CDBurns

I had a long talk with my wife yesterday and I finally realized that we are both in an uphill battle. 20 years ago the www was not such a vast repository of content. Today kids are producing content at such a high rate that it is extremely difficult to build an audience without a specific draw. Unfortunately for us that draw tends to be Hollywood, or sensational material. If it's not sensational the eyes that reach us tend to be the eyes of the community that is looking for the same support as us. You can't sell to a community seeking the same support because they already have what you are selling, or they don't really need what you are selling, but most important they feel that sharing yours will choke off sales to theirs. The impetus to support isn't there because in the mind of people like you they are already supporting you by visiting. So the job then becomes breaking down the walls to reach the eyes (new eyes) and that is a near impossible task that if too much time is spent on, you can kill yourself off by working so hard to get new readers/eyes you don't spend enough time nurturing the eyes already looking. So the job is to build a shit load of content. Build so much content without regard to readers and subscribers. Make sure it is indexed and search ready and then rely on direct and search traffic coming to your site. Then maybe, just maybe because you have so much content, you can't be ignored or people begin to value you even if the material isn't star driven or sensational. I value the work that you do and in my own way what I finally realize is you can sell to a community that you build especially if what you are selling is valuable and that community is looking for your material. I want to move into speaking and teaching people how to repair or launch businesses, so I'm building up educational content focused on starting up a business, finding money and then getting started. I don't really push my fiction because my business writing is more vital and feels more natural as a teaching element. I don't care that I don't have many subscribers or readers because the few that see what I'm doing value it. I would like to make a living from it, but it's not necessary. In time I'd like the transition to be better, but at least I know that I can't force that. What I can do is help build the places I believe in. If people visiting this site and other sites did this it would prove to be all we all need to build.

You know I really dig how you are using the website as a base for authors on AALBC. I don't have any intentions of every asking for that domain. I think having it operated by someone else is a relief!!!! Thanks for that compliment on the Ted talk comparison. That is really how it was laid out with the exception of getting in as much as possible in 5 minutes. This was my first speaking engagement by invite at a large venue. The location was a new performing arts center here in Memphis right next to the Orpheum Theater. It was packed and the slide was not how I sent it in so I had to wing the presentation. I'm just happy it turned out okay. I wish I could add the video to my page, but I will take it since it is available for anyone to check out. On your idea about the collective, I actually gave this girl that I manufactured underwear for the same advice. First I told her not to make the underwear and then I explained that the most efficient and easiest way to get your information out is to join a group of likeminded people and choose one person per month to promote. If there are 12 people in the group then 1 person per month would be promoted. If there are 50 people in the group, then 1 person every week will be promoted. I told her this would allow everyone in the group to get behind something that was important. It's the same concept that you just presented and you're right it would be explosive! Thanks for sharing the video on Facebook. I'm really going to start applying for more events and panels. It's time to take the writing and speaking just as serious as I do the sneaker biz.

Troy recently took the time to ask everyone to subscribe to his YouTube station. I'd like to ask everyone to do something similar but with a twist. I recently was selected to speak at an event called Ignite Memphis. The presenters were given 5 minutes to talk about something that was informative and could empower people in Memphis. Here is my speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qZgvh49IUo Check it out and if you think it can help someone please share the video with people you know. Then if you have a few minutes check out my YouTube channel where I discuss business at this link and subscribe and view one of the videos. http://www.youtube.com/archbyccb Thanks AALBC fam!!!

I just said this on another thread, mentoring and parenting is the key to all of our problems.

All very good points and I think we all agree that a solution to almost all of our ills begins with parenting and ends with parenting.

Troy is right, the school is the primary educator. We homeschool so we are the school, but I was in education for 20 years and I knew that teaching Beowulf, Catcher In The Rye or Hamlet was my duty and I loved the entire process. I even brought my college level books to class so they could see the difference in their text and my text. This is what good teachers do... but as Troy said, a lot of teachers are there because the pay is consistent and that is really about it. The parent can be supportive, but I don't expect a parent to be able to share the burden of education. I only expect them to support. I have an interesting story. I taught at a school in San Diego in the poorest part of the city. The school was primarily immigrant an second language students from all over the world. We had over 100 dialects spoken at the school. Those students had fewer resources and had the extra burden of learning the language, yet they turned out to be some of the brightest and most successful students I worked with in my 20 years. The Black students are doing well from that school as well although they lived in an area called the 4 corners of death where a Crip and a Blood territory intersected and most of their fathers were absent. I leave that school and come to Memphis which is a white and black city and the black kids here are struggling. They face poverty, but not nearly at the same level as kids in San Diego where the poverty line is 75000 and the median household costs half a million. These kids can literally have parents make a living working at Mc Donalds in Memphis because the cost of living is so low, so explain to me why they aren't succeeding in the same way the kids in San Diego are succeeding? It's not that the schools can't teach because of taught in those schools as well. It is not the system that is failing kids. Even a shitty school can teach kids something. Education is about support and as much as it pains me to say it, Black parents (I would say 30%) just aren't supportive when it comes to books and improving themselves. That 30% that screws up the schools is considerable enough to screw up everybody. It just amazes me that the "poor" schools in a city where the cost of living is ridiculous can perform so much better than kids in a comparable situation in another city. Oh, on Ben Carson... I left that because why discuss something that doesn't matter?

