Technology

I’m a fan of social media. I use it daily. Twitter is what I open instead of the fridge when I’m bored, and it keeps me well informed and entertained–thanks to a carefully curated list of theologians, geeks and friends. Technology has opened up a world of connections impossible just a few decades (years?) ago. In 1980, if you wanted to tell your friends that someone at Starbucks ordered an outrageous drink, you would have had to call each friend, one by one. Or written a letter. Or waited until you saw them in person. Now, hundreds and thousands of people can see whatever you want to share with them, split seconds after it happens. We can instantly respond to anything we experience. An amazing catch. A hilarious sign. A crazy remark. An unbelievable scene. See it; share it. Click-clack. That means there’s no time for a filter. Gossip is just a tap away. At the same time, there is no room for Christians to retreat from new technologies. We go where people are to love them. Influence them. Point them to Jesus. But sometimes, we do a stupendously sucky job at using social media in a way that honors God and loves people. We use technology to make fun of people. Shame people. Embarrass people. People. People! People made in the image of God. People who have families. Moms. Dads. Brothers. Sisters. Kids. Parents. People whose butts may be hanging out–whether they know it or not–and probably don’t want to broadcast their cheeks on Reddit or Imgur. Before we grab our virtual pitchforks and tweet out, “Down with Twitter!” we must realize an abolition on technology is not the solution. Technology isn’t the problem. Our hearts are. ...

We live in a world where cash is on it’s way out the door. While I’m still a fan of using cash envelopes for budgeting, over half of the things we budget for are done electronically (like paying rent, giving to our church and other organizations, utility bills, etc.) While it’s easy to pay companies with debit cards and online bill pay, writing your friend a check for a dinner you split or tickets to a game feels ridiculous and clumsy. In the second decade of the 21st century, peer-to-peer payments should be easy, quick, and free–like cash without the hassle of carrying around exact change. Enter Square Cash. You can now pay your friends with a simple email, processed by one of the leaders in mobile payments–Square. All you need is a debit card. A credit card won’t work because your card must be linked to a checking account. Here’s how it works. ...

Niki and I have an unhealthy crush on budgeting. It’s not quite teenage-girls-for-Justin-Bieber love, but it’s close. You probably already know I have a thing for apps, so you can imagine how a budgeting app could be my digital best friend. We’ve been using Dave Ramsey’s system of zero-based budgeting for two and a half years, and it’s been an amazing journey. We’re debt free, saving for retirement and a future home and we’re able to be generous toward people and causes we believe in. At first, we used the cash-only system. Every single category we pulled cash out for, except for savings. That amounted to a scary stash of cash in our home every month. So we migrated to an Excel spreadsheet for our larger categories. We still use cash for daily expenses–groceries, entertainment, toiletries, etc., but for things like car repairs and our own personal allowances, we switched to digital tracking. It wasn’t a great system, but it worked for us. That hardest thing was that we didn’t have a ledger or report detailing where the money went for each category–just an updated balance for the category and the date it was last updated. We needed a budgeting app that was: more convenient than a spreadsheet not made by Microsoft easy to use on the go good for keeping a record of expenditures a good fit with our zero-based budgeting system pretty After lots of rave reviews about the software You Need a Budget (YNAB), we decided to pull the trigger on the desktop and iPhone software (mostly because we bought it on sale for half price. Budgeting, FTW!) YNAB is based around four solid rules that mesh perfectly with Dave Ramsey’s plan. Give every dollar a job. Save for a rainy day. Role with the punches. Live on last month’s income. Here’s how we’ve put it to use in our system. ...

Your account has been hacked. That unfortunate news makes its way to my inbox on a near-weekly basis. Most recently Kickstarter’s databases were infiltrated and usernames, emails and passwords were lifted. I normally respond with a sigh and quickly swap my password. It’s frustrating that digital theft is a daily reality, but for many (perhaps most) people, one stolen password from a website you rarely use means bad guys probably have access to your email inbox, Facebook, Twitter and maybe even your banking passwords because you use the same password on every site. Tisk _tisk. _ I was in the same boat. I had a few main passwords I used for everything, and if I wanted to make it super secure I’d toss a few capital letters into my normal string of letters and numbers. Trying to pilfer my info wasn’t quite like trying to ravage through Gringotts. We live in an increasingly complex world. Everything has a password (and for the developers who are masochists, we have a username that isn’t just our email). I’ve heard countless comments about passwords in recent weeks: “I have to change my password every 90 days and it can’t be one of my last 4 passwords used. I can’t come up with any more passwords that I can remember.” “I just use the same password for everything.” “My mom has a word document with her passwords in it on her desktop.” The ultimate goal of passwords is to strike a balance between security and convenience. Simple passwords mean effortless access to your account (for you and for hackers.) Complex logins brings increased protection but a mini-stroke every time you try to rack your brain for your password. So how do you balance a secure password, a memorable login and multiply it over 100+ websites (between apps, utility bills, financial logins, social networks, etc.) without going to a Montessori school? A password manager. Specifically, 1Password. ...

