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Managing "Information 2.0" Overload

I remember back in school when we had to do term papers, I'd have a hell of a time just trying to find information for the project.  Going to the library was a pain in the butt because it was a research effort in itself just to find out how to find the material I wanted to find!

Now, with "Everything 2.0," my problems are a little different... I have too much information and really need help just trying to keep up with it all. 

I can talk about managing e-mail but, no, we don't want to go there today...

Why RSS is Cool.

But!  Now RSS is another matter.  I love RSS!  I don't know why more folks don't use it.  It's a great way to get information from different web sites that I like and have that information come to me, instead of the other way around. 

On the upside, my sense is that more folks are tuning in to the value of RSS as a tool to help manage "Information 2.0" overload.  I think I can say that because the subject of too much information comes up at least once or twice a week.  (Am I right?)  And, when folks talk about having to remember to go to such-and-such favorite site to keep up with the changes, or fret about missing new postings from their many favorite blog, news sites, and so on, I bring up the question of RSS.

Usually the first repoonse is "Huh?  What's that?" Or, "I've heard of that.  I've been meaning to look into it."

Then the second response I usually get down the road from some of those same folks is:  "I clicked the RSS button, but I wasn't sure what to do after that."  Or, "I clicked it and got a bunch of nonsense code..."

RSS in Plain English.

If that rings true for you or someone you know, then take a look at the video above about "RSS in plain English."  It's a great video from these guys I love at Common Craft.)  I summarized some key points below.

Key points from the video:

• You should first have an account on one of the many FREE newsreader services.  I'd recommend one that's hosted online so you can always access it from any computer.  I use Newsgator but I think many folks will do just as well with Google Reader.

• When you click the little RSS icon from a favorite web page with content you want to subscribe to (e.g., ), you'll usually see one of three pages.  (The video identifies two.  And those are good enough.)

• For the quick "how to," fast forward to about 2:20 in the video.  (But the lead-in is also worth sitting through.)
• Shameless cross-sell:  You can practice with your first RSS feed by using the feed from the icon above.  (I think... though I can't be sure... it might possibly be this blog's feed... though I'm not sure... maybe...)

Once you've set up your RSS newsreader, I think you'll agree it probably ranks up there with "Sliced Bread 2.0" for managing Information 2.0 overload.   Oh by the way, not only will you be able to rely on your newsreader as a one-stop-shop for updates from your favorites web sites and blogs, but you can also use it to subscribe to updates on Google keyword searches.  (Why is this important?  Read "Who's talking about you?", which I posted on another blog over at RealBlogging.)

Putting things in perspective.

Randy Pausch is dying.  In September 2006, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  In August, 2007, he was told he likely had "three to six months" of good health left.

Below is the abridged version of Randy's "Last Lecture" (a tradition in academia) which he was invited to repeat for a wider audience through Oprah.  The unabridged video of the lecture itself was conducted at CMU (Sep. 2007) and can be viewed here.  If you find inspiration in Randy's lecture and would like a DVD (nominal cost to cover production, shipping and handling), Carnegie Mellon is accommodating requests here.

His attitude and outlook isn't sad... it's inspirational.  I'd suggest an abridged version of the lecture might be good content for some of us to include in our weekly office meetings.  Especially for my friends and customers in the real estate industry, the lessons learned that Randy is kind enough to share might help give new perspective to the challenges we face.

My takeaways:

• The purpose of barriers: to weed out the things we don't want bad enough. (I'm paraphrasing this one a bit.)
• "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."
• Decide now if you're "Tigger" or "Eeyore."
• Work and play well with others:
  • Tell the truth
  • If you screw up, learn to apologize.
    • "I'm sorry,"
    • "It was my fault,"
    • "How do I make things right."
  • No one is pure evil.  If you wait long enough, they'll show you their good side.
  • Show gratitude.
  • Don't complain; just work harder.

Survey: Real estate agents' use of online training.

[Your help needed.  Survey input - click here.]

The American Society for Training and Development reports that the use of technology to deliver training has consistently increased since 2001.

In the most recent State of the Industry Report from ASTD, many organizations reported turning to technology to design, deliver and manage learning and performance functions. Of the average number of hours of learning content available, technology-based delivery methods climbed to 30% by the end of 2006 from about 11.5% in 2001.  Even when you break out online delivered methods from other types of technology-delivery methods (like CD-ROM, dedicated-PC, etc.) that figure has increased consistently by nearly eight percentage points from about 16% in 2001.

Not surprisingly, some of the benefits cited include:  increased efficiency gains, increased reuse of content, lower costs of delivery and one that I'll add - consistency of content delivery.

So, I was curious, how might some of this break down for my customers in the residential real estate industry in general?  So, I decided to ask readers of this blog who work in the real estate industry.

I'd appreciate your help by taking a short online survey. In return, I'll compile the results and post them here in a few weeks. 

The survey is anonymous and will ask no personal or company-specific information that will identify you.

To participate, please take about 5 minutes now to take the survey by clicking here or the link at the top of this post.

Games facilitators play.

Trainers and meeting facilitators are perpetually on the lookout for group activities, ice breakers and games to keep meetings and training participants engaged.  I've latched on to a few books and wrote down favored techniques I've picked up over the years.  But even with all the little gems I've collected, it's always refreshing to find additional pools of little gems like Dr. Sivasailam Thiagarajan's ("Thiagi" for short) generous mindshare of tips, tricks and games.

After just a quick pass, I latched on to a few of those below:

Tips for facilitators. 

• Silence buster.
• "Any questions?" 
• Interactive posters.

More experts and/or tips for your next meeting at Thiagi's site:  http://www.thiagi.com.

