the golden age of accountability


my new boss rohan and i were discussing the flight from australia to the states and he said the best thing about it was that it was 16 hours when no one could reach him or ask anything from him.
that made me sad because it's absolutely true. We've reached an age of hyper-communication, which has led to hyper-accountability and responsibility.
i could turn off my cell or not check my email, but with the standards of availability we've set with our communication technology capabilities, it's virtually irresponsible not to be available unless it's physically impossible for you to be so, e.g., on an airplane.

this all brings me to business cards: it's become standard practice to put your cell (or 'mobile' in Australia) number on your business card. They haven't made up my new Active Network business cards yet, but i have zero desire to put my cell number on that card. Why would i want clients to be able to reach me 24 hours a day? My job is not who I am, it's what i do to pay my bills. It's not like i'm healing sick kids or saving the rainforest: I build online registration forms for people hosting endurance & sporting events.

am i being juvenile?

Comments

  1. Jim Ahern6/08/2009

    This is completely irresponsible of you. Luckily, cell phone companies are working with the FAA to grant cell phone coverage on airplanes, so you can be reached there as well. And don't forget the phone in the back of the middle seat, with the credit card swipe. I think you owe it to humanity to sacrifice yourself for our convenience. I don't think it's hyperbole to say that the world will literally come to an end if I have to wait for you to eat, sleep, or eliminate before responding to my Twitter tweet.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

evolution of y'all

Image
the day i made the conscious decision to stop saying "y'all" was a big step in my evolution as a human being. 3 days ago (or 4? i can't even tell anymore) i boarded a Qantas jet bound for los angeles. i had row to myself, which was pretty sweet. these new qantas planes have individual tv screens with a huge selection of movies. which was also pretty sweet. hurt locker is a good movie. anyway, got the pat-down in melourne before leaving. titilating. when i arrived at LAX, walked down the stairs to the customs lines. there were 50 lines, and the first dozen were full, so a customs guy was standing in front, telling people to move on down the line. some little asian guy, who just got off a 13-hour flight, prolly didn't speak english, was trying to enter one of the full lines. the customs guy yelled at him "hey buddy! what part of keep walking don't you understand?". yep, i'm back in america. two days with the fam in Texas, now i'm in boulder, ba...
Read more

Wedding pics/story are here

Image
well, specifically, here: Our wedding A few choice shots: the last known photograph of jim heskett as a single man. that's anticipation in my eyes, not fear. it was one of the most whirlwind weeks of our life. I didn't feel the brunt of it as much as Lisa (since she did most of the planning) , but it was still pretty crazy. We decided literally about ten days before that we were going to get married. it's legal! We had, since getting engaged last November, talked through many different wedding scenarios: In Michigan, in Colorado, in Vegas... we couldn't seem to agree on anything, and we especially couldn't see throwing $25k-$50K on a one-day party. Plus the thought of months and months of picking out invitations,cakes, caterers... it just seemed like it would consume us and was not going to be what we wanted it to be - fun. attn: blog-only exclusive pic! for some reason, we did a bunny picture. don't ask me why. Of the scenarios we discussed, one we kept co...
Read more

and so it goes

Image
have now completed my first full week living in another country. It hardly seems like 7 days; it's mostly been a whirl of stress and excitement and new experiences. some news: i'm on my own at work now, and it's a bit hard to support clients when i dont' know how to dial out of these wacky australian phones. phone numbers here are like : 011 0044 63 (3) 9884 6416 who the hell can understand all that mess? anyway. finally signed on an apartment in a kick ass location, davis street a block south of toorak avenue, just across from the south yarra train station, about .25 km from chapel street and all the trendy glitzy shit down there. of course it costs more than i can afford, but, well, ya know. tomorrow i'm off to explore doantown melbourne, maybe catch a train out the pier or the beach. peace
Read more