In preparation for No Superfluous Web Browsing month, I just posted a shorter version of this as a note of my Facebook page.
Dear Facebook friends,
Perhaps you've been following my "Operation Consumption Liberation" project on my blog. If you've haven't, here's the gist of it: every month I've been giving up or restricting my consumption of a different object or behavior. These are things, I feel, in which overindulging has a negative impact, be it on my physical health or success, or on the environment.
For August, I'm restricting the amount of time I spend consuming all the random crap the internet has to offer. I want Superfluous Web Browsing to consume less of my time. I'm still pinning down exactly what I think "superfluous web browsing" and what I will allow myself to do. (Like, looking up the weather forecast? Okay. Reading Wil Wheaton's totally geeky blog late at night? No, no, no.) But here's the one parameter for this month I'm set on: No Facebook.
Don't get me wrong, I love you all, Facebook friends. I love knowing what you're up to, hearing the anecdotes about your kids, pets, and the guy in the supermarket line behind you, seeing pictures of your amazing trip to Paradise City, checking out the link you found to that hilarious cat video, exchanging witty banter with you and your friends via comments, and so on. Facebook is fun for that. And back when I joined Facebook, I really needed to meet some new people and also to reconnect with people I'd known since the days when I still sucked my thumb to remind me of my own awesomeness. Facebook helped me do that; It DOES serve a legitimate purpose.
But at this point, my Facebook use is kind of out of control, friends. I spend way too much time on this here website. I log in or use the app at least ten times a day typically. Sometimes I log in, log out, and then log back two minutes later--trust me, not that much changes in the news feed over two minutes! There are better things that I could be doing with my time. And there are better ways I could be connecting with my friends.
Thus the purpose of this note! For each month of my project, I try to add something positive and nice to my life to balance out the feeling of deprivation that might arise from my monthly restriction. This August, I want to (re)connect with my friends in ways outside of Facebook that better realize what is unique about my friendship with you specifically. I'm sick of using "likes" and "pokes" to let you know that I still care about you and am paying attention to your life.* I want to talk to YOU, be it via the phone or Skype, or I'd like to write YOU a postcard or a long personal email, or I'd like to see YOU in the flesh.
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| Oh my God, he did what??? |
I'd like to take the time to connect with at least 16 people during August (~1 connection every 2 days). If you'd like to be on my "To Call" list, or my "To See" list, or my "To Write" list, please send an email to me with the following:
- how you'd like to connect
- your contact information (i.e. phone/Skype name/preferred email/snail mail address)
- good times or days for connecting (for phone/skype/getting together)
You can also send me a message via Facebook, as long as you send it before Monday. (For your own privacy, I don't recommend you put your contact information in a wall post, or in the comments section of this note.) Mind you, even if you don't email me a request, I may decide it has been way too long since we talked and call you anyway! And if you want to follow my consumption reduction project, here's my blog link: www.consumptionliberation.blogspot.com.
I hope you are all having a fabulous summer and I hope to talk to you soon. Otherwise, I look forward to catching up on your status updates in September.
Love, Jess
*Full disclosure: I've never "poked" anyone. Not in the FB sense of the word, anyway.
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