From the category archives:

Best Writing

A few weeks ago, I set up an IdeaScale web site to gather suggestions for ways to improve Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety in Westwood. It has turned out to be an effective, easy way to collect ideas and our challenge now is to do something about those ideas.
The site is simple to use–that is its [...]

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Boston is currently conducting a “bike summit” to brainstorm ideas for making the city more bike friendly. I attended a public session today at city hall about bikes and economic development. I wish I could report that the session itself was worthwhile, but I think we only scratched the surface of what is possible. However, [...]

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Our decision to sell our 4-bedroom house and move to a 2-bedroom rental probably perplexes many people, but I’m finding there are many who do understand. Right now, I cannot say that we are truly simplifying our lives–as the stress of a new job and moving, along with our tantrum-happy toddler makes life anything but [...]

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Social media is fundamentally about conversations. Blogs, Twitter exchanges, even random comments in response to a Facebook status, represent new opportunities to connect not only on a personal, but also business level. My business is about developing strategies for getting those conversations started and using them to engage clients, constituents, and customers in a [...]

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Towns, cities, developers, business leaders and activists should seize the communication opportunities available in social media to collaboratively and cooperatively plan their economic futures.
I recently blogged about how Boston World Partnerships is developing a social media approach to facilitate connections between “movers and shakers” in Boston and globally promote the city. I subsequently chatted with [...]

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Mash-up Life

by Dave Atkins on February 4, 2009

in Best Writing, Work/Life

A couple of days ago, when I said we live a different lifestyle than our parents, I wasn’t just talking about technology. Technology can be an enabler, a facilitator…but tech tools are simply the things we demand to deal with a more fundamental change in how we relate to the world around us.
Life was more [...]

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As gas prices skyrocket, Americans will abandon the suburbs and embrace urban living. That’s the wishful thinking I detect when urbanists seize upon the findings in a CEOs for Cities study that claims to find and prove a causal link between rising gas prices and the collapse of the housing market bubble.
The study is intriguing; [...]

13 comments

Upload your Outlook Emails to GMail

by Dave Atkins on February 4, 2009

in Best Writing, Technology How-To

I swore this blog was not about “lifehacks” or productivity tools…but when I searched for how to do this task, I found outdated advice on lifehacker, so I had to write my own…
Suppose that you have decided to embrace the web, so to speak, and want to use Google Mail to replace your existing desktop-based [...]

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I am featured in a story today in the Christian Science Monitor, Blogs: An Effective Job-Hunting Tool?, but after describing my efforts positively, the article quotes one naysayer in particular who does not understand the context of my efforts:
Not everyone shares his enthusiasm. “Blogging and Internet searching for jobs is worthless,” says Drew Stevens, a [...]

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This article provides advice and tips for residents of Massachusetts who are unemployed. It is the most popular post on my blog. Please read the related posts in the category “Navigating Unemployment” and the comments below.
Please consult the Mass.Gov website for improved information regarding unemployment benefits.
No legal advice. This blog post relates my experience only [...]

249 comments