Blogging for Tickets. Am I Selling Out?...

I'm torn at the moment. Ethically speaking, I made the right decision. Practically speaking, I'm disappointed. You may be aware that journalists and bloggers are sometimes offered free stuff in exchange for media coverage of some sort. This free stuff may come in the form of anything from products to services to tickets.

How Not to Use Twitter For Business (DMV Edition)...

Ugh. Does anyone like dealing with the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles)? Seldom does a day go by without seeing a tweet or a post from some tortured soul waiting in a painfully long line at the DMV. Similar to that other beloved public agency, the IRS, the DMV has a reputation for confusing processes, no sense of customer service and an infrastructure stuck in the technological dark ages.

Facebook Groups: Privacy Bait and Switch?...

There was this little get-together for tech reporters at Facebook headquarters today. You may have heard about it. Whenever Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, summons an audience because he’s got something to announce about Facebook, life as we know it grinds to a halt. Or so it seems.

Practice Safe Clicking...

To my friends who have received the bossy emails from me lately, I'm sorry. I tried to be nice when I told you to change your password right away and delete all the posts you'd sent to your friends. I know you didn't like hearing about this. I'm sorry, but I've got to say, it's not me, it's you.

How Facebook Hurt My Feelings...

I'm a fairly self-assured person. Sure, I have days where I wonder about my place in the world or why, despite my best efforts, I continue to have jiggly arms. Still, most days, I'm confident of my abilities, my fabulous sense of humor, my remarkably average looks and my good fortune to know lots of killer-smart people. How, then, with all this self-confidence, did Facebook manage to hurt my feelings?

Facebook Tip: How To Choose Who Can See Your Friends...

If it feels like it is next to impossible to keep up with all of the changes Facebook seems to implement on a weekly basis, you are definitely not alone. What's public? What's private? How do I know who is seeing what I post? Staying on top of all the changes can be an overwhelming task indeed. One of the many recent tweaks which hasn't received much coverage is the ability to control who sees your list of friends. Most people don't seem to mind if the world can see who they're connected to on Facebook. Then again, is it that they don't mind or that they didn't know that they had a choice about it?

How Not to Use Twitter for Business (FroYo Edition)...

I was a rabid frozen yogurt fan when it was all the rage in the 1980s. Then, like all good things I loved, it was sent out to pasture with my severely wide-legged pants, sweaters with shoulder pads and my Lionel Richie records*. The period of mourning has long since passed, but imagine my delight to see that frozen yogurt is now *in* once again. I was thrilled to see a new frozen yogurt shop open within walking distance of my home. OK, so it is wildly overpriced, but it's there and that's all that matters when I want a fix.

New Tool Makes My Email Work Harder and Smarter...

Remember the old days when we began to use email for business communication and to send messages to multiple people simultaneously? Ok, so maybe I'm the only one who remembers when that was a big deal. It seems like eons ago, long before we tweeted and poked to get someone's attention. Not so fast. Email is still as important and relevant as it ever was. Two primary differences between email then and email now for me are:

Just Because We’re Social Networking “Friends...

Where did the romance go? When did we stop asking, "Tell me about yourself," "Do you like to take long walks on the beach?" or even the tired old line, "What's your sign?" Suddenly, upon meeting someone new, they immediately try to score and ask me to go over to their place to seal the deal.

Social Networking Friends vs. Real Life Friends...

While many of us use social networking tools differently, most of us struggle with similar questions and challenges. Should I connect only with family and good friends on Facebook and only business contacts on LinkedIn? How secure should I feel when using Facebook's privacy settings to determine which groups of friends can or cannot see particular photos? Should I be concerned when someone tags me in a photo or I comment on someone else's post?