Heavy multimedia users are more easily distracted by irrelevant information

We are constantly awash with headlines, links, images, icons, videos, animations and sound.  This is the way of the 21^st century.

As the article points out, the causality isn't clear between heavy media usage and attention difficulties, but the correlation does seem to be strong.

My own daily work involves balancing multiple streams of incoming information, competing for immediate attention. It's very easy to get drawn into fixing a situation or helping someone resolve a problem which, while important, isn't at the heart of what I need to accomplish.

I start each day by reviewing goals and identifying the most important items which need to be accomplished. One technique I use to stay on track entails using hourly reminders in iCal stating simply "F O C U S". Side issues inevitably come up during the day — some of them business critical — but the reminders keep me from getting sucked in too deeply to potential productivity quagmires, forcing me to either wrestle the attention-interloping issue to the ground with dispatch, delegate it, or schedule it for my deliberate consideration at another time.

Slideshow: Brain Foods That Help You Concentrate

Ginseng, Fish, Berries, or Caffeine?

Listen to the buzz about foods and dietary supplements and you'll believe they can do everything from sharpen focus and concentration, to enhance memory, attention span, and brain function.

But do they really work? There's no denying that as we age chronologically, our body ages right along with us. The good news is that you can increase your chances of maintaining a healthy brain -- if you add "smart" foods and beverages to your diet.

It's all about #8, blueberries.

The end of free lyrics? | Macworld

Lyrics, like music and movies, are intellectual property. They are copyrighted and those who create them are often paid for doing so. The fact that they were (and remain) freely available on the Internet doesn’t mean that the owners have abrogated their right to them, only that they haven’t been particularly concerned about enforcing that right.

I don't think the trends here indicate the end of all free access to lyrics -- but that may apply more so to big hits in the future.

It seems inevitable that the use of lyrics will move to a Creative Commons-like approach. Major publishers may want to tightly control access to their lyrics (for better or for worse), while smaller players may be happy to allow free usage given proper attribution.

THE NEW BUSINESS MODEL: IMOGEN HEAP

... a masterful analysis of artist Imogen Heap’s use of social media to market her music.

The post itself is a must-read for anyone marketing their music today....

A nice repost of a great writeup on Imogen Heap's magnetic music and marketing.

Connect one musician to another
through the musicians they've played with

Neat site. Laurie Anderson to Nirvana in only 3 steps.

WHEN thousands of protestors took to the streets in Iran following this year's disputed presidential election, Twitter messages sent by activists let the world know about the brutal policing that followed. A few months earlier, campaigners in Moldova used Facebook to organise protests against the country's communist government, and elsewhere too the internet is playing an increasing role in political dissent.

Now governments are trying to regain control. By reinforcing their efforts to monitor activity online, they hope to deprive dissenters of information and the ability to communicate.

Control the information, control the population. Good work by the OpenNet Initiative http://opennet.net/