Publications
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
5 ways to maximize computer use — and happiness
Q: How many computers does it take to enjoy a relaxing evening at home? A: 7. Five to use simultaneously, a sixth to blog about how you're doing that, and a seventh to keep your spouse entertained while you do. Yeah, I know, it reads like a formulaic joke. But that...
Do ebooks help or hurt children’s literacy?
Print books may be under siege from the rise of e-books, but they have a tenacious hold on a particular group: children and toddlers. Their parents are insisting this next generation of readers spend their early years with old-fashioned books. This is the case even...
3 practices that restore the meaning of friendship on Facebook
Social Media Strategy: Make Your Own Romania
"Create a social media presence that highlights your expertise," I told a room full of entrepreneurs. "And that will do…
Trust, disclosure and social media
Two of the most frequent criticisms of social media hinge on the quality and quantity of information people disclosure through blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other social tools: Why does s/he think anyone cares? Asked about people who blog their latest meal, tweet their...
TedX Victoria: Stop apologizing for your online life
I'm delighted to be participating in TedX Victoria this November 19th. I'll be speaking about the 10 Reasons to Stop Apologizing for Your Online Life, and look forward to helping TedX participants give up the notion of IRL ("In Real Life"), and learn to embrace RLT....
Bored by your boyfriend? Try having sex.
This is my best effort at scrupulous transcription of a conversation I was fortunate to overhear in the locker room today, between two young women I initially assumed were roommates. I wasn't sure whether the locker room was covered by a cone of silence, so I checked...
Countering the Excuses for Avoiding Social Media (and Video Games)
"I can see why it’s important, but it’s not something I need to be an expert on myself." "I’ve got…
What you can learn from your tech defeats
When I was a small child my mother dropped me onto a hard, stone floor. Miraculously, I was uninjured. As soon as I stopped crying, it seemed, I was as good as new. It would take years before the long-term repercussions of this fall became apparent: the tumble had...
8 secrets to a smarter tech maintenance routine for your blog
This weekend I had one of my periodic orgies of blog maintenance. Now it happens that 14 hours of software upgrades, plugin installs, widget testing and css tweaking is my idea of fun, so giving my blog a weekend of tech love is also a way of giving myself a weekend...
The Harvard Business Review
5 ways to maximize computer use — and happiness
Q: How many computers does it take to enjoy a relaxing evening at home? A: 7. Five to use simultaneously, a sixth to blog about how you're doing that, and a seventh to keep your spouse entertained while you do. Yeah, I know, it reads like a formulaic joke. But that...
Do ebooks help or hurt children’s literacy?
Print books may be under siege from the rise of e-books, but they have a tenacious hold on a particular group: children and toddlers. Their parents are insisting this next generation of readers spend their early years with old-fashioned books. This is the case even...
3 practices that restore the meaning of friendship on Facebook
Social Media Strategy: Make Your Own Romania
"Create a social media presence that highlights your expertise," I told a room full of entrepreneurs. "And that will do…
Trust, disclosure and social media
Two of the most frequent criticisms of social media hinge on the quality and quantity of information people disclosure through blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other social tools: Why does s/he think anyone cares? Asked about people who blog their latest meal, tweet their...
TedX Victoria: Stop apologizing for your online life
I'm delighted to be participating in TedX Victoria this November 19th. I'll be speaking about the 10 Reasons to Stop Apologizing for Your Online Life, and look forward to helping TedX participants give up the notion of IRL ("In Real Life"), and learn to embrace RLT....
Bored by your boyfriend? Try having sex.
This is my best effort at scrupulous transcription of a conversation I was fortunate to overhear in the locker room today, between two young women I initially assumed were roommates. I wasn't sure whether the locker room was covered by a cone of silence, so I checked...
Countering the Excuses for Avoiding Social Media (and Video Games)
"I can see why it’s important, but it’s not something I need to be an expert on myself." "I’ve got…
What you can learn from your tech defeats
When I was a small child my mother dropped me onto a hard, stone floor. Miraculously, I was uninjured. As soon as I stopped crying, it seemed, I was as good as new. It would take years before the long-term repercussions of this fall became apparent: the tumble had...
8 secrets to a smarter tech maintenance routine for your blog
This weekend I had one of my periodic orgies of blog maintenance. Now it happens that 14 hours of software upgrades, plugin installs, widget testing and css tweaking is my idea of fun, so giving my blog a weekend of tech love is also a way of giving myself a weekend...
