The Steve Rubel Lifestream

I'm a digital "pack rat." But I can justify the computer clutter for 2 reasons: 1.) search on the mac helps me find anything pretty easily; and 2.) It doesn't take up any more space in my life (don't need more closets or drawer or to put up more shelves in the garage.) Better than worrying I MIGHT need something, 'cause you never know.

@Bruce, I agree searching has made clutter more manageable. However, aren't there times when you are away from your computer and need access to something?

Technology independence through 3rd party cloud services. It's a much more simple setup yes, but independent, not so much.

@Malcom, true. But if all the data is cached, then it is.

re: getting rid of the Kindle...

Simplifying is good, but there's also the notion of having the right tool for the job. Neither the notebook computer nor the phone are great e-book readers. I think it might be smarter to keep the Kindle if you read a lot of books.

Getting rid of it just in the name of reducing hardware may be a baby-with-the-bathwater move. Would you get rid of all your traditional tools but a screwdriver and a hammer?

@ Dwight, true, but my shoulders are thanking me. Also, I notice that as the net permeates every little nook and cranny of my life that I am reading books less. I wonder if this is true for others.

NOW HEAR THIS: Language is technology.

So are you going to stop using language, too?

;D nmw

Steve, you aren't declaring your independence from technology. You are simply making a lot of it 'soft', moving it into the cloud.

You might well get rid of your Kindle, but it's not the hardware that's the problem - it's the profusion of content. Almost every day you seem to start using a new type of content hosting, and while it's your job to do so, it's hard for most of us to keep up with the cascade of new ideas you try out. We are drowning in new ideas.

In my particular niche, which is much more 'end-user', I notice that all the most impactful people seem to stick to one or two particular input/output streams. I'm a blogger (and lately also a twitterer, as an adjunct), but I've variously tried and dropped Del.icio.us, Facebook, Flickr, Friendfeed, xxxxxckR, etc etc etc. I'm fast losing track of RSS feeds. I rely on a delicious specialist for links and a photographer for photographs, etc, etc, and I know they rely on me for longer, thoughtful blog posts.

The prospect of the multi-dimensional threads and conversations on Google Wave worries me. What will it do to my attention span?

What I'd really like to do is integrate *ALL* my input - words, pictures, multimedia - into a single queue in my email Inbox - perhaps with a set of rules to embolden the more important stuff. But I've not yet found a way of doing that. It would make sense, because ultimately I've only got one set of attention to give the world.

Whether I read it on my iPhone, my Kindle, my laptop or my TV, I'm not fussed.

PS: As I'm in the UK, I haven't had the chance to try a Kindle, but I can't wait to do so. It sounds like it'll bridge the gap between the unwieldy laptop and the unreadable smartphone.

I'm also getting fed up of the huge variety of papers - newspapers, magazines, junk mails, flyers, etc - I have to wade through every day!

@Andrew, I hear you - this is a societal problem, however. And it's one that the younger generation today seems to manage with aplomb. So to me, the question is this: if we fight the real-time firehose will we lose out to those who embrace it? We might, although I agree we need better tools for managing it all.

@Andrew re: "it's the profusion of content"

Cognitive science has for decades already "understood" that the building blocks of memory (and cognition) are CONTEXT, not content.

So while I would agree with you that there is presently an imbalance, the primary issue is not so much a profusion of content as (rather) a DEARTH OF CONTEXT.

I'm posting some of these ideas in a "podCast hotLine" >> http://CastLine.ORG

For a more fundamental analysis of information retrieval beyond web 2.0, see also http://gaggle.info/miscellaneous/articles/wisdom-of-the-language

:) nmw

Steve:

Yes, if you are not reading a lot of books, then getting rid of the Kindle makes sense - economically as well as simplification-wise. The Kindle is an expensive device, and casual readers may not be able justify its high price with the savings in books they buy. Voracious readers, though, can save a bundle using it.

@Dwight thanks. But do you think people will read *less* books as the net becomes more ubiquitous?

