50 Shades of Grey Is the New Black

50 Shades of Grey

For the past couple of years, I’ve made many (many, MANY) choices about the books I read (and the TV shows I watch) (and the kind of lipstick I wear) based on recommendations I get from Google searches, Facebook friends, Twitter conversations, and blog posts.

Not that I can’t make decisions for myself, just why waste time wading through all the options out there? Someone, somewhere has already tried everything, and posted online about it.

After gorging myself on novel after novel during the holidays last year—most of them recommended by The Internet—I finally burned myself out. I hadn’t picked up my Nook in months.

Last week, my internet friends changed all that.

Early in the week, I started seeing mentions of the book 50 Shades of Grey on Facebook. Just a few comments at first, sprinkled here and there in my News Feed. But by the end of the week, chatter about the book had reached fever pitch in my social network. I had to find out what all the fuss was about.

Keep reading . . .

Will Facebook Stop You From Landing (or Keeping) Your Dream Job?

Do Employers Want Your Facebook Password?

Beware, Facebook users! The jig is up.

Your bosses have figured out that, in your free time, you might possibly be engaging in activities that call your character into question.

Not that you couldn’t have been table dancing and body-shotting at Club Nitro every Saturday night since you turned 21. The difference is now you might be sharing evidence of all those crazy nights with your entire Facebook community. And your employer wants to know about it.

News is spreading that not only are many employers now routinely requesting access to their employees’ Facebook accounts, some are taking it one step further.

Keep reading . . .

Pinterest Quick Tip: Don’t Flood the Stream

Pinterest Quick Tip

So you’re looking online for the perfect pair of bright red stilettos to wear to your sister’s wedding next month. You log in to Pinterest and create a board called “Hell on Heels,” and then spend the next hour-and-a-half on Zappos.com et al. shopping and pinning. By the time you finish, you have a couple dozen serious contenders for the pair most likely steal your sister’s thunder.

The problem? You’ve also likely annoyed (at least) a couple dozen of your Pinterest followers in the process.

Keep reading . . .

How Facebook (Probably) Saved My Life

What Does Melanoma Look Like?

Sometime around the end of last year, I noticed an odd-looking mole on my left calf. I remember thinking that I hadn’t ever noticed a normal-looking mole (or even a freckle) there on that spot, before that day. But then, on that day when I did notice something, what I saw aroused my suspicion. Because it looked, well, odd.

Keep reading . . .