I recently returned from a great vacation with my family, my wife Kim and sons Mitchell (12), Matthew (11) and Charley (8) on Bald Head Island in south coastal North Carolina. It’s a great place, with a private island feel. It’s got one of the best-preserved maritime forests, where we saw alligators, deer, foxes and turtles (lots of turtles). But not that many people. Our first day at the beach we could see a total of about 10 families. Larry, one of our friends who has been coming here for 16 years, said it was “exponentially more crowded” than usual. We had fun with that. All week, when we saw more than a half dozen or so people in one place, we’d joke about how it was “exponentially crowded.” (Fortunately Larry’s got a good sense of humor, and combined with plenty of vacation beer, rolled with the joke.)
But I wasn’t really writing this to talk about Bald Head Island. What it got me thinking about was how connected we all are. I never was out of touch. My main connector was my blackberry, although I occasionally used my laptop. But the hardware wasn’t what drove the connectivity. It was my ability to access information whenever I wanted. Status of YouChoose projects – I could view that on our wiki. Preparations for an upcoming trip to the West Coast – I could set up meetings and update flight arrangements with just a few clicks. And discussions with YouChoose clients (my focus is on professional sports teams) – I could communicate easily by phone (albeit from the 2nd floor porch for better reception).
Some people miss the point of this connectivity. It isn’t just so people can work longer and harder. It is so they can relax better. Knowing that I wasn’t missing something important was comforting. Being out of touch used to induce anxiety. The connected world , despite media reports I have read to the contrary, reduces stress.
