Digital Distraction

VentureBeatSocial media demographics 2012: 24 sites including Twitter, Facebook, and ...VentureBeatPerformance monitoring service Pingdom has done another one of its mammoth social media studies: this one on the demographics of social media sites …...

This morning I learned a new word for information overload - content fried from a colleague at the Packard Foundation.    It resonated.
Via Beth Kanter

Some industries are so highly volatile that people need to be connected all the time, but most of us overexaggerate our own importance
Via Richard Andrews

Beth Kanter

http://www.bethkanter.org

These are some productivity tips from luminaries like Tony Robbins and Craig Newmark that look at how successful people spend the first hour of their day.  

Two that I think are good habits

Don't check email first thing

Eat the frog - or do the task you're avoiding first

Via Beth Kanter

Excerpted from this article by Brian Solis:

 

"Information overload isn’t a new phenomenon by any means. The sensation of being overwhelmed by information has been linked to every media revolution. With every new innovation and the mass adoption of disruptive technology, the volume of information available to us grows exponentially.

 

With media now so pervasive and portable, information, of any focus, is available, on demand, and more importantly, resides in our hands to create and consume at will. We are, for better or for worse, always on. And this is both part of the problem and part of the solution for how we evolve as individuals and as an information society.

 

Social media has gifted us a new democracy. And with it, the ability to connect to people around the world and create, share, and devour knowledge, entrainment, and irrelevant information at will. It’s as intimidating as it is beautiful.

 

There is a very real human cost of social connectivity. But, the symptoms of information overload are only a reflection of our inability or lack of desire to bring order to our chaos. See, we are the engineers of the media levees that prevent overflow.

 

The challenge lies not in the realization that we are empowered to curate our social streams and relationships, but in the consciousness of what is and what could be. Meaning, that we must first understand that how we’re connecting, consuming, and creating today is either part of the problem or part of the solution. We, and only we, are in control of information overload and everything begins with acceptance.

 

Information overload is a real phenomenon, but it is I believe, by design. It either works for us or against us and it is our choice as to which way the stream flows. To be clear, information overload is a symptom of over consumption and the inability to refine online experiences based on interest and importance.

 

Access to information and people is intoxicating. Creating an online portrait of who we are or who we want others to see is equality alluring. But without direction, governance, and discipline, we are at risk of giving ourselves to the very networks we value rather than managing the platforms to our advantage.

Our participation must be inspired by purpose and parameters. No, we are not obligated to connect with everyone who connects with us. We are obligated to maintain balance in who we are, what we value, and equally the value we invest in the communities in which we participate.

As Clay Shirky once observed, “There’s no such thing as information overload — only filter failure.”
My take? “Information overload is a symptom of our desire to not focus on what’s important.” It’s a choice.

Perhaps said another way, information overload is a symptom of our inability to focus on what’s truly important or relevant to who we are as individuals, professionals, and as human beings..."

 

Read full interesting article here:
http://www.briansolis.com/2012/05/the-fallacy-of-information-overload/

 

Via Giuseppe Mauriello, k3hamilton, Gust MEES, Ann Vega

How color can affect your mood, emotion? How advertiser use color to attract you ?

Beware the Illusion of Multitasking Have you ever had one of those days when you felt like you achieved a lot of things, but when you thought about it before a good night’s sleep, you found you’ve actually achieved nothing?
Via Level343