Steve, I don't think it's generational. It's tribal. I'm old enough to (in theory) have an adult grandchild, but most of the teenagers I meet seem to be less aware of the bleeding edge than I am. They hang out in one area, perhaps two, but their online lives are definitely narrow and uncurious. One or two of them will try something, but the rest of them mostly follow.

Some marketers (like yourself) are Conquistadors and African Explorers, mapping the territory. But as with colonisation, in the online world it's the settlers who come afterwards who set the tone, and as with settlers, they create their own communities but they don't tend to explore much.

This is rambling a bit, I'm sorry.

@Andrew, then maybe there will be a spectrum of users. The question still remains - where are the circles of influence? Is it with the "streamers" who consume status updates and tweets or the more passive types?

I love going minimalist but it's about keeping the stuff you need in reliable places. I can't delete all of my bookmarks as some of them are private (client login pages, etc), organized in a folder one click away, or bookmarklets. However, the rest go up to delicious so it's one click and one search away.

I did, however, clear my browser history, cashe, everything. Starting it over clean. Nice - though a pain to log back into everything.

I don't see a huge reason to dump RSS feeds (though I do at times). They are there if you want them, mark 'em read if you don't.

And I too have been setting up better FriendFeed lists and groups. Helpful, but all I've done so far are lists around geography. What are some good list ideas?

@Steve re "they create their own communities but they don't tend to explore much"

From my experience with people who are EVEN YOUNGER than I am (;D), they actually don't care about technology at all (and many of these "small children" are simply too naive to view their social interactions as in any way related to the notion of "technique" ;).

What matters to them are people who they love, hate, have relationships with, etc. If they treat an iphone with respect, then that is only because of the cost of replacing it -- they do not idolize software/hardware per se, the way a "computer programmer / geek" might. At some point in the not-too-distant future, the devices used will come as a gift in a box of cereal, but the interaction with people will matter far more than any tool or application.

It's the social constructs (which are -- you guessed it! -- closely linked to language + related cultural knowledge) that will increasingly become the frame of reference (kids are not into twittering, because in their opinion advertising, marketing, etc. is for old fuddie-duddies who are oblivious to what's actually cool).

What's cool is relating to each another all of their WTF, FML, LMAO and similar stories and tidbits.

Twitter is good for people who are both technologically and marketing savvy. FB is good for those who are more socially oriented (as the "kids" are). But you should not underestimate the readiness of millenials to switch platforms -- what they won't switch so quickly are their flesh-and-blood friendships (and their socio-cultural / relationship contexts).

And the basis for many such relationships are quite often linguistic in nature: Language is perhaps one of the MOST BASIC human technologies.

Realistically, I'm starting to feel out of my depth in this conversation, not being a professional marketer. But then, as the old Hollywood adage goes, 'Nobody knows anything'.

One of the biggest challenges I am seeing people face is managing the complexity. I have found any advice on how to streamline most welcome so thanks for sharing this! I have been thinking of doing a week on mobile only and you have inspired to go ahead and do just that :)

I find myself reading more and more since I bought my Kindle. It is light and connected meaning I always have it with me and do not have an excuse not to read.

I am a big fan of the right tool for the job. I could play games on my netbook or my phone, but the games on the DSi are better as is the platform, so I carry a DSi. I could record video on my phone, and i do, but the Flip HD is a better camera so I carry it. I don't always have each of these devices with me, but I do regularly carry them.

I use my Blackberry, EEE PC and Kindle every single day so those come with me pretty much everywhere.

Completely tangential question, Steve, but how are you doing the "related from Zemanta" stuff at the bottom of Posterous?

Nice post Steve - I've been going the same way for some time now, and am determined to cut out even more so I can be more streamlined and therefore more productive

Thanks Steve!

@steve Will people read less books?

It seems the natural assumption, but I'm also finding that online social networks are becoming a great way for teens to get great book recommendations and create a lot of buzz about books.

The other questions is whether people will end up reading new forms of fiction that are online & interactive, rather than a straight linear narrative.

