Tech Blog

[#1]

The title of this post refers to something that is kinda alien to me. Yet, it shouldn’t be. For the last 20 years or so, my life has been online, in one form or another. Yes, I’m a digital nomad, living in a digital world, confused by those who insist on staying offline.

As more people are embracing mobile tech or simply getting their kids to hook them up with web access (hi Mom!), it’s becoming more rare to encounter someone who doesn’t live part of their life online.

I’m a bad example, perhaps a bit extreme toward the online end, but for me, I get a majority of my TV, radio, music, movies and gaming through the Internet. I call up road maps, check daily weather, pay my bills, pay my taxes, schedule haircuts, order new books and hardware through it. Yes, I’m part of the web.  So much so that when it’s missing, it’s noticeable.

Yet, there is a significant portion of humanity that manages to get by without a daily/hourly connection to the Matrix. And, for the life of me, I can’t fathom how this is possible!

I’m aware that some folk are not into the online lifestyle, but frankly I don’t get it. II don’t understand why people are insisting on paying their bills in person at the bank. Nor do I understand why folk are still tied to landline telephone contracts, when VOIP phone systems and cellular technology allow much greater freedom.

To be clear, I’m not a GenX GenY or Millenium. I was born in the sixties, learned stuff in the seventies, and frankly try to forget the eighties. Yet, I’m comfortable with this tech. It’s so freakin’ enabling I can’t see why more aren’t using it to enable them to do awesome things!

I just received an invite to go photograph an occurrence of the Aurora Borealis via Twitter. My work, yes my employment, is online. Earlier this evening I checked in with my Mom to make sure her new computer’s working fine, and took control of her system to verify it was working fine. Currently, I’m listening to a favourite celtic singer through an online music service.

How can this not make sense? What am I missing? Enlighten me

[#2]

Indeed, though I'm best described as a Gen-X I'm an oddity in my social circles.  As the gadget guy I'm the one called upon because I live with mobile, wireless, imaging and communications at all times.

I'm in touch over multiple channels to everything that is important to me, and I cringe - just a little - when I'm camping and don't have cellular signal.

I was faced with a 72 hour outage of web and television last week.  I almost had a meltdown.  Thankfully service was restored and I only missed the opportunity for 20 api-calls to twitter, but the potential for losing the 'grid' was nerve wracking.

I can choose to be off the grid, but don't take me off.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who finds the concept of phone calls and going "out" to shop 'vintage' behaviours.

[#3]

@gscratch: Heh, vintage behaviours, I'll have to remember that. And yeah, I agree -- it's one thing for me to take myself offline, another to be forced offline.

[#4]

You are describing my life. I also do not understand how people avoid it. How do they function?

[#5]

@Allie, it just seems less efficient to me. Other systems have existed long before this tech as been around...just seems to me to take longer, to do the mundane things. But some folk just don't see the need for themselves I guess.