Publications
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
My Obama mama
My mom turns 70 on November 16th and insists there’s nothing she wants for her birthday other than photos of her grandchildren. I know the one thing that would thrill her even more: being present at Barack Obama’s inauguration.
Reframe it offers collaboration in context
ReframeIt takes a pragmatic approach to in-context annotation. Install their Firefox extension and you can annotate any web page, share your annotations with the audience(s) of your choice, and read what other people are saying about that page.
Status update: Twittering your way to effective (and expressive) communication
Like many forms of online conversation, status updates make it easy to confuse the expressive value of communication with the effective value of communicaiton. I’m concerned about the expressive value of communication when I’m “getting something off my chest”, “speaking my truth”, or engaging in some form of creative expression. I’m concerned about the effective value of communication when I’m trying to get you to hear me, listen to me, or understand me.
Comments vs spam
Just realized that the incessant deluge of comment spam had masked a number of comments unrelated to Viagra, porn and serial number cracks. I've approved a bunch of actual genuine comments tonight, some going back to 2007 ....thanks for your patience, faithful...
How to hack your tech to-do list
Leg shaving, nail filing, face cleansing, sunscreening, brow shaping, lip conditioning ….well, it gets to be quite a bit of work. I’ve now been a computer owner for almost as long as I’ve been a magazine reader, and I’m afraid the challenges of tech maintenance are even more relentless than the challenges of beauty maintenance.
Take note of Evernote (especially if you’re an iPhone user)
Since upgrading to a 3G iPhone, I’ve gone on periodic app binges in which I download every app that looks remotely interesting and take it for a whirl. So far, the best discovery I’ve made is a free app called Evernote — and it’s changed my computer use even more dramatically than it’s affected the way I use my iPhone.
Turned off by bad news? Try our special Olympic-friendly Internet!
I'm delighted to be writing this post as a OneWebDay ambassador. OneWebDay, which takes place on September 22, is a global day to celebrate the Internet, and the values that make the Internet such an essential part of our society.
Turned off by bad news? Try our special Olympic-friendly Inter…
I’m delighted to be writing this post as a OneWebDay ambassador. OneWebDay, which takes place on September 22, is a global day to celebrate the Internet, and the values that make the Internet such an essential part of our society.
Halfway to hex: Anniversary gifts for geeks
To celebrate our half-hex wedding anniversary, we created a new, geek-friendly set of recommended anniversary gifts.
Online collaboration for your right brain, part 1: an introduction to digital mind mapping
Most online collaboration tools engage your left brain: that part of you that likes structure and organization, and supports linear, sequential thinking. Collaborative mind mapping, on the other hand, engages the right side of your brain by helping you think visually — together and online.
The Harvard Business Review
My Obama mama
My mom turns 70 on November 16th and insists there’s nothing she wants for her birthday other than photos of her grandchildren. I know the one thing that would thrill her even more: being present at Barack Obama’s inauguration.
Reframe it offers collaboration in context
ReframeIt takes a pragmatic approach to in-context annotation. Install their Firefox extension and you can annotate any web page, share your annotations with the audience(s) of your choice, and read what other people are saying about that page.
Status update: Twittering your way to effective (and expressive) communication
Like many forms of online conversation, status updates make it easy to confuse the expressive value of communication with the effective value of communicaiton. I’m concerned about the expressive value of communication when I’m “getting something off my chest”, “speaking my truth”, or engaging in some form of creative expression. I’m concerned about the effective value of communication when I’m trying to get you to hear me, listen to me, or understand me.
Comments vs spam
Just realized that the incessant deluge of comment spam had masked a number of comments unrelated to Viagra, porn and serial number cracks. I've approved a bunch of actual genuine comments tonight, some going back to 2007 ....thanks for your patience, faithful...
How to hack your tech to-do list
Leg shaving, nail filing, face cleansing, sunscreening, brow shaping, lip conditioning ….well, it gets to be quite a bit of work. I’ve now been a computer owner for almost as long as I’ve been a magazine reader, and I’m afraid the challenges of tech maintenance are even more relentless than the challenges of beauty maintenance.
Take note of Evernote (especially if you’re an iPhone user)
Since upgrading to a 3G iPhone, I’ve gone on periodic app binges in which I download every app that looks remotely interesting and take it for a whirl. So far, the best discovery I’ve made is a free app called Evernote — and it’s changed my computer use even more dramatically than it’s affected the way I use my iPhone.
Turned off by bad news? Try our special Olympic-friendly Internet!
I'm delighted to be writing this post as a OneWebDay ambassador. OneWebDay, which takes place on September 22, is a global day to celebrate the Internet, and the values that make the Internet such an essential part of our society.
Turned off by bad news? Try our special Olympic-friendly Inter…
I’m delighted to be writing this post as a OneWebDay ambassador. OneWebDay, which takes place on September 22, is a global day to celebrate the Internet, and the values that make the Internet such an essential part of our society.
Halfway to hex: Anniversary gifts for geeks
To celebrate our half-hex wedding anniversary, we created a new, geek-friendly set of recommended anniversary gifts.
