I’ve recently committed social network suicide. I’ve been on almost every popular social networking site since friendster (remember that guy?), myspace, multiply, facebook, and twitter (who isn’t on it?) to name a few. I’ve worked hard to grow my networks and admittedly added a few (ok, a ton) of people who I haven’t spoken to in more than a decade, have only met a few times in passing, and even (gasp) never met before (sorry, mom, I talk to strangers). I’ve pushed friends and family to jump on the band wagon (most recently, pressuring my good friend, Collie (http://twitter.com/colliehoey), for over a year to sign up on twitter only to commit my social network suicide a week after he joined). Even my parents are both on facebook. I had one huge, happy network. So huge, in fact, that all I found myself doing was “socially networking” every free minute I had. I became counterproductive, developed refreshonitus (the act of hitting the refresh button time after time just waiting for a new post from “friends”) , and was becoming very unhappy with the way I was using my free time.
I was in the middle of debating with myself whether I should stop juggling twitter and facebook for the night and start working on a project I had been putting off for weeks when I realized, “Holy friggin’ crap! I could have been done with this project a month ago but I’m planted in front of my computer observing other people live their lives!” It was a disturbing moment and to try and grasp the rationale behind it perplexed me. Was my life so boring that I was living through OPP (other people’s posts)? Did I really have so much time to spare that I could put off something that could inevitably become my life’s work? Were my dreams and goals really worth procrastinating over tweeting about whether I should go to the gym or not? Did anyone even really care?
Not coincidentally (the universe makes things happen for a reason), a good frind of mine, Gerard (http://twitter.com/gerardramos), introduced me to Sloane through email and eventually we became facebook and twitter pals (wow, that’s irony). This was his introduction to Sloane:
Sloane is amazing…a philanthropic goddess. She is currently volunteering in the Philippines as a Kiva fellow (kiva.org) working with micro-finance institutions and helping people start businesses. http://twitter.com/sloane blog: http://www.thecausemopolitan.com/
Short, sweet, and life changing. Yes, life changing. Her blog was enough for me to get off my lazy, procrastinating ass and get motivated to make “it” happen. Her work and experience slapped me hard across the face and woke me out of an incalculable amount of daydreaming. It was painful but much needed. A real eye-opener. Sloane truly was a philanthropic goddess (seriously, if you get the chance, check out her work) and (ironically, again) one of the many reasons why I committed social networking suicide. She was making a difference, helping others, blogging about it, and living and experiencing life while I was surfing the web aimlessly and downloading time-wasting games on my iphone (all of which have since been deleted). So one night, I decided to do it. I realized it was not the end all to my problems but it was a start. It was over dramatic and extreme, yes, and I got a lot of “don’t-do-its” (including from Sloane) but I decided and I was going to stick to my guns. I committed social network suicide and I don’t regret it one bit (not yet at least). I pulled the plug on every single account I had, including ones I hadn’t used in years. Cold turkey. Just like that. It was difficult at first but exhilarating. I tweeted about the whole thing up until I hit the “disable account” button. Ever since the burden of posting and tweeting had been lifted off my shoulders I have become so much more dedicated to my work. No distractions, no time wasting, no excuses.
So what’s this goal, this dream, this “it” that I keep rambling about? You’re on it. Well, a piece of it, at least. A few months back I decided I eventually wanted to stop working for someone else and start working for myself (doesn’t everyone?). I wanted to do something positive, enlightening, and creative. I wanted to share my love and interest in art and music. I wanted to share my culture, create an awareness for it, and inspire others to do the same. This my mission for Haribon Republik, a humble clothing company with the belief that only through action can you make a difference. The objective of this blog is to create a community where I can share my thoughts and ideas and most importantly, hear yours. Together, I truly believe we can all contribute a little something to make an impact on this big blue world.
So what about the social networking thing? Well, I’m not entirely done with it forever. There’s just no way to get away from it completely. My social network suicide is like Jay-Z’s Black Album, a short lived retirement but a necessary evil. I know I’ll be back all in due time. I just have to make sure that when I do, I hit the ground running. And I’m not telling you to pull the plug on your networks. It was just something I had to do for myself. But I’m also not telling you not to do it. 
I guess since this is also my first entry, I should give you all a warm thank you and welcome. So here it is. It’s official:
“Welcome, and thank you for visiting Haribon Republik!”
Viva la anit-social networking revolution!
Phil