I went back to my roots last week. Twenty years ago I worked as a radio announcer (disc jockey and news) on, among other radio stations, WMGQ-FM (“Magic 98.3”) in Central New Jersey. So it felt a lot like homecoming to be interviewed on the station by the renowned journalist Maggie Glynn for her Sunday morning program “@ Central Jersey.”

Maggie and I had a terrific time exploring all kinds of topics relating to the impact of digital technology, and social media in particular, on people’s everyday lives. We talked about surveillance and security, the changing nature of family life, and the relative permanence of the digital footprint in the digital era. I talked about digital communities, the power of networking (including what Wellman and Rainie call “networked individualism”), and how my research was inspired by my years in radio and the bonds I felt I had formed with my listeners. For me, at least, the half hour flew by!

If you’d like to listen to all or part of the interview, the link is right here.

Thanks, Maggie Glynn, for an interview that was part “research promotion” and part “trip down memory lane.” Any time work and fun collide like that, I’m in!