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This page contains all of the posts and discussion on MemeStreams referencing the following web page: Instant Messaging, Not Information Pollution. You can find discussions on MemeStreams as you surf the web, even if you aren't a MemeStreams member, using the Threads Bookmarklet.

Instant Messaging, Not Information Pollution
by Jeremy at 7:30 pm EST, Jan 4, 2004

Email is ... very close to the breaking point ... [but] it is naïve to believe that IM is the answer to the information overload that's ailing e-mail.

Our culture is hurting from information pollution everywhere we turn.

... one more toxic spill that's directing our attention to short-term minor issues at the cost of procrastinating on important tasks that require more than a few minutes of uninterrupted thinking.

What can we do about this?

Jakob Nielsen makes the case for an "Internet control panel" in a recent issue of ACM Queue.

Again, the article raises important issues, but I find the proposed alternative rather unconvincing. According to Nielsen, it seems that the "solution" is just a matter of loading the right software onto the computer.

At its core, this affliction is not computer related, and no quantity of object-oriented band-aids will eliminate the pain. In context, the problems of email and IM are relatively minor.


 
 
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