It's a fantasy many of us have indulged in: Imaging what we would do if we were to strike it rich overnight with a big lottery win.  I'll own up to doing so. I've gone so far as to tell friends and co-workers I would not be one of those folks you read about who continue clocking in a work every day. Not me. If I won the lottery, I'd be traveling the world first class as soon as my lump sum check arrived. No annual payments for me! Problem is, I don't buy lottery tickets. As I purchase my groceries or fill up my tank at the gas station, I just don't think about it. The gift of gaming? So, what…

There's a Stamps.com commercial that makes this bold assertion: "There's nothing worse than standing in line at the post office." Really? It's this kind of statement that may be contributing to the U.S. Postal Service's financial and operational woes. Stamps.com and other online postage vendors would have us believe that printing postage at home is the next best thing to the Internet.  And there's another commercial from Stamps.com; in which the prospect of a post office run strikes a nameless fear into the hearts of office workers. Watch Stamps.com commercial, "Anyone?" (Not to be left out …

Confessions of a digital journalist: First, I still get the newspaper delivered to my doorstep. Second, I clip coupons each Saturday morning. With regard to reading the paper version of theSt. Louis Post-Dispatch each morning: Reading the actual paper section by section allows me to find things I miss online at STLToday.com (which I follow via Twitter). There is something to be said for the ritual of newspaper, coffee and either watching either the Today Show or listening to Morning Edition. And, of course, checking on my Twitter feed. That something is comfort. With regard to clipping actual…

I'll say it right off the bat: I am not a big sports fan. Yes, I feel a sense of satisfaction when the Cardinals win, especially in the current World Series. I get slightly more excited (and a bit smug) when my alma mater, Michigan State University, beats the University of Michigan in any sport. I am not among those who worship at the altar of sports. I am, however, an enthusiatic adherent of the religion of Twitter when it comes to engaging in real-time conversation. And, I have been intrigued by the ways in which sports fans use Twitter to interact during major sporting events. Twitter and …

I confess to feeling a bit like a member of an exclusive club when I enter the Apple Store at the St. Louis Galleria.  But I was a late Apple adopter. I never really got the Mac "thing." In college (circa 1990), one of my journalism classes met in lab where we used Macintosh Classics. Thinking of a Mac-loving friend, I asked myself, "What's so great about this computer?"  I remained strictly PC as technology advanced and streamlined through the 1990s and early 2000s, both at home and in the newsrooms where I worked. First came the iPod The watershed moment came when I was teaching at Florida …

The Internet provides many ways for us to remain distant from each other—for work, education, shopping, entertainment, even relationships. But, increasingly, communities are forming because of the Web. As an example, Facebook allows us to reconnect with people we may have lost touch with, online at first, and then perhaps for a real-life reunion. We can start up new friendships with friends of friends, or based on shared interests. Again, these links may take root in the virtual world, but can reach full flower in actual connections. Beyond marketing themselves or their products with a …

Missouri’s students are in new classrooms for a new academic year. Meanwhile, many of their teachers have a lot more than lesson plans and grades to consider.  Near the end of August, the Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA) sued the state over a new Missouri social network law that prevents students and teachers from having electronic conversations that cannot be accessed by school administrators and parents.As Town and Country-Manchester Patchreported, “this also means (students and teachers) cannot be friends on Facebook.”Talk about a real civics lesson in the virtual life. Adding Up…

There has been a good deal of talk about China in metro St. Louis lately. Our lawmakers, business groups, and corporate leaders hope to make the region a hub for trade with China. That hope has a name: Aerotropolis. Right about now there is a bit of turbulence around the idea, though, as reported by the Missouri Watchdog on Patch. Maryland Heights Patch and Hazelwood Patch also reported on the Aerotropolis, which would involve providing tax credits for developers to build cargo warehouses and related infrastructure in the communities near Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Where do I …

I first encountered Richard Callow and Chris Reimer on Twitter, shortly after moving to St. Louis in 2010. Both men provide engaging, often witty, Tweets; they share observations and information. In real life, I first met Callow, a communications consultant, and Reimer, vice president of social media at Falk Harrison, when we were all invited to a gathering of local “thought leaders,” by a major corporation. I thought it would be fitting to combine their e-interviews for this column.How long have you been using social media? Which are your favorites for networking?Richard: I have been using …

