Mike Elgan

Facebook quietly changed its terms of service agreement (TOS) recently. Bloggers freaked, triggering a public uproar that forced Facebook to revert back to the older version and come up with a better TOS agreement. The Facebook TOS always said, essentially, that the good people at Facebook can do anything they want with pictures and other […]

As the shameless co-opting of social media by cable and network TV news accelerates, the flaws and inadequacies of those TV news programs becomes ever more obvious. Almost every day, I take a break or two from my PC, where I’m constantly monitoring social media, and I check out CNN, MSNBC, and Fox news or, […]

Normally, people love good products and hate bad ones. But three of the most lovable and popular tech offerings are in fact horribly designed and conspicuously flawed. Facebook Facebook is one of the worst-designed Web sites on the Internet. Status Updates, the so-called News Feed, Posted Items, the Inbox, your Wall and categories of messaging […]

Imagine if you had a time machine and could travel back to an era when people were excited about the future–say, 1955–and talk to a group of knowledgeable, educated Americans. You could share the disappointing news that, in the future, there are no flying cars. Meals don’t come in pill form. And, no, we haven’t […]

The industrial revolution didn’t arise out of nowhere, and it didn’t arise everywhere. It was made possible by the emergence of a set of personal values that came to be known as the “work ethic.” The idea behind this meme — inconceivable 400 years ago — is that hard work is good for its own […]

It’s an article of faith that PCs and consumer electronics always get faster and cheaper at a mind-blowing rate. But that’s not really true, is it? Sure, they get a little faster and a little cheaper, but nothing like the performance and price gains the pundits and vendors promise. The Gold Standard for predicting performance […]

Last year I told you the “10 Black Friday Secrets Retailers Don’t Want You To Know.” All these secrets still apply (and the retailers still don’t want you to know them). What’s different this year is that Black Friday will be dominated by netbook deals. Here’s why: First, unless the Grinch finds a way to […]

There’s no such thing as “Internet addiction.” The Internet is simply the Mother of All Enablers, providing a medium through which addicts can indulge real addictions, including porn, gambling, news, video games and socializing (a.k.a. social media addiction). The Internet is a powerful enabler of addiction because of what experts call the “three A’s”: It’s […]

A new study published this week by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that cell phones and computers are actually good for “nuclear families.” According to Pew research, Internet, cell phones, e-mail, IM and Twitter make nuclear families closer by enabling family members to stay in touch between times when they’re physically together. […]

A new study published this week by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that cell phones and computers are actually good for “nuclear families.” According to Pew research, Internet, cell phones, e-mail, IM and Twitter make nuclear families closer by enabling family members to stay in touch between times when they’re physically together. […]

COMMENTARY Stocks are plummeting. Banks are failing. The money’s all gone. If you’re a small or medium-size business owner with employees, I’m going to tell you something you already know: Layoffs are coming, too. You’ve got hard choices ahead. Obviously, nobody knows your business better than you do. But I would like to offer one […]

While nobody was looking, the Internet, the blogosphere and the Twitosphere rendered the old-fashioned press conference obsolete. Don’t tell the media! A press conference is a meeting of journalists called by an organization with something to say. Spokespeople make prepared statements and usually invite questions. Journalists love press conferences because they provide exclusive information to […]