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The web is transforming the future of our communities, on- and offline. Whether you’re thinking about how to build a better online support system for your neighborhood or workplace, or wondering about how networks are affecting our political system, you can find resources here that will deepen your understanding and help you make a difference.

Does social media have to make you happy?

January 30, 2012

At Simply Zesty, Lauren Fisher asks a provocative question: why happiness? Her point is that social media is frequently challenged for its (purportedly) negative impact on happiness: What’s also strange, is the idea that social media in some way owes us happiness, that this is what it was created for. Yet when we look at [...]

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For the National Geographic Assignment Blog: The Great Online Migration

January 23, 2012

In any migration, there are those who go ahead to settle the wilds, and those who linger to ensure that nothing gets left behind. While each of us now makes a different choice about how much of our lives to live online, those differences should not be turned into an ideological divide between “digital utopians” [...]

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Unlocking the door to usability

January 17, 2012

  This is the sign on the inside of my hotel room door. I love the fact that a traditional door — you know, of the lock-and-key rather than magnetic card variety — now requires documentation. It’s a great reminder that usability is entirely contextual. It’s not just about what a user has previously experienced, [...]

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Updating Canada’s Election Act so you can tweet the results

January 13, 2012

Today the Canadian government announced its intention to table legislation that will bring Canada’s Elections Act into the 21st century. Tim Uppal, the junior minister for democratic reform, tweeted today to share the news. That’s right: next election night, Canadians will be able to discuss election results with all the immediacy, humour and clarity that [...]

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Blockbuster reminds us to make way for the new

January 11, 2012

Ever since it was announced that Blockbuster would close its remaining stores, I’ve wondered what would happen at the corner of Broadway and Blenheim. A wifi-wielding coffee shop? A wildly out-of-place H&M? An all-you-can-eat, gluten- and sugar-free cake buffet? Our local Blockbuster was the source of many fond memories — and many late fees, until [...]

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Video: 10 reasons to stop apologizing for your online life

January 9, 2012

It’s time to stop apologizing for your life online. That was the central message of my talk at TEDx Victoria in November, now on YouTube. From valuing your online attention to taking your online creativity seriously as real art, I argue that we can only unlock the potential of the Internet when we stop talking [...]

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Social media gives information workers the experience of materiality

January 5, 2012

Today’s practice:  If you haven’t created something lately, try creating something online. At our all-university kick-off meeting for Emily Carr‘s spring semester, President Ron Burnett talked about the university’s work in terms of materiality; in terms of the work, thinking and process that goes into bringing actual artifacts into being. In an art and design university, many [...]

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How self-reliance hurts online community

January 4, 2012

Today’s practice: The next time you spend more than 15 minutes struggling with a tech challenge, stop trying to solve it yourself and ask someone for help. When our home media server froze as we were trying to watch a mother-daughter show tonight, I swung into troubleshooting mode. “Argh!” my 8-year-old daughter exclaimed. “Why do [...]

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Top 2011 posts from other sites

December 31, 2011

For the past week, I’ve been rounding up the top posts from 2011 on this site — both your favourites and my own. Today, I’m closing out the year by sharing 11 of the best posts I’ve read elsewhere this year. There are many others that belong on this list, too! Social media and manhood [...]

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Our online future: Top 2011 posts on the Internet and society

December 30, 2011

Many of my top posts of 2011 were posts that addressed major questions about the politics of the Internet today, and the future of the online world we are now creating. I wrote a number of these as part of my 40 day, 40 year history of the Internet; several others emerged out of the [...]

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6 crucial police guidelines for stopping social media vigilantes

December 15, 2011

Yesterday, Vancouver was treated to the first court appearances by alleged participants in the 2011 Stanley Cup Riots. It was a snapshot of one of the most profound and valuable institutions in our society: a system of justice to which we have collectively delegated the task of determining guilt or innocence and handing out punishment. [...]

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