Etiquette

Online

There’s One Very Important Time You Should Always Lie Online

3:30PM February 4, 2012 | Sam Biddle

Using the internet is only worthwhile if you can show off the perverse and wonderful things you’ve found on it. So, now that we’re always online and always in touch, we’re constantly sharing links. But what if you’ve seen it already? Lie. More »

Mobile

Don’t Be A Dick: New Mobile Phone ‘Game’ Improves Your Dining Etiquette

Flag
12:00PM January 13, 2012 | Nick Broughall

Some people find it hard to switch off the mobile, even when out to dinner with friends. So one Tumblr user decided to create a game to try and improve relationships over the dinner table. He calls it, “Don’t Be A Di*k During Meals With Friends.” More »

Geek Out

Force Smartphone Addicts To Pay For Your Meal

5:20AM January 7, 2012 | Sam Biddle

It’s become decorum to place your phone atop the restaurant table before (and while) you dine. But just because it’s the status quo doesn’t mean it’s not annoying and gross. Use this brilliant test of will to punish pathetic talk-and-texters. More »

Geek Out

Gizmodo’s Guide To IM Etiquette

9:00AM November 21, 2011 | Brent Rose

Everyone has an obnoxious instant messenger friend. If you don’t, it’s probably you. Our parents didn’t come of age in the days of AOL, so it’s unlikely that they were able to pass on the finer points of internet manners. More »

Mobile

Don’t Try To Convert Friends To Your Tech Religion

7:14AM October 29, 2011 | Sam Biddle

You probably love your phone, tablet, and other miscellaneous touchscreens — that’s why you bought them. But now that we anticipate, live, eat and sleep with our gadgets, they’re being deified. Don’t let your fandom turn you fanatical. Relax. More »

Software

The Awkward Horrors Of Knowing Where Everyone Is All The Time

5:34AM October 14, 2011 | Sam Biddle

Riding the orgiastic iOS 5 debut, Foursquare’s pushed out Radar It is a gamechanger, quite literally: It upends the basic social contract of Foursquare and harbinges the near-future of location-based social networking. And it’s going to be weird. More »

Mobile

When Is It OK To Talk To Your Phone? An Etiquette Guide To Mobile Voice Recognition

4:00PM October 8, 2011 | Mat Honan

Siri will mean a lot of us are talking on our phones, to our phones; a nation of Kirks, barking into communicators. So unless we lay down some ground rules, things are going to get very annoying, very quickly. More »

Software

How To Use iMessage So Everyone Will Love You

5:00AM October 5, 2011 | Sam Biddle

The sole remaining reason to use a BlackBerry is BBM — and now, the iPhone’s got its own version. It’s better than texting, but it comes with some potentially terrifying social vortexes to navigate. Here’s how to own iMessage, stress-free. More »

Online

How Not To Lie On Twitter

4:30AM October 1, 2011 | Mat Honan

Yesterday, The Onion began tweeting gunfire in the Capitol. The premise was that US Congress took America’s children hostage. Oh, cruel satire, you are hilarious! Except not everyone knew it was a joke. And now the Capitol police are investigating. Uh-oh. More »

Geek Out

Opinion: No, You May Not Use My Earbuds

12:00PM September 19, 2011 | Mat Honan

Have you ever had someone ask you to borrow your earbuds? It’s gross, right? I typically say yes, but I’m always skeeved out, and reach for the alcohol wipes afterward. Bottom line: earbud sharing is not acceptable social behaviour. More »