Do nothing for two minutes.
That’s the challenge issued by Alex Tew, CEO of Popjam, with his new website ” Do Nothing for 2 Minutes .”
The website includes a tranquil photo of a sunrise over the ocean and the sound of waves. Visitors are urged to “just relax and listen to the waves” and not to touch their mouse or keyboard as the time counts down.
Failing to do so warrants a “fail” message on the screen. Complying awards the user with a “well done.”
TechCrunch credits Tew with also creating Million Dollar Homepage , a website that charged advertisers $1 per pixel of its million pixels.
He told TechCrunch that his inspiration for the new page was “how we spend every waking minute of the day with access to an unlimited supply of information, to the point of information overload.”
He also talked about media reports that state people “get a little dopamine kick” when they check their e-mail or social media networks.
“So we’re all developing a bit of ADD, which is probably not great in terms of being productive.”
More than 22 percent of people who had answered a poll on the Huffington Post said they were unable to do nothing for two minutes. The Huffington Post said more than 60,000 people had shared the site on Facebook.
Unlike the Million Dollar Homepage, which website TechnoBuffalo.com said brought in almost $1.04 million, the “Do Nothing for 2 Minutes” page does not seem to provide any way to raise a profit.
With social media spreading how fast ideas are spread, if Tew had launched the Million Dollar Homepage today, he told TechCrunch that he could have likely made $1 million in four weeks rather than four months.
For users who just can’t handle doing absolutely nothing online for two minutes, an alternative is SharkBreak.com . The website, created to raise awareness of marine life conservation and ocean preservation, offers tranquil views of sea life such as corals and fish.
Users can glide their mouse across the page as a puffer fish, dolphin or shark follows its lead.
