The Bermuda Triangle of Productivity
December 31, 2010 12:48 PM   Subscribe

 
I think the difference between the twitter/facebook crowd and the rest of the internet is whether or not they actually explore around the net, follow the links and discover new places, or if they just use whatever boring mass system everyone else does.

I've also never even heard of people seeing gmail as a time-suck. I guess it depends on whether or not you have interesting people emailing you.
posted by delmoi at 12:55 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]


The Bermuda triangle of old people productivity:

Talking on the phone.
Pooping.
More pooping.

OMG I MADE A HILARIOUS INFOGRAPHIC LAUD ME INTERNET!!11one
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:00 PM on December 31, 2010 [14 favorites]


Gmail? That's one of my productive places.
posted by brundlefly at 1:00 PM on December 31, 2010


if there is a triangle of Productivity of twitter and facebook and gmail then I own fucking prime real estate on the floating mefi island of "Fuck is it 6pm already?"
posted by The Whelk at 1:00 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]


Shouldn't the vertices on that triangle be labeled "NYTimes" "Metafilter" and "Slashdot"?
posted by mistersquid at 1:03 PM on December 31, 2010 [3 favorites]


And for those wiping their brows in relief as they sail past the outer reaches of the Triangle, there rises that siren's call from the Island of Free Porn.
posted by TimTypeZed at 1:08 PM on December 31, 2010 [6 favorites]


The Skinner boxes of modern life - a tweet, a gmail or a Facebook update stops us in our tracks and rushing off to get our paws on the food pellet that has just arrived.
posted by fallingbadgers at 1:09 PM on December 31, 2010 [3 favorites]


Yeah, I'd suggest replacing Gmail with Metafilter myself...
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:09 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]


They got the first half of my bookmarks toolbar.

Gmail (which I click through almost always to Reader)
Facebook
Twitter
MetaFilter
reddit
Instapaper
posted by ctmf at 1:10 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]


Shouldn't the vertices on that triangle be labeled "NYTimes" "Metafilter" and "Slashdot"?

Metafilter, Facebook, The Guardian, email, YouTube. (Do we have to choose only three?)
posted by jokeefe at 1:11 PM on December 31, 2010


For me, it's more like reddit, metafilter, and google reader. Facebook? Never heard of it.
posted by smcameron at 1:12 PM on December 31, 2010


I've also never even heard of people seeing gmail as a time-suck.

I gather that it's at least somewhat common for people to use it as a chat client.
posted by box at 1:14 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]


People, those things are corners of the triangle. It's only if you take the wrong direction from them that you end up in trouble.

I guess the new thing that the chart is proposing is that the unproductivity territory is somehow contiguous, rather than being all mixed up in what you should actually be doing, magical cupboards that open into lands of JOY when oh hang on I'm meant to be writing my thesis now
posted by squishles at 1:16 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]


Also, the Bermuda Triangle is not a real thing.
posted by box at 1:21 PM on December 31, 2010


Aye, gather around, scalliwags, let me tell you a tale about this place called Atlantis. Tis inhabited by the deranged, where strange colors tear at one's eye sockets and music sneaks up out like a ghost and jars ye out of your boots. Aye, "Geocities" it what it's called. Sunk about
posted by crapmatic at 1:30 PM on December 31, 2010 [4 favorites]


Gmail is one of the productive things that I go to MetaFilter or TVTropes to avoid.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:30 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]


blast, sunk about a year ago they say.
posted by crapmatic at 1:31 PM on December 31, 2010


I gather that it's at least somewhat common for people to use it as a chat client.

Google talk is the only IM client I even use anymore, but I hardly ever chat in gmail itself, in fact I find it kind of annoying.
posted by delmoi at 1:49 PM on December 31, 2010


Gmail (which I click through almost always to Reader)

The Googles inexplicably removed the Reader link along the top bar of my Gmail (Apps) page, which dramatically increased my productivity. Anyone know how I can get it back?
posted by Rock Steady at 1:50 PM on December 31, 2010


Ebay -- Metafilter -- Facebook
posted by Jumpin Jack Flash at 2:01 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]


Guess which of these are banninated at my work?
posted by Capt. Renault at 2:04 PM on December 31, 2010


Well, I mean, Bermuda is a thing. But there's no such thing as a triangle.
posted by box at 2:20 PM on December 31, 2010


So, this link is basically saying "Here are three things I think waste time. Oh... you can make a triangle with three things. And then there's that triangle called the Bermuda triangle. Imagine if I drew a picture of The Bermuda Triangle and wrote the names of my three time-wasting things on each corner! That would SO ROOL TEH INTERWEBS.

You could do a whole series of these. I suggest "The Bermuda triangle of cudgels". You could have "Mace", "Chair Leg" and "Baseball Bat" at each corner. Man, I've gotta make a whole website out of this. I just need to go book a lobotomy first.
posted by Decani at 2:23 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]


Florida is looking kind of stumpy.
posted by Widepath at 2:35 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]


Metafilter: magical cupboards that open into lands of JOY when oh hang on I'm meant to be writing my thesis now
posted by jokeefe at 3:00 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]


Yep, it'd be infinitely better if it were interactive, so people could properly label (and create) nodes per their situation. I also thought G-mail was an odd node choice, but if the plane alludes to Flight 19, then we were heading back towards base, but ran out of time/fuel..
[On preview: Decani, the sooner you get that lobotomy & build the website, the sooner we can waste time more vigorously]

As to triangles: Remember Old School drafting? Here's a bunch of triangles.

[...] Yes, Virginia Metafilter, there is a Santa Claus are Triangles. He exists They exist as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus Triangles! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias Metafilter. [...]
posted by Tuesday After Lunch at 3:05 PM on December 31, 2010


> Also, the Bermuda Triangle is not a real thing.

Exactly, it pisses me off this myth keeps getting propagated. I live in an area inside the 'triangle' and these stories really kill tourism. It is complete crap, there are no more accidents or disappearances here than anywhere else. In fact, there
posted by stp123 at 4:30 PM on December 31, 2010 [17 favorites]


YouTube -- MetaFilter -- Flickr
posted by jimmythefish at 5:20 PM on December 31, 2010


Needs more Angry Birds
posted by Skeptic at 5:36 PM on December 31, 2010


presumably, gmail = gchat.
posted by decoherence at 5:57 PM on December 31, 2010


Mere trifles compared to World Of Warcraft.
posted by Brocktoon at 6:23 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]


See? There's no mystery--stp123 just ran out of fuel.
posted by maxwelton at 7:31 PM on December 31, 2010


stp123 procrastinated so hard he disappeared even from metafilter?
posted by squishles at 8:33 PM on December 31, 2010


TimTypeZed: "And for those wiping their brows in relief as they sail past the outer reaches of the Triangle, there rises that siren's call from the Island of Free Porn."

It's located just to the north, in the Whores' Latitudes.
posted by Rhaomi at 9:43 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]


Apparently, all of this talking to our friends and forming social connections is distracting us from the real existential life mission of doing mindless shit for our bosses. Something must be done!
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 10:42 PM on December 31, 2010 [5 favorites]


Where's Minecraft?
posted by acb at 9:11 AM on January 1, 2011


Where's Minecraft?

Everywhere, these days. Have you been on the Internet?
posted by Rock Steady at 1:14 PM on January 2, 2011


Minecraft is productive. It's just not very productive productivity.
posted by brundlefly at 1:25 PM on January 2, 2011


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