Troy

Yes Cynique all you say about our corrupt political process prior to social media is true. However, social media has enabled that corruption to become much more effective, and therefore much worse for us as a nation--not just Black people. The election of 45 should tell you that. Yes Mel, I know you are a pull yourself by your own bootstraps type of person. I was one too. But then I started AALBC.com, read more, met more people outside my successful Black middle class demographic, and my position changed. It is not like I stopped reading books by people who think the way you do. Most notably Brothers like Thomas Sowell (who you'd probably love) makes a compelling case, but some of his views on Black achievement in our current system don't square with reality in my view. I can't see how anyone can continue to blame the victim for their plight given the treatment we have received in America over the last several hundred years. AgaIn I know you and I are doing fine. But again, I'm not talking about us, I'm talking about the millions other Black people trapped in poverty, because the criminal behavior of corporations and a complicit government. Mel, companies like Goldman brought the world to the brink of financial collapse! No one was punished, indeed the were rewarded and Obama is praised for saving the country. At the same time a Brother gets caught with a dime bag and he is locked up for years... It is surreal. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on our ability to deal with the adverse role big business plays in our lives.

I wish we would stop making this about you or I or any individual. The fact of the matter is our electrical process was corrupted with lies and Facebook profited from the activity. Saying people should just no better is naive. Just because I avoided the manipulation does not mean other should have. People should know better not to smoke. People should know better not to eat crappy foods. The fact of the matter is people are actively manipulated to do things are are bad for them, suggesting that they should "Just Say No," ignores all the propaganda people are subjected to. Social media has given propagandists an incredible tool, one that the American government is allowing to go buck wild. Facebook IS the problem. Facebook is not some benign, passive platform being exploited by evil doers, they are active participants and profiting incredibly from the activity. They are no different than big tabacco who knowingly sold cancer causing cigarette to the public, causing millions of deaths, and making billions of dollars...and they are still at it.

@Mel Hopkins you missed my point. Let me be clear: Black women do not make up 44% of the workforce. I do not need to research it. Common sense tells us that 7% of the population does not make up 44% of our work force. That is why I asked you to share the the source of your information. I'm surprised that you would suggest that I'm lazy when it comes to research. Even the source you provided does not say this. Maybe what you meant was that Black women's participation rate in the work force is 44%. Meaning 44% of the women who can work are actually working. but I can't know because the statement you made is simply not factual. I also disagree with what is acceptable dress. There is a time and place for everything, and these decisions are not made by one person, but an entire culture. There should be standards for not just dress, but behavior. When you through these things away you throw away the culture. The problem with Black culture is that we don't define it, corporations do. Motivated by money, they uplift former stippers with limited rap skills over the contemporary Aretha Franklins. This is more than about what a woman should wear. It is abut what we value, what music is supported, and who profits from it. I take it you like the current state of affairs Mel.

Mel you are gonna have to share the source of these stats again. How can it be possible for women, who are roughly 7% of the population be 44% of the work force? Did you find that stat on Facebook My point @Mel Hopkins, is that corporations clearly do not care how Black people are portrayed. If they can get women to rung around scantily clad and cursing like a sailor and make money they'll do it. Do you think these music executives care how Black people women are portrayed? The rest of the post, is what I copied form the email, and they simply pose questions. I am glad however there was a time when they treated Black women with a bit more class. The women dressed like adults, not hookers; and were talented signers, not potty mouth children; and everybody made money. We know what is possible so we can;t say this is what the public wants. This is what they give us, and we can't do anything about it. Where is Nina Simone when you need her?

I don't see how you can draw that conclusion Mel. What about 6% of the Black female voters who did not vote for Hillary? What about the Black female voters, who voted n the last presidential election but did not this time? We know Black voter turn out was much higher in 2012, indeed a record high. Why the precipitous drop--when it was more important than ever? See the purveyors of social media always tout how they help connect and inform people, but any of those benefits, if the occur, are incidental. Facebook is a company that you can pay to help you rile up racists, disseminate lies, and discourage people from voting.

Yes, @Mel Hopkins I agree with Cynique's quote, "This is the age of technology which is really just about enabling people to be more efficient at doing what they've always done and this includes exploiting each other..." I would just make one important adjustment to the statement in that the benefits do not accrue to everyone. Indeed those efficiencies only extend to the owners and those wealthy enough to pay the owners. To suggest that they accrue to the general population is fantasy. As social media grows and indie Black-owned platform die the situation grows worse for us. The distinction of 94% of Black women versus 94% of those that voted is important. It is possible less than 50% of Black women voted for Hilary. Yes Mel I freely admitted that Cynique got me to vote. While I don't like to cite personal anecdotes to make generalization about a population. It was actually that very experience that turned me off to social media. I was constantly being bombarded by messages that Hilary is a crook, some of them patently false. Now those pulling the strings know I would never vote for 45 (my being Black is probably all they needed to know), but they also know I was probably primed for the disillusionment message (as most middle class people would be) and could be dissuaded NOT to vote. Thankfully Cynique opened my eyes. The fact is the majority of millennials on social media did not vote. I can assume this because social media has almost 100% penetration in this demographic and we know much lass than half of them votes. Now one might say that I can't prove a connection between being on social media and not voting. But what I can absolutely say is that being on social media does not get users to vote, and there is evidence to show their are actors working to get us not to vote. @Cynique, OK, I understand that you don't care. Needless to say I do care and have adjusted my behavior accordingly. I consume as little information on Twitter and Facebook (the only two platforms I really "use") as possible. I also use this platform to explain why so that others are not, for example, dissuaded from voting the way I almost was.

