The internet is an occupational hazard. This especially true for writers. When we spin off to check a fact or go deeper on a topic we are writing about, we stop writing.
We don't know what we don't know.
The internet reveals what we don't know. And because there will never be an end to what we don't know, the internet can quickly become a black hole. Don't get sucked into the black hole!
The term 'screen suck' reflects how quickly we can get absorbed into the internet.
The majority of websites are designed to hook you. How do you justify publishing free content? It's because all that free content is like bait to pull in a reader.
A simple fact check of a celebrities age can lead to hours of time burned learning things you didn't know about that person. Youtube is extremely dangerous in this way. My advice to avoid getting sucked into videos that are more likely to capture your interest is to browse youtube using Chrome's 'Incognito Mode' or in Safari, it's 'New Private Window.' Doing so hides your identify and all the tracking that Google and YouTube does to custom tailor content that'll be a temptation to click.
Are you old enough to remember life before the internet?
Seems like we had a lot more time. We didn't know what we didn't know and that was ok.
My advice to clients will always reflect my knowledge and experience at the time. Right now for example, given new insight into audio book sales, my recommendation to produce an audiobook is much stronger than it was a year ago.
And while I easily get upset when I hear another expert give outdate advice, I understand that knowledge reflects that individuals experience and time of acquisition.
The phrase 'in a vacuum' means to do something in isolation and to disregard the outside world.
I make it a point NOT to write in a vacuum. I make an effort to interview experts and ask readers for feedback. The PubWriter platform is well suited for this model.
I prefer the phrase 'in a bubble.' It's a widely held joke where I live that we 'live in a bubble.' We don't often experience first hand what we see on the news. School shootings, extreme weather, and population-related issues (like traffic) are almost non-existent where I live. But I would argue that given that definition, most of us live in a bubble. It just depends on the boundaries and metrics used.
Is your home a safe place? Than I contend that your home is a bubble. We need to be in bubbles to feel safe.
The internet is becoming an increasingly dangerous place. If you want to step out of your bubble (at least in your mind), you don't have to look far when you go online.
Your email is an unlocked door. Those who send you email don't have to ask permission before they open the door. Before you open an email from an unknown sender, compare it to opening your front door to a stranger.
In fact, there's no guarantee that the sender is who they say they are. Just like your front door, you should ask for some form of verification.
Do you make it a practice of giving your home address to strangers? My recommendation is that you have two email address - treat like a PO Box - you can more freely give it knowing your able to keep unwanted solicitors at arms length. Your other is a private email, like your home address - one that you'd never give out to a stranger and definitely not one where you want solicitors visiting.
While I only visit my PO Box a couple times a week, I read the mail that is sent to my home on a daily basis.
I have a business address (my PO Box) and I have a home address (personal). As much as possible, I try to avoid mixing the two.