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Anyone who follows John Mayer<\/a> on Twitter knows that he’s a smart guy. A bit kooky at times, sure. But he’s definitely not just shooting his mouth off with self-promotional drivel. He’s built up quite a following on the service too, with over 2.8 million<\/em> Twitter followers. So when he invites all of his fans to give up Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks for a week, you know there are a lot of people paying attention.<\/p>\nTonight, Mayer has announced a One Week Digital Cleanse<\/a>. The purpose? To ring in the new year with a slightly less chaotic mental state. In his post announcing the Cleanse, Mayer likens our increasingly scattered lifestyles to fragmented hard drives. It’s an apt comparison \u2014\u00a0between sites like Twitter, Facebook, and multiple Email boxes, most of us have data and friendships scattered across a dozen different places. Mayer thinks giving some of these up for a while might be a good way to “defragment” our minds. He’s not quitting these services the way Trent Reznor and Miley Cyrus did<\/a>, he’s just taking a week long break, and he wants his fans to join him.<\/p>\n Unlike some similar campaigns I’ve heard of, which asked you to quit just about everything with a digital display, Mayer’s drive is probably doable for a lot of people. It doesn’t ask you to give up Email, and you can still use your cell phone for some things. Here are the guidelines :<\/p>\n Begins on January 1 at 9AM and runs until January 8 at 9AM Work commitments keep me from engaging in the Cleanse myself, but you may want to give it a try, if only for a day or two. If nothing else, consider just how attached you’ve become to these online services. Last June, when I took a weeklong vacation to the Caribbean, I found myself suffering some pretty serious withdrawals when I couldn’t compulsively check my Email or the latest tech news. It took about two full days of perfect weather and endless beaches to kick the sense of impending doom. That’s a little weird. Technology is amazing, but getting some perspective is a good thing.<\/p>\n Crunch Network<\/em><\/strong>: CrunchBase<\/a> <\/em>the free database of technology companies, people, and investors<\/p>\n\n
\n*email only from laptop or desktop computers
\n*cell phones can only be used to make calls, and no text messages or e-mails are allowed – if you receive a text, you must reply in voice over the phone. E-mails must be returned from a laptop or desktop computer.
\n*no use of Twitter or any other social networking site – this includes reading as well as posting.
\n*no visiting of any entertainment or gossip sites. (No need to detail which ones – you know what they are.)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n