“This Is Water” is a speech by American writer David Foster Wallace to the 2005 graduating class at Kenyon College. I’m reminded again how we are all just people being people and doing people things, and that we are all in this together. Hopefully this brings you the same...

Why are so many women practitioners of social media in New Zealand, but so few willing to be the face of it at events and in the media? Let me start by telling you a story about one of the last social media events I went to. It was a night where two men and a woman were sharing their thoughts...

By now you will have heard the terrible news about the shooting at the Connecticut primary school. Not everyone online treated it with the respect the situation deserved. Among those were a handful of Justin Bieber fans, who took to Twitter to express their angst that extended shooting...

So many people and brands are now gaming for Facebook “engagement” that it’s ruining the platform for a lot of people. Luckily, not too many of my friends fall for this stuff, but plenty of people have friends who do, so here’s a selection of the more desperate attempts...

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about all the time I wasted when I was younger. I wish I could go back ten years and tell myself all the things I know now. It seems I’m not alone in that. I put a call out on Twitter, explaining I was writing this blog and was there anything...

When I turned 30, I got my arm inked. It’s something I wanted to do for years, but wasn’t brave enough. Now it’s 80% done, I’m so pleased and proud that I did it! It’s made me think though, what else is on the to-do list? Why don’t I get stuck in? So here it...

I’ve been talking to a lot of community managers of high-profile New Zealand companies, and there’s a trend to what they have been saying lately: They are getting worn out from trying to deal with unreasonably emotional people. People who say they are upset about changes to products they...

I have a message for marketers, social media managers, advertising whiz-kids and anyone else who thinks social media needs to be flashy: Quiet in the cheap seats. There’s a rant coming, and it’s got your name on it. I see a trend hitting New Zealand Facebook pages (although...

It’s always amusing – and facepalmy – when a song with stupid lyrics makes it to the Top 40. What’s worse is when the lyrics are in equal parts stupid and disrespectful. It’s as if the lyricists don’t have two braincells to rub together. What if we swapped...

This holiday, I went on a social media fast. No Twitter. No Facebook. I wasn’t allowing myself to see anything remotely work-related. I was having a Proper Break. Sounded good in theory, but I didn’t realise just how much I used Twitter to keep up with news, and find alternative...

A year ago today I wrote:   Words just seem so futile at a time like this. The entire dictionary - even every word ever uttered - can’t describe what’s going on right now. A nation sits in shock. This isn’t our burden, surely? This isn’t our event? This is what...

Reading the weekly Postsecret offerings is a bit of a ritual in my world. As I think about each one – sometimes in passing, sometimes at length – I often see reflections of myself. I found one particularly touching: As I read it, I felt really sad. I lived in a swamp for a long...

If you’ve ever studied a tree stump you’ll know all about the rings. Looking over them is like caressing a lifetime. You can see exactly how different events in the tree’s life affected it. The grafting, the pruning, the good years, and the bad years – they are all...

The thing about baggage is that it falls into one of two categories: You’re carrying it because you’re going somewhere, or because you’ve been somewhere. If you’re like me, carrying baggage because you’re off somewhere is great. Your suitcase is tidy, full of...

Casually asking Twitter anything is a dangerous sport – none moreso than when discussing the September 11 terror attacks. Without ado, or too much editing, here are the responses I recieved when I asked Twitter users where they were when they heard the news. Some woke up directly to the...

It seems that there’s a few things we do that we don’t realize annoy other people. So when I put the offer out on Twitter – to get a few “I wish my partner didn’t…” off the collective chests of New Zealand – I was inundated. So here’s a few...

There’s an old saying: Don’t judge till you’ve walked a mile in someone else’s shoes. It’s true. And we often forget it. Today I spent a little bit of time with a friend who is in a rough place. Her work, home, and love life aren’t quite going to plan, and she’s struggling to...

After watching a few “It Gets Better” clips, and seeing “Dear 16-year-old Me” I’ve been inspired to share my own list of things I think teenagers should know. You are young, so enjoy it: Make mistakes. Work hard. Party hard. Have fun. Study. You’re probably...

“You need a lot of passion for what you’re doing because it’s so hard. Without passion, any rational person would give up.” – Steve Jobs, Apple CEO I’ve been thinking a lot lately about passion. It’s probably an overused word, much like ‘hero’,...

Today a friend and I went to Mission Bay for a swim – we were in the water at 10am and had enough by about 10.30. She was content to lay on the beach but I wanted an ice cream, so I left her to search one out. Ice cream store: Closed. What? It’s summer, and the shop was closed? I...