Publications
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
How to stop wasting time on technology challenges
Today's practice: The next time you dive into a time-consuming tech challenge, stop to ask: what would a normal person do? Saturday morning I woke up at 4 a.m. in preparation for my flight to London -- and accompanying time zone readjustment -- later that day. I...
Updating Canada’s Election Act so you can tweet the results
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...
Protect your intention span from the distractions of social media
Tonight I coined the term "intention span" to refer to the amount of time that passes between intending to work on something and actually starting work. Intention span: The amount of time that passes between intending to work on something and actually starting to work...
Blockbuster reminds us to make way for the new
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?...
Video: 10 reasons to stop apologizing for your online life
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...
Excel template: 7 steps to achieving your goals
Do you have trouble making good on your New Year's resolutions? Do you have a hard time staying focused on your most important work? Do you simply get overwhelmed by all the tasks on your plate, and worry about how to get them all done? When I'm trying to stay on...
Social media gives information workers the experience of materiality
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,...
How self-reliance hurts online community
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...
How much social media is enough?
Today's practice: Focus on quality, not quantity. Today's tweets are full of references to New Year's resolutions: "Tweet more". "Tweet less". "Blog more". "Blog less." "Check Facebook no more than once a day." "Check Facebook at least once a day." You get the idea....
Top 2011 posts from other sites
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...
The Harvard Business Review
How to stop wasting time on technology challenges
Today's practice: The next time you dive into a time-consuming tech challenge, stop to ask: what would a normal person do? Saturday morning I woke up at 4 a.m. in preparation for my flight to London -- and accompanying time zone readjustment -- later that day. I...
Updating Canada’s Election Act so you can tweet the results
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...
Protect your intention span from the distractions of social media
Tonight I coined the term "intention span" to refer to the amount of time that passes between intending to work on something and actually starting work. Intention span: The amount of time that passes between intending to work on something and actually starting to work...
Blockbuster reminds us to make way for the new
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?...
Video: 10 reasons to stop apologizing for your online life
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...
Excel template: 7 steps to achieving your goals
Do you have trouble making good on your New Year's resolutions? Do you have a hard time staying focused on your most important work? Do you simply get overwhelmed by all the tasks on your plate, and worry about how to get them all done? When I'm trying to stay on...
Social media gives information workers the experience of materiality
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,...
How self-reliance hurts online community
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...
How much social media is enough?
Today's practice: Focus on quality, not quantity. Today's tweets are full of references to New Year's resolutions: "Tweet more". "Tweet less". "Blog more". "Blog less." "Check Facebook no more than once a day." "Check Facebook at least once a day." You get the idea....
Top 2011 posts from other sites
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...
OneZero
Talk back to Vancouver’s rain on Twitter
Tired of Vancouver’s eternal rain? Talk back to @YVRrain, a Twitter account for Vancouver’s rain clouds.
Unstoppable Timer: mobile app wanted
A timer/clock/stopwatch that disables sleep when active, so I don’t have to turn off my iphone’s auto-lock feature when using my iphone to keep track of time while giving a talk. [EOM]
ClickCentral: a web app for tracking clicks on all tweeted links
I want a single analytics dashboard that shows me click rates for any link I’ve tweeted. Right now I have to look at separate stats for bit.ly, ow.ly, Buffer and alex.loves. [EOM]
Multiplication table app round-up: Blog post wanted
Learning multiplication tables ought to be a lot easier — or at least a lot more fun — in the age of the iPad and iPhone. That’s why I’d love someone to write a blog post rounding up different multiplication table apps.
ShoeCamp: An (imaginary) unconference for the footwear-obsessed
Madeline Stanionis inspired this vision for ShoeCamp, an unconference for the footwear-obsessed.
Blackout ribbon: Avoiding grim news and spoilers
I’d like to designate a coloured ribbon that would be as universally recognized as the yellow or pink ribbon campaigns. See someone wearing this ribbon, and you know that they don’t want to discuss the latest grim news stories. A more elaborate version could prevent spoilers, too.
The Genzlingerizer: An app to enhance offline reading (and an IFTTT workaround)
I want to set up rules for the publications I read in print, specifying the authors or topics that qualify as must-reads. When said publication appears at my door, I want to launch an iPhone app that tells me which pages to look at in this morning’s New York Times, this week’s New Yorker, or the latest Entertainment Weekly. Then I want an easy way to take whatever I’m reading in print, and convert it to a set of links that are ready to share online.
12-Step Social Media Scanner & Intervention Bot
Imagining a 12-step bot that constantly scans people’s social media feeds for signs that things are out of control, and then tweets you the location of your nearest AA, Overeaters Anonymous or Shoppers Anonymous.
JSTOR DAILY
Talk back to Vancouver’s rain on Twitter
Tired of Vancouver’s eternal rain? Talk back to @YVRrain, a Twitter account for Vancouver’s rain clouds.
Unstoppable Timer: mobile app wanted
A timer/clock/stopwatch that disables sleep when active, so I don’t have to turn off my iphone’s auto-lock feature when using my iphone to keep track of time while giving a talk. [EOM]
ClickCentral: a web app for tracking clicks on all tweeted links
I want a single analytics dashboard that shows me click rates for any link I’ve tweeted. Right now I have to look at separate stats for bit.ly, ow.ly, Buffer and alex.loves. [EOM]
Multiplication table app round-up: Blog post wanted
Learning multiplication tables ought to be a lot easier — or at least a lot more fun — in the age of the iPad and iPhone. That’s why I’d love someone to write a blog post rounding up different multiplication table apps.
ShoeCamp: An (imaginary) unconference for the footwear-obsessed
Madeline Stanionis inspired this vision for ShoeCamp, an unconference for the footwear-obsessed.
Blackout ribbon: Avoiding grim news and spoilers
I’d like to designate a coloured ribbon that would be as universally recognized as the yellow or pink ribbon campaigns. See someone wearing this ribbon, and you know that they don’t want to discuss the latest grim news stories. A more elaborate version could prevent spoilers, too.
The Genzlingerizer: An app to enhance offline reading (and an IFTTT workaround)
I want to set up rules for the publications I read in print, specifying the authors or topics that qualify as must-reads. When said publication appears at my door, I want to launch an iPhone app that tells me which pages to look at in this morning’s New York Times, this week’s New Yorker, or the latest Entertainment Weekly. Then I want an easy way to take whatever I’m reading in print, and convert it to a set of links that are ready to share online.
12-Step Social Media Scanner & Intervention Bot
Imagining a 12-step bot that constantly scans people’s social media feeds for signs that things are out of control, and then tweets you the location of your nearest AA, Overeaters Anonymous or Shoppers Anonymous.
THE VERGE
The 9 stages of special needs parenting
Today I went through my monthly ritual of looking for even more Facebook parent groups to join, in the hope that somewhere is the group of people who will understand our exact set of challenges -- or better yet, have the right set of solutions. It suddenly struck me:...
The Final Four-Year-Old
The NCAA’s Final Four may determine who rules the court, but the Final Four-Year-Old determines who rules the playground. Here’s my bracket for the 2016 Sparkle Tots championship.
Facebook Reactions: Campaign Edition
The advent of Facebook Reactions has brought forth a remarkable range of suggestions for alternative icons; the endless presidential campaign has produced an ever-growing range of tribute memes. But if we're going to have the reactions we need to survive this campaign...
9 kid-friendly meals for children outside of NYC
The New York Times has posted a roundup of 14 kid-friendly meals that you can prepare in 30 minutes or less….if you have the kind of kid who likes food seasoned with anchovies, cumin or ginger. If, on the other hand, you are raising a child who does not ask to...