In Silicon Valley, designing apps that save people time is considered a noteworthy contribution to humanity. It’s why daily organizers like Evernote and 30:30 are considered big, but not as big as the category for “Stupid Shit.” It’s funny how toilet humour made the journey from analogue to digital with nary a hitch. I mean, there […]
Future shock
Originally published in May 2013 in Blog
Shitty things can happen when good people do nothing. This is my interview with Story Board, the blog for the Canadian Media Guild and the Canadian Writers Group. The internet spreads stories, voices and awareness, when we use it well. The 5-Minute Freelancer Q&A #8 – Alison Garwood-Jones In this regular feature, Story Board asks Canadian writers […]
Get reinventing
Originally published in April 2013 in Blog
This is, perhaps, the best unspoken rule of reinvention I’ve seen lately: “Surround yourself with people making mistakes and surviving.” It’s by Penelope Trunk. She says, “The reason entrepreneurs hang out with each other is because it’s inspiring to watch people work on problem after problem.” So to all you indie entrepreneurs (writers, illustrators, visual […]
The workplace
Originally published in April 2013 in Blog
Mobile blinders
Originally published in February 2013 in Blog
Photo by Jordan Taler with Brushes drawing by Alison Garwood-Jones Newsstand sales of magazines and gum are both down. There’s a connection David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines, is calling it “the mobile blinder effect.” Talking to the Financial Times, he said that people waiting in line at the grocery store and the newsstand are […]
Spilled milk
Originally published in January 2013 in Blog
UPDATED: January 30, 2013 Yesterday, The Globe & Mail, “Canada’s national newspaper,” fired took its literary editors, the crusty and intelligent team of Martin Levin and Jack Kirchhoff, off Books. I pounded my fist on the desk when I read this. Then I let out a cry in my condo that was heard only by the dogs […]
Life support
Originally published in July 2012 in Blog
[I] coined this saying in my twenties, and believed it through that entire decade of my life. Back then, men my age reacted to me in two ways: sexual heat or professional competitiveness, but usually they offered the package deal. Keeping an eye firmly planted on me (and my rotating outfits), they monitored the pace […]
What would you do if you were unafraid?
Originally published in June 2012 in Blog
So where’s the correction?
Originally published in May 2012 in Blog
[A]fter a stunning $2 billion loss in European trading by JPMorgan Chase last week, the FBI in the U.S. has opened a preliminary review of the debacle. As punishment, Ina Drew, the Chief Investment Officer whose London office orchestrated the trades, was promptly kicked to the curb. That lowers the ratio of male to female […]
