Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Information overload

When I first saw TL;DR, I thought it was incredibly rude. If you didn't read it, keep that to yourself; don't criticize someone's work when the issue is your laziness.

But I've become that guy. I don't say TL;DR. But I DR. I skimmed it.

In any click-worthy article, I skip the lead-in and go straight to the meat -- the recipe, the list, the slideshow. I don't read intro text. I don't read articles longer than 2 pages -- 3 if I am deeply interested in the topic. I don't watch videos; I read faster than you talk (though I will read a transcript if you have one). I have limited internet time and a hungry mind: Get to the point. (Though the thought of having a port grosses me out, I really wish I could download information like in The Matrix. How much time that would save!)

All of this is interesting, if not downright disturbing, to me as an editor. But I know I'm not alone. Which is another reason why I'm easing up on the long-winded blog articles; if I wouldn't read them, why bother writing them?

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