Would You Take The 60 Day Challenge?

Would You Take The 60 Day Challenge?

Jul 21, 2010
entrepreneur

Could you go 60 days without using Social Media? No blogging, tweeting, fb status updates, etc.?

Well I did it….kinda. Here’s what I learned.

In some areas I was more successful than others. I haven’t blogged in two months. As for tweeting and fb the longest I went without using them was 30 days. Honestly it was harder than I thought it would be.

So Why Did I Do It?

1) I wanted to unplug. It was time to take a step back from being “plugged in” and just take time to think.  I turned 37 this past May, which puts me closer to 40 than ever before :) I really wanted to take a break from some of the noise that was in my day to day life and just take some time to reflect on where I’ve been and where I’m going.

2) I wanted to really see if “technology” was hindering or helping me to have a “better” life.  I can honestly say that being unplugged from social networks for a long period of time left me feeling out of touch with people.  As humans we have a basic desire to connect and have relationships.  I will write on this more later but to sum it up, being connected, even if only by a status update, is a good thing.

3) I wanted to get a sense of whether Social Media was indeed here to stay or just a fad. Without a doubt Social Media is not going anywhere…ever. I know that’s a big claim but I believe it.

It aligns too closely with basic our human needs to have relationships and be connected. Who we are and who we want to be are all played out using Social Media channels.  It certainly will evolve but it’s not just a passing trend.

4) Is Social Media consuming all of my time? The answer was no.  Moderation, balance, prioritize…are all words that come to mind when I think about using Social Networks, blogging, etc.

So What Did I Learn?

I can honestly say that cutting out all Social Networking is not something that I would permanently do. Sure I think taking time off now and again is a good thing but overall Social Networks contribute positively to so many different aspects of my life.

Blogging allows to me to become a better communicator and share ideas with others. I really missed this part the most.  I enjoy finding new things, inspiring others, creating ideas and having conversations.

Twitter can be a time suck if you let it, however it’s still a very useful tool.  It’s hard to beat Twitter for finding new ideas, seeing things you may have missed and learning about what’s currently happening on topics of interest to you.

Facebook is hard to beat for keeping in touch with family and friends.  While facebook gets all the press, this is a Social Network channel that’s the least important to me from a business standpoint.  Yes facebook has 500 million users and companies are jumping over themselves to figure out the best ways to use this channel.  But in the end I’m not sure businesses are going to find this to be as dominating of a marketing channel as the press would have people think.

It’s great to be back and it’s time to get back to business!

photo credit

  • natalia

    Thanks God you've come back)we missed your articles…

  • http://www.RichLazzara.com/ Rich Lazzara

    Thanks Natalia, Ive missed writing.

  • Chris

    Rich,

    Glad that you are back! I was actually about to send you an email saying that I am not getting your blogs and to make sure your distribution list is working.

    As far as Facebook and Twitter, I thought you might be on a retreat or in another company selling a yacht or 3.

    I like the research and data that you have provided. You are right, it seems that everyone wants to check out their Facebook accounts and make sure that we did not miss anything.

    This day in age of keeping in touch is different and we all need to accept it. You are right in stating that it is not going anywhere. It is only going to improve and get better, so we should all be prepared and embrace the change, just as generations before us accepted cable and VCR's as a new way to watch TV. They also accepted microwaves as a new way to cook. We need to accept social media as a new way to communicate with the world!

    Thanks again for sharing!

  • http://twitter.com/stevehaase Steve Haase

    Great to hear your firsthand experience here, Rich. Thanks for sharing. I find it fascinating to see the ways that online social networks are becoming an extension of who we are. They really are becoming part of us, and us a part of them.

    So I agree with you: they're here to stay, they're going to become more and more how we get our information and how we share our lives, and they're just damned fun to be engaged in. :)