New York is a great town for independence, he says, but the isolation also creates conditions for quirky community: "You have more people here who will read your stupid posting while walking their dogs, and take time to write your number down and respond, than anywhere else, " he says.

WSJ: Couplets for Low Rents

So the next time someone tells you that the Internet is making us stupid, respond that our visual syntax and grammar is more sophisticated than it has ever been.

FORBES: Why the Internet Is Making Us Smarter--in One Way