Hi @Mel Hopkins, 94% of Black women did not vote for Hillary. Maybe 94% of the votes that were actually cast by Black women went to Hillary. Less than 60% of Black people turned out to vote as reported by Pew. Only 46% of millennials bother to cast a vote! This is the very same demographic that we've brainwashed into believing in the "power" of social media, and they could not be bothered to vote. It is disgusting! See the problem was not just manipulating who someone votes for but whether they voting at all. As you know, our funky electoral college allow people to win with less than the popular vote. So if you can get enough people, in the right locations to self-disenfranchise, you can have a serious impact. As we have seen. @Cynique, Yes, I'm absolutely biased, for what is good for our people. Yes, it is obvious I'm looking at Facebook from a completely different perspective than you are. I tried to communicate that the average Facebook user, like yourself, may not "get it" when I wrote, "why would it matter to anyone who just uses the platform to communicate with friends and to share memes?" Facebook, for you, is exactly what you want it to be. Facebook has brilliantly designed it that way. Your filter bubble is created in such a way that you sound like Mark Z. himself extolling the virtues of Facebook. Now it is not that you are completely unaware of the downside of Facebook, you just don't see it in your daily use of the platform. I'm beginning to think you don't want to see it either. But the point is Facebook has brilliantly convinced their users that all the shit they do is of little or no consequence--indeed they feel Facebook is great. But you can't view from just your perspective. Well you can but don't complain when more than half of our children are swapping 45 memes and expressing moral indignation at his tweets to impress their friends, but don't vote. People don't really understand or care about the destructive force social media can be. The Black community is particularly susceptible because we don't control any powerful platforms. As a result, we are easy prey for anyone wanting to take advantage of us.

“At least one of the Facebook ads bought by Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign referenced Black Lives Matter and was specifically targeted to reach audiences in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, sources with knowledge of the ads told CNN. Ferguson and Baltimore had gained widespread attention for the large and violent protests over police shootings of black men. The decision to target the ad in those two cities offers the first look at how accounts linked to the Russian government-affiliated troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency used geographically targeted advertising to sow political chaos in the United States, the sources said.” —Dylan Byers, CNNMoney As a keen observer of Facebook I already knew troll farms were corrupting the platform. Indeed some of the engagement brands get is generated by fake accounts. Sometime companies pay for the fake engagement to make themselves look more popular, other times you get the engagement from the fake accounts, so that the fake account appear more real to others. Anyone who runs a website knows there are folks out there who will try to use your platform to their advantage. The problem with Facebook is that rather than purging these bogus accounts they actively profit from fake accounts and active trolls. One reason I stopped advertising on Facebook was because I could not trust that the engagement I received from my ad was from real people. Three years ago I shared information about Facebook fake likes. Even a casual observer of Facebook knows many accounts are fake, but Facebook still counts them as users. Okay, this kind of stuff only matters to people who, like me, who uses Facebook to advertise their services (Facebook as already eliminated organic reach); why would it matter to anyone who just uses the platform to communicate with friends and to share memes? The problem is even as a regular user you are subjecting yourself to false information and manipulation by marketers, foreign governments, and even Facebook itself. The CNN video above is proof that there are an attempt to create civil unrest in Baltimore and Ferguson and that Facebook profits from this activity. It is one thing to be uninformed, but we are increasingly becoming misinformed. Misinformation is so prevalent that it is hard to tell the difference between what is true and what is false Why anyone still chooses to subject themselves to Facebook is beyond me. Well it is not really "beyond me;" I get it. I just wish it were not the situation were are in. If current trends continue, and Facebook achieves its goal, Facebook will become the world wide web and our country will be at greater risk.

The eligibility period for all literary submission is a publication date January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017. All entries are evaluated and narrowed to the top five in each category by the members of the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committees which are comprised of individuals within the entertainment industry (studio/networking executives, actors, artists, managers, agents, publicists, journalists, literary agents, and others) and NAACP Board Members, NAACP Foundation Trustees, staff and key interfaces. Following are the key calendar dates for the 49th NAACP Image Awards: August 1 – Submissions process opens for the 49th NAACP Image Awards October 6 – Submissions process closes for the 49th NAACP Image Awards October 25 – Nominating Committee voting opens for the 49th NAACP Image Awards November 9 – Nominating Committee voting closes for the 49th NAACP Image Awards Week of November 13 – Nominees Announced for the 49th NAACP Image Awards; Final Voting opens for the 49th NAACP Image Awards Week of December 11 – Final Voting closes for the 49th NAACP Image Awards Monday, January 15, 2018 – 49th NAACP Red Carpet and Image Awards Airs Live on TV One Good Luck! AALBC.com will post all of the NAACP Image Award Winning Books.

