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Bloggy Question 83: $10MIL, Luxury Home, Would You Go Back to Web 1.0?

June 22, 2008 by Liz Leave a Comment

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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Filed Under: Bloggy Questions, Successful Blog Tagged With: Bloggy-Question, life without blogs and blog friends

Comments

  1. Avin Kline says

    June 22, 2008 at 6:19 PM

    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.

    Reply
  2. Sprite says

    June 22, 2008 at 6:22 PM

    Ummm.. I have 3 names. Would those it apply to all three? *grins* That’s a tough one!

    Reply
  3. Josh Klein says

    June 22, 2008 at 6:26 PM

    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… πŸ™‚

    Reply
  4. Lisa Russell says

    June 22, 2008 at 6:29 PM

    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.

    Reply
  5. Susan Reynolds says

    June 22, 2008 at 6:36 PM

    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.

    Reply
  6. David Beaudouin says

    June 22, 2008 at 6:37 PM

    Hmmm, good question–I’ve often thought of trying this short-term, even without the $10M incentive. πŸ˜‰ 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.

    Reply
  7. Neil says

    June 22, 2008 at 6:50 PM

    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.

    Reply
  8. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 6:56 PM

    Hi Sprite,
    I’m wondering. It’d be hard to find a loophole. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  9. jonny goldstein says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:04 PM

    I would say no. It would be like taking 10,000,000 dollars if I never sang again.

    Reply
  10. Adam Cohen says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:04 PM

    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

    Reply
  11. Polka Dot Bride says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:13 PM

    Nope. I love blogging too much, I love the community sense that I get from it too πŸ™‚

    Making phonecalls and writing letters? Well i’m old school and do that anyway!

    Reply
  12. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:14 PM

    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.

    Reply
  13. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:15 PM

    Josh,
    The simpler life is attractive, but the folks I’d leave . . . I’d miss every one of you.

    Reply
  14. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    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.

    Reply
  15. Sprite says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:19 PM

    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*

    Reply
  16. Sprite says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:20 PM

    psst.. I wouldn’t quit working either (don’t you just love not catching typos until you press SEND) *rolls eyes @ me*

    Reply
  17. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:20 PM

    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. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  18. @Stephen says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:22 PM

    No. Sorry y’all, but I am far too into this to give it up. I even dream about getting e-mails!

    Reply
  19. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:27 PM

    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. πŸ™‚

    YOU ARE addicted.

    I went to London for 9 days with only my iPhone — twice!!

    Reply
  20. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:28 PM

    Hi Jonny.
    Fabulous analogy!

    Reply
  21. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:29 PM

    Hey Adam,
    Don’t you think you’d miss it after the novel was done?

    Reply
  22. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:46 PM

    Hey Polka Dot Bride,
    Yeah, I’d miss all of that too. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  23. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:48 PM

    Hi Sprite,
    That was a recurring theme as I thought about the question this week. . . . Where would I find such group of great minds?

    Reply
  24. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 7:50 PM

    @Stephen I don’t dream about emails . . . yet. But I have found people from the Internet show up in the plots of my dreams. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  25. Sprite says

    June 22, 2008 at 8:00 PM

    Good point, Liz. I have a Sprite answer! On the internet! We’ll snail mail them & invite them over!!!

    Reply
  26. Lissa Boles says

    June 22, 2008 at 9:27 PM

    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…

    Reply
  27. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 9:39 PM

    Excellent idea!!
    Then we’ll keep them entertained with our millions!!

    Reply
  28. Lani Anglin-Rosales says

    June 22, 2008 at 9:52 PM

    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. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  29. kristarella says

    June 22, 2008 at 9:57 PM

    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.

    Reply
  30. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 10:02 PM

    Hi Lani!
    It’s a comfort to hear you say that! I’ve gotten used to living inside your computer. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  31. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 10:03 PM

    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.

    Reply
  32. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 10:06 PM

    #27
    Hi Lissa!
    Sure love the energy in how you said that!

    Reply
  33. Glenda Watson Hyatt says

    June 22, 2008 at 10:06 PM

    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!

    Reply
  34. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 22, 2008 at 10:29 PM

    Nice try, Glenda,
    But as far as I know, there’s no negotiating on the terms of the offer. πŸ™

    Reply
  35. Kelly says

    June 22, 2008 at 10:51 PM

    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

    Reply
  36. Andrea Hill says

    June 22, 2008 at 11:14 PM

    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 πŸ™‚

    Reply
  37. Jade Kaz says

    June 22, 2008 at 11:19 PM

    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?

    Reply
  38. Glenda Watson Hyatt says

    June 22, 2008 at 11:20 PM

    Well, it was worth a shot! On second thought, I’d like to find a way to make $10m using the internet!

    Reply
  39. Ankesh Kothari says

    June 23, 2008 at 2:36 AM

    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.

    Reply
  40. Annie says

    June 23, 2008 at 6:42 AM

    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…
    πŸ™‚

    Reply
  41. Karen Putz aka Deaf Mom says

    June 23, 2008 at 7:14 AM

    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.

    Reply
  42. Kirk M says

    June 23, 2008 at 9:05 AM

    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… πŸ˜€

    Reply
  43. Lynn Kindler says

    June 23, 2008 at 9:58 AM

    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!

    Reply
  44. Rick Cockrum says

    June 23, 2008 at 9:59 AM

    Ò€œWhat cost freedom?Ò€

    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.

    Reply
  45. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 11:01 AM

    Wow, you guys!
    Let’s see, Kelly. I think a last blog post would be in order, definitely!!

    Reply
  46. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 11:11 AM

    Hi Andrea,
    Does that mean that you would prepare a legacy before you left the Internet?

    Reply
  47. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 11:13 AM

    #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.

    Reply
  48. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 11:14 AM

    #39
    Glenda, I’m with you on that!

    Reply
  49. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 11:15 AM

    #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.

    Reply
  50. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 11:16 AM

    #41
    Aw Annie,
    I bet you’d want your husband with you . . . hard choice. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  51. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 11:17 AM

    #52
    Karen,
    Leave it to you to have a creative response. You and Ankesh should start a business together.

    Reply
  52. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 11:20 AM

    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.

    Reply
  53. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 11:21 AM

    #44
    Hi Lynn!
    Welcome. The universe of questions brought this dilemma to your door. It seems that you’ve got a great answer.

    Wow!

    Reply
  54. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 11:26 AM

    Rick!

    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?

    It is, as you said, the connections that count. So I guess each of us has to figure out where our valued connections are.

    Reply
  55. SpaceAgeSage says

    June 23, 2008 at 12:17 PM

    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.

    Reply
  56. Connie Brooks says

    June 23, 2008 at 1:24 PM

    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.

    Reply
  57. Suzie Cheel says

    June 23, 2008 at 3:51 PM

    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.

    Reply
  58. Suzie Cheel says

    June 23, 2008 at 7:04 PM

    Beachblogger said that’s a no brainer, he’ll see me in six months!

    Reply
  59. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 9:51 PM

    #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.

    Reply
  60. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 9:56 PM

    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!

    Reply
  61. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 23, 2008 at 9:58 PM

    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. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  62. ME Liz Strauss says

    June 24, 2008 at 5:47 AM

    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. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  63. David says

    August 5, 2010 at 1:59 PM

    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.

    Reply
  64. @steveplunkett says

    August 5, 2010 at 2:03 PM

    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.

    Reply
  65. @storiesofsommer says

    August 5, 2010 at 2:41 PM

    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.

    Reply

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