How’s your [human] memory system? Got back up?
Ever heard of Vannevar Bush? In 1945 he wrote an article for Atlantic Monthy called “As We May Think.” In it he shared some crazy talk about desktop memory systems and linking information so others could see it. He relied on then-existing technology and envisioned not-yet invented things like, oh well, the Internet, hyperlinks, desktop computers and more.
Enough with the 1940s, how is your memory these days? Could “it ain’t what it used to be” reflect your thoughts best? There is good news! The stuff Mr. Bush cooked up to help remember things is online now and mostly free. Information tools improve how we do three things online:
1) encode;
2) store and consolidate;
3) retrieve.
These three things are fundamental to how we store memories off line (that is, in our brains and with our repeated muscle/movement memory systems).
Wikipedia is a great example: someone starts a topic like “Jelly bean.” That person ENCODED the information. Later, other folks search for “jelly bean.” They find and review the page and can arrange what’s there, adding, subtracting, connecting. This helps STORE and CONSOLIDATE the information.
Things get interesting when RETRIEVAL happens over time. more visitors to the jelly bean page benefit from the content as it improves, and they can also rearrange some more. In this way, the loop of information benefits from more use. By contrast, pages that get little use might as well be forgotten (just like what happens with our own memories: use it or lose it!).
Do you have a back up system for your personal memory? Email is a default for many people. What about images? Flickr. Videos? You Tube. Documents? Microsoft Word or Google Apps. Conversation threads? Twitter, etc. Projects? Basecamp. Work contacts? Salesforce. Social contacts? Facebook or Linkedin. New things arrive daily, like Google Wave, that strive to make backing up your personal memory system online simple and worth it.
Whatever you end up using, make sure it has a wicked smart search engine and a really simple way to drop information in, rearrange it, and call for it when you need it. Ever have something on the tip of your tongue during your own thought process? “Wait wait, don’t tell me!” We hear that all the time. The “search engine” in our own heads helps us find things based on near misses, close calls, and sort-of-likes.
Pay attention to that ease of use. A robust online information resource will do the same thing. It will have a great way to ENCODE stuff fast and easy (that means you can drop in data easy), STORE and CONSOLIDATE it through repeated use, and RETRIEVE it fast and flexibly when needed.
Got back up?