The Assault On Anywhen

hear no evil **UPDATE: This isn’t CLIENT communications. This is friends and colleagues.** I’m frustrated. I just spent about 20 hours without connection to the web. No email. No Twitter. No blog comments. No nothing. The technical reason was that my flight was seriously delayed, then held in the air, and then when I got to the UK (where I write this), I learned that neither of my phones is GSM-enabled, so I’m without communications technology.

But none of that is why I’m frustrated.

I have SEVERAL emails from people complaining that they didn’t hear back from me. In most of them, it was within 24 hours of the original mail. In other times, I hadn’t been in touch and it was okay that they nudge me. But the ones from within 24 hours. Seriously?

This Has to Stop

None of us are performing surgery (unless you are). You’re not calling me for the antidote to a poison. We MUST police ourselves about our sense of urgency. What happens, and I can be guilty, is that when WE need something, we push for it, not really taking into consideration the other side of the equation. So instead of just ticking something off our list, we come off as insistent and insensitive to other people’s situations.

How I Am Going to React

I’m saying no. I’m going to say no to a BOATLOAD of things I’ve originally said yes to, simply because I’m very frustrated. I can appreciate your need to get things done. I can appreciate your wanting to include me. But I can’t be held to a 24 hour clock.

We’re Ruining Anywhen

Anywhen: the problem the Internet solved. I’m blogging this at 4:38AM eastern time. It’s 9:38AM UK time. You can read this anyWHEN. See the beauty of it?

(AnyWHERE is what telephones solve. Get it?)

But when we have everyone held to urgency and time locks, we’ve ruined Anywhen. And I am a citizen of that world. I am an Internet person who is being pushed to constrained time, and I think I’m done.

(Mind you, I’m severely jet-lagged, had a really really bad day of travel, and haven’t had access to the net for a while, so I’m also a bit over-reactive.)

But please, can we please lose our addiction to urgency? Because I’m in a serious mood to defend AnyWHEN vigorously.

Photo credit Cl@re Bear

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Genesis Theme Framework

Genesis Theme Framework

Genesis empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Whether you're a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go. It's that simple - start using Genesis now!

Take advantage of the 6 default layout options, comprehensive SEO settings, rock-solid security, flexible theme options, cool custom widgets, custom design hooks, and a huge selection of child themes ("skins") that make your site look the way you want it to. With automatic theme updates and world-class support included, Genesis is the smart choice for your WordPress website or blog.

Become a StudioPress Affiliate

Comments

  1. ed hardy clothing says:

    When talking about ed hardy , it is necessary for us to say something about its eminent designers One is ed hardy bags on sale who has been hailed as America contemporary godfather of tattoo, Another ed hardy clothing is “king of jeans” whose name is ed hardy board shorts, was once the designer of Diesel, Levi’s and some other popular brand. All of them always smell decadent and degraded.

  2. moncler says:

    Are you still worrying about the coldness in Winter?Moncler Moncler down Jackets uses 100% genuine down and high quality fabrics to keep warm. moncler women'sSimple and modern design may not attracts your eyes at first.Moncler JacketsBut if you put it on, you must be our of the ordinary. That is the design concept of many big brands. Here,Moncler Clothing buymoncler offers a lot of down jackects and Leisure shoes for Men and Women,
    moncler mens and also kids. Choose one for yourself or your family, you will be the unique ones of this winter.Buy Moncler

  3. The goal in Assault is to fight through an enemy stronghold with a small, elite unit of mercenaries.

  4. The fair lady Anywhen is among the most beautiful throughout the land and deserves all the protection that we can afford. Seriously, the biggest problem technology has created is the erosion of patience.

Trackbacks

  1. [...] While I don’t feel the intense pressure about this that my friend Chris Brogan does — he has more responsibilities and a much bigger audience than I do — the you-must-respond-NOW syndrome he diagnoses in his latest post is a pernicious one: The Assault on Anywhen [...]

  2. [...] to add: the day after I published this, both Chris Brogan and B.L. Ochman came out with posts on that last topic. Seriously, people. Fast does not equal [...]

  3. [...] Brogan sparked off a conversation that reflected this with his post expressing his frustration at unrealistic expectations by some people he interacts [...]

