Posted 1 year, 11 months ago in the early morning by oso
I’m a little bit disappointed. OK, not anymore. But I was. For months now I have been writing posts which summarize and link to other posts from new bloggers from the Rising Voices projects. You see, I am begging you to read what they write, begging you to leave encouraging comments. But no one does. Not my friends, not my co-workers, not the people who give us money to run the program (actually, Kristen has been one of Rising Voices’ biggest supporters).
No one seems to care.
And all of a sudden I’m OK with that. We are 6.5 billion people on this planet. We can’t pretend to care about everyone. And if we do, well, then it’s just that, pretending.
Global Voices’ mission was, and I suppose still is, to shine light on those voices traditionally ignored by the mainstream media. Now there is a new force at work to make all voices ignored – the fact that there are just too many of them. We are drowning in noise. And we are adding water to the flooding river.
Last year … hell, maybe it was more than a year ago … I had lunch with Boris in San Francisco. He was the first person to tell me that he had stopped using his RSS reader. There was no way to keep up, he said, and besides, it all stopped seeming important. Now people left and right tell me they’ve given up on their RSS readers. Instead they just click a link or even enter in a website URL whenever it might occur to them. Josh is looking for an RSS replacement. (He’ll also soon be responsible for adding more water to the flood.) Beth Kanter also complains that she isn’t able to keep up with her RSS feeds anymore. But she’s written so many posts just in the past day alone that I’m not able to find the one about information overload.
Are we talking too much? Is the fact that so many people are talking about so many people talking too much the ultimate irony?
There is a long thread on Edge.org which was inspired by by Nicholas Carr’s Atlantic Monthly article “Is Google Making us Stupid?” Carr’s argument is that the stream-like flow of information on the internet is making it difficult for many of us to read anything longer than three paragraphs. Because Carr’s argument was longer than three paragraphs, I didn’t read it.
Until last night, finally.
All of my fellow nine white American males participating in the discussion made excellent points about the significance of today’s (over)abundance of information. But the bit that really hit home for me comes from W. Daniel Hillis:
We evolved in a world where our survival depended on an intimate knowledge of our surroundings. This is still true, but our surroundings have grown. We are now trying to comprehend the global village with minds that were designed to handle a patch of savanna and a close circle of friends. Our problem is not so much that we are stupider, but rather that the world is demanding that we become smarter. Forced to be broad, we sacrifice depth. We skim, we summarize, we skip the fine print and, all too often, we miss the fine point. We know we are drowning, but we do what we can to stay afloat …
It is not just that the world has gotten more complicated (it has), but rather that more of the world has become relevant. Not only is world more connected (or, as Thomas Friedman would, say, flatter), but it is also bigger. There are more people, and more of them than ever have the resources to do something that matters to us …
We need to know more because we are expected to make more decisions. I can choose my own religion, my own communications carrier, and my own health care provider. As a resident of California, I vote my opinion on the generation of power, the definition of marriage and the treatment of farm animals. In the olden days, these kinds of things were decided by the King …
I also need to know more just to have friends. I manage to get by without knowing exactly why Paris Hilton is famous, but I cannot fully participate in society without knowing that she is well known. Of course, my own social clan has its own Charlie Rose version of celebrities, complete with must-read books, must-understand ideas, and must-see films. I am expected to have an opinion about the latest piece in The Atlantic or the New Yorker. Actually, I need to learn more just to understand the cartoons.
I rearranged and extracted from Hillis’ argument. But the essential significance, at least for me, remains the same: Just because we can befriend anyone anywhere in the world, and just because we can learn about where they come from, does that mean that we should?
How do we decide who we care about? How do we decide what to read about? What is it that makes our brain remember and value certain conversations but not others?
A couple weeks ago I was sitting at a dinner table with people from various parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. There were about 12 of us in total and we were doing what strangers do when they eat together for the first time: making small talk. As the conversation went around the table I asked my new acquaintances about the latest news items I had read about their countries. It didn’t matter if they were from Vietnam, Ukraine, Korea, or Angola – thanks to Global Voices I knew the latest events, scandals, and debates in all of their countries. Eventually someone asked how it was that I seemed to know everything about everywhere in the world. It was, of course, my opportunity to suggest that they too read Global Voices.
