The Geek Gap is thoroughly original, virtually unique, of paramount importance and, on top of ALL that, a 'great read.' Bill Pfleging and Minda Zetlin deserve a giant 'Hats off' for this wonderful piece of work. --Tom PetersBusiness managers (suits) and technology professionals (geeks) have become warring camps in too many companies. While both groups have no trouble following the lingo of their own specialties, when they have to communicate with each other, neither side fully understands-or wants to understand-the other. And that's a big problem in an increasingly technology-dependent business environment where success depends on the smooth integration of both business savvy and technological expertise.Bill Pfleging-a respected computer and Web consultant-and Minda Zetlin-a veteran business writer-explore, in this insightful, witty, and very instructive book, the culture clash that pervades nearly every business-technology interaction. The Geek Gap provides members of both camps a practical guide to working together effectively. Using many real-world examples, the authors vividly illustrate the consequences in time, money, careers, and even lives when these separate cultures fail to communicate. By far the most serious example was the Challenger space shuttle disaster, which was likely the direct result of an internal clash and lack of communication between NASA's managers and engineers.The authors provide practical solutions for building trust between business and computer professionals. The book is filled with tips aimed at geeks and suits to help each group understand the other, communicate in what amounts to a foreign language, and get what they need to do their jobs effectively. The authors profile companies and individual executives who have successfully bridged the gap by conducting events that bring the two groups together, switching jobs from one area to the other, creating whole new careers as go-betweens, and much, much more.This is the first book to directly address issues of communication and understanding between business and technology people. The Geek Gap-in identifying this problem and providing numerous practical and workable solutions-is an indispensable guide for all.Bill Pfleging (Woodstock, NY) is a computer and Web consultant who writes a regular technology column for the Woodstock Times. With computer experience going back to the early 1970s at IBM, he has also worked for Tripod.com and Lycos Network.Minda Zetlin (Woodstock, NY) is a longtime business writer whose work has appeared in Crain's New York Business, Success!, Management Review, and other publications. She is also the author of Telecommuting for Dummies and co-author of The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing.

Addressing the corporate culture clash between technology "geeks" and business "suits," this unique, insightful read is also a practical guide to working together more effectively.

This book "isn't about the famous tech trailblazers you already know, like Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer. Instead, veteran journalists Heather Cabot and Samantha Walravens introduce readers to the ... female entrepreneurs and technologists fighting at the grassroots level for an ownership stake in the revolution that's changing the way we live, work and connect to each other"--Amazon.com.

Geeks tend to be skeptical about social media, especially about its role in anything serious or substantial. Perhaps that is only natural, given that your average geek has fine-tuned analytical abilities and antennae that are always up to detect snake oil. And yet nobody, not even the geekiest geek, can afford to ignore the opportunity and the power that lies in deploying social media for marketing technology, both to geeks and to the rest of the world.Social Media Geek-to-Geek explores the increasingly vital role that social media can play in technology marketing efforts and reveals how you, in a marketing strategy, analysis or implementation role, can harness its energy for your company. Peppered with actionable wisdom from start to finish, this handy title enables every technology marketer to appreciate the galvanizing capabilities of social media, all made possible by geek abilities, intelligence and insight.

As an industry, interactive is different. The work entails elements of software development, marketing, and advertising, yet it’s neither purely technical nor traditional “agency” work. Delivery methods are different, and because the industry is relatively new, the gap in understanding between the clients buying the work and the teams building it is often wide. Enter the geek girls guide. Nancy Lyons and Meghan Wilker don’t just tell you how to deliver digital work, they demonstrate how to think about it. Interactive Project Management: Pixels, People, and Process helps clients, agencies, and industry professionals better understand the critical role of interactive project management, and presents a collaborative, people-focused approach to delivering high-quality digital work. In this book, the authors: Define the unique characteristics of interactive projects Explain the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace Discuss communication techniques that help teams work together more efficiently Outline a process and specific deliverables that clarify how to think about critical aspects of a project Provide questions, tasks, tips, and advice that effectively move teams from initiation to launch

The editors of GeekMom, sister site to Wired's GeekDad blog, offer a range of cool projects and parenting advice centered around raising kids in the tech age.

Whether we want to improve education or cut crime, to enhance public health or to generate clean energy, we need the experimental methods of science - the best tool humanity has yet developed for working out what works. Yet from the way we're governed to the news we're fed by the media we're let down by a lack of understanding and respect for its insights and evidence. In The Geek Manifesto Mark Henderson explains why and how we need to entrench scientific thinking more deeply into every aspect of our society. A new movement is gathering. Let's turn it into a force our leaders cannot ignore. This edition includes an appendix: 'A Geek Manifesto for America' by David Dobbs.

