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Alive offline

Aug 4, 2010 |

If the Internet is addictive, then how come there's no withdrawal symptoms? I've been on vacation for three days and haven't blogged, barely tweeted, barely Facebooked, and have yet to check into a single location using the local version of FourSquare. It's hard to...

2 weeks of tips on meaningful living online

Aug 2, 2010 |

Unplugging is not the only way to take control of your relationship to the Internet. If you want to create a more meaningful life and a healthier world, there are ways to pursue that online as well as offline. But you need to find tools that are more nuanced than the...

Should you buy an iPad? The sequel: 4 reasons to buy a 3G iPad

Jul 26, 2010 | ,

It’s only been a little over three months since I got the first iPad — a 64 GB WiFi-only model that I picked up the day they were released. But I’ll be honest. As much as I’ve enjoyed playing Mirror’s Edge, my WiFi iPad felt like a big toy. After spending even more money, upgrading to the 64 GB iPad with WiFi and 3G, let me tell you: that $129 is worth every penny.

The risks of risk management

Jul 23, 2010 | ,

Risk may not be something you always want to limit online. This post tells you how raising the stakes of your online participation — by posting under your own name, by giving your blog’s URL to your colleagues, by being more candid and authentic in what you say online — can increase the value of your online engagement.

Defining the impact of social media on social capital

Jul 22, 2010 |

What are your online friendships worth to the community you live in? That's the practical question that is implicitly raised by Jon Hickman's interesting and slightly perplexing post on Social capital & social media. Hickman writes: ...as academics start to...

Twitter and be gay

Jul 21, 2010 |

Leone Kraus has a fantastic article that covers the particular social media challenges for LGBT folks. As she points out, a guy who keeps his sexual orientation off-the-radar at work may find himself outed online if he's tagged in a Facebook photo taken at a gay...