Hello and welcome! The pandemic has turned everything we know upside down, and we are relying on technology more than ever to work, go to school, stay informed, entertain ourselves and stay connected to people we love.

I’m Shira Ovide (pronounced OH-vee-day), and I’ll be your guide each weekday to how technology is transforming our lives and world — for better or worse. I’ve been writing about technology for the better part of a decade. I’m also a native Ohioan, a very bad cyclist and an enthusiastic tweeter.

There will be pieces about how technology is helping us stay close and protected — or not — during the pandemic. There will be insights into how big technology companies are dealing with our changing online lives. There will be tales of people doing the best they can with virtual life. I promise you will find joy and oddities here, too.

Many of you will note some familiar faces, like Charlie Warzel and Brian X. Chen; they and other stellar Times journalists will provide context for our strange times. Tell your friends (and your enemies) to sign up here. And we’ll have fabulous illustrations thanks to our visual editor, Jaspal Riyait.