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Have you ever felt like you were being completely inundated by the sheer quantity of information that is constantly beating down your door with today’s technology channels?
I know I have.
Streams of data are trying to make their way in to our lives, and unfortunately not all of them are completely worthwhile! Whether it’s e-mail, text messages, mail, or social media– even for those in the marketing industry, the volume can become overwhelming. It doesn’t matter if you look to your computer, cell phone or tablet. The stream is always there, awaiting your attention.
This overload is exactly why it has become increasingly more important for you to find ways to make that stream have value for you!
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But…what actually is meaningful? How do you figure out what brings more value to your life?
Here are some quick and easy steps to start sorting through the marketing messages and other notifications you receive — and as a marketer or business owner, know that your prospects and customers are doing the same.
1. Decide What’s Valuable
Recognizing what you actually want in that stream is probably the most important step, and the answer is unique to each individual. Some may prefer personal messages from friends or family over all others, while others may prefer coupons or online deals.
2. Set Your Preferences
Whatever you value, it’s important that once you figure out the type of information that you want to see, that you have the ability to bring that information to the surface rapidly. This starts by weeding out what you don’t want. Customize your Facebook news feed, unsubscribe from e-mail newsletters you normally delete anyway, and start un-following Twitter users whose tweets don’t inform or inspire you. It’s a little harder to filter your postal service mail, but just knowing what you want gives you an advantage in finding what you can keep for immediate response, and what you can set aside for later perusal.
3. Continue to Adjust
How did you get to be so overwhelmed with information in the first place? It happened gradually, and so will refocusing the information you receive. You’ll have to take some time every so often to reevaluate messages, but communication that is worthwhile can and will increase the value of your life. It is a matter of maintaining the filtering process.
How do you deal with information overload? How much time do you spend each day trying to sort through all the e-mails, messages, and notifications?
And how do you think this information overload is affecting today’s marketing channels?
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Christopher Rueber is an application developer and designer for Bluewater. He fancies himself a technologist, musician, philosopher, and theologist. Much of his off time is spent digging into interesting and cutting-edge technologies, trying to figure out what the next big thing will be.
Chris,
Nice post. You are spot on. Also,it is always interesting to see others Appa as in what I presume is a screen shot of your apps page on your phone.
I am evangelizing how individuals can and should “Tame the Data Deluge” In our personal lives. See http://www.PIMCoach.com and please let me know your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Peter
The PIM Coach