Don't look so shocked. I like talking to strangers about social media.

For as far as I can remember, my friends have given me a hard time for talking to strangers.

“There’s nothing wrong with making friends,” I would say.

Some things never change.
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While at the Albany airport, I sat down at a table in the air-conditioned area near my gate (#temp control fail) and a man with a bow tie asks me if I will be boarding the flight to DC.

After finding out that I work with computers (and that I’m in my 20′s), he immediately asks me a few things about “my generation,” (which reminds me of the millennials 60 minutes feature) namely, why we (a) don’t read books anymore (b) what is twitter and (c) why we don’t respect the right to privacy.

I took a deep breath and did my best to not only respond to the concerns of this southern attorney over the age of 60, but also to represent “my generation,” well (I saw it as my duty to be an ambassador).

While explaining the history of the interwebs as well as the rise of social media, he seemed to be quite concerned over the “sharing” aspect on the internet.

“Why would anyone do that?” he asked me. I explained the collaborative nature of social media, and he was stunned that anyone would give up their right to “privacy” and post information on the internet (note: oops. I’m sharing now.)

I explained privacy settings and the ability to “hide” information, as well as how he would be able to interact and keep in touch with his kids. Fail.

Not willing to give up, I tried to steer this discussion in a new direction – and somehow, in a completely organic way, we ended up at everyone’s favorite online dating hotspot: match.com.

He proceeded to tell me that he met his girlfriend on Match and now they’re living together, but that it wasn’t easy- he explained that a high percentage of people he met posted very outdated pictures.. and he said (which was funny) “When I meet you in person, I’m going to remember the photo you showed me. What are they thinking, anyway?”

In summary, he made it clear to me that he doesn’t understand the “point” of social media/web 2.0, but yet experienced it in a very real way – by using match.com to meet his current girlfriend.

Best closing line: “You’re too young to know this, but the difference between 45 and 50 can be quite dramatic. A lot can happen in 5 years.”

Online dating words of wisdom from a cautious random attorney.

The term “fail” coupled with any run-of-the-mill circumstantial phrase seems to be making a play back into my life.

Sure, blame it on the blog, but you don’t always have to blame it on the alcohol [thanks Jamie Foxx].

Urban dictionary defines the new use of the term as, “either an interjection used when one disapproves of something, or a verb meaning approximately the same thing as the slang form of suck.” [via UD]. Some say that this newfound definition to an old word (who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?) originates from the gaming world. humm.

Across the web, I approve of the following sites to kick off your day with a “good fail.” Take my awkward passport photo fail posted on the imlpblog.

1. General Fails

Topping the charts is Fail Blog. A friend of mine introduced this site to me, and even with his horrible navigational structure, there is beauty in the sheer number of fails introduced here.

One of my recent favorites includes this Norton Anti Virus Fail [below]

2. Browser Knowledge Fail in New York

“I use the big E.”

I also like the girl who spells out “chrome,” just to be safe.

3.Late Night Texting Fails.

Texts from last night, a site that gives all of us senders and receivers of SMS messaging a sacred, third-party anononymity to display these messages is not a fail of a site, but moreso a place to acknowledge the fails of others. A win goes out to the flickr photo pool dedicated to late-night texting.

4. Life Fails

Nothing can hit life fails better than FMyLife – ’nuff said.

In conclusion, there’s nothing better than the internet to not only share your own fails, but to interact with others who either (a) think your fail is epic (b) think other people’s fails are epic (c) just to feel a little bit better about your own life.

What’s better than seeing technology play a role in hilarious life fails? Keeps you grounded. Oh, and I”m sure there will be many 4th of July fails out there today- play safe with those sparklers – that means you.

Gossip Girl- Yep, Best Show Ever.

It’s a cross between a Cinderella and a Christmas Story (those are the two best types of “stories” that come to mind)… but this one includes a personal favorite topic of mine: Gossip Girl.

You either love the show or hate it. But in both my personal case (and my friend Alexandra Martell), we love it.

It’s just another true millennious story…

She started out just like most GG fans who frequent NY Mag’s weekly recap of the episodes – but this New York native set herself apart from the rest by the quality of her comments, and her ability to analyze the show’s “reality index.”

After weeks of dedicated posting, she was promoted to one of the team’s “Chief” Commentators – she now consolidates the best comments into the weekly posts. (for those of you not well versed in Gossip Girl recap, this is a big deal).

NY Mag prefaces her first “reality index” with  “Okay, commenters, you win. We tried tallying up these hundreds of reality points that you write up during the week, then our beloved intern Mike tried, and now we’re all exhausted. So now we are giving you the responsibility. That’s right, one of your numbers, the fabulous MARTELL, will be your final reality index monitor this week. Behold her handicraft, below.]

I’m not surprised, though, that she was promoted from commenter to official “reality index monitor” – as (1) she IS a Syracuse University Newhouse graduate (2) A Gossip Girl fan and (3) The best nyc tour guide I’ve experienced thus far … she’s well suited for the job.

Check out her second “recap of recaps” here.

Oh, and Martell (& all you millennials), keep kicking butt in this collaborative web 2.0 world we live in.

“Let’s start a podcast.”

A simple statement from my friend Eric that launched something very web 2.0-y that keeps both of us occupied (& out of trouble!).

So what is Millennious?

It’s a new podcast from two millennials who love technology, life, and like to discuss how tech pervades every inch of our existence.

So taking a few hints from our favorite podcasters at This Week in Tech (TWIT), we decided to give it a shot.

You can listen to our podcast:

1. Via our Website at Millennio.us

2. On iTunes (this link will automatically launch iTunes on your computer and begin the download)

And we’d love to hear your feedback- so feel free to comment on our blog, e-mail us, or dial into our voicemail service at 646-495-9244 x 73505 (this will leave us a mp3 of what you have to say, so there’s a chance we can incorporate you into our program!)