Killing Multiple Online Identities: The Experience

Time and again a new Online service starts, and I being a trier of all things new would be there to catch it up. The problem with me (and most of us) is that we never think about the footprints we are leaving with all these accounts over time. Of course, most of the information shared on these networks would be harmless, but with people spending more and more of their lives over Internet, you can' really be sure what information you may end up sharing on the network which may compromise your privacy/security.

So, this weekend I reviewed all the online accounts that I have made on different sites. And it came as a big shocker that I had over 50 online accounts for different types of services. Some of them were of course a necessity, like a Gmail account, but many more were just tried for a while and then forgotten, or may be used heavily over a period of time but were of no use anymore. So, I spent a few hours trying to delete these accounts one by one. And I must tell you, it wasn't as easy as one would think.

• tweetdeck: (Difficult: Couldn't find a 'delete account' button anywhere on the client or their website. Had to search for it to find a link which led me delete the account.) A twitter client which was later taken over by Twitter itself. Nice little client for heavy twitter users. But Twitter announced that they will be shutting off this service so I went on to remove this service in advance.

• Pinterest: (Easy: Pinterest doesn't seem to have a "Delete" option but you can "Deactivate" it which is as good as deleting.). Pinterest is the latest fad in online social networking after Facebook, Twitter and Google+. I tried it a few months ago, but didn't seem to get a hang of it.  

• Secondary Gmail Account: (Easy: Was easily able to find the link and after a few necessary warnings, Google conveniently deleted the account with all the associated information. Neat!). Already have a Gmail and Yahoo account and this was not really necessary to keep. Good riddance.

• Advirtus: (Easy). It's a site for developing habits in group and keeping each other accountable and taking up challenges. It was fun for a while.

• Wacchen: It was site to mark videos to view later, just like ReadLater services for texts. The site doesn't seem to exist now.

• 123greetings: (Can't delete.) A site used almost a decade back when sending online greetings was a fad. And it came as a rude shock that they don't have an option to delete the account (although they have it in their plan!)

• Zenhabits.net Forum: Similar to Advirtus. The forum of this site has gone premium now so my account doesn't exist anymore.

• tweetstreamapp: A service to back up the tweets and get coo! analytics about it. It was closed last year so no option to delete any account on it. A weird blog remains on the site.

• teletype.us: Can't seem to remember what this site was for! It was a little difficult to open the site, but was Easy to delete once opened.

• stripgenerator.com: (Easy) A site to create online comics. Tried it but found it to be a little difficult to use, so never came back to it.

• c9.io: (Easy) An Online IDE to write and compile code. But this IDE is a little advanced for my needs. I use codepad to practise throwaway code sometimes.

• deviantart: (Easy: They tried to emotionally blackmail me into keep my account but allowed me to delete it when I persisted.) A place for digital artists, not really somewhere I should belong!

• delicious.com: (Moderate: The link to delete the account was hidden in one of the menus) An online service to backup and tag your bookmarks. With Chrome and Firefox's own bookmark syncing, this service isn't required anymore.

• getglue.com: (Easy) A service to find related information on site you are on. Wasn't much useful to me.

• idonethis.com: (SuperEasy: Open the account, done!) A productivity site with a difference. Instead of ToDo today list you create IDidThis today list.

• rememberthemilk.com: (SuperEasy: Open, delete, sign out) Awesome Task maker, but a little too advanced for the needs.

• photobucket.com: (Easy) A site for Image hosting, sharing and editing. With better alternatives like Instagram, Flickr and Google+ existing now, it's not needed anymore.

• Minus.Com: (Moderate: No apparent link exists anywhere, so had to request them via their contact form. But the operators were curteous and did what was expected). A social networking site in its infancy, with a minimalist look.

• uploading.it: (Moderate) A file hosting and sharing site. With much better alternatives like Dropbox and Google Drive existing, it's not required anymore.

• Box.Net: (Easy) One of the first cloud hosting services I tried. Has become better but nobody beats Dropbox today!

• Freebooks.Net: (Moderate: Had to email them to delete the account, which they did after a few days). A site to view and download free books. They also have premium account with better services but I don't have time to download and read random books from Internet. Also, better sources available now.

• Way2Sms: (Difficult: They authenticate your identity before taking action which was an arduous process to go through) At one time, heavily used by me. The ease of typing and sending messages on computer made it an essential site to use everyday for almost an year. But DND services on phones and the slow death of SMS itself has made this site obscure now.

• Facebook: Coming Soon. Very Soon!

Moral

The sites have made it super easy for you to join them but it's not that easy to leave them! But it is important to review the kind of sites that you have shared your online credentials with and if they are of much use in the present scenarios. Spending these few hours has enabled me to get rid of these many services listed above (and a few more!). This also enables me to review what's important and where I want to invest my online time. After all I have it in limited amount!

The NO Internet Experiment

AIM

To perform a little experiment to see if I could go without Internet for a day

REQUIREMENTS

Internet, will power, a person with that will power

Circuit Diagram

THEORY

You remember the experiments with life that I wrote about last year? Well I thought it would be nice to try some more experimenting with life, but this time without any exam to give me excuses to do the same. Well to tell the truth I always keep trying something or other, so experimentation never stops. But this time I experimented while knowing I was experimenting!

