Graham_button

Here’s a great way to close an article on information overload:

Life is sweet, but short. Time is all we’ve got, and there are only three things you can do with it. Surrender it to vital functions like eating and sleeping. Sell it as work. And give it to the people and things you choose. Real wealth is owning your time. And ambition for that ownership lifts people out of poverty, creates a middle class, and drives innovation. Information is the currency, and with good information you can eat better, sleep better, seek fulfillment, prosper, pursue your passions and live longer.

One thing’s for sure — there’s a lot of information ahead. The question is, will it make us any smarter?

Graham Button goes on to give “seven home truths to help keep things in perspective” in a world where information is the most abundant commodity on earth. Each of these points is entertainingly expanded here.

1. People crave certainty. Cleveland is the rule, Palo Alto the exception.

2. “Branded Content” Is a Dangerous Road — Drive Responsibly. Facts have never been more available, but we have a bad habit of consuming them like a product.

3. Bet on Humans over Technology. The deeper we bite into the apple — the Garden of Eden apple that the computer company is named after — the further from grace we seem to fall.

4. If You Have Nothing to Say, Don’t. No, Really. In 2008 alone, we gobbled up roughly the amount of information found in thick paperback novels stacked seven feet high over every inch of the country.

5. Privacy Is Becoming Pivotal — Take a Stand. Never forget that the Internet never forgets — it’s always a school night.

6. Information Works for You, Not the Other Way Round. Innovation is something that comes when you’re not under the gun.

I didn’t understand the seventh point. You can try to decipher it here with the rest of the article.