Organizing Principles in a Media-less World; Why and How - DBR 029

Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast

I talk about how information storage and access is changing. Note that it is changing in ways that mean our old metaphors (and their associated 'affordances') are now inaccurate in a couple of meaningful ways. We don't want our metaphors to constrain our organizational thinking, particularly if they're inaccurate or push us toward the wrong affordances. Send me an email - [e-mail]. Let me know your first name, where you're listening from, and any thoughts you might have. Information - ideas, thoughts, etc from self or other

• "Possessing" - creating ready/easy/'permanent' access to a (relatively) specific presentation of information - this is being called into question "why do I need to possess when I can just search" - more on this later
• Metaphors - definitions of 'information' are murky, so we rely on metaphors to understand affordances
• Media-less-ness - examples from the changing methods of distribution of music

Metaphors in computing

• Files, folders, 'documents' are common metaphors
• However, these metaphors are based on the physical world, so they carry the notion of physical 'constraints' in our organizational thinking
• A PAPER document can only be in one place at the same time - however, most electronic information artifacts (computer files, etc.) are 'free' to copy
• File cabinet 'space' is limited by physicality - however, nothing is cheaper than storage (example: SQL)

PIM - personal information management

• Finding (becoming aware and possessing) and refinding (accessing for use) - a useful distinction
• We 'possess' information in order to make re-finding easier - the local search space is smaller - therefore, possessing is the first step of organizing (Google syntax vs. 'the website I read last Tuesday')

Organizing principles

• Organizing - the act of putting something where you will easily/quickly 're-find' it when you need it, but can ignore it until then
• 'Possessing' is useful as long as search can't find "the one I saw last Tuesday"
• Multiple copies as an organization tool - Why we have multiple pairs of reading glasses
• Pointers and tags as organizational tools - Build a card catalog for your information

Summary: our management of information (PIM, refinding, and Organizing) may be hindered by dated metaphors that are no longer precisely applicable. Our most common interfaces certainly are (e.g. Windows and Apple operating systems). In particular, media-less-ness has altered the means of electronic storage. We need to shed old metaphors that constrain our thinking and habits. Send me an email - [e-mail]. Let me know your first name, where you're listening from, and any thoughts you might have.