Does Internet based content find you or do you find it? There seems to be two types of Internet users: 1) searchers and 2) surfers. Searchers seek information. Surfers seek inspiration. While a searcher can sometimes be a surfer and vice versa, searchers say, “Need it? Google it”, and surfers say, “I Stumbled on it” or “It appeared in my feed reader”. I came to this realization when someone mentioned to me that
he just searches for stuff on the Internet when he NEEDS it. How 1996, I thought! However, I began to think about what I do with all of that content I collect as a die hard surfer. I came to the realization that lately I haven’t actually tried most of my “finds”. Instead, I usually dump them into my del.icio.us folder to try at a later date. In my quest to find the latest and greatest edtech “inspiration” (see EdTechWeekly), I have found I am at an Internet surfing tipping point – too much of a good thing, as they say! Content aggregation overload has caused a disturbing ailment- content paralysis! I’m at a strange place where the act of surfing for content has disrupted my enjoyment and use of the content I find. So, I’m going to take a cue from the searchers out there and “step away from the aggregator” for a few days. I can still turn to StumbleUpon if I need a “fix”.
technorati tags:StumbleUpon, Internet, Surfing