Publications
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Research reveals people can survive up to 24 hours without Internet access
I'm fascinated by the number of people who are experimenting with different forms of unplugging: journalists, bloggers and tweeters who take some kind of solo holiday from connectivity. But a recent study at the University of Maryland took a larger-scale approach,...
An evangelical perspective on information overload
I was fascinated to come across an evangelical take on the problem of information overload. Becky Sweat's article in The Good News reads: information overload can distract us from the most important priority in our lives—our relationship with God. Indeed, a healthy...
10 expert predictions on how the Internet will affect social relations
The latest Pew survey on the Future of the Internet looks at the effect of technology on social relations, and the expectations of 895 Internet experts are overwhelmingly optimistic. It shouldn't come as a major surprise that a sample of people who are selected for...
thirtysomething meets the Internet
When I was sixteen I hated Jane Austen. I read Pride and Prejudice, but couldn't get beyond the anachronism. Every plot point rested on the impossibility of speaking directly and honestly: Mr. Darcy, if you could simply explain yourself to Miss Bennet, I'm sure she...
The upside to teen life online
Frankasaurus has a great blog post about her experiences growing up online, comparing the impact of chat rooms on a socially awkward teenagers with the experience of using social media today. As she writes about her early years in online chat: It wasn’t long before I...
For Oprah.com: Gifts for the geeky dad (even after Father’s Day)
Do you have a tech-loving Dad in your life? This post for Oprah.com offers great gift ideas to show him that he’s your favorite geek.
How to stop waiting by the inbox
I recently sent one of those e-mails that leaves you feeling like a shmuck. Not because of anything I wrote, but because I knew I would be obsessively checking my inbox every five minutes until I got a response. There are all kinds of reasons you might find yourself...
A balanced look at the mental impact of social media
"The Internet is distracting and isolating and diminishes our capacity for focused work." "The Internet is transformative and connecting and is making us steadily smarter." The conversation about the Internet's mental and social impact often feels like a debate...
Discovering family through a social media crisis
My latest blog post for Harvard Business Review tackles the challenge of surviving a social media emergency. It was inspired by what turned out to be a minor emergency: the earthquake that rattled most of central Canada yesterday. As it happened, I was in Ottawa at...
Patrolling the boundaries in social networking
Rob Jewitt, a lecturer in Media Studies at the University of Sunderland, writes about the university's recently introduced social networking site for students. Embedded in his description of the site's features are some interesting reflections on the kinds of...
The Harvard Business Review
Research reveals people can survive up to 24 hours without Internet access
I'm fascinated by the number of people who are experimenting with different forms of unplugging: journalists, bloggers and tweeters who take some kind of solo holiday from connectivity. But a recent study at the University of Maryland took a larger-scale approach,...
An evangelical perspective on information overload
I was fascinated to come across an evangelical take on the problem of information overload. Becky Sweat's article in The Good News reads: information overload can distract us from the most important priority in our lives—our relationship with God. Indeed, a healthy...
10 expert predictions on how the Internet will affect social relations
The latest Pew survey on the Future of the Internet looks at the effect of technology on social relations, and the expectations of 895 Internet experts are overwhelmingly optimistic. It shouldn't come as a major surprise that a sample of people who are selected for...
thirtysomething meets the Internet
When I was sixteen I hated Jane Austen. I read Pride and Prejudice, but couldn't get beyond the anachronism. Every plot point rested on the impossibility of speaking directly and honestly: Mr. Darcy, if you could simply explain yourself to Miss Bennet, I'm sure she...
The upside to teen life online
Frankasaurus has a great blog post about her experiences growing up online, comparing the impact of chat rooms on a socially awkward teenagers with the experience of using social media today. As she writes about her early years in online chat: It wasn’t long before I...
For Oprah.com: Gifts for the geeky dad (even after Father’s Day)
Do you have a tech-loving Dad in your life? This post for Oprah.com offers great gift ideas to show him that he’s your favorite geek.
How to stop waiting by the inbox
I recently sent one of those e-mails that leaves you feeling like a shmuck. Not because of anything I wrote, but because I knew I would be obsessively checking my inbox every five minutes until I got a response. There are all kinds of reasons you might find yourself...
A balanced look at the mental impact of social media
"The Internet is distracting and isolating and diminishes our capacity for focused work." "The Internet is transformative and connecting and is making us steadily smarter." The conversation about the Internet's mental and social impact often feels like a debate...
