Publications
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
5 signs that you’ve mastered the art of online discretion
I sometimes think that the most useful preparation for my career in social media came not from my academic research into online politics, but rather, my practical experience with electoral politics. Working on the political staff of a senior elected official (the...
The pajama test: An open letter to my Facebook “friends”
A year ago today, this blog post was the turning point in my relationship with Facebook. In my life affair for Twitter I'd pretty much lost sight of how Facebook could possibly be relevant to me. Then I made the decision that Facebook would be my personal space -- the...
11 best practices for managing your social network memberships
Between the Wordpress.com hack, the Honda Canada hack and the Playstation hack, I feel like my favorite online identities have been seriously compromised. Nor am I the only one: the recent attack on PBS servers has also created potential identity risks for PBS...
10 ways Microsoft Kinect will change our world in the next decade
Six months after our Kinect arrived in our lives, it's mostly unused. But that doesn't mean it's any less transformative than I'd hoped...just in different ways than I predicted. In our household the Kinect's shining moment came on New Year's Eve, when our first...
Social media for small organizations: Why size matters
10 ways you can tap the value of the Delicious community
A social bookmarking service that draws value from both its user and developer communities, Delicious makes it easy to keep track of your favorite web sites. Here are 10 ways you can tap into the unique value of the Delicious.
Lady Gaga and the transcendent narcissism of social media
Lady Gaga’s on- and offline relationship to her fans is a case study in the power and perils of social media narcissism.
11 social media tools that put entrepreneurs on the right strategic path
My latest post for the Harvard Business Review was inspired by a trip I made to Romania earlier this spring. I visited Bucharest and Cluj as part of the School for Startups, a highly successful UK-based entrepreneurship program created by Doug Richard. S4S is running...
Making art from a lifetime of data
This weekend Little Sweetie asked whether she can have my computer when I die. I had to explain that she is unlikely to want it: by the time I die, my current computer will be useless. "But how about this," I suggested instead. "When I die, you can have whatever...
Klexi is the cheap and easy way to transfer video to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch
If you're heading out of town or to the gym with your iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch, and you want to load it with videos for the road, you've got a couple of options for filling it up with those yummy, legitimately downloaded .avi and .mkv files (which I'm absolutely,...
The Harvard Business Review
5 signs that you’ve mastered the art of online discretion
I sometimes think that the most useful preparation for my career in social media came not from my academic research into online politics, but rather, my practical experience with electoral politics. Working on the political staff of a senior elected official (the...
The pajama test: An open letter to my Facebook “friends”
A year ago today, this blog post was the turning point in my relationship with Facebook. In my life affair for Twitter I'd pretty much lost sight of how Facebook could possibly be relevant to me. Then I made the decision that Facebook would be my personal space -- the...
11 best practices for managing your social network memberships
Between the Wordpress.com hack, the Honda Canada hack and the Playstation hack, I feel like my favorite online identities have been seriously compromised. Nor am I the only one: the recent attack on PBS servers has also created potential identity risks for PBS...
10 ways Microsoft Kinect will change our world in the next decade
Six months after our Kinect arrived in our lives, it's mostly unused. But that doesn't mean it's any less transformative than I'd hoped...just in different ways than I predicted. In our household the Kinect's shining moment came on New Year's Eve, when our first...
Social media for small organizations: Why size matters
10 ways you can tap the value of the Delicious community
A social bookmarking service that draws value from both its user and developer communities, Delicious makes it easy to keep track of your favorite web sites. Here are 10 ways you can tap into the unique value of the Delicious.
Lady Gaga and the transcendent narcissism of social media
Lady Gaga’s on- and offline relationship to her fans is a case study in the power and perils of social media narcissism.
11 social media tools that put entrepreneurs on the right strategic path
My latest post for the Harvard Business Review was inspired by a trip I made to Romania earlier this spring. I visited Bucharest and Cluj as part of the School for Startups, a highly successful UK-based entrepreneurship program created by Doug Richard. S4S is running...
