Two strategies are becoming favorites for dealing with the information firehose – that feeling that I’m missing something important in the high-pressure stream. One comes from former colleague Jack Vinson, whose post from a year ago suggests that we just reframe the issue. If you are trying to take it all in, you’re probably sunk. But if you have a question in mind – something specific you are thinking about or looking for – you tend to find stuff.

Strategy two is just to enjoy the stream and jump in when your eye catches something of interest. For me, it seems to be a cleverly worded post headline – something that suggests an interesting personality behind the post. Or sometimes just a hint of a topic that is intriguing. Or a point of view that differs from mine (this one is one which I am training myself to pay more attention to).

But either way, the two strategies work in the sense that they dial down the stress that I am missing something. Of course I am missing something. Some people, I am sure, capture much more than I do. I’ve just become satisfied with working a bit at a time, improving from my own baseline, and enjoying the new stuff I do discover.

Filed under: etmooc, MOOC, Personal learning networks Tagged: #etmooc, MOOC