What would happen if we all took 24 hours offline . . . together?

When it comes to digital media, is it possible to have too much of a good thing? How easy is it for you to go off the grid? You will soon find out should you be brave enough to participate in the upcoming worldwide event called The Big TurnOff. The aim of BigTurnOff is to collectively take twenty four hours off from digital media as a social experiment in order to evaluate the role of and our relationship with technology in our lives.

When the organizers learned about my digital detox –thanks to CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen for her trendsetting coverage of my experience –they approached me for my take on the Big Turnoff. Here’s the recent interview:

On The Grid Guru of New Social media strategist and Guru of New, Sarah Browne, took 40 days off from social media in observance of Lent last year and also recently spent some time offline in Alaska. She was kind enough to take the time to share with us about her experiences with social media abstinence and about her life on the bleeding edge of technology. Here’s what we learned…

BigTurnOff.org: When did you first begin using social media?

Sarah Browne: Actually I crack up when I hear all the pundits act as if social media was just invented. Anybody remember eworld’s Town Square? Compuserve? Prodigy? America Online’s Million-Chatters-A-Day? And of course, BBS, MOO/MUD. I was one of the first AOL Greenhouse Partners, way back in the dino-days of 600 baud, circa 1995. One of the first things we learned from Steve Case, Ted Leonsis, Eileen Bramlet & Company was the value of ‘community.’ Our chat rooms, message boards and content were all powered by our members — some of whom were paid in free (overhead) accounts. Our sites were all about Community, Connection and Conversation. We just didn’t have the cool tools or tech available today. We used to dream of bandwidth.

BTO: What led you to become a social media strategist and expert of the new?

SB: I’ve been an ‘expert of the new’ for (sheesh, dare I say this?) decades. Early on, when I was at Ogilvy & Mather, I was the only one who ever asked — begged — to be put on pitches and new products. Everyone else was hugely concerned with filling up their portfolios — and new products have a long launch time . . . and pitches (see the recent Mad Men) can go poof in moments. But I loved the thrill of starting from scratch, the pulsebeat of innovation and I loved hanging out in corporate labs and research facilities. Ingredients, formulas, technologies turn me on. So for me, social media, in which ‘now is the new wow’ is merely the latest 24/7 focus group laboratory. I never set out to become a Social Media Strategist — I simply sniffed out the next new thing (as always) and applied it when clients asked me to.

BTO: With regards to technology, as the duration of time in product life cycles from bleeding edge to obsolete decreases ever more rapidly, do you find it increasingly challenging to stay abreast of what’s “new”?

SB: Absolutely. We recently snuck away to Glacier Bay, Alaska to go sea kayaking and clap away marauding bears. Connections were iffy and besides, I wanted to go off the grid. I was astounded by how ‘behind’ I was after only a few days. And my 2010 Radar Report, which was produced in January was “old” by February.

BTO: Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the barrage of available information and how do you manage it all?

SB: Yes, I often feel overwhelmed and I am not nearly as uber-engaged as many of my social media cohorts. I have learned that when I get to a certain point, I need to actually make myself shut down the computer and turn off the phone. I really hate Facebook because of what it’s become and really only like the friends/family part of it. I probably have Hidden 75% of my so-called Friends due to their E-Hole behavior. So one way to manage it all is: TURN IT OFF. The other way is to use management features on services like CoTweet, push only certain notifications to your cell and oh yeah, TURN IT OFF.

BTO: How do you keep up and help your clients stay up to date as well?

SB: I have my daily morning drill, which includes certain sites from local to global. Some info is pushed to me — New York Times, of course, and some I scurry after. There are a couple of trend sites I like, too, — I am a Spotter for Springwise, for example. And of course, Twitter, mon dieu! In 30 seconds, you know whether there’s been an earthquake in Chile or whether Justin Bieber is now shaving. I try to keep very current in certain categories because of fave clients and often will either email them or blog about their issues. Right now, I have a number of clients who have been in Name Generation mode — so I made sure they knew about the new .co domain that launched last week.

BTO: Can you share your single best and worst experiences from your perspective in being an early adopter?

SB: Microsoft Bob! Front Page! Microsoft has been a longtime client, which meant I’ve been a frequent beta tester for many of their products. It is still amazing to me how a company with such smart employees can come up with such turkeys. I love working with them because of their brainpower but I still have nightmares about Front Page extensions.

And my best experience as an early adopter? It’s near blasphemy to mention the much-maligned America Online. But digital anthropologists will remember that once upon a time, AOL was the rock star, replete with magazine covers, explosive growth and millions of addicted fans. The early America Online also had something all-too-few Internet darlings ever managed to achieve: a revenue-generating business model. I was there for a few of those shining years, soaking up the smarts from more Harvard MBA’s than show at a Crimson football game. There were so many firsts for the fledgling Internets. And so many firsts for those of us lucky enough to be there.

