I'm not much of a political junkie, but I am all for silliness -- and the attack ad GOP senatorial prospect Carly Fiorina (who sometimes blogs at BlogHer) released last week raises the bar for silly. It's been dubbed "The Demon Sheep" and FCINO (standing for "Fiscal Conservative in Name Only" -- drubbing rival Tom Campbell's spending record). But who cares about economic policy when there are SHEEP?

Whether Apple's announcement of the tablet dubbed iPad made you long for one, scoff at how unnecessary they are, or crack jokes about the choice of name, you have to admit it was a huge announcement.

I went to a birthday party honoring a serious transition -- a landmark, and even for a successful young mother with three kids, it had an impact.  So what did her sweet husband do?  He made her a present, with the help of his 5 year old son.  I don't want to violate their privacy with a description; just know that it was something that only someone who knew her well, and loved her, could have given her.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a major address at the Newseum in Washington DC on January 21. She spoke in favor of uncensored access to the Internet and elaborated on the position the U.S. has taken regarding Internet freedom.

The New York Times announced today that it will start charging for online news in 2011. The "metered model" will allow viewers to see "a certain number of articles free every month before being asked to pay a flat fee for unlimited access."

One of the scarier facts about online life is that privacy requires constant vigilance. There are ways to look at your purchases, your remarks, your friends list, and your other public data and learn a truly astonishing array of things about you.

What happens with a newly-elected Indian minister in the central government starts tweeting? Many hilarious controversies, clashes and headlines.

After uncovering what it says is a massive cyber attack, Google is threatening to pull its operations from China and will no longer censor its search engine in the communist nation. From the official Google blog:

Have you started talking to the hand yet? The hand with the phone in it, but no one on the other end? I have and I confess I was enamored after one use and will never look back.

* * * UPDATE - February 1, 2010: The BlogHer Business '10 Call for Ideas has officially closed. Thank you so much to everyone who participated by submitting panel suggestions and case studies. You're just one of the many reasons we love the BlogHer community! * * *

Over the Christmas break, I was able to support following Causes:

The search for information was explored from two ends of the age spectrum in "Helping Children Find What they Need on the Internet" at The New York Times and “Where’s my Googlebox?!” – adventures in search for silver surfers at iheni :: making the web worldwide.