Plugged in Guy

Everybody knows “this guy”…

…doesn’t matter where he is or what he is doing, he has that rediculous Bluetooth headset in his ear. 10AM on Sunday? Check. 6PM on Friday? Check. It might as well be sewn to his head…

And you know these girls…

..they don’t get to spend much time with eachother, but when they do, they are handling 15-20 text conversations with other people saying things like, “OMG, LOL” or riveting things like “ROFL, I know!”

And lastly, everyone knows iPhone guy…

…he will spend countless hours with you showing you apps and telling you how cool his phone is. All the while, not giving a shit about actually hanging out with you, which was the original intent.

So what’s your point Bob?

Well, I can’t tell you how many times I am out with friends, or at a client site, or golfing, or simply out where people just don’t know how to unplug.

This past Friday for example, I had a golf outing, I unplugged my phone, turning it on when we had a break to check VM and email. The guys I golfed with, on the other hand, were on the phone the entire time. Literally. The whole point of the golf outing was to network, meet people, exchange business cards, share stories, build relationships.

I can’t tell you how many times I am out with friends, business colleagues, or even my wife, when half the time we are there, he/she is texting, emailing, Twittering, Facebooking, and such and such talking about what he/she is up to at that particular time. We actually had someone attend a ITintheD event and I am not kidding, Twittered non-stop the entire time about how great our event was. Really? You didn’t even get a chance to observe it, let alone enjoy it.

When did email and text messages become so urgent you have to interrupt actual conversation to tend to them?

You only get so much face-to-face time in this world, cherish it. I know those tools are phenomenal for bridging the communications gap, but don’t forget the old simple way of communications.

TALKING.

It’s time to know when to unplug people, and I am begging you, please, don’t be that guy.