There has been some egregiously bad decision making in the news lately, highlighted by the revelations around now-former Congressman Anthony Weiner's ongoing sexually explicit Twitter conversations and photo sharing with six women. And just to show you that this post isn't a partisan attack, let's not forget the similarly bad decision making of also-recently-resigned Republican [...]
I just started writing a new book that focuses on the impact of new technology on children. As I was writing one particular chapter, it struck me that the ideas within had relevance to all of us as we navigate the growing digital landscape. I see two fundamental differences between connected life, that is, life [...]
If you've followed my tech-related blog posts over the last few years (if you haven't, you can catch up here), you know that I have real concerns and what I consider to be some healthy skepticism about the impact of new technology and social media on people, particularly their biggest consumers, children and young people. I [...]
This post is the third (and hopefully final) in an unplanned series on helping my wife choose a smartphone to replace her Palm Centro (with no data plan). As the family CTO, I must strike a delicate balance between making sure my wife is comfortable with her new phone and “informing” and “encouraging” her about [...]
As I noted in Part I of my "A New Smartphone for My Wife" series, I am in search of the best smartphone for my wife. She is NOT a techie and just came from a Palm Centro without a data plan, so getting a smartphone is big technological step up for her. And, despite all of [...]
About a month ago, my wife decided it was time to join the 21st century and upgrade her Palm Centro (with no data plan) to a real smartphone. I had just completed her transition from separate phone contacts and calendar on her Palm and another set of email contacts in her Yahoo! account to a [...]
The march of technology is inevitable and inexorable. We can’t stop it or even slow it down and we definitely can’t reverse it (nor should we want to). As I have noted in a previous post, one of my concerns is that this progress is so rapid that we don’t have time to determine or [...]
Recent research that has been making the media rounds lately has reported that when people are focused on a task they indicate that they are happier than when their mind wanders. This research is obviously not breaking news for the tens of millions of Buddhists and uncounted others who have experienced the phenomenon of being [...]
Facebook founder and CEO, baby-faced billionaire, and unintended star of a hit (don’t miss the double meaning) film Mark Zuckerberg announced last week that it will soon be offering a new messaging system, Facebook Messages, that integrates email (so 20th century), IM, SMS, Facebook, and other social media into one seamless stream of cyber-communication. With [...]
The next time you're walking down the street, at the gym, in an elevator, out for a run, or even at your local coffee shop, look at the people around you and tell me what you see. What I notice is the ubiquity of people with headphones in their ears. Though not quite in the [...]