Information overload is a growing problem that most of us face each and every day. Email, phone calls, voice mail, facebook notifications, and that doesn't include the endless flow of spam. However there's no reason all this constant communication can't be tamed and organized so that we don't feel the stress and anxiety associated with being under a waterfall of information.

While some may feel powerless in the face of technological change, resigned to the notion that all this email and information is necessary for their work or personal advancement, the reality is that the cost of our desire to always be connected is high and still growing.

For example the research firm Basex Inc examined the economic impact of information overload on the US economy, and their findings point to a steady growth from one year to the next. In 2005 the cost of information overload to the US economy was $588 billion dollars and in 2006 that figure grew to $650 billion.

Perhaps a more tangible way to articulate this cost is via a similar study conducted by Intel, which estimated that people on average lose 8 hours of every week to information overload.

Since the CBC lockout has ended I've been able to get back onto both CBC radio and television, to analyze the latest trends and developments in technology. This one particular segment was regarding some legal troubles that Research in Motion, a Waterloo based company, has run into in the states in the form of a patent dispute. Essentially their appeal of an earlier decision was declined, which means they will have to pay a greater penalty then initially planned.