Making art from a lifetime of data
This weekend Little Sweetie asked whether she can have my computer when I die. I had to explain that she is unlikely to want it: by the time I die, my current computer will be useless. "But how about this," I suggested instead. "When I die, you can have whatever...
Klexi is the cheap and easy way to transfer video to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch
If you're heading out of town or to the gym with your iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch, and you want to load it with videos for the road, you've got a couple of options for filling it up with those yummy, legitimately downloaded .avi and .mkv files (which I'm absolutely,...
OneZero
3 options for sharing an iTunes account under iCloud with your husband, wife or sweetie
If you had asked me on Friday whether I was in a committed relationship, I'd have said yes. I've been married to the same man for over 11 years, and we've been together for 14. Together we have two children, a business, a house, and multiple bank accounts. Not to...
9 ways the Internet can cheer your mood when you’re feeling sad
A rough day: we all have them. Yet no day is so rough that it should shake your faith in the Internet as, if not a universal cure, than a widely applicable balm. Here are 5 ways the Internet can cheer you up when you're blue: Create something. Upload a picture. Edit...
3 reasons to make TV social & connected with the new Plex & myPlex
I want you to think really carefully about how happy you are right now, because as soon as I describe the killer features of the latest iteration of the Plex media center software, you're going to be plunged into deep despair. Despair over the fact that you don't have...
Learning from social media failure at Qantas and beyond
My latest post for Harvard Business tackles the lessons other companies can learn from the latest social media disaster, this time brought to you by Qantas Airways: [A]irlines are far from the only businesses to face a newly redrawn balance-of-power between company...
Social Media Fail, Airline Style
The capacity to operate a 747 is incompatible with social media smarts. That’s the conclusion one might draw from the…
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
JSTOR DAILY
3 options for sharing an iTunes account under iCloud with your husband, wife or sweetie
If you had asked me on Friday whether I was in a committed relationship, I'd have said yes. I've been married to the same man for over 11 years, and we've been together for 14. Together we have two children, a business, a house, and multiple bank accounts. Not to...
9 ways the Internet can cheer your mood when you’re feeling sad
A rough day: we all have them. Yet no day is so rough that it should shake your faith in the Internet as, if not a universal cure, than a widely applicable balm. Here are 5 ways the Internet can cheer you up when you're blue: Create something. Upload a picture. Edit...
3 reasons to make TV social & connected with the new Plex & myPlex
I want you to think really carefully about how happy you are right now, because as soon as I describe the killer features of the latest iteration of the Plex media center software, you're going to be plunged into deep despair. Despair over the fact that you don't have...
Learning from social media failure at Qantas and beyond
My latest post for Harvard Business tackles the lessons other companies can learn from the latest social media disaster, this time brought to you by Qantas Airways: [A]irlines are far from the only businesses to face a newly redrawn balance-of-power between company...
Social Media Fail, Airline Style
The capacity to operate a 747 is incompatible with social media smarts. That’s the conclusion one might draw from the…
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
THE VERGE
Can shomi solve Canada’s video streaming problem?
When I drove past a billboard earlier this week that promised me a new universe of streaming media, I nearly pulled over to the side of the road so that I could try it. Right. Now. Was this the day I'd been waiting for? The day when I'd finally experience the joy of...
What’s wrong with the Ello backlash
My latest blog post for the Harvard Business Review argues that Ello -- the "it" social network of the week -- is a wake-up call for businesses to re-assess their social media strategy in light of growing public concerns about privacy and ad targeting. But what about...
11 best practices for working with an editor
My latest blog post for the Harvard Business Review makes the case for adding an editor to your content marketing team. As I note in that post, Content marketing will only deliver on its promise if it’s good enough to deliver customers–that’s why improving the quality...
Homeschooling as a working mom: the pie chart
It's week two of the school year -- or it would be, if we weren't in the middle of an increasingly frustrating (though well-justified) teachers' strike. We're experiencing the school outage a little differently at our house, because this also marks the beginning of...