So, what was the big experiment? No Internet for a day! Yeah that may sound ridiculous at first, I mean what can I possibly get by doing something like this? But just think about the number of hours you spend on Internet, compulsively scanning various sites for the new updates; to know what I mean (if you still don't get it, you are gifted! Celebrate!). I mean everyone has to check (and answer) mails, tweet/facebook, read blogs, search stuffs, watch videos, listen to music, share things, chat... That is kind of the day we, the new generation youth, spend nowadays (exceptions are always there).

But, I find it suffocating sometimes. You wake up, you do all the aforementioned things and then you go to sleep. But what did you actually achieve on the day? For most part it's nothing. And that fills me with guilt, I don't want to be wasting my days like this when I can have fun creating or learning stuffs. Well, communicating online, especially with those whom you can't meet regularly is necessary, but that's not the purpose of waking up everyday, is it?

Alright, let's not get more philosophical and come back to the actual experiment. OK, so I would be honest, this idea didn't come from vacuum, it was 'inspired' from one of the writeups of Leo Babauta from Zenhabits.net. But, I had to be the one performing it! Now, I have been without Internet before also, but that was when either I had no time to access it (exam time) or no means to access it (no net connection/net down). This was different, because I was willingly not doing something that has virtually become a habit.

PROCEDURE

• So, first thing I did was to inform all my friends (worth informing) that I was doing it, a day before. 
• And then I just let the day come by. 
• The day came by and the first thing I did in the morning was to open my browser and visit a website! 
• Well actually, I had to do it because I write online journal I couldn't afford to make an exception. But I just went to the site (750words.com) wrote my page and closed the browser in 15 mins. 
• I was determined to make through the day without making another exception and I actually did! 
• I surprised myself by the ease with which I did what I did.

RESULTS/CONCLUSION

1. I am addicted to Internet, but not to the extent that I can't live without it for a day (or even more).
2. I still didn't achieve as much as I could have in the absence of Internet. So, Internet is just a means, the real culprit is Me. If I want to make changes in my life, I need to take the responsibility and stop blaming Internet (and other distractions).
3. Overall the experiment was successful (if we ignore the 15 mins error). Next experiment: No system for a day!

Why I don't Like FaceBook (Anyway!)

Well I have been getting numerous requests for joining Facebook for months now. I had to make a filter in my inbox to keep all requests away (but I still get one or 2 a month anyway). No, I am not a celebrity whom people would be delighted to see. It's just that a lot of my friends are on the "The" Social Network and they want to see me there too. And that's pretty understandable because I want to see more and more people in my own little network, interacting, participating and sharing stuffs. So what's the big deal in joining (or not joining) FB? Well, this post is a PR blog that explains the same:

1. I already use a social network: Orkut anyone?! I joined Orkut in 2007 and have used it a lot circa 2007-2009. In fact, I even coerced a few people to join me there. A lot of people (we Indians at least) were a fan of Orkut at that time, so it was a lot of fun interacting with long lost friends (especially since social networking was a new thing). But over the years, people moved on to Facebook (and for right reasons I think) but I was stuck using Orkut (though I did delete my previous account and made a new one, removing clutter (read 'unwanted friends')). Most people I believe still have an Orkut account. If you really want to join me on a social network, come Orkut! I check my Orkut account at least once a week.

2. Too many friends: People like to have friends and this is what online networking is all about. But it may come as a surprise that I don't like to have too many friends. I just want to have a close set of friends with whom I am comfortable interacting and discussing anything under the sun, and can do so on a daily basis. I made a lot of 'friends' over Orkut (big mistake!) and when they don't interact, don't reply back; they just become a hassle, a kind of formality that you have to complete by exchanging greetings every Holi/Diwali/Eid/Christmas/New Year. I don't want to come on Facebook and face the same old situation again.

3. No Time: It's not that I am not active online. In fact, I may be more active than a lot of people. I check (and reply!) emails, chat on IM, read RSS feeds, maunder on Twitter (too much!), share stuffs on Buzz on a daily basis. Sometimes I ask questions on IRC/forums, now even watch YouTube videos here and there (what about blogging?). I don't want to join another network if I can't give anytime to it. What's the use of making an account and forgetting to visit it for months?

4. Do I need another network?: And this is the most important thing. I still believe meeting one-to-one is the best form of buddying, followed by probably making calls/sms. And everybody will agree that I reply to their mails as soon as I can. Or you can use tons of mediums I noted down above to interact with me. The simple fact is that I can easily contact anyone whom I want to interact right now. So why use FB? You may remember when I wrote "Why I don't have a Mobile". It's all about requirements. When you can do without it, what's the need?

5. I am a bit skeptical of it: I don't know, but I don't get a very positive vibe when hear about Facebook. It's a lot like when other people think about Google and it's products. I have heard a lot of negative things about it (though I have to admit, every good thing has its shortcomings) and their privacy loopholes. I feel like it is a big monster waiting out there to engulf me. May be it has something to do with Big Company Syndrome.

Now I know it is a bit lame to expect everyone to leave their favorite network just to interact with me (after all I don't do the same!). And I also know that I miss a lot of good things by not being on Facebook. So I do believe, I will join Facebook someday. May be tomorrow, may next week, this year or a few years down the line. I just don't know exactly when.

And I would also like to make it clear that the reason I don't have an FB account is  NOT because I don't know how to make one! To tell the truth, I do have a Facebook account! In fact, I have made 1 or 2 accounts few years back, when I was trying everything (including MySpace!). I made the account, checked its interface, found it a bit difficult to use, found no friends, stopped using it. And now either I don't remember the password, or have deactivated the account.

But I would really like to hear arguments in favor of Facebook (other than what I have already mentioned). Please motivate me to make an account!