This is such good and needed advice.

"You can­not fight dark­ness by resolv­ing to erad­i­cate dark­ness. Instead you must com­mit to gen­er­at­ing light. You can­not fight the cold by resolv­ing to erad­i­cate the cold. Instead you must com­mit to gen­er­at­ing heat. Sim­i­larly, con­sump­tion can­not be fought by resolv­ing to erad­i­cate con­sump­tion (as I had), but only by com­mit­ting to cre­ation, to the cre­ative act (which I hadn’t)."

"If the “social” web can only rep­re­sent arbi­trary facts about people’s beliefs and inter­ests, then it’s not social."

"On my first run without technology, I remember noticing the discomfort was gone. I was several miles into the run and feeling fine. I let my mind wander to any thought that entered it and I explored those thoughts without limits. I was aware of the nature surrounding me and I was in tune with my breathing."
Distance didn’t matter. Pacing didn’t matter. Alternatively, my experience during the journey mattered. Process mattered.

Saying no to say yes to other things…Practically Opaque:

To quote a single sentence of this would be a disservice to you, J.D., and the web as a whole. This is a must read.

Just in case there was any question who Facebook's real customers are:

Cloak is a service for your Mac, iPhone, and iPad that keeps you safe when you’re connected to public wireless networks like those found at coffee shops, hotels, airports, and conferences.

"I am getting to the point where I want to stop everyone but people I know and work with from emailing me. I don’t want people calling me on my phone to sell me stuff or inform me of things that they think I should know. My email is rapidly becoming that way. No more newsletters, advertisements, or enticements."

"In addition to refocusing on my own path of growth in 2012 and closing the door on daily social networking, I’d like to reorient my social life to spend more time connecting with others who have similar priorities when it comes to pursuing growth experiences. I had hoped I might meet such people through the social networks surrounding my work, but that didn’t happen. One reason is that such people would rather engage in growth experiences than in discussions about growth. They’d rather travel than talk about travel… would rather speak than discuss speaking… and would rather start a business than talk about starting one."

"Electronics are our talismans that ward off the spiritual vacuum of modernity; gilt in Gorilla Glass and cadmium. And in them we find entertainment in lieu of happiness, and exchanges in lieu of actual connections."

Healthy.

"I wasn't expecting the other side effect. Since I returned from vacation, the quality of email I receive has improved, and the quantity I receive has dropped. I still enjoy interacting with all the people I need to interact with, and I still get to answer all the questions that need answering. It just seems that my inbox is somehow more focussed."

Personal RSS:

"It sure is a different time. When I was a kid, my father came home from work at 5:30 and that was that. No more work until the next morning. Today, the opportunity to “log on” and “check just one more thing” is ever present, and we must make a concerted effort to punch out and stop. Even if it’s just for four hours. Stop."

In On The Brink we discuss the past, present and future of connectivity with a mix of people including David Rowan, chief editor of Wired UK; Caterina Fake, founder of Flickr; and Eric Wahlforss, the co-founder of Soundcloud. Each of the interviewees discusses the emerging opportunities being enabled by technology as we enter the Networked Society. Concepts such as borderless opportunities and creativity, new open business models, and today's 'dumb society' are brought up and discussed.

http://ericsson.com/networkedsociety

Hint: Nowhere

If you have not yet read it, A Place Of My Own by Michael Pollan is excellent:

"Let’s acknowledge the irony: the functional difference between “reposting” something versus clicking a Like button is rather minuscule: both actions ultimately rebroadcast the content to others. But the irony here is further amplified because the idea itself being “rebroadcasted” is that Like fails to engage in any literary exchange of substance, feeding a 'narrow range of thought.'"

"Mark Pilgrim’s work was inspiring. His departure should be equally inspiring."

Must Read: Web Application Security Blog | Tracking performed by social networks:

Nice post about how @jesselavery thought through a recent Social Media Clense:

Nice post about how @jesselavery thought through a recent Social Media Clense:

It feels like Twitter is aimlessly running with two general goals right now:

Make money!
Get more users!

Love him or hate him (I'm on the love side), @hotdogsladies still has the best contact page on the Internets: