Publications

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Do social networks make birthdays better?

Do social networks make birthdays better?

Today is my 39th birthday. Among other things this means I've now spent 2/3 of my life online, since we got our first computer when I was 13. (Apparently it also means that a year from now I'll be forty, which all my forty something women friends tell me will be the...

5 solutions that clean up your address book

Don't limit your spring cleaning to tidying your linen cupboard and sweeping the dust bunnies out from under your bed. You computer needs cleaning too! Why clean, you ask? With hard drive space getting cheaper every day, the time it takes you to clean will be worth...

Spice up your dates with technology

Spice up your dates with technology

The new Italian restaurant in our neighborhood was the perfect place to celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary. We settled into a cozy table for two and turned our attention to the menu. It wouldn't be easy to decide on our courses: The menu included almost too many...

How to use your iPad for family multitasking

How to use your iPad for family multitasking

Yesterday's blog post about the merits of buying an iPad provoked some questions about overconsumption, as well as a shout-out from a fellow sofa commuter. In the tug-of-war between buying a device that is sofa optimized, versus buying one less thing because we...

Should you buy an iPad?

Should you buy an iPad?

Last weekend we made the great pilgrimage across the border so that we could get iPads on the day of their release. The iPad won't be available in Canada until the end of the month, and it seemed unfathomable to wait 20 days for a product that actually describes...

Even in a virtual world, where you live still matters

Even in a virtual world, where you live still matters

One of the fantasies that comes from living online is that it doesn't matter where you are based if you're hooked into the net. But in the process of disentangling my online address book -- arguably essential to living life online -- I came across a great interview...

The Harvard Business Review

Do social networks make birthdays better?

Do social networks make birthdays better?

Today is my 39th birthday. Among other things this means I've now spent 2/3 of my life online, since we got our first computer when I was 13. (Apparently it also means that a year from now I'll be forty, which all my forty something women friends tell me will be the...

5 solutions that clean up your address book

Don't limit your spring cleaning to tidying your linen cupboard and sweeping the dust bunnies out from under your bed. You computer needs cleaning too! Why clean, you ask? With hard drive space getting cheaper every day, the time it takes you to clean will be worth...

Spice up your dates with technology

Spice up your dates with technology

The new Italian restaurant in our neighborhood was the perfect place to celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary. We settled into a cozy table for two and turned our attention to the menu. It wouldn't be easy to decide on our courses: The menu included almost too many...

How to use your iPad for family multitasking

How to use your iPad for family multitasking

Yesterday's blog post about the merits of buying an iPad provoked some questions about overconsumption, as well as a shout-out from a fellow sofa commuter. In the tug-of-war between buying a device that is sofa optimized, versus buying one less thing because we...

Should you buy an iPad?

Should you buy an iPad?

Last weekend we made the great pilgrimage across the border so that we could get iPads on the day of their release. The iPad won't be available in Canada until the end of the month, and it seemed unfathomable to wait 20 days for a product that actually describes...

Even in a virtual world, where you live still matters

Even in a virtual world, where you live still matters

One of the fantasies that comes from living online is that it doesn't matter where you are based if you're hooked into the net. But in the process of disentangling my online address book -- arguably essential to living life online -- I came across a great interview...

OneZero

Tweeting the daily life of our future-ancient world

Tweeting the daily life of our future-ancient world

Bill Caraher's post on Historical Figures in Social Media drew my attention to a bevvy of ancient worlders now tweeting away: iTweetus (a Roman soldier), iHerodotus (Greek historian), and Plutarch (ditto). I love the mashup of old-nerd-meets-new-nerd, which reminds me...

If we didn’t have computers…

If we didn’t have computers…

LOVE Social Media but If we didn't have computers-wouldn't need #SocialMediab/c we wouldn't have stopped being social in the 1st place. When I first shared this interesting tweet from online pal Brenda Johima, it was with some reservations. After mulling it over for a...

Crowdsourcing my identity: an art experiment

Crowdsourcing my identity: an art experiment

The phenomenon of Pecha Kucha -- presentations in which a speaker addresses 20 slides for 20 seconds each -- has overtaken unconferences and WhateverCamps as the hottest format for professional gatherings. So I was interested to see a Pecha Kucha veteran tackle the...

JSTOR DAILY

Tweeting the daily life of our future-ancient world

Tweeting the daily life of our future-ancient world

Bill Caraher's post on Historical Figures in Social Media drew my attention to a bevvy of ancient worlders now tweeting away: iTweetus (a Roman soldier), iHerodotus (Greek historian), and Plutarch (ditto). I love the mashup of old-nerd-meets-new-nerd, which reminds me...

If we didn’t have computers…

If we didn’t have computers…

LOVE Social Media but If we didn't have computers-wouldn't need #SocialMediab/c we wouldn't have stopped being social in the 1st place. When I first shared this interesting tweet from online pal Brenda Johima, it was with some reservations. After mulling it over for a...

Crowdsourcing my identity: an art experiment

Crowdsourcing my identity: an art experiment

The phenomenon of Pecha Kucha -- presentations in which a speaker addresses 20 slides for 20 seconds each -- has overtaken unconferences and WhateverCamps as the hottest format for professional gatherings. So I was interested to see a Pecha Kucha veteran tackle the...

THE VERGE

Does social media have to make you happy?

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,...