In the fight between Google and WolframAlpha, who's Bambi and who is Godzilla? Tavis Smiley and I debated on on his show.

The Kindle is great for a curated reading experience but a real pain if you're one of those crazy people who wants to read your own documents or interact with readers and authors. For more of my beef, see Three Problems with the New Kindle.

TV Appearances:

Here is a a 90-second clip with highlights of various TV appearances:

Below are three biographies of varying length.

Also, in case it is helpful, Wasow rhymes with Picasso (or, if you know your African geography, Burkina Faso).

One-hundred word bio:

Omar Wasow, 38, is a Ph.D. candidate in African American studies and Government at Harvard. His research focuses on race and politics, particularly in relation to education and crime. In addition, Omar is the co-founder and strategic advisor to BlackPlanet.com, a social network he helped grow to over three million users a month. Omar also works to demystify technology through regular TV and radio segments. In 2003, he helped found a K-8 charter school in Brooklyn. He is a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and the Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellowship. He can be reached at owasow at gmail dot com.

Short bio:

Omar Wasow, 38, is a Ph.D. candidate in African American studies and Government at Harvard. In addition to his graduate work, Omar is the co-founder of BlackPlanet.com and an on-air technology analyst. Under Omar’s leadership BlackPlanet.com became the leading site for African Americans, reaching over three million people a month. Omar also works to demystify technology issues through regular TV and radio segments on shows like NBC's Today, CNN's American Morning and public radio's Tavis Smiley show. Similarly, Omar tutored Oprah Winfrey in her first exploration of the Net in the 12-part series 'Oprah Goes Online'.

In 1999, as a result of his active participation in a number of social issues, particularly the charter school movement, Omar was selected to be a fellow in the Rockefeller Foundation's Next Generation Leadership program. In fall 2003, a K-8 charter school that Omar helped found opened in his hometown of Brooklyn. In 2007, in recognition of the promise of his academic research, the National Science Foundation selected him for a Graduate Research Fellowship. Most recently, the Aspen Institute selected him for their Henry Crown Fellowship that recognizes emerging leaders. He received his BA in Race and Ethnic Relations from Stanford University. He can be reached at owasow at gmail dot com.

Long bio:

Omar Wasow, 38, is a Ph.D. candidate in African American studies and Government at Harvard. In addition to his graduate work, Omar is the co-founder of BlackPlanet.com and an on-air technology analyst. Under Omar’s leadership BlackPlanet.com became the leading site for African Americans, reaching over three million people a month. Omar also works to demystify technology issues through regular TV and radio segments on NBC's Today Show, CNN's American Morning and public radio's Tavis Smiley Show. Similarly, Omar tutored Oprah Winfrey in her first exploration of the Net in the 12-part series 'Oprah Goes Online'.

Omar's success as a credible and friendly guide to the Internet led Newsweek to name him one of the "fifty most influential people to watch in cyberspace," and People magazine to call him the "Sexiest Internet Executive." Successful Meetings Magazine named him one of the "21 Top Speakers for the 21st Century."

In 1999, as a result of his active participation in a number of social issues, particularly the charter school movement, Omar was selected to be a fellow in the Rockefeller Foundation's Next Generation Leadership program. In fall 2003, a K-8 charter school that Omar helped found opened in his hometown of Brooklyn. In 2007, in recognition of the promise of his academic research, the National Science Foundation selected him for a Graduate Research Fellowship. Most recently, the Aspen Institute selected him for their Henry Crown Fellowship that recognizes emerging leaders. He received his BA in Race and Ethnic Relations from Stanford University. He can be reached at owasow at gmail dot com.

Tavis Smiley and I discuss the hype and substance of Twitter on his public radio show.

Tony Cox of NPR's News & Notes interviewed me and another guest about the "Obama Effect On Social Media".

Frank Davies at the San Jose Mercury News gives my Internet President essay a shout out.

Unfortunately, according to political columnist Dick Polman at the Philadelphia Inquirer, I'm "a tad pie-eyed."

Check out my article on The Root addressing how Obama became our first internet President.

Headshots:

A handful of headshots can be viewed in this gallery. Higher resolution versions can be viewed by mousing-over an image and selecting one of the different "Photo Sizes" from the pop-up menu. "Original" is the highest resolution format though, be forewarned, the images are very large and range from two-to-four megabytes, each. Here is an example of a shot in original format.

To download an image, Windows users should right-click on the photo and Mac users should CTRL-click.

Some press clips:

Below are links to some articles profiling Omar:
- Stanford Alumni Magazine, BlackPlanet’s Universe, March 2004
- New York Times, Entrepreneur Takes Black-Oriented Site Out of Red, November 2002
- New York Times, Silicon Alley’s Philosopher-Prince, May 2001

To download an article Windows users can right-click on one of the above links and Mac users can CTRL-click. Also, if you're curious, check out this additional random assortment of articles from Fast Company, The Village Voice, Entrepreneur, More Village Voice, The Daily News, Wired, The Industry Standard, It's All Good, Wikipedia,
Oprah, and Reason.

Here is my latest professional CV.

New Statesman quotes me in an article about black-oriented online media.

My speech at the Race and New Media conference got a little love from attendees who variously described the audience as spellbound , captivated, and roaring with laugher.

NPR show On The Media interviewed me about the the state of the black internet:

I will give a speech at 1:30pm, Saturday, May 3rd at "Race and New Media," a conference at the New York City College of Technology (City Tech).

BlackPlanet.com, an online community I co-founded, has been sold to Radio One as part of their acquisition of Community Connect Inc. For more about the transaction, see this article in the Washington Post.

I am honored to have been selected as a Henry Crown Fellow by the Aspen Institute .

I wrote a brief piece for TheRoot.com on the troubling history of the White-Slave Traffic Act:

From Jack Johnson to Eliot Spitzer

"When a self-righteous crusader like Eliot Spitzer is caught with his pants down, a lot of onlookers might feel a tinge of glee to see such hypocrisy revealed. But the law under which he may be prosecuted, the Mann Act, is a relic that should give pause to anyone looking to hold Spitzer accountable in court on counts of prostitution."