My name is Jennifer Gingras. I was Jennifer Campanile for a while, due to an ill-advised marriage to a guy who, I’m quite certain, will be happier with someone less like me.

I am not the only Jennifer Gingras (and wasn’t the only Jennifer Campanile). I’m the one in DC, the one born in Vermont and defined in Northern California.

I am the internet’s biggest fan, and I’ve been on it long enough that I still respond to the siren song of a connecting external modem. I credit email and IM with the fact that I never lost touch with my best friends from high school; Facebook is responsible for everyone else. I’m in my 30s and child-free, and I humbly present the most likely — and accurate — playground joke for my potential kids’ peers: “Yo mama’s so old, she paid to use AOL.”

I started blogging (something.blogspot.com) in 2001 because it was more efficient than sending mass emails to friends. I eventually deleted that blog during one of those times when you shouldn’t make snap decisions. Whoopsie. (Seriously? I still have journals from the first grade. I can’t believe I threw away that much writing.)

I blogged in MySpace for a while, because that’s where people were, but this is my first real personal domain. I let Facebook slurp it in, too — like MySpace, that’s where my readers hang out, and I firmly believe in meeting peeps where they are.

Welcome! Please use your inside voice.
(Opinions of all shades are welcome; malicious comments may be deleted at my discretion.)

I have always been a writer and an editor. Occasionally, I have been a Writer, published here and there with pieces I like less than some of my eulogies, love letters, and lit theory essays. I moved from print publications (+web when I had time) into full-time web work in 2007, and I make my living trying to improve and measure online communication and engagement (I do still edit on paper from time to time). I operate from a cross-functional, collaborative philosophy – on the best days, I pull together the right people, understand the audience, craft the best message(s), leverage the right technology…and then press “go.”

On the worst days, I just press “go.”

I have a degree that says I’m a journalist who could not pass up a law or government class. I am addicted to CNN MSNBC. Also Shakespeare. I’m working on a master’s in communication from Johns Hopkins University with a concentration in digital communcation…or: A Master’s Degree In My Job. Making the time to re-load my theoretical knowledge and tune in to cutting-edge stuff is a phenomenal opportunity, and it helps me formalize web expertise that’s hard to quantify on a resume.

I think almost everything is better when it’s made from scratch. Music, too. Blame early Rockapella.

I am Catholic and irreverent. Do not be surprised to find here discussions of doctrine and denouncements of dogma.

I might be a foodie. I love fresh food and red wine, but I am content to be an amateur and spend the rest of my life exploring both. I am inspired by food blogs and farmer’s markets, but I’m a little burned out on the Food Network. I cook as often as possible and bake slightly less often.

When I was 16, I met the love of my life. He remains the love of my life — now he’s back in my life, and he makes me very, very happy.

I’m all over the place and now I’m here. Pleased to meet you.

(Additional: I finally started a Life List.)