Why read the news when the news finds you?
How many publications (including blogs) do you religiously follow? I have realised that my reading and dedication to whole publications has dwindled due to the increasing nature of ad hoc chatter.Ben's recent timeline of subscriptions:
Q1 2006: Wired, Business 2.0, digg, TechCrunch, Micro Persuasion
Q2 2006: Wired, Business 2.0, TechCrunch, Micro Persuasion
Q3 2006: Business 2.0, TechCrunch, Micro Persuasion
Q4 2006: Business 2.0, TechCrunch
Q1 2007: TechCrunch, Micro Persuasion
Today: NoneWhat I've come to realise is if the news is important enough and relevant enough, someone around you will inevitably talk about it, blog about it, Twitter it, and even email it to you. And as a result, I have also found that I can get away with not knowing first hand news, because someone will mention it and I then subsequently use what I've heard as my understanding of that news in other conversations.It may also surprise you that I don't at all pick up the newspaper to read (except occasionally at work when required) nor do I watch TV. I do however watch movies at cinemas and on DVD. My supposed "lack of news" doesn't actually bother me, in fact I feel that I lack nothing save a tiny bit of timeliness.The vast amount of messages I get on Twitter and the absurd number of blogs in my Google Reader, not to mention the other feeds in other apps, make it nearly impossible to follow any single publication, even a simple blog, and the ad hoc "come what may" nature ends up being the norm.I find I end up reading and hearing more, but with no intention of following though a whole publication.
Q1 2006: Wired, Business 2.0, digg, TechCrunch, Micro Persuasion
Q2 2006: Wired, Business 2.0, TechCrunch, Micro Persuasion
Q3 2006: Business 2.0, TechCrunch, Micro Persuasion
Q4 2006: Business 2.0, TechCrunch
Q1 2007: TechCrunch, Micro Persuasion
Today: NoneWhat I've come to realise is if the news is important enough and relevant enough, someone around you will inevitably talk about it, blog about it, Twitter it, and even email it to you. And as a result, I have also found that I can get away with not knowing first hand news, because someone will mention it and I then subsequently use what I've heard as my understanding of that news in other conversations.It may also surprise you that I don't at all pick up the newspaper to read (except occasionally at work when required) nor do I watch TV. I do however watch movies at cinemas and on DVD. My supposed "lack of news" doesn't actually bother me, in fact I feel that I lack nothing save a tiny bit of timeliness.The vast amount of messages I get on Twitter and the absurd number of blogs in my Google Reader, not to mention the other feeds in other apps, make it nearly impossible to follow any single publication, even a simple blog, and the ad hoc "come what may" nature ends up being the norm.I find I end up reading and hearing more, but with no intention of following though a whole publication.
