Constantly Connected
June 7th, 2010 | Categories: Technology | 6 CommentsRebekah tweeted a quote about Rahm Emanuel yesterday that made me legitimately LOL. It’s from the book “The Promise: President Obama, Year One” by Jonathan Alter, pages 165-166:
[Rahm] didn’t appreciate it when he reached only voice mail or when someone failed to call back immediately. One day in early 2009 he left a message for George Miller: “This is your best fucking friend, your only fucking friend in the world. Are you ever going to call me back?” No hello or goodbye. It had been two hours at most since Rahm called the first time.
I will be the first person to admit that I am attached at the hip to my iPhone. Having 24/7 access to my email, Facebook, Twitter, texting, calling and the Internet in general? Whoever decided it was a good idea to let me get a smartphone obviously wasn’t thinking straight.
It drives me absolutely crazy whenever someone takes days, weeks or eons to reply to an email/call/text/voicemail/tweet/Facebook message/etc. It gets really bad if I know the person I’m trying to correspond with also has a smartphone, because I just don’t see the point in getting a smartphone unless you’re going to use the “smart” part of the phone. (Or even the “phone” part, if that person isn’t responding to my calls or texts!)
Usually, I’m pretty good with not getting too anxious or annoyed about waiting for people to get back in touch with me. It only really gets to me if it’s a timely thing and I have to hear back from so-and-so by a certain time. For example, if I am put in charge of planning a surprise birthday dinner, I need to know what time works for everyone and what everyone is contributing to the party. If people don’t tell me, I can’t plan the party, which leads to no party (surprise, surprise). Pretty easy math, if you ask me. However, most people don’t see it that way and pin the blame for the lack of party on me. Or, they get me the necessary party planning details in the eleventh hour and have the audacity to grumble about me bothering them for said details. (Let’s remember that I wouldn’t have had to ask more than once if they replied to me the first time!)
While I wouldn’t say I’m as bad as Emanuel, I very well could be in the next few years. I already have a smartphone and my degree is best suited for PR and media… I may as well start drafting a marriage contract between myself and an iPhone or Blackberry (or Android, since they seem to be the next up-and-coming smartphone).
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Hi, I'm Manda. I'm a college student studying communications and languages. I like to read, shop, bake, and travel. I have a tendency to listen to my favorite songs on repeat for hours on end. Sometimes I catch myself thinking in a language other than English. 
You’re going to hate me then… because I technically have a smart phone (just bought it maybe a week ago), but I don’t use it as one at all. It costs way too much money. But I like that it has the ability to be one if someday I decide I want to splurge and get internet and other shininess on it. (My old phone was, no lies, 6 years old. It could barely text. XD)
But why would you buy a smartphone and not use the “smart” features? That just seems pointless to me. :/
Because it costs WAY too much money. Maybe it’s different in the US (I often wonder that, actually, because a lot of people seem to have iPhones and Blackberrys in the States), but it’s 70$+ a month for an iPhone here. That’s ridiculous! I can’t justify spending that much on a just a cell phone when I pay 100$ a month for a home phone, cable AND internet all together. The only reason I bought a smart phone was because it was only 20$ more than a regular one, and it had a QWERTY keyboard which was what I wanted. (I can’t text the number-way for beans! :P)
But you can get affordable QWERTY phones that aren’t smartphones, which make more sense to m than to get a smartphone and not use the smart functions. At least, that’s how it’s been in my experience. Maybe it’s different in Canada…
Since you brought up home phones, though, I’ve always wondered how long those will stick around. I never use my home phone line, although I (think) need a landline for the Internet :P
I’m on a weird phone contract though, so that’s why I did what I did. It’s ridiculously cheap which is why I stick with it, but it means you have to use their stuff. So you can only use their phones. And they only have 4 different ones. And I wanted a QWERTY phone, which meant I only had one option. I suppose I’m just not super attached to my cell phone right now so it doesn’t really bother me. I like the cheapness to how-much-I-use-it ratio, so it works for me. Especially since I’m currently unemployed. ;)
Ughh, people ignoring when you contact them. Rude! I figure after 2 messages, if I still don’t hear back, eff em!