Celebrities do it. Politicians do it. Sport figures, too. Not to mention your neighbor, your high school sweetheart, and the owner of your favorite coffee shop. Social networking is part of our social fabric.Dictionary.com defines a social network as follows: “a website where one connects with those sharing personal or professional interests, place of origin, education at a particular school, etc.” Facebook may be the social network many of us are most familiar with. This is where I started my social media activities, with my students as the earliest friends, followed by a growing number of …

AT&T really knows how to butter me up. How could I resist this? "You are one of only two invitations that we’re extending in St. Louis for this interactive webcast. It’s the first time that AT&T has used this live format to update reporters, and I thought you would you would be especially interested in the opportunity." A select few journalists around the country would get to hear from Bill Smith, president of AT&T Network Operations, ask him questions, and get a tour of the AT&T command center in New Jersey. I was hooked. Accordingly, I settled in front of my laptop at the appointed hour. …

Perhaps you paid through the nose, got a refund, or came out about even with your 2010 federal and state taxes. Whatever the case, preparing tax returns makes us take a hard look at how much money we earn. Before 2011 slips further from our collective grasp, I decided to check in with a few experts for their tools, tips and insights about making and keeping money.FREE ADVICE FROM AN ACCOUNTANTI met Jan Roberg, of Roberg Tax Solutions, when I visited the Regus Centre at Westport in Maryland Heights earlier this year for a column about “third spaces”. Roberg not only provides accounting and tax…

When I was in the fourth grade, my mother gave me a diary. It was a beautiful thing, with a brocade cover and a ribbon attached to mark my place. I wrote in it almost every day, even if my jottings only amounted to a paragraph or two. I continued the diary habit off and on through college, by which time a paragraph or two turned into pages and pages of angsty ramblings that make me cringe today. Even though I always knew my diary was for my eyes only, I remember feeling self-conscious about it; like I had better write well, because someday someone might read my diary. Perhaps I always knew I’…

When the tools of your trade can fit into a briefcase, backpack, or computer bag the world is your oyster. A person living the virtual life may work from her sofa, the library or community center, a park bench, a "third space" or -- of course -- a coffee shop. In the first installment of this column, I focused on Saint Louis Bread Company (Panera) bakery-cafes. The Greater St. Louis area also has a wide range of neighborhood coffee shops and eateries that provide good environments for conducting business. Here are a few where I've plugged in: Picasso's Coffee, St. Charles Ambience:  Art …

The language around Internet technology is atmospheric, at least to me. To wit: I have an air card--a USB gadget that plugs into my laptop, allowing me to go online wherever I may be. It relies on the cellular telephone network. Ethernet connects us to the Internet. People used to employ the word ether to refer to the heavens. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides a number of definitions, including: "a medium that in the wave theory of light permeates all space and transmits transverse waves." Let's not forget cyberspace. Kind of old school, but you get my point. Now we have cloud computing…

A dog barking in the background when you're trying to take a business call. A pile of laundry that seems to be calling your name. Running out of room on the dining room table. These are just a few things that might make you rethink your decision to work from home.In a previous installment of this column, I discussed the benefits and challenges of working from St. Louis Bread Company. But, a cafe or coffee shop may not be quite the right ambience for your professional life. This week I learned a new phrase: the third space. Not home, not office: a physical or virtual location in which you can …

Whether you call it working from home or telecommuting, the movement toward setting up shop somewhere other than a traditional office or storefront is catching on.  My aunt in Florida is a paralegal who also sells Mary Kay and has a virtual jewelry business. My neighbor deals rare books and documents online. I recently met a public relations professional who also teaches an online class for a local university. There are legions of people running eBay auctions for a living; doing medical billing; providing consulting services in a variety of industries; you name it. The U.S. Census Bureau (…

If you frequent St. Louis Bread Company (known to those outside St. Louis as Panera) you can hardly fail to notice people working. Yes, the employees are busy serving up soups, sandwiches and scones. But I'm talking about the people hunched over their laptops and talking business over coffee and bagels.  “We see interviews taking place. There’s cubicle zombies that are looking to get out of their office and sit down with a of coffee," said area director Don Hutcheson. "It's a real big escape for lots of people." I am one of those people. Patch does not have offices, so I divide my time …