If you need any more proof that we are a  mobile society that needs to be constantly in touch with up to date information at your finger tips then try to make through a day without your mobile device. I gave it a try just for one day and don’t know how I could ever go back to not being in touch, although there are  times I wish  could. Once you create the expectation of constantly being in touch there is no going back.  For marketing folks, this means we are in an instant gratification and instant information culture that requires fast and relevant response.

My day in the life without my good friend Mr. Blackberry 

Early Morning

At  7:15 AM I drove out of my driveway without my Blackberry. To be honest, as I was leaving my driveway I almost turned around because I convinced myself this might be a bad day without my Blackberry. I was thinking of all the reasons I should go back and get it. I remembered that I told my son to call me and let me know what time he was going to work. And, my daughter was going to call from college to let me know how she did on her Spanish final.  And, I had just given my wife a hard time yesterday for forgetting her phone at home. And, how will all the people from work on the road  reach me if they needed my help? But, I still decided to drive away without it and figured that everyone would live for the day.

It’s 7:36 AM and I am at the office. There is too much going on and too little time. I  had to wait for my laptop to fire up which took about 10 minutes to check my e-mails. The ten minute wait seemed like 2 hours. Normally, I would have been up to date by checking my e-mails on my Blackberry during that 10 minute wait.  While I was waiting for my laptop to fire up, I was looking at the empty spot on my desk where the Blackberry normally sits and wondered who might be trying to reach me. What would I miss during the day, who would try to call or text me and not be able to reach me. And, what would I do in the meetings when one person took out their Blackberry and like a bad yawn, everyone else looks down to see their latest e-mail.

Early Morning Blackberry Need Meter- High

Late Morning

After several meetings in the morning, I  did not miss my Blackberry because I had zero downtime, but I was always reminded of what I did not have just by seeing my peers looking at their Blackberry’s during the meeting. And, honestly most of those looking at their devices were not paying much attention to the meeting. The good news is each meeting had my undivided attention and I was not interrupted by constant vibrations of my Blackberry. It reminded me of the lesson I learned in book “Fish” by Stephen Lundin, which highlights the importance of always being present in meetings. As soon as you let an interruption take any of your focus away from your current meeting, you are simply letting  the people know that a random e-mail is more important than they are.

Blackberry Need Meter- Low

12:00 PM

I headed out to lunch and it was obvious that I did not have my communications security blanket hanging from my hip. My gateway to the world was gone. It really hit me that I was out of touch. I finally had some downtime and wanted to call some of our team members to see how their client meeting went. I felt the need to check in at home to see what was going on. And, I  knew  that someone was trying to reach me, I just did not know who.

I realized there is a new expectation of always being in touch at work and at home with little to no downtime, then when we finally get the downtime, we want to reach out to stay in touch. I finally had some down time and felt the need to fill it, rather than relax.  I was waiting for my lunch at Capra’s and I noticed an older Italian lady helping prepare my lunch and when I looked up at her she smiled and said it would be ready in 5 minutes. Most likely, I would never have even noticed her in the past because I would be starring down reading my e-mails.  As I sat down to eat, I remembered I had a meeting after lunch, but could not remember what the meeting was for or what time it was going to start. Unfortunately, I relied on my good friend Mr. Blackberry to let me know when I had the meeting and what the meeting was about.

Blackberry Need Meter- Extremely High

Afternoon

I was back into meetings, followed by writing up client proposals and checking e-mails.  I was also looking at the landline phone on my desk and wondered when that old device will be phased out.  I have not heard any other landline phone ring all day. Does anyone use this technology anymore? I bet more than 80% of the calls I get on the landline is someone trying to sell me something whether it is my office phone or my home landline phone, so there is not a strong motivation to answer.

Blackberry Need Meter- Low

After a day at work without the Blackberry, I went home and  the Blackberry red light was flashing letting me know what I missed during the day. I had missed several calls and text messages, but to be honest, at least for that one day, none were critical and thanks to my laptop I was able to stay in touch some of the day. 

The bottom line is constant interactions, immediate response,  instant gratification and  information at your finger tips wherever and whenever you need it is not ever going away whether you like it or not. Atleast, I can recognize we were not always in this instant gratification culture, but as we market to the next generation they don’t know any other way.

I have got to go, we have an instant insight online survey due in 15 minutes, which in the past might have taken 2 months to complete.  If you want to sign up for our surveys go to Opinions@Trone.com, and sorry, no immediate reward for signing up, but complete a survey and you may be a winner.