Publications
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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...
Self-publishing: 5 issues for authors to consider, from Amazon’s Jon Fine and Prof. Tim Laquintano
At the Merging Media conference today, we heard from Jon Fine, Amazon's Director of Author & Publisher Relations. Jon's talk reminded me of the terrific presentation I heard at AOIR from Tim Laquintano, a writing professor at Lafayette College who spoke about the...
Video: Social media, politics & the future of think tanks
Last month I had the opportunity to be part of a terrific day-long discussion on the future of think tanks, hosted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) as part of its 10th anniversary celebrations. I shared some of my thinking in a blog post...
What is Evernote, and how can it make you a social media power user?
Making effective use of social media isn't about which tools you use, which networks you join or how many followers you have. People who have made social media a valuable, joyful part of their professional and personal lives are people who have made a number of...
The Harvard Business Review
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...
Self-publishing: 5 issues for authors to consider, from Amazon’s Jon Fine and Prof. Tim Laquintano
At the Merging Media conference today, we heard from Jon Fine, Amazon's Director of Author & Publisher Relations. Jon's talk reminded me of the terrific presentation I heard at AOIR from Tim Laquintano, a writing professor at Lafayette College who spoke about the...
Video: Social media, politics & the future of think tanks
Last month I had the opportunity to be part of a terrific day-long discussion on the future of think tanks, hosted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) as part of its 10th anniversary celebrations. I shared some of my thinking in a blog post...
What is Evernote, and how can it make you a social media power user?
Making effective use of social media isn't about which tools you use, which networks you join or how many followers you have. People who have made social media a valuable, joyful part of their professional and personal lives are people who have made a number of...
OneZero
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...
S.E.O. is payback for teenage freaks
Today I was catching up with my colleague Haig Armen when he asked me if I knew Steve Andersen. "You mean, Steve Andersen from Salesforce?" I asked. ["You mean, Steve Anderson of Open Media?" my husband asked later.] "No, Steve Anderson of Get Mental Notes," Haig...
JSTOR DAILY
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...
S.E.O. is payback for teenage freaks
Today I was catching up with my colleague Haig Armen when he asked me if I knew Steve Andersen. "You mean, Steve Andersen from Salesforce?" I asked. ["You mean, Steve Anderson of Open Media?" my husband asked later.] "No, Steve Anderson of Get Mental Notes," Haig...
THE VERGE
Why you should hand your kid that iPhone
I see you looking at me from the other side of the coffee shop?—?yes, you: the hemp-swaddled mom with the slightly sticky child who is playing with that organic wooden toy. You probably hope that toy will teach her hand-eye coordination or bring him into harmony with...
How the Sharing Economy Can Improve Your Next Business Trip
How on-demand apps can help business travellers squeeze every last minute of value out of their time on the road.
Threat-based parenting: Dos and Don’ts
As featured on Medium, a handy guide to getting those pesky kids under control with the power of threats. Thanks to the rise of screens, there’s never been a better time for threat-based parenting.
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.