Social Media and Smartphones
The World News:- And how l learn to leverage the power and benefits of the BlackBerry 8800.
One of the greatest paradoxes of our time is that social media and smartphones contribute to distance people who are close; yet, they make people who are far away feel much closer. Is this a bad thing? Let me tell you my story, if you’d like to read.
Undeniably Functional and Convenient
When it comes to high-tech, I don’t consider myself an early adopter. Actually, I got my first smartphone only three years ago. My company, headquartered in Canada, bought me a BlackBerry 8800, a corporate phone. It was tricky. On one hand, I had unlimited access to work emails and my bosses could reach me at any time via BBM, so work wise, it was undeniably functional and convenient. Now, on the personal side, it got to be a bit overwhelming. Ever since the moment I was turning off the alarm clock in the morning I couldn't keep myself from seeing my work email notifications –even on weekends! Same thing during leisure time. I couldn't disconnect from work, literally. So it got to a point where I thought I didn't have a ‘mobile phone’ but a ‘mobile office.’ And that, my friends, is not fun.
BlackBerry 8800 Ringtones
I realized what the ‘catch’ was, I knew I had to do something about it.
One day, I got to discover BlackBerry 8800 ringtones and my whole predisposition about the smartphone changed. That discovery became a major turning point for me. I really started to have fun with the process. I would invest so much time on searching for my favorite songs or the hottest hits. I’d include my favorite tunes for incoming calls, choosing different tunes for each group of contacts: family members, colleagues, neighbors, friends from college, friends with benefits –just kidding…sort of! The most important thing is that my emotions towards the smartphone completely shifted –it was not a ‘mobile office’ anymore, yet, it also made me feel motivated about work.
BlackBerry 8800 Themes
After the ringtones, BlackBerry 8800 themes followed. My phone became the perfect extension of my personality. It took a while, but I had fun with the process –that’s all it matters.
But I really got to take my BlackBerry experience to the next level was when I got to meet someone ‘especial.’ Let me elaborate.
Random Encounter with Cute Dutch
I was travelling on my own through Rhode Island, when I met this cute guy from Netherlands. We spent a few days together as he was also travelling and had a great time. We had to say good bye as I was going back home to Chicago and he was returning to Amsterdam, not before we exchanged our PIN numbers–can you believe we had the same phone? Anyway. I kept doing my thing in Chicago while he was doing his in Amsterdam. But my life never got to be the same after that random encounter with that cute Dutch. We chatted every day. Before we knew it, we found ourselves immersed in a long distance relationship. I still remember the day that he created two BlackBerry 8800 wallpapers so that we could both display them.
My Bosses in Toronto and my Love in Amsterdam
Let’s just say that two of the most important things in my life –my bosses in Toronto and my love in Amsterdam- were far away and only my smartphone could make me feel closer to them.
I have to admit that this was not easy to handle for my Chicago friends and family. They saw me getting a bit consumed by the long distance –especially with my boyfriend. We managed to travel back and forth four times a year during a year, but now, I am happy to announce you that we have successfully ended our long-distance relationship! He just moved to Chicago and we are now living together! So it all worked out eventually!
What’s your BlackBerry Story?
I learned my lesson. High-tech devices are what you want them to be and represent what you want them to represent.
So, what’s your BlackBerry story?
0 comments:
Post a Comment