Over the past year or more I have become a complete information whore.

At first I viewed this as a real asset – I knew everything. Names of all the big players in startups and tech: VCs, founders, new industry competitors, etc. I had access to information no one else knew about; I felt a step ahead of the game.

I have optimized my ability to consume niche information rapidly: reading blog posts via Google Reader and applying tags (340 subscriptions to blogs on social media, venture capital and tech/economics). Daily I consume and tag 30+ websites and articles found by the 94 people whose bookmarks I subscribe to via Del.icio.us. In addition, I make use of various alerts and aggregators like Techmeme.

However, recently two things have happened

1) Information has become ‘commoditized’ and to “me too-yâ€�

2) My ability to read for pleasure has disintegrated

Information has become ‘commoditized’ in the sense that websites like Techmeme now have powerful algorithms to find niche content and expose it. This strips away any competitive advantage I felt in dutifully ‘hunting’ for information. Likewise, Techmeme hurts ‘long tail content’ (despite what you may hear) because it forces authors to all write about the same topics in order to gain readership/traffic. It also means that all readers have access to the same information: it’s no longer a competitive advantage to be the most well read-guy in the room. Plus, because of the ‘me too’ effect, it’s less likely that really great innovative insights will emerge. How many takes can people possibly have on Facebook’s latest announcement? I now get more information out of reading a post’s comments than I do the actual article.

Also, and perhaps tragically, my ability to read for the sake of pleasure has greatly faltered. I am now trained like clockwork to scan for keywords and main points; reading detailed monologues such as those found in novels has become too boring to maintain my interest. In my new world, rather than read a book, I’m more likely to read the book’s Wikipedia page and then individually research the conclusions/topics. A book’s prose is just filler. When I do read lengthy pieces, I find myself skipping ahead in chapters to reach conclusions. For someone who write often and used to love literature, I know I’m this is not a good thing.

However, I also know I’m not the only one living a world of information overload and rapid dissection. Service like Twitter, as great as they are, put the emphasis on breaking news and facts, but take away from the craft of articulating and analyzing. All this makes me wonder if the future of literature and news is in shorter, factual form? 200 character maximums and short snappy prose like we see popular in Japan, could soon displace traditional literary conventions.

Related Posts: Exponential Times, Top Down Selection: Sifting for Information and Should I Become a Sharing Snob

Update: Sean Murphy has a good follow-up post to our exhange in the comments on this post. Also, SEOmoz has a great post confirming that people don’t read long passages of text and The Guardian has an interesting article.

Okay, so the results are in from the Valentine’s Mobile Phone Ratio Game. These ratios are being examined to see if our cell phones contain “hidden data” providing insight into our dating ethos. Our judge (Mystery Man Dan, who btw is single) has passed his decrees. Unfortunately a few people on my ’tagged list’ didn’t want to play, but for those who did, I hope you can find some meaning here:

key – [ratio, exes, creeps, possibilities]

PSN: “Wonder John” 2.59, 0, 1, 4

With a ratio of 2.59 and zero exes, you are quite the anomaly among this group. This either means one of 2 things: A.) You are an absolute player, or B) You tend to land in that grey ’friend zone’ way too often. Either way, you should have more “possibilities” based on your high ratio of 2.59 to 1.

PSN: “Peaches Shenandoah” 1.23, 11, 0, 4

Do I have this straight? “Peaches?” Not sure I can get over this gem of a name ’“ you should have it legally changed. Your ratios seem to be fairly even, but what an impressive resume with 11 exes still in your phone! You must have leave relationships on good terms ’“ can you teach me how? This tells me you’re a popular gal and a social butterfly.

PSN: “Annie Gawain” .34, 6, 1, 1

A .34 ratio? Hmm….you don’t seem to have trouble meeting people, based on the 6 exes, so this makes me wonder if a bad experience resulted in a mass delete of the opposite gender, or if you’re married? I’d spice it up a bit: Your possibility count (1) really needs to be expanded; there is nothing wrong with taking numbers, just give out fake ones. While you may be a ’girl’s girl’ or a ’guy’s guy’ the early bird takes the worm.

