There are interesting conversations brewing on the topic “continuous partial attention” and “flow”. I picked it up in Eric Norlin’s Paying attention to flow post over at Defrag. It seems the term “flow” is being used in several different ways and it can really turn your perspective upside-down if you aren’t in the “flow” which has caused me to entitle this post completely the opposite.

But as I listen and read more on the topic, it strikes me that “flow” is not something that is new. We may be experiencing flow at a different rate and in the web medium with all of the interactive, social network tools that are emerging around us. But it is fundamentally no different. Look at a trader who uses a Bloomberg terminal while simultaneously processing orders, talking on the phone and listening to CNBC in the background. If that isn’t managing flow at a high clock speed, I don’t know what is. That has been happening for decades.

Stowe Boyd, posted a video and pdf of his presentation in a recent post; it is worth it if you have 30 minutes to listen to it and not pay total attention while you are doing nine other things.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-4649359414711652737]

His premise of connectivity being more important than productivity is an interesting one, the fact that the productivity of your collective network is more critical than one’s individual productivity. That is a fundamental shift. My personal belief is the most successful individuals are those that can be a huge catalyst for network propulsion but also attain personal goals and meet individual objectives. I would posit that Stowe himself is that latter, personally successful but a powerful network contributor.

We live in a society where you are judged and viewed on what you personally accomplish (even as a member of a team). Without being able to separate yourself individually, it is impossible to differentiate your contributions to the network than any other member of the network. That is something that we must not lose sight of.

“Flow” and managing one’s attention are clearly topic du jour; they are right up there with “information overload”. The technologies are enabling us to process an inordinate amount of information fractionally and in short chunks of time. And it does give us a lot to think about regarding our own productivity and focus, and the productivity and focus of our networks.

So does the new emerging world of “flow” cause many to be hyper-productive and gain an individual competitive advantage? Or are we so into the bits and bytes of communication, connections and interaction that we’ve become so fragmented that we are completely not paying attention to anything? I do and will continue to the former but will certainly keep an eye of on the latter.