I’ve recently been reading around the topic of information overload and how companies can communicate more effectively in a world where we are bombarded with information.

Infobesity was coined by Alvin Toffler in the 1970s when he published his book, Future Shock. If he was concerned about infobesity then can you imagine what he’d say about the fast food information diet we are on now?

Here are two interesting facts for those of us who like to put things into context.

1. From the beginning of time till 2003 we generated 5 billion gigabytes of data. By 2013 we will generate that much data every 10 minutes. (Paul Laudicina, Speakeasy 16 October 2012)
2. The average person receives 63,000 words of new information every day. That’s about the length of a novel. If you wanted to read everything you got in 2011 it would take you the first three months of 2012. (Bloomberg Businessweek, Barrett Sheridan, 19 June 2012).

With ALL this information and content available, whenever we want it and whatever platform we want it on, it’s no wonder being seen,heard and actually engaging people, your clients, customers, friends and even family is hard. Throw in transmedia and not so suddenly the whole way we market and communicate has changed.

As Frank Rose, author of The Art of Immersion, has commented: “Everywhere we look, stories are breaking the limits imposed by print, film and video. Boundaries that once seemed clear-between author, audience, content and marketing…are starting to blur.”

At the heart of what storytellers must do is create a good story, one that is credible, honest, relevant and meaningful. As I’ve said many times, content is King. Only when the story (brand, corporate, personal…) is well thought through and constructed, can communicating it effectively occur.

So what does this mean for businesses, large and small. It means we all have to move our thinking from what our messages/content is, and making it consistent across multiple touch points (where most companies are at the moment), to having clarity about our brand and the story it represents, and then ensure it is reassembled for the different audiences on the appropriate channels.

A great story/good content, presented in an engaging and interesting way, whatever platform it may be on, is the only way to rise above the ‘noise’. Of course, great visual communication design is essential as well. Just ask anyone who has had to plough through the financials section of an Annual Report how bad (or no) design communication, can make absorbing the information challenging.

Let me know your thoughts about infobesity, just how much information can we really absorb and/or how great content and visual communication design helps or hinders business every day.