Bit Literacy - How We Need It So
Think about what you are looking at for a minute. I don't mean these words or this site in particular; I want you to look at, and think very hard about, your computer. What does it do and how do you use it? You can scan the interweb for information and use its tools; you have some variation of an email program; there are probably oodles of files on your desktop and even more files living in multiple document and spreadsheet formats. You have lists and folders and more lists and more folders. You have raging inboxes and information flying at you infinitely faster than you can process it.
In his book blurb, author Barry Schwartz said, "Most of us learned how to deal with digital technology in piecemeal fashion. We developed bad habits that served us well for a time. But for the modern digital age, almost all of our habits are bad." Hale-freaking-lujah!!! I hear you brother, and I'm sure most of you feel the same way. That's why it's about time someone wrote a guide on how to deal with digital technology that is far superior to all the other books that simply offer us some tips and suggestions. Sure, tips can help, but most of us need to completely relearn how to approach all that is digital. Instead of learning things as we go and reading manuals, we need a big picture approach combined with small picture functionality. This book now exists, and it's called Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload.
And then there are PDAs and cell phones and PDA cell phones and a whole slew of other digital technology on top of computers. Right now most of us arbitrarily pick and choose what information we choose to absorb, and what we decide to ignore or save for later. This sure doesn't sound like a workable plan, but it's one that way too many of us employ. This has to change.
One of the best things about Bit Literacy is that it speaks to people at all levels of digital expertise. Software designer to salesman, we all utilize technology in different ways, but some of us don't know bites from bytes. It doesn't matter. What matters most is finding "a method of working more productively in the digital age, WITH LESS STRESS." And again, we don't need quick fixes and a few helpful hints. We need a serious shift in how we approach the various technologies that bombard us on a daily, hourly, and minute-by-minute basis.
Mark Hurst is absolutely, without question, the right person to write this book. Dude's been credited with popularizing "customer experience" online, and ever since the web slid out of the late 20th century's bloated womb, he's been diligently working to make internet technology easier to use. You might say, "Sure, but a lot of people are doing that." To which I reply, "Yeah, but are those other people any good at it? Mark was named Netrepreneur of the Year by Infoworld and was named one of the 1,000 most creative individuals by some other guy who knows things like this (Richard Saul Wurman)." Think about that. There's something like 300 million people in this country and he's 1 of the 1000 most creative people in the U.S. Wow!!!
Let's end with the rest of Barry Schwartz's blurb quote: "In Bit Literacy, Mark Hurst provides brief, no-nonsense, clear, and unbelievably helpful advice on how to replace those bad habits with good ones. Take his advice and instead of being tyrannized by the overload that comes at you daily, you'll be liberated."
Oh, and make sure to check out Mark's cool This is Broken site and all the other cool things he's done and is doing.
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