Sorry, No Internet Today

Sure, when you go on vacation, you may "unplug" for a few days...or even a week...in order to recharge the batteries, but my guess is that you're checking the Blackberry or Treo (or coming soon to a store near you, the Apple iPhone) at least a couple times a day. If you aren't, good for you, but you know that as soon as you come back to work you have to slog through all the e-mails and catch up on what has been going on while you are away. The internet doesn't stop, so a National Internet Free Day just wouldn't work.

I'm all for turning off the television and reading a book* (with apologies to the National Association of Broadcasters, my former employer), but you can get by without television for a day or so. The Internet is now engrained in our lifes and I, for one, don't know what I would do without it. Clearly, Ted Kaczynzki didn't think this way, but what do you think? Could everybody NOT use the internet on the same day for the entire day? What would the implications be? My best guess is that it physically cannot and could not be done. As I've said many times before, I really think this Internet thing is here to stay. And (commercial alert!!), which networking company invented the router and is changing the way we work, live, play and learn? Hint: it's name is in this blog's URL.

*Book tip: If you are a fan of John Kennedy Toole's "Confederacy of Dunces," then you might also enjoy "Absurdistan" by Gary Shteyngart. I did.