I have a doctor's appointment - normally I would sit in the waiting room fiddling with my phone. Instead I read a copy of the Economist retrieved from amongst the Grazias and Vogues. It's weeks old, but full of interesting material about technology issues and I emerge from the surgery feeling better-informed.
10:15 GMT
On the tube into London everyone appears to be transfixed by their tablet computers and smartphones. Normally I'm exactly the same - and with wi-fi available at stations I can be checking Twitter at every stop. Instead, I'm reading the paper - which feels many hours out of date. I wish I'd brought a book.
11:00 GMT
In the office, I quickly become aware that not only do I miss the web and social media, but it is impossible to do my job without them. Twitter has become my news agency for technology stories, my main means of communication with people in that field, and an important platform for promoting my content. And when someone rings me with a story, my first instinct is to go to Google to brief myself about the context - then I realise I can't. "I'll email you some background," the contact says. I have to explain why that won't work.
12:00 GMT
What I do manage is a couple of face to face meetings with colleagues, rather than emailing them. And, with little idea of how to carry on my job when offline, I find myself sitting around gossiping - and no doubt annoying busy people who are trying to get on with their work.
View the Original article
No comments:
Post a Comment