings: 62 percent of professionals report that they spend a lot of time sifting through irrelevant information to find what they need;    
             
68 percent wish they could spend less time organizing information and more time using the information that comes their way.
 
Indeed, the key in dealing with volumes of data is to be able to select smartly what in fact is relevant and useful versus fluff.
 
One of the technologies that helps with weeding out irrelevant information is automatic text summarization. Summarization is kind of speed-up reading  condensing web pages, emails and documents into keywords and summaries presented in context.
 
By pointing to the most important content, it allows the readers to make quick determinations if they want to read the full text.

 * 1-Sentence Summary is done using Context Organizer.

 Download Context Organizer today.

  

Tags: , , ,
Posted by Henry | No Comments »

Go on High-Information Diet

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

Go on High-Information Diet by Dustin Wax

1-Sentence Summary* 

The phrase “information overload” gets more than 1.5 million hits on Google. Listen: in order to be information, an input must make you better informed. We are a nation of people who constantly react to the various inputs in our lives in the absence of information.

The fact that Google brings a huge list of links to follow can be an advantage but only if you have some tools that will help to rapidly summarize the essential content. The key in dealing with volumes of data is to be able to select smartly what in fact is concrete and useful versus fluff.

One of the technologies that may help is automatic text summarization. It speed-up reading by condensing web pages, emails and documents into keywords and summaries presented in context. By pointing to the most important content, it allows the reader to make quick determinations if they want to read the full text.

* 1-Sentence Summary is done using Context Organizer.

Download Context Organizer today.

 

Tags: , , ,
Posted by Henry | No Comments »

Mind mapping as a tool to frame a problem

Friday, October 10th, 2008

 Information Overload Is a Filter Problem by Stephen E. Arnold

"The final issue I have is that I don’t have an answer to this question: “When I don’t know what I need to answer my question, what do I filter in and out?”
 
Indeed, this is a critical question that kick starts the thinking process. A good starting point is to map out the problem and identify as many attributes and components of the question.
 
Mind mapping facilitates identification and organization of complex ideas into clearly defined concepts and ideas. Using mind mapping tools helps immensely to portray the problem by using keywords, short phrases, and pictures which all are interconnected.
 
The strength of this approach is its simplicity. Through associative thinking, brainstorming, any problem will reveal links with relevant concepts and relationships. In fact, visually mapping a problem serves as an effective filter to frame the issues and validate understanding of the problem. Once this is done it is much easier to search for answers.
 
 
Download Context Organizer today.
 
Tags: , , ,
Posted by Henry | 1 Comment »

Information overload is a misnomer

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

Using “R&D” Projects to Stop Information Overload by Andre Kibbe

1-Sentence Summary*

Anyone afflicted with information overload is preoccupied with information’s value rather than its relevance.

But when you’re engaged in a research project, begin with the end in mind and ask yourself from moment to moment, “What problem am I trying to solve?”, and confine yourself to looking up information that solves your immediate problem.

 

I may add that equally important is to evaluate your progress along the way. If you can review your goals systematically you’re that much better off. It boils down to keeping your objectives sharply focused in your mind and constantly prioritizing your information needs.  

 * 1-Sentence Summary is done using Context Organizer.

Download Context Organizer today.

Tags: ,
Posted by Henry | No Comments »

It’s Not Information Overload. It’s Filter Failure.

Saturday, October 4th, 2008

Clay Shirky emphasizes that when we get too much information than the question that needs to be asked is: what filters do I need to stop unwanted information?

At the recent Web 2.0 Expo Clay Shirky gave an insightful account about our contemporary challenge of managing information. In a common sense manner he says that the issue is not information overload but rather the failure of filtering systems.

Clay Shirky astutely observes that information overload has been around since the Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press.
In plain language and using entertaining examples he simply says that we need to filter for quality and relevancy of information and not quantity.
 Please check out Clay’s keynote for yourself:
Clay Shirky emphasizes that when we get too much information than the question that needs to be asked is: what filters do I need to stop unwanted information?
I may add that the most effective filtering is done through context. It is context that defines our information needs and ultimately decides on the usability and value of information.

Download Context Organizer today.

Tags: ,
Posted by Henry | No Comments »

A summary is worth a thousand of words

Thursday, August 28th, 2008
 
A summary is a shortened version of the original. The main purpose of such a simplification is to highlight the major points from the genuine (much longer) subject, e.g. a text, a film or an event. The aim is to help the audience get the gist in a short period of time. (Wikipedia)
 
The way we learn, remember and quickly recall has a strong relationship to the way we are able to process information without overloading our senses.
 
If our goal in understanding information is to quickly extract and convey meaning, then the use of summaries is essential. Summaries can be the key to understanding and reducing complex information to indispensable facts.
 
We can say that summaries are the bare models of thoughts and that summarized information represents the authorКјs best goals and intentions.

