In defense of internet culture

In the best defense of internet culture I have read, Ben Casnocha presents his perspective on the ongoing debates around distraction/attention, micro-blogging's affect on learning, and related issues. (And in the meantime, he reviews Tyler Cowen's forthcoming Create Your Own Economy.)

Set aside some time for this one. It is well worth it.

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Ben uses the term infovore to describe those who thrive on information. If there ever was such a thing, I would be one of them.





I am reading ~62 blog posts and news articles per day plus countless headlines. (The 646 feeds I now subscribe to is up from 387 when I started blogging 6 months ago. And believe it or not, I have unsubscribed from some.) Many of the subscriptions are of very local or personal interest such as blogs about Durham (or even East Durham) or about information visualization or economics, but I also keep in tune with what broader audiences are reading through Digg, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

For some people, this may seem like information overload, but I would feel lost without it. It is hard for me to imagine how other people can feel satisfied with the amount and depth of information they receive from the local news stations whose programs consist of 90% weather, crime, and commercials. (But I do love the 1% awkward jokes during transitions between segments.) Yes, it is a lot of information, and some days it can be too much, but my subscriptions do not become overwhelming in part because I put some of the less interesting/important subscriptions in a folder called "occasionally good" that I can ignore on a busy day, but mostly I am not overwhelmed because, simply put, I love information.

I think the number one reason why most bloggers fan out is because they run out of things to say. I certainly have not come close to feeling that I have not had enough to blog about; I often feel like I am leaving out too much!

And despite all the reading material in my feed reader, it has not replaced my reading of books. In fact, I would say that my feed reader has accelerated my book reading because I learn about all kinds of books that I otherwise would have missed.

You might wonder: "Where does he find the time?" But, in fact, Google Reader is about the same time investment as watching the local news, taking up only slightly over an hour of my time each day.



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Related:
Google Reader is a life changer
Q & A with Tyler Cowen