February 5, 2024

The Past

I quit all social media platforms In January of 2017. It was not announced. A decade spent reading, posting, replying, forwarding, writing, liking and ignoring. I engaged with hundreds of amazing people who I respect and would have never encountered without that magical technology. To all of them I say thank you. Was it a hard decision? Yes. But over time I felt relief.

I recaptured a substantial amount of time instead of surrendering my attention to the whims of data collection, algorithms and anger. That was infinitely more magical than anything a platform or technology (including AI) could ever do. Most of those platforms are long gone, have been acquired or renamed. Keep in mind our most productive and healthy lives last roughly 4,000 weeks.

A percentage of that decade spent on the “socials” was related to my job, helping my employer develop tools and strategies to leverage a new and uncomfortable medium. But the vast majority of time was spent in pursuit of my personal digital brand. The results are mixed. I decided to make a change.

A New Chapter

After 40 years in Chicago I left in 2022 and am splitting my time between the Southwest desert and the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. It has been an adjustment, but one I am embracing and loving along with my incredible family.

In 2024 I will be returning to this space focusing on my passions; film, art, writing and technology. No doubt it will be a form of self-therapy (no cause for worry as I’m a properly educated psychologist). My hope is readers of this work will find something that will cause them to stop and think. To WATCH a film or READ a book or go to a museum and LOOK at a painting. I will enjoy the thinking and writing and am keenly interested in hearing your opinion.

Thank you.