Somewhere between August 2009 and January 2010, I became so saturated in information about the environment, I lost interest. I withdrew. I ceased treading water in the ocean of blogs and sites and people and views and ‘sign here’s, and ‘tell five friends’, and climate change is real but only if you look at this report, not that report.
You get the point.
I ceased bobbing with wave after wave of data and let myself sink into the quiet. At first I told myself I’d be back. I’d do it tomorrow. Next week. Has it been a month? Suddenly it’s been three.
What I speak of isn’t uncommon: the reaction to be overwhelmed by data. Its term is yet to be officially defined, but what I speak of is information overload. To learn more I took the time to talk with someone who is addicted more than most to information and I discovered some very interesting concepts.
Eddie Harran is a digital addict. He is just one example of a person who has attached himself to the information flow from avatars and usernames of thousands of people, who in turn plug him in to their own thousands of networks, forming a constant, 24/7 stream of data. His twitter followers number 2,844, he recently attended Palomar 5, and in February he leaves for San Francisco to continue working on a specific data project as a resident of GAFFTA. He conservatively estimates he’s online for 18hrs daily, noting that with devices like the iPhone, you rarely aren’t, until you lay that shiny black pebble beside you on the bedside table. But more importantly than when he’s online is why.
Continue reading ‘have i got your attention?’