The Spirit of the Marathon

For you marathoners out there, I've heard great things about this movie.  It's not out for wide release but has come out in limited engagement to small numbers of theatres.  I regret having missed the last showing  on February, 21st.  (Grrrr.) But, I understand they're working on a DVD release.  If you're a runner, keep an eye out...

Rookie Trainer - Day 8: Second Life With ASTD

I attended a couple of meetings in Second Life this week.  Wednesday's meeting was a New Resident Q&A hosted by NCI.  The one on Thursday was a session hosted by ASTD on Training and Second Life.

The meeting hosts were great on both occasions.  Overall, my new exposure to meetings in Second Life (SL) would have to give a nod to the ASTD session.  Though unintentional (I'll explain below), the ASTD session ended up using a virtual meeting format that was different from those I was otherwise already accustomed to with chat forums, teleconferences and virtual desktop sharing applications like WebEx or GoToMeeting.

"Crappy" real estate investments.

This one's in the 'Just for Fun' category.

I enjoy Rachel's often brassy video productions about the real estate market in/around New York.  Here's one that's a little tongue-and-cheek about the $$$$'s (note the four placeholders) some folks spend on, uh, "crappy" amenities for their real estate. 

Don't know about you, but I'm now on a mission to compare/contrast porcelain potties for this weekend's property showings and open houses.  ;-)  (I do need a life...)

Social networking, Blogging, RSS and Realtors selling homes -- do they fit?

I came by the article below through another site I blog for.  I posted a lengthier commentary about it over at RealBlogging (here); I think the author's choice of describing social networks, blogging and RSS as "hoopla" compelled me to expound on my thoughts a little more.  Especially since these platforms were being judged on the basis of their ability to help real estate agents sell houses.  (?!)  (I didn't think Web 2.0 was necessarily about selling and felt the need to comment further.)

Meanwhile, the notes below are quick jots of my online notes on key items I highlighted in the author's original article.  My notes appear in bulletted paragraphs beneath each main header (bolded).

Is e-mail dead?

Just as how the song says, "Video killed the radio star...," it may be that in the not-so-distant future we'll be singing how Facebook killed e-mail.  On the other hand, for many of us who get upwards of 100 e-mails a day, it might actually be a welcomed change.

The findings of a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project on Teens and Social Media are worth a read.  The proverbial 8-year old I used to bribe to reprogram my VCR has moved on to be a social networking powerhouse.  I expected as much from little Jimmy next door.  But, there were also some twists in the findings that held some added interest. 

I suspected e-mail was on the decline among American teens, but it was interesting to see that not only is that true, but it's also the least favored form of communication among teens.  Only 14% of all teens report using e-mail to communicate with friends as compared to other forms of online communications. 

As for bloggers?  Girls beat the boys hands down.  Thirty-five percent of teen girls compared with 20% of teen boys. 

Then, adding household income to the mix: teens from lower-income and single-parent households are more likely to blog.  Thirty-five percent of those from lower-income groups compared to 24% of those from higher-income households.  Also interesting, 42% of teens from from single-parent households were likely to blog compared to 25% of teens with married parents.

Social networks:  55% of teens  have created a social networking profile.  And of those using social networks, 91% say they use such networks to stay in touch with friends, with 72% using the sites not just for staying in touch, but to make plans, as well.

So, is e-mail dead?  I'd say not, given the taskers I get regularly via e-mail from business colleagues, the questions I received this morning about a project I'm currently coordinating with an offshore company, the lengthy clarification I sent back via e-mail, and the honey-do list my wife gave me yesterday.  :-(   But, if the study referenced in this post is to be heeded, then I think one message that comes across to me is not whether to use something else in place of e-mail, but rather how we best optimize communication activities in a "multi-channel" (not-too-distant) future.

Rookie Trainer - Day 3: It's a steep learning curve.

Day 3.  This is the second posting since Nikko LeFavre started his trek into Second Life to find answers to our mission:  how 3D virtual worlds like Second Life might benefit real estate professionals and learners in the real world.

Day 3 impressions:  There's a steep learning curve.  One that I think few mainstream consumers will have the patience for.   It's not surprising that despite SL's 20% month-over-month growth rate in new "Residents," only about 10% come back at least weekly at the three-month point following initial registration.  Yet, I'm not saying it won't have benefit for learning or real estate businesses in the real world. 

It's just that I think the jury's still out about the magnitude of those benefits -- at least for real estate professionals trying to grow a business in the "first life."  (Although, I have to say I was pretty impressed with Re/Max's presence.  There's a sprawling complex, for example, in Re/Max's Parklife village (in Second Life) sporting condos with large windows and ocean views.  Each condo can be purchased by Second Life residents. 

But, not immediately clear to me is if the online presence carries tangible benefits to the agent's business in the real world. 

Learning benefits, on the other hand, I'm more optimistic about.  Yeah, there's still that steep learning curve to hurdle for students who are in SL for the first time, but you can get around that a little easier in a teacher/student environment by designing the learning module to include SL orientations.  Subsequent learning modules can then be designed to build upon those earlier orientations and modules as a pre-requisite.

In any case, steep learning curve or not, there's a growing consumer demographic here that I think is worth keeping an eye on.   As Gartner Inc.'s analysis summarized it, "...By the end of 2011, 80 percent of active Internet users (including
Fortune 500 companies) will have a 'second life'..."

On the elearning side of the house, I was pleased to find groups for ASTD (American Society for Training and Development), as well as the eLearning Guild.  (Professional organizations I'm affiliated with in First Life.)  There's also Second Life content I found for Education & Non-profit Organizations that's looking to benefit distance learning, computer supported cooperative work, simulation, new media studies, and corporate training.

More to discover.  Till the next chronicle...