Is information overload a hindrance?

If you've ever wanted to unplug your computer and turn off your cell phone for a moment of complete disconnect, you could be dealing with "information overload." This week, the Information Overload Research Group, a new nonprofit dedicated to researching and solving problems caused by the constant flow of information, met in New York for its first conference.

In my search for more information about information overload, I interviewed people on the streets on San Francisco, a pretty tech-savvy town, to see if anyone has an opinion on the helpfulness or burden of information overload.

Most people agreed that our world produces massive amounts of information, delivered immediately with news tickers on TV shows or overflowing work e-mail accounts. While one man admitted he'd never be able to put down his iPhone, another man in the same profession said people need to unplug, rent a cabin, and read a book every once in a while.

What do you think? Is information overload a problem or an opportunity? Or both?

[rdinocco]

The fact that our company is seeing the most growth from the idea/info management space speaks volumes. There's no magic bullet, but archiving discussions from multiple points of enterprise communication, tagging, and providing a method of mining the common themes, certainly is a valuable step forward. One day we will be able to go beyond leveraging historical discussions and actually push/filter relevant thoughts to the appropriate parties. Stay tuned!

Ron DiNocco
Akiva Corporation
www.akiva.com

[rdinocco]

The fact that our company (Akiva) is seeing the most growth from the idea/info management space speaks volumes. There's no magic bullet, but archiving discussions from multiple points of enterprise communication, tagging, and providing a method of mining the common themes, certainly is a valuable step forward. One day we will be able to go beyond leveraging historical discussions and actually push/filter relevant thoughts to the appropriate parties. Stay tuned!

Ron DiNocco
Akiva Corporation

[rdinocco]

Sorry about the double post....Jive's system indicated that my first comment was rejected due to including a URL.

[beelissa]

I think it's both a blessing and a curse. You can find out almost anything, you can contact people halfway across the world. We purchased a backpack from Turkey and a video game from Japan. We know about events that happen instantly. But because of all the information out there, I always feel like there is more I can read, more I should read, than I have time for. It's sometimes hard to pick and choose the best from all that's out there.

[thedoge]

The problem is that we are simply bombarded by information every waking hour of our lives, from hundreds of cable, satellite and broadcast TV and radio channels, junk paper mail and email, and every possible type of media via the Internet. No distinction is made between accurate information and rumor - or worse, outright lies. On top of that, irrelevant trivia that, in an earlier age, simply wouldn?t have made the cut to publication is tossed into the mix along with genuinely critical political and economic information. There are so many outlets that the demand for material is staggering.

The result is that we in the Western world seem to be losing the ability to tell trash from truth, and are forgetting our own history, recent or distant. Our buffers are continually overflowing. We?re swamped in a flood of celebrity gossip, vacuous sound bites and, especially over the last several years, a constant drumbeat of fear ? all of which makes us that much more susceptible to the latest corporate hustle or government propaganda campaign. The less we know about the real issues, the easier we are to manipulate.

So, yeah, I'd say it's a problem.

[alarchdu]

It is a matter of semantics. The information overload is actually a misinformation overload. Several years ago, the wires carried reports of a new computing approach called "extreme programming". It was extreme in that it advocated consulting with end-users while developing programs. It made no reference to the IBM approach I used in 1985, called JADS, which was exactly the same thing. A year later, a US researcher received kudos for developing a system for measuring traffic flow between nodes on the internet. Funny, but in 1983 I read a book, Tannenbaum on computer networks that included algorthims to measure such flow across entire networks. Not are we only being inundated with information, we are being swamped by repeats of previously broadcast information without reference to it.

Neville J. Angove

[alarchdu]

The advertising for information at your fingertips fails to explain the extreme costs of such a facility: high-end laptops, networking fees, telephone fees, extra batteries. Never mind the time occupied.
But for information overload, read "misinformation overload". Unsubstantiated rumours become real news, with no way of verifying them. Williaim Safire can tell you about this. Postings of just poart of the facts lets people jump to the wrong conclusions. For example, The Australian Department of Health and Ageing piublishes enough to make the public feel it has a handle on the problem of hospital-acquired infection diseases, but doesn't publish the bulk of research findings to show it is fighting a losing cause. I don't accept censorship, but I'd like easier access to rebuttals, the way Wikpedia editors often allow.

Neville J. Angove

[alarchdu]

Publishng thoughts to the relevant parties is a form of censorship. Who decides what is to be published, hoiw it is to be verified, and whom should receive it. Importantly, who will report on information that has been deliberately incorrectly indexed, or not made public at all?
While we do have access to mechamisms to filter what information we are looking for, we never know if we have received al the important details, or if what we have received is accurate. Perhaps it is time for information authors and disseminators to adopt a code of conduct to ensure accuracy. We have given people the authority to publish willy-nilly. Let them now accept the responsibilty.

Neville J. Angove

[thtan]

I think this problem/topic has been discussed for probably too many times. But there is no right or wrong answers. In the end, you consume information that you want to consume. The choice is always in our hand.
http://www.davidtan.org

[mnovickar]

We use only cca 10% of our brains so I can't get enough.

World news: http://www.chilipress.com/world_news.php

[RAAckerman]

As was stated, this is an oft-mentioned topic- and NO ONE brings up anything really new, other than a discussion. When my father was younger, they complained of not having enough information to make a decision; now with my children basically grown, the opposite is claimed.
It IS difficult to maintain currency (ok, I do have some six specialties, but it was not as much of an issue 30 years ago), but I like having the information. The problem is retention- I generally remember what I feel is most important, but I also have developed my own cataloging system for my computer to insure that the data can be found easily and in concert with my cogitative idiosyncrasies (stupidities???).
I read some 100+ journals a month, countless other primary and secondary sources, and at least three newspapers a day. Is that a chore? No- I love it. But, it's not for everyone.
And, on the counterside, perhaps - if we had real information-- our governments would make better choices in its policy and war-making efforts.