  4. [...] The Assault On Anywhen – chrisbrogan.com I’m frustrated. I just spent about 20 hours without connection to the web. No email. No Twitter. No blog comments. No nothing. The technical reason was that my flight was seriously delayed, then held in the air, and then when I got to the UK (where I write this), I learned that neither of my phones is GSM-enabled, so I’m without communications technology. But none of that is why I’m frustrated. I have SEVERAL emails from people complaining that they didn’t hear back from me. In most of them, ..   show all text knealemann: @chrisbroganwill get to it anyWHEN. Read this! http://bit.ly/cbg4VT  Tweet This! | Buzz This [...]

  5. [...] The other day I discussed the Culture of Free. Chris has been talking about the problems with Anywhen. Frustrations are growing at a rapid rate in the Twittersphere with noise ratios and spam on the [...]

  6. [...] Brogan, who is as prolific as he is wise (ie. very) has just published a post called “The Assault on Anywhen“. In it he rails against this ever intensifying circle of urgency that drives all we do. [...]

  7. [...] Filed under: webbing — Andy Bonjour @ 10:59 pm Chris Brogan talks of anywhen.  It’s a curious concept,  sounds strange at first, but soon, it will probably be a common [...]

  8. [...] more on the email problem, see this great blog by Trust Agents co-author and wildly dominant blogger Chris [...]

  9. [...] Brogan had a real interesting post last week about the ‘Anywhen’ phenomenon. Part of it’s postive: he creates great content [...]

  10. Top 10 Touch Phones…

    Great site. Take a look at out top 10 touch phones of 2009 if you get chance!…

  11. [...] Brogan recently shared what he calls Anywhen—that communications should strive to be time-shiftable as most issues are simply not urgent.  [...]

  12. [...] it was Chris Brogan with his rallying against the assault on anywhen, today it’s Gary Vaynerchuck with his request for people to [...]

  13. [...] week, Chris Brogan wrote a great post on time and what he calls Anywhen. He also wrote a great manifesto that I also love. This got me thinking about all the times I have [...]

  14. [...] Chris Brogan’s blogpost on The Assault On Anywhen [...]

  15. [...] and sense of community while others rant about being expected to be available for work 24/7 with zero response-time to urgent messages. While the promise of new media is freedom, choice, and control, the reality for most is crippling [...]

  16. [...] & Trust Agent extraordinaire, Chris Brogan, recently shared a mini rant that contained an important demonstration of work-life ini… His suggestion — that we learn to recognize and respect what really is an isn’t [...]

  17. [...] Achieving your goals through communication technology March 22, 2010 John Leave a comment Go to comments The need for employees to be physically present at the office has been on the decline ever since computers and secure Internet connections made it possible to work virtually from home.  Many companies have adopted policies that allow their employees certain latitude when it comes to showing up at the office, and instead concentrate on the results of their work over the number of hours they sit in their cube.  The effects of these policies on workplace cohesion and team building have been debated for years, not to mention the question of applicability across business functions.  Not until the advent of social media technologies over the past few years, however, has the debate shifted from one of results to one of commitment.  With the strict walls of “9-5” smashed years ago, the traveling office and constant-contact technologies have raised a real and pertinent question: When is an employee really “off”? [...]

  18. [...] turned off if they don’t get a response in less than a few hours. He calls this the “assault on anywhen .” Here is some of what he had to [...]

  19. [...] Anywhen, although my intention was in the spirit of creativity, my blog is just too new to be handing over 8 out of 10 posts to guests.  Writers write, right?  So, although I will still feature a Biz Mommy of the Week and welcome one guest poster on Fridays, the rest of the posts in the week will be served up fresh and hot by none other than yours truly.  [...]

  20. [...] Anywhen becomes possible because of human networking 2.0. By being able to have conversations that transcend time and space using tools like Google Wave (finally out of beta and anyone with a Google account can now use) we extend the power of communication, not limit it. I’m working on a project now that spans time zones even when we are all at home. Google Wave keeps it moving. [...]

  21. [...] And yet, lots of times, people send messages to one’s inbox, or to Twitter, or other places, seeking a NOW response. (Note, I still think we’re doing a lot of our intentions of communication wrong, as I said in the Assault on Anywhen.) [...]

  22. [...] difficult questions. Others have noticed this challenge (most notably Chris Brogan’s entry on The Assault on Anywhen), and it’s one that’s not going away anytime soon. The real-time pressure cooker is [...]

blog comments powered by Disqus