I’ve renounced nearly all of the “social networks.” I’ve canceled my Twitter account, closed my Facebook account, and turned Buzz off in my Gmail. I’ve removed all of the apps from my phone that interacted with those services. Despite Google’s long memory, my activity on the “social web” is severely and intentionally curtailed. This is not just some philosophical denouncement of those apps or the forces that drive them. There is an aspect of that to my actions, but the vast majority of the impetus for this retreat is time.

I found myself spending inordinate amounts of time in voyeuristic mining of the information found on these various sites. I was not participating, but merely consuming. That consumption put at risk the other intellectual pursuits I find myself drawn to. The poor state of this blog is but a small indication of the lack of reading, writing, and thinking I’ve been doing.

Yes, this blog is some part of the “social web,” but I’m hoping that a renewed focus to writing on this blog and the consequential attention that requires to the subjects it covers are the result of this effort. I find that my programming, critical reading, and writing skills have begun to atrophy. “Social networking” is not the only cause. A one-year old son, a new house, and increased responsibilities at work are all factors, but the easiest one of those to curtail is clear.

I recognize that writing about writing on your blog is the height of arrogance. My goal for this post is that it serve as some signpost in my personal noosphere of when a shift was made, intentionally and with passion.