Latest publications
Read my latest stories for The Wall Street Journal, Passcode, The Harvard Business Review, JSTOR Daily and more.
Vancouver’s 12 best wifi cafés and restaurants
In my search for the perfect Internet café I’ve tried more than my share of Vancouver’s wifi-enabled cafés and restaurants. Just like Vancouver’s neighbourhoods, its wifi cafés and restaurants range from the scruffily hip to the chicly modern.
In this post I round up (and map!) the best of the good-to-great. Every place on this list has reliable Internet service, at least a few accessible power outlets, and decent coffee; on
The 10 ingredients that make a great wifi café
Some people prowl the earth in search of the world’s greatest Don Giovanni; others look for the finest shoemaker, the best bookstore, the ideal glass of Pinot Noir. I put my energy where it counts: the search for the perfect wifi café. While I’ve yet to find my Holy 802.11b-enabled Grail, i have pinpointed what makes for the perfect, laptop-friendly coffee spot.
Best tech gadgets of 2009 (so far)
Our contribution to the economic recovery took the form of feverish technology purchasing throughout April, May and early June. Now that the dust and Visa bills have settled, it’s time to stop and rate the roses.
The ratings I’ve assinged to our past 6 months of tech investments aren’t based on assessments of comparative products — though every product on the list was purchased after reading other people’s reviews and comparative
How to use social media to recruit your dream hire
From Harvard Business Online: my post about how social media can help employers find the best people for their team.
10 action recommendations based on Industry Canada’s Digital Economy conference
Today’s Digital Economy conference has surfaced the hunger for a serious effort at moving Canada back into a leadership position in the global digital economy. As the day has unfolded, many people have noted that we need to meet that hunger with a concrete action plan. Here’s my first crack at a set of recommendations, guided by our experience in the emergent field of social media, for both action and further dialogue.
Social media questions for Industry Canada’s conference on Canada’s Digital Economy
I’m at a Canadian Government’s conference in Ottawa today on “Canada’s Digital Economy: Moving Forward“. Since the conference seems to consist largely of folks from the “traditional” tech world, I’m curious to see how the panelists and audience engage with the question of how social media changes the challenges and opportunities for Canadian IT.
6 ways to customize your Mac’s Finder and user experience
Happily, it’s easier to tweak your Mac than to upgrade your boyfriend or girlfriend. Here are some adjustments that any new Mac user should undertake, or at least consider, until your computer is exactly right for you.
![Tony nominee [title of show] is a case study in social media creativity](https://www.alexandrasamuel.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/20090607-kqdh8auxx64w1q9ix4cx9fr3dr-1.png)
Tony nominee [title of show] is a case study in social media creativity
If you want to tap the expressive and marketing power of social media, you can learn a lot from the Tony-nominated [title of show].
12 questions for meaningful online conversations
My recent blog post for Harvard Business Online looks at how companies can best engage the Trojan Horse of social media, and it’s drawn some insightful comments.
4 Mac applications that make you more productive
Here are four Mac-only apps that will warm the heart of anyone who’s made the jump from Windows — and thrill long-time Mac users, too.