A few weeks ago, an article here at NMP talked about how social media is an information gateway, and we are the gatekeepers.
Last Thursday, while Carlo, Mich and I were discussing creative work issues and the lack of inspiration, we came across this discussion on information diet. The bottom line: the quality of thoughts you produce depends on the quality and quantity of information you ingest. What’s your information diet?
Social Media and the its Information Hubs
It’s a buffet out there. Imagine 10 cuisines with 5 dishes each in a whole restaurant. There are so many sources of information, and there are many hubs that make gathering them in one place and sharing them to others much easier.
There are information hubs that make reading information almost automatic, like Twitter and Facebook. They also make sharing (i.e. gatekeeping) so simple–you’re one click away from sharing what you’ve read with others.
There are other information hubs that gather things in a more organized manner, like Google Reader and your handy dandy RSS reader in your mail client, whether Outlook or Mail (for Mac).
Choose the healthy choice
It’s fun to eat in that buffet, but we can’t eat everything, and not everything is good for us. So the question is, what does our information network look like?
Is our feed full of gossip? Is our feed full of viral and funny videos? Is our feed full of corporate news, Apple product launches or of blogs on productivity, business, ideas? Whatever is in there, don’t be surprised when what we say or think actually are from them: especially when we have work that requires us to think up new ideas and brainstorm new things. Take on the right diet and keep your brain a lean thinking machine.
The solution
Feed your mind with all the nutrients it needs. Be a wide reader. Years ago, being a wide reader meant either going to the library and staying there for a long time or buying all the magazines, books and newspapers you see. Nowadays, being a wide reader can simply mean getting online, using your information hub of choice and filtering out content you want to ingest.
Information obesity
Like ingesting too much food, we can get unhealthy. Just as it is our job as gatekeepers of the information gateway to ensure that we provide content with value, it is also our job as people on an information diet to manage our appetites in order not to fill our plate with things we can’t handle.
Exercise
Finally, don’t forget that you need to exercise, too. Try out the ideas and see how they can work for you. Write about them, suggest them at work, share them with friends who might need the idea. Use them. Give them out as gifts. Remember, someone else cooked up that information to serve it to you. It wouldn’t hurt to cook it up and serve it to a loved one, too.
