Off the Grid

If anyone noticed it’s been a bit quiet around here (please lie and say you did!), it’s because I took a little impromptu R&R.

And I left the laptop at home.

Now, for some people, that may not sound strange. For me, it’s like leaving home without an appendage.

But it was great, and it was much needed. I had some wonderful insights on the projects I have going, and came away with a fresh perspective on some challenges that I’ve been wrestling with.

It’s so easy to get wrapped up inside our businesses. We need to be careful about forgetting that all work and no play makes for a very dull life, no matter how much we may love what we do. We should also realize that the best way to make a breakthrough or solve a problem is NOT to keep beating your head against the monitor, but to just go do something else instead.

So go ahead and make sure to unplug every once and awhile, especially spontaneously. It feels great, and you come back to work smarter than before you left.

As I work through my feeds today, here are a few interesting links (since, despite feeling smarter, I’m dragging a bit):

Andy Wibbels explains del.icio.us to those who may be unfamiliar with tagging and social bookmarking.

Using Robert Scoble’s decision to surround himself with positive, happy people (for which he got raked over the coals) as a backdrop, Kathy Sierra gives a great dissertation on why Scoble is actually on to something on a neurological level. Really good stuff on the how the brain works that any aspiring copyblogger should be familiar with.

If you’re not familiar with landing pages, read Darren Rowse’s post on them. We’ll be talking about them quite a bit in the near future.

Mike Sigers nails it: Linking out costs nothing, but the returns are magnificent (which follows his smart post about blogging that makes more than AdSense).

And finally, Umair wonders if Web 2.0 has already peaked, meaning all the real innovation has already occured. I think he’s on to something there, but of course the “selling” of Web 2.0 to the general population is just getting started.

OK, now that I’m recharged, get ready for lots of (hopefully) cool stuff in the weeks ahead. And if you have any topics you’d like me to write about, let me know in the comments.