boston guy

Old Spice for the Win

Okay, so clearly the Old Spice commercials are some of the best on television.  You know, the ones where the Old Spice Guy is riding a horse backwards?  The ones where the Old Spice Guy is seducing your lady? Or is just simply awesome?

These are the kind of commercials that are worth playing even when you have a DVR.  And this morning I discovered that it just got better. Old Spice just created the coup de grace of viral internet campaigns. 

Two days ago, Old Spice Guy started interacting with the internet.  Normal. 

Well, specifically, social media.  A little more cutting edge. 

But not just regular text interaction; he created individual video responses to fans’ questions on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, blogs, Yahoo, etc. 

Epic win.

These videos range from addressing Perez Hilton, to helping twitterer knitmeapony who wanted to use his voice on her answering machine, to some guy who wanted Old Spice Guy to propose to his girlfriend — which Old Spice Guy did.  (And she said yes.  For real.)

Unfortunately for those late-comers (like yours truly), the campaign ended today - as heralded by this hilarious goodbye:

Fortunately for the Realm of Procrastination and Hilarity however, there are dozens (if not a hundred or so) videos of Old Spice Guy addressing individuals in amazing ways on Old Spice’s YouTube page.

Talk about a great way to increase visibility for your brand. 

The Withdrawl of a Facebook Addict

Life without Twitter, Facebook, newsmedia and excessive web browsing has changed the way I spend time, both personally and at work.  It’s been incredibly revealing, sometimes frustrating, and, overall, unexpectedly calming.

5 days into my media fast (and counting)…

Going cold turkey this past week, I realized I actually qualified as addicted to Facebook.  Whenever I was waiting for anything, I would want to check Facebook.  Or check Twitter.  Or read newsmedia.  Ya know, to keep up with (or stay ahead of) my friends and the world.  This desire to check would happen at my computer and in the real world — thanks to iPhone.

In some perverse desire to be “the best” (I honestly can’t quantify this), I had developed an urge to always see what was going on.  Always stay connected.   What did that really add to my life?  Nothing much.  The more interesting question is: What has subtracting that urge added to my life?

Well…

I don’t feel any absurd “responsibility” to check and update Facebook or Twitter. You probably know what I mean.  “Oh, I haven’t posted anything today” or “Man, I should really check so-and-so’s wall”  or “I’ll just check the newsfeed really quickly”  This alone is worth the price of admission.

My head is clearer and feel like I’ve slowed down my life. I really think that being inundated with what hundreds of people are doing/thinking/expressing throughout any given day taxed my brain, and made me feel like I needed to go 100mph to keep up.

I read more. Since Tuesday, I have finished The Four Hour Workweek, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and am halfway through The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  Plus, I’m lazily enjoying my reread of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Series.  Before Tuesday, I think I finished about 1 book per two weeks.  If that.

I’m more productive when I single-task. Not having Twitter, Facebook and Gchat open while I’m trying to research a potential new client actually causes me to focus on just researching that new client.  Which I get done faster and do a better job.  Shocker.

I have more free time. One could probably deduce that from the above, but I’m not spending any idle time online.  In so many ways, it feels like I’m on vacation.  You know, when no one can contact you but those who you want (or those who really want) to reach out?  Yeah, it’s that feeling.

For the first time in years, I actually just listened to music. It used to be a favorite past-time of mine; to sit and do nothing but listen to music (in my room, not on the go).  I had forgotten this until yesterday, when instead of feeling compelled to browse and connect online, I lay on my bed and listened to my iTunes library.  It was an amazing and relaxing moment.

I have the best conversation starter I have ever had. Without checking any news, I can open conversations with “Anything interesting going on in the world?”  As an added bonus, I actually have things to talk about with close friends whom I would usually stalk on Facebook.  “I haven’t been checking Facebook, how’s life?”

—-

Bonus, because people have been asking: how has this Facebook Addict gone Cold Turkey?

1)  Download Leechblock for Firefox.  This extension prevents access to any site you designate for whatever time you specify — in my case 24/7 — and adds a password for moments of weakness.

2)  Disable all notifications from Twitter/Facebook through their respective Account Preferences pages.  I am no longer notified about anything in Gmail.

3)  If you have a smartphone (iPhone, Crackberry, Palm Pre, Android) delete the Facebook and Twitter applications.  It’s tough, but they are always re-downloadable.

Goodbye Internet: 1 Week Media Fast

I work from home, and am pretty productive at it.  But recently (namely, today), the Internet has been driving me a little crazy.  I realized it around 3pm when I was surfing in Google Chrome and had about 20 tabs open in Firefox.  At some point, I opened a new tab, stopped, and actually could not remember why I had gone to the web.  I literally had no idea. Most sites were related to work in some capacity, some sites were purely entertainment, but together it was insanity.

Fortunately, this evening involved a coffee shop, some reflection, and Tim Ferris’ book The Four Hour Workweek.  The title may sound like a scam, but the book is not: it isn’t about doing 4 hours of work and then sitting on your ass for the remaining 164 hours each week.  It’s about being efficient and effective while doing things that excite you.  Many of his recommendations have made me better at my job (and could make you better at yours).

One of Tim’s recommendations resonated with me: “The world doesn’t even hiccup, much less end, when you cut the information umbilical cord.”

Just think: Facebook, Twitter, online comics, news media, blogs, television, and millions upon millions of websites… At 3pm today my head was going to explode.  Too much information!  About the world, about friends, about snow, the Red Sox, baseball, patents, national decisions, Apple, about … anything and everything.

And what does it ultimately contribute to my life?  Nothing.  I have absolutely no recollection of most of what I absorbed today.

So, I’m done.  Done, I say.  (Until at least February 23, and maybe beyond.)  Cold turkey here I come.

Here’s what my media fast looks like (adapted from the book):

1. No newspapers, magazines, audiobooks, nonmusic radio. Music is permitted at all times.
2. No news websites whatsoever (cnn.com, drudgereport.com, msn.com etc).
3. No Twitter, no Facebook, neither while mobile nor at my computer.
4. No television at all, except for one hour of pleasure viewing each evening.
5. No reading books, except for The Four Hour Workweek and one hour of fiction pleasure reading prior to bed.
6. No web surfing while working unless it is necessary to complete a work task for that day.  (“Necessary means necessary, not nice to have.”)
7. Unnecessary reading is public enemy number one during this one-week fast.

Goodbye most of the Internet.  Ciao.  Au revior.  Let’s see if I miss you.

“Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace.”
- Robert J. Sawyer, Calculating God