Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.
The world of social media is a lot of fun, and can be incredibly useful – it’s a great place to find new things, have conversations, and be a part of worlds you’d never get a chance to know otherwise.
Sometimes, though, being social isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sometimes I don’t want people wading through and commenting on my bookmarks, or looking at pictures I only want my friends to see. I don’t want all my thoughts exposed to the world and discussed by the public at large. I just want to take advantage of all the things that the Web offers – universal access, synchronization, control over sharing (and not “control” like Facebook gives you). I want to be opted out, not opted in.
Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.
First, let me just get this out of the way – I’m not suggesting that you travel digitally. Second Life is fun, and some websites have really realistic pictures of vacation spots, but nothing replaces the real thing. Yet.
What I am suggesting is that travel doesn’t have to be as stressful as it is. From the planning of the location, to the booking of the tickets, to the traveling itself, there are all kinds of annoying and frustrating obstacles that you’ll encounter. Luckily, there’s a digital answer to almost every one. With a new job myself, one that’s likely going to have me traveling a fair amount, I’ve been on a hunt for the best solutions to make every phase of the travel experience better.
Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.
Reading websites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook and the like in a magazine-style format has become all the rage recently. The format is something of a reversion back to the layout we’re all used to, after reading newspapers and magazines (the dead-tree type. I know, old. But it’s cool and retro now, kind of like using old-timey headsets for your iPhone), but in a way that takes advantage of the new, faster technology we’re getting used to as well.
The basic function of a number of different apps (Flipboard, Early Edition, and Feedly to name a few) is the same – take your feeds or streams from sites like Twitter and Facebook, and lay them out like a magazine. The result is easy to read, much better to navigate, and makes a lot more sense to a reader than the never-ending streams that these apps normally default to.
Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.
There’s no shortage of places to find cheap stuff on the Web – in fact, it’s hard not to find cheap things when you look for more than a quarter of a second.
The frustrating thing about those sites is almost always one of two things: there are either hoops that you’ll have to jump through to get these great deals, or the deals are for really, really crappy things. If you know what you want, finding a deal on it is usually possible (always, always Google “yourproductname coupons” before you buy something), but it’s harder when you’re not so sure. So how do you find cool stuff?
Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.
The advent of the Web has brought on ways to create content that are better and more available than ever before. That’s a great thing, and has led to an enormous amount of great content being produced. It’s also, unfortunately, led to the production of so much terrible content that it’s harder than ever to find the good stuff.
Books, movie-theater movies, and record-label albums are vetted for quality, and you can more safely bet that those things are worth your time (though those processes are obviously a long way from perfect). Blogs, YouTube and the like have no such pre-evaluation – again, pros and cons, but it can make the great stuff harder to find.
Thankfully, all that noise has led to the rise of some excellent curators. Whether they’re people, apps or services, there are a number of sources that do their best to point out the best of the Web, while weeding out all the junk crap nonsense videos that hurt my eyes and ears other stuff. These resources bring to light the best, and keep us from getting overwhelmed and distracted by the rest.
Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.
I’ve moved a lot in the last few years – that’s part of the nature of being in college, I guess. But, this past week, my family moved completely for the first time in a while. That meant that for the first time in a while I was responsible not just for my computer, clothes and beer, but for moving everything.
Along the packing, moving and unpacking journey, I’ve learned a few things about how to make moving easier, more productive, and how to use moving to improve a few things. Moving’s a pain, but it definitely doesn’t have to be as bad as we make it.
At the same time, though, my moving experience hasn’t been nearly as good as it could have been. I’m going to be moving again in a few weeks (a story for another day), and I’m looking for your best tips as well. How do you make moving better, particularly using technology?
Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.
For all the technological options out there, TV doesn’t seem likely to be unseated as the relaxation pastime of choice – I’m watching it right now, actually. (Side note: Pineapple Express? Not a good movie.) But for as much time as we spend watching and interacting with our TVs, it’s a surprisingly outdated and inefficient technology.
TV requires its own, annoying remote, can’t always handle apps or find content, and generally fails at helping you find what you’re looking for. Plus, most TVs are missing out on all the great things that we’re afforded by being connected to the Web.
Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.
We begin today with a fun fact: when you drive, the thing you should do is drive. Not text, not read emails, not read Atlas Shrugged, not brush your teeth while doing your makeup. Crazy, right? Yet, somehow, I’ve seen all these things being done while the driver hurtles at unnatural speeds toward large objects both moving and inanimate.
There’s a balance to be struck somewhere between single-tasking on the road, and ultimate productivity. The balance, I think, is technology. There are a bunch of applications and services out there that will let you get done the things you need to get done, all while keeping your eyes and (most of) your focus on the road.
