A few months ago, The Atlantic did a cover story on whether Google is making us stupid. I don’t know about that, but if we’re not careful, Twitter might.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Twitter, and when I’m able to give it the proper attention, I’ve gleaned some interesting and sometimes very funny observations, thoughts and articles from it. The problem is that 140 characters threatens to become (if it hasn’t already) our new attention span.
My friend and mentor Barry Collodi asked me the other day if I had read an article in the Times. Yes, I said. Or, rather, I skimmed it. Leave it to Barry to cut through the crap: “That’s what EVERYONE is telling me. They’re skimming. They’re not actually reading. You have to READ.”
Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures not long ago wrote an interesting piece about how status is the ultimate social gesture, allowing anyone to put forth a constant stream of information, be that posts, pictures or a potpourri of links. For that matter, RSS feeds are similar. In many ways, our access to information is a little TOO easy. You can skim the headlines, but where’s the beef? With the torrent of information on Twitter and elsewhere, one’s media diet can be both voluminous and anemic.
I’m struck by how many Twitter updates are links to blog posts and articles. I’ve done it myself plenty of times, but I wonder how many folks actually read the articles they’re linking to.
In our rush to keep up on Twitter, Facebook, etc we can’t forget the essential act of paying attention. Everyone, and especially those who work in the media business, need to make it a priority for ourselves and the cultures that we work in to stop, drop and read. Barry’s suggestion: as soon you get a magazine, scan the ToC. Mark it. Save for later. Read. But read you must.
What a pleasure it was to skim the latest issue of Fortune with a cover story of Meg Whitman and a profile of the world’s largest hedge fund. I can’t wait to dig into my dog-eared copy.
Brian, thanks for the kind words. Focus is a a major challenge in these distracting times! The online media tools to organize or reading certainly have value, of course, but most people tend to go with writers who are smart, savvy and intelligent – meaning they think the same as the reader who chose them.
How important is it for us to expose ourselves to different and differing perspectives. Not to mention the joy of turning the page and finding an intriguing story about something you never heard of!
I am enjoying your blog and bookmarked it immediately, keep it going, guy!