Today is notable for three reasons. The first is that it’s Friday the 13th. Many folks are superstitiously wary of this date, but not me. I was born on a Friday the 13th.
 
Which brings me to the second reason: today is my birthday and one of the few times in my lifetime that my birthday and Friday the 13th coincide.
 
So, in honor of the occasion, I am launching my new website, Jerseyprofessor.com
 
Considering that I’ve been teaching social media as a graduate studies class since 2010, this has been a long time in coming. I’ve actually been involved in one form of social media or another since June 1995, when my friend, Ellen Druda, set up an email discussion group on her library computer, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. fan community group, Channel D. There were originally 10 of us. By mid-July, there were 24 and by the following March, 115.
 
That was too many for Ellen’s work computer, so we moved around, first to another domain, then to Onelist, then to Egroups and finally to Yahoogroups, where the discussion group still exists today. Of course, our community grew and spread out, so that these days, you can find us not only on Yahoogroups, but also on LiveJournal, Facebook [which is most active], Twitter and Tumblr.
 
But back to this website, it is a replacement for the one I had as a faculty member for a few years on our university website. As you can see by the menu headings, what you will find here are links to my professional publications, both as an academic and as a journalist, as well as anything connected to my research areas, popular and participatory culture, including and especially my beloved U.N.C.L.E., both as a series and recent film, as well as the fan community that has surrounded it for more than 50 years.
 
There is also a section for the great state of New Jersey, for which I have deep affection. I am a Jersey Girl born and bred, and for those who are interested, I will include posts under that heading of Jersey-type events and places, everything from productions at theaters in New Jersey (which I review about twice a month) to the Jersey Shore. And, no doubt, I will rant occasionally about commuting on the New Jersey Turnpike.
 
I also plan to blog and post a new essay every Friday, so drop by at the end of each week to see what’s new.
 
In the meantime, you are welcome to look around. Some of the sections are still under construction, by thanks to my son and webmaster (thanks Chris!) hopefully, it will be filling up shortly. You can also catch me on Facebook and on Twitter.
 
Thanks again for your time and interest. Hope you find it worth a visit from time to time.