There's nothing so unpleasant as finding a friend or loved one in the throes of addiction. Perhaps it was brought on by a troubled childhood, or self esteem issues, but whatever the reason, it can be painful for the outsiders as they're forced to look on helplessly. Take a colleague who is clearly addicted to electronic forms of communication, for instance. They would rather ping off thousands of pointless emails and engage in banal IM banter about who's being a bitch in the office that day, than get any meaningful work done.

So thank the lord for a new non-profit group - the Information Overload Research Group - which has just been set up with the backing of Google, IBM, Microsoft and others to research and highlight the problems of the great "digital distraction" in our working lives caused by technology. Yes, it's a problem - we're all aware that just as technology can be an enabler, it can also add complications to our lives if not managed correctly, but really, Google? And Microsoft? Who between them, and Yahoo, probably carve up most of the global webmail market? Telling us to find new ways of not using our email etc so much? Sneak detects just a hint of giganto-corps looking to soften their image with a timely CSR outreach message..

19 Jun 2008