Ah, the Simple Life Is Calling
For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week. I offer this bloggy life question. . . .
It’s a simple question tonight.
If someone offered you a tax-free, cool $10 million in cash.
You choose any house, or mansion, or castle, or villa, or vineyard manse anywhere in the world.
And you only have one condition to accept: You must quit participating on Internet. No blogging. No Twitter conversation. No IMs, DMs, or emails. You can read. You can follow your friends. BUT you have to stay totally silent — no words, no images, no audio, to video, no sign of you in cyberspace for the rest of your life. You’ll be totally back to Web 1.0 — watching the rest of the world move forward.
Would you take the deal?
–ME “Liz” Strauss
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At first thought I’d take the $$$ and run – but in this day and in those to come, turning that $10 mil into $10 bil would be very difficult without these web tools.
Ummm.. I have 3 names. Would those it apply to all three? *grins* That’s a tough one!
I would – I’d do it without the money, too… just the manse anywhere in the world. There is something romantic to me about retreating from the technology and living the simpler life again.
But in the meantime… π
yeah- maybe, as long as I could still look things up. Can I email? Can I receive residual income from adsense that just sits there? And I’d have to do just one last blog post. Yeah- I don’t know- my dream house is $30m but $10m would do.
I didn’t used to think I could unplug. The people and relationships seemed so real. And they seemed more real after I got cancer. People came out of the woodwork to be nice.
But in the end the people we connect to in cyberspace, even web 2.0, are not just down the street. They can’t bring a casserole by or give a caretaker a respite. Each night they flip off their blackberries and meld back into their worlds.
So as close as I felt to them, it was an illusion.
Ten million would buy a little house in a village with close neighbors near a good cancer center, plus give me a nice cushion for medical expenses like $500 for the Rx my insurance would not cover the day I was last released from the hospital.
Household help to keep me functioning and relieve my daughter and spouse would be invaluable. So yes, in my case, I’d take it in a minute and not look back.
Hmmm, good question–I’ve often thought of trying this short-term, even without the $10M incentive. π For me, the choice is not so black and white. Of course, one can carry on 1-2-1 conversations outside the web by phone or letter-writing. What would go away is the ability to have a 1-2-many audience. Access to this bully pulpit is what proves so addictive to so many folks, even if they don’t have much to say. I’m as guily of this as many–having a conversation with myself in front of tens of thousands. But I wouldn’t miss the attention or ego perks if I decided to go silent. I would miss the opportunity to be helpful–to share information, experience, or just a kind word.
Would I take the deal? Nope–I’m here to help.
Absolutely. And I am addicted. This would solve my addiction immediately. I’m sorry to jump ship so quickly, but I wouldn’t even have to think about it. I would use the telephone and write letters.
Hi Sprite,
I’m wondering. It’d be hard to find a loophole. π
I would say no. It would be like taking 10,000,000 dollars if I never sang again.
Great question, Liz. I often think about trying to disconnect and understand the motivation to leverage online as a means to feel connected in the first place. My first reaction is to take the deal, and immediately start writing that elusive novel, and settle down to enjoy life with the family…start another hobby like fly-fishing, start going down my own “bucket list,” that kind of thing. So long as I could connect with family and friends over the phone and through mail, or even smoke signals, I think it would be worth it.
Thanks for the provactice question!
Adam
Nope. I love blogging too much, I love the community sense that I get from it too π
Making phonecalls and writing letters? Well i’m old school and do that anyway!
Hi Avin,
Communicating with the folks who could help might prove a problem too. Course you could fly them all in to where you are.
Josh,
The simpler life is attractive, but the folks I’d leave . . . I’d miss every one of you.
Wise words, Susan.
It’s something I’ve been thinking about as we spend our time socializing here and forgetting the folks who live next door.
Truthfully, I could live w/o the internet, so I’d find it to be very tempting. I also think Susan had a lot of valued points. I love reality, consistency and all that is real in life. As long as I could look things up, have correspondence w/ my work (no, I wouldn’t quite working) & use the internet for business transactions I’d be ok. I can always go back to snail mail to send people I love loving correspondence. Really, it wouldn’t *have* to be like watching the rest of the world move forward, b/c we always learn from observation & grow from that. I love learning. However, I want my mansion to be in the middle of a really, really SMART group of people. *laughs* I love learning from smart people who aren’t stuck in *know-it-all-ism*
psst.. I wouldn’t quit working either (don’t you just love not catching typos until you press SEND) *rolls eyes @ me*
Hey Dave!
I’d long for the peace of that life and the things I could help and do with that kind of monetary security. I wonder whether I could set up a blogger addiction recovery center. π
No. Sorry y’all, but I am far too into this to give it up. I even dream about getting e-mails!
Great post, Neil.
