Patrick Ruffini

The act of social exhibitionism on Twitter and Facebook, while satisfying in the moment, leaves something wanting. Lost are the deeper, more sophisticated forms of online interaction that used to characterize the Internet. Remember when engaging online was more than just popping up a YouTube video on Facebook, waiting for the endorphin hit that came when a high school friend hit “Like?” Don’t get me wrong, social media has gotten us online in a way we’ve never been before, but for those of us who remember forming thoughts longer than 140 characters, today’s endless info-snacking is taking a serious toll on our brains.

So I’m starting 2012 by striking out on Tumblr, a spot for the things a little bit more substantial than Twitter. I’m constantly fascinated by colonizing a new space online, though Tumblr is hardly new. It’s also about rekindling a passion for blogging (which I first started doing on July 9, 2001). And doing it in a more personal way.

Most New Year’s Resolutions fail because they try to do too much. Instead of changing things in bite-sized chunks, we try to boil the ocean. A few friends have commented on the candid shots that have cropped up on Facebook showing me “deep” in conversation with my audience by way my of my iPhone. My goal is for there to be less of that this year. People who are constantly in send-receive mode shortchange themselves — how critical is that e-mail or tweet compared to the big, important things you actually have to do everyday? (Listen to Tony Schwartz’s SXSW talk on this last year — it will change your outlook on things in a big way.) My “little change” for the year is going to be to stop stealing that next glance at the phone, or the impulse to check e-mail every few minutes, and in so doing, approach the things I’m doing, whether online or off, in big chunks. Only by working in these long sprints, whether it’s at work or online, can we really start to engage creatively once again.