Bit LiteracyMark Hurst

Information Overload

The beginning

• When reading and writing appeared, writing was mysterious

• Not much information was available and it was kept secret

• Rich people might own 4 or 5 books• Most people were not literate

Technology spreads information

• Gutenberg’s printing press made it possible for many copies of a book to be made

• Many more people could own books and have information

• More people became literate and knew how to read books

Today’s technology

• Today’s technology has created the problem of Information Overload

• There is NO scarcity of information!• There is a scarcity of people who know how to

handle the flood of information usefully• This skill is “bit literacy” (Mark Hurst, 2007)

Bits

• Bits are heavy – not physically but emotionally and mentally, demanding attention

• 50% of workers with email check their work email on the weekends, 46% on sick days, 34% on vacation (Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2008)

• Newer technology like tablets and smart phones make the problem worse

Bits more important than the hardware

• Bits on a network travel on and to varied types of hardware

• How to manage bits is the new literacy• How DO people manage them?– Actively, always on, always engaged, always

connected, stressed, anxious and overloaded– Passively, ignoring the bits until they are drowned

by them

Compare Paper to Bits

• Paper – Old familiar technology, User interface simple– Physical form, stable if protected, deteriorates if not – Expensive to create in physical terms

• Bits– Not physical– Easy to create large quantities– Does not deteriorate over time– Not a familiar technology, interface changes over time

Users

• People say they are not “computer people”• It is as much the fault of poor design and lack

of training as lack of innate ability!• They expect the technology companies to

make them more productive• That is NOT the goal of the tech companies –

they want customers wanting to buy the latest upgrade, not productive employees

The Solution

• Let the bits go• Erase them, file them, act on them• Being more efficient and comfortable with

your tools