As always — fun to read and right up my alley. Thanks for leaving the link for all of us. It’s a perfect attachment to this conversation. π
YOU ARE addicted.
I went to London for 9 days with only my iPhone — twice!!
Hi Jonny.
Fabulous analogy!
Hey Adam,
Don’t you think you’d miss it after the novel was done?
Hey Polka Dot Bride,
Yeah, I’d miss all of that too. π
Hi Sprite,
That was a recurring theme as I thought about the question this week. . . . Where would I find such group of great minds?
@Stephen I don’t dream about emails . . . yet. But I have found people from the Internet show up in the plots of my dreams. π
Good point, Liz. I have a Sprite answer! On the internet! We’ll snail mail them & invite them over!!!
Hey all,
Great question, and there was a little waver -cause hey, $10M IS tempting! But I already have a life I love, so in the end wouldn’t swap the cash for the means to do what we do. It’s half the fun…
Excellent idea!!
Then we’ll keep them entertained with our millions!!
My first instinct is to say yes but after meeting people like Susan Reynolds in person, I could never disconnect no matter how much money was in the bank. The people in my computer are a very real part of my life and I would love the newest Ferragamo collection, I prefer the people inside my laptop. π
At first I thought definitely no. I guess if I had that much money though, I would have time to build more non-internet relationships…
Still, I doubt it.
Hi Lani!
It’s a comfort to hear you say that! I’ve gotten used to living inside your computer. π
Hi Kristarella,
I’m with you. I’m sure either. But I’m guessing that I’d so miss the mental company that I couldn’t part with it.
#27
Hi Lissa!
Sure love the energy in how you said that!
Wow, that is a tough, Liz. For me, communicating via the Internet is so integral in my life. I have lived in silence before, relying on snail-mail to connect with friends, and it is a lonely, isolating existence.
But, by unplugging, I would have time to write my second book – but who would know about it. And I’d have time to do other things, but how would I share it?
Although, for ten mil, perhaps I’d discover another way to communicate with others.
I’ll tell you what — give me a portion of that, I’ll give it a shot and get back to you with a more definite answer!
Nice try, Glenda,
But as far as I know, there’s no negotiating on the terms of the offer. π
Liz,
As long as I could still read and learn on the Internet, yes. I’d do it. I don’t get hooked on things, so letting go of 2.0 would be fine. My business would be okay if I went back to 1.0. I’m a high-touch kind of person, so real meetings, phone and snail-mail still works fine for me.
I would want to leave a farewell post though. I get teary thinking of people worrying about me if I disappeared without a word.
Regards,
Kelly
The challenge: I can’t contribute actively, but what about people mentioning me? It’s the ole Striesand effect: you’re not going to be able to completely eliminate something from the Internet.
If the challenge is simply that we can’t leverage all the web2.0 engagement models, I’d definitely take the money.. I’ve been contributing online since 96, well before web2.0 took off. We just had to know HTML to make our mark π
Could I pay someone to “connect” for me? Always looking for the loophole!
Truthfully, yes, I would. However, my fears wouldn’t be with now and the immediate but, as the question implies, with the future. What if the web becomes the only communication channel?
Well, it was worth a shot! On second thought, I’d like to find a way to make $10m using the internet!
Just a week back, a friend of mine asked me a similar question: if you are given $10 million with the condition that you can never leave the city you live in currently – would you take it?
My answer to that question was a big NO.
To the question of not participating on the internet though – I would take the money.
Because the deal doesn’t stop me from having conversations. It just stops me from publishing my conversations and opinions online.
But if I have something worthwhile to say – others will publish what I have to say. It may take a bit longer, but the message will reach there.
Oh yeah, I’m so outta here.
I still get a cell phone, right?
Only problem is, I don’t think my husband would come with me if no internet was the deal. And I would miss him so…
π
Give me a tent next to Starbucks, as long as I can access the biggest watercooler in the world via the net. I’m excluded from a lot of conversations when face to face or in groups– so I’ll keep my internet and those connections– the house isn’t worth it.
For me, this wasn’t that hard of a question to answer. Once I read it, another question immediately popped up in my head: “What cost freedom?”. Okay, sounds melodramatic but for me it’s a very real thing considering my current state of affairs or lack thereof as it were (service related injuries of old finally taking me out of the workforce for good and limiting what I’m able to accomplish otherwise etc, etc).
It’s a way to express myself outside the box I live in, my local town and neighbors being nice and all but eventually very limiting.
Sure, I realize that 10 million would be fine and dandy to have as long as I could learn how to handle that type of cash in a very short period of time, I’d have to if I wanted to keep it around for awhile. And I’d need to, you know.
