Baratunde Thurston: Cutting Through the Chatternet

Comedian, director of digital for The Onion, and social media wunderkind Baratunde Thurston says we’re living in an age of information overabundance, but that this needn’t be a problem. Just as supermarkets offer us many more choices of cereal than we actually need, the internet and cable television are crowded spaces where a million voices compete for your time attention. 

Take a deep breath. You can’t and don’t need to pay attention to everything. Organize your twitter stream into filters. Through word of mouth, find the sources of information that matter to you. Engage in playful and creative ways with social media – ways that allow you to extend your personality, share your talents, and connect with the people you want in your network. 

In a noisy world, says Thurston, trust is incredibly important. Don’t try to game the system – find ways to express and grow yourself through it – and seek out others who are doing the same.