It’s a blessing that my professional life is so closely connected to my personal interests. But it’s also exhausting.
By day I manage the online presence of a public broadcasting station. I promote local TV and radio programs and community events. I develop and edit content and write scripts. I produce faculty interviews and educational forums. I compress videos and author DVDs. I initiate online chats and implement Flash slideshows.
And how do I spend the remainder of my waking hours?
I write about newlywed life. I share food stories and post recipes. And I contribute to three other blogs on those topics.
I track my runs on Nike+, and I keep in touch with my family on Skype. I share videos on both YouTube and Vimeo. I have accounts with StumbleUpon and Digg and Newsvine, and I’m connected on LinkedIn.
On delicious, I bookmark my favorite finds and tag them as crafting, data visualization, ecofriendly, fitness, font, gocco, HTML, jQuery, photography, public media, recipes, travel, typography, usability.
I subscribe to over 200 blogs in categories like cooking, baking, design, technology, photography, and social commentary. My Google Reader has not been clear for months.
There is undeniable overlap. I create media. I consume media. I am always immersed in media.
I have a personal Facebook page, and I administer five group pages. I have a personal Twitter account, and I tweet to one professional account.
I’ve been uploading photos to Flickr since 2004, and I recently set up a stream for my station.
I manage no less than six public media websites, and there are always new projects on the horizon. On the side, I maintain four websites for freelance clients.
I feel pressure to be plugged in all hours of the day. It’s an ever-evolving environment, and — GASP — what if I miss something?
What if I don’t check-in on Foursquare or connect via Ning? What if I don’t understand the difference between TweetDeck and HootSuite? What if I don’t use Tumblr or Posterous? What if I don’t share my music preferences on Last.fm or post my restaurant reviews on Yelp? What if I don’t track trends on Slashdot or Mashable?
What then? Nothing. That’s what.
{photo credit: author’s personal collection}
Life will go on. Just as it did when my husband and I both completely unplugged for an entire week last August. No iPhones. No MacBooks. No watches. No worries.
How do you manage your plugged in time?
Twitter: @#!/ellidavis
This is almost like my life – except that we have completely different jobs. Seriously, what would we do without internet and social media? I cannot imagine my work and my personal life without these. Honestly, I cannot help but tweet or facebook about work-related stuff more than about my personal issues. Anyway, the best you can do is to actually rest with no comp and no phone. Good luck! I have to do it too.
.-= Elli D.’s most recent blog post: Economy Forecasts =-.
I found myself completely relating to your thoughts on technology & media overload, and your picture looked so relaxing, I had to click through to your blog to see where it was taken. I loved the cute name of your blog (even though I didn’t “get it” yet) and was scrolling through a post where you mentioned your husband by name, but it wasn’t until I came across the first picture of him in that post that I put 2 + 2 together, which in this case, equals you being married to the same Nick Wiley I was an RA for his freshman year! Needless to say, I’m even more in love with your blog now and I LOVE the small world connection :) Look forward to reading more!
Twitter: @emilyj82
@Erin It’s a small world, indeed! I can’t wait to tell Nick that our virtual paths crossed!
.-= Emily’s most recent blog post: Burgers, Brews, and Baked Goods =-.
Twitter: @blueeyedbridÉ
Emily- I can so relate, since you’ve read my post today. I feel like I have to be present. Present on blogs, even leaving comments on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, texting with friends, calling people back, returning emails, initiating emails. It’s overwhelming!
.-= Erin @ Blue-Eyed Bride’s most recent blog post: free to be you and me =-.
Twitter: @cydconverse
Oh gosh. I can so totally relate. I’m reading your post, nodding my head like, “Yes, yes. Me too!” I am constantly ‘on’, constantly plugged in. And frankly, I suck at managing it and sometimes I just get exhausted. A few long weekends a year I manage to completely unplug, something I am hoping to do more often this summer.
.-= Cyd’s most recent blog post: Inspired Creations – Rooftop Picnic Wedding Ideas =-.