Life can be kind of crazy. Need to take a Twitter hiatus. See you guys on the other side. If you need anything - gadgetmom88 on gtalk.
This was the last tweet I made on the @thegadgetmom Twitter account. Due to personal reasons, I'm taking a Twitter break. Not just a Twitter break, but a gadget break, a gadget obsession break. Is that even possible? I'm not sure, but here's what I did today.
- Dumped the Fascinate and the Palm Pre and picked up a Samsung Rogue. That's not a fancy new Android phone. It's an early 2009 FEATURE PHONE. It has a ^gasp^ resistive touchscreen. I keep pressing buttons on it and wondering why it doesn't register. You actually have to press hard, or use a fingernail. I'm inserting a hashtag here - #firstworldproblems. I know I'm detoxing from Twitter, but it doesn't mean I have to leave behind my favorite features in every day conversation.
- Quit Twitter. Actually, I did that last night. Today I removed the things that might make me pick it back up at a weak - read bored - moment. I removed Twitter and Tweetings from the Mac, removed Twitter, Tweetings, Echofon, and 4 other Twitter apps from the iPad, removed it from my Blackberry - even though I've never accessed it that way, and de-activated the phones from which I so love to interact with Twitter. The Rogue has a Twitter app, I can't delete it, but I don't think that even I could be so desperate as to access Twitter from a feature phone.
- Removed my Google Reader tech feeds. All of them. Though it pained me greatly, I even removed MobileUnwrapped.com, @jkendrick's blog, Android Central, PreCentral, TiPB... excuse me for a second, I have to blow my nose and wipe a tear.
When I picked up the Rogue, I pretended that it was for one of my kids. Because, you know, I was embarrassed in front of this 20 something kid using a Samsung Infuse (TOTALLY HOT HARDWARE) that I might actually use the phone myself. I'm not sure I'll handle this new persona that must be born now that I don't have the newest mobile hardware. I will shamefully carry my phone in a pocket and hide in closets to take phone calls to no one will see what I'm using. I'm hoping this embarrassment passes. Soon.
So the question, why. Why the detox? A few reasons... one, my husband showed me the bank statement from last month - I exceeded the tech budget by about $400 (FWIW, the tech budget is exactly $0 when raising 6 kids). That was apps, cases, apps, batteries, apps, and apps. Wow. No one is complaining about the money I'm spending on my favorite habit, but it was an eye opener to see just how much was going out the door. The second reason, I was curious exactly what would fill my in-between moments without Twitter around. I'm currently working on writing a book that has nothing to do with tech (I know, hard to believe) and wanted to see if my focus improves without the distraction of Twitter. And finally, I'm wondering how much different my interactions with my family will be when I'm not constantly distracted by the ding on my phone indicating yet another Twitter @ reply that constantly draws me into the Twitter world.
I must be honest, I worry that my shunning of the tech world will make me irrelevant in the Twitterverse and mobile blogging world. However, I wonder if you're as curious as I about the outcome of such an experiment. Ever see the Seifield masturbation episode? I'm wondering if I'll achieve some kind of enlightenment from abstaining from Twitter...
-- disclaimer -- I may use an automated Twitter posting service to announce new posts in this series. This in no way constitutes my use of Twitter as a time waster, entertainment function, distraction, or otherwise. In other words, I promise not to inhale.
So the question, why. Why the detox? A few reasons... one, my husband showed me the bank statement from last month - I exceeded the tech budget by about $400 (FWIW, the tech budget is exactly $0 when raising 6 kids). That was apps, cases, apps, batteries, apps, and apps. Wow. No one is complaining about the money I'm spending on my favorite habit, but it was an eye opener to see just how much was going out the door. The second reason, I was curious exactly what would fill my in-between moments without Twitter around. I'm currently working on writing a book that has nothing to do with tech (I know, hard to believe) and wanted to see if my focus improves without the distraction of Twitter. And finally, I'm wondering how much different my interactions with my family will be when I'm not constantly distracted by the ding on my phone indicating yet another Twitter @ reply that constantly draws me into the Twitter world.
I must be honest, I worry that my shunning of the tech world will make me irrelevant in the Twitterverse and mobile blogging world. However, I wonder if you're as curious as I about the outcome of such an experiment. Ever see the Seifield masturbation episode? I'm wondering if I'll achieve some kind of enlightenment from abstaining from Twitter...
-- disclaimer -- I may use an automated Twitter posting service to announce new posts in this series. This in no way constitutes my use of Twitter as a time waster, entertainment function, distraction, or otherwise. In other words, I promise not to inhale.
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