I’d need it to buy gas to go see my lawyer and my broker and the guy who handles my portfolio, the people who take care of all those bank accounts I’d have to have and the Mafia heavies to watch all the former to make sure they stayed honest. Oh yeah, they all have to be paid too–especially the heavies.
So no, my first reaction would be to stop the person making the offer as soon as I got the gist of what they we’re telling me, thank them very much but no thanks and have a nice day. In the long run I think I’d be much better off with all that information and interaction at my beck and call rather than just a lot of cash.
But now that I think about it… π
Liz oh Liz!! What kind of a Universe would that be that would grace us with $10 million and no internet access?! Perhaps the operative would be…”you”, meaning that with $10 million–if spent wisely we could hire someone to converse for us and print our writing or copy and paste it or what-have you.
I’ve already thought specifically about $10 million for some time now (if I received it). I would immediately make sure Uncle Sam got its share (don’t want to end up like that Survivor guy) and then would tithe 19% to my faith. This would leave me with a little bit more than $6million. $2million of that would go into a Trust that my husband and I could live on through our days (off the interest). I’d also pay off our mortgage, do some rennovation to our home and build an office/guest suite off our property. I’d make sure our parents and siblings were taken care of — reasonably and then start up two non-profits. One is a special school that came to me in a fell swoop inspiration 17 years ago and the other is a center that will be set up to take in pets of people who die or become catastrophically ill and cannot care for them anymore.
These are the things I think about on my long runs!
KirkM took the words out of my head. Accepting the offer, especially if it was open to everyone, would put all communication back in the hands of the gatekeepers. Who would want that?
I’d have to say no. To be only talked at, not talked to? To listen and never speak? I don’t think it would be worth it.
And, as others have said, real connections can be made through the interactive aspects of the internet. Interaction online can be as real as anything in the flesh world.
Wow, you guys!
Let’s see, Kelly. I think a last blog post would be in order, definitely!!
Hi Andrea,
Does that mean that you would prepare a legacy before you left the Internet?
#38
Hey Jade,
Great question . . . What if the web becomes the only communication channel? I wonder if, for a time, that will be the condition. I can’t imagine that people won’t outgrow the web as well.
#39
Glenda, I’m with you on that!
#40
Hi Ankesh,
What an interesting addition to the conversation you bring! It’s true. If your message is loud and important enough, you won’t have to be the one who says it.
#41
Aw Annie,
I bet you’d want your husband with you . . . hard choice. π
#52
Karen,
Leave it to you to have a creative response. You and Ankesh should start a business together.
Hi Kirk!
Just thinkin’ Your comment was worth reading more than one time. It’s a great statement on keeping track of who we are and what’s important in our lives.
#44
Hi Lynn!
Welcome. The universe of questions brought this dilemma to your door. It seems that you’ve got a great answer.
Wow!
Rick!
It is, as you said, the connections that count. So I guess each of us has to figure out where our valued connections are.
Money is nice, but true abundance, inner worth, character, and relationships matter more to me. Money can take me all over the world, but the Internet allows me to connect to people the world over in a way that allows them to talk back. I’ve spent a lifetime discovering my “voice,” and the Internet makes a great way to let it be heard. Many friends and family see snail mail as irrelevant, so I choose to connect with them in ways that matter. BUT, the decision would have to be based on where in life my husband and I want to be as a couple and the caretaking my mother, so it would be a tough decision either way.
Gosh I’d take the money and run – even though I practically live and work online. I’d just find a way to get into print media instead lol.
Awesome question.
Tricky, initially I said no I wouldn’t, now i am thinking, what about trying it for 6 months?, then sell up and rejoin the online world or maybe not!
Can’t see the beachblogger aka Des Walsh joining me , I’ll ask him on the beach this morning.
Beachblogger said that’s a no brainer, he’ll see me in six months!
#57
Sage,
You got it. I’d have to look at the relationships around me too. But the voice and the connections would be hard to let go.
Hi Connie!
I admire your ability to make a decision. It’s a good thing to be able to move with such conviction. You go!
Hi Suzie,
Not sure that selling up and coming back is part of the deal. Knowing you though, you might find the way.
Can’t wait to hear what Des says. π
Hi Des via Suzie!
I’m still wondering whether Des gets sand in his computer from all of that beachblogging. I think he’s already living where he need to be and you’re his 10Million. π
I’d take the money/house. The reason I interact online is to make the money I need to live comfortably. If I could live comfortably, and HAVE to stay out of the interaction channels online, I’d be fine with that.
i’d say yes… except.. i would be sitting at home playing XBOX and mixing music on XBOX live.. which requires teh web 2.0 connection..
so even tho i answer yes.. based on the interconnectedness of our lives, the truth would be NO.
I’d take the money and run (with my family). I spend time online to figure out how to make more money. So if I take the need for money out of my current life equation, I would be set.