Online collaboration for your right brain, part 1: an introduction to digital mind mapping
Most online collaboration tools engage your left brain: that part of you that likes structure and organization, and supports linear, sequential thinking. Collaborative mind mapping, on the other hand, engages the right side of your brain by helping you think visually — together and online.
OneZero
For Oprah.com: Should you get an iPad for kids?
This post for Oprah.com lists the 5 questions to ask about using an iPad for kids, so you can decide whether to get one for your family.
5 solutions to hyperthinking and hypertasking
While working my way through the consultation paper on Canada's Digital Advantage, I found myself: investigating the best way to copy and paste text from a PDF to Evernote, leading to an open browser window with a series of tabs about various options for Mac/Evernote...
On the limitations of dotcom culture
Graham Hatch's blog post about privacy issues at Google and Facebook includes some interesting musings on the dotcom world: I’ve long had a sense that there is an assumption in the dotcom world which deems that because they are inventing the future they don’t really...
How to extend Canada’s “digital advantage” beyond the digital economy
How to turn the digital economy into a driver of business growth and community development.
10 tips on how to make a great iPad app (live blog)
I'm live blogging the news app demonstrations at Hacks/Hackers Unite, where we are seeing a variety of interesting applications for news gathering and delivery. Just as interesting, we're hearing the panel of judges reflect on what makes a compelling app, so I'm going...
Demo apps for iPad news (live blog)
I'm at Hacks Hackers Unite, where a group of eighty journalists ("hacks") and software developers ("hackers") have spent the weekend building demo apps that show the possibilities for news gathering and delivery on the iPad. You won't be able to download these apps...
My latest for Oprah.com: Is an iPad Right for Your Family?
"I got an iPad!" my daughter announces to a friend. "No honey, I got an iPad," I remind her. The argument over who the iPad belongs to is just one of the many wrinkles in our new life as The iPad Family. Self-serve movie watching, GodFinger addiction, bedtime stories...
The problem with social media “reputation management”
If you've been tracking the rise of social media services, you may have noticed how many are pitched as reputation management. "Reputation" is really just an efficient way of saying "what other people think about you". And if you look at just about any spiritual...
JSTOR DAILY
For Oprah.com: Should you get an iPad for kids?
This post for Oprah.com lists the 5 questions to ask about using an iPad for kids, so you can decide whether to get one for your family.
5 solutions to hyperthinking and hypertasking
While working my way through the consultation paper on Canada's Digital Advantage, I found myself: investigating the best way to copy and paste text from a PDF to Evernote, leading to an open browser window with a series of tabs about various options for Mac/Evernote...
On the limitations of dotcom culture
Graham Hatch's blog post about privacy issues at Google and Facebook includes some interesting musings on the dotcom world: I’ve long had a sense that there is an assumption in the dotcom world which deems that because they are inventing the future they don’t really...
How to extend Canada’s “digital advantage” beyond the digital economy
How to turn the digital economy into a driver of business growth and community development.
10 tips on how to make a great iPad app (live blog)
I'm live blogging the news app demonstrations at Hacks/Hackers Unite, where we are seeing a variety of interesting applications for news gathering and delivery. Just as interesting, we're hearing the panel of judges reflect on what makes a compelling app, so I'm going...
Demo apps for iPad news (live blog)
I'm at Hacks Hackers Unite, where a group of eighty journalists ("hacks") and software developers ("hackers") have spent the weekend building demo apps that show the possibilities for news gathering and delivery on the iPad. You won't be able to download these apps...
My latest for Oprah.com: Is an iPad Right for Your Family?
"I got an iPad!" my daughter announces to a friend. "No honey, I got an iPad," I remind her. The argument over who the iPad belongs to is just one of the many wrinkles in our new life as The iPad Family. Self-serve movie watching, GodFinger addiction, bedtime stories...
The problem with social media “reputation management”
If you've been tracking the rise of social media services, you may have noticed how many are pitched as reputation management. "Reputation" is really just an efficient way of saying "what other people think about you". And if you look at just about any spiritual...
THE VERGE
Imagining innovation in the Google era
Neal Stephenson has written an important essay, Innovation Starvation, which I discovered via Ron Burnett. In it he grapples with the decline in world-changing inventions, and focuses particularly on the potential role of science fiction as an inspiration for...
#RIPSteve
We live and love online because Steve Jobs saw that technology could satisfy not only our brains, but also our hearts. Read the rest in my blog post for Harvard Business Review, Steve Jobs, Father of Social Media.
Steve Jobs in 10 Infographics
Steve Jobs is the rare tech innovator who will be remembered as much for his aesthetics as for contributions to functionality. No wonder that so much of his legacy can be captured graphically: 1. The history For an at-a-glance overview of the intertwined histories of...
Can smartphones create stillness?
If you want to learn something about stillness, visit a kindergarten class. I spent about 45 minutes with Little Peanut and his classmates today, and it gave me a whole new perspective on quiet -- or the lack thereof. In the half-hour in which these 19 kids were in...