Publications
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
How to password-protect yourself from iPhone addiction
iPhone contact has become reflexive. The five minutes before a meeting, the two-minute walk to the coffee shop, the 10 seconds between parking the car and walking in the front door: they’re all moments when I automatically reach for the iPhone.
If my iPhone were a cigarette, I’d be a chain smoker. If my iPhone were a bottle of scotch, I’d be a hard-core alcoholic. If it were a rosary I’d be a religious zealot.
There’s nothing I could touch as frequently as I touch my iPhone without looking like a total freak.
What makes me think that the constant, obsessive iPhone contact is any less freaky? Or more to the point, any less addictive?
On Oprah.com: Great dates that take your marriage online
This post for Oprah.com shows how the social media can take your marriage online — with a great date offline.
Kill your tech truths
We’re taught to think of technologies as constants…and so we fall into thinking of tech in absolutes, and getting attached to truths that hold us back more than they help us. Here are 10 tech truths you would do well to question.
Confidential to Beer Guy
You know who you are. In the card-swapping frenzy that is SXSW, I'm not surprised to have a conversation interrupted so that somebody can give me his card, and ask for mine. It was only later that it seemed like a really, really bad idea for you to give me yours. I...
From HBR.org: Five Unsolved Problems Social Media Could Fix
Check out the panels or exhibitors at this year’s SXSW and you’ll see how many longstanding social media and web…
Why I love my new job
When I came into work today, I found that somebody had knit a handle-cosy onto the front door of Emily Carr, and around the pipe just inside. This is why working at an art university rocks.
The next tech revolution is here and now
The next tech revolution is underway. It's not the dawn of the semantic web, or the mobile web, or web 3.0 or any of these buzzwords. This revolution is about the people using technology, not the technology itself. It seems like the tech industry is finally waking up...
SXSW X SWAG
Separating my SXSW swag into “take it home” and “throw it out” piles shows what makes for good, memorable promotional materials.
Staying Immune to the Hype Virus at SXSW
I’m heading off this week to SXSW Interactive, the annual geekfest that remains the only place where I have actually…
Now on Oprah.com: Spice Up Your Dates With Technology
My first post for Oprah.com shares six ideas for how technology can make for better dates.
The Harvard Business Review
How to password-protect yourself from iPhone addiction
iPhone contact has become reflexive. The five minutes before a meeting, the two-minute walk to the coffee shop, the 10 seconds between parking the car and walking in the front door: they’re all moments when I automatically reach for the iPhone.
If my iPhone were a cigarette, I’d be a chain smoker. If my iPhone were a bottle of scotch, I’d be a hard-core alcoholic. If it were a rosary I’d be a religious zealot.
There’s nothing I could touch as frequently as I touch my iPhone without looking like a total freak.
What makes me think that the constant, obsessive iPhone contact is any less freaky? Or more to the point, any less addictive?
On Oprah.com: Great dates that take your marriage online
This post for Oprah.com shows how the social media can take your marriage online — with a great date offline.
Kill your tech truths
We’re taught to think of technologies as constants…and so we fall into thinking of tech in absolutes, and getting attached to truths that hold us back more than they help us. Here are 10 tech truths you would do well to question.
Confidential to Beer Guy
You know who you are. In the card-swapping frenzy that is SXSW, I'm not surprised to have a conversation interrupted so that somebody can give me his card, and ask for mine. It was only later that it seemed like a really, really bad idea for you to give me yours. I...
From HBR.org: Five Unsolved Problems Social Media Could Fix
Check out the panels or exhibitors at this year’s SXSW and you’ll see how many longstanding social media and web…
Why I love my new job
When I came into work today, I found that somebody had knit a handle-cosy onto the front door of Emily Carr, and around the pipe just inside. This is why working at an art university rocks.
The next tech revolution is here and now
The next tech revolution is underway. It's not the dawn of the semantic web, or the mobile web, or web 3.0 or any of these buzzwords. This revolution is about the people using technology, not the technology itself. It seems like the tech industry is finally waking up...
