The Information Diet

Preface

The things we know about food have a lot to teach us about how to have a healthy relationship with information. It turns out that foods that are bad for us have analogues in the world of information. In the world of agriculture, we now have factory farms churning out junk food; and in the world of media, we now have content farms churning out junk information. Consuming whole foods that come from the ground tends to be good for you, and consuming news from close to its source tends to inform you the most.

That’s what this book is about. My hope is that by reading it, you will gain the knowledge and incentive to transform your relationship with information and have a healthier lifestyle as a result. You’ll have more time to spend with your loved ones, be more effective at work, and be a more empowered citizen in your community.

For me, this book isn’t just a book—it’s a mission. Information overconsumption is a serious health problem for the American electorate, and we can see it from the halls of Congress to the tents of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea Party. In any democratic nation with the freedom of speech, information can never be as strongly regulated by the public as our food, water, and air. Yet information is just as vital to our survival as the other three things we consume. That’s why personal responsibility in an age of mostly free information is vital to individual and social health. If we want our communities and our democracies to thrive, we need a healthier information diet.

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Acknowledgments

I’d first like to thank my incredible wife, Rosalyn Lemieux. She’s been a valuable sounding board for this book, helped me clarify some of my own ideas, and probably read more drafts than anybody. And she was a good sport in allowing me to expose Zombie Roz and Email Roz.

Both my parents, Joy and Ray Johnson, are remarkable, and their input into this book, over more than three decades, should not go unnoticed either.

My editors, Julie Steele and Meghan Blanchette, are also magnificent. They’ve made this book not a weird rambling of strange ideas, but a cogent story. When I first started the journey of writing this book, I thought about self-publishing, but the value of strong, smart editors still justifies the existence of publishers.

Rebecca Bell was also instrumental in the writing of this book by allowing me to use her wonderful home off the coast of Georgia to escape the distractions of high bandwidth and focus entirely on writing. I could not have done it without that amazing gift.

My network of colleagues, friends, and family has been indispensable throughout the creation of this book: Jen Pahlka, Carl Malamud, Howard Rheingold, Anil Dash, Andy Baio, Noreen Neilsen, Karl Frisch, Eric Burns, Jake Brewer, Mary Katharine Ham, Michael Bassik, Tom Hughes-Croucher, Pete Skomoroch, Jane McGonigal, Jim Gilliam, Josh Hendler, Cammie Croft, Steve Geer, Tom Steinberg, Mario Flores, Cindy Mottershead, Maggie McEnerny, Todd Kamin, Erin Hofetig and Cheryl Contee—thank you so much for sitting and listening to me describe my book and pushing me when I needed it. Without you all, this book would not have happened.

The countless people I interviewed on and off the record—thank you. You know who you are. Linda Stone, you are a national treasure. Anybody who has read anything in this book and gotten anything out of it ought to listen to what she has to say.

The people who helped me edit this book were saviors. Eric Newton took the time to send me amazing feedback and provide me more historical context than I could ever ask for. Quinn Norton’s brutal honesty helped sharpen my focus and my argument, and without Clay Shirky and Gina Trapani’s encouragement, this book probably would have never seen the light of day.

Finally, a tip of the hat ought to go to Tim O’Reilly for giving me a platform to share this with you. He’s a mentor and a friend who does not get enough credit for injecting his community with the right kinds of values. Thank you, Tim.