For all of the entertainment, information access, and cross-country connections technology affords us, it can really do a number on your soul and psyche. In the September issue of Her Nashville magazine, I offer up three ways to keep technology from re-wiring our brains and zapping our productivity. A teaser:

Force your focus:”While new media multitasking is great, science studies show it may not always be best for our brains. In June, The New York Times reported that scientists have discovered that online multitasking may lead to fractured thinking and lack of focus when offline.”

Stop stalking: “The inherent compare and contrast — and the tendency to dwell on it — that accompanies constantly reading about others’ lives isn’t healthy for you, and it isn’t fair to your friends.”

Leave a morsel of mystery: “Lean on your actual friends and family for help, attention, advice, and encouragement. Meanwhile, share just enough online to keep virtual friends updated, making sure not to upload your entire diary.”

Read the full column here!

The August issue of Her Nashville magazine is out! This month, I give a few tips on how to approach and respond to angry/stupid/snarky/creepy blog post commenters. I know you hate them and want to fight back, but think before you type–and please, don’t stoop to their level. Here’s a teaser:

Don’t Delete
Folks have the right to disagree with you, even if they are snarky and mean-spirited. As long as the comment isn’t a threat, patently offensive, spam, bigoted, libelous, or keeping you awake at night, leave it be. The same criteria apply to newspaper story comment sections; don’t bother asking a paper to take a comment down just because it’s untrue or written by someone who is a complete loon. These are rants from trolls, not statements from the Pope.

Count to 4,756
As bad as the troll’s comment is and despite how angry/hurt/sad it makes you/your company/your mom, it’s not the end of the world. Take a deep breath, step away from the computer, and think before you respond. I know it feels like it, but the entire world at this very moment is NOT actually reading the comment section. Trust me.

Read the full column here!

And as always, if you have ideas for a column topic, please send’em my way by emailing me at Margie (at) FlackRabbit (dot) com.

There are many, many great iPhone 4 reviews piling up, so I’ll spare you another one. But I am getting asked one question over and over again: folks want to know if they should dump their new Droid Incredible and formerly new iPhone 3Gs for Apple’s shiny new toy. You’ll find my answer over at HerNashville.com

I will add here at FlackRabbit that from the public relations practitioner perspective, the iPhone 4 and devices like it could allow us to use use new media to tell our clients’ stories in a much more nimble and timely way.

For instance, I think it’s freakishly cool that you could shoot quality video of a client event, edit it with iMovie, add a caption and relevant key words, and then upload it to YouTube–all from your iPhone 4. If you don’t have time to get back to your desk between meetings, it’s okay. And your client will think you’ve cloned yourself. Read More…

The July issue of Her Nashville magazine is here! For those of you unable to hop over to Nashville and pick up a copy, surf on over to the Her Nashville website. There, you’ll read my/the Chic Geek’s thoughts on the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people:

I have an incredibly kind and encouraging foundation comprised of my husband, family, friends, bosses (past and current), and mentors. The power of their kind gestures and encouragement is immeasurable; it has made me the confident, positive person I am today, and I experience that positive power nearly every day.

Do you?

If you almost said “yes,” then thought “not really,” and then quickly started defending the intentions of negative folks in your life, I encourage you to begin seeking out and surrounding yourself with kind and encouraging people. Read the full column here!

I hope you’ll find this column just the motivation you need to wash away negative influences and bathe your soul in the uplifting people who know and love you. I promise your heart, career and health won’t regret it! Read More…

In the June issue of Her Nashville Magazine, I offer up my favorite tech toys for your summer travels and sun worship. Here’s a teaser:

Get Inspiron-ed
Hitting the road with the fam, but still desperate to check Facebook and your online bank account balance? Dell’s itty bitty Inspiron Mini is the perfect solution. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an Apple gal. I’d love nothing more than for you to run out and spend $599 on an iPad, but I’d DIE if ever I found out you took The Precious anywhere near water. Or sand. Or your fifth piña colada. So, the more practical alternative is the Inspiron Mini; it’s only $279 and surfs and sends like a champ. This way, when your toddler puts her sticky little paws all over it, your boyfriend sits on it, or your girlfriend accidentally drops it in the lake, you’ll be sad, but you won’t spiral into a murderous rage. See? It’ll keep you connected AND out of prison. Sweet!

READ MORE.

And speaking of the iPad, Team Newman remains conflicted about adopting one into our technology family. I’ll keep you posted on our progress. While you wait for a resolution, you can read all the past Chic Geek columns here! Read More…

…it’s not merely a business mantra, it’s the latest social media trend.

In the May issue of Her Nashville magazine, you’ll find a brief tutorial on location-based social networks Gowalla and Foursquare, which utilize GPS and those fancy smartphones to allow you to “check in” to places you visit, tell folks where you are, and post your thoughts along the way. Here’s a teaser and–of course–a little “surf with caution” reminder:

Both Gowalla and Foursquare give you the option to share your check ins and travels via Facebook and Twitter. I don’t do this, but you may want to. How much info you share and who your “friends” are is all yours to control. For these location-based networks — unlike Twitter, which is designed for stranger-to-stranger info sharing — I only friend my actual friends, but I’m sort of protective like that … with who knows my whereabouts at any given time.

Like most technological wonders, what the Gowalla and Foursquare creators conceived now makes up only a fraction of what they actually do. Just think about Twitter as geeks knew it in 2007 compared to Twitter as the world knows it today. What started out as an odd text messaging service known to a few thousand people is now a global, real-time, information-sharing phenomenon. READ THE FULL COLUMN!

I usually base my Chic Geek columns on reader questions, ideas from co-workers and/or brainstorming sessions with my husband, but no one has really asked me to write about location. In fact, no one outside of my geek friends ever mentions location-based apps, which makes me think it’s time I wrote about them. Read More…

In the April issue of Her Nashville Magazine, your Chic Geek discusses life’s truly important things, like maintaining an empty inbox and a tidy desktop. That’s right: ’tis the season for Spring Geeking! So, grab that mouse and get to it. Here’s a sneak peek at some pointers:

Zero Out Your Inbox
When I say “zero,” I mean as close to empty as possible. An inbox shouldn’t be a to-do list or a catch-all filing cabinet.

Put Your Desktop on a Diet
Can I just tell you how much my heart hurts when I see a gal’s desktop and it looks like the Word doc fairy got drunk with a bunch of PowerPoint presenters and they threw up on each other? If that description conjured up a mental picture of your own Dell or MacBook desktop, it’s time to drag and drop. Read More…