My So-Called Digital Life

I only know about 5 phone numbers by heart. I simply don't need to know them anymore. I store them in my phone once and then don't think about them again. Just as easily I can look up email addresses, get directions, define a word, find that actor's name - all with just a click or two.

The Internet used to be dominated by plain ol' information - an incredible stockpile of searchable facts. (I use the term facts loosely). But it was information about stuff, things, places, famous people. Today it is increasingly about us. Often the information we seek online is now our information in our e-mails, our pictures on Flickr, our videos on YouTube, our friends on MySpace, even that phone number I can never remember.

An old boss of mine was a huge fan of Franklin Covey organizers. She wrote everything down and had tabs for different categories of her information - phone numbers, appointments, meetings, photos, etc. Her life was in the pages of her organizer.

So the idea of "outsourcing our memories" isn't new. People have used paper and pen for years to help them remember things. But today our lives are increasingly online. And the ubiquitous nature of technology and the Web has made organizing and accessing this information easier than ever.