11) The Backpage: Information-Gathering To The 100Th Power

I continue to marvel at the extent to which the web has revolunized information-gathering. I’m probably not the only one here that can remember the pre-web days of making the trip to the local public library to scan newspaper headlines. I remember what a joy it was to move into a home with an active cable connection so I could watch CNN Headline News. “I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven.” Now, I rarely turn on CNN. With feeds like…

http://www.breitbart.com/index.php?category=2

I can pick the news I want based on filtered criteria rather than sit through what some night-time news editor judged I would find interesting. It’s like comparing serial content to digital: instead of getting messages end to end, I can receive multiple sources, rejecting the ones that don’t apply to my world.

The amazing thing is that all this content comes instantly. I scratch my head at the fact that I’m learning about a bombing in the Middle East at *almost* the same speed as government leaders… and it doesn’t cost thousands of dollars. In fact, I can even see it on my cell phone.

Do all these sources and feeds help us do our jobs more effectively? For my part, I’d have to say, ‘yes’. I’ve sometimes called our workers in the middle of the night to warn them that their country has just been involved in a government coup. I can remember even 30 years ago, I would only *dream* of this kind of global connectivity.

How does easy information acquisition affect you? Does it help you do your job? Does it ever get in the way? And even more importantly, have you discovered ways of managing it that can save us all some time. I fear that too much content can sometimes overwhelm us. How do you filter it? How do you and your staff manage it?

Would you take a moment and share your “lessons learned?” Just click on the link below, then look for the “comment” link under the item. You can respond as anonymously as you wish. No one will even ask for your email address. Just contribute to the knowledge bank as “one beggar telling another where to find bread.” Thank you!!!