Tuesday, October 26, 2010

We are a generation of scanners

Folks, I’ll keep this brief; I have a hunch you won’t read every word here, but that’s okay. We are becoming a generation of scanners, taking in titles instead of full paragraphs, bullet lists instead of full prose, bolded words instead of complete thoughts.
Just think, when was the last time you fully read something like a newspaper, web page, document or blog post, from start to finish?
I bet it wasn’t recently.
A 2008 study found that on average, a webpage reader only has time, at most, to read 28% of the material on the page. Most likely they will take in only 20% of the information presented.
(PS – You made 25% of the way – keep on going!)
I’ve noticed that my reading habits have changed over time, too.
As a student I had an overwhelming amount of information to digest so I learned shortcuts and prioritization techniques to make life easier. Those techniques have proved to be extremely important as the information that is available to me keeps increasing and seemingly, my ability to find time to read this wealth of information keeps decreasing.
More often than not, I look at my google reader with 100+ new items, my twitter feed with endless updates, and the piles of unread magazines, books and articles that are scattered around my condo, and I just don’t know where to start. So instead of reading thoroughly, I start scanning for the bits and pieces I find relevant, interesting and meaningful.
And I’m not the only one. According to Carol Phillips, Millennials have been noted to be a generation of scanners. We like quick hits of information, instant conclusions, summarized findings, and it all has to come in a format that lets us get what we need, and move on to other things quickly.
I worry that the quality of information changes when we change the way in which we present the information.
Will newspapers begin to report in bullet point lists only? Will websites become more visual and provide less text in the future? Can short basic words replace long and complex words and still provide the same meaning?
It’s obvious to me that our tendency to scan information is already making changes to the way information is presented.
I prefer to read blog posts that have titles bolded and paragraphs that are short and to the point. I prefer facts to be present in a list, not in prose and I always prefer a graphical visual when data is involved.
But, what works the best?
I’m sure the jury is still out on that.
What I do know is that although style is evolving, substance still trumps everything.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Measure

It helps us to listen to the center of our hearts using the wisdom of God to measure the successes of life.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The "nigga" Jar

Nigga This. Nigga That. The "n word" is used so frequently by people in our day to day lives. Think.. When was the last time you heard it? How was it used? How did it make you feel? Or can you even remember? "My nigga..." - are you really my nigga or are you just "another nigga" trying to make it. You may not understand that because this was written.. "Strictly for my niggaz"

No matter how you twist it... Twirl it... Spin it.. Or even shoot it.. Its all the same thing. Its a word that has lost its meaning. Its lost its edge. Its lost its power. Everytime its used a little more power is taken away... Not just from the word... But from the race that it represents.

What's a nigga? And where did this word nigga come from?

Research... Research... Research.. Feed your mind. Do you know what it means to be a nigga?



GOOGLE the origins of the word NIGGA.



While scratching my fingernails against the walls of history...I came up with an idea. Start the movement to restore what's been taken away from the niggas. So I came up with the idea of "THE NIGGA JAR". A tax on the word that's been drained of its energy for years.



This is how the nigga jar works:



Everytime a person (black/white/pink/yellow/brown/purple) says the word nigga, a monetary donation is collected. This monetary donation is taken and put in to a jar. This jar is the counted when full and donated to a charity, school, or community effort to improve the lives of African Americans, better known as "the niggas of American Society". Because the word nigga has taken so much from us... It is only right that we make it give back.



The donation would be 10 cents/nigga spoke for descendants of Africans. (Black People) and 25 cents for the non-african descendants.



Where will you keep your nigga jar?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Fear of Clocks

Over the last few weeks. I have developed a strange (to me) fear of clocks. Time was always my friend. I always had time for what I wanted. I was young... I had time to waste.. Time to kill. I couldn't figure out why I felt like this. I couldn't figure out why I had dreams about hourglasses and sand slipping down through the hour glass. I figured out what the issue was... But that will follow in another post. In the past few weeks I have began to hate clocks, watches, alarms, the little ticker in the right hand corner of the tv when you watch CNN, and even the iced out timepieces made by Rolex and Jacob the Jeweler. (Yeh...even those!)
I wished clocks ticked in reverse and every line spoken in life could be rehearsed. But reality is they move forward and sometimes you have to speak without the opportunity to plan or say what you need to.
We live this thing called life not knowing what tomorrow may hold. We know what we did yesterday...we just hope that tomorrow can erase yesterdays mistakes. The unfairness of the situation lies in the fact that tomorrow is not promised and today will merely be a blur. We won't be able to live today until tomorrow comes ... Rewinding today's events wishing that we had gotten up earlier and did this.. Or took the time out the day to do that. Tomorrow after I have already sent this... I will think back and remember one more line that I should have wrote.
I wish clocks ticked in reverse and the sound wasn't tick tock but tock tick. I wish we could all live as Benjamin Button and age backwards. Worries first then ... Become children. Never Never Land was a great dream. All praises to Peter Pan! My Man!!! A rebel and American Gangster who challenged the normal thought process! To everyone who fears the tick tock.. May your clock tock tick today. I fear clocks.. Chronometrophobia. The fear of clocks! Blessings!