I heard a story on National Public Radio today about how Atlanta now ranks as the top city in the nation for frequency of email checking. I believe this. One of the factors cited was the increased use of Blackberries and other mobile devices, and another was the long commutes that many of us experience every work day -- drives so long that we somehow feel we have to stay in touch or get a jump on the day ahead.I own a Windows Mobile smartphone. It's a lot like a Blackberry, only smaller, and with a Windows interface. I know that I must check email at least twenty times a day, and that doesn't count text messages and real honest-to-goodness-people-on-the-other-end cell phone calls. I receive email from four different sources, each with its own separate email address. Oh, yes...I am definitely one of the guilty ones.
Here's an example of how geeked-out things can get: At an after-work P-Council libations session the other night, we took a cell phone picture of our friend Sonya, who had procured some pink Wellington boots to match her pink De La Hoya-Mayweather boxing match baseball cap. Ensuring that the picture met with Sonya's approval, we then Bluetooth-beamed the picture around to each of our phones. We did this in a public place. High nerd mode at its finest. Of course, in the picture, Sonya is talking on her own cell phone. It never stops.So when I hear that we are way wired down here and that we're always checking email (even in church, according to the radio story), I have to laugh and plead insanity. But I've gotta say...it is kinda cool. Spin my propeller... =:)