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Everyone who is a regular visitor to AALBC.com's forums knows I'm on a mission to help Black folks maintain control of some portion of the web--especially where our stories are concerned. Currently, the majority of authors who email me information about their books do not have their own web site. This was not always the case. Despite websites being easier and cheaper than ever to maintain, authors are increasingly not creating websites for themselves. Obviously, the popularity of Amazon and Facebook is one of the reasons authors have begun using a Facebook or Amazon as their main web presence. Of the two, Amazon is far better than Facebook, if the author creates an Amazon Central Account (something I currently recommend that authors do). But Amazon is extremely limited in the features they provide for authors--you can't even add hyperlinks. Facebook is simply not a website, and I won't bore you explaining why. The weaknesses of both, from the author's perspective, is that they are optimized to maximize their own revenue. Uplifting, empowering, and enriching the Black community--any community--is simply not part of their mission. The features available on @CDBurns, AALBC.com page (http://ChrisDBurns.com) are simply not provided by Amazon or Facebook. In fact, I could provide so much more if I had more support from the authors I'm attempting to benefit. It is an investment in our community. Over the last ten years, we have lost an incredible number of Black-owned bookstores and Black book websites. Our prodigious engagement on Facebook has been a terrible substitute for what we've lost. But the main problem is that we have given the very control of our online culture to a handful of powerful corporations. Join the fight against corporate dominance of the website and use AALBC.com as your primary web presence.

Thanks Troy. A friend used to say, "Spade don't Fade. "

I'm adding this to the site asap. It's a great tool for authors who don't want to maintain their presence and hosting.

You see Cynique..... This is what I mean about Black people INVITING victimization and playing the role of a slave! We have thousands of Black police officers in this nation. How many of them are organizing to pose a challenge to the culture of racism in law enforcement? How many Black cops are willing to check a White cop on the scene and take the side of the victim? Infact....... How many Black cops are shooting unarmed White people? How many Black cops are arresting and beating up White people? You can't continue to complain about how someone is not doing you right when you don't exercise the little bit of authority you DO have to correct the problem. I'm not blaming the Black individuals who were victimized in these incidents but I AM blaming the Black community collectively for not not stepping up and maintaining law and order in our own communities if we don't like the way White law enforcement is treating us. BTW Harry...... I don't believe North Korea is "testing" anyone. I believe they are serious and not to be played with. There was an episode of the Twilight Zone (the later one with Forrest Whittaker) where the world came to an end from North Korea launching a nuclear war. Does anyone remember that one?