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> Valueless content finds you. Worthwhile content you really have to go looking for, or have a good social network funneling stuff to you. Really valuable cont

by ashark 9y ago

> Valueless content finds you. Worthwhile content you really have to go looking for, or have a good social network funneling stuff to you. Really valuable content usually comes in batches, points directly to other valuable content (i.e. good things tend to discuss and cite other good things), and/or is long form. There's no need to look for valuable content every day, or even every week. It might be entertaining, but it's not a good use of time. Exceptions for people who have to keep up with news-cycle garbage and up-to-the-minute trends, of course. Those poor souls. I waste more time than I should on Internet garbage (ahem) and sometimes I find good new stuff, but if I stopped doing that it'd still take me years to get through the great stuff I've already found but haven't yet engaged with. Plus many things could do with a second look. I'm 100% certain that'd be a better use of my time than looking for even more good stuff on the Internet.

npsimons 9y ago
> Really valuable content usually comes in batches, points directly to other valuable content (i.e. good things tend to discuss and cite other good things), and/or is long form. Bibliographies are highly underrated. Find a good book? Look to it's references for really good sources of information. Fuck, that's one of my content discovery routines: bibliographies. > There's no need to look for valuable content every day, or even every week. It might be entertaining, but it's not a good use of time. Exceptions for people who have to keep up with news-cycle garbage and up-to-the-minute trends, of course. Those poor souls. I can't second this enough, and I feel no one has to keep up with the transient data that wastes so much time and energy. I've cut out TV, newspapers, magazines, twitter, podcasts, and all sorts of wastes of time and worry; I haven't missed it. The last addictions I haven't been able to kick are things like HN and certain other websites. HN I still get the occasional value from, but I honestly feel depressed after wasting time online, and I'm no better informed. I would argue no one is better informed by transient data - most people I ask can't remember something they learned from transient data from two weeks ago, and even if they can, it's valueless data.

by ashark 9y ago

npsimons 9y ago

> Really valuable content usually comes in batches, points directly to other valuable content (i.e. good things tend to discuss and cite other good things), and/or is long form. Bibliographies are highly underrated. Find a good book? Look to it's references for really good sources of information. Fuck, that's one of my content discovery routines: bibliographies. > There's no need to look for valuable content every day, or even every week. It might be entertaining, but it's not a good use of time. Exceptions for people who have to keep up with news-cycle garbage and up-to-the-minute trends, of course. Those poor souls. I can't second this enough, and I feel no one has to keep up with the transient data that wastes so much time and energy. I've cut out TV, newspapers, magazines, twitter, podcasts, and all sorts of wastes of time and worry; I haven't missed it. The last addictions I haven't been able to kick are things like HN and certain other websites. HN I still get the occasional value from, but I honestly feel depressed after wasting time online, and I'm no better informed. I would argue no one is better informed by transient data - most people I ask can't remember something they learned from transient data from two weeks ago, and even if they can, it's valueless data.