Haven’t been to the site in a while and needed a “favorites” fix while wishing I were still able to have a quarter-life crisis! Hope all is well with you.

I am a reporter and graduate student at the Columbia Journalism School, and I’m working on an article about Google Talk, a.k.a. G-chat.

Specifically, it’s about the fact that when two Gmail users email each other, they automatically show up in each other’s G-chat sidebars — which can result in virtual strangers, or people like our bosses, clients, or grandmothers’ best friends, appearing on our lists. It can also create accidental stalkers out of us, granting us with what feels like intimate information about when someone is at their desk, what they’re having for lunch, etc. The article is meant to be a lighthearted look at this slice of online life and the etiquette it requires.

I’m writing it for a news wire called the Columbia News Service, which distributes content to more than 400 newspapers across the U.S. and Canada.

I read your post on G-chat invisibility, and I was wondering if it might be possible to set up a time to speak with you for this story, to get your perspective on the situation described above. Would you be available to talk for a few minutes in the next few days?

I can be reached at daf2132@columbia.edu.

Thanks very much.

Best regards,
Danielle Friedman