I’ve been talking about “Manageable Tech” for a while now. A few years ago, I even started a podcast and a book project about the topic called Zen of Being Digital. Back then, I couldn’t get a publisher interested in the book because social media marketing books were all the rage. A book about simplifying tech, paring down, unplugging or taking a break? Blasphemy!
Fast forward to now. Fast Company publishes an #Unplug: The Complete, Printable Guide. Baratunde Thurston left the Internet for 25 days. And the #unplug hashtag is on fire. Faisal Hoque provides his definition of “unplug” which focuses on “giving up craving.”
I’m on a book tour for Social Media Engagement for Dummies, and while we were brainstorming the Savvy Social Tips to share at our events, I threw out “unplugging,” the idea that shutting down the devices and stepping away to breathe can give you more perspective, clarity and focus about how you’re using social media and technology in general.
Counter-intuitive for someone who has lived, breathed, taught about and evangelized since the 1990s? I didn’t think so. Because the #1 thing I hear from people around the world when I meet them in person is “What should I be doing online? I’m so overwhelmed!”
My short answer? “Step back. Breathe.”
My longer answer? I’ll share it over time on this blog. I hope it will be a start of a new, refreshing conversation. About getting offline to better manage and even improve what you’re doing online.
And take a listen to my interview with Srinivas Rao for Blogcast FM.
How do you unplug? Or do you?
