Romance, BlackBerry style

The New York Times' Jennifer 8. Lee offers a fascinating case study in how technology is transforming social interactions -- and how those inside the Beltway really do live in a different world:

In the high-tempo, socially incestuous world of Washington politics, where more than 60 percent of Congressional staff members are single, the BlackBerry — a wireless e-mail device introduced five years ago by Research in Motion, a Canadian company — has become indispensable to social life. Thanks to the lobbying firms, political campaigns and government agencies that issue BlackBerries, a critical mass of wireless-enabled romantics can now boldly clip them to their belts or discreetly tuck them away in purses in preparation for the evening's adventures. The chipmunklike thumb action associated with "Berrying" is now as readily observed in smoky bars on late nights as it is in Congressional hearings.

"Once the Hill staffers got the Berries, the social dating scene was revolutionized," said Jano Cabrera, the spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. "Suddenly they have gone from earnest policy wonks and flacks who leave at the end of the day to mini-keyboard Lotharios."