In my lifetime information has always been readily available whether it be through the Library, Encyclopedia’s, or the Internet.  Today it’s easier then ever to get at any information in the comfort of your own home.  This can be good and bad.

Back in the day…I’m talking 80’s and early 90’s I used a thing called the library when searching for information.  I often times ask some of my younger friends (you know the type – social media savvy, under 22 years old, internet power surfers) if they’ve used card catalogs, microfiche, or any general library skills.   Usually they have no idea what I’m talking about.

Information In My Youth

I was among the lucky one’s throughout grade school.  As I recall my parents purchased the 1981 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia.  Our household was the envy of the block.  No longer did we always have to trek to the local library for information.  Every bit of history was right there, readily available in the World Book Encyclopedia.

Ten years passed…I used the Encyclopedia’s as if they were gods word on what was fact and fiction.  I still had to check out other supporting resources from the local library (newspaper articles, books, magazines, etc), but my time spent there was limited compared to my friends and fellow classmates.  I was able to work faster and get things done much quicker then everyone else for ten years.  Ten years…of reports and school work.  Ten years…as the main source in my bibliographys.

The year was 1991…10 years after the purchase of our beloved World Book Encyclopedia’s.  1991 was the year I moved out of the house and into the college dorms.  Something happened during my time at the University.  There was a shift in how we got information.  Of course, I no longer had the use of the World Book Encyclopdias in the comfort of my home, but instead the University library was a hop, skip, and jump away from my dorm room.  This is not the shift I’m talking about.  During my time at the University I learned about computers, networks, email, and the internet.  Back then the internet was not as it is today.  However, during my time in college the World Wide Web came to be and I discovered the web browser and the vast amounts of information available at the touch of a finger.

“University of Arizona – 5 or 6 of the best years of your life!” I remember seeing a t-shirt during my freshman year that had that line on it.  I laughed at the time , but just as the t-shirt predicted…I graduated in 1996 (year 5) and didn’t move back to California until 1997 (year6)…5 or 6 of the best years of my life.  Everything had changed when I returned from my life in Tucson.  Most of my friends had an AOL account and email address, a dialup connection, and at the time limited access to the internet (we payed for dialup access by the hour back then).  Information was readily available 24-7.  I could pull up a search engine (I think I was using Alta Vista at the time) and type a word and receive hundreds maybe thousands of articles on the subject.  The way we received information had definitely made a shift during my time in college.

Internet Information Overload

All of this information easily and readily available to us can be a good and bad thing.  The bad thing is what spawned this article.

While I’m sure there are many bads here are a few that were bugging me today.

• Statistics - in my case I’ve been monitoring my statistics daily sometimes even hourly this has got to stop.  Of course in the back of my mind I remember reading a recent  Problogger article specifically about Blogging Mistakes with becoming a Stat-A-Holic being number 17 on the list.
• Statistics Part II – the obsession continues as I search through several blog lists trying to compare my blog statistics to other blogs around the internet consuming hours of time.  By the way, it’s easy to see other blog statistics by checking their “Advertise” page we’re the author will often times reveal key information such as Unique Visitors, Pageviews, RSS subscribers, etc.
• Reading and Not Acting – reading can be healthy, but when it consumes your day to the point where you are not taking action.  That can be an unhealthy obssesion.

As I’ve already mentioned this list should be much longer, but I’m really just venting my own frustration and by the way…after mentioning and looking over Darren Rowse’s 21 Blogging Mistakes article I wanted to write a follow up post about all the blogging mistakes this blog currently makes.

I hope you enjoyed this little rant.  What about you?  Where did you come from? and how do you feel about the availability of information in the world today?

Yep, you heard it right. I’m setting my new years goals right now and we’re almost done with May. Better late then never! I’ve come to realize that it’s important for me to setup a plan. Lately I’ve been just kind of running around with my head cut off. That plan starts here on the Bloggers Project pages.

I think my biggest hurdle right now is information overload, and reading, but not acting upon all the great (and not so great) information on the internet.

For openers I’ve been wanting to accomplish several things on the internet and start my own little internet empire…moohaaaahaaa…

Current state of the Koala Kingdom

1. I’ve started a fairly successful blog in my niche that draws in about 1000 visitors a day.
2. I own several domain names in said niche and wish to develop each into a stand-alone website.
3. The sites I wish to develop are:
   1. Blog in the Niche – developed and going strong
   2. Blog in the sub niche – partially developed and needs daily articles
   3. Second blog in the sub niche – Undeveloped
   4. Membership Website – Undeveloped, but currently attending a highly regarded online course about membership sites.
   5. Static Service related website with blog to keep content fresh – Undeveloped
   6. Database Driven Website – Undeveloped and will require outsourcing

Instead of setting goals I think I’ll create a timeline. My end goal is to launch the membership site by November 10th, 2009

• May 21-31, 2009 – my goal for today is to work on developing blogs number 2 and 3. Put together at least 1 article for blogs 1, 2, and 3. Create a list of top 100 bloggers in my niche and start forming relationships. Create a list of top 5 forums in my niche and start networking and creating relationships.
• May 22, 2009 – May 25, 2009 – Memorial weekend I’m playing in a hockey tournament, but I’m bringing my laptop so all is not lost. Don’t expect much to get done during this time period.
• May 26,2009 – Write articles for blogs 1-3. Continue development on blogs 2,3.
• May 27, 2009 – Write articles for blogs 1-3. Continue development on blogs 2,3.
• May 28, 2009 – Write articles for blogs 1-3. Continue development on blogs 2,3.
• May 29, 2009 – Write articles for blogs 1-3. Continue development on blogs 2,3.
• May 30, 2009 – Write articles for blogs 1-3. Continue development on blogs 2,3.
• May 31, 2009 – Write articles for blogs 1-3. Continue development on blogs 2,3.
• June 1, 2009 – Finish development on blogs 2 and 3 including all pages completed and at least 5 articles
• July 1, 2009 – Start creating content for Membership site,
  • start list of beta testers for membership site
  • start membership site design and development
• August 1, 2009 - Launch membership site for beta testers
• September 1, 2009
• October 1, 2009 – Complete first 3 months of content for Membership site
• November 3, 2009 – Begin Membership Site Pre-Launch
• November 17, 2009 - Launch Membership Site
• December 1, 2009 – Membership site maintenance
• January 1, 2009 – Begin work on Service and Database driven sites.

The Koala Kingdom Goals

• 20-30 hours a week into the Koala Kingdom – possibly more if I feel I’m coming up short on deadlines
• End of year goals – complete membership site and blogs 1-3. Service and Database Driven sites are secondary for now and at the latest should be complete by the middle of 2010.
• Create a list of goals and accomplishments on the 1st of every month to keep on schedule.
• Create a day by day timeline using calendar software at the start of every month.
• Read less do more!

Some other Random Goals

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense to you. Unfortunately, this is something I wanted to write for myself to prioritze and organize my thoughts. Now moving forward may I suggest adding a timeline to Google Calendar or maybe the Zoho Calendar.

That brings me to a question that I’m sure others have asked before me Zoho or Google? I’ll see I’ve I can answer that in an upcoming post.