@baratunde

"I'm always here @dicklaurent97. always. I mean that in the creepiest possible way. Thanks for sharing and getting the blend!" - @baratunde

"ok I'm back! so WHICH over-funded startup should I point to? remember Branch. http://branch.com which then forked and launched Potluck https://www.potluck.it/ There's also State https://state.com disclosure: I know several folks at Branch/Potluck but don't use either service actively anymore. Met a founder at State at some conference in the UK a while back but never really checked it out. this article does a great job of outlining limits and recommendations for improving commenting on news sites. http://www.journalism.co.uk/skills... Now for my opinions and not just links.... It's hard for "random internet folk" to engage in heart-to-heart online if that context isn't established early. I ran a political blog for many years, and I think we underestimated the work it takes to set reasonable tones and expectations for online discussion behavior. You gotta stop the trolls and call people out FAST when things start to descend. You've..." - @baratunde

"search this page for that. answered twice! thanks for asking though." - @baratunde

"quick update. i'm deep in prep for tonight's show, and this question requires more response time than i have right now. i WILL return to add thoughts, but not before 8pm PT. thanks in advance for understanding. in the meantime, just yell at your neighbors and coworkers, record it, and paste to the internet. bam." - @baratunde

"There's nothing in the books yet but i always come back to TWIT. love going on there especially if I can banter / battle with Nick Bilton or Brian Brushwood. (see: libertarian comments below)" - @baratunde

"sadly i'm not in charge of the internationalization of the book or it would have been released all over the world in short order! good to know it's resonating though. I'll email the publisher right to this comment as proof, and that should solve all europe's race problems amiright??" - @baratunde

"I am noodling on this one. This is the best question by far. Take note, Redditers, @funnyjokesdotjpg JUST RAISED THE BAR. Back later with answers." - @baratunde

"Thanks for saying nice things! I started writing in Spring of 2010 and submitting the manuscript July 2012. So basically a year but it wasn't full time. I did MOST of the writing in the summers and was also still working at The Onion. as for what it was like: HARD in some places and super easy in others. The most interesting part was how the book changed during the writing. I thought it was going to be a most satirical book but it ended up being mostly memoir. I have Deb Stier (then of Harper and the one who brought me in) to thank for that. The second most interesting part was interviewing my black panel. I will always be indebted to Jacquetta Szathmari, damali ayo, Cheryl Contee, Derrick Ashong, Elon James White and Christian Lander" - @baratunde

"whiskey favorites rotate with season. right now: Basil Hayden's whisky for scotch. whiskey for Irish and bourbon building a following: not so much secrets as lots of experiments on the wall. attempting to push the same point of view through different platforms. luck. can't overstate that! supporters who rep and promote you behind the scenes. having some kind of core belief or point of view is likely most important. knowing what it is you stand for and want to say so if the mic comes your way, you can use it effectively." - @baratunde

"You gotta do the right shows man!" - @baratunde

"http://pivot.tv is a new TV network. It's owned by Participant Media who have made tons of docs and films dealing with social issues. Besides my own show, I'm really excited by Freestyle Love Supreme getting a show http://www.takepart.com/freesty... Those dudes are soooooo damn talented." - @baratunde

"ha! I actually LOVE brian brushwood, so there's hope yet. I think a lot of Libertarianism works well "on paper," but we live in a world that requires real cooperation and social connectivity, and the implicit selfishness of libertarianism troubles me. The idea that we'll all just privately fund our needs ignores the strength we can have together. The idea that markets alone find equitable balance has already proven so false (waves at growing wealth inequality and privatized political process! hi!). on the other hand, it's not a blanket negative reaction. the civil liberties preservation is high high HIGH on my list. and of course I have a healthy distrust of government. because history." - @baratunde

"have at least one black parent" - @baratunde

"fatigue" - @baratunde

"answered below but can't repeat enough. I love it. i especially love that it deals with the intersection of race and sexuality. often those topics are handled in silos but having the main character be a gay black man set up some great commentary and comedy" - @baratunde

"Yoooooo!! That is amazing. Thank you thank you. It's been strange to see my book assigned to folks in high school and college. I'm glad you chose it. I hope you didn't totally ruin my life's work! :D I have just started to watch Black Jesus. I'm so behind on TV thanks to Scandal, Sons of Anarchy, How To Get Away With Murder, Key and Peele plus finally watching Fringe (just finished Season 3)" - @baratunde

"I seriously doubt it will return. Unsurprisingly, I think that show was head of its time. Get it? FUTURE! oh boy. That was my first real TV show. I learned to learn things very very quickly. I learned how to interview much better and pull out nuggets often from people not used to being on camera (hey hey scientists of the world!). I learned that Japan has such a strange relationship with robots as to make me uncomfortable. Lots of that helps with my current gig on TakePart Live. It also helped tremendously in the series Cultivated Wit did with AOL on crowdfunding http://www.cultivatedwit.com/project... and the work we did with GE explaining science there. http://www.gereports.com/post..." - @baratunde