OneZero
Towards a geography of digital memory
I'm in Toronto for a lightning trip, speaking tomorrow at a luncheon hosted by Women in Film & Television. Tonight I'm staying at the Sutton Place Hotel, which puts me at the epicentre of memory for my first 25 years of life. From the east-facing window of my...
Who Are You Online? A 360-Degree View
Who are you when you go online? That’s a question that goes way beyond how you feel in your own…
3 ways you can use Pinterest
In my Friday post for Harvard Business Review, I provided companies with some ideas about how they could use Pinterest to connect with customers. Today, I want to suggest 3 ways to use Pinterest personally: Compile a list of purchases before deciding what to buy; or...
3 features that would make Pinterest even more useful
Today in the Harvard Business Review, I invite companies to meet your Pinterest customer -- me! I've been using Pinterest for over a year, after I was introduced to it by Samantha Lefort, a talented designer and Emily Carr University alum. My experience using...
5 ways to make task management software work for you
I have a love-hate relationship with task management software. On the one hand, I'm kind of obsessed with it: trying out new task and project management tools is one of my favorite pastimes, and it's hard for me to resist trying out each shiny new entry in the market....
Stop worrying about your kids’ online future
I'm one of more than a thousand Internet experts who contributed thoughts about our emergent digital world to the 2012 Elon University-Pew Internet & American Life study on the future of the Internet. My comments were picked up in the Globe and Mail and MindShift,...
3 reasons to check out the latest research on social media and food
In the past, ethnicity and family traditions dictated the foods we prepared; we bought our groceries at a neighborhood store; we learned our recipes from “mom” or a cookbook; and we ate our meals together around a table. In contrast, today social media introduces us...
Save your laptop from reclining airplane seats
I live in fear of my laptop getting crunched on an airplane. How many times have I been working away when the person in front of me suddenly reclines, threatening to trap the top edge of my laptop and break my screen? I thought my 11" MacBook Air would save me, but...
JSTOR DAILY
Towards a geography of digital memory
I'm in Toronto for a lightning trip, speaking tomorrow at a luncheon hosted by Women in Film & Television. Tonight I'm staying at the Sutton Place Hotel, which puts me at the epicentre of memory for my first 25 years of life. From the east-facing window of my...
Who Are You Online? A 360-Degree View
Who are you when you go online? That’s a question that goes way beyond how you feel in your own…
3 ways you can use Pinterest
In my Friday post for Harvard Business Review, I provided companies with some ideas about how they could use Pinterest to connect with customers. Today, I want to suggest 3 ways to use Pinterest personally: Compile a list of purchases before deciding what to buy; or...
3 features that would make Pinterest even more useful
Today in the Harvard Business Review, I invite companies to meet your Pinterest customer -- me! I've been using Pinterest for over a year, after I was introduced to it by Samantha Lefort, a talented designer and Emily Carr University alum. My experience using...
5 ways to make task management software work for you
I have a love-hate relationship with task management software. On the one hand, I'm kind of obsessed with it: trying out new task and project management tools is one of my favorite pastimes, and it's hard for me to resist trying out each shiny new entry in the market....
Stop worrying about your kids’ online future
I'm one of more than a thousand Internet experts who contributed thoughts about our emergent digital world to the 2012 Elon University-Pew Internet & American Life study on the future of the Internet. My comments were picked up in the Globe and Mail and MindShift,...
3 reasons to check out the latest research on social media and food
In the past, ethnicity and family traditions dictated the foods we prepared; we bought our groceries at a neighborhood store; we learned our recipes from “mom” or a cookbook; and we ate our meals together around a table. In contrast, today social media introduces us...
Save your laptop from reclining airplane seats
I live in fear of my laptop getting crunched on an airplane. How many times have I been working away when the person in front of me suddenly reclines, threatening to trap the top edge of my laptop and break my screen? I thought my 11" MacBook Air would save me, but...
THE VERGE
Why the Sharing Economy Isn’t Such a Boon for the Little Guy
We love to tell the story of the collaborative economy as the rise of the little guy. The data suggests otherwise.
14 things to try if school doesn’t work for your child
If you run into challenges as your kid starts school — or if you’ve been struggling with school challenges for a while, as we have — you’re not alone. Here’s what we’ve learned from the struggle.
When school doesn’t fit: our 2E story
When I sat down to share my insights into navigating the school system with a kid who just doesn’t fit the conventional student mould, I realized that my insights were meaningless without the context of our own experience parenting a 2E (twice exceptional) child.
Why and How to Yes (and Yes Yes)
Yes and Yes Yes is an extraordinary gathering. Here is why I want to go back next year — and how I plan to make the most of it.