My phone is the first thing I grab when I wake up and the last thing I put down before going to bed. That is a problem. I love notifications. They are instant validation. It’s easier to check Facebook or Twitter than it is to solicit feedback or invite actual human interaction. Another like, favorite, retweet or comment. Someone else used my referral link! A free set of razor blades or a book or extra space in Dropbox. They are cheap substitutes for actual interaction. And I’m practically addicted to them. I have a few theories on why. ...

Responsive design, web design that enables websites to automatically resize and reformat to provide the best experience for the user’s screen, is critical to the future success of websites. I’m downright aghast and quick to navigate away to a new site (because surely the information is out there somewhere else) when a blog doesn’t instantly accommodate me. I’m a bit of a fanatic here (and in lots of other ways) but I think the sentiment is common: serve up the same content in the best way, no matter how I access your site. Practically any major website you can think of has responsive design enabled, and even mom and pop sites (like this one) can figure out responsive design with a template or a few simple coding tweaks. Nearly a third of all traffic to my blog comes from mobile devices, and serving up content on a mobile device the same way I would to someone using a laptop or desktop computer is frustrating for the user. It communicates, “I know this looks like crap, but it’s better than nothing.” Responsive design follows the same logic of restaurants offering kid portions, small portions and large portions–the right size for the right person, even though the content (the meal) may be the same. ...

There’s a new most-used app on my iPhone. Upon first inspection it seems to be a simple note-taking app. But underneath the hood it’s the equivalent of a hybrid electric car getting over 200 miles per gallon. I came across Drafts for iOS thanks to David Sparks of MacSparky. I’ve mentioned the app before, but I thought I’d share more in-depth about how I’ve come to use and love it and how it’s made it’s way into the illustrious iPhone dock. First, here’s a sampling of what I use it for. I’ll get into the specifics a bit further down: Writing reminders for myself Taking down notes and quotes from (library) books I’m reading Writing tweets and sending them to Buffer Sending emails to myself Sending a text to Niki (or a saved group) Copying down people’s contact information Saving my workout plans Adding new notes to Evernote Adding to my reading list Adding to my wish list Creating calendar events Saving documents to Dropbox Writing short notes in Markdown Searching my blog Looking for products on Amazon Finding a saved password in 1Password Jotting down a quick idea and saving it to my ideas list In just the list above, it takes the place of using at least 11 different apps. And that’s just scratching the surface. Here’s why Drafts is awesome. ...

It’s no secret I’m a fan of online shopping. I enjoy the privilege of actually holding, testing and seeing the products I’m purchasing, and I can’t get that online. But what’s normally lacking in a traditional store is the wealth of knowledge from experienced buyers. In other words, I live for reviews. I’m not an impulsive buyer. I read dozens of reviews on Amazon before trying something (and I always start with the most negative review rated most helpful). Here are the circumstances when I have to read reviews. If… I haven’t used a product before the item hasn’t come highly recommended from a friend or respectable acquaintance (i.e. Twitter) it is fairly expensive purchase ($50+) there is a cornucopia of options (e.g. iPad Bluetooth keyboards) I haven’t heard of it from another source before (in the case of books or movies) I’m in a new city looking for local food Here are the two situations when I don’t read reviews: I want it right that second (e.g. food, candy bars) It is a cheap consumer staple (e.g. toilet paper; but now that I think about it, I’m going to check into some reviews) So the short list of non-review situations is pretty pathetic. I’m a review-o-holic. I normally share the love in return via Twitter or this blog, because I’m an evangelist in every sense of the word for things worth talking about. All of this to say, I know it’s an issue. ...

I’m always looking for the next best thing in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. The next best product, the next best app, the next best whatever that will make what I already do easier, faster, more effective. In the process, I’ve spent my fair share of digital cash on apps and software. A lot of my friends and family proudly tell me they never pay for apps. They own $600 unsubsidized smartphones and likely pay $75+ a month for them, but paying a buck or two for an app–come on! They aren’t billionaires. God bless irony. Sticking with free apps is absolutely their prerogative (and there are lots of good ones out there), but here’s a few reason why I regularly pay for apps. ...

The Dollar Shave Club commercial intrigued many. [Warning: some strong language bleeped out and one unbleeped dirty word]. It’s hilarious. Ridiculous. Completely over the top and worth talking about. As Seth Godin would say, it’s remarkable. I was tired of paying over $3 per cartridge (and many times closer to $4) for a 5-blade Gillette Fusion razor. It’s expensive because they market the Fusion as if it is the only solution to caveman-like beards. Guys, it’s not! It’s not the only way! Enter our friends from Dollar Shave Club. Their marketing alone sold me on the worthiness of trying it, at least for a month. This is a comprehensive Dollar Shave Club review in every sense of the word, so grab tightly to your can of shaving solution and get ready to nix your neck hair. (Here’s a quick synopsis of my Dollar Shave Club review: it rocks. Their blades rock, their service rocks, and I’m a believer. If you want to buy your next razor from them right now, here’s an affiliate link that gets me a month of free razors and will help keep my blog afloat as a nice little razor subsidy for me. If you want the full analysis, read on. Also, there’s a hefty amount of comparisons between the DSC razor and the Gillette Fusion because everybody and their mother has the Fusion. It was also my last brand-named, overpriced razor.) The Dollar Shave Club Blade Options ...