I Survived Blackberry Blackout 2011

They say it’s finally over. According to @cnn on Twitter, the Blackberry blackout fiasco is officially over (as I type this, my mobile email is being flooded with backlogged messages. Thanks, Blackberry.). According to Money.CNN.com, the company actually referred to it as the “largest-ever network disruption.”

But why did it happen? RIM founder and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis explained, “ the BlackBerry service’s infrastructure ‘suffered a hardware error,’ and then the problem cascaded. A backup system ‘did not work the way we intended.’ I’ll say it didn’t.

I spend most Wednesday’s away from the office so I can take my mother to run her weekly errands. I’ve grown to depend on my Blackberry to manage email and maintain communication during these times. On that particular day, I was expecting time sensitive emails from a couple of new clients.

I remember at one point being amazed that I hadn’t received one message in either of the three email accounts I constantly monitor. I went on Twitter (for some odd reason I could still receive and sent tweets) and immediately saw updates of a “Blackberry blackout.”

I understand that sometime things just stop working. First my laptop and now my so-called smartphone. Since I couldn’t rush mom through her errands just to get back to my home office to check my emails, I had plenty of time to think. Maybe my constant need to stay “plugged in” is the real issue. Unfortunately technology has spoiled me and taught me to expect the instant gratification my Blackberry has brought into my life. When I was forced to put my laptop in the shop for repair, I relied more heavily than ever on my mobile connection when I needed to be away from my office – which is quite often since I am mother to four children with a flourishing schedule of activities.

The Blackberry fail brought me back to the basics of running a home-based business; after all, I was running my business before the advent of smartphones. Home-business owners must remain calm, flexible and adaptable under the most trying circumstances.

Are you a Blackberry owner, and if so, did the blackout affect your business?