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Shutdown Day is pleased to announce the return of the annual campaign for the year 2009. Like previous years, we have a global online Internet campaign. In addition, we are in the process of planning and finalizing a series of activities for gadget addicts, so that they can organize themselves to contribute to the better of society on that particular day.
Be part of one of the biggest global experiments ever to take place on the Internet. The idea behind Shutdown Day is to find out how many people can go without a computer for one whole day Stay tuned and watch this space, we gonna update soon! |
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About Shutdown Day |
Mission
Shutdown Day is a non-profit organization registered in the province of Quebec, Canada. Shutdown Day was founded with the sole purpose of spreading awareness about the pitfalls and dangers that lie in the excessive use of television, computers, and computing equipment like game boxes, cell phones, music players, online social websites, etc. that impinge on social space and interaction amongst our communities.
Shutdown Day also aims to partner with other like-minded organizations in promoting sustainable development, especially in the area of social behavior relating to the effects modern technology.
Shutdown Day is a non-profit organization registered in the province of Quebec, Canada. Shutdown Day was founded with the sole purpose of spreading awareness about the pitfalls and dangers that lie in the excessive use of television, computers, and computing equipment like game boxes, cell phones, music players, online social websites, etc. that impinge on social space and interaction amongst our communities.
Shutdown Day also aims to partner with other like-minded organizations in promoting sustainable development, especially in the area of social behavior relating to the effects modern technology.
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 idea of Shutdown Day project is simple - just shutdown your computer for one whole day of the year and involve yourself in some other activities: outdoors, nature, sports, fun stuff with friends and family - whatever, just to remind yourself that there still exists a world outside your monitor screen.
Michael Taylor, the original partner in the idea of Shutdown Day, says
"I certainly could not and would not want to live without my computer. However, I am often drawn into spending hours chatting on MSN, simply because my friends are online instead of socialising face to face. I am often too busy to cook a proper dinner, because I want to see the latest news on digg.com or the latest YouTube video. I know parents who are so addicted to the computer that they spend little time with their children, and I also know children who do not spend time with their parents because they are always using the computer. We are not preaching to anyone to turn off their computers. We are just suggesting that people might like to take part in this experiment, and see what happens."
The idea of Shutdown Day project is simple - just shutdown your computer for one whole day of the year and involve yourself in some other activities: outdoors, nature, sports, fun stuff with friends and family - whatever, just to remind yourself that there still exists a world outside your monitor screen.
Michael Taylor, the original partner in the idea of Shutdown Day, says
"I certainly could not and would not want to live without my computer. However, I am often drawn into spending hours chatting on MSN, simply because my friends are online instead of socialising face to face. I am often too busy to cook a proper dinner, because I want to see the latest news on digg.com or the latest YouTube video. I know parents who are so addicted to the computer that they spend little time with their children, and I also know children who do not spend time with their parents because they are always using the computer. We are not preaching to anyone to turn off their computers. We are just suggesting that people might like to take part in this experiment, and see what happens."
History
Shutdown Day started off in early 2007, when Denis Bystrov, a computer programmer living in Montreal, Canada, realized that he spends too much time with his computer and wants one day to spend entirely with his family.
Denis then teamed up with his friends Michael Taylor, a former trade floor occupant in stock markets in London, England and David Bridle, a part time film maker from Cardiff, Wales, to throw up a challenge on the Internet, through the website, called shutdownday.org The idea was simple:
"Do you think you can stay away from your computers for at least 24 hours a day, and if yes, can you pledge to do so?"
What began as an innocent question, fire-balled into a mammoth Internet chain reaction, drawing millions of viewers from across the world. Here is a summary of the results from the Shutdown Day 2007 campaign:
Now Denis and Ashutosh, assisted by a few close fiends and hundreds of volunteers from different countries, aim to make the Shutdown Day project a success, and help people realize that outside computer screen there is indeed a beautiful world to be enjoyed.
Shutdown Day started off in early 2007, when Denis Bystrov, a computer programmer living in Montreal, Canada, realized that he spends too much time with his computer and wants one day to spend entirely with his family.
Denis then teamed up with his friends Michael Taylor, a former trade floor occupant in stock markets in London, England and David Bridle, a part time film maker from Cardiff, Wales, to throw up a challenge on the Internet, through the website, called shutdownday.org The idea was simple:
"Do you think you can stay away from your computers for at least 24 hours a day, and if yes, can you pledge to do so?"
What began as an innocent question, fire-balled into a mammoth Internet chain reaction, drawing 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 one month of the campaign.
- More than 65,000 people participated in the campaign by actually shutting down their computers for 24 hours on the 24th of March, 2007.
- Shutdown Day promotional clip was broadcast on YouTube and received more than 1.1 million hits.
- 450,000 visitors signed up for country locator on Shutdown Day website.
- The idea of Shutdown Day featured on more than 200,000 online forums discussions, and also in television interviews, and popular media, including Globe and Mail, CNN, Fox News and TV5.
Now Denis and Ashutosh, assisted by a few close fiends and hundreds of volunteers from different countries, aim to make the Shutdown Day project a success, and help people realize that outside computer screen there is indeed a beautiful world to be enjoyed.
Founders
Denis Bystrov, co-founder of Shutdown Day, is a Belo-Russian living in Montreal, Canada, who originally came up with the idea of Shutdown Day. He is high-end web solutions and framework developer by profession, and has Bachelors degrees in Computer Science and Social Psychology. In the past, Denis has taught web design and development at the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics. Denis is also the winner of the Montreal Prestige Awards 2006 for the best web developer. In his spare time, Denis enjoys playing soccer, fishing and cooking for friends and family.
Ashutosh Rajekar, co-founder of Shutdown Day, was born in India, and moved to Montreal, Canada, in the year 2001. He is a high-performance filesystems architect by profession, and has a degree in Bachelor in Engineering in Computer Engineering. He is currently pursuing his MBA at Montreal's McGill University. In an effort to pull himself away from computers, Ashutosh got drawn towards landscape nature photography in the year 2005, and now is an avid wilderness hiker and trekker. He also runs his landscape photography website through which he wishes to help others appreciate the beauty of this world the way he sees and interprets it.
Denis Bystrov, co-founder of Shutdown Day, is a Belo-Russian living in Montreal, Canada, who originally came up with the idea of Shutdown Day. He is high-end web solutions and framework developer by profession, and has Bachelors degrees in Computer Science and Social Psychology. In the past, Denis has taught web design and development at the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics. Denis is also the winner of the Montreal Prestige Awards 2006 for the best web developer. In his spare time, Denis enjoys playing soccer, fishing and cooking for friends and family.
Ashutosh Rajekar, co-founder of Shutdown Day, was born in India, and moved to Montreal, Canada, in the year 2001. He is a high-performance filesystems architect by profession, and has a degree in Bachelor in Engineering in Computer Engineering. He is currently pursuing his MBA at Montreal's McGill University. In an effort to pull himself away from computers, Ashutosh got drawn towards landscape nature photography in the year 2005, and now is an avid wilderness hiker and trekker. He also runs his landscape photography website through which he wishes to help others appreciate the beauty of this world the way he sees and interprets it.