Two new articles give some sense of what I trumpet as a freelance writer. I cover technology, digital culture, and electronic entertainment. What I get most excited about professionally these days is mobile multiplayer - I have the feeling like mobile phones have terrific potential for play, for poking fun, for horsing around. So I keep my eye out for signs that these devices are becoming less productive.

I found one of those signs recently, and finished an article about it this morning: Mobile Play by Mail - The future of wireless entertainment may well lie in some of the oldest modern games. Soon, your buddy list may light up with game moves as well as messages.

This was a fun article to write, because I had a chance to research some of the history of games played through the post. That's some dedicated gameplay! Filling out 3x5 cards and mailing them around - cards filled with orders and movements and even intrigue. Play by Mail games were an early way to enjoy social, multiplayer gaming before the internet. And I saw a company in Hong Kong that has instituted Play by Mail gaming for mobile devices and so this article is working to spell out some of the best potential for that technology.

For a broader view of the positive potential for mobile entertainment, check out my last article before that: Mobile Entertainment: The Power of Play. In that piece I argue that mobile entertainment serves a critical social function -- it will teach us how to be connected citizens.

Both of these articles were written for TheFeature.com, a Nokia-sponsored research publication about the mobile internet. I've been a contributing editor there since August 2003; moving and going to school has me scaled back to a sort of regular contributor. I look forward to continuing to write, and play in this area!