« The Shaving Feminist | Main | The Foremen! »
April 06, 2006
Is this a Silicon Valley thing?
I've noticed something lately about myself and I'm wondering if it's a Silicon Valley thing or a generational thing. Basically, when it comes to communication that's designed to convey information (i.e., not just sittin' around shootin' the shit or telling a good story) I get really annoyed by extraneous information. I want to get the info and get on with what I'm doing.
Example: One of my favorite info-oriented podcasts has become plagued by the verbal equivalent of the "me too!" post. The hosts are constantly repeating themselves and each other and you'll get exchanges along these lines:
"We have some really great interviews this week."Now, All that was really necessary was the first sentence (although an argument could be made that even the first sentence is just filler; I can judge the quality of the interviews just fine myself, thankyouverymuch), but there was a bunch of extra verbiage wedged in there. If the podcast in question is not a storytelling podcast or a "listen to these two people banter at each other" podcast (and the ones I listen to aren't), I don't want to hear all this pointless chatter! I want the information!
"That's right, they're just amazing!"
"That's right!"
At first I figured this was a Silicon Valley thing - the podcasts that suffer from this the most are from non-SV people, and are put together by amateurs.
But then I realized that many of the people I talk to who are a minimum of 30 years older than me do the same basic thing. I wind up listening to detailed information about people I have never met and probably never will meet. The simplest informational exchange turns into an epic. Conversations that would take 30 seconds with one of my age peers take five minutes. So maybe it's an age thing -- but the podcasters I'm thinking of aren't that old. They're only 10 years older than me or so.
So what's the story here? Do I come from a generation of impatient people? I know I'm not the only one my age who is a fan of efficient conversation. What makes it tricky is that there is no polite way to say "Um, could you get to the point please?" because that's rude. I am aware that it's rude. I'm working on slowing down when I talk to people who are inclined to give me gratuitous amounts of detail. I'm working on listening instead of only half-listening and musing about this whole communication issue.
With podcasts, it's a lot easier. I can just delete 'em.
With storytelling, I don't mind longwindedness. I like to hear the details of a good yarn over a bottle of wine or a good meal or whatever. I love reading Dumas, who is the master of longwindedness (who else would have a character say "I believe we are about to have the honor to charge you" ?). I even dig it when coworkers stop by my cube to chat, provided I'm not up to my ears in work (which doesn't happen too often as my work isn't generally time-sensitive).
But for gods' sake, when I'm in the middle of something else or when I'm listening to an informational podcast while driving, I do not want to hear a bajillion extraneous details. I want to hear the information. Time is valuable, isn't it?
OK, I'm rambling, so I'm going to wrap this up. I'd love to hear what any readers have to say on the subject.
File under: Musings
Posted by Ealasaid at April 6, 2006 09:02 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://65.181.180.173/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1775
Comments
This was a multi-voice podast? The first one amounts to a headline ... a promotional blurb. The rest are just "me too" noises, as if they thought they had to get their agreement voiced.
But, then too--yes, you are impatient.
Posted by: guy at April 6, 2006 03:21 PM
I'm older than you and I have the same problem with both the longwinded and the irrelevant. I think there's a journey vs. destination thing going on; if the journey's interesting enough, I don't mind the detour. But most people aren't that interesting in their irrelevancy.
Oh, and I've eliminated quite a few well thought of podcasts because they take an hour to provide fifteen or maybe twenty minutes of value. Gillmor Gang, I'm talkin' about you.
Posted by: Hank Shiffman at April 6, 2006 09:36 PM
Yeah, Dad, it was a two-voice podcast.
Hank - good to know I'm not the only one who's cranky about this kind of thing. :)
Posted by: Ealasaid at April 7, 2006 01:59 PM
I honestly don't know. I've lived and worked in both Silicon Valley and in GVRD (British Columbia), which was slower-paced than Silicon Valley - yet I still found that people born after about 1966 seem to be better at going straight to the point. People born before about 1960 tend to be in the "convoluted" category. They want to give me all the information, all the related information, all the tangential information...when all I may have wanted was a simple yes/no/this/that.
(That rough age range doesn't account for the extremes: the perennially busy, disorganized, or normally efficient/taciturn.)
Posted by: Laughing Muse at April 8, 2006 11:08 AM
I think... that sometimes when we get impatient with people, we're really impatient with ourselves. Granted, some people take a long time to tell a story, but on the other hand, it's a gesture of respect to show them that you're willing to listen. Often, as you're standing there, waiting for them to finish, you can pick up things about them that you might not otherwise get a chance to notice.
Posted by: Melissa at May 8, 2006 11:17 AM
Graphics from works 