CommFree

I decided to dedicate a page to the CommFree idea in order to keep it always easily accessible to anyone visiting the site. In this post i describe the initial idea. I am really excited to see mostly positive responses so far and i hope it will take off. Please feel free to use the comment spaces to propose changes and editing.So what we are talking about at the moment?

To start with, about Saturday, August 4, 2007, as a first CommFree Day – a day when each one of us can take a break from all the media and information technologies (MITs) embedded in their lives. The idea however to make it a monthly practice for each first Saturday of a month. When i say “all technologies” I actually mean ALL, including TV, radio, internet, mobile phones, etc., but i believe each one can start at the most convenient point for them. I understand that for many people it is not easy to give up all the gadgets and accessibility, even for one day, but it is important to start with something.

Why would you do something silly as getting offline for a day?

Again, i guess different people would have different reasons. I see this as a chance to step back and reflect on various things i usually don’t have the time for because i am constantly communicating. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the role MITs play in my life, so i could appreciate their upsides and better deal with the downsides. I believe that other people would have additional/different reason and you are mostly welcome to share.

Some open issues.

Well, first the name. I am not sure it is the best. Carole used “technology free day” and Michelle suggested “commtech free day”. Any other ideas? I think it would be nice to have a catchy, fun, and yet positive name.

Another issues is the timing. I suggested first Saturday of each month, for i thought this would be the most universal day off globally. Apparently for some people this is THE working day, but then again it is hard to find a day that will satisfy all. One option would be to leave it open and let everybody choose their day a month. However, i am afraid that not having a fixed date would cause procrastination (my sad experience :). So, what do you think?

I like the idea, can i help?

Well, that’s great! Actually i think the best thing to do now is spread the word, then really to carry out the first Day and share our experiences. It is always hard to start things going, but it seems to me like a nice ad positive thing to do.

I’ll keep updating this page and please use the comments to discuss ideas and offer edits.

Thank you!

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Updates
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November 25, 2007

Tarleton sent me a link to an article about “No Music Day” in England. The idea is similar to ComFree, but focuses on music.

What is there with negative names to this stuff? I don’t think my idea is based on negativity. Quite the opposite.

November 04 , 2007

I added a CommFree tag, so from now on you can find all the CommFree related posts simply by following it.