Digital Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

I've been wanting to write that amazing, awe-inspiring end of the year post. Actually, let me back up, I've felt anxious and pressured to write that amazing awe-inspiring end of the year post, because yes, like many exclaim -"I can't believe another year has passed!" and "Y2K? Doesn't that feel like yesterday?"

Well, friends and followers, we have finally arrived at the 10's (is that how you call them now?) unscathed, technologically advanced, overly connected, on the go, bank accounts dented and spirits still politically tangled. Yet the energy that emerges from many of us is that we are ready to attack and conquer, or as multi-millionaire web entrepreneur and New York Times Bestselling author, Gary Vaynerchuk, puts it - we all have the tools at our fingertips to 'Crush It' now!

I couldn't agree more and that is what has infused me with excitement for the Internet, technology and the community it has created over the past few years.

So how can I sum up this excitement and wrap it up in a pretty package for 2010? I could do an awesome list like Mashable's Pete Cashmore on the 10 Web Trends To Watch in 2010' and forecast those of the future. But hats off to him, because he's mastered that for everyone!

Or I could make a list of the 'Top Twitter Trends of 2009'. Oh yeah, Twitter already posted that.

But what about Top Facebook trends? You can read all about that here.

I got it! How about viral video? Yep, I've been stumped by Google Wave on that one too.

They say that you get your best ideas when you take a break or disconnect. I don't always agree with that, but I was inspired by this concept after watching a TED talk by Stefan Sagmeister on the power of time off. In the video below, the designer explains why he takes one year off every seven years, and how some of his most creative ideas come from that period:

So while in 2010 we might be seeing an Apple Tablet come to life, information through contact lenses, our lives broadcast over mobile devices and more news and communication in 'real time', let's not forget to take a moment to step away and breathe once in a while. Inspiration literally means the act of inspiring or breathing in. Inspiration leads to innovation. As Jason Fried, Internet magnate and founder of 37 Signals frequently says, "inspiration is perishable", so jump on it. This could be interpreted in many ways. But right now, as I finish writing this post at a country house in Vermont with Christmas bubbly in hand, this means one thing: It's time to end this post, close my laptop, join my family for dinner, and remind myself that the Internet and my Blackberry aren't running away from me anytime soon.