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But isn't the constant dribbling of information distracting? Wouldn't you be able to find the same valuable information, when you need it, by googleing?

larrywright 18y ago
The problem is that you don't know what you don't know. I see a lot of libraries, articles, technologies, etc that I wouldn't otherwise see, and wouldn't know to Google. Not sure I explained that well, but I think you can get my meaning. Twitter can be a distraction (and I let it be more than I should), but like anything else it can be managed.
- trapper 18y ago
  Not aimed at you, but too many people are searching for that magic "something" that will help them be awesome. When you get to the top of a field and talk with your peers, you realise that everyone else has the same questions as you, and that the answers come slowly and loudly. It's hard to miss truly great things.
petercooper 18y ago
Isn't the constant dribbling of e-mail distracting? No, because I can go check it when I want to. Twitter does, however, provide me with insights into the people I know (business or otherwise) and keeps me on the edge with developments in several communities I'm involved with. For example, I'm a Ruby guy, and so I follow a lot of Rubyists.. you can bet I'm pretty clued in to brand new Ruby libraries, etc, as they come out (or even just in a very quiet personal beta). Explaining Twitter is next to impossible. Unless you've been using it in anger for a few months, you don't have a clue what it is, but then suddenly.. one day you do.
- neilc 18y ago
  Isn't the constant dribbling of e-mail distracting? Yes, it is. There's a reason why Knuth answers regular mail as a batch process (once every few months), for example. A common productivity tip is to limit yourself to checking email only a few times a day. The productivity harm caused be frequent context switching has been well-documented, especially if you're doing something context-intensive like programming.
  - petercooper 18y ago
    Yes, it is. But you don't have to deal with e-mail as a dribble, as you say. I deal with e-mail as a batch process, just several times a day instead of once every few months. Ditto for Twitter and the like.

larrywright 18y ago

The problem is that you don't know what you don't know. I see a lot of libraries, articles, technologies, etc that I wouldn't otherwise see, and wouldn't know to Google. Not sure I explained that well, but I think you can get my meaning. Twitter can be a distraction (and I let it be more than I should), but like anything else it can be managed.

trapper 18y ago
Not aimed at you, but too many people are searching for that magic "something" that will help them be awesome. When you get to the top of a field and talk with your peers, you realise that everyone else has the same questions as you, and that the answers come slowly and loudly. It's hard to miss truly great things.

petercooper 18y ago

Isn't the constant dribbling of e-mail distracting? No, because I can go check it when I want to. Twitter does, however, provide me with insights into the people I know (business or otherwise) and keeps me on the edge with developments in several communities I'm involved with. For example, I'm a Ruby guy, and so I follow a lot of Rubyists.. you can bet I'm pretty clued in to brand new Ruby libraries, etc, as they come out (or even just in a very quiet personal beta). Explaining Twitter is next to impossible. Unless you've been using it in anger for a few months, you don't have a clue what it is, but then suddenly.. one day you do.

neilc 18y ago
Isn't the constant dribbling of e-mail distracting? Yes, it is. There's a reason why Knuth answers regular mail as a batch process (once every few months), for example. A common productivity tip is to limit yourself to checking email only a few times a day. The productivity harm caused be frequent context switching has been well-documented, especially if you're doing something context-intensive like programming.
- petercooper 18y ago
  Yes, it is. But you don't have to deal with e-mail as a dribble, as you say. I deal with e-mail as a batch process, just several times a day instead of once every few months. Ditto for Twitter and the like.