Articles by Vivian Wagner

If John McCain wanted a strong woman on his side, he couldn't have done much better than Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of HP who has recently been making a name for herself on the political scene Fiorina has been serving as an economic adviser and advocate for the McCain campaign, and there have been rumors that she is a vice-presidential hopeful.

It's no fun shopping alone. That's the theory behind social shopping, a trend that combines social networking with e-commerce. It's a trend that's coming into its own as increasing numbers of online shoppers turn to the sites for fun, companionship, and camaraderie with other shoppers "Shopping is a very social, interactive experience," Manish Ch...

So you're looking for medical advice. Would you: a) call your doctor, b) consult a medical journal or c) go to a wiki? Perhaps surprisingly, many people are beginning to go the wiki route. At least, they're starting with wikis, and maybe after that they're calling their doctors, reading journals, or otherwise getting second and third opinions. And...

Money talks. So it's important for voters to know how candidates get their money, who gives it to them, and what they do with it. This information used to be buried in obscure volumes and government reports, but digital databases have changed all that. Anyone with a Web connection and the desire to do a little research can quickly learn just abou...

Part 1 of this two-part series covers the potential problems Web users can experience when information about them is posted online So, you've got an online image control crisis. Now what?...

Our reputation is one of our most valuable possessions, determining in large part where we work, how much money we make, whom we date or marry, and many other aspects of our lives The Internet, however, has made protecting, maintaining and defending our reputations difficult. Photos from college parties, blog posts by ex-boyfriends or disgruntled e...

Part 1 of this two-part series looked at the variety of smartphone operating systems from a user's perspective. Part 2 covers the changes developers face As smartphones change, so does the landscape for developers of applications for these devices. As phones, particularly the iPhone, become more application-friendly, the marketplace is at once more...

With Apple's recent announcement of its new lower-priced and more richly featured 3G iPhone, smartphones are once again in the news. Now the iPhone will be competing with other prominent smartphone systems, particularly Research In Motion's popular BlackBerry Many consumers might not have ever thought, however, about the fact that their smartphones...

When abstract artist Gina Raphaela wants to get the word out about shows featuring her paintings in her New York loft condo, she turns to her building's social networking site, hosted by LifeAt.com. She sends messages to all of the members of her building's online community, and she reports that plenty of friends and neighbors from the building have been coming to her events...