When you're addicted to technology (and you detox, but then need to come back home)

don't come back, just stay there

Originally posted on my Medium account.

you love vacations but you take your smartphone too

What could be worse than coming home from a vacation after successfully detoxing yourself from the everyday technology that rules your life?

You think you need it. You think you are so important and if you go without your updates or reads for an hour, you have a panic attack thinking that people will think you’re slacking off, you’ll lose your digital follower-gathering momentum or something horrible will happen to you—like you will be completely ignored and lonely in the world.

technology addiction—is it real?

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When your computer hard drive fails spontaneously: Frustration or freedom?

If you're like most people, you have a lot of your life—both personal and business—on your computer. From financial records to secret writing to documents for your work. Right? 

You probably have plenty of digital photos and videos, that although priceless in nature—especially of your babies—have always seemed safe on your computer. They have been transferred from computer to computer, as old computers have been replaced with newer ones, hard drives transferred intact.

priceless memories and data

You probably don't think much about losing all of that on a day-to-day basis. Do you?

If you've been doing this for years and have lost data before by stupid spacious moments (accidents) such as spilling a glass of wine onto the keyboard, or letting the computer get too hot and fry unknowingly, you probably know the pain and swore it would never happen to you again! 

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What is SEO and why does it matter for your web site?

SEO is a buzz word in digital marketing, for sure. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is the qualifying characteristic responsible for the rank given to your web site on the internet by Google, Bing, Yahoo, et al. 

why should you care about SEO?

What is entailed in making your web site SEO-friendly? What do SEO companies actually do?

Companies specializing in SEO, such as Search Optimizers (an SEO partner to over 300 companies and in business for 17 years now) research your industry, and in particular your competitors, to find the top keywords that should be present in your web site in order to attract the biggest audience. They modify the web site code behind the scenes and, because your competitors are always changing, so must your SEO parameters for your web site so that you can keep up. Search Optimizers practices "white hat SEO" (in other words, ethical) procedures which gain organic rankings.

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What is up with the iPhone auto-correct feature? A tangled web...

Any iPhone owner who sends text messages has learned with practice that the auto-correct feature, which is usually turned on by default when you get your phone, is not always your friend. After using it for awhile it supposedly gets to know you with its artificial intelligence. How cool! But aren't there some words it determines that you really wonder about? 

It's fascinating for me to try to put my own mind into the computer mind of the auto-correct and imagine a tangled web of letters and words coming in, with many choices depending on the next web. It can almost be like choices we make every second in life, each based on the previous moment. 

Doesn't the idea of auto-correct bring to mind a spell checker, which would imply that if you spell a word incorrectly, its built-in smarts will correct your spelling and thereby come up with a word that actually exists in the English language?

This is not always the case with the iPhone though, is it. What about words that are not even words? I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. 

Also, why can't it figure out that I just forgot a space? It's great at figuring out the missing apostrophe though. 

What about the suggestions? While I'm typing, I see the suggestion pop up and if I want to chose it I will. But, I don't chose it, want to keep my word I typed, see it actually typed out, and then... after [Send] it is the wrong word! 

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How many ways do we need to connect with social media?

How many ways do we need to be connected via social media all simultaneously? [A comedy seen through the eyes of a user enchanted by it all].

I have an iPhone and Macbook Pro that speak well together and when I'm on the road I've got my 3G network for all media needs but also wifi networks popping up onto my screen whether I need them or not, often password protected. I often find myself asking for the wifi network password, wherever I am, whether I need it or not. When I get back to my car my bluetooth kicks on so that all phone calls speak loudly through my MINI.

With all this technology it's so tempting to want to work it all even while driving my car. But, of course I don't because that would be dangerous. But first I've got to plug my iPhone into the iPod connector in my car so that I've got my new music just delivered and synced this morning all cued up in my car for my 8 minute journey home.

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How to make the most of your commute: Turn off the technology

Do you find yourself working all the time, even while you're driving your car? Texting while driving. "Just one real quick," you tell yourself? Voice mails from your bluetooth that no one can really hear anyway effectively? 

You think it's a good way to remain on top of your busy schedule. You think it's the only way you can stay on top of all of your new fancy technology and social media (even though enough is enough..). It's a good way, however, to be unsafe on the road, and also to become an expert in Traffic School. You know you will certainly find yourself with many tickets, not to mention potential accidents.

So why not ask yourself... are you really more effecitve in your business life, social life (or life in general) when you operate in this manner?

All of us, even the busiest, could benefit with some nice quiet time. Make driving into a peaceful experience where you focus on who you are, and settle your mind.

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