There are things that merit your time and things that don’t.  The companies behind social networks need your attention for advertising dollars, but you use social networks to maintain relationships.

With a few tweaks to a website’s settings, you can make Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Twitter keep you in touch without flooding your inboxes with unnecessary notifications.  Here’s how, with a few super quick screencasts…

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We could all learn from Twitter’s 140 character limit.  If we were more concise and respectful of people’s time elsewhere, the world would be a happier, more productive place.

Consider this the next time someone chews your ear off.  And don’t do the same.  Here’s the why and how.

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Many blogs have commented on FriendFeed’s beta feature that allows you to restrict which connections’ updates appear in your feed.

I look forward to other social networks following suit—as it will be huge progress in solving the problem of social network information overload.

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Last year I attended  SXSW Interactive, and I can’t recommend it enough for entrepreneurs, web geeks, and anyone looking to be inspired.  Today I want to recommend some favorite presentations you can download.

I’ve also applied for one panel and been invited to participate on another for 2009.  Two minutes of your time could help win me a spot on stage!

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I’m frequently asked if I prefer Gmail or Outlook Exchange, but I happily use both. Today I posted a thorough comparison on Lifehacker, but the following is how and why I use both.

Not only will this explain how I use Gmail and Outlook, but it’ll describe a fair amount of my workflow with email and social media.

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I’m overwhelmed with ideas from the Information Overload conference this week.  In an effort to reflect, I’ve listed some of the major stats and themes discussed for managing too much stuff.

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Above you’ll find a video from Jonny’s Partay, where I was interviewed on Wednesday, July 9 at 9pm.

There’s a bit of talk about AwayFind, some news about DC, and of course much of what I’ve been up to. From lifehacks to batching email to mobility and travel, hopefully this’ll keep you entertained.

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It pains me to see good people getting bad advice when it comes to technology. Culprits include horrible websites, custom software that shouldn’t be written, and IT vendors treating technology like an out-of-reach and separate world than their clients’.

The influencers who spread outdated, expensive, and erroneous information should get a clue or quit their jobs–because they’re not helping anyone.

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I’m getting mighty sick of events restricting the use of presentations just because some people suck with PowerPoint. Visuals add a great deal to speeches, and it’s not that difficult to use them more effectively.

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We all get glued to our computers. How do you limit your time there? Got any tricks?

I posed these questions on Ask MetaFilter and received a number of helpful and interesting responses. This post is a summary with highlights of techniques and tools for walking away from your computer when you need (or want) to.

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