PSN: “Cassie Timber” .59, 3, 0, 2

Aren’t you the one that loves to gossip all day with your girlfriends about other girls’ lives…..I tend to think you love hanging out with your girlfriends, and are pretty happy with that as it is. Most weekends are “girls nights” filled with “choco-tinis” and loungy-type bars….I also tend to think that although you meet creeps every now and then, you don’t care enough to keep them in your phone just in case they call – you are a straight call screener, and don’t answer ANY numbers that aren’t in your phone already.

Note: I gave the judge all our ratios anonymously, so I love my personal analysis (Cassie Timber). Also, as I was poking around I found reference to “Purring Kitty” technologies, offering to turn your cell phone into a vibrator! Go figure.

So, Comments? Suggestions? Do you think there is any merit behind this data?

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I apologize for several posts in a row focused on Google I guess I have been milking them for all they’re worth.

Here is a debate my roommate and I have recently had:

If you were to drop a plastic jug of milk in the supermarket from about waist high, would the gallon explode over the floor, or would the tear-away seal be able to withstand the impact

What do you think?

We are making some changes to our blog….sorry for the technical and viewing problems…we should be back up and running in a few hours

Looks like a few people have taken note of our 2.0 rankings posted the other day.

I am including a bit more information here:

How are these rankings different from other rankings? Technology-On-Campus isn’t about what it used to be about. “Others” rank schools based on ’most wired’: looking at the number of computers per student and wifi access. Times have changed – technology is no longer about hardware.

Why are these rankings important? These ranking are important because they represent campuses that are staying current with new media. How a school uses technology to engage its community is equally as important as its on-campus facilities. You only spend four years on campus, but you are a graduate for life. Schools promoting new technology will be the future leaders

A link to a cleaner version of the rankings can be found here and we will soon have a much more professional version ready, since apparently posting rankings in a “blog” isn’t official enough!

Get ‘em while they’re hot

Order on the IntelliGrad website, or shoot us an email info@IntelliGrad.com to order

I recently asked my friend Dan if he would be willing to be a ’guest blogger’ on the IntelliGrad Blog, to which he responded, ’Can I do blogging about logging’? What he was referring to is a lean-to he’s building for his students. Here is a picture:?

What I love about the lean-to is that at first glance the entire project appears to be the antithesis of my approach to education“ developing and using new media and technology to connect people. Initially the lean-to seems about as ’primitive’ and ’caveman’ as you can get. Yet, at its core, the lean-to has the same goal as IntelliGrad to build an engaged community.

Dan is one of the best rock climbers I know (and I know some good ones) and one of the youngest NOLS instructors (National Outdoor Leadership School) in history. Now an administrator at a private school outside of Boston, Dan is in a unique position: He understands technology, but his real love is the outdoors“ an environment where conventionally technology is a major faux-pas. I say ’conventionally,’ because it seems that there is substantial movement towards accepting a possibility of a “synergy” between technology and wilderness“ but that is a story for another day.

Dan works tirelessly to promote outdoor education as a ’portal to new experiences’: building character and providing a more effective learning environment for students. The industry buzzword for this is ’experiential learning’ and it seems to be catching on.

A great example is the recent publicity of a? former climber? who presents to major organizations about how the ’rules of engagement’ on Mt. Everest can be translated to clients, a boardroom, and top level decision-making in a corporate setting. Outside Magazine recently covered this very topic.

As a former NOLS student, turned hippie, turned MBA student, turned new media guru, I frequently wrestle with the technology/wilderness dichotomy. When I go camping, can I bring my Blackberry“ or is that fundamentally wrong? Does it detract from my personal wilderness experience? Does it detract from the experience of anyone who is accompanying me? Maybe it does, but maybe it doesn’t.

Anyway, this is my way of introducing Dan and I think you will enjoy his guest blogs that will appear on this page every now and then.