A Quiet Reflection on Web 2.0 v Life 1.0
The last couple weeks have been a roller coaster! Not just through my local Ann Arbor real estate business, but also watching the national news scene. Politically and financially we are living a momentous occasion in history. But how many of us are too fearful to ponder just what it means?
Who knows, exactly, what will become of these current gyrations? If you do know, please let me in on your crystal ball! Mine’s a little murky just now.
Life is a Journey, Open Your Eyes
I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
~Henry David Thoreau
Amidst my personal best year ever, and the chaos of business and national angst, I’ve learned something this week.
Too much information can be a problem. At the least, it causes us to move too fast.
Think about that for a moment….
If we didn’t have a 15 minute news cycle, access to the latest breaking “news” we couldn’t be troubled with the knowledge of some starlet’s addiction problems. Nor could we focus on bad news and add to the fear by echoing what we’ve heard.
I once read that a lie can go around the world before truth gets its boots on. You know, I think that applies to news too! Bad news moves like a wildfire, while good news kind of mosies along.
Slow Down!
I’m guilty of moving too fast, “absorbing” and processing too much information. For what purpose?
I believe that my clients expect the best information when purchasing or selling a home. So, as I am working with my clients, I feel it is imperative to stay on top of the latest news to advise my them knowledgeably and appropriately. If I didn’t need to sleep or eat, I could gather and process information 24 hours a day.
Here’s what the last couple of weeks have taught me:
- I know how to find information and news very quickly;
- I don’t need the news channel on for more than 15 minutes in the am and then again in the pm;
- The more time I deliberately spend with friends and family, the more energized and focused I become.
And then the Google Reader served up this gem of a post on Life 1.0. It’s almost as if Marc had crawled in my noggin, seen what was ricocheting around and put it all to words.
The technology available to us does not replace the human side of business, or life. It’s great to reconnect with high school friends on Facebook that I’ve not seen in 15 years. It’s a blast talking with folks via Twitter about real estate.
What’s more fun is sitting with that old high school friend at an old coffee bar hang out we used to frequent. It’s a blast meeting folks for the first time, in person, that you have chatted with for months via the social networks online!
I will always look for technology to streamline my business and make the process more efficient, but also move at the pace that best suits my clients and their needs.
The Blackberry will remain by my side and the computer not that far away. If this year has taught me one thing, it is that time with family and friends is precious. Furthermore, I need to be ‘present’ for both my clients and my friends and family.
