Confessions of a Graphic Designer

Keeping kids safe on social media. Photo: Unsplash with Andrej Lisakov. Social Media's Impact on Kids — What's Next for Tech? During my four days at CES, I had the opportunty to attend only one panel discussion. I'm grateful that I chose to listen and watch this particular one in person. A lengthy line of eager attendees had formed, all looking forward to hearing from the three distinguished speaker, including Mitch Prinstein from the American Psychological Association (APA), Megan Jones Bell from Google, and Ravi Iyer from the USC Marshall School's Neely Center. The panel was expertly hosted by Corbin Evans, senior director at APA. L-R Corbin Evans, APA; Mitch Prinstein, APA; Megan Jones Bell, Google; Ravi Iyer USC Neely Cente While my own children are now adults, I find myself thinking about the impact of electronic devices and the potential repercussions of allowing children to access social media platforms. This concern has taken on a greater signficance since I...

Through The Seattle Public Library The Sally Goldmark Library in Madrona is our local branch. Sometimes I think my husband, David, and I are the only people in Seattle who don’t subscribe to Netflix or Hulu. I guess one reason why is, we aren’t huge consumers of video content and we'd regard it as wasteful to pay for something we won’t use. We like watching films and television series, but since we opened Alki Surf Shop , we have even less discretionary time, including TV time. We spend an average of about an hour each evening watching films or programs. Truth be told, we’d dearly love to "cut the Comcast cord," but there are certain channels that would be a bummer to lose, like Bloomberg News, and any channel that airs "Law and Order" episodes :) The concept of getting rid of cable became more of a possibility when David discovered a treasure trove of content available through The Seattle Public Library (SPL). He regularly visits the SPL web ...

Jack Dorsey on the cover of - Fast Company - Our new hero-archetype? When I was a kid, it was pretty easy to identify heroes. They were policemen and firemen, soldiers and astronauts. They were President John F. Kennedy, Miss America, doctors, teachers and others who showed courage or strength. They were people who were, in some way, extraordinary. Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and founder of Square, is on the March 2012 cover of Fast Company , and seeing him made me wonder — who do people admire today and why? Are entrepreneurs the new heroes? The fortunes made by innovators today might make a 20-something MBA's heart beat a bit faster because they have realized the American dream — using brains and hard work to achieve success and enormous wealth. But is the ability to turn ideas into money what we should admire or strive to emulate? Having aspirational goals propel us to achieve. And the ability to innovate, and at times create a need for things ...