Publications
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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...
10 funny things to read or do online from a hotel room
Welcome to Social Media for Bored Travellers
4 easy steps to creating a Twitter list from your conference backchannel
You know you're at a conference with a great backchannel when you want to stay in touch with all the folks who've been tweeting away under the designated hashtags. That's how I felt about the Association of Internet Researchers (AOIR) conference last week: from the...
Leaning into online struggles
The fourth time I got a call from the principal's office, I knew I had to rethink our school year. One of our kids was having a tough time in class, and I had already made several visits to the teacher, the classroom and the principal's office. Not only was I worried...
Internet researchers tackle the future of reading & publishing at AOIR
True confession: I treat conference panels as competitive events. Whenever I'm participating in a multi-speaker panel my secret goal is to "win" the panel. This doesn't mean I try to take down my fellow panellists: it's not like wrestling or ice hockey, where you've...
10 myths about ethnography, from Tom Boellstorff
This post originally appeared on the SIM Centre website. There was a lot to love about anthropologist Tom Boellstorff's dynamic, thought-provoking keynote to the Association of Internet Researchers. But I figured that my design colleagues, many of whom use...
Social e-books as online communities, for AOIR 2011
Tomorrow I'm off to the conference of the Association of Internet Researchers, an event I've always wanted to attend and this time actually get to present to! I'm part of a session on Books and Publishing, where I will be talking about the e-book research I am now...
Pastebin highlights the relationship between technology and political change
Today's New York Times has a must-read article by Noam Cohen about the role of Pastebin in Occupy Wall Street. Pastebin is a site that is primarily used by programmers; it's a way to store, share and retrieve snippets of code. You might use Pastebin to share the...
The Harvard Business Review
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...
10 funny things to read or do online from a hotel room
Welcome to Social Media for Bored Travellers
4 easy steps to creating a Twitter list from your conference backchannel
You know you're at a conference with a great backchannel when you want to stay in touch with all the folks who've been tweeting away under the designated hashtags. That's how I felt about the Association of Internet Researchers (AOIR) conference last week: from the...
Leaning into online struggles
The fourth time I got a call from the principal's office, I knew I had to rethink our school year. One of our kids was having a tough time in class, and I had already made several visits to the teacher, the classroom and the principal's office. Not only was I worried...
Internet researchers tackle the future of reading & publishing at AOIR
True confession: I treat conference panels as competitive events. Whenever I'm participating in a multi-speaker panel my secret goal is to "win" the panel. This doesn't mean I try to take down my fellow panellists: it's not like wrestling or ice hockey, where you've...
10 myths about ethnography, from Tom Boellstorff
This post originally appeared on the SIM Centre website. There was a lot to love about anthropologist Tom Boellstorff's dynamic, thought-provoking keynote to the Association of Internet Researchers. But I figured that my design colleagues, many of whom use...
Social e-books as online communities, for AOIR 2011
Tomorrow I'm off to the conference of the Association of Internet Researchers, an event I've always wanted to attend and this time actually get to present to! I'm part of a session on Books and Publishing, where I will be talking about the e-book research I am now...
Pastebin highlights the relationship between technology and political change
Today's New York Times has a must-read article by Noam Cohen about the role of Pastebin in Occupy Wall Street. Pastebin is a site that is primarily used by programmers; it's a way to store, share and retrieve snippets of code. You might use Pastebin to share the...
OneZero
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...
Infographics against infographics
I am super in love with the Pinterest collection of social media infographics compiled by Irene Koehler. But the ever-growing excitement about social media infographics isn't all good news: along with the gems there are some absolute crimes against infographicality....
Be the e-mailer you wish to see in the world
How many people do you receive e-mail from that you read and reply to every single time? I'm guessing it's just a handful: Your best friend -- the one who sends you short periodic updates with a single recent photo, not the one who sends you weekly 2-pagers. The...
5 commandments for your digital fast this Lent
I'm not really a Lent kinda gal. (It may have something to do with me being Jewish.) But for the past few years, I've felt increasingly Lent-aware, because of the sheer number of people who now seem to give up Facebook for Lent (but then tweet about it), email for...
Tweet if you like to procrastinate
I am always amazed at how much I get done on my focused writing days -- the days when I leave the office and camp in one of the cafés or restaurants where ambient noise helps me concentrate and write, write, write. But it's not my word count that amazes me: it's all...
Taking a Pinterest in Emily Carr University, in & out of the bathroom
Emily Carr University has birthed a couple of major obsessions for me over the past year. Online, I have explored ways to use Pinterest, an image curating site, thanks to Emily Carr student (now alum!) Samantha Lefort. Offline, I have delighted in our bathroom...
4 last-minute social media valentines
Congratulations to all those who woke up this morning with their Valentine's cookies baked, their kids' class valentine cards addressed and boxed, and a dinner reservation in place at the romantic restaurant of your choice. You have got your Valentine act together,...
JSTOR DAILY
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...
Infographics against infographics
I am super in love with the Pinterest collection of social media infographics compiled by Irene Koehler. But the ever-growing excitement about social media infographics isn't all good news: along with the gems there are some absolute crimes against infographicality....
Be the e-mailer you wish to see in the world
How many people do you receive e-mail from that you read and reply to every single time? I'm guessing it's just a handful: Your best friend -- the one who sends you short periodic updates with a single recent photo, not the one who sends you weekly 2-pagers. The...
5 commandments for your digital fast this Lent
I'm not really a Lent kinda gal. (It may have something to do with me being Jewish.) But for the past few years, I've felt increasingly Lent-aware, because of the sheer number of people who now seem to give up Facebook for Lent (but then tweet about it), email for...
Tweet if you like to procrastinate
I am always amazed at how much I get done on my focused writing days -- the days when I leave the office and camp in one of the cafés or restaurants where ambient noise helps me concentrate and write, write, write. But it's not my word count that amazes me: it's all...
Taking a Pinterest in Emily Carr University, in & out of the bathroom
Emily Carr University has birthed a couple of major obsessions for me over the past year. Online, I have explored ways to use Pinterest, an image curating site, thanks to Emily Carr student (now alum!) Samantha Lefort. Offline, I have delighted in our bathroom...
4 last-minute social media valentines
Congratulations to all those who woke up this morning with their Valentine's cookies baked, their kids' class valentine cards addressed and boxed, and a dinner reservation in place at the romantic restaurant of your choice. You have got your Valentine act together,...
THE VERGE
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.
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.