Comments on: Separating virtual wheat from chaff http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/15/separating-virtual-wheat-from-chaff/ Human Animals at the Crossroads of Culture, Science, Religion and Media Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:41:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: Erich Vieth http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/15/separating-virtual-wheat-from-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-16905 Erich Vieth Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:27:47 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/15/separating-virtual-wheat-from-chaff/#comment-16905 Lisa: It is so incredibly easy to get swallowed up by the technology. How easy? Just consider old-fashioned email. I get up to 100 emails a day at work. One-fourth of it is junk, but the rest was written by a human being for me to see. One-half of that is in the form of a cc. I think it is the cc's that are killing me. It has come to mean "You don't really need to read this for sure, but just I'm keeping you just enough in the loop that I'm going to hold you responsible for something that you might not need to know. This stuff really adds up, especially when the emails include attachments and links. Is it all powerful? Damn straight! I don't have to mess with the telephone nearly as much as I once did. I can conclude complicated transactions, complete with a permanent (electronic) record, without those phone calls and voice mails. But it all does come with a price. Lots of chatter "Just to let you know." Sometimes it swallows almost 1/2 of my workday. That's why, when you encourage me to latch onto Linkedin, I resist. It's because I don't want to go to yet another website every day, just in case someone is sending me something that might matter. That's because I need to keep my focus (as you do), and these many new networks suck your time and pay you back in relation to how much you put into them. I'm just too busy trying to keep up with the people I already know, the people to whom I already feel responsible. I am not a recruiter. Perhaps, then, I have a much easier time saying no to some of the technology than you, since your job is to keep a wide-open door to those new contacts. It is a difficult balancing act, as you suggest, at least for those who really want to do their jobs efficiently and then have some time left over for things that don't involve the computer at all. Lisa: It is so incredibly easy to get swallowed up by the technology. How easy? Just consider old-fashioned email. I get up to 100 emails a day at work. One-fourth of it is junk, but the rest was written by a human being for me to see. One-half of that is in the form of a cc. I think it is the cc’s that are killing me. It has come to mean “You don’t really need to read this for sure, but just I’m keeping you just enough in the loop that I’m going to hold you responsible for something that you might not need to know.

This stuff really adds up, especially when the emails include attachments and links.

Is it all powerful? Damn straight! I don’t have to mess with the telephone nearly as much as I once did. I can conclude complicated transactions, complete with a permanent (electronic) record, without those phone calls and voice mails.

But it all does come with a price. Lots of chatter “Just to let you know.” Sometimes it swallows almost 1/2 of my workday.

That’s why, when you encourage me to latch onto Linkedin, I resist. It’s because I don’t want to go to yet another website every day, just in case someone is sending me something that might matter. That’s because I need to keep my focus (as you do), and these many new networks suck your time and pay you back in relation to how much you put into them. I’m just too busy trying to keep up with the people I already know, the people to whom I already feel responsible. I am not a recruiter. Perhaps, then, I have a much easier time saying no to some of the technology than you, since your job is to keep a wide-open door to those new contacts.

It is a difficult balancing act, as you suggest, at least for those who really want to do their jobs efficiently and then have some time left over for things that don’t involve the computer at all.

]]> By: lisarokusek http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/15/separating-virtual-wheat-from-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-16897 lisarokusek Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:23:27 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/15/separating-virtual-wheat-from-chaff/#comment-16897 oops, I think my link was funked up. try it now. oops, I think my link was funked up. try it now.

]]> By: lisarokusek http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/15/separating-virtual-wheat-from-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-16896 lisarokusek Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:17:50 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/15/separating-virtual-wheat-from-chaff/#comment-16896 well thats no fun...try the tweetscan site to browse. i guess i was logged in there, silly me - wrong link. well thats no fun…try the tweetscan site to browse. i guess i was logged in there, silly me - wrong link.

]]> By: Dan Klarmann http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/15/separating-virtual-wheat-from-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-16892 Dan Klarmann Sun, 16 Mar 2008 13:51:49 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/03/15/separating-virtual-wheat-from-chaff/#comment-16892 Twitter link: Apparently requires you to join to even browse. I get "page not found" from your link. Twitter link: Apparently requires you to join to even browse. I get “page not found” from your link.

]]>