Hey folks -- today, Saturday, March 24, is Shutdown Day, the day people were asked to step away from their computers for 24 hours.
Well, here I am, and if you're reading this today, you are too.
The folks at Engadget seemed to take offense with the concept, and swore to double their computer usage today, though I won't go that far.
[Update 3/26: Just for the sake of completeness, here's a New York Press article giving the background and some of the controversies around Shutdown Day.]
While I admit that a good chunk of my computer usage seems to exist solely for itself, diverting me from some stuff in the real world, an even bigger chunk -- blogging, social photo sharing, e-mail, etc. -- is to enhance relationships that I have in real life.
So that's why I didn't shut down today. Besides, I don't like people telling me what to do, especially in the service of social gestures of questionable meaning.
Got any thoughts on Shutdown Day? Leave a comment below (tomorrow, if you're observing it).
Thanks -- Joe
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10 comments:
Why the shut down and who is asking for it??
~Terry
I had the computer on and was already checking bloglines this morning when I remembered it was Shutdown Day... Eh, I'd already booted and broke the rule, so I decided to just go with it. In my defense, I'm not really awake yet when I hit the on button in the morning. The laptop usually sits on the kitchen table and I hit the on button as I'm reaching in the frig for my first Coke of the day. Since I am not really awake till -after- the first coke of the day, I'm pleading sleepwalking <LOL>
http://journals.aol.com/astaryth/AdventuresofanEclecticMind/
http://adventuresofaneclecticmind.blogspot.com/
Somehow there is an assumption that what happens online isn't "real," that the medium invalidates the existence of actual people at both ends of the interactions. Yes, it's possible to ignore the face-to-face aspects or life (at least until they fall apart enough to compell ypur attention), but that doesn't make communication by bytes and pixels an inferior way to experience the world.
I think a "Turn On Day" would be a lot more productive. Instead of walking away from the very thing you're trying to promote, USE it to shout it out any way you can. On that day, we should encourage folks to write a blog post, Journal entry, or just a simple email to all friends to inform them of the initiative. Heck, some people might actually use the time to make a donation!
I am of the opinion that shutting down for me is shutting down "work" (the career) but not something I enjoy that brings peace and happiness, like writing journals, reading, playing with PSP, decorating the journal, etc. But then again, I have a life outside of J-Land. I guess I would agree with others that maybe some need to shut down so they have a life elsewhere. I don't really know anyone like that, but imagine they are out there. LOL.
Sonya
My computer was not turned on at all, shutdown day. I made it!
P.S. The Add Entry button and Edit journal button remain missing from my journal. Been a month now.
No alerts, not for journal entries not for comments. Comment I am not expecting since I have not done an entry for a few days but I am not getting one single entry alert.
h
Re: 3/26 Alerts problems -- I posted an entry about it, check it out:
http://journals.aol.com/journalseditor/magicsmoke/entries/2007/03/26/alerts-status/2080
Thanks -- Joe
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