The act of instantly summarizing a web page can be an accelerator to quick understanding. By seeing the keywords in context, we, the readers, can quickly understand, connect and retain new information.

 
Summarization is relevant to all information workers, irrespective of their expertise.
 
When we read, we always have to parse the text. We read and re-read to extract the main statements. We underline important ideas and arguments according to the main statement. We work hard to assemble all the pertinent facts in logical order. And once all of this is done we then check if the summary reflects the original conclusions.
 
All of these hard and time consuming tasks can be greatly facilitated with the use of Context Organizer. With the click of a button, the essential keywords, sentences and context are revealed and highlighted. The keywords serve as a back-of-the-book index to the key statements and facts.
  
You may think about the Context Organizer summaries as an instant help in making sense by focusing on the key facts and conclusions only.
 
Context Organizer summaries allow busy professionals to save time.  It helps them to daily sift through copious amounts of information and rapidly review, compare and analyze information.
 
 
You can download and try out Context Organizer for free.
 
See the demos:
  • Instant Keywords and Summaries of Google Search resulst with 1 click:

Context Organizer Google Search Summarization Demo

  • Instant Keywords and Summaries of Web pages and documents with 1 click:

Context Organizer Web Pages demo  Demo

  • Turn web pages into MindManager maps with 1 click: 

Context Organizer for MindManager Demo

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted by Henry | No Comments »

Increase personal productivity with Context Organizer

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
 
Individuals using Context Organizer software have found a way to dramatically reduce information overload by summarizing the web pages, emails, and documents they are reading. 
 
The time wasted on searching, retrieving and analyzing information adds an often unexpected effort and price to our work.

From experience, we know that the costs of not finding information can be significant affecting collaboration, timely task completion, and decision-making.
 
Individuals using Context Organizer software have found a way to dramatically reduce information overload by summarizing the web pages, emails, and documents they are reading. 

The Context Organizer dashboard allows you to quickly summarize information from anywhere, organize it in thematic collections, and easily share it with others.

The time savings occur on many levels. First, you get an instant summary of what you are reading with emphasis on the most relevant keywords and context of use. Also, your Google and Live Search searches are automatically summarized so your web search review is hugely accelerated.

You are always in control deciding how much information and what kind of information is displayed at any time by using smart filters. This helps you with focusing only on the information that matters most to you. The summaries are clearly presented in a compelling visual format for ease and speed of understanding

You can easily share with your colleagues what’s important in documents and spare their time and effort from ploughing through unnecessary content.
 
Summarizing with Context Organizer can offer a unique solution that not only allows you to gain exceptional control of information, it also improves the clarity of your thoughts.
 
 
You can download and try out Context Organizer for free.
Tags: , , ,
Posted by Henry | No Comments »

The Knowledge Discovery Challenge

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Context Organizer summaries instantly show you the "big picture" enabling you to quickly and visually understand large amounts of information, organized by relevancy so you instantly get clear view of the essential content. 

One of the challenges is that we always have far too much to read and research, and not enough time to do it. Whether we are studying, writing blogs, doing product research, competitive analysis, or searching the web, we always run out of time to tackle our enormous reading stacks. 

Given the ever-increasing amounts of information we face today, it is necessary to find more effective methods for mining and discovering hidden knowledge. 
  
The major obstacle we face is that too much content hides the relevant message; there is also a lack of context. Often, the content lacks clear structure, which makes reading and understanding more difficult.
 
Work Smarter with Context Organizer
Context Organizer summaries instantly show you the "big picture" enabling you to quickly and visually understand large amounts of information, organized by relevancy so you instantly get clear view of the essential content. 
 
With Context OrganizerКјs summaries you are making informed decisions in less time. And that is only the beginning.  The summaries are also blueprints for action, enabling you to speed read, rapidly take notes, summarize Google search results, instantly generate MindManager mind maps, and filter information according to your interests.
 
Focus on results not the tool – Think Creatively
With its intuitive, highly interactive interface, Context Organizer summaries are created in a snap. The creation of summaries promotes quick understanding by focusing on the essential content only, while superfluous information is filtered out.
 
Context Organizer summaries increase your ability to text mine documents’ key ideas and facts; you achieve it quickly and effortlessly, leaving you more time for strategic and creative thinking.
 
Save Time
Context Organizer integrates with and complements existing desktop tools so you can immediately realize productivity gains without interruption or ramp up time. Using Context Organizer enhances the quality and speed of strategic thinking, accelerates research, learning, project and process planning, and increases personal and team productivity.
 
For ease of use, Context Organizer is seamlessly integrated with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Windows Explorer, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Mindjet MindManager.
 
In essence, whenever you read web pages, emails, and documents, you can simply just click a button to instantly spotlight the key ideas and facts; no more information overload.
  
You can download and try out Context Organizer for free.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted by Henry | No Comments »
« Older Entries