Content Consciousness
Experimenting with a more conscious approach to consuming content.
I am a content black hole. I read (at my desktop) on average 331 articles a month, a little more than a book a week, listen to several podcasts religiously, chase down new albums on a near weekly basis, and binge-watch Netflix with the best of them. This doesn’t even consider the snippets of time on places like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Tumblr, where I dip my toe in the in-between moments, snatched in the morning before I get out of bed or that post-dinner lull.
I endlessly consume, moving from phone to desktop to Kindle seamlessly but without much thought as to what is next and why. In an era where binge-consumption, persistent pop-culture obsessions and manias, and click-bait are the norm, I want to take a moment to slow down.
The Why & How
Where conscious consumption applies to objects (purchasing or using only what is necessary to you to be comfortable) I want to experiment with this approach to content.
While I readily admit that I am not anything close to a tech or media critic, I want to start to allow some breathing room for thought around what I’m reading or watching, regardless if it’s deeply academic or pure pop fluff. These thought bubbles will hopefully have the opportunity to crystallise, and with time I can learn to better articulate my thoughts and the reasoning around them. This is not just an exercise in slowing down, but also training and developing little-used muscles (namely: writing).
Additionally, for anyone who’s read Thinking Fast and Slow, I want to start activating System 2 thinking. The basic thesis of the book is that there’s a “dichotomy between two modes of thought: “System 1" is fast, instinctive and emotional; “System 2" is slower, more deliberative, and more logical.” While I’m not admitting that anytime soon I’m going to abandon my Science Fiction binge reads, maybe I can start to articulate why I’m so compelled to consume them.
Rules of Engagement
So I’ve made a series of rules for myself, which will define the exploration. Publicly publishing these makes the accountability that much more steadfast.
- Maintain Momentum: Generate at least one post on a quarterly basis, quality will come with time.
- Allow for flexibility: This can cover any piece of content. Favorite Christmas songs? Great. Articles about Ferguson, sure. It just has to contain a link, a piece of content, and some analysis or appropriated thoughts.
- Time-box it: My good friend Diana Kimball declared an end to forever projects on her blog (which is amazing, btw). Let’s see where 3 months of consistency gets me first, then we’ll see if there’s any momentum from there. This is an experiment more than anything else.
- Have a perspective: I’m one of those people who is loath to put their perspective on the internet. Yes, I share links, I tweet, I occasionally write an update on Facebook. But there’s rarely a personal comment attached, even on important events like what is happening in Ferguson right now. This needs to change.
We’ll see if it works. I’d love to hear what any of you have to add. In the interim, if you’re interested in following along, please follow the Content Consciousness collection I’ve created just for this project. If you’d like to join or contribute, please don’t hesitate to reach out on Twitter or elsewhere.
