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Noooooo! Twitter is not necessary--evil or otherwise. This very idea is what has actually weakened our voices on the web. OK, I did not mean to demonize all Twitter users, I use Twitter (for now), but surely you know much of the stuff that goes viral and gets traction does not serve Black people very well. Our very conversation about Leslie is reflective of that. The VAST majority of people on Twitter don't post. The most popular content is usually something that makes fun of Black people. We have always had a voice--especially on the web. Twitter has not brought anything new to the game--other than brilliant marketing. Black voices have actually been weakened in the age of social media. I say this for a number of reasons but the primary one is the crowding out of Black journalists. So while you say people are able to compartmentalize their time; they only have 24 hours in a day--they can't do everything. So we spend more time reading nonsense blasting Gabby and Leslie; and spend less time reading things that matter more. As we read less of stuff that matters, less of it is published. As result, we have tons of crap written by people who don't know what they are talking about, while journalists and talented writers struggle on jump on the bandwagon. This in my estimation this is the worse thing that has happened on the web, for Black people in the almost 1/4 century I've been publishing content on the web. It is the reason I spend as much time working with indie sites as I do selling books.

You are right; I skipped the Republican convention, not because I'm boycotting a lot of TV, but because it does not interest me. I also refuse to feed the coffers of mainstream media by falling fall prey to their obsession to get us to gawk at Trump. While Black people can not become 100% unified we, could reach across racial lines. Cynique, you have more in common with your white neighbors than you do with a Black person whose family has been in poverty since reconstruction and even less in common with people like Hillary or Trump who will represent us. It is about class, not race. Join the Republican party? No thanks. I spend a lot of time in NYC and Florida. NYC is firmly democratic and they live in a bubble. The more provincial New Yorkers can't even wrap their heads around why anyone would vote republican. In Florida local talk radio are citing polls which say that Trump currently has 20% of the Black vote and will likely win the state. There are non-racists, smart people in both locations, but New York and Florida may as well be two different countries given their views on religion, politics, guns, etc...

Cynique, I really appreciate your feedback. It suggests that I need to do a better job of describing the content of the book. In no way do I support the notion that a woman should look at a man's wallet first. The point I try to make in the book is that adhering to such simple notions of "I just want a pretty woman" or "I just want a rich man" is not wise. In fact, I suggest that a woman has to look at the whole of a man, just like a man needs to look at the whole of a woman. It's okay, in my opinion, for a woman to consider a man's financial status, but that should never be the only consideration. Women just need to go into relationships with their eyes open. They shouldn't be blinded by the cute guy or the rich guy. In fact, I have a whole chapter on character and its importance and how to assess a person's character. In another chapter, I talk about relationships where the woman earns more than the man. What I try to do is talk about these things, rather than pretend they don't matter or don't exist. I also talk about a woman making sure that her inner beauty is reflected in outer self. This doesn't mean there is one standard of beauty; it means that we all just have to project the beauty that is in us. In other words, I agree with what you wrote to a large degree. I'm just sorry that my book's title made it think I support some other ideas. I would love to give you a copy to read if you're interested. Angela Benson