Imagine. What if you couldn’t check Facebook, watch TV, read the latest tweets, listen to the radio, or call your best friend? For me, that would be a complete nightmare.

If we’ve met, you know me as a person that is never offline. I have Twitter feeding texts to my phone; I am emailing clients around the clock; I always have Facebook open on my browser, texting, checking in on foursquare, tweeting, sharing, and dialed in—all the time. Last month, Verizon reported that I used 900 text messages in less than 30 days. For some of you, this sounds completely obsessive and a bit crazy, but for me it’s my life. As a Marketing and Social Media Consultant, it’s imperative for me to be online, reading blogs and tweets, learning, and sharing all the time. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it. However, in the last couple of months, my brain went into overdrive. I couldn’t take it anymore and needed to get a break. I needed a media fast.

Last weekend I challenged myself to a (social) media fast; I went offline for 48 hours. I turned off my phone, closed my laptop, and completely disconnected. At first it was a little nerve-racking. As I left for my weekend getaway, a few thoughts kept popping up, “Oh, I forgot to send a meeting request for my team meeting” or “Shoot, I need to tell Bob that I’m out of town.” Once I got past the initial angst though (about 5 hours), I started to feel better. The longer I was disconnected, the better I felt. In fact, it was a bit liberating to know that nobody could contact me and that I wasn’t obligated to respond. By Sunday, I was dreading the thought of turning on my phone and opening my computer. I loved the brain vacation and the ability to just be free.

Things I learned and suggestions from my media fast:

• Life goes on—Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. Although I’d like to think of myself as an important part of Projectline, I know that business will go on even when I’m offline. Not that I actually thought business would stop, but I wouldn’t ever want to be a roadblock for anyone trying to get things done. Now I realize that everyone needs a little break and it’s completely reasonable to go dark for a day or two.
• I was TOO connected. I realized that I needed boundaries. I’m a bit addicted to my inbox, wanting to be responsive and helpful all the time. At night, I like to check my email to catch up before the next day (I have customers in multiple time zones). But it’s happened many times where I’d be sucked in for at least 2 to 3 hours before bed. I need to dedicate my evenings to enjoying my time and not making work be my life all the time.
• A chance to think freely. The media fast made me think how I don’t usually have the time to just BE and evaluate my life. Of course we’ve all seen the statistics on the influence of media but what I’m talking about is actually thinking about the direction of our lives, our goals and priorities, and being able to reflect on how we live our lives without media distracting our attention.
• Try new things. Doing a media fast is the perfect time to try something new—no distractions, all learning. I ended up playing card games, going on a hike, and ate at some new restaurants. Take advantage of the time and ability to do something you wouldn’t normally do if you were connected.
• Joint fast. If you decide to do a media fast with someone else, choose to do it with someone you really care about (and only do with someone who is also doing a media fast!). Luckily, I did a weekend getaway with a close friend and we had plenty of activities and exploring to do on our Anacortes adventure. However, if you’re with someone that drives you nuts after 10 hours—you’ll go nuts. Without media, you’re with that person all the time, so choose wisely.

Overall, my media fast was an awesome experience. I had the opportunity to truly relax, rethink my priorities, and come back to the media world with a clear head. I’d recommend it to anyone.

Anyone else want to try a media fast? Let me know how it goes!

 

What would a blog be without a New Year’s prediction post? Before you throw your arms up and shout, “where is the Projectline social media prognostication blog post,” take a deep breath and keep reading.
2010 is so 2010.

Zynga social games took over Facebook. Groupon rose to local deal dominance. LinkedIn became more social. Facebook became a movie. It was a good year.

2011: The Year of Facebook

I know it’s a cliché to say that Facebook will be huge, but the reality is that it will be really huge. Just the other day, investors valued Facebook at $50 billion dollars, making it one of the most valuable websites in the world.

I also know that Mark Zuckerberg was named Time’s Person of the Year, implying perhaps that 2010 was the year of Facebook. But I think 2011 will be the year of Facebook and social media, and judging by the number of Facebook chats I get from my technology-averse aunt, everybody will be on Facebook by the end of 2011.

I also think businesses will start to avoid building websites and instead put up a Facebook page (see the Facebook page for Oola Distillery—their website is minimal, so their Facebook page fills the role of offering more information about the business and its news). Why spend money on a website design when you can draw from an audience of 500 million and pull them into a page where people interact?

The new way to build a website in 2011?

Way to Consolidate?

Now that people are diving into social media websites, they are going to naturally want a place to tie them together. I see many people asking about the best way to centralize their online presence. A few different answers do get thrown out (like about.me), but the first company to make it easy to consolidate various social media properties under a personal domain name and also offer customizable design and layout will be a winner. If you already use a service that does this, please share it in the comments.

Social Media Meets the Real World

Social media is great for many reasons. One is that regular folks can inform the masses by being at the right place and time or by just putting their thoughts out there. It still feels strange to me when Twitter handles are published via old media. It just sounds invasive when a TV reporter says “on Twitter, cupcakemaker27 writes.” Social media is having a huge impact on information distribution as traditional media validates, yet undermines, the power of social media at the exact same time. How will social media intersect with the real world in 2011?

Do you have a social media prediction for 2011? A social media convention you hope dies in 2011? Do you want to see Google finally develop a social media service? Have at it in the comments.