But now that I think about it, besides impressing international groups at dinner tables, why is it that I keep reading about Vietnam?
I have all 2.2 gigabytes of Wikipedia on my iPhone. That’s right, I downloaded Wikipedia and put it on my iPhone to read offline. (It has been helpful to, for example, settle arguments about which was Weezer’s first album.)
I could buy a solar iPhone charger, hide out in the Himalaya, read all of Wikipedia, and return to civilization three years later. What would I gain? How much would I remember? What would my brain do with its new 2.2 gigabytes of worldly information?
I’m not the first person to ponder that question. A few years ago I read a book by some witty journalist who read all of the Britannica encyclopedia from A to Z. I think it took him a year. The resulting book was a collection of strange facts and stories contained within Britannica as well as funny stories about how reading the entire encyclopedia affected his social life.
But that’s about all I remember. (I also recall that there was a chapter in which the author takes a speedreading class and comes to the conclusion that it harms his reading comprehension.) In fact, that is why I am determined to write reviews of every book I read on GoodReads – I’m afraid it’s the only way I’ll remember what the hell it is I have read.
So will I keep up with Rising Voices? Keep adding more water to the torrent?
Yes. Because even though we all complain about information overload, it’s not as if we’ve stopped reading and consuming media. Part of it is a technology problem: we haven’t yet discovered how to discover what it is we want to discover. Or, to put it another way, even though I have all 2.2 gigabytes of Wikipedia on my iPhone, I rarely know what to start reading about.
Even though you might not care what some young girl in Dhaka has to say today, maybe someday you will. Or, if not you, maybe someone else will.
This feeling of drowning in information goes away once we realize that it’s OK to just stand back and watch the river go by. That it’s OK to focus on just a drop here, and drop there.
I’ll also keep with Rising Voices and keep writing about it because, as Leonard writes, “it feels good.”
PS: I too have been cutting back on my RSS reading lately. But every day I have been reading one post from the archives of Zen Habits. It’s become a sort of bible, something to go back to, for the era of abundance. Here is a good place to start.
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[...] Rising Voices Director David says he was a bit disappointed when “no one seems to care” even if he is “begging you [...]
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Hey David- thank you for this. I feel this way at times as well. How do I make you care? is my biggest reoccurring question. This relates to my work as well as in my personal interactions with people. On my low days, I think there are too many films out there and none of them have really made a difference. On my high days, I feel with every fiber of my being that this is the greatest way for me to serve the world and I can’t give up, no matter what the obstacle.
I think when we work in mediums that are not as hands on as feeding the hungry, it easy to loose sight of how the work we do helps people. It’s true the the world is yet too big for everyone to care about everyone else. For me, if I can encourage people to care a little bit more about what they already care about or just to open up to something new then I’ve had a success. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, its the little interactions, words of encouragement, moments of touching and inspiring others that sustain me.
You work is much needed in this world and it is an inpsiration to me.
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Gran reflexión, David.
Quizá la gran ventaja de la sobre abundancia de información, que hace imposible estar al tanto simultáneamente de todo lo que ocurre, es que no podemos usar nuestra ignorancia como argumento para defender nuestra pasividad ante los problemas de nuestro entorno (teniendo claro que el entorno es ahora el mundo entero).
Un ejemplo. En las Olimpiadas de 1936 todos (partiendo por los propios alemanes) pudieron decir desconocer lo que estaba pasando bajo el régimen nazi. Hoy quienes dicen no saber (o no creer) lo que ocurre en China no demuestran ignorancia: demuestran su complicidad con la opresión y la violación de los derechos humanos en China.
El río lo vemos pasar todos. Por donde entramos a él, habla ya no del río, si no de cada uno de nosotros.
David’s Translation:
Great reflection, David.
Maybe the advantage of the over-abundance of information which makes it impossible to be simultaneously up-to-date about everything that occurs, is that we can’t use our ignorance as an argument to defend out passivity facing the problems of our surroundings (understanding of course that “our surroundings” is now the entire world).
An example. In the 1936 Olympics everyone (beginning with the Germans themselves) could say that they didn’t know what was happening within the Nazi regime. Today those who say that they don’t know (or don’t believe) what is occurring in China doesn’t reveal ignorance: it reveals their complicity with the oppression and the violation of human rights in China.
