Give it your best shot.

The utility of online commentary is formidable, particularly for those of us who are accustomed to writing extemporaneously. If one list moderator turns down the volume, another list gladly picks up the content. From the standpoint of the writer, the task then becomes which target market to embrace, understanding that differing shades of commentary can be cross-linked via online "switching stations" like Facebook. Information can be conveyed in written form, static images, slideshows, powerpoint presentations, sound, and/or video. Search engines like Google, Ask, and bing compete for users' inquiries with highly nuanced linkages. Live video conferencing has become readily available and cloud computing technology looks to massive data transfers and specialized software installations on remote servers that dwarf what can be achieved in a parochial setting.

We're not in Kansas anymore. The 24-7 news cycle accelerates all manner of information and not always in a particularly coherent way. I've long felt that in an age of "too much information", the ability to extract useful meaning in a succinct and timely way becomes a sort of prime imperative for human users and digital tools alike.

As I grow older, the meaning of perspective takes on more significance. I'm physically less mobile but my online traffic more than makes up for the give and take of the rubber chicken circuit and the tedium of long meetings with seemingly endless agendas. Like it or not, I have more time for reflection combined with communications gear that comes with a steep learning curve. I find myself longing for "minions" to sort out the white noise and to follow through on purposive activity and after-action analysis. The clerical side of this industrial-strength shop will bury me if I fail to invent and devote significant attention to archival systems.

There are specialists who explore and explain such task analysis. I would be lost without the "big fat books" that come out as after-market releases when major software and hardware upgrades become irresistible. They function as giant-sized cliff notes and hopefully give me the specialized vocabulary I need when attempting to communicate with and learn from people who mean to have answers to the questions I come to ask when - not if - I lose my way in this new cognitive wilderness.

Gotta love it.