Publications
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
How I’m going to go
This weekend has helped me identify the most likely scenarios for my own demise: Buried under mismatched wineglasses. Suffocated by a dishtowel avalanche. Arm spontaneously separates after 18 continuous hours of drilling ceramic tile. Food poisoning from leftovers...
Wanted: Social media scrapbook service
The next chapter: Emily Carr University
I’m thrilled and honoured that I have been invited to join Emily Carr as the Director of the Centre for Moving Interaction. For the next two years, I’ll work with the students and faculty of Emily Carr to develop research programs that engage BC tech companies in exploring new opportunities for — and applications of — digital creativity. And as part of that work, I’ll do research that digs deeper into the strategic and social implications of social media.
The geek’s guide to child-proofing: how to keep your tech safe from baby
With the wisdom earned from six years’ of childraising, two destructive children and four or five figures’ worth of maimed technology, I’d like to weigh in on the neglected side of childproofing. Because once you’ve figured out how to keep your baby safe from your stuff, it’s time to figure out how to keep your stuff safe from baby.
Nonprofit technology starter pack
This is the third part of a 3-part post. The first part covers collaboration on nonprofit technology, and the second part lists 9 questions to ask before starting a nonprofit technology project. Whether you're getting started in nonprofit technology, or you've already...
9 questions to ask before starting a nonprofit technology project
Whether you’re a tech professional who wants to lend your time to a good cause, or an NGO that needs a new web site, your online efforts can benefit not just one organization, but many organizations facing similar challenges and opportunities. These 9 questions will ensure your nonprofit project has the maximum impact.
Collaboration on nonprofit technology in academia and beyond
I'm currently attending the International Digital Media and Arts Association's annual conference, which primarily draws academics who work and teach in digital media. This afternoon's panel on Innovations in Teaching/Learning: Public Service/Civil Engagement...
Watch and record HD TV on your Mac — now in Canada!
If you want to turn your Mac into a TV set or PVR (personal video recorder) you have a few good options -- unless you want to record in High Definition (HD). HD recording takes advantage of that large TV or LCD you've plugged into your Mac, and is the only option for...
Is Twitter devouring itself?
Twitter lists have been around for all of one week and already there is a site that exists to make a list of lists. So I am hereby inaugurating my new Twitter destination site, consisting of this one page, on which I will offer a definitive list of the lists of Twitter lists.
How a bad haircut created the risk tolerance to go open-source
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When I was a kid I had the shortest hair of any girl in my class because my mum couldn’t face the hassle of hair maintenance. As soon as I got old enough to take care of it myself, I grew my hair as long as possible, and by the time I graduated from university it reached halfway down my back. Then I got my first real job and needed a grown-up look, so I gritted my teeth and asked for a modest trim. Instead, my stylist sheared me back to my ear-baring elementary school years, and I left the salon in an emotional state usually reserved for breakups and natural disasters.
That trauma led to an important discovery: hair grows back.
The Harvard Business Review
How I’m going to go
This weekend has helped me identify the most likely scenarios for my own demise: Buried under mismatched wineglasses. Suffocated by a dishtowel avalanche. Arm spontaneously separates after 18 continuous hours of drilling ceramic tile. Food poisoning from leftovers...
Wanted: Social media scrapbook service
The next chapter: Emily Carr University
I’m thrilled and honoured that I have been invited to join Emily Carr as the Director of the Centre for Moving Interaction. For the next two years, I’ll work with the students and faculty of Emily Carr to develop research programs that engage BC tech companies in exploring new opportunities for — and applications of — digital creativity. And as part of that work, I’ll do research that digs deeper into the strategic and social implications of social media.
The geek’s guide to child-proofing: how to keep your tech safe from baby
With the wisdom earned from six years’ of childraising, two destructive children and four or five figures’ worth of maimed technology, I’d like to weigh in on the neglected side of childproofing. Because once you’ve figured out how to keep your baby safe from your stuff, it’s time to figure out how to keep your stuff safe from baby.
Nonprofit technology starter pack
This is the third part of a 3-part post. The first part covers collaboration on nonprofit technology, and the second part lists 9 questions to ask before starting a nonprofit technology project. Whether you're getting started in nonprofit technology, or you've already...
9 questions to ask before starting a nonprofit technology project
Whether you’re a tech professional who wants to lend your time to a good cause, or an NGO that needs a new web site, your online efforts can benefit not just one organization, but many organizations facing similar challenges and opportunities. These 9 questions will ensure your nonprofit project has the maximum impact.
Collaboration on nonprofit technology in academia and beyond
I'm currently attending the International Digital Media and Arts Association's annual conference, which primarily draws academics who work and teach in digital media. This afternoon's panel on Innovations in Teaching/Learning: Public Service/Civil Engagement...
Watch and record HD TV on your Mac — now in Canada!
If you want to turn your Mac into a TV set or PVR (personal video recorder) you have a few good options -- unless you want to record in High Definition (HD). HD recording takes advantage of that large TV or LCD you've plugged into your Mac, and is the only option for...