We all watch the river pass by. We we decide to enter speaks not of the river, but rather of each one of us.
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This was an amazing post. I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit and… just so you know, I’ve been reading some of the rising voices blogs and I’ve actually commented on a couple of them! Anyway… should we keep adding to the noise? Should we keep looking for ther voices that need to be heard? Oh my… keep it up. I enjoy your blog.
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This post touched a chord, in particular the ‘no one seems to care’ declaration in relation to the Rising Voices projects. Lately, in my personal and professional endeavours, I’ve been noticing the growth of what I call the ‘bla-bla’ effect which seems to be consuming many people. This bla-bla is how I like to think of people who put all their weight behind a hollow “I really want to help, to make a difference” then for whatever reason, after they feel they have served their time, they disappear into thin air. Why do they leave? In many cases, they are dissatisfied at the speed of the progress, or they move on to the next fad, or they simply stop caring. Perhaps they feel they have met their philanthropic quota and justify to themselves they have done their part in the world. If that makes them sleep at night, so be it. I just don’t want to be there when they wake up to the world around them (should they ever).
It astounds me that many people can be so flippant about caring for and helping others. Offering a helping hand (in any way, be it aid donation or commenting on a blog) comes with personal responsibility. If someone has demonstrated an intention to help, in doing so, they make a commitment to the recipient of this help (I can imagine an initial comment on a RV blog can be interpreted as a sign of commitment to a blogger) so please make this commitment a lasting one and not a fleeting moment that will give hope to someone only to then have it taken away.
In the case of RV, we need to consider the other side, the bloggers of these wonderful projects. For many of them, the sheer thought of blogging in such a public way must have been terrying at first. Yet they’ve conquered their fears and inhibitions, have challenged themselves and now the ball is now on our side of the court. Think of what it was like when we first started blogging; a single comment or even the acknowledgement of being read represented a resounding pat on the back and in some cases it was a motivation to go on. Perhaps we have forgotten the effect a few words of encouragement on a blog posting can do to someone. Are the RV participants expecting reactions on their blog? Just as we expect and hope for them, they are as well, and likely in a more eager way. This means they are holding out hope for someone to reach out, and with hope being the only constant in many of these locations, it’s a pretty significant thing to crush by not taking a minute to acknowledge them.
And sorry, pretending to care just doesn’t cut it. That to me is living half-assed, and tuning out to the world around you. While it’s tempting to tune out the noise, one needs to be prepared that if we do so, then we’re sending a signal to others that they are not worthy of our time. And be prepared that others may tune out your noise and merely pretend to care about you. Doesn’t feel as nice when one thinks about it that way, ha? And if one stops caring because they think someone else might, thus absolving you of all responsibility…Wrong, the world doens’t quite work that way. Passing on the buck only amounts to apathy and disregard for fellow human beings.
David, the work you and everyone else does with GV and RV is inspiring. In reading some of the projects blog I have often wondered why they are so comment-free. I’m hoping your comments here will change all that – I know I’ll strive to improve my participation. Thanks for the eye opener.
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David
I read your blog regularly, but comment on yours, or others, infrequently. I have asked myself why I don’t comment more, or in fact start my own blog, but time is the word that keeps coming back.
I love your writing, your passion, your insights, so keep it up – it is sorely needed. Once you let go the need to have comments, your daily life will get ever so slightly more relaxed.
Thanks for being who you are.
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it is too much information. i remember when i first started reading your blog (yours was one of my firsts when I found you through Julio http://www.yonderliesit.org/blog/) i only at that time read a totally of five or so blogs. it does become overwhelming as do the listservs and now my question is what purpose are they serving?
we have formed a community, a supportive community but how real is any of it? how useful is any of it? and are we causing any great change in keeping up with our rss subscriptions?
PS i read that article is google making us stoopid? but only after guilt from reading his article that most of us can’t read more than 3 paragraphs without skimming…
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You’re pointing an important pattern I’ve noticed about people stopping using the RSS readers. I still use it – but I’m not as disciplined.
And, my posts about information overload are filed under “information coping skills”
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/information_coping_skills/
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[...] El Oso » Archive » Don’t Read This, Take a Walk in the Park David wonders why, if we're inundated with information online, no one seems to be reading any of it. Is it worth the effort? (tags: blogging globalvoices rss) [...]
