I know a lot of folks that refuse to carry a blackberry.
They can’t handle the constant vibration or the blinking red light. Or just the idea that there inbox is growing and they are just a click from checking it out. Anytime. Anywhere.
So these friends of mine carry two phones. One for talking. And one for email/sms.
I have some other friends that won’t even turn on their blackberry on the weekends. They can’t handle it. That’s because the Blackberry is so good at messaging that they can’t put it down. Ever. I set up my blackberry differently. Mine doesn’t vibrate or flash a red light when I get a new email. I check it when I want on my terms.
That’s what came to mind when I read Hugh Macleod’s post today about cancelling his Twitter account. He didn’t just abandon it. It seems as though he actually deleted his account.
There are a suite of web services that I’m addicted to and want to use every day. Either for fun, or to stay connected with friends, loved ones or colleagues or to learn or whatever. Readers of this site know that one of them is Tumblr. I’ve been posting every day for a long time at this point. I love the product and that’s one of the reasons why I invested in David and the company.
Another service that I use every day and many times a day is Twitter. I’m not just broadcasting – I’m reading other people’s updates. More than ever. I’m using it in new ways too. It’s my real time version of yahoo answers. With tracking I talk to folks that I don’t yet follow, I keep track of our portfolio companies and I can interact during important events. I am super excited about the possiblities with tracking on Twitter. I believe it can lead to amazing stuff including business applications and other cool ideas that I can’t stop thinking about.
I just mentioned 3 things that I’m addicted to. Blackberry, Tumblr and Twitter. Am I going to give them up. No way. They mean to much to me at this point. But I use them all on my terms.
I’m getting way more from those things than I give.
And that trade works for me all day long.