Is Twitter devouring itself?
Twitter lists have been around for all of one week and already there is a site that exists to make a list of lists. So I am hereby inaugurating my new Twitter destination site, consisting of this one page, on which I will offer a definitive list of the lists of Twitter lists.
How a bad haircut created the risk tolerance to go open-source
<
When I was a kid I had the shortest hair of any girl in my class because my mum couldn’t face the hassle of hair maintenance. As soon as I got old enough to take care of it myself, I grew my hair as long as possible, and by the time I graduated from university it reached halfway down my back. Then I got my first real job and needed a grown-up look, so I gritted my teeth and asked for a modest trim. Instead, my stylist sheared me back to my ear-baring elementary school years, and I left the salon in an emotional state usually reserved for breakups and natural disasters.
That trauma led to an important discovery: hair grows back.
OneZero
The Social Network: A Good Movie That’s Not About Social Networking
Singin’ in the Rain has been my favorite movie for almost 30 years. It’s got classic music, extraordinary dancing and,…
13 tips for using Facebook events instead of pages, groups or apps
If you’re creating a participatory project on Facebook, consider creating an event rather than a Facebook page. An event can provide an easy way of inviting people into your Facebook conversation, and you can use these 13 tips to make the most of it.
Coming to terms with groupness, on- and offline
How your life online can satisfy your need for belonging, community and “groupness”.
Locative technologies help us redefine what presence means
Simon King has a provocative blog post about the relationship between using technologies on-location, and actually being present in the location where you're checking. He begins by comparing e-readers and smartphones to books or magazines: In my experience, there is a...
Eat my words: a dinner club for copy editors
Rob and I love to go out for dinner, but food is rarely the highlight of the meal. Usually, the high point is the process of copy editing the menu. It's rare (virtually unheard of!) for us to dine at a restaurant that is typo-free, grammatically correct and...
Show + Tech: What I did on my summer vacation
Stinky socks. Talking dogs. Dancing jelly beans. We got to see all of the above -- and more! -- at the SIM Centre's inaugural show + tech. Show + tech is a chance for members of Vancouver's business, art and technology communities to connect with the faculty, students...
3 ways short links can help you drive traffic to your blog or web site
This week I showed a colleague a few of my favorite tricks with link shorteners -- you know, the services that replace http://www.YourVeryLongURL.com/then-the-directory-name/plus-the-long-name-of-that-specific-page with http://bit.ly/sh0rtl1nks. After sharing some...
Strengthening weak ties online: A first response to Gladwell’s take on social media activism
Malcolm Gladwell has a new piece on Twitter, Facebook and social activism that is a must-read for people working at the intersection of politics and technology, and which feels especially timely after spending the past five days at Web of Change. He argues that the...
JSTOR DAILY
The Social Network: A Good Movie That’s Not About Social Networking
Singin’ in the Rain has been my favorite movie for almost 30 years. It’s got classic music, extraordinary dancing and,…
13 tips for using Facebook events instead of pages, groups or apps
If you’re creating a participatory project on Facebook, consider creating an event rather than a Facebook page. An event can provide an easy way of inviting people into your Facebook conversation, and you can use these 13 tips to make the most of it.
Coming to terms with groupness, on- and offline
How your life online can satisfy your need for belonging, community and “groupness”.
Locative technologies help us redefine what presence means
Simon King has a provocative blog post about the relationship between using technologies on-location, and actually being present in the location where you're checking. He begins by comparing e-readers and smartphones to books or magazines: In my experience, there is a...
Eat my words: a dinner club for copy editors
Rob and I love to go out for dinner, but food is rarely the highlight of the meal. Usually, the high point is the process of copy editing the menu. It's rare (virtually unheard of!) for us to dine at a restaurant that is typo-free, grammatically correct and...
Show + Tech: What I did on my summer vacation
Stinky socks. Talking dogs. Dancing jelly beans. We got to see all of the above -- and more! -- at the SIM Centre's inaugural show + tech. Show + tech is a chance for members of Vancouver's business, art and technology communities to connect with the faculty, students...
3 ways short links can help you drive traffic to your blog or web site
This week I showed a colleague a few of my favorite tricks with link shorteners -- you know, the services that replace http://www.YourVeryLongURL.com/then-the-directory-name/plus-the-long-name-of-that-specific-page with http://bit.ly/sh0rtl1nks. After sharing some...
Strengthening weak ties online: A first response to Gladwell’s take on social media activism
Malcolm Gladwell has a new piece on Twitter, Facebook and social activism that is a must-read for people working at the intersection of politics and technology, and which feels especially timely after spending the past five days at Web of Change. He argues that the...
THE VERGE
Your online relationships: Top posts of 2011
Working with social media: top 11 posts of 2011
What the Internet did for you in 2011
My year-end post for the Harvard Business Review asked the question, What did the Internet do for you this year? In that post, I wrote: Appreciating the moments when our online work and lives just click tells us that all this time we spend online is not a compulsion,...
