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Briana Campbell quickly answers the question of 'What do you do?' by saying she's unemployed. Campbell lost her job as an operations manager for a cosmetics company back in November and is living off unemployment checks. She says she looks online daily for work and writes about her search on her blog called Unemployed Brooklyn.

"I have a handful of people who read it all over the country," said Campbell. "Lots of unemployed girls, lots of single unemployed girls. It's kind of nice to know there's other people in the same boat."

A whole community of unemployed folks are connected on the Internet. Many from Brooklyn find their way to the site Brokelyn.com. It's an upbeat recession site where readers go to find places to go, things to buy and stuff to do -- all on the cheap.

"It's just endless. We've got dates, we've got shopping, restaurants. It's a fun place to be right now. In any economy," said Faye Penn of Brokelyn.com. "But I really believe in some ways it's more fun now because there's a community of people who are looking for this kind of information and looking to create a dialogue about spending less but having more fun."

Penn started the website two months ago. She's a freelance writer who says there's a kindred spirit among those feeling the pinch of the recession. And her website serves as a resource.

"Our food columnist is called the brokevore. And he has an amazing ability for sniffing out deals and great food," said Penn. "He's got a king's palate and a pauper's budget. And he just had a dinner party the other night. A dozen people, 30 dollars. And meat! There was meat. It was a dollar a pound meat. And it was good."

There are also announcements for meetup groups, free gatherings for people who share common interests. Brooklyn as well as the rest of the city hasn't had this many jobless residents since 1992.

The latest numbers show Brooklyn's unemployment rate is at 9.9 percent. Last year at this time, it was 5.5 percent.

Campbell hopes those figures will turn around soon. She's a graduate of Brandeis University, hoping to land a job in the fashion industry. In the meantime, she's using her sewing skills to make stuffed animals and sell them on the Internet for extra cash. And when she lands a job, she says she'll continue to blog.

"I'll still live on the cheap probably. Find cool things," said Campbell. "It'll be totally different when I have a job. But I think I'll still keep doing it."