Author Archives: Beth

Last night at Penn, President Amy Gutmann hosted the annual Silfen Forum and asked journalists, politicians, and a political scientist “Is America Broken?” Ed Rendell and Alan Simpson—while of divergent political stripes—were wonderfully engaging. They were more direct than politicians … Continue reading →

Spying or communicating? When your kids turn their focus almost exclusively to their friends, it’s difficult to communicate. When they go to college—or live far away—and promise to call, write, email, Facebook, Skype, or send smoke signals, their good intentions … Continue reading →

I loved this New York Times story a few weeks ago, so now every time I see an ad for the Dr. Seuss movie, “The Lorax,” I smile. Instead of using digital media as a cool advertising tool, this class … Continue reading →

“Liking” or “re-tweeting” are great ways to recycle, so I’m “re-blogging” today to share some funny old media that makes me laugh harder than one should at work. Whether you are an old fan of Monty Python or have never heard … Continue reading →

Following our class discussion on privacy and further conversation with Syd walking up Walnut Street on Tuesday, I was intrigued yesterday to hear Terry Gross interview Joseph Turow (Penn professor!) about his new book, The Daily You: How the New … Continue reading →

Wow. Based on the number of people who have commented on the New York Times article “60 Lives, 30 Kidneys, All Linked,” the idea of this chain of kidney donations has touched something in our hearts. And all because the … Continue reading →

Warning: It may no longer possible to be an observer! “Surfing”/browsing the internet and perusing blogs/profiles/tweets may be our current method of strolling the streets to take in information, trying to understand something by soaking up as much information about … Continue reading →

In the midst of the entertainment, cars, food, and sex in the social-media atmosphere emanating from the Super Bowl, I’ve been struck by the serious political discussions. Whether on the periphery of, from the heart of, or unrelated to the … Continue reading →

Toyota may have reinvented the 2012 Camry, but did they reinvent their relationship with their customers? The digitally plugged-in crowd would probably say no, but long-time Camry fans still in the process of being fully engaged with social media might … Continue reading →

Will convergence happen soon enough for my iPhone addict? In order to stave off household budget problems and to see if I can hasten the next generation phone/pad/laptop/reader/player by fluttering my own butterfly wings, I’ve declared that my partner cannot … Continue reading →