Steve - Great info. I also have been in the simplification/filtering process. My bigger issue is managing out-put, not so much in-put. I came across Posterous (via your RSS feed to Google reader) and love its simplicity, uniqueness, and feature set. After 2 weeks of testing, I've centralized all of my content out-put around Posterous. This has already saved me tons of time, but also helped me amp up my out-put.

Steve, I'm reading more books because of the The Kindle, so if I simplified my gadget life by dropping the K, I'd have to lug physical books/magazines/newspapers around, because I don't like to do immersive, long-form reading on my computer or phone. For me, the trio of MacBook Air-iPhone-Kindle keeps me connected to all the information/knowledge I may need amidst a very mobile lifestyle.

Great article, Steve! Hey man, keep on writing about billions of great new ideas, because I CAN and WILL keep up. I LOVE technology, especially the way technology is going exponential. I love your Lifestream and I think you do a terrific job!! I LOVE your old blog, Micro Persuasion, and I LOVE your new Lifestream!
Have a wonderful Fourth and a fabulous rest of the year!!

What a wonderful and enlightening discussion! It's great to peer into other people's head like this. Steve, thanks for being a catalyst.

That said, please don't go extremist on us just because you're a PR guy. Maintain your balance. You can afford the Kindle. (Though mine's in a drawer somewhere.)

jay

Have a week where you lose your phone(s) and unplug the computer(s) - it's good to de-clutter the head as well.

I've moved to laptop + iPhone but keeping the Kindle. I'm considering dumping all phone and internet access accounts and get a mifi hotspot unit from Sprint or Verizon for use at home and on the go.

@Ronald, I have a Mifi. It's terrific. One word of caution though - they cap you at 6 gb, then bill you by the mb. 

Technology is made for the people, not the opposite. Technology are tools, not limitations. Therefore, anything that limits and keeps you from your desired life should be banned or mutated into something more convenient.

If you need for communication with others to be connected and maintain 100´s of social media and gadgets its like having 100´s of mouths and ears and fingers: you start forgetting who you are and what you stand for.

Lets free all of us from becoming always-busy insects and look for a unique and human way to express ourselves while keeping connected. Lets declare independence from noisy and intrusive technologies.

Steve, this discussion is like a fresh glass of water after four days on a desert... I'm an early adopter but could use a teleseminar on some basics... like, "lifestreaming for idiots"... "the skinny on every social media protocol in 5 mins or less"... I am a lawyer who after being the Managing Partner of an international law firm, established a global consultancy to my profession.. I have 6 million miles in 14 years so I understand the request from my shoulders to "lighten up". I am constantly asked by my major law firm clients what the relevance of social media is for them. It's like explaining to a cave man what the difference is between the Kindle DX (mine is ordered) and the smaller 2nd generation Kindle.
Thanks for enduring this ramble. Here are my punchlines:
1) I follow only you and Guy Kawasaki on Posterous
2) This post complete with comments is pivotal.
3) Please return to this theme whenever you think you have a worthy addendum - heck, you could monetize a site dedicated to this theme (not that you may personally need it :-)
4)THANK YOU, Steve

Oh, I can help you with that. I'm a blogger in desperate need of a Kindle. I don't have a notebook or other fancy gadgets. Just a trusty old desktop.

Seriously, I can use some unplugging myself from technology every now and then. It pays to be connected to the hive, but not at a personal cost - especially when the quality of inputs/conversations dip because of lack of the time for introspection. Superb post. I love it.

Gerry - agreed that this is like a fresh glass of water. With so much content, I feel that we are drowning in it. Discussions on how to reduce the amount of technology we use and become more efficient  are much needed. As a previously written, "technology helps us, not the other way"

Thanks you always have such good tips! This is very helpful and insightful.

Thanks for the caution on the Mifi Steve - much appreciated.

Interesting post Steve.. as for the 7 day old bookmarks thing, I have something very similar.. an "actionable" folder for sites i come across but dont want to deal with now, and i purge them every week.

@Paul - Where do you keep this "actioable" folder?