Happy New Year 2011!

Yet another year has come and gone...and in the spirit of accountability, below are my New Year's Resolutions from 2010. Wait...I didn't write them down. In all honesty, I'm sure they included 1) lose some weight, 2) better work/life balance, 3) simplify and the usual suspects.

In the process of thinking about our 'Year in Review for our Family' (which Eva and I do each year...by talking about the 'bests' and 'worsts' of 2010), Eva ripped out an article in our local paper. The article itself (in German only) is below:

Abschied von der Postkarte und echten Freunden

The article really got me thinking, and the timing for New Years was perfect. Plus, it hit on one of the more fundamental differences between Eva (e.g. 'old school': newspaper and book reader) and I (e.g. early technology adapter: iGoogle/Website and ebook reader).

In short, the author takes a relatively balanced (e.g. not an 'I hate technology' perspective) take on things that are disappearing from our lives and the pros / cons:
1. Handwritten letters: replaced by email and text messaging.
2. Postcards: previously 'required' (especially in Germany) during vacations
3. Paper Pictures: the few, yellowing pictures of a childhood or the slides of vacation
4. Dictonaries and Encyclopedias
5. The CD: remember those dust inducing and bulky CD holders
6. 2D Movies: strategy from Hollywood to get folks into theatres, but 3D doesn't make a bad story better
7. Land Lines: with low cell rates, who needs a land line
8. Discussion: before a discussion or debate can occur, someone is googling the question in their iPhone
9. Alarm Clock: replaced by cells
10. Real Friends: who really has over 100 real friends?

I disagreed on point 4 (Wiki still gives me tons of information and yet gives me the ability to 'peruse' other related topics), and I will never get rid of my alarm clock. I'm indifferent on the survival of the CD as long as I can keep my unlimited Rhapsody streaming service. I certainly neither have the room for my 600+ CDs (nor the crappy holders) nor the budget for the music that I would have to purchase if 'they' took Rhapsody away.

After watching 'The Blind Side / Die grosse Chance', I definitely do not need this in 3D because the story was good enough without any stupid bells or whistles. Plus, you can't beat the 5 EUR price I paid to have amazon.de deliver this to my door (oh, how I wish I could stream Netflix from Germany). Quality Hollywood, not gimmicks (oxymoron?).

Points 1, 2, 3, 8, and 10 all hit a central point for me (and Eva): simplify and get back to the basics, with point 10 (Real Friends) being the central point for #1 (handwritten letters), #2 (postcards), #3 (Paper Pictures), and #8 (Discussion).

As much as I love technology and as much as technology has helped me improve my 'efficiency' with my communication with friends and loved ones, it doesn't necessarily improve my 'effectiveness'. Yes, this blog is a great way to help our friends and family indirectly keep track of our goings on, and Google's Video Chat (and Voice) helps my folks see the kids grow up, so I'm definitely grateful for the changes in technology...

...but does all of this technology strengthen and maintain my friendships and family relationships? Yes, but only to an extent. Perhaps the availability of eMail, Chat, SMS, Texting, Facebook, blogging, etc etc, I (and perhaps others) feel like I'm communicating 'effectively' but yet I'm just being 'efficient'. These 'old school' forms of communication were successful for hundreds of years (or longer) for a reason: they had meaning due to the relative infrequency of their occurence and they helped improve REAL friendships.

So, if you have made it with me this long, I have one New Year's Resolution for 2011 (outside of the ubiquitous (allgegenwärtig) 'lose weight and eat healthier'):

I resolve to better take care of my REAL friendships (you know who you are, and they are much fewer than the 200+ friends I have on Facebook), and I will use a more effective means - even if that means that I go old school and write a letter or send a postcard from time to time. But don't hold it against me if I keep posting on this blog ;-) But, don't expect me to have an address book, I've got your addresses on my cell phone ;-)

Happy New Year! Thank you for listening.