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In Praise of Constant Connectivity
An anonymous reader wrote to mention an opinion piece on CNet discussing the realities of living in constant contact with the world at large. The author argues that the ability to connect actually creates time for us that we wouldn't have otherwise had. From the article: "... rather than obliterate our social lives, always-on connectivity and the increased flexibility it brings will allow us to break free from the office and actually socialise more. Sure, you'll be on call at unusual hours of the day, but think about how much more efficient you'll be -- particularly if your most productive hours aren't between 9am and 5:30pm! And besides, all newfangled technology comes with an 'off' switch should you find yourself needing some down time."
As the trainer of a junior soccer team it's impossible to handle all the administrative staff without email and soon this will be also true for web access. So constant connectivity might soon become as important as a phone if not more important.
O. Wyss
See http://wyoguide.sf.net/papers/Cross-platform.html
I think--hang on, I need to get my water from the microwave--it is great--just a minute, I need to take this call--because you can get so much--dude, I just an email with a chucknorrisfacts.com link--done--hold on, my instant message is flashing--with all of this--oh shit, my palm pilot alarm just went off. Now what was I saying?
Worse is the number of people driving pickup trucks around in the state you describe. Chances are, you and your bike are going to come off worse than them and thier truck when they make that connection with you without even seeing you.
"And besides, all newfangled technology comes with an 'off' switch should you find yourself needing some down time."
20 Minutes Into The Future:
Janie Crane: "Edison... an off switch!"
Metrocop: "She'll get years for that. Off switches are illegal!"
--Max Headroom Episode 16, "Blanks"
I'm not sure I agree with this. Being on call is real work because it limits your freedom to do the things you'd normally do outside work to relax.
Many of the people using this technology are doing so because they've been given no choice or have been led to believe that they're somehow not important unless they're constantly available at someone else's whim.
The ones who are likely to welcome this are people who already work freelance in jobs such as writing and journalism, like the author of the article maybe? They already have to do time management and have a large amount of control over their working hours. Nobody is likely to ring them at 3AM to complain about a typo in their last article for example.
When 'on call' means supporting complicated systems that run 24/7 it's different. You have no control over the timing and you can't switch your phone off if you need to deal with something important outside work. People in other timezones will call you at convenient times for them, regardless of your situation.
I'm not saying being on call is all bad and some companies manage it very well but its somewhat naive to assume that giving people more connectivity will give them more control over their work rather than less.
Ame
While it's true that there's that "off" switch that's always available, the nature of the beast is always tempting you to leave it on. I have a number of friends who get ecstatic when their phone dies or gets lost because of the rush of freedom they feel, but they would never purposefully leave it behind or turn it off.
... he can't. Everyone thinks they could just turn off the TV or computer and have more alone time ... but they don't.
The internet can be sort of like drugs. Every addict thinks he can quit whenever he wants to, but the truth is
Unless you are self-employed, a tech-addict, or someone else who's constant connectivity is self-mandated. If it is mandated by by your employer, then the off switch is really a "reprimand me" button. Don't believe me? Whatever 'it' is, leave 'it' off and see what happens.
As for whether connectivity hinders or enhances your productivity, it really depends your job and the tasks/responsibilities thereof. I was constantly connected at my last job. It helped somethings... like being able to respond to emergencies (both real ones and management-defined ones) and being able to reach co-workers to ask questions or offer/recieve assistance. But it hurt a lot of other areas, like being able to finish a task or talk to a customer without interruption. Luckily my boss allowed us to use the 'off' switch. Yours may not. I found that in order to get any actual work done, I had to turn the instant-link radio off, shut down email, and forward the phone to voicemail... effectively cutting off my precious connectivity. But I could only do this rarely because 'people needed to reach me'. In the end, it was basically a wash. An incredibly annoying wash. Even when its a definite benefit, it's still annoying.
In my personal life, being constantly connected is more of a blessing... but its a one-way connection. When either of the phones ring, I let voicemail catch it unless it is my wife or I am expecting a call. My 'goal' is get people out of the notion that they can pick up a phone and interrupt me whenever they feel like it. My phones are for my convienience... not anyone else's. Most people have gotten the hint that if they need to reach me then the best way to do it is to send me an email or leave me a message. If they need to reach me NOW, RIGHT NOW DAMMIT, then most of them are out of luck. I don't do 'now, right now dammit'. Those closest to me can email my blackberry for a rapid response... once I've decided whether one is necessary. I think this is the way its supposed to work, even at work. Unfortunately we lack the power to do it anywhere other than our private lives. And by 'it' I mean the philosophy that the end user... the reciever of the message/phone call... should be in the position to determine whether it interrupts them or not. The default mode of instant-connectivity takes that decision out of our hands and puts it in the hands of technology, but... at least personally... we can take that power back. Unless you are self-employed, a tech-addict, or someone else who's constant connectivity is self-mandated. If it is mandated by your employer, then the off switch is really a "reprimand me" button. Don't believe me? Whatever 'it' is, leave 'it' off and see what happens.
As for whether connectivity hinders or enhances your productivity, it really depends your job and the tasks/responsibilities thereof. I was constantly connected at my last job. It helped some things... like being able to respond to emergencies (both real ones and management-defined ones) and being able to reach co-workers to ask questions or offer/receive assistance. But it hurt a lot of other areas, like being able to finish a task or talk to a customer without interruption. I found that in order to get any actual work done, I had to turn the instant-link radio off, shut down email, and forward the phone to voicemail... effectively cutting off my precious connectivity. But I could only do this rarely because 'people needed to reach me'. In the end, it was basically a wash. An incredibly annoying wash. Even when its a definite benefit, it's still annoying.
In my personal life, being constantly connected is more of a blessing... but its a one-way connection. When either of the phones ring, I let voicemail catch it unless it is my wife or I am expecting a call. My 'goal' is get people out of the notion that they can pick up a phone and interrupt me whenever they feel like it. My phones are for my convenience... not anyone else's. Most people have gotten th
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... has one of my managers gone, then? His out-of-office autoreply claims he will have "no access to email".
Yet I get paged while I'm on holidays. Hmm.
I'm sorry, but having it be on in the first place was stupid. You should NOT have had it even on you! Change your voice mail greeting to explain if you must but check your messages later and if anyone yells at you for not picking it up, you can just ask them "Did you even listen to the message? I. Was. Not. Available." Then they have to admit having been dipshits.
i am a soviet space shuttle
...when your power goes out, you can still get on with your life.
In the big black-out in the northeastern U.S. in 2003, people who absolutely relied on Internet access/email/etc. were suddenly paralyzed. The withdrawal symptoms were sad to watch. If you really want to interrupt the Internet, forget DoS attacks: just cut the power.
Anyway, I make my living online, but I'm offline more than not. I don't want to be efficiently working ALL DAY LONG; I want to work when I have to, and spend the rest of the time with my spouse and kids, doing non-electronic things. Cook. Draw. Read. Hike. Camp. Wrestle. Play chess or poker with real material objects. Take a nap.
$nice = $webHosting + $domainNames + $sslCerts
I teach gifted middle school kids. After some interesting phone calls at home last year (from parents) my boss suggested I only use e-mail and refuse to give out my phone number. Life has been much better since then. Smart bosses understand that everyone needs some downtime and control over their schedule. Of course, smart bosses are in short supply -- I'm lucky on that count. The best ways to be connected are mobile (so I can choose the place) and asynchronous (so I can choose the time).