Christopher Mims

It’s easy to become jaded about the power of social media in a crisis like the Baltimore riots, but the real power of Twitter and Facebook is the context they can provide, writes columnist Christopher Mims.

Computer programing is a skill uniquely suited to training children how to solve problems and to express themselves, and many educators think it should be part of the basic curriculum, even for grade schoolers.

Keywords: Startups are keeping head counts low, and even eliminating management positions, by replacing them with a surprising substitute for leaders and decision-makers: data.

Resist the urge to buy the latest, shiniest smartphone, writes Christopher Mims.

Anyone who isn’t a self-described early adopter might want to avoid the entire category of wearables, including the Apple Watch, at least for a few more years, Christopher Mims writes.

In trying to find employee diamonds in the rough, one man found there’s no correlation between a college degree and an ability to code.

Keywords: Google’s guru of human resources says work is made better through transparency, goal setting, frequent performance reviews and a less-hierarchical structure. And hiring smart, conscientious and humble people.

The timetable for production of electronics hardware is being sped up, thanks to incubators with labs full of equipment for prototypes and firms offering expertise and manufacturing capacity in China, writes Christopher Mims.

The world’s most sophisticated battery technology, from Sakti3, will make its debut in a Dyson vacuum cleaner if all goes according to plan.

Keywords: For the first time in decades, billion-dollar startups are being built not on gains in productivity made possible by eliminating humans, but by the wholesale recruitment of people.

Keywords: There is one thing consumers wish manufacturers would change about their gadgets. It’s better battery life, writes Christopher Mims.

Did you know the president can text everyone in the U.S. at any time? In a semiregular video series, Christopher Mims looks at small but important details of our tech-enabled world.

Keywords: “People analytics,” which treats an organization’s workers like any other supply chain asset— to be monitored, analyzed and reconfigured—is likely to play a growing role in driving decision making.

Keywords: The challenge RadioShack faced was the slow erosion of the very leisure time the company profited from by filling.

Apple and Xiaomi’s successes reflect the world’s growing income inequality, with Apple gaining ground among more-affluent smartphone users and Xiaomi catering to the developing world’s emerging middle class.

Haystack and rival parking apps have been banned in several cities. But some apps that run up against public sensibility—like people auctioning off parking spaces—are actually good ideas.

Keywords: Columnist Christopher Mims is convinced the Apple Watch will be a launching pad for the next wave of billion-dollar consumer-tech startups.