"wasup Erica! it's been forevah. ForEVah EVah? Forevah evah. That's a great idea. I can't promise the "next" one will be there, but I do promise I'll host one in Oakland or Berkeley in the not too distant future" - @baratunde

"Juicy question! Now let's squeeze that juice out. I don't know why I'm running so hard with the juice metaphor. Is it good? I don't know. But it makes sense. It's real. Our political system is so officially corrupted by money and bullshit that the lack of faith in it is quite reasonable. When members of congress spend up to 70 percent of their time fundraising and bending to the will of the increasingly wealthy, it's natural to be like, "nah, i'm just gonna go over here and plant this here garden on my neighbor's roof." I think it's a sad fact of life. I think the work of folks like Larry Lessig with http://mayday.us is a great step, and so I've supported things like that. As for part two, yes indeedy. One of the reasons I joined Pivot TV and TakePart Live (plug: http://takepart.com/live) is I consider it "news that gives a damn." The idea is to marry entertainment, information, and ACTION. Giving people something to DO (other than get mad) is an important way to close the democracy..." - @baratunde

"Aww yeah. So one of my co-founders Craig Cannon came up with the idea two years ago. We were just noodling around with what Cultivated Wit could be and were leaving The Onion (he was a graphics editor there). He had run the satire publication at NYU and was increasingly involved in coding and developer stuff so proposed this event where awkward devs and awkward comedians could make beautifully awkward apps together. We did the first one in NYC with the immense help of Jon Gottfried (formerly of Twilio; now of Major League Hacks). Some of my fave projects: My Real Puppy (simulated caretaking of a puppy), Wearable Furby (with a custom API to boot), Timesify (makes trashy websites look like NYT), iCare (you give it an issue; it cares about it for you), XcuseMe (routes you to appointments through delays so you can justify your lateness), Lobbyists From Last Night (lets you taunt your congresshuman about their time spent fundraising) more at http://comedyhackday.org" - @baratunde

"SO MANY QUESTIONS I was not a member of Jack & Jill. It wasn't even on the radar of possibility. My family wasn't plugged in to that society, and my only exposure to the group made me highly skeptical. It just felt like better-than-thou-ness. Having not been a member of any such group, I don't know if I can say they're all "antiquated." I get the need to preserve some racial culture in an upper class environment where histories and values can be overwritten. So I guess I'm saying they do have value. Well, look at that! New opinions developing LIVE IN FRONT OF YOU. I not only SAW Dear White People. I have a cameo in it and am friends with the director. I love love love LOVE the movie. If you ever read or held a copy of How To Be Black, you're contractually obligated to see Dear White People. It's in the Terms Of Service you didn't read." - @baratunde

"I do think there's a tonal shift in social media where the instant hyper reaction can drown out the assumption of goodwill. Flash groups of anger and judgment trump a more thoughtful response. I also think what I did with Swine Flu was a bit lucky in that the hype around swine flu was so much greater than the actual viral impact. If thousands had been dying, people may have reacted more negatively even back then, and I might have stopped sooner. There is humor in the over-reaction to Ebola, for sure. It's just a delicate act to dive in there and not be targeting people who are already victims. But Chris Christie and the goons selling fake Ebola cures. They're just asking for it." - @baratunde

"I love it. I regularly look at #howtobeblack on instagram and use the images in my shows and talks. Part of the design of the title and book cover was to encourage conversation. Lauren White captured it beautifully in this piece in Guernica Mag. https://www.guernicamag.com/daily..." - @baratunde

"oh boy. this is a public forum, and i cannot in good conscious encourage over-drinking! To be real, Whiskey Friday isn't really about whiskey, and it's definitely not about getting wasted. It's mostly about (DRAMATIC PAUSE) the people. We don't actually do too many Whiskey Fridays of the public kind, so I would encourage you to show up and lighten the pressure on yourself. You're not expected to recite speeches or "network" or prove anything. It's just a good place for interesting folks to gather, and you can come and go as you please. No rope lines. No checkins. No pretense. Be not afraid." - @baratunde

"Slight correction: I'm not an actor. I mostly just "play" myself, but I'm not out there auditioning for character roles and such, so I'm less directly affected by casting decisions and stereotypes, for example. That said, there's one thing that comes right to mind. U.S. media culture still has this idea that THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE! when it comes to representing certain types of minorities in media. It's what I'll call The Highlander Model. So if there's a latina with a TV show, the industry historically has been like, "CHECK THE BOX!! LATINA SHOW IS COVERED. NEXT!" and it's harder for the second latina to get a shot. I'm actually seeing that change for at least two reasons. 1) more media fragmentation and media-making power. Basically, folks can make their own stories and distribute them (waves at Issa Rae / Awkward Black Girl) 2) Traditional industry perspective is shifting to reveal that "diversity" isn't just some charity case, but it's also really good business. Like, there's money..." - @baratunde

"crunchy. no contest. creamy peanut butter makes me sad. it's like we just took everything wonderful about peanut butter and beat it into submission. #occupyPeanutButter" - @baratunde