Main Stream Media And Me
It's been several weeks now since I dropped out of main stream media consumption. My consumption vectors have become...
- daily curated news/content emails from curators I learn about and can subscribe/unsubscribe to/from if/when they prove their quality/lack-of-quality
- my Twitter feed. real-time signal from who I follow. if Twitter builds a platform that allows for Journalists to more consistently represent themselves and their work, I could see this platform becoming the bulk of what I want. I blogged a little about some of these concepts here.
- my feedly.com feed. my own source curation.
- FlipBoard magazines. awesome feature of the day here is you can now tune FlipBoard to filter out content from shitty sources (e.g. TechCrunch). this is really powerful as it gives the user source-level control in the platform over what hits their eyes.
- I still sit down with the Sunday Times each week. this is the most "main stream" I come in contact with.
I use Instapaper for "read later" and it's proven to be great. especially the "speed read" functionality; big time saver.
What I've found so far...
- I spend 100x fewer cycles thinking about bullshit and the latest depressing shooting-of-the-day.
- I spend 100x fewer cycles reading regurgitated link-bait stories cobbled together by children, and 100x more cycles reading thoughtful original content.
- I eat-my-spinach constantly now, reading long-form, well thought out, journalism.
- I miss out on "main stream" stuff; as expected. I'll find myself the only person in the room that hasn't heard about the latest media firestorm. this makes me feel like the odd man out at times, but it's a trade I'm willing to make.
- I feel better. main stream media/content is depressing.
- I feel smarter.
- I don't wind up down link-bait rabbit holes that the reptile part of my brain wants to wander down.