On Bit Literacy

For the last few days, I've been reading Mark Hurst's new book, Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload. Self-published by his company Good Experience, the book is slim, but high quality. And I expect no less from Mark.

Full disclosure: Mark owns the domain name mediadiet.com. I once asked whether he'd be game to give that up in one way or another, and he said no. Now I know why (kinda). In the book, he uses the phrase "media diet" in a very meaningful way, and one that's not far from my original usage in this blog. It'll be interesting to see where his URL goes.

That said, the book is good, as are his ideas. Having just read an idiot's guide to GTD -- and spending time with a friend who's come up with his own system for GTD for creative people (filmmakers and the like), this is a topic near and dear to my heart.

Seth's not wrong: Mark's book could be the Elements of Style for the online world. Like Shipley and Schwalbe's Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home, the book is a Miss Manners for the Net set, and it's worth reading.

But what's important? According to Mark, everything should be easier.

Bits should be light. In boxes should be empty -- this is possible, and I've achieved it using Mark's method. Files should be easily found -- also easily made, given Mark's naming scheme. Reading lists should be more manageable. And files -- photos, Word docs, and the like -- should be more easily filed... and shared.

The book is good. I can't communicate what I've done very well now, but it's awesome. The next time I email you or send you a file, judge my progress. I might not meet cute, but I'll try.