Ian Ishida, CEO of Japanese start-up Trippiece, left the digital world for 48 hours and not only passed the test but, in the process, discovered the analog world is just as important for him.

6 October 2012

Start of the Unplugged 480 challenge

Day 1

Every morning my iPhone alarm usually wakes me up, but not today as I was getting unplugged.

Result: I overslept.

It was way too hard for me waking up without my iPhone alarm.

Usually my day starts with checking my gmail, but I realised it was not possible today. So I decided to do my business plan for the next three years.

The tools I assembled for this task were paper, pen and some business books. I always make my business plan with my MacPro, but this time I used only paper and pen. It was really simple working with these tools. I felt like when I was in primary school using the same two items to do my schoolwork. .

Two hours passed, I could fully concentrate on my business plan as I was not checking my Facebook and Twitter.

Time for lunch!

I wonder what I should eat for lunch. Hmmm…

I couldn’t use the restaurant search, so I just walked out from the office to the street to look for a place for lunch, which I am not used to doing. Happy to say I found a lovely cafe and decided to go in.I ordered a lunch pasta set. After a few minutes the barista brought me a cafe latte, which had the familiar latte leaf on its top. It was really pretty and I wanted take a picture of it and shared it on Instagram, but I couldn’t do it without my mobile phone.

My ”Pomodoro Pasta” also looked delicious and again without my phone I couldn’t share a photo of it on my social networks. I then realised how natural it was for me to take pictures of things or places and share them with my friends.

After lunch I took the metro to go for a meeting.

I have been living here in Tokyo for 23 years but I still don’t know which is the best connection on the metro without a transfer guide. And as such, I missed the transfer to my destination. Anyone who has ever been to Tokyo at least once would know how complicated Tokyo’s metro system is. Even people living in Tokyo don’t know the whole system … I guess.

Finally, I managed to get to the meeting place on time.

After two hours’ meeting I went to play futsal with my friends. After the game I went home to finish the work, which I started doing this morning.

Alone in my house. Feeling a bit of loneliness without the Internet.

Time to go to bed. Good night!

Day 2

Morning. I woke up a bit earlier the usual.

Today’s schedule: meeting in my office all day. It should be easier today as I will be in the office whole day and won’t have to take the metro, so I won’t need any GPS.After the meeting, I went to participate in a start-up event. I usually don’t use a watch as I check the time with my mobile. So this time I didn’t have a way to know the exact time.

At the event, some people from the media asked me to show my web service, but I couldn’t as I was unplugged. I explained to them about the challenge I was undertaking of not using any mobile gadgets and the Internet for 48 hours. I felt really sorry for them that I couldn’t explain sufficiently about my service.

Finally! The two days ended without my using the Internet or any mobile devices. I have finished the challenge with the realisation that I couldn’t work without the Internet. Only 48 hours, but it was enough time for me to know how my life is dominated by the Internet and mobile.

Tokyo is a city controlled by the Internet. Like the city, my life begins with the mobile alarm and ends with tweeting “Good Night”.

However, dependence on the Internet has made us a bit lazy to make precise appointments or preparations. For example, saying to your friend “Let’s meet at Shibuya around 2pm. I will send you MSM when I get there.” We do this because we know that the mobile phone helps us to keep our appointments somehow. If there were no mobile phones and the Internet, it would be quite hard to meet people in Shibuya.

Through participating in this challenge I realised how the digital world is affecting my daily life. At the same time, I noticed “analog world” is also important for me. I will try to think more about the “analog world” from now on.

Note: Unplugged 480 is our experiment to see how tech addicts can survive without the Internet or their devices for two working days. There are clear rules of engagement but a lot of course depends on the honesty and integrity of our willing participants. We will be sharing their stories at the WIT Conference, Oct 15-17, at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. This experiment is a joint initiative by WIT and Discovery Channel Magazine.

Note: Ian Ishida is one of the entrepreneurs taking part in the WIT Start-Up Pitch at the WIT Bootcamp on Oct 15 in Singapore. Good luck, Ian.

BACK