The XX Factor: What women really think.

BlackBerries Aren't Just Rude. They're Ruining the Art of Conversation.

Emily, you brought up BlackBerry etiquette yesterday, after Tom Golisano got mad at New York State Senate majority leader Malcolm Smith for rude usage of his. I'm continually astounded by the blatant disregard with which people whip out their devices and start multitasking in situations where full attention is obviously what etiquette demands. Or what safety demands—too often I've been the backseat witness to the unnerving practice of BlackBerrying while driving. I don't care that your BlackBerry has a map. Either pull over to check it, or have the passenger navigate, just like in the old days of paper maps.

But for the most part, it seems like even those guilty of succumbing to BlackBerry's pull toward constant communication, like Emily and Inci admit to being, realize and feel guilty about their breach of etiquette. The hazier question, I've found, is what's appropriate regarding... (To read the rest of this post, visit our new website DoubleX.com!)

The BlackBerry Brush-Off: Ranking Digital Age Rudeness

My favorite part of this week's crack up of the New York legislature is Governor Patterson's plea, "Think of the lobbyists!" My next favorite part is that Tom Golisano, the businessman who seems to have prodded two Democratic state senators into flipping to the GOP and instigating a Republican takeover, says he got mad at the Dems after a meeting at which Senate majority leader Malcolm Smith couldn't take his eyes off his BlackBerry. Ah, the BlackBerry brush off. I think I'd put that at the top of a list of digital age breaches of etiquette. As in... (To read the rest of this post, visit our new website DoubleX.com!)