BTO: How do you feel that social media and technology are changing how we approach our lives (both positive and negative) especially with regards to human relationships, for example our definition of the word “friend”?

SB: I struggle with this question virtually every day. Actually, I’ve struggled with this concept since the dawn of the Interwebs. On one hand, my world is happily jam-packed with friends I never would have made in a completely analog world. On the other hand, the shallow, self-promotion-ness of it makes me crazy and sad. Did you read that New York Times article tying the decline of empathy with the rise of social media? Not sure I totally agree –but I love what the writer said about self-promotion replacing self-awareness. Scarily true.

BTO: What improvements would you make to sites like Facebook when it comes to striking a balance between “open and connected” and user privacy?

SB: I think it’s up to us to find that balance. Facebook is not going to change. Yes, they will make some concessions here and there but ultimately their bottom line is all about 500 million users and how to generate revenue from the teeming masses. Despite all of the Quit Facebook Days and kvetching, their numbers have exploded. But I have noticed some changes being made by (experienced) users themselves. Many are cutting back on authenticity and true self expression; spending less time; being more guarded. Newbies are still bombarding us with new goats from Farmville. It’s like Neopets for grown-ups. But I can’t really complain — I was a big fan of Facebook’s Pirate English. Arrrrlllll, matey!

BTO: Can you tell us a little about your experience with giving up social media for Lent (and perhaps your more recent detox)?

SB: Here’s why I decided to give up Facebook for Lent last year. My reason is a bit different from others who choose to do a digital detox. Most of them are simply and happily addicted to the service and concerned they’re spending too much time online (usually tracking new and old romances.) My problem was that virtually every time I logged on, I’d find myself enraged. The red-in-the face, migraine’s-coming kind. I was furious over the morphing of my cozy mash-up of friends and family into a nest of shamefully self-promoting E-Holes. Plus I knew that it was essentially my fault. This was one prediction the Guru of New got way wrong. I genuinely didn’t foresee that the massive blurring of business and personal would turn my Facebook page into a 24/7 ad for people I wouldn’t recognize at Safeway — many of whom wanted me to ‘uplevel’ my business, sign up for their teleseminar or ‘fan’ their whatchamacallit. Instead of being a daily digital scrapbook Facebook was transformed into Personal Brands R Us. I didn’t want to manufacture a perfect, pretend life for these pretend friends. And I was ticked at the people who enjoyed doing just that.

So being off Facebook for 40 days and nights was a relief. I turned my clients’ pages over to my project manager, tucked my Advil in the drawer and didn’t miss a moment of not ‘upleveling’ my business in any way. Somehow my company has survived the lack of teleseminars, podcasts, MLM and ‘wealth systems’ offered to me via Wall, Status Updates and News.

Off the Grid Guru of New

When we went to Alaska a few weeks ago, one of the best parts of our trip was staying off of Facebook. I do definitely miss seeing pictures of friends and family — and I will admit I love connecting with my sorority sisters and scattered relatives.

Twitter’s kind of a different story. There’s no pretense that someone is your Friend. It’s very cut-and-dried … Follow/Following. No strings attached. And while there are plenty of E-Holes on Twitter, it’s a very ships-passing-in-the-night relationship. I don’t need a detox from Twitter. I’m emotionally detached.

BTO: Do you feel that others could benefit from even a twenty four hour detox? If so, would you see any benefit in doing it together with a number of other people who would share in the experience?

SB: I think everybody who spends more than an hour a day using social media could benefit from a detox of some kind. I actually read books — like BIG ones — when I was in Alaska and offline. Of course, I learned about these particular books on Twitter! (Stieg Larsson) But I don’t know if there is any need to detox from our digital tools–checking bank balances; movie times; texting friends; etc. For me, it’s certain social media that’s the devil.

Please don’t ask me to share my 24 hour detox with my daughter, who practically cuddles her iPhone.

BTO: What do you think of The Big Turn Off as a worldwide event? …and/or as a local event held in ways that a smaller local community chooses on their own?

SB: Worldwide. The Big Turn Off needs to be a statement with a capital S. I remember the August when AOL crashed for 19 hours. Quelle freak-out. There can be smaller local events — like local Ted meet-ups during the big event.

BTO: Would you be willing to participate in either a local or worldwide Big Turn Off event?

SB: Absolutely — I’m in.

BTO: One last question… As Guru of the New, would you say we can officially declare Turning Off “The New New Thing”?

SB: Yes — Turning Off will be officially declared “The New New Thing” by the Guru of New on my blog, etc. I’m psyched!

BTO: Wow! That totally rocks. Thanks, Sarah!

Learn more about the Big Turnoff:
BigTurnOff.org
facebook.com/bigturnoff
twitter.com/BigTurnOff
myspace.com/bigturnoff