Information Overload

Sorting through all the information coming our way has become harder not easier. Search technology is a huge improvement in helping us proactively find useful items. But search is not always effective or timely to help us deal with the overwhelming growth of user generated content (photos, blogs, emails, SMSs, Twitters, FriendFeeds, and videos). As we add real time anywhere access via our mobile devises, information overload problems will become amplified.

I think we will start to see a new breed of businesses that will give us a break from the everyday information overload. Here are some directions:

• Coffee shops that block cell phone and wireless access and that don’t allow working on a computer (“no computers or cell phones” will appear next to the “no smoking” sign)
• Vacation destinations will market themselves as secluded resorts without connection to the information world
• Technology services that help us filter and block information overload – that push to us what we need when we need it so that we don’t constantly have to be patrolling our various information sources for updates in fear that we will be left out of the loop

I have this concern that one day my kids will read this post and say “my old man just didn’t get the new information age”. But there is also the possibility that they won’t ever read it since they will be out having fun in the real world assured that anything important that they need to know will find their way to them.