Content Overload

So, why haven't I posted anything recently, and why have my ideas for drafts been overflowing? It's not that I don't have the time (I do) or that I'm using my time ineffectively (okay, maybe I am), it's because I have been completely overloaded with content of all types that I think my brain is on the verge of shutting down.

Have you ever thought about how much content is out there? I mean, really, really thought about it? Take ESPN. ESPN runs six networks now, included one dedicated to 24-hour sporting news. Unfortunately, there's not too much going on right now (and especially last week). The NBA was shut down for All-Star Week (or the Hip-Hop Woodstock, depending on your point of view). As an aside, this is one of my favorite stories from that weekend. What exactly does $81,000 in cash look like? Does Louis Vuitton make a wallet big enough for all that scrilla? And who really needs to spend $81,000 at a strip club, especially an NFL player who could probably get it for free?

To keep up with the frantic pace of 24-hour reporting, I think ESPN resorted to manufacturing stories. Seriously, leading off SportsCenter with a story about Sylvester Stallone and his suspected steroid use? That's all they could come up with?

It's not just television, either: content has exploded on the Internet, and so have the ways to capture this content. First bookmarking was good enough. Then came XML, RSS, feed burner and del.ic.ious. Last week, I was skimming a few of the blogs I frequent, and they all contained links to more blogs, which contained links to other blogs and articles, which contained, well, you get the point. Do people actually read all this stuff?

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I couldn't imagine it any other way. It's kind of like thinking about how in the world you would meet up with friends before cell phones and everything else. The wife and I were relatively out of touch last weekend, staying in a small town in Vermont with no internet connectivity (I didn't even bring my laptop, mainly because I wanted to stay as far away from school as possible, midterms be damned). While in Vermont, we missed MAJOR news stores, like Britney shaving her head. However, by the time we got back to digital civilization, it wasn't a story anymore. Luckily for us, she proceeded on her merry-go-round tour of rehab centers, so she's back in the limelight again, and I'm caught up with the world.

Wait, I'm not caught up anymore. In the 10 minutes it took to write this, I'm sure something major has happened, or has been rehashed, or has been completely made up, like the young NYU Republican's Find the Immigrant game, or the rats in the KFC/Taco Bell in the West Village, or the guy that broke down his neighbor's door to look for a girl, instead finding his neighbor watching porn, or . . .

On second thought, maybe the news doesn't need to make up stories. I just saw this headline on CNN: Senior Citizen in Costa Rica Kills Mugger with Bare Hands.