Shutdown Day 2008

Computers are useful and addictive, no seconds thoughts about it. Shutdown Day is a global internet experiment to spread awareness against excessive use of computers and to think if anything good is being lost due to computer addiction. The idea is to turn off your computer for 24 hours on May 3rd, 2008 and involve yourself in some other activity like nature, sports or fun.

Last year, Shutdown Day event took place on March 24th, 2007 and over 65,000 people participated by shutting their computers for 24 hours. This year, they’ve are organizing a series of flash mobs on May 3rd.

What’s a flash mob? According to Wikipedia "A flash mob is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief period of time, then quickly disperse". Folks behind Shutdown Day say, "The idea is to get people off there butts and away from their computers – and get them participating in creative events, outdoors, and in a public space". Here’s a short video to kickstart your creative brain:

You can participate in the flash mob, snaps some photos and upload it Shutdown Day website. Top 5 flash mob photographers will win synthetic Lamina 35 mummy sleeping bags. You can also upload your video depicting your idea of Shutdown Day to their site, where viewers will vote and pick the best video. For best video for Shutdown Day 2008, they are giving away North Face ™ Rock 22 3-season 2-person waterproof tent.

Can you live without computer for a day? If you think you can, then go to their website and pledge.

This post was published by on April 16, 2008

About the Author: Thilak Rao works as a Social Media Expert. He is one of the first professional bloggers from India, and he loves to write, travel and click photos. Follow him on Twitter @thilak

  • http://dwineinsight.blogspot.com/ DWiner

    Interesting…I can shut down my work pc but not home pc. I cant imagine a day without the net.

  • http://technodorm.com Fahad

    I like this activity. I will be participating. :)

  • http://www.greatpriceshere.com Nicole Price

    I think that this is a great idea and shall participate

  • http://www.squidoo.com/my1buttontowifi 1 Button To WiFi Review Gal

    My biz. is on line so shutting down would be impossible. The addiction that takes place is when people get onto the gaming sites, chat rooms and constant searches but work is work….ugh:-)

  • http://tech-buzz.net Thilak

    1 Button To WiFi Review Gal: You’ve got a strong point there. Shutting down work computer can be a little hard, but Shutdown Day, 2008 falls on a weekend.

  • http://www.seoresults.co.za SEO Man

    Would love to express solidarity with these folks, but got too much work to be able to afford switching my pc off for an entire day! Seeing that it falls on a saturday I think switching off for 1/2 a day is doable though. Time out is so important, but actually doing it is another story!

  • http://theofftopic.com/ The Off Topic

    I totally skipped this one

  • http://www.gadgets4nowt.co.uk Wii

    Skipped it? It hasn’t even happened yet.

    The idea is a nice one but I have to hold my hands up and say I am a PC addict. I don’t think I could turn mine off for a whole day (: