It may seem frivolous to talk about loving Marie Curie, as though I insist on seeing her in a personal way. But for those of us who are not scientists, yet hunger to understand science more deeply, the personal, the human, is our doorway.
If states are the laboratories for democracy, as Thomas Jefferson famously said, towns and cities may be the Petri dishes that stress test the vitality of different species of online hubs.
As people increasingly choose virtual games over real playing fields, the electronic innards of computers everywhere are gradually blurring the lines between reality and virtuality.
"Gamification" in the real world is not new. Countless aspects of our society -- from tax incentives to local elections -- can be explained in terms of game mechanics.
The path of least resistance seems to be the best response to a police request to examine a car, at least until the officer discovers a text message from a drug-using associate, or contact information about someone who is under suspicion.
Technology creates a mediated and low-resolution approximation of life that does offer utilitarian benefits and some entertainment value. But is it "real" enough to want to substitute much of real life?
In the past few months, the potential of social media outreach in the Gulf hasn't only been noticed and exploited by marketing firms but also by regional governments and officials.
Technology luminaries from around the world are gathering at the posh Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, about an hour from Los Angeles. The conference always attracts impressive speakers from the worlds of technology, media and entertainment.
Rather than discussing the constraints that should be put on Internet users in democratic countries, they should focus their energies on how to unconstrain users in non-democracies such as China.
Social media is a tool, but does not take the place of face time. Creating events where followers meet and interact is a crucial building block in nurturing and solidifying the status of your relationship with followers.
Online dating sites usually fail because online dating usually fails. The simple reason is that everyone expects quick results, no one can make that happen, and users get very unhappy very quickly.
Reduce the radius. Leave it to others to focus on the region, the county, the township. Instead focus on the neighborhood, the subdivision, the cul-de-sac.
I'm happy to announce today our new community guidelines. They've been updated to more accurately reflect the main goal for the community, which is to promote a civil, positive and constructive commenting environment.
Why are (some of us) unflinchingly honest on Twitter? Please tell me that after 2011 years we have something to talk about other than boys, babies and "does this Tweet make me look fat?". Please.
Unfortunately, we have yet to embrace the simplest or most obvious solutions for reducing the nation's deficit while also ensuring a continued level of growth necessary to remain competitive globally and head off future recessions.
As some of the biggest tech companies in the world, Amazon, Apple and Google, attempt to solve the cloud music riddle, mSpot -- which has offered a cloud music locker since last year -- has a new answer.
You might be experiencing a horrible 1980s flashback right about now. No, it's not because legwarmers are in style again. It's because AT&T;, that monopoly that once lorded over your rotary phone, has resurfaced with a scheme to rule your mobile phone as well.
We each have one reservoir of will and discipline, and it gets progressively depleted by any act of conscious self-regulation. So if you spend energy trying to resist a fragrant chocolate chip cookie, you'll have less energy left over to solve a difficult problem.
In the name of harmonizing our laws with other countries, Congress is about to dramatically diminish the patent protections offered to American innovators over the history of our Republic.
Rick Carnes, 2011.06.01
Larry Magid, 2011.05.31
