I Read Too Much, But I’m Going To Stop

One of our clients sent me an e-mail this week: “I love all the links you post, but you should write more often… take your own medicine.” Of course she’s right, and I know it. Wilson Tan has been calling me “link fest” under his breath for months to make the point.

The fact is I spend 2+ hours per day (often at odd hours) reading blogs and spending time in forums and social networks. This is the time required to stay up to date on all things digital and this is the time required to post quality links on this blog. Add a hectic work schedule, my wife and two year old and a sliver of personal time to swim (which starts at 5:30 am), etc., and I don’t have a lot of time to post.

Today I decided to get some time back on the reading front which I will re-invest in posting. My RSS feeds had ballooned to 150. In the last hour I edited my reader down to 100 feeds and kept 20 in my A-list. Now I am posting so it’s working already:).

Maybe the real point is you need to continually manage and refine the way you consume information. More and more I am hearing my colleagues and clients talk about their frustrations with “information overload.” It is only going to get worse so figure out the best way to get the information you need and keep it under control.

Also let this post be a reminder that all consumers face the same information challenges. To be heard brands must engage their customers in the most highly relevant ways possible. Anything less will be filtered out and ignored.

Have a nice weekend.

27 October 2007 | , RSS, Time management | Comments