CLEVELAND –
Google+ wasn’t “invited” last night.
Instead, the back patio of Lincoln Park Pub in Tremont was abuzz with topics of Denny’s, er — Hafner’s walk off grand slam, favorite local spots and the premiere (or early/advanced screenings for the geeks of the group) of JK Rowling’s purported final installment of the iconoclastic Harry Potter series.
Notice my intentional curtail of the word epic, which author of I am Better than Your Kids Maddox refers to as one of the most abused filler words in the English language (Not Everything is Epic, Sh*theads).
Okay, Google+ was briefly discussed — but some of us clearly just haven’t had the time to jump into yet another platform and begin the peculiar task of clumping our personal and professional lives into circles (Larry Page, take note: perhaps it would be more fun to have an X option, for those that fit that category?…).
Photo courtesy of Alana Munro, Cleveland.com
Upon perching near the fire pit with a few Leinenkugel’s summer shandys, appetizers and tweets, friends from Junta42 Pam, Joe and I discussed vacation spots and the value/need for “unplugging” from work and tech.
Pam dished about her love for Cancun (having friends/family throughout Mexico helps, but that’s one spot I have yet to visit), while Joe and I waxed poetic over the outdoors, Canada and just getting lost in nature.
No cell phones. No computers. For a week or more. Ah, the Bill Bryson set.
Good stuff.
Photo Courtesy of Alana Munro, Cleveland.com
Reminiscing about unplugging brought to mind Paul Roetzer’s challenge to us a few months ago: The UnPlugged Experiment (and recent Matrix convos I’ve had with tweeps in Jordan) all over again.
Needless to say, it was good to reflect (and jibe) with Pam and Joe about the importance of finding balance in our personal and professional lives.
Locals in attendance other than Cleveland.com, WEWS5 and Tribetalk included folks from Junta42, PR 20/20, CLE Social Media Club and the Ohio Blogging Association:
Alana Munro @dawgpndgirl
Byron Fernandez @byron_fernandez (You are here…)
Frank Zupan @FrankZupan
Jen Gardner @whyCLE
Jessica Donlon @jessicadonlon
Joe Kalinowski @ringo66
Keith Moehring @keithmoehring
Laurel Miltner @laurelmackenzie
Pam Kozelka @pamkozelka
Paul Roetzer @paulroetzer
Tammy Colson @TLColson
Photo courtesy of Alana Munro, Cleveland.com
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