Richard is partially correct. Shakespeare is taught in high school in each grade level. The problem is most teachers only have a BA in English and you can literally get away with not taking a single class on Shakespeare and earn your degree in English if you desire. I've seen English majors avoid every professor who assigns multiple papers during the semester so a lot of educators simply can't teach Shakespeare because they haven't really analyzed the text themselves. If the teachers can't teach it, the students simply aren't engaged. Shakespeare doesn't have to be taught in the home because by default we use so many cliches created by him that a lot of people quote Shakespeare without even realizing it... this doesn't mean they are being prepared due to "quoting" but there isn't much that is ever really taught in the home. Especially when both parents The last time I taught high school English my Freshman class rewrote Romeo and Juliet and turned it into a film. They fell in love with Shakespeare and looked to read more after we moved on from that section. The difference there is I enjoyed teaching it because I've read Shakespeare Alive and other texts discussing his life and works in both undergrad and grad school. I have a solid grasp so teaching it isn't a bore. You both are correct in that studying lit is not exactly a 2015 thing.

I didn't notice it either... I thought it was just some kind of clever play on words that I didn't take the time to decipher.

I need to learn how to do that. I'm always in work mode. I can't turn it off at all. I really do wish I could be there. It looks like it will be an incredible event. Maybe if I begin to put more focus on art and books I can begin to build events like this.

Yeah it does help, it just doesn't really convert at all which is the problem. Leaving the social sharing buttons is important though because you have to be where the people are.

Make sure you shoot 3-5 minute videos for the Youtube page!

Good points! I can find a plugin for the video. I'm trying to cut back on changing themes so much and stay consistent. I will keep looking at your site and making any suggestions I see. Keep pushing. Yeah, it's hard to get people to subscribe consistently. Social media has ruined our ability to do something long term and follow through. If people would just make visiting the sites a part of their routine: breakfast, lunch and dinner, then we could all do well. The mustard/gold color is growing on me.

Hey, I'm looking at the new page and I'm wondering if the Youtube channel shouldn't be higher on the page especially with video dominating search now. I'm looking for a script to load different videos each pageload through Wordpress. I'm sure you can write one.

I will get around to it. This reminds me of the old linkshare days. Good stuff. Other people should definitely be joining in the party.

I've gotten 5 so far which is pretty cool especially since I don't have a graphic and it was a piggyback!

It's always better to show and then others will jump in... hopefully.

I subscribed and shared that link on Facebook. I'm dropping my link here for my subscription as well and then sharing this whole post to Twitter. https://www.youtube.com/user/archbyccb

LOL! Likewise Cynique!

Enjoy! I'm doing the same. Just got through running my miles so I could pig out without a conscience, lol.

I can't bring myself to watch it. I haven't watched it and I don't plan on watching it. I'm not ignoring the shooting or violence against Blacks, there just isn't anything I can do about it. I commend those who continuously march and fight, but I know now the best thing I can do is raise my children in the best way I can and then affect the children I've taught and continue to interact with as best as I can. If I can keep my kids safe, while also mentoring 5-20 kids, I've done my part. Now, take me and multiply that with all black men and then you have a solution to the shootings. I say it once, I say it over and over, you can't kill a together people. Go to 1:40 of this video. The most revolutionary thing Black people can do is come together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4H0rwumscA

Ain't that the truth!

I think he runs some strip clubs and still djs and does some music.

Troy I trust your judgement on the promo. I just put the pre-order up for Book 3 in the series so I guess a link to that would be best since I think it's the book that will probably get people to read the other two books in the series. Here is the link: http://www.cbpublish.com/1-hour-wealth-series-book-3-f-k-speeches-inspiration/ That's the best thing. Don't worry about the shoe stuff, let's keep it books. Thanks for all you do. I know how busy you are and all I'm hoping is that with the recent increase in people posting that all of the work is paying off and people will start building a better book community!

As Troy would say, people are hesitant to click links. You should copy and paste the press release in the text field so we can all read it without clicking a pdf file.

It never ceases to amaze me how readily we allow for equal opportunity while we are never given the same chances. Kudos to you Troy for representing the true quality of what is supposed to happen in the US.