Comments on: Musings on filters: why they’re the next big thing http://www.deannazandt.com/2009/05/22/musings-on-filters-why-theyre-the-next-big-thing/ Media technologist and author in Brooklyn, NY. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:06:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Leah Kopperman http://www.deannazandt.com/2009/05/22/musings-on-filters-why-theyre-the-next-big-thing/comment-page-1/#comment-7320 Leah Kopperman Tue, 26 May 2009 19:50:45 +0000 http://www.deannazandt.com/?p=539#comment-7320 deanna, i think this is a really insightful post. i really like this idea of the mental barrier that we have around "too much information." you're right that we're entirely used to having someone else make decisions about what's worth seeing--so much so that we don't even know that's what's going on. until people change that mind-set, i think the complaint of "information overload" will only continue to grow. deanna,

i think this is a really insightful post.

i really like this idea of the mental barrier that we have around “too much information.” you’re right that we’re entirely used to having someone else make decisions about what’s worth seeing–so much so that we don’t even know that’s what’s going on. until people change that mind-set, i think the complaint of “information overload” will only continue to grow.

]]> By: Stephen 4D Barnes http://www.deannazandt.com/2009/05/22/musings-on-filters-why-theyre-the-next-big-thing/comment-page-1/#comment-7118 Stephen 4D Barnes Sat, 23 May 2009 01:56:45 +0000 http://www.deannazandt.com/?p=539#comment-7118 Deanna - if you have to filter, why open yourself up to the information in the first place? If your filtering is really 'effective' how do you know you are getting the best possible information available to you? (because you're not seeing the filtered out stuff after all - how do you know what you're missing). Moreover, you only have so much time and cognitive capacity, so why not accept that information overload is essentially a function of your own choices and behaviour - things which only YOU can control. If you sign up for endless streams of information or tacitly encourage email practices which contribute to your sense of information overwhelm, how can you claim the problem is essentially hopeless? There are two types of information. No value and real value information. No value is just flotsam and jetsam. Real value is that which is both timely and which you can act upon. The trick is to relegate the flotsam and jetsam to the background (go and get it when you need it, irrespective of how it arrives in your cognition)and concentrate on the real value stuff. This lies in your hands through the choices you make. As for email, hey, its really simple actually. 1 – people and the companies that employ them need to set out simple, enforced policies as regards acceptable email use (it's for everyone’s benefit after all). 2 – the software which people are forced to use at work should allow them to intuitively manage their next actions through the transposing of 'action-required' emails onto a daily planner - this means making decisions about their emails which goes beyond just sending, receiving or filing information them away. 3 – the resulting emailing management system should anticipate hyper-linking to document management technologies, shared workspaces, CRM records as well as one touch email handling - and make it really easy for people to do all of this withing a cognitive paradigm that makes sense and with technology that is really easy to use. 4 – email compliance and record keeping should be taken care of via silos-in and silos-out: emails hitting an inbox are there just to allow an employee to progress her work. The whole email and information overload debate is a red herring for the perceived lack of a truly sensible solution. Deanna – if you have to filter, why open yourself up to the information in the first place? If your filtering is really ‘effective’ how do you know you are getting the best possible information available to you? (because you’re not seeing the filtered out stuff after all – how do you know what you’re missing). Moreover, you only have so much time and cognitive capacity, so why not accept that information overload is essentially a function of your own choices and behaviour – things which only YOU can control. If you sign up for endless streams of information or tacitly encourage email practices which contribute to your sense of information overwhelm, how can you claim the problem is essentially hopeless? There are two types of information. No value and real value information. No value is just flotsam and jetsam. Real value is that which is both timely and which you can act upon. The trick is to relegate the flotsam and jetsam to the background (go and get it when you need it, irrespective of how it arrives in your cognition)and concentrate on the real value stuff. This lies in your hands through the choices you make.

As for email, hey, its really simple actually.

1 – people and the companies that employ them need to set out simple, enforced policies as regards acceptable email use (it’s for everyone’s benefit after all).

2 – the software which people are forced to use at work should allow them to intuitively manage their next actions through the transposing of ‘action-required’ emails onto a daily planner – this means making decisions about their emails which goes beyond just sending, receiving or filing information them away.

3 – the resulting emailing management system should anticipate hyper-linking to document management technologies, shared workspaces, CRM records as well as one touch email handling – and make it really easy for people to do all of this withing a cognitive paradigm that makes sense and with technology that is really easy to use.

4 – email compliance and record keeping should be taken care of via silos-in and silos-out: emails hitting an inbox are there just to allow an employee to progress her work.

The whole email and information overload debate is a red herring for the perceived lack of a truly sensible solution.

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