Getting Swept Away By The Stream Of Information

Here we are in a critical point of the Information Age. It's a proven fact that humans are generally an impatient species. It's also been hypothesized that the steady stream of information on Internet has contributed to shortened attention spans.

It is certainly true that the more information there is, the faster people want it. The faster people want information, the faster it gets delivered. It's simple supply and demand.

Some have even gone so far as to say that this stream of information contributes to the diminished "real world" social capacity in people with Asperger's Syndrome. Even more, some would say that Asperger's is an evolutionary progression towards the virtual environment that the Internet creates. While this can't be confirmed, it's certainly hard to deny.

Now we see microblogging sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It can be argued that they are a marriage of the "Thought of the day" kind of blog post and cell phone text chatting. Basically, you can now blog in short blurbs from your cell phone as well as your computer. Others can respond by cell or by computer. It is all a product of wanting MORE information NOW. The concept of the live stream has become the norm.

While this may seem disparaging at first, there are certainly benefits of the live stream. Several times in the recent past, things such as police brutality and murder have been exposed by this technology, sometimes just before the phone is smashed! In many cases, news has been delivered on Twitter before CNN could deliver it.

Aside from the rapidity of delivery that live stream offers, there's also a certain "gonzo" appeal to it. News reporters have known for decades the value of being "right there." Now we see amateur reporters delivering new via the Internet "live and late-breaking," and it's spreading at a viral rate.

By observing these trends, it's easy to see that the writing's on the wall for the next trend in search engine rankings. People want more, now. Microblogging sites and the live stream technology provide information quicker than ever. Live stream is going to rank high on the search engines.

There are two types of business people on the Internet: The quick and the dead. The speed that live stream delivers information at has brought on the necessity of business being even faster than before. It's no secret that marketers are already finding ways to use Twitter and Facebook. The same is obviously true for the video stream. Those that don't jump on this bandwagon are doomed to be left in the dust.

The big question now is how do you incorporate the stream into your business? For one thing, it comes in highly useful for reputation management. Imagine responding instantly to a customer question or complaint. While it may be more risky in terms of scripted responses, it would have a much more personal impact on the customer.

The "gonzo" aspect would be useful for certain ad campaigns. Testimonials could be gathered at conferences. Really, when it comes down to it, there is so much potential for the stream that it literally seems limited only by the imagination.