We consume 3x as much information as we did in the 60s. I’ve been thinking lately how much I input versus how much do I output. I take in lots of information, but what do I do with that information.
There are three keys.
1) Production
We read and watch a lot, but we do actually produce something out of it? It would be great to take things that come into our brains and produce something from it. One simple way is to share what we consume with others. Other ways is to take what we consume and have it inspire us to generate new ideas.
2) Reflection
Instead of just a flipping a link over to someone, greater value is given when we provide insight about what we read. One of the things I don’t like about link-sharers on twitter is that they just flip links over. No insight. We need to process and synthesize what we read to give our own unique take on our input. If we just constantly output things, there is no personal touch.
3) Relationships
This is the major key that should drive points one and two. Why do we produce? Why do we reflect? It’s to share it with other people.
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So true. And with so much info being bombarded at us daily through social media avenues, the sifting process usually weeds out those impersonal links.
I like your suggestion that we ought to be reflecting more on the content we take in but there is a flaw with your criticism of ‘flipping’ a link on Twitter. Implicitly, if I share a link, that means I like it or it was thought-provoking (or, maybe funny). Assuming there is a good headline included, I don’t necessarily think it needs more input from me. You can read it and decide for yourself. The networks we build over time tend to be of like-minded people and there is a give and take with the sharing. As I just heard in a talk yesterday, what we share is how we define ourselves online.
Good points, yes what we share is how we define ourselves online. But I would take that to another level and say how we share is how define ourselves online.
This reminds me of something the president of a company I interned for said in the late 90s. People would leave printouts of articles on his chair. A nice gesture, certainly. But he found himself with so much to read, I wanted to know why he should read certain articles. So he addressed the staff and asked people to put a sentence or two explaining why that article was worthwhile. I believe the same thing holds to this day. While I appreciate people who share links, there’s just so many links, I would like to understand why some links in particular are worth reading. Perhaps the headline can explain why. But then sometimes I wonder if we have gotten to soo deep into consuming, that we have lost our way in processing what we consume to the point that we can’t explain why something is significant.
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Oftentimes it’s much more fun to explore than to create.
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