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luvmegumi,
I know that you’ve already inspired many. One step at a time.
Enzo,
A very beautiful and insightful comment. But I think this just adds to the sense of stress that many of us feel regarding information overload. A sense of guilt creeps in if we’re not informed about every instance of oppression and abuse. Today I was in the bookstore looking at books about AIDS, domestic violence, Partition, Bhopal, Tibet … and all of a sudden I had to ask myself if I’m some sort of literary masochist.
Hannah,
Thank you for being involved! I hope you continue reading and commenting on their blogs … it’s really a huge encouragement.
Romi,
Your little Canadian flag is back.
I think a lot of it goes back to what Hillis writes – we’re used to commenting about very small communities. Lots of times we probably don’t comment on blogs because we don’t have enough context to feel like we’re adding value to the conversation. It certainly is a time commitment, but personally I’ve found that the gift of friendship in return is well worth it. Sometime this weekend I’ll publish a post on Rising Voices that confirms a lot of what you wrote in your comment.
Michael,
Thanks for keeping an eye on my words here – it is always nice hearing from that so-called silent majority. I think this blog actually receives quite a few comments on most posts. Which is one of the reasons I come back to write – I really enjoy threads like this one. I love being able to inspire and participate in discussions here and elsewhere. I love sitting over cups of coffee with friends and this lets me do that no matter where I am. Which is why I hope that the Rising Voices bloggers can soon experience the same joy.
elenamary,
We go back old school, huh? I agree … we all have to find our priorities. For me, that’s meant more emails to friends, more books, and less RSS feeds. Especially about technology … I can’t believe how much time a day I used to spend reading about tech … now I feel like it was such a waste of time.
Beth,
That’s just what I needed – more to read!
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Sigh. I hate going to my RSS feed. I used to read all of the LA city blogs religiously and now I check in maybe once a week.
You know, I feel guilty for not reading those posts. I skipped all of your health-related ones too. It’s like not reading articles unrelated to my research interest. We’re all so specialized.
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And, to be fair, I have an electronic stack of undread puro pedos. Though I don’t think I can use specialization as an excuse there.
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I agree with the lack of context. In some cases when commenting on a post, I feel slightly on the silly side not having anything of substance to say, other than a virtual high-five of encouragement for the poster.
Whereas I used to opt for not commenting, I now realize that even a simple message like ‘great message, thanks for sharing…’ can carry a lot of weight. Silly or not, it’s still an acknowledgement.
I’ll be quiet now and wait for your post on RV.
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I come late to this post for some of the reasons you have mentioned here.
I experiment myself the stress of keeping up with the information overload and the need to keep up with the physical realities of the people around me. My RSS reader has been unattended in the last two months. And I was not aware of it until you mentioned it.
Your capacity to follow so many projects is amazing.
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I haven’t given up on my RSS readers yet . . . I’ll admit that b/c this blog and my RSS reader don’t get along, I don’t read your posts as often as I used to. I’ll stick with my RSS reader, but I have to acknowledge that there’s no way I can read every post from the blogs I subscribe to. I just don’t have time. I subscribe to Global Voices, but only really check it when I hear about events I expect will be blogged about there.
Like Elenita says, there is just too much information and noise, and it’s hard to cull through it. We choose what part of the news/world/pop culture is most important to us and we keep updated on it.
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Hello David! I’m one of those who read your blog and almost never writes anything in your comment box, but now I will because I wanted to tell you that I do, to a certain degree, care about what GV and RV are doing. And that I do go to some of the sites you feature to read and comment. After this post, I feel more motivated to do so. Thank you!
Adelynne from Malaysia.
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Perhaps you should have something like “Post a Comment” day, and call all your readers to write a comment about the blog, GV or whatever they have in their mind in that specific post.
You’ll see the merits of this…
Another thing is, you write too much. Another option is to post less, but have a longer one, and be more effective. I know one person who does this (Steve Pavlina).
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France? hehehehehe, I’m not from France, I’m from Lebanon.
Needed to state this fact
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[...] it is part of my writing process. Lately, my RSS reading habits have changed. I haven’t given up on it completely, but my process has changed. My feeds are organized into folders and the folders ordered [...]