Good to hear you again. Your discussion about the increasing flows of real-time digital information was interesting. If you are looking for a backlash, I’m happy to provide one! (Along with Mills, I suspect.) Maybe I’m just still resistant to an assumption that the new reality necessitates some loss of control over the information space, as you mention (though the sense of loss of control over my time makes me even more grumpy). In fact, the thing I have always loved most about the Internet is how it untethers me from needing to be in a particular time or place to accomplish some task – whether it’s shopping, finding information, communicating via email, etc. For me, Twitter, texting, status updates, etc. reverses this; it’s like going back to a time when people sat waiting by the phone in case a call came in. (The fact that people can now take their phones with them doesn’t make it any better, in my opinion.)
Bottom line, unless and until we have better tools to manage this information I think it’s incumbent upon anyone sending out important information – whether individuals or institutions – to be respectful of the fact that not everyone is (or wants to be) hanging on their every word as it issues forth.
Alright, rant over…
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