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For my latest column at Fast Company, I took a spin through the just-launched Google Apps Marketplace and found four apps worth hooking up to your domain. (One of my picks, TripIt, does a smart job of merging your existing account with your Google Apps account, too--the model for how any service that plugs into [...]

Hi all! I've been working furiously on ThinkTank over at Expert Labs for about six weeks now. Once in awhile I'll post an update on where we're at with the project. This is such an update, and it's cross-posted from the Expert Labs blog. ThinkTank development has been going strong, but we need your help. If [...]

I've been a slacker posting up the YouTube videos of each week's This Week in Google episode, so I'm getting back to it. This past week was particularly fun for me because Jeff, Leo, and I were joined by Kevin Purdy, my colleague from Lifehacker who shares my enthusiasm for Android. The TWiT folks also [...]

My latest two videos are up at Fast Company: one's on firewalling your attention with time blocking, and the second is on three ways to use Google Wave in your business. The time blocking piece is actually a personal confession about my hermit tendencies. Sometimes I just shut everything off, fall off the face of [...]

37signals' new book Rework is a fast, inspiring read for anyone who's thought about starting a business but froze at the idea of quitting their job, getting investing, and working 24-hour days. As they do every day at their blog, in Rework the Signals break down their minimalist philosophy into a series of essays [...]

Panic is a software company that makes useful tools like my personal favorite, Transmit for the Mac. They've also made a beautiful project status display that helps their team keep on top of what they're working on, and what important dates are coming up. Click on the thumbnail to see the full version. The [...]

Ever since I installed a barcode scanner app on my phone, I see QR codes everywhere--so naturally I wanted one of my own. If you too are a barcode-scanning fool, point your phone's camera at this QR code and you'll get a link to my personal web site. Fun! A QR ("quick response") code is [...]

Google's Gmail tweak broke some of the more popular features of my Better Gmail 2 Firefox extension this week, including Folders4Gmail and Hide Spam Count. Thanks to the quick work of Arend v. Reinersdorff, the problems have been fixed. If you're a Better Gmail 2 user and your labels aren't collapsing properly or your Spam [...]

If depression has an evolutionary purpose, it's certainly not obvious. Depression makes people consider suicide and less interested in sex, which does not encourage the species' survival. But two evolutionary psychologists theorize that depression's purpose is enhanced mental skills. Sadness focuses the brain's attention on a conflict, and makes you better-equipped to make good decisions. [...]

In his web-site-turned-book Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far, Stefan Sagmeister says keeping a diary supports personal development. I couldn't agree more. Writing is a form of thinking, and journaling is a great way to help yourself think personal issues through. I've fallen off the journaling wagon lately though, but inspired by [...]

Recently someone asked me how many Twitter accounts I have. The answer is four. Four! Yes, I tweet. A lot. For different projects and purposes. If you care, here's a Twitter list of all my accounts.

My FastCompany.com video series continues with two new installments: one on reducing multitasking, and the other on claiming your name on the web. The singletasking bit is timely, as I've been on a mental deep dive working on ThinkTank these past few weeks, surfacing to see what I might be missing on the internet very minimally. [...]

Over at Macworld this morning, I took a shot at explaining what Google Wave is (and isn't). Even in a Wave-backlash/Buzz-love world, I'm still bullish about Wave. It's the best collaboration webapp I've ever used. Once you've experienced inline replies in a wave with your group, you never want to email again.

If you tried out the excellent (and unofficial) Swype beta for your Nexus One--the keyboard replacement that makes touch-typing much easier--you may be getting an annoying popup about how the Swype package you installed doesn't match the screen size. I love Swype so much I've been putting up with the error for weeks, constantly dismissing [...]

If you've taken the leap and hosted your domain email with Google Apps, no doubt you've noticed that you miss out on services that regular Gmail accounts get: like Google Reader, Voice, Wave, Analytics, and right now, Buzz. After complaining about the disparities on a recent episode of This Week in Google, a helpful Googler [...]

With Google's plans to include Buzz in Google Apps for enterprise customers, Microsoft needs a way to get social media into Outlook, and the Outlook Social Connector add-on seems to be it. When Office 2010 ships--in the first half of this year--it will have support for Facebook, MySpace, Windows Live, but--oddly--not Twitter. Here's my review [...]

I am thrilled to announce I've landed a pinch-me dream job: I'm now a Project Director at Expert Labs, the new non-profit headed up by Anil Dash. I'll be in charge of developing ThinkTank. Here's what happened. Last March I was thinking about buying a netbook, and asked my Twitter followers a question: Do you have [...]

Last week I gave Google a small pass for launching Buzz with serious privacy problems and a too-hard-to-find "off" button, saying that at least they were iterating quickly and openly, correcting their mistakes. Today I'm happy to see they continued to do so this weekend, even after I wondered if I spoke too soon. Significant [...]

Matt Haughey says Google Buzz doesn't offer an easy way for publishers to see what people are saying about their stuff. He's right; as in Google Reader and Facebook, much of the liking and commenting and sharing that goes on in Buzz happens out of earshot of the creator. I think Buzz is a fine [...]

My latest FastCompany.com video segment, shot several weeks ago, is about managing your social media updates, partly by funneling them all into one place (like your email inbox). Then Google Buzz launched. So, here's my social media productivity two-punch: first the video, then a walk through Google Buzz's more advanced features. Work Smart: Mastering Your Social [...]