The Skinny I’m a twenty-something bi-racial chick (Black & Dineh), originally from New Mexico, but mostly raised in Southern California. I currently live between Los Angeles and New York City (but mostly NYC), and I own my own company working as a new media consultant. Schoolin’ Me I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Comparative Media Studies from MIT. That’s where I learned lots of nerdy things about media theory and history. I then went on to earn my master’s degree in Communication Management, with an emphasis in Online Communities, from the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

Social Media Butterfly I started writing for the web in 1999 as a blogger, but this was before we called it “blogging.” I worked for a company that eventually tanked in the first Internet boom. I started my own blog in late 2002 on a hosted blogging platform. I ended up hating the inflexibility of hosted blogs, so I figured out how to host my blog on my own server by 2003. Thus, a star was born.

I initially began blogging under numerous pseudonyms (I was an angry college student) before I finally settled down to write under my own name in 2007. These days, I pretty much spend most of my ‘net time on social media websites. The Tumblrs, the Twitters, and such.

Hobbies, or lack thereof My hobby really is the web. I know, I sound real non-well-rounded. I like to design & develop sites when I get the time to sit and chill. Designing and developing is how I started on the web. I’m not saying I’m the bomb designer, but I definitely love learning and practicing design and development when I have the time. Other hobbies entail finding good music, learning more about photography, and watching good (and bad) TV. I also like to write. I’m also a sorority girl, a fact that most of my friends tend to forget.

Career Interests Originally I wanted to be a screenwriter for television (sitcoms) and eventually a show runner (I know, why go to MIT for this?). Funny thing happened on my way to film school: the Internet became the biggest distraction, and well, the Internet is taking over. These days, I’m interested in understanding how television/pop culture interacts and intersects with the web. I also have a special place in my heart for traditional publishing (books, magazines, news) and its intersection with the web.

Other Interests I’m Black. I’m Native American (Navajo, for the slow folks). I’m female. I am always interested in how these groups use and consume content on the web, as well as how they’re represented in this space.

Technology, interesting, SXSW,