The Tendo View

“This book is about a yearning and a need. It’s about finding a quiet, spacious place where the mind can wander free.” Does this quote strike a chord? Does it conjure an expansive horizon over a shimmering blue ocean and warm sand under your feet, your BlackBerry or iPhone left behind?

If it does, you’re probably ready for that vacation. It’s that time of year, after all.

The quote is from the introduction to Hamlet’s BlackBerry, Bill Powers’ new book about the frenzied world of ubiquitous “screens” and constant connection that we now inhabit. I haven’t read it yet, but from the reviews and author interviews I’ve read, it seems like a perfect vacation read.

I heard about Hamlet’s BlackBerry during an NPR interview with Powers a couple weeks ago. Having just gone without a mobile phone for two weeks, I had noticed an odd sense of relief. Without a connected device in my pocket, I felt free. There was nothing to check, no nagging curiosity to satiate, no distraction lingering in my thoughts. It was great. It was a bit like the “spacious place” Powers alludes to.

Powers’ book describes my experience almost exactly. He explores the “conundrum of connectedness” and how it has changed our work and personal lives, for better and worse. Powers is no Luddite and he’s not advocating that we ditch our smartphones. He admires and sees the value connectedness brings to society. But he’s aware of its downside, too.

From what I’ve read, Powers’ book is part discourse on our need to connect and communicate and part practical guide for today’s hyper-connected world. Whiling admitting to loving the technology himself, Powers suggests we embrace it with caution. “What I’m proposing here is a new digital philosophy, a way of thinking that takes into account the human need to connect outward, to answer the call of the crowd, as well as the opposite need for time and space apart. The key is to strike a balance between the two impulses,” says Powers.

Looking at our current reality and the countless screens that fill our daily lives, Powers writes, “But as we connect more and more, they’re changing the nature of everyday life, making it more frantic and rushed. And we’re losing something of great value, a way of thinking and moving through time that can be summed up in a single word: depth. Depth of thought and feeling, depth in our relationships, our work and everything we do.”

Vacation is always a prime opportunity to get away from the day to day and gain new perspective on work, life, and self. As a communications professional, you know better than anyone about the degree to which we’re now connected. If you need a book for vacation and have questioned the implications that connectedness has on your job, how you reach customers, and manage your personal life, check out Hamlet’s BlackBerry. I plan to.