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Image courtesy of BluetoothDouchebag.com

So the other day I saw this granny (in her 70s, I figure) wearing a Bluetooth headset in a bagel shop. My first thought was, hey, she’s pretty hip, keeping up with technology — not to mention getting ready for Ontario’s cellphone ban (in effect as of today).

Then I wondered, why is she wearing it in here? There’s no ban on using a handheld in a bagel shop — only while driving. And no offense but it wasn’t exactly a good look on her.

Want the scoop on Bluetooth etiquette? Read the Rogers Spotlight interview I did with the founder of BluetoothDouchebag.com, the site that exposes people who think they look cool and important wearing headsets when they shouldn’t.

http://spotlight.rogers.com/life/tech_mates/1723/qa-bluetoothdouchebagcom

Sorry to be a party pooper, but I want out of Google Street View, the image-based map app that launched in 14 Canadian cities last week. Read why at: http://tinyurl.com/yzlupbu.

What about you?

Don’t you just love the latest murals to grace the interior of the fabulous Hollace Cluny boutique?!! They were done by Alanna Cavanagh, the illustrator of my book cover, as were the graphics on the store’s front window. Tres magnifique! Check out more of Alanna’s work at: http://alannacavanagh.blogspot.com/search/label/New%20Work

I have to say blogging can be a little like exercising. Think about it. When you first start, you’re all pumped up and really into it. To be effective, you’ve really got to get in a routine and do it often. And after a while, well, yeah, it can sometimes feel like work.

Don’t get me wrong. I still enjoy blogging (exercising not so much…) but it’s just one more thing on my daily/weekly to-do list. But that’s only part of the story.

My original intention was to blog about women and technology and use my FaceBook author page to provide updates on how my book is doing and post press coverage. But because I’ve been so wrapped up in promoting Opportunity Rings (it was recommended on Washington Post’s online summer reading guide yesterday!), and writing magazine and newspaper articles, I’ve had little time to blog. 

The good news is, change is in the air. And I’m gonna hop back on the blogging bandwagon. In the meantime, visit and join my Facebook author page to read book coverage from WashingtonPost.com, Winnipeg Sun, Style at Home, MSN Sync, ITBusiness.ca and others! There’s even a short video I made at Sweetspot.ca’s birthday bash. 

www.facebook.com/pages/Sheryl-Steinberg/57946635107

Wanted to share a radio interview I did on CFRB Radio’s Tech Talk with Marc Saltzman last weekend for Mother’s Day. 

cfrb-techtalk-5-10-09

One of my editors at Style at Home, Lauren McPhillips, just reviewed Opportunity Rings and gave it “two text messaging thumbs up.” Lauren’s Tech Style blog is normally reserved for ultra-cool gadgets and gizmos (not books!) so I’m flattered to be included.

Check out Lauren’s review, follow her blog, and pick up a copy of Style at Home’s June 2009 issue to read an interiors story I wrote on designing a model home in British Columbia.

http://www.styleathome.com/blogs/techstyle/2009/05/12/opportunity-rings/

Here’s some book launch coverage from Butterscotch.com — home of Labrats.tv. My good pal, technical editor, Perry-inspiration and chief Lab Rat Andy Walker helped me with the book reading, too — reading Teddy’s (Erica’s product manager at Rockit Wireless) parts. 

Opportunity-Rings-Book-Launch

So I did it. Took the plunge. Bit the bullet. Threw caution to the wind. Yep, I made my debut TV appearance on CP24 HomePage. All in all, not a bad first effort though for the record the HP Vivienne Tam digital clutch retails for $749CDN (it’s the LG X120 mini-notebook that’s $549). The director even asked me back as a regular guest every couple months. All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up. Okay, maybe not….
homepage_sish_apr2309

To say I’m a fan of Diane Keaton’s is an understatement (I did, after all, write her into my book!). Needless to say I couldn’t wait to see her/hear her/admire her at the Unique Lives & Experiences speaker series in Toronto last night. She didn’t disappoint. She opened her life and her heart and shared her unique life with the full-house of mostly women. And we loved it!

Of course she answered questions about her life as an actress (the turning point in her career was making Annie Hall with Woody Allen, she didn’t see The Godfather until decades after it was made, and, yes, Jack is a better kisser than Keanu…). 

But she also led us into her personal world with stories supported by old photographs and film footage of her growing up, her amazing, late mother Dorothy Keaton Hall as she battled Alzheimer’s, and her two young children. In fact, she talked about how photos played such an important role in her family’s life and continue to do so. It reminded me of a project I worked on several years back when I was the publicist for Lexmark Canada (a ha, you say, finally a link to tech!).

We were launching a photo printer that had a built in CD-burner, enabling people to easily save their images. In our research we had learned that while the advent of digital cameras meant people were capturing more images than ever (with no film to buy, why not?), many weren’t printing or saving them. They were simply leaving the shots on their camera, figuring they’d archive/print them on a rainy day. But here’s the thing: As the number of images snowball, organizing and preserving these memories can be a daunting task.

We heard from a sociologist who said we digitalites risked become a forgotten generation. It makes sense. If we don’t print and/or archive our digital photos properly, what will our children or children’s children have to remember us by? Anyhow, not to get all wistful or anything, I’m just saying it’s something worth thinking about. At least Ms. Keaton and I think so anyway.