Virginia K. Smith
Lifehacker
New York, United States
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Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
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Past articles by Virginia:
How to Reenter Society Post-Vaccine, Even When You're Not Sure You're Ready
"A lot of people feel almost gaslit, because we’re just moving forward and acting like it didn’t happen." → Read More
What's New on Netflix the Week of February 3, 2020
We’ll level with you right now: this week’s new offerings on Netflix are rather less than thrilling. That is, unless you’re a big fan of Netflix Family original content (if so, look forward to spending the week with Team Kaylie and Captain Underpants). → Read More
What's Coming and Going From Netflix the Week of July 22, 2019
Let’s start of the week with a confession: I never bothered seeing Inglourious Basterds, and I’ve been quietly irritated by the spelling of the title since it first came out in 2009. I assume it’s a reference to something within the movie, but who’s to say? Not me! → Read More
SNL's 'Fashion Coward' Is Actually Full of Shopping Hacks
Because there was no one nearby to talk me out of it, I walked into an Anthropologie last week. I’ve never once found an item of clothing there that suited me, but I have a lot of weddings to go to this summer, and anyway, it’s right across the street from our office. → Read More
Check Local Weather and Terrain Before Booking a Rental Car
I’ve never been a person who cares much about models when renting a car. Oh, this one’s the cheapest, has at least one functioning USB and a way to connect my phone to the speakers? Great, fine, I’ll take that one, thanks. → Read More
Can You Be an Ecotourist Without Destroying the Environment?
The impulse behind ecotourism is a good one, in theory—who wouldn’t want to visit a beautiful place, bask in the wonders of nature, and come back home with an enhanced appreciation for delicate ecosystems around the globe (and the dire risks they face from climate change)? → Read More
Look Up Your Airline's Cutoff Time for Checked Baggage Before You Fly
It’s been at least a decade since I checked a bag on a flight. I’m never traveling for that long or with that much, and what, I’m going to pay money for the privilege of traveling with things that I’ve... already paid money to own in the first place? No thanks. → Read More
Use the Mobile Passport App to Breeze Through Customs Without Global Entry
Waiting in line for U.S. customs when you return stateside from an international flight can be excruciating. There’s a good reason people shell out for programs like TSA Precheck and Global Entry in an effort to speed up the process. → Read More
We Reject the Side Hustle
Read enough about career and money, and you’ll start to see a lot of the same pieces of advice repeated over and over again. Most are sensible and innocuous. Some are downright bad. → Read More
The Best Etiquette Advice of 2018
We here at Lifehacker devote a truly endless amount of energy to the contemplation of proper etiquette. How to split the check, how to chat up your coworkers without being too extra about it, how to deal with rude friends, how to deal with rude strangers, all manner of fraught interaction that happens over email or on social media...the list goes on. → Read More
What's the Best Secret Santa Gift?
Secret Santa gift exchanges are a good way to cut down your family’s excess holiday spending, and also, in theory, a pleasant, festive way to get to know your coworkers better. If you’re not especially well-acquainted with your chosen gift-ee, however, they can also be stressful as hell! → Read More
Save Money on Your Christmas Tree by Asking for a Dud
Christmas trees are wonderful and cozy and festive, but they’re also damn expensive, at a time of year when most of us are already struggling not to blow our budgets. → Read More
The Real Key to Meal Prep Is Freezing Everything
It’s well-worn advice at this point that one of the highest-impact ways to eat more healthily, and also spend less money, is to get it together and prepare your own food. Which is fine, because it’s true! → Read More
Are You Cutting Amazon Out of Your Holiday Shopping This Year?
Whether your signature issue is decent working conditions and a living wage for workers; the company’s systematic scamming of American cities in its “search” for HQ2; or the simple fact that no one human (let alone one as notably greedy as Jeff Bezos) should be in possession of $163 billion dollars—it seems that nearly everyone is pissed at Amazon right now. → Read More
How to Calm Down, With ASMR University Founder Craig Richard
Not to be overly presumptuous, but if you’re a person who’s alive in the world at 2018, there’s a good chance that sometimes, you need help calming down. → Read More
Is 'Just Checking In' Really Such an Awful Thing to Say in Emails?
In work and in life, I love a script. If a repetitive type of interaction is part of your life—making a certain kind of small talk, having to send the same type of email with some frequency, making daily phone calls to clients or vendors or sources—why bother wasting mental energy coming up with fresh material every time, when you have a go-to line that you know does the trick to, say, get a… → Read More
Never Veto a Plan Without Suggesting a Better Option
Making plans with your friends, loved ones, and romantic partners should be a straightforward process, maybe even an enjoyable one. And yet, so many people are absolutely god awful it, muddying the waters with dithering, failure to grasp or account for basic details, poor communication skills, and sheer laziness. → Read More
How to Get a Free Election-Day Ride to the Polls
In case you haven’t already heard, midterm elections are next Tuesday, November 6th, and it is absolutely imperative that everyone who is able to vote, votes. → Read More
I'm Virginia K. Smith, Lifehacker Managing Editor, and This Is How I Work
Every week, we share the shortcuts, workspaces, and productivity tips of our favorite experts. This week, we’re going behind the scenes at Lifehacker. I’m Virginia K. Smith, and this is how I work. → Read More
Stop Posting Pictures of Strangers on Social Media
Taking someone’s photo without their consent and posting it on the internet is a shitty thing to do. It’s invasive, inappropriate, and can even put the other person in danger. In a world that made any sense, this wouldn’t require further explanation. This would be a commonly understood part of the social contract. → Read More