Move Over Nicki Minaj Make Way for Cardi B!

I just get a kick out of seeing white folks brutally slaughter each other, rather than us, for a change.

No @Cynique, you are misinterpreting what I'm saying. I'm not belittling Colin. My argument is that Colin's protest is driven by media attention. They choose to promote Colin's to promote--not us. They can also chose to move on when no more controversy can be rung from the issue. Obviously, 45 has given the media an opportunity to milk this further, but again this will run it's course, and the unheralded heroes who are actually doing the work our liberation will continue as they always have. Cynique, do you think that Colin taking a knee is the most substantive effort of protest that we are currently engaged in, the effort most worthy of our attention and support, or are you fine with allowing corporations to continue to drive our agenda, based upon profit rather than effectiveness? Time will tell this oft repeated story.

It appears record executives have created another Nicki Minaj except this one, unlike any other female rapper of the past three decades, has a #1 Single on Billboard's "Hot 100." Arguably this achievement makes Cardi B the hottest female rapper today. Until an hour ago I never heard of Cardi B or this song. Educate2Empower, sent me the following email message. I don't know how I got on their mailing list, but given our recent, and similar conversation about Nicki Minaj, I figured I'd share their email here. Of course there will many who will argue that men have no say on the matter. This is the case of a powerful woman freely exhibiting her sexuality, exercising her freedom of speech, and making money. There is no adverse impact on culture as young girls are smart enough to recognize Cardi is an entertainer and will in fact be inspired by her success. The white folks who consumer her product are sophisticated enough not to equate Cardi B, with Black women in general, or to objectify them in any way. Of course I see things a little differently, but there is seemingly little I can do, other than continuing to try to get opposing viewpoints into people's heads through this discussion forum and the books I sell. But the competition for the control of our culture is fierce and is increasingly defined by a few powerful corporations who clearly don't give a f*ck about Black people. The sad part is given our support of these corporations many of us don't give a f*ck about Black people either. --------- start Educate2Empower email -------------------- Female rapper Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow" single just became #1 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart for 10/7/17, which is a first for a solo female rapper since the 90s (Lauryn Hill did it back in 1998 with her "Doo Wop (That Thing)" single). Janet Jackson also gave this Cardi B song a shout out on her current world tour. Read the lyrics below and watch the video also. Are the lyrics saying anything? How are females represented? Is it truly representing female empowerment? What is the language telling us and our children? What is the visual telling us and our children? Do you see any connection or relevance to E2E's "The N-Word's Multi-Layered Power Structure" video we shared with you a few weeks ago? What role do record and radio company executives play in the music we listen to? What about the artists - what guides their decision (money or artistry)? What do we as consumers and parents allow? Should we be more aware? What do you think is the ultimate impact globally of these lyrics and the image/visual? Read, view, think, analyze, share, and connect the dots. BODAK YELLOW by Cardi B KSR (ooh) Hah, it's Cardi, ayy Said, "I'm the sh*t, they can't fu*k with me if they wanted to" "I don't gotta dance" Said, "Lil bit*h, you can't fu*k with me if you wanted to" (ooh) These expensive, these is red bottoms, these is bloody shoes (ooh) Hit the store, I can get 'em both, I don't wanna choose (bah) And I'm quick, cut a n*gga off, so don't get comfortable, look (ooh) I don't dance now, I make money moves (wave, ayy) Say I don't gotta dance, I make money move (ooh, ooh) If I see you and I don't speak, that means I don't fu*k with you (ah) I'm a boss, you a worker, bit*h, I make bloody moves (bags) Now she say she gon' do what to who? Let's find out and see Cardi B, you know where I'm at, you know where I be (ooh, ooh) You in the club just to party, I'm there, I get paid a fee (bah) I be in and out them banks so much, I know they're tired of me Honestly, don't give a fu*k 'bout who ain't fond of me (who) Dropped two mixtapes in six months, what bit*h working as hard as me? (yeah) I don't bother with these ho*s, don't let these ho*s bother me They see pictures, they say, "Goals," bit*h, I'm who they tryna be Look, I might just chill in some BAPE (ooh), I might just chill with your boo I might just feel on your babe, my pus*y feel like a lake He wanna swim with his face, I'm like, "Okay" (okay) I'll let him get what he want, he buy me Yves Saint Laurent (yeah) And the new whip, when I go fast as a horse, I got the trunk in the front (vroom) I'm the hottest in the street (pew, street), know you prolly heard of me (yeah) Got a bag and fixed my teeth (teeth), hope you ho*s know it ain't cheap (cheap) And I pay my mama bills (bills), I ain't got no time to chill (blah) Think these ho*s be mad at me (ooh), their baby father want a feel (ooh) Said, "Lil bit*h, you can't fu*k with me if you wanted to" (ooh) These expensive, these is red bottoms, these