Discovering family through a social media crisis
My latest blog post for Harvard Business Review tackles the challenge of surviving a social media emergency. It was inspired by what turned out to be a minor emergency: the earthquake that rattled most of central Canada yesterday. As it happened, I was in Ottawa at...
Patrolling the boundaries in social networking
Rob Jewitt, a lecturer in Media Studies at the University of Sunderland, writes about the university's recently introduced social networking site for students. Embedded in his description of the site's features are some interesting reflections on the kinds of...
OneZero
An open design process for SIMCentre.ca
This post appears today on the site of the Social + Interactive Media Centre at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Shh...don't tell anyone, but we're redesigning our website. That's the standard attitude towards website redesign, at least since the (merciful!)...
Get visual inspiration from Pinterest
I'm trying out Pinterest, which I'd describe as a social bookmarking system for images. You create "Pinboards" of images you like, and "pin" items onto the board when you spot something you like online. The site's default pinboards suggest likely uses: keeping track...
Blogging hubris
Yesterday I made the mistake of bragging about how well I've been doing with my daily blogging practice. And tonight I thought I'd knock off a quick blog post that would keep me in my groove. Instead I found myself learning the ins and outs of last.fm, playlistify and...
Using Syncplicity and Dropbox to put Google Docs on your desktop
How to cope with your life as a social media celebrity
I think that, in a way, we're all sort of acting like celebrities have to act, where you have personal persona and a public persona. You think about what you want to share with your fans. I know that's how a lot of people feel about using Twitter, where, by default,...
Calling all geeks: Are you ready for the GeekOff challenge?
Working as a person of the female persuasion in the world of tech, I mostly do pretty well being surrounded by a lot of guys a lot of the time. My Women's Studies degree may not have fully prepared me for my day-to-day life, but I've found that I enjoy the energy of...
What’s really hurting your relationships?
Today's paper has an article about how hard it is to preserve tight family relationships in a world where we have so many other relationships. It offered 10 signs your friendships might be hurting your family relationships: You can't get through a meal without having...
Call for Papers: Social Media in Higher Education
The Internet and Higher Education has issued a call for papers for a forthcoming special issue on Social Media in Higher Education (PDF). The issue will be edited by Stefan Hrastinksi and Vanessa Dennen. In the call, the editors note: In this special issue, we would...
JSTOR DAILY
An open design process for SIMCentre.ca
This post appears today on the site of the Social + Interactive Media Centre at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Shh...don't tell anyone, but we're redesigning our website. That's the standard attitude towards website redesign, at least since the (merciful!)...
Get visual inspiration from Pinterest
I'm trying out Pinterest, which I'd describe as a social bookmarking system for images. You create "Pinboards" of images you like, and "pin" items onto the board when you spot something you like online. The site's default pinboards suggest likely uses: keeping track...
Blogging hubris
Yesterday I made the mistake of bragging about how well I've been doing with my daily blogging practice. And tonight I thought I'd knock off a quick blog post that would keep me in my groove. Instead I found myself learning the ins and outs of last.fm, playlistify and...
Using Syncplicity and Dropbox to put Google Docs on your desktop
How to cope with your life as a social media celebrity
I think that, in a way, we're all sort of acting like celebrities have to act, where you have personal persona and a public persona. You think about what you want to share with your fans. I know that's how a lot of people feel about using Twitter, where, by default,...
Calling all geeks: Are you ready for the GeekOff challenge?
Working as a person of the female persuasion in the world of tech, I mostly do pretty well being surrounded by a lot of guys a lot of the time. My Women's Studies degree may not have fully prepared me for my day-to-day life, but I've found that I enjoy the energy of...
What’s really hurting your relationships?
Today's paper has an article about how hard it is to preserve tight family relationships in a world where we have so many other relationships. It offered 10 signs your friendships might be hurting your family relationships: You can't get through a meal without having...
Call for Papers: Social Media in Higher Education
The Internet and Higher Education has issued a call for papers for a forthcoming special issue on Social Media in Higher Education (PDF). The issue will be edited by Stefan Hrastinksi and Vanessa Dennen. In the call, the editors note: In this special issue, we would...
THE VERGE
Social media opportunities for film and television
How can you conceive the social media project that will enrich your production company, broadcast network, film or TV show? That was the core question I spoke to today at Women in Film & Television Toronto, as part of their International Women in Digital Media...
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...