Abstract
Novelty holidays have been all the rage for the past couple years. The thing is that if you are going to celebrate World Kimchi Day on November 22 or its sister holiday, World Cabbage Day on February 17, you either really like cabbage, or you really like holidays. With so many people using technology as a major part of their life and business, it’s no surprise that it is well represented on the holiday calendar. You have a few we’ve already missed: National Technology Day on January 6, Data Privacy Day on January 28, and National Clean Out Your Computer Day on February 8, but there are three important IT “holidays” this month. Let’s take a look at them now.
The First Weekend in March — National Day of Unplugging
(March 4th, 2022 to March 5th, 2022)
Technology is amazingly useful, but if you are constantly using it, it can be too much. Sure, technology connects all of us, but at some point, you need to put the device away and disconnect. On March 4th, that’s exactly what the “holiday” promotes: A National Day of Unplugging.
This project came from a Jewish arts and culture nonprofit that would host technology-free Shabbat dinners. It is now an international campaign with the aim to get people to take a rest from their technology for one day. Today, over 112,000 people have joined a movement that surrounds the “holiday”.
At NetMGM, we understand the need for a little downtime away from technology to fully appreciate what technology does for us and our organizations every day.
March 16th — National Freedom of Information Day
James Madison’s birthday has been used for the past 54 years to celebrate the National Freedom of Information Day. Madison, the nation’s fourth president, was a proponent of an open and transparent government. Known as the “Father of the Constitution”, Madison was a staunch advocate for an accessible and transparent government. As a result, the day of his birth is an apt date to acknowledge the right that the act established. Since then, many advocacy groups like the National Freedom of Information Coalition have taken up the mantle of sponsoring National Freedom of Information Day.
March 31st — World Backup Day
World Backup Day is probably the most famous of all IT holidays. It promotes the use of data backup. For the modern business, data backup is essential, but it wasn’t always considered so. World Backup Day has done an excellent job of promoting awareness about the risks associated with a failure to back up data.
By keeping a relatively current copy of your files, organizations can avoid all the negative situations that backup helps ward against, including downtime, data loss, and full operational shutdown. World Backup Day is a great example of IT professionals promoting awareness of best practices to help businesses and individuals better understand how to utilize technology.
If you would like more information about any IT holidays or the technologies behind them, give us a call at 888-748-2525 today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rafiq Masri
With over 25 years of experience in Information Technology, Rafiq is one of the most accomplished, versatile and certified engineer in the field. He has spent the past 2 ½ decades administering and supporting a wide range of clients and has helped position Network Management, Inc. as a leader in the IT Managed Services space.
Rafiq has built a reputation for designing, building and supporting top notch IT infrastructures to match the business objectives and goals of his clients.
Embracing the core values of integrity, innovation, and reliability, Rafiq has a very loyal client base with some customer relationships dating back 20+ years.
Rafiq holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and has completed graduate programs in Software Engineering and Business at Harvard and George Mason University. Rafiq is a former founder and CEO of Automation, Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan as well as a valued speaker on entrepreneurship and technology at industry events such as ExpoTech and others.