Shutdown Day
Shutdown Day was an Internet campaign active between 2007 and 2009 which promoted the idea of a holiday when people would go without a computer for the entire day. The benefits attributed to not using a computer for 24 hours range from electricity savings to getting back in touch with friends and nature.
Establishment
Founders
Denis Bystrov and Nikolay Kudrevatykh were the co-founders of Shutdown Day; Bystrov originally conceived the idea of Shutdown Day, and the co-founders developed the concept in 2007, while living in Canada. Michael Taylor, an original partner in the idea of shutting down one's computer down for a day, said:Purpose and goals
Shutdown Day is a global Internet experiment whose purpose is to get people to think about how their lives have changed with the increasing use of the home computer, and whether or not any good things are being lost because of this. The concept of the Shutdown Day project is to simply shutdown one's computer for one whole day each year, and become involved in other activities: outdoors, nature, sports, fun stuff with friends and family, just to remind yourself that there is a real world beyond the computer screen.History
Shutdown Day started in early 2007, when Denis Bystrov realized that he spent too much time with his computer and wanted to spend more time with his family. Bystrov teamed up with his friends Nikolay Kudrevatykh, Michael Taylor and David Bridle, to present a challenge on the Internet, through the website shutdownday.org, challenging people to avoid their computers for 24 hours. The idea was simple:What began as an innocent question, gathered an Internet chain reaction following, which drew millions of viewers from across the world. Here is a summary of the results from the Shutdown Day 2007 campaign:
- The Shutdown Day website received more than 1.6 million visitors in the first month of the campaign.
- More than 65,000 people participated in the campaign by actually shutting down their computers for 24 hours on 24 March 2007.
- The Shutdown Day promotional clip was broadcast on YouTube and received more than 1.1 million hits.
- 450,000 visitors signed up for country locater on Shutdown Day website.
- The idea of Shutdown Day featured on more than 200,000 online forums discussions, television interviews, and popular media. Services that covered Shutdown Day included Globe and Mail, CNN, Fox News, and TV5.
In 2008, Shutdown Day was held on May 3. The message to turn off computers and engage in a day without technology was carried by Reuters wire services two days prior to the second annual event. Rajekar's message was now indicating that computers, televisions, and technology in general was having a negative effect on society. Shortly prior to the event, Reuters carried a story encouraging users to step away from their technology for 24 hours. The estimated that the inaugural 2007 event had garnered over 50,000 participants. Many of the group had plans to visit parks, engage in cleaning up public areas, enjoy hiking, camping, and outdoor photography.