SXSW X SWAG
Separating my SXSW swag into “take it home” and “throw it out” piles shows what makes for good, memorable promotional materials.
Staying Immune to the Hype Virus at SXSW
I’m heading off this week to SXSW Interactive, the annual geekfest that remains the only place where I have actually…
Now on Oprah.com: Spice Up Your Dates With Technology
My first post for Oprah.com shares six ideas for how technology can make for better dates.
OneZero
Five Ways Twitter Can Help You Conquer Distraction
If you were going to design the perfect distraction, you’d probably make it irresistibly urgent, gossipy, and/or funny. You’d design…
How Twitter lists can keep you connected to the relationships that matter most
Happiness in 140 characters: building relationships with Twitter
Cool Stuff My Friends Sent Me This Week
One of the things I love about the Internet is its habit of bringing us little presents. No, I'm not talking about the complete set of Reboot action figures that I purchased on eBay for my retro-animation-obsessed kids. I'm talking about all those groovy little finds...
Introducing App Girl
This is a cautionary tale about the dangers of introducing children to technology. Four weeks ago, it was time for the annual ritual of Hallowe'en costume selection. Most years, I have the energy to make one costume, which means that one kid get storebought and one...
Vancouver Sun list of 100 influential women in BC shows influence beyond Twitter
I woke up this morning to the delightful discovery that the Vancouver Sun included me in their list of BC's top 100 influential women. With company like Alison Lawton, Cindy Lee, Susan Yurkovich, Annabel Lyon, Sarah McLachlan, Meeru Dhalwala, Cornelia Oberlander, and...
Social media for journalists: 10 essential tools
Social media for journalists: 9 feeds for your iGoogle dashboard
JSTOR DAILY
Five Ways Twitter Can Help You Conquer Distraction
If you were going to design the perfect distraction, you’d probably make it irresistibly urgent, gossipy, and/or funny. You’d design…
How Twitter lists can keep you connected to the relationships that matter most
Happiness in 140 characters: building relationships with Twitter
Cool Stuff My Friends Sent Me This Week
One of the things I love about the Internet is its habit of bringing us little presents. No, I'm not talking about the complete set of Reboot action figures that I purchased on eBay for my retro-animation-obsessed kids. I'm talking about all those groovy little finds...
Introducing App Girl
This is a cautionary tale about the dangers of introducing children to technology. Four weeks ago, it was time for the annual ritual of Hallowe'en costume selection. Most years, I have the energy to make one costume, which means that one kid get storebought and one...
Vancouver Sun list of 100 influential women in BC shows influence beyond Twitter
I woke up this morning to the delightful discovery that the Vancouver Sun included me in their list of BC's top 100 influential women. With company like Alison Lawton, Cindy Lee, Susan Yurkovich, Annabel Lyon, Sarah McLachlan, Meeru Dhalwala, Cornelia Oberlander, and...
Social media for journalists: 10 essential tools
Social media for journalists: 9 feeds for your iGoogle dashboard
THE VERGE
Protect your intention span from the distractions of social media
Tonight I coined the term "intention span" to refer to the amount of time that passes between intending to work on something and actually starting work. Intention span: The amount of time that passes between intending to work on something and actually starting to work...
Blockbuster reminds us to make way for the new
Ever since it was announced that Blockbuster would close its remaining stores, I've wondered what would happen at the corner of Broadway and Blenheim. A wifi-wielding coffee shop? A wildly out-of-place H&M? An all-you-can-eat, gluten- and sugar-free cake buffet?...
Video: 10 reasons to stop apologizing for your online life
It's time to stop apologizing for your life online. That was the central message of my talk at TEDx Victoria in November, now on YouTube. From valuing your online attention to taking your online creativity seriously as real art, I argue that we can only unlock the...
Excel template: 7 steps to achieving your goals
Do you have trouble making good on your New Year's resolutions? Do you have a hard time staying focused on your most important work? Do you simply get overwhelmed by all the tasks on your plate, and worry about how to get them all done? When I'm trying to stay on...