Monday, July 21, 2008

Read Blog Posts Quickly

On July 18, 2008, c/net sent its AnchorDesk Newsletter with a posting asking "Are you suffering from information overload?", by Holly Jackson.

The Information Overload Research Group held its first conference in New York this week.

Dedicated to researching and solving problems caused by the constant flow of information, the nonprofit consortium calls information overload "the world's greatest challenge to productivity." [Links added.]
The newsletter referenced an online editorial posted by BNet entitled "Coping with Information Overload":
You know it all too well: The amount of information available to us wherever we go is increasing rapidly and perpetually.

As a result, we’re all expected to absorb and respond to more information than ever before. The reasons are very familiar:
  • New technology making information available at all times everywhere;
  • Expectations for instant gratification for virtually every need;
  • Fewer people in the workplace to deal with all the work;
  • More work being done by outside firms — increasing the burdens of communication (and the likelihood of miscommunication).

But most of us have had to deal with this tremendous influx of information and distractions without any preparation, training, or time. Often, we find it difficult to process the flood of information — we feel as though we’re drowning, struggling to find time for more important tasks.

The good news is that there are steps you can take to keep your head above the information torrent. * * *

That excellent article concluded with a brief list of online articles offering advice, mainly related to email, however:

See also: Information Overload Resource Center's listing on this topic.

If you work as an estate planner, fiduciary, trust & estate lawyer, or related professional, you likely experience "information overload" everyday, from various sources.

The Internet contributes to the overload. One comment in response Holly Jackson's question, "Is information overload a hindrance?", posted on July 18, 2008, said:
I think it's both a blessing and a curse. You can find out almost anything, you can contact people halfway across the world. * * *

But because of all the information out there, I always feel like there is more I can read, more I should read, than I have time for. It's sometimes hard to pick and choose the best from all that's out there.
Blogs -- if you read them -- contribute to the overload, but also provide beneficial information; and so you may wish to be aware about their periodic postings.

As alternatives to an RSS Feed from individual blogs or to your personal, periodic checks at a blog's site, you could consult a compiled list of blog postings on focused topics.

Various online services now provide updated summaries of recent blog postings on the topics of elder law, trusts & estates, and related matters.

Check out these selective lists of recent blog postings:

Posted by Unknown on Monday, July 21, 2008

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