Identify Your Ideal Information Sources
There are people who are directly tied into the net 24/7. These folks live and breathe new content, novel services, and breaking news. They have transformed themselves into an information nexus. If you're like 99.9% of the rest of the world you don't have time to be one of these information agents. What I propose is a solution to the information glut you are now suffering from. The answer is intelligent filters, and their only cost is discovering them. Boldly remove the input sources that don't harmonize with the flavor of data you absolutely need (including me), be they RSS feeds, Twitter accounts, or Facebook friends. The agents you truly synchronize with will:
- ignite your imagination
- provide just in time knowledge on dynamic industries that you need to stay informed about
- become trusted friends and advisors as you reach out with your own discoveries
To see who I rely on for serendipitous discovery and perspective, you can view my friends and influencer page. I challenge you to construct a list with a finer group of folks (and don't be shy, please share).
Super Human Filters or Mortal Portals
Super Human Filters are mortal portals who we enlist and trust to consistently discover relevant news and describe it in a way we can quickly ingest and act upon.
Actionable versus interesting information is the decision boundary which has been adopted by a generation of startup founders, financial leaders, scientists, and makers. As greedy as I am for every interesting discovery, it is imperative to balance consuming this knowledge with creating value. Every hour spent diligently reading articles is another hour of constructive/development work lost.
Diversify Your Super Human Filters
Because you'll be counting on these information nexi as your eyes and ears on world events it is of great value to have a varied list. My friends and influencers are primarily focused on technology, startups and the entrepreneurship scene. But there are a number of folks that fall outside this broad categorization that I tune into to. The reasoning for this is to keep your world view in perspective. No matter how much value I see in actively participating in several social channels, much of the rest of the world is content to read a web news aggregator site, and watch prefiltered television stations. Society is not defined by a single interest segment.