Social media overindulgence is popular for many of the same reasons that Hollywood, pornography, self-help gurus and mass-media-super-star-semi-political-personalities are. The reason being that we are, as Donald Keough so sharply points out in The Ten Commandments for Business Failure, “Thrill seekers obsessed with safety.”

Social media, at its core, is defined by attempted communication. People want to network with other people, and many of us have an implicit and insanely insatiable appetite for being a part of something, someone, or some point in time that we believe to be more exciting than that which we are currently living through.

We seek “the thrill” but  won’t sacrifice to live it out. We want the upward journey, but we won’t break a sweat. We want to act heroically, but we’d rather tweet from our couches. We long to demonstrate love yet instead spend time getting others to “Like” us. We want the adventure, but we’d rather pay $10 to sit through a movie; pretending (for a few hours at least) that we’re a part of a more spectacular, adventurous story. Consumers, men and women alike, partake in billions of dollars worth of pornography, annually, because it’s easier to participate from afar in a stranger’s faux-intimacy than go and create a beautiful, exciting intimacy of their own. We obsessively read book after book after book pertaining to whatever category of lifestyle improvement we want to obtain, yet we never risk putting those guidelines into play.

We are thrill seekers obsessed with security. We think we want to take the ride, but many of us are content with the HD simulator. We think we want to build an adventure of a story, but we get lost in the web, comparing ourselves to others updates and surface level portrayals. We live through and in comparison to people we barely know in real life.

Information is forever increasing.  However, it’s not necessarily correct to state that the amount of information is increasing.  What is characteristic of information today was characteristic of information yesterday, 20 years ago and 2000 years ago.  Information is information; it is always here, it is always there, always happening, always spreading.  The majority of fundamental information is not new or genuine.  The majority of fundamental information is recycled–simple common elements with fresh, complex twists (or retro twists that are simply different from yesterdays twists).  Information is everywhere, and it always has been everywhere.  This is not a new concept.

What is new (what is changing) is the way in which information travels.  What is unique, as compared to yesterday, 20 years ago and 2000 years ago, is the way in which (and the speed at which) information moves.  Information has always been abundant, but what makes it seem overly excessive today is that it is extremely more accessible.  The mediums by which information travels are changing at a rapid pace, making information all the more simple to extract and act (or not act!) upon.  The information was always there, and now you can get it all.  Information input (and output) mass is increasing because the mediums by which it moves are getting stronger.  

We do not live in an information deficit world.  We will never struggle to produce or feed on information.  This is not the challenge.  The challenge lies in filtering through the matrix of information.  Google “started” the revolution back in the late 90′s.  They created a simple way (a tool) to extract information that was similar to or more closely related to the information that you actually wanted.  Sometimes, they actually gave you exactly what you wanted!  Twitter does a good job of bringing information snippets from all over the world into one medium.  However, Twitter is more of a funnel than a filter.  Squidoo is a filter, and they limit their information stores to what others decide to put into them.  It’s up to lens masters to input info.  Facebook is a funnel as well.  It takes personal information and gathers it into one base for all to see.  The more people and the more information they can collect, the better their system works.  They thrive on more and more information.  

The future doesn’t belong to funnels.  The future belongs to filters.  Those who can create systems and tools which work to extract specific and minute details, and deliver them to a wanting audience, will be the most successful.  There is an overwhelming amount of information out there which we are all highly connected with.  Even in our own small worlds, we are superstars based on our thousands of online followers.  Our information appetites are high, but we are reaching our fill.  From this point on, I only want the information that I want, and I don’t want to have to struggle through the clutter to get it.  Give me filtered information.    Don’t call it lazy, call it wanting to be more productive, effective and efficient.

Personalized filters.

If we ever expect our life or our company or our church or our relationships to progress to the next level; if we desire that our marriage develops into new realms of trust and love; if we ever expect to reach out and impact a broader market; if we want to put that latest great idea into action; if we want to be rich; if we want to help as many as possible; if we want to give it all away; if we want to decrease our negative environmental impact; then change is absolutely necessary.

Why did Facebook revamp its entire layout?  Why did WordPress totally turnover its Dashboard?  Why, when millions of people worldwide use your product or service every day, would you ever want to change a single thing!? Here is why:  They want to get better.  Why did Steve turn machine Mac into musical Apple?  He knew that in order for the company to grow (to be the best in the world!) it had to change, to be the change.  Why does Google come out with a new application almost daily (or so it seems)?  They realize that in order to stay on top, they must keep doing what got them there in the 1st place:  promote and initiate change.  Every year these companies change the way we do and see everything.

Want to get better at anything?  Get better at being willing to change.  Want to become a Visionary?  Train yourself to see the change before it happens and take advantage of it.

Today we live in a world that is intricately yet not intimately connected.  In the midst of all the social networking, business networking, blog posting, facebook messaging, text messaging, calling and twittering, don’t forget to develop and strengthen those relationships that mean the most to you.  Yes, networking and marketing are important.  They are a vital part of business and life as we know it.  Yet, encountering people in a deeper and more meaningful way is what life is truly all about.  Genuine, authentic relationships are many times rare.  If you have only one or if you have many, care for and nourish them with the greatest attention to detail.  The Tweak for the Weak (2) this week is for those of us who probably spend a little too much time in search of information or new knowledge.  Remember, the reason we strive to be visionaries is because we strive for freedom from those things which would normally bind us.  Do not let casual busyness get in the way of your intimate relationships.  Invest mostly in what is most important: your loving relationships with others whom you are closest to.