I’ve been a Microsoft customer for post of my life. Even though I moved over to Mac about a year ago, and have never looked back, I still bought Microsoft Office for Mac. After looking for closely at Google Docs, I am beginning to think that I may never need another Microsoft product, ever.
Google runs most of my life – email, this blog, my blog reader, almost any internet search I do, and I’m even thinking of switching to T-Mobile so I can get the Google phone. I’ve shied away from Google Docs until recently. I’m not sure why. I guess it was just habit to open up Excel or Word, save to my hard drive, and then back up to my external hard drive.
I’ve recently signed on with Examiner.com to be one of their business reporters – I’m very excited about the gig and have ideas popping up all the time. It’s one of the nice things about being a writer – everything that happens to you, good, bad, or indifferent, is potential material. Most of the time I’m not home, so having documents on my hard drive isn’t efficient. I have to write down my ideas on some scrap of paper or email them to myself and then type them into my Excel schedule when I get home. Inefficient and a time waster. And I hate wasting time.
Google Docs is the answer – whether I’m at home, at work, or out and about with my mobile, I can log in, type my ideas right into my writing schedule, and be done. (Well, except for the actual writing.) And they’re there for you to connect to, any time, any where. Compatible with windows. You can share the documents with others, if you’d like. And it formats well – very well. I mean why doesn’t Excel automatically align column content with the width of the column? And 99% of the time isn’t the top row a header row?
Google observed behavior and made a great product to boot that’s easy to use and highly accessible. Microsoft, you have a lot to learn, and Google can teach you.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
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