NewsFoo: So much inspiration, so little sleep

by moniguzman on December 6, 2011

I spent the weekend in Phoenix, attending the second of what I hope remains a recurring annual event with a funny name — NewsFoo.

Put on by O’Reilly Media with the help of the Knight Foundation and Google, this ~150-person unconference (read: most powerful event format when done right) gathered minds from journalism and technology for two days of serious and seriously laid back thinking about anything and everything new in news.

With nonstop conversations with some incredible people (I am not worthy!) and nightly rounds of the blockbuster geek conference game “Werewolf,” it also left a lot of us exhausted.

Before I take a nap (seriously — or maybe I just turn in?), here are a couple of thoughts that have emerged so far from the mix of insights I heard at NewsFoo and the contents of my own messy mind:
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Unplugging one day a week? Inspired to follow the lead of director Tiffany Shlain

by moniguzman on November 17, 2011

Tiffany Shlain wants everyone to take a weekly day off gadgets

I felt so energized this weekend after talking to filmmaker Tiffany Shlain. And not just about the power of conversation, the subject of my latest GeekWire column.

In our conversation at the Napa Valley Film Festival Friday, she reiterated what she had told viewers after a screening of her latest film, “Connected: An Autobiography of Love, Death, and Technology:” that she unplugs completely from technology for one day a week, and believes everyone should do the same.

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Jacob on Jobs: “You never left a meeting thinking, ‘What did he mean by that?’”

November 16, 2011

On Sunday I was in California at the Napa Valley Film Festival, attending the Tweethouse, an event focused on communication innovation that my husband’s company, the Parnassus Group, puts on at various larger conventions and festivals throughout the year. Oren Jacob, entrepreneur and former CTO of Pixar, was one of the speakers. For over an [...]

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Note to self: Don’t let your Twitter habit get this bad

November 14, 2011

From writer Larry Carlat and the New York Times, “Confessions of a Tweeter” is a must-read for anyone who’s ever felt even a little a bit burdened by social media. Lord knows I have, much as I appreciate Twitter and all the amazing connections it’s helped me make over the years. Carlat writes: Soon my [...]

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Let’s see more of this: News display ads that matter

November 4, 2011

There’s something so refreshing about seeing a takeover ad on a news site on and about a milestone that actually matters to the city — the 150th anniversary of Seattle’s University of Washington. Just when you think all lucrative news site display ads are distracting, pitchy, uncaring and even demeaning (“Lakewood Mom makes Botox Doctors [...]

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Finally – a trip to an actual pumpkin patch

October 30, 2011
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15 features that make coffee shops work for work

October 30, 2011

Seattle is known not just for its coffee, but its coffee shops. Between the Starbucks are dozens of independent, locally brewed havens for chatters, hipsters and the city’s crop of laptop loungers. But not all great coffee shops are great to work from. In my latest GeekWire column, I lay out 15 essential ingredients for [...]

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Talking tech news and more on GeekWire Radio

October 22, 2011

On Friday I joined Todd Bishop and John Cook at the KIRO radio studios to record another edition of GeekWire Radio. These guys are just fun to banter with. And the topics were great: Steve Jobs’ jabs at Bill Gates, the new Seattle Microsoft store and a Seattle-based dating site’s notion that “the best wingman [...]

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My friends know me too well

October 19, 2011

Journalist + social media addict = I might actually be this nuts.

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No tip, and he wrote WHAT?

October 19, 2011

Seen this bill? If not, you’ve missed one of the more interesting cautionary tales about anger on social media to come out of Seattle this year. Catch up on the craziness and hear my take on one key lessons learned in my latest GeekWire column.

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