Publications
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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...
Imagining innovation in the Google era
Neal Stephenson has written an important essay, Innovation Starvation, which I discovered via Ron Burnett. In it he grapples with the decline in world-changing inventions, and focuses particularly on the potential role of science fiction as an inspiration for...
#RIPSteve
We live and love online because Steve Jobs saw that technology could satisfy not only our brains, but also our hearts. Read the rest in my blog post for Harvard Business Review, Steve Jobs, Father of Social Media.
Steve Jobs in 10 Infographics
Steve Jobs is the rare tech innovator who will be remembered as much for his aesthetics as for contributions to functionality. No wonder that so much of his legacy can be captured graphically: 1. The history For an at-a-glance overview of the intertwined histories of...
Can smartphones create stillness?
If you want to learn something about stillness, visit a kindergarten class. I spent about 45 minutes with Little Peanut and his classmates today, and it gave me a whole new perspective on quiet -- or the lack thereof. In the half-hour in which these 19 kids were in...
10 early warning signs that you need to decrease (or increase) your time online
Yesterday I received what I accurately diagnosed as the Best Error Message Ever: Being a deeply religious person, I figured that an error message this…ummm…ironic? apt? transcendant?…must be some kind of sign from the universe. At first I thought it might be a sign to...
4 ways to protect your privacy and reputation on Facebook Timeline
My latest blog post for HBR takes a look at the new ooh! aah! Facebook Timeline, which comes tantalizingly close to fulfilling my wish list for a social media scrapbook without allowing me to easily print the damn thing already. (And I'm guessing it won't be long...
The Harvard Business Review
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...
Imagining innovation in the Google era
Neal Stephenson has written an important essay, Innovation Starvation, which I discovered via Ron Burnett. In it he grapples with the decline in world-changing inventions, and focuses particularly on the potential role of science fiction as an inspiration for...
#RIPSteve
We live and love online because Steve Jobs saw that technology could satisfy not only our brains, but also our hearts. Read the rest in my blog post for Harvard Business Review, Steve Jobs, Father of Social Media.
Steve Jobs in 10 Infographics
Steve Jobs is the rare tech innovator who will be remembered as much for his aesthetics as for contributions to functionality. No wonder that so much of his legacy can be captured graphically: 1. The history For an at-a-glance overview of the intertwined histories of...
Can smartphones create stillness?
If you want to learn something about stillness, visit a kindergarten class. I spent about 45 minutes with Little Peanut and his classmates today, and it gave me a whole new perspective on quiet -- or the lack thereof. In the half-hour in which these 19 kids were in...
10 early warning signs that you need to decrease (or increase) your time online
Yesterday I received what I accurately diagnosed as the Best Error Message Ever: Being a deeply religious person, I figured that an error message this…ummm…ironic? apt? transcendant?…must be some kind of sign from the universe. At first I thought it might be a sign to...
4 ways to protect your privacy and reputation on Facebook Timeline
My latest blog post for HBR takes a look at the new ooh! aah! Facebook Timeline, which comes tantalizingly close to fulfilling my wish list for a social media scrapbook without allowing me to easily print the damn thing already. (And I'm guessing it won't be long...
OneZero
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,...
6 qualities to look for in an online date or offline mate
[Online dating] sites tend to emphasize similarity on psychological variables like personality (e.g., matching extroverts with extroverts and introverts with introverts) and attitudes (e.g., matching people who prefer Judd Apatow’s movies to Woody Allen’s with people...
5 online calendars your family can’t live without
If you think online calendaring is for scheduling business meetings, appointments and the occasional lunch date, you're missing out. Online calendars can also be a great way to bring order to the chaos of family life -- if you create or subscribe to the essential...
Focus on your priorities with O.M.F.T.
Last night I was delighted to participate in a panel hosted by Canadian Women in Communications, speaking alongside Rebecca Bollwitt (aka Miss 604) and Gillian Shaw of the Vancouver Sun. CWC President Stephanie MacKendrick did a terrific job of eliciting our...
For Harvard Business book: How do you reward yourself at work?
How do you reward or motivate yourself to complete a task or project? I'm tackling this question in one of my pieces for a forthcoming edition of Harvard Business Review's Getting the Right Work Done. And I'd love your help. Maybe you're the kind of person who takes a...
Does social media have to make you happy?
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,...
How to find a great domain name (or Twitter handle)
JSTOR DAILY
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,...
6 qualities to look for in an online date or offline mate
[Online dating] sites tend to emphasize similarity on psychological variables like personality (e.g., matching extroverts with extroverts and introverts with introverts) and attitudes (e.g., matching people who prefer Judd Apatow’s movies to Woody Allen’s with people...
5 online calendars your family can’t live without
If you think online calendaring is for scheduling business meetings, appointments and the occasional lunch date, you're missing out. Online calendars can also be a great way to bring order to the chaos of family life -- if you create or subscribe to the essential...
Focus on your priorities with O.M.F.T.
Last night I was delighted to participate in a panel hosted by Canadian Women in Communications, speaking alongside Rebecca Bollwitt (aka Miss 604) and Gillian Shaw of the Vancouver Sun. CWC President Stephanie MacKendrick did a terrific job of eliciting our...
For Harvard Business book: How do you reward yourself at work?
How do you reward or motivate yourself to complete a task or project? I'm tackling this question in one of my pieces for a forthcoming edition of Harvard Business Review's Getting the Right Work Done. And I'd love your help. Maybe you're the kind of person who takes a...
Does social media have to make you happy?
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,...
How to find a great domain name (or Twitter handle)
THE VERGE
14 reasons not to allow your kid to fall asleep in your bed
Trying to convince your kid to stay in her own bed? Here’s a handy list of reasons.
Hey Vancouver: It’s okay to be boring
“Work-life balance”, “relaxed lifestyle”, “not Toronto” — these are the phrases Vancouverites use to describe what makes our city different from other cities. And not coincidentally, they are all ways of saying we’re a city with a slower pace than the vast majority of major North American cities.
How to Find Online Support During Life’s Biggest Milestones
Tech expert Alexandra Samuel helps you find online support when you are going through life’s biggest milestones.
Source: How to Find Online Support During Life’s Biggest Milestones
Using Online Resources to Stay Focused on Your Goals
Tech expert Alexandra Samuel shares six new strategies for using online resources to stay focused on your goals and inspired in your life.
Source: Using Online Resources to Stay Focused on Your Goals