Tech - your friend or foe?
A few famous bloggers died on the job last week and this has cast a spotlight on the blogging lifestyle, which can become an obsessive, 24/7 affair.
The New York Times ran an article on the subject, ‘In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog ‘Til They Drop’. Here’s a sobering snippet:
“I haven’t died yet,” said Michael Arrington, the founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, a popular technology blog. The site has brought in millions in advertising revenue, but there has been a hefty cost. Mr. Arrington says he has gained 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and four employees. “At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen. This is not sustainable.”
Putting aside bloggers for a second, every entrepreneur I know is tied to the web 24/7, cranking through emails and often, communicating directly with customers well into the night/early hours (that’s addictive!).
In this sense, the web has afforded us the ability to stay in touch, craft our own work lifestyles, and run our companies more efficiently.
Undeniably, progress.
But I think we all have those moments where we run run run, fueled by tech, to a point where our bodies say: “Careful… I can’t do this much longer.”
And at that vital moment, when the choice is still ours to make, we often make the wrong choice - for passion is hard to resist - with life-threatening consequences.
Mr. Arrington - all of us - will be better off if we keep this in mind, and act accordingly.
On that note, spring is in full blossom, and it’s time to take a bike ride. And yes, I’m going to leave by Blackberry behind, although that’ll take a concerted effort…
April 15, 2008 at 3:33 pm
There’s a great book worth reading called Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences (by Edward Tenner). The title says it all.
http://www.amazon.com/Why-Things-Bite-Back-Consequences/dp/0679747567
April 15, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I hear you Oliver. Here it is at 11.30pm and I’m doing exactly that. It’s very difficult to switch off these days with access to communication avenues so readily available. Perhaps what needs to be done is for those of us chronically chained to ours laptops to draw a definitive line the sand and just stop working beyond a certain point, waking up refreshed the next morning - rather than bleary eyed - for whatever lies ahead.
April 16, 2008 at 12:16 am
@anhua: I’ve added that book to my reading queue - thanks for the tip.
@lostateminor: I used to have a rule - no work after 6pm - but that’s a very hard one to live by when you’re in start-up mode.