2008 is the Year of Information Overload
Email, phone calls, IMs, twits and tweets, LinkedIn Questions, Facebook pokes… Interruptions such as these contribute to the Information Overload problem that research firm Basex pinned at $650B in loss productivity. We take pleasure in Basex’s prediction but not because we’re gluttons for punishment. Rather their call to attention is an indication of how serious the problem is and perhaps a prelude of better things to come.
As we get ready to ring in 2008, I challenge myself and all of you out there to make email and IM etiquette part of your New Year’s resolutions. Check out a few tips that Basex suggest to help manage information overload. These include:
-“I will not e-mail someone and then two seconds later follow up with an IM or phone call.”
- “I will read my own e-mails before sending them to make sure they are comprehensible to others.”
- “I will not overburden colleagues with unnecessary e-mail, especially one word replies such as “Thanks!” or “Great!”, and will use “reply to all” only when absolutely necessary.”
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Perhaps there is a connection between Year of the Rat and the 2008 problem of the year.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the problem of information overload because it has a huge impact on my team (spread out over three continents with hundreds of knowledge workers). Basex has several reports on information overload which I just purchased and will digest over the weekend (unless information overload keeps me from doing so).
I also just took Basex’s survey (at http://www.basex.com/2008poty) with the hope that providing information on how I work will help them develop solutions for this scourge.
Comment by Edward H — January 4, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
I believe that the stated figure of USD 650 billion is still too low:
http://www.managingio.com/2008/02/17/the-real-cost-of-information-overload/
Comments are welcome! Cheers, Nicolas
Comment by Nicolas — February 17, 2008 @ 8:31 am