Navigating a Week Without Internet: A Tech Marketer’s Story
My workweek kicked off with a literal bang—an electrical explosion on the 8th floor of our office building. What followed was a series of events that encouraged me to rely on unconventional methods to continue my work as a content marketer. Little did I know that this week would push me to rely on my unlimited 5G mobile data plan, with 5GBs of hotspot data and 10 Gigs of mobile data being consumed in just a few days.
Monday morning started with a few flickering lights, a sudden internet outage, and then blaring fire alarms. As a responsible fire warden, I donned my orange vest and calmly guided my co-workers towards the exit. I worked with fellow fire warden, Quinn, to clear the floor. We ventured to the stairwell for our escape, only to be greeted by smoke and cascading water from the sprinklers. We immediately chose an alternative stairwell, and safely exited the building.
Outside, at the approved fire meetup area, we reunited with our co-workers. This was not a fire drill where we’d go back to business as usual in a few minutes. I decided to make my way home since I had another computer at home set up with my work credentials.
On Tuesday, I ventured back into the office building. The main floor lobby was dimly lit, and despite some functioning air conditioning in my office, there was no internet connection. I provided a status update of the state of our office to my co-workers. Without internet, the best course of action was for everyone to work from home.
I decided to stay and used my phone’s hotspot. Fortunately, I recently switched from a metered AT&T plan to Unlimited 5G with T-Mobile a few months prior. My plan might be unlimited, but the 5G data was capped at 15GB, after which it slowed down to 3G. I needed to be smart about my data usage.
Fortunately, Wahsega’s equipment works with or without internet access. I setup a makeshift YouTube studio and started working on creating product tutorial videos.
Interestingly, my switch to T-Mobile 5G Unlimited was not prompted by the need for an unlimited plan. The switch was triggered in 2022 when AT&T refused to unlock my fully paid iPhone for an upcoming trip to France, citing a newly implemented 60-day policy. Frustrated and determined to stand by my principles, I decided to switch carriers after almost 2 decades with AT&T.
Despite the internet outage, my work continued. On Wednesday, I provided updates to my co-workers and relocated to the Clubhouse for a Zoom meeting.
Thursday, still no internet. I edited videos on my local computer, saving the files locally on my hard drive. Visitors from Saudi Arabia stopped by from Georgia Tech’s Language Institute.
Friday arrived, and the internet remained down. Nevertheless, I created one last video before dismantling my makeshift YouTube studio.
This unexpected journey through a week without reliable internet taught me the importance of adaptability and “turning lemons into lemonade.” In the end, I didn’t need the internet to create videos; my equipment and determination were sufficient to keep my projects moving forward.
