Can you die of “FOBO”?
You probably have it — let’s find out what you can do about it.
Close your eyes — ok, maybe read this first — *sigh*. When you are very active on social media, you most likely have had a FOMO experience before. This experience could be better described as “Oh my God, what am I missing? … Did something happen? … Who is saying what about me? … What am I supposed to know which I currently don’t??”.
Right — FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out.
“… an encyclopedia on a CD-ROM!” — For all you millennials out there, I’m talking about the round disk with a hole in it. It sorta had the same purpose as the ‘save icon’ of which your parents had 3D prints of. And loads of it.”
Don’t you think for one second that I’m exaggerating. Some people actually get depressed and even a breakdown from being/having FOMO. And as long as they are addicted to their beloved social status on InstaFaceTwitSnap, they will suffer from “being” a true FOMO. I pity the fool. One of my future posts will cover the FOMO effect and how to encounter it. More on that later!
“FOBO” with a “B”: it sort of looks like the previous abbreviation but it’s slightly different. It’s not a disease nor is it a swear word — that I can tell you — but I’m not a fan of it either. I actually even hate it. So let’s continue to find out what it means.
Since I don’t have a clue about your age, I’m just going to assume that you know what an encyclopedia is. It’s probably something you or your parents, grand parents, … bought an entire series of. It was the one single version of the truth back in the days. And yes, it came in “editions” — and was pretty expensive.
“Did you know that the last 2 years more online content was created than during all the internet-years before?”
The cool thing about an encyclopedia is that it doesn’t change a lot, since it describes history — it’s done, it’s over. Finished. Next, many people thought: “Let’s go crazy, let’s buy an entire encyclopedia, written on a CD-ROM!”. This was one step forward to a digital era. For all you millennials out there, I was talking about the round disk with a hole in it. It sorta had the same purpose as the ‘save icon’ of which your parents had 3D prints of. And loads of it.
Back on topic — Eventually, something really disruptive was created by a military instance and soon evolved into (this one goes out to all IT crowd-fans) “The Internet”. I really must assume that you all know what Wikipedia is. I sincerely hope it still exists by the time you are reading this piece of writing, since (on a daily basis nowadays) it claims to be in desperate need of our financial support — we’ll see. (I donated last year, it’s now up to you. Take your responsibility!)
What’s awesome about Wikipedia, is that it appends to what ‘just’ happened. It will (more or less) always show the latest facts on something or someone. And that is also what causes the FOBO effect. Have I already told you what FOBO stands for? No? Keep reading.
“You can’t know everything.
Although, I’m going to die trying.”
You are creating a paper for school. Or a presentation on a certain topic for work. By the time you finished it, you assume for a moment that you got all your facts right. Or is it? This one tenth of a second, you doubt yourself. Did something happen in the world which caused my processed facts to have changed? Am I going to deliver my report with numbers that are still accurate?
The same goes for when finding the best corporate IT solution for your problems. After investigating and even having yourself assisted by a consultancy firm, you still cannot be entirely sure of having the best option out there. And this is finally it — the moment you have been waiting for …
FOBO: Fear Of Better Options (I hope is was worth the wait)
This is not an unexpected effect, if you would only know how much content exists out there, on the internet alone. Fun fact: did you know that the last 2 years more online content was created than during all the internet-years before?
Unfortunately, I don’t have “one” simple, single solution for this matter. But I do certainly have some handy tips ready for you.
Make sure you investigate the sources of your targeted content. Is it widely supported by a specialist-related community? Has it been used for official studies/reports in the past? Also, when delivering a report, additionally mention your sources (du’h) and the date of when you consulted them. This gots you covered in case the facts change in the meantime.
Also don’t try to dive into all the related content out there. It cannot all be exclusive, high-quality material, so be specific. Choose wisely and follow a handful of sites through RSS feeds or read related blog posts regularly. You can’t know everything.
Although, I’m going to die trying.
Pieter
Key Takeaways
- If you don’t overcome FOBO, at least be aware of its existence.
- Go donate Wikipedia while it still exists.
- The ‘save icon’ was 3D printed by “the Elders of the internet”.
