Twenty years of Information Overload Solutions

Twenty years of IO Solutions

Nathan Zeldes

Overloaded 2014June 7, 2014

Nathan Zeldes http://www.nathanzeldes.com 2

Objectives• Review the evolution of the IO Solution ecosystem in the 20 years

I’ve been in this field• Share some insights from my recent work on compiling

“The Definitive Guide to Information Overload Solutions”


Solutions Past

1994


Prehistory: the 90’s• 1994: Intel deploys Lotus cc:Mail• 1994: I become “computing productivity manager” at Intel• 1994: Email Overload hits the fan

• Study showed lack of skills, lack of etiquette, lack of features• One related solution: Outside In attachment viewer• We had to develop everything in-house: etiquette expectations,

adoption drive, skill training

• By 2000, we had “YourTime”, a homebuilt program we deployed corporate-wide ... and the word got out!

• Over the next few years other companies followed with similar behavior-change training programs


History: 2000’s• Round 2 of in-house solution development at Intel

and BP: Technology assisted behavior change

• The market awakens: ClearContext and others develop automatic

message classification

• Growing attention from academic and corporate researchers

• Founding of IORG in July 2008


Solutions Present


“ The Definitive Guide to IO solutions”: Trends• Early version in 7/2011, final version in 2/2014

• In 2.5 years, we see:– Big jump in available solutions, especially (but not only) in software– Software transcends classifiers, explodes in a diversity of other tools

[ Get the guide at http://www.nathanzeldes.com/guide/ ]

7/20112/2014ChangeTotal

Solutions114164+44%

Software tools3766+78%

Automatic classifiers

2231+41%

Other software tools

1535+133%

http://www.nathanzeldes.com/guide/


Taxonomy• Solutions that improve Inbox Processing

efficiency– Personal email processing strategies– Group-wide agreements facilitating

inbox processing– Automation of incoming email

classification– Support for filing incoming email– Other Inbox processing solutions

• Solutions that reduce the Quantity of email– Bans, Quotas and Postage charges on

email– Reduction of distributions– Replacement of email with alternate

channels– Other methods to reduce mail quantity

• Solutions that improve the Quality of email– Reduction of message length– Improvement of message clarity– Feedback on message quality

• Solutions that mitigate Interruptions– Interruption control through group

agreements– Interruption delivery blockers– Contextual interruption management– Other interruption mitigation solutions

• Solutions that modify the Organizational Culture

– Behavior change education drives– Other solutions related to

organizational culture

• Miscellaneous solutions


Observations• New email: Gmail and Web mail solutions taking over from

Outlook / Exchange as a major target for solutions

• New devices: Mobile products are becoming a major factor

• New vendors: bold new startups are pushing the envelope

(and some go extinct while doing it)

• New markets: you no longer need to attack the Enterprise

to be successful, though some startups still plan to try

• New ideas: lots of amazing, creative thinking!


For example• Syntomo (in beta): summarizes an entire email thread and presents it as a

chat-like conversation. Conversations can be managed as single entities through a variety of functions.

• EmailValet (Stanford research): an email client that recruits remote assistants from an expert crowd-sourcing marketplace to annotate each email with its implicit tasks.

• MyFocus (in beta): provides linked physical and software buttons you can set to be Green or Red. Once you make the buttons Red, your incoming Email, Facebook, Skype, Instant messaging, etc. are blocked, and your coworkers can see when you need quiet time.

• NIZ / NIW: “No Interruption Zones” and “No interruption wear” in sensitive workplace settings (aircraft, hospitals) protect employees from being interrupted when performing critical tasks.

• Interrupt-free driving (Ford): Blocks cellular calls and system interruptions to drivers when vehicle is in motion


Solutions Future: what now?


Eliminate (i.e., Replace) Email• Individuals: Luis Suarez * (IBM) and Prof. Paul Jones * (UNC)• Corporate: Atos *• The key: to do it in a structured, mature manner

* Participated in IORG Webinar available at http://bit.ly/IORG001


Better contextual interruption management?• Mainstream: We’re still waiting for Priorities (MSR, 2003)

to become a commercial product or feature

• Bleeding edge: BrainYno!


Improve the email protocol• Email is a product of the 60’s – time to modify it?• Paul Graham: “On one hand, entrenched protocols are impossible to

replace. On the other, it seems unlikely that people in 100 years will still be living in the same email hell we do now. And if email is going to get replaced eventually, why not now?”

• Graham’s proposals: Email as a To Do negotiation system• Joshua Baer (OtherInbox):

Self-destructing email protocol

• BUT... not every idea pans out!


Culture and adoption• I’m seeing clients who realize up front the problem is with

their overall communication culture, and are willing to address it seriously

• We need a lot more of those

• Maybe they won’t have a choice much longer!


Concluding thoughts

• It’s great having you here!

• What you (and me) can do once we all go home today– Get the word around about IORG

– Share your data, insights and results with the rest of us(submit for dissemination via our newsletter!)

– Collaborate with each other now that we’ve all met here

– Contribute content (pointers) to IORC

– Step up and join the steering team and/or the board

– Propose, suggest, critique, volunteer* – make IORG better!

* [email protected]


See you in Overloaded 2015!

Twenty years of Information Overload Solutions

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