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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

    Read More ...

  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

    Read More ...

  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

    Read More ...

  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

    Read More ...

  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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Does Everyone Suddenly Want To Be Your Friend?

Greetings Family,
(Contact Information At Bottom Of Page)

It's your friendly neighborhood "Digital Drummer" again (smile)

As an online activist, and promoter, I maintain a major presence in most social networking communities, such as MySpace and FaceBook. After Time magazine announced the year of user-generated content, everybody and their brother, now has their own personal profile somewhere in Cyberspace.

Wherever there's a crowd...There's Money! According to the research firm ComScore (www.comscore.com) the top networks generate on average, 50 Billion page views a month. So is it no wonder that your inbox is full of friend requests from people, companies, causes, and contacts you've never heard of.

Most people have an average of a couple hundred friends; the 20 or so genuine BFF's, couple of people from work, the local party/music promoter, family, and the dreaded nerd that sits behind you in class. But now we're seeing more and more...that business wants to be your online friend.

In the past 12 months, more than four-fifths of social networking site users said they have received unwanted (or Spam) "Friend" invitations, messages or postings on their social and/or professional network account. Some sites even warn you not to accept anyone that you do not know or do business with...But people keep clicking on "Accept"!!!

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As an online promoter, I would be the first to point out that businesses have a Constitutional Right to contact you. But how do you determine if a Friend request is Spam? It has been my experience that repeated Friend requests from the same source...are Spam! You've seen them; different names and profile pictures, but the exact same profile content (graphics, text, links).

Common sense reigns supreme here. First, before you click Accept, take a look at their profile to see if they are a real person. Secondly, what is the commonality? Why do they want to be your online friend...to sell, inform, or entertain you? The bottom line is, they just might want to meet new people...but you should determine this before clicking Accept.

The consequence of not evaluating your friend request is multiple Spam posts in your Comments section, possible mulware, and in a worst case scenario having your profile hacked or phished. According to a Harris Interactive poll, these are some of the primary reasons why people don't participate in social networking (http://www.emarketer.com/article.aspx?id=1006366&src=article9_newsltr).

As I've written in the past (see Blog link) this new online phenomenon in social networking, is empowering and facilitating new "Rich Media" entrepreneurs; thereby, creating new products, developing new markets, and generating new sources of revenue for the Black online community.

Advertisers now see a number of new online applications as a prime way to reach consumers who regularly visit social networking sites (see Opportunities Available For Black Developers). But the ads are taking a different form than the traditional banner ads/links typically seen on a Web page...and they all require you click Accept!!!

We've all experienced the benefits of online networking. We see the potential, but like anything else...proceed with caution! Things (and people) are not always what they present themselves to be.

Remember, We Must Share The Knowledge (Network)...To Share The Dollars!!!

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Jim Neusom (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Executive Director/Publisher
InterServe Networks/City Lights Software, Inc.
www.citylightssoftware.com
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