There is a common requests I get from users all the time - I need to see more information!

A lesson I learned years ago was that users can only process so much information before becoming unproductive - in spite of what they think.

Can a user process 100 records on a page? Sure. How about a 1000? Maybe. But, how about 5,000 records per page, across 700 pages? Never.

It is why searching, tagging and other organizational techniques exist.

One of the secrets to providing any product or service, is understanding how people will use it and more importantly if a feature request really reveals a use case OR a behavioral roadblock.

In my various careers, I have observed a range of fascinating behaviors when it comes to managing large quantities of information or work.

There are five behavioral types in my opinion.

• The Worker Bee, takes the information as it arrives, processes it and then goes back for more, over and over until they are done.
• The Batcher, grabs a chunk of information, processes it and then may or may not grab a new batch.
• The Cherry Picker, spends an inordinate amount of effort skimming information for the bits they feel warrant their attention, before processing any of it.
• The Procrastinator, who will spend a lot of time contemplating and trying to understand the scope of information presented to them, before devising a plan for how best to process it.
• The Buried, who get way too much information, usually because they got what they asked for and haven’t realized they need help or to restrict what they ask for.

These are the core groups I have observed in my years of managing workflow processes in hugely different environments.

Regardless of environment the only highly productive type, that is universal, is the Work Bee.

Worker Bee behavior is the predecessor to agile development trends. Its what previous generations called “having a good work ethic”.

What type are you?

Only five percent of those surveyed said that they watch video on a TV or other video-playing device regularly. Downloading from places like the iTunes Store or Xbox Live Video to the Apple TV or an Xbox 360 make this possible without having to use an HTPC. Still, even though these solutions make it easier to watch downloaded content on the big(ger) screen, they clearly have yet to hit it big with the general public.

(Via Report: 95% of Internet video stuck looking longingly at TV.)

I always wonder about reports like these. What us the real agenda behind this one?

After all, 5 years ago it would have read “100% of Internet video stuck looking longingly at TV” or “0% of those surveyed said they watched video on a TV or other video-playing device”.

In my case, Amy and I watch the vast majority of our video using a $500 video projector in our living room. In the neighborhood of 75-85% of our video content comes from online sources, including iTunes, Hulu.com, ABC.com and Podcasts.

5% penetration in the 2-3 years that online video content has really taken off is not bad.

Having owned virtually every Apple laptop since the Duo 230c, I believe this shortage is being created by demand, not an artificial manipulation.

It might not be the iPhone, but the MacBook Air is selling much stronger than many of us would have guessed. After a full month of being on the market, the MacBook Air is still a difficult commodity to obtain in some markets…

(Via MacBook Air aflutter: demand stays strong, sold out often.)

Remember, most users consume probably 10% of the capabilities of any modern Intel-based computer.

Graphics professionals, videographers and gamers may push beyond its capabilities, but literally everyone else would be more than satisfied with the Air’s capabilities.

Think about it, 2 gigs a ram, intel processor more powerful than one a mere 2 years ago and enough storage for most normal uses.

I think quality vs. kitchen sink feature list is winning out in this case.

Was going to post about how odd it seemed to hear that e-mail is dead and Twitter, Pownce or Facebooks are the solution to everything.

At least that came out of the Future of Web Applications conference.

Why not post the thought it triggered?

In its place a brainstorm erupted that is worth millions.

Seriously.

Time to hunker down in the bat cave to prototype the idea.

Should take 90 days with any luck.

Send water, food and angle funding.