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year. “Fans [of The Wire] can find many of the same strengths in Kerrigan’s work” (The New York Times). Vincent Naylor has just been released from prison and has already begun to plot his next heist—the robbery of an armored car. Det. Sgt. Bob Tidey has been caught perjuring himself to protect fellow officers. He’s also found the link between an unsolved murder case and the recent execution of a corrupt banker in serious financial difficulty. An old acquaintance will change the course of the investigation. A retired nun living on regrets and bad memories notices something deeply suspicious and makes a phone call that sets in motion a series of fateful events. In The Rage, Gene Kerrigan weaves together astute observations regarding a financial crisis, church abuse, and gangland crime. The writing is, as always with a Kerrigan novel, superb, with an engaging story that has pitch perfect dialogue and characters that come fully alive. The prize-winning crime fiction is set in contemporary Ireland where nothing is neatly resolved and there are no easy choices. Like life itself. “A perfect novel . . . beautifully constructed, with sharp and relevant dialogue, and not a superfluous word to be found.” —The Oregonian “Gritty and compulsively readable.” —The Wall Street Journal “Tightly plotted . . . the story’s pacing is masterly.” —The New Yorker “A boundlessly readable portrait of an Ireland in which all the old certainties have vanished. Remarkable for its verve, moral trickiness, and nifty plotting.” —NPR Fresh Air “Fans of Ken Bruen, Declan Hughes, and Declan Burke won’t want to miss this one.” —Booklist (starred review)

Not all wizards were born to be heroes. Things not to do when you find out you’re a wizard: #1 Do not destroy your apartment with magical fire. You WILL NOT get the security deposit back. #2 Do not form an alliance with the guy who is trying to murder you. This will end badly. #3 Do not drag the girl you’re desperately in love with into your wizard mess. You risk her watching you fail miserably. #4 Under no circumstances should you get in the middle of an epic magical battle. Death will happen. Lots of death and bad things. This Epic Tome contains all four books in The Tale of Bryant Adams: How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin' Days Seven Things Not to Do When Everyone's Trying to Kill You Three Simple Steps to Wizarding Domination Five Spellbinding Laws of International Larceny Praise for How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin’ Days “This is a magical, fast-paced, fantasy packed—with a lovely dose of modern day teen—ride.” – Tonja “How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin' Days by Megan O'Russell is the funniest book for teens/middle grade I have read in so long!” – M.W. “Megan O'Russell's heart-stopping magical adventures get better and better and I can't wait for her next one!” – Sherry Author Interview Why did you choose to write a fantasy book that heavily involves a cell phone? Phones are a huge part of everyday life. Smart phone are these tiny pieces of massive technology we use everyday without really thinking about how astounding they are. But what if phones could be used for more than just scrolling through social media? What if an entire magical library could be hidden in your pocket? I wanted modern convenience to meet magic in a new way. What does Bryant Adams bring to the world of wizards that readers haven’t seen before? Bryant Adams is not your standard hero. He is not the chosen one, and the world may be doomed if he’s in charge of saving us all. Bryant is a geek—the nerdy sidekick of the coolest kid in high school—who’s trying really hard to survive being a wizard but is too terrified to talk to the girl of his dreams. He’s just a boy trying to get through his teen years without too much emotional damage…and then magic happens. Who would enjoy this book? If you like humor with a touch of snark, romance with a hint of wit, and magic that might destroy the world as we know it, Bryant Adams is the wizard for you.

A fascinating chronicle of how celebrity has inundated the world of fashion, realigning the forces that drive both the styles we covet and the bottom lines of the biggest names in luxury apparel. From Coco Chanel’s iconic tweed suits to the miniskirt’s surprising comeback in the late 1980s, fashion houses reigned for decades as the arbiters of style and dictators of trends. Hollywood stars have always furthered fashion’s cause of seducing the masses into buying designers’ clothes, acting as living billboards. Now, forced by the explosion of social media and the accelerating worship of fame, red carpet celebrities are no longer content to just advertise and are putting their names on labels that reflect the image they—or their stylists—created. Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sean Combs, and a host of pop, sports, and reality-show stars of the moment are leveraging the power of their celebrity to become the face of their own fashion brands, embracing lucrative contracts that keep their images on our screens and their hands on the wheel of a multi-billion dollar industry. And a few celebrities—like the Olsen Twins and Victoria Beckham—have gone all the way and reinvented themselves as bonafide designers. Not all celebrities succeed, but in an ever more crowded and clamorous marketplace, it’s increasingly unlikely that any fashion brand will succeed without celebrity involvement—even if designers, like Michael Kors, have to become celebrities themselves. Agins charts this strange new terrain with wit and insight and an insider’s access to the fascinating struggles of the bold-type names and their jealousies, insecurities, and triumphs. Everyone from industry insiders to fans of Project Runway and America's Next Top Model will want to read Agins’s take on the glitter and stardust transforming the fashion industry, and where it is likely to take us next.