What was it 2008? When the unwashed masses were still in Orkut, I got an invite for a site called Facebook.
First look – thought Facebook was like Flickr – for sharing Photos. It had a weird kind of magic that kept me hooked. Then I got tied to Twitter.
Then bought my first smartphone – Samsung Galaxy S – and used a horrible app to access Facebook ( no it was not built by Facebook ). Later FB built its own hybrid app – on Phonegap which sucked – after which they released a native app which was damn slick.
Later I moved to iPhone ecosystem – FB and Twitter were my constant companions on my first screen.
Now, after almost 8 years – I have logged out – for good. In the new phone, I have not installed FB or Twitter.
Why?
I arrived at a conculsion by myself – that SM – Social Media is no good. For a developer SM is a huge time sink and also has stolen the ability for thinking deep and hard. I tried getting my head around Angular 2 – and found I was not being able to concentrate like usual.
About the same time – I read Deep Work by Cal Newport – what an eye opener it was. Had all the points to buttress my conclusion – SM is not only bad for you – but it is also evil!
I was able to get Angular 2 internalised, became an ionic developer ( my previous developer had quit, and I could not find a replacement ), crunched quite a no. of books, put my work stuff in order and had the most productive month in November.
Early days – hands did itch to open FB and Twitter – but had to distract myself in more work.
Now I spend the entire day oblivious to what is happening in the world. I wait for the morning newspaper – Economic Times – and I read all the pages.
I still have Flipboard – and access it once a day to read about new tech stories. I have Magnus Carlsen Chess app – I set him at 5 years and beat him every time ( I managed to stalemate once 🙁 ) . I have a sudoku app – sharpening my skills whenever I am bored.
For FB and Twitter – dont miss it anymore. Perhaps when I meet my old friends next, I will listen to their stories fully – instead of saying – oh I saw it in FB and stopping the conversation on its tracks.
Next on target is Whatsapp – our office fully runs on Whatsapp. Not sure how to wean away from it.
Yes, I am open for Coffee Meetings, Chai pe Charcha, short Phone calls 🙂
