Back-ups for your back-ups

A good friend of mine emailed this morning. Her Palm Pilot died and she lost all of her address book information. She hadn't synced with her desktop or laptop in months, so nothing was backed-up.

That happened to me last year. And from that moment on, I swore I'd keep a paper version of an address book as back-up.

So I hit reply and proceeded to list my contact information... ALL of my contact information.

Let's see... there's:

1. my home phone (I subscribe to basic service on a landline in the event that my cellphones should die or I can't get online and absolutely positively need to contact someone) and
2. my personal cellphone number and
3. my personal email address and
4. my business cellphone number and
5. my business email address and
6. my business website and
7. my remote office telephone number and
8. my email address via a client's server and
9. my home address and
10. my parent's home address (in case I move since I rent and do not own the apartment I currently live in -- the idea being that my folks will never move so she'll always be able to reach me through them).

Phew... that's how to reach me.

Which got me thinking... on a daily basis I check three voicemail boxes and upwards of five email accounts for messages. And I'm really not all that "plugged in."

I don't have a Friendster or MySpace account like some of my techier pals.  I no longer have a PDA or a Sidekick or godforsaken Blackberry. 

And since my cameraphone died on me in November, I now use this cheapo Samsung phone that doesn't support the web. So I pretty much stopped text messaging and IM-ing last year.

I actually remember the days -- long gone -- when all I needed was my social security number, the five digits to my home phone number, a street address and 5-digit zipcode. Of course, back then, our phones were rotary dial and I had a 13-inch black and white tv in my room.

Hurray for progress and the prophecized paperless society.

Comments

[girl]

pssst.

Where are you?

[teahouseblossom]

Hmm..this is why I still try to write real letters. On stationery and stuff. And I try to memorize people's phone numbers. Or else scribble them on pieces of paper in my purse.

[DrinkJack]

Information overload and instant gratification are the hallmarks of today's society. Maybe we should have a "Tech Out" day in which the nation stops using technology.

[girl]

So...I missed you! Next time, then. I promise to be more organized.

[marshmallow]

ah.

i didn't bother to count the number of things i had to check, but your tally probably matches mine...a friend of mine had a bad backup plan for such things - she put all her info (including passwords and userIDs) in her blackberry, only to have it stolen...

[FriendsterForum.com]

Nice Blog :)

www.FriendsterForum.com