You actually can be passionate about things like making rational decisions based on a thorough airing of the facts, a reasonable and informed debate, a respect for the Constitution that includes, um, knowing about it.
Twitter is an astounding platform for information, but it's a total blank slate - which means it's an astounding platform for disinformation, too.
In university, in a vain attempt to stave off the frosh fifteen, I used to melt fat-free cheese over broccoli, onions and cauliflower in the cafeteria microwave. That earned me few friends.
I find the term 'workaholic' to be distasteful because it reminds me of the harried-looking lawyers I recall chained to their desks through nights and weekends during my lawyer days years ago.
It is a pet peeve of mine when people throw around arguments citing 'Fair Use' and yet fail to actually explain what a fair use argument actually is.
What I do want is to be transparent about where I am and how I got here. I don't like the cone of silence - it didn't do me any favors in my 20s or 30s, and I don't see it doing much for other women, either.
'The Crumbling of America' should be required viewing for local and national government, not to mention the local and national media who should be keeping their feet to the fire on guarding against disaster.
Craig Newmark looks like the kind of guy who would help you move your apartment, sell your furniture, get a job, or help you find that cute girl you saw on the subway.
Seeing how easy it has been to use Twitter for good has exposed the double-edged sword of how easy it could be to co-opt.
I downloaded a Ricky Gervais podcast once at the persistent urging of a friend and found it funny but distracting - if I'm online, I'm surfing, which means I'm distracted from the podcast. So it's a form that doesn't really work for me.
I use iTunes for downloading music, but I always decline when prompted to update this or that new version.
What's surprised me most about the demands of blogging - the relentlessness of it. 24-hour news cycle, every media imaginable right here in New York, totally fair game.
Good advice is just watch what you say on Facebook, on Twitter, on social networks because being sued is not fun. Filing a lawsuit is not fun. And being fired and having to do all of those things is not fun. So just avoid it.
I've gone out on limbs, flung far, and Forrest-Gumped my way into the center of the action.
We live in a world now where everything is tweeted and Instagrammed and tagged and now, God help us, Vined. Calling out grievances over Twitter has become an industry norm.
I'm Jewish, but not overly religious, and have certainly never formally observed the Fourth Commandment, other than via the tradition of wearing white on Friday nights at summer camp, which never seemed to dovetail with the fact that Fridays were also the night for grape juice.
Here's the thing: 'The Hurt Locker' was an amazing, important film. But did I enjoy it? Of course not. It was very tough to watch and, while gripping, not exactly what you'd call a happy place.
On NBC, MSNBC and Hulu, you can size and cut clips to whatever length you want. Do online clips affect the TV market? I'm guessing not really.
I'm a Canadian who can't vote, so far be it from me to speak for what Americans want. But, I am also a close observer of politics and media in this country, and the intersection of both - and how both intersect, and overlap with, each other.
In September 2005, I was three things: the media blogger for 'FishbowlNY,' a maniacal Daily Show fan, and the only person to smuggle a tape recorder and camera into a big Magazine Publishers of America event featuring Jon Stewart interviewing five hotshot magazine editors in an unbelievable bloodbath.
