A final project submission for my digital marketing wiki class at admu.edu20.org

1. Life Without Digital
Will I survive it?
Christian Logarta-Tulio | Dec 3, 2009 | Final Project, Digital Marketing Wiki

2. Oh dear...
The first time I heard about the final project, I had palpitations and butterflies in my tummy.
Not because of the effort it required but the idea of living without anything digital. Let me
show you why digital technology is very important to me, personally and professionally.

3. Best in Computer
I was 10 when I first used a personal
computer. It was an DOS-based IBM
computer with a floppy drive.
I was one of 10 students to have a computer
education class. It was still in test-phase at
that time and the school didn’t want to
invest in equipment yet.
I learnt Wordstar, Basic and Wordperfect. I
was submitting school projects printed on
Epson dot matrix, not typewritten anymore.
I had a stash of floppy disks with very little
memory space but quite extraordinary at
the time.
I finished top of my class and the certificate
“Best in Computer” is still mounted on the
wall of my grandfather’s office.

4. The Wonderful
World Wide Web
In 1997, I created my first e-mail address at
Yahoo! Mail. It was a class requirement and the
teacher encouraged homework submission via e-
E-mails
mail. Then, my internet surfing activity was
limited to e-mail checking and search via
Altavista, Yahoo! and MSN. I had a Hotmail
account, too, which I used to chat with friends in
the US.
+
A decade after, I still pretty much do the same
thing but I mainly use Google for research and
Online
Yahoo! Mail for personal e-mails. I have also
added ‘keeping in constant touch’ with friends to
Research
that. It took me 2 years of encouragement before
I signed up to Friendster and a year to get tired +
of it. I have an active Facebook account which
connects me with family and friends all over the
world. I no longer have to make overseas calls to
Socializatio
ask a friend who got sick how she is or
congratulate my best friend for the new baby.
n
Everybody is just a few keystrokes away to

5. The Wonderful
World Wide Web
connect with loved ones. I have 2 sisters
overseas and I keep them updated with my
daughter’s antics via video and photo uploads.
In a matter of minutes, I get feedback already. I
have installed Wi-Fi routers at my inlaws’, my E-mails
parents’ and our house so all devices are online.
We are virtually connected and can contact each +
other with a simple Buzz!
It’s now also easier for me to do my job as I can
check e-mails, online orders and make web
Online
updates anytime, anywhere. When I have server
issues, application bugs, I’m exchanging e-mails
Research
with software engineers in Russia and the US
and get responses almost immediately. Now, I’m
+
Socializatio
not bound to an office network since I can work
anywhere. Aren’t you glad that most
n
establishments now have embraced technology
and offer free WiFi? Then, there are the very
handy plug-its from Sun, Smart and Globe.

6. Gadgets Junkie
I was 19 when I had my first pager and since it
was a one-way communication, I switched to a
mobile phone, a gift from the boyfriend (now
hubby). I still remember the Globe Handyphone
commercial that encouraged us to buy. It was of +
two couple, exchanging SMS and they were deaf.
It was so sweet! Globe had us at “Message Sent”.
We’ve been Globe subscribers eversince.
But I have a different problem, I became a
gadgets junkie. I had a phase when I wanted the
latest devices. I was never just happy with what
I have. Yes, I can call and text but I also want to
do other things like keep my calendar, notes, to-
do list, Internet access. So for some time, I had
both a mobile phone + Palm PDA then I was
given an O2 PDA phone which I loved for many
years until I got hold of the iPhone. It has been 2
years since and I still feel just as strong about it. I
recommend it to everyone who ask me about it.

7. Gadgets Junkie
I check my e-mails, schedule, notes, to-do lists. I
also listen to my audiobooks, surf the web, read
my RSS feeds, blog and check my social media
accounts — Twitter and Facebook mostly. All
these on top of the typical mobile phone features
of calling and texting in one tiny handy device
which also syncs seamlessly with my MacBook.
I also love photography and I can’t live without
my digital camera! I am the official photographer
of family events and travels. I have files on CDs
and external HDDs (my 1Tb is down to just
200Gb space). I have backups of backups, online
and offline. You can never be too sure when
technology will fail you, right? Unfortunately, it
has happened to me a number of times and I’m
just being very protective of digital memories.

8. So, do you think I’ll survive without digital technology?
I honestly don’t think so but I did try before to be completely offline for a weekend: no
Internet access, no mobile phone. It was quite the experience. I still had fun. I rode the
rollercoaster for the first-time in my life, enjoyed a good book, wrote on a paper journal which
I hadn’t done in almost 2 decades. I enjoyed it but it never lasted. The minute we got home, I
turned on the computer and started downloading e-mails then phone starts chirping with
SMS coming in.
I’m so glad that “deadspot” is no longer a term frequently used or broadband connection as
expensive as before. Technology has gotten so cheap that regular Juans and Marias can now
have access to it even from a little barrio in the valley like the Johns and Janes in the metro.

9. But let’s look at how this century can thrive without any digital technology... this means no
computers, no digital devices like cameras, mobile phones, GPS to name a few. Imagine an
office without any of these? I can see a desk filled with paperwork, a typewriter, and perhaps
no airconditioner? Imagine the chaos and clutter and rising tempers, most likely. Now,
imagine your home without all these? It’s dinnertime and half of the family is stuck in metro
traffic but no one can be contacted? You start worrying and panicking and waiting for the
telephone to ring. Now, imagine yourself without any of these devices? If I were in this
position, I would probably be seeing a shrink. But since I love reading books and writing on
journals when I was younger and not heavily into digital devices yet, I might survive it after
all. It would be very sad and lonely and the world will seem too big and overwhelming to
socialize again.