You Didn't Miss Anything
I was away traveling for the past few weeks, and upon my return, I asked my Twitter followers a simple question:
"I’ve been completely offline for all of Feburary (no internet, TV, news) — what one thing should I read up on? @ msg me your suggestions."
The overwhelming consensus? I didn’t miss anything.. There were some funny and/or amusing replies in there, of course, (you’re a clever bunch!) but for the most part, I was kind of disturbed at how few things that are truly significant happen in any given two-week period. There were the usual bevy of internet memes, some fussing over, of all things, a policy change at Facebook, and a couple of pop-culture items of note.
But if I hadn’t been on vacation, I assume I would have been doing what I always do, reading up constantly on new email in my inbox and checking RSS feeds and pursuing all the other sources of news that I usually follow.
So, it’s not exactly the most profound observation, and I’m far from the first to make it, but it’s worth noting again: There isn’t that much going on. While the constant flow of information is entertaining and addictive, it is, by overwhelming consensus, primarily filled with bits that are of little to no value. I’m recording this as much for my own future reference as for anyone else’s.