Information overload is a filter failure
This will be the first of many posts that ruminate some of my aha moments from the Connect Now Conference I attended last week.
“We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge” John Naisbitt
One of my close networks and myself regularly talk about that quote and how we something feel like we are drowning in information thanks to social media. So I am here to be your lifesaver and stop the drowning once and for all.
Tools:
Are you currently using social media tools to help identify what you need to read and what can wait.
- Set up a Google Reader account
- Or for our yahoo friends try delicious an online bookmarking tool
Networks:
The other option is to utilise the network that you have developed both online and offline. Regardless of how many contacts or followers you have Dunbar’s number of approximately 150 still applies.
Out of your 150 closest contacts you can probably identify pretty quickly the quality ones who are interested in similar ideas and authors as you are. Set up a sharing community where you regularly try flick on the articles that would interest each other.
No More Drowning!
By using your networks and the online tools available you will be swimming freely from now on as you have strong filters in place and a lifeguard that is always here to help.
PS: Thanks to Gavin Heaton for his great talk that inspired this post. It wasn’t easy being the first speaker in a pretty prolific schedule but you were one of my favourites!
Damon Klotz 
One Response to “Information overload is a filter failure”
150 people seems like a lot!! I follow about 40 people on Twitter and subscribe to about 20 something blogs/enewsletters and I am drowning!
I was just thinking about this the last few days and I wondered if we approach social media like kids in lolly shops – we just want to have one of everything! Have we lost to ability to evaluate and be selective? Are we so afraid of missing out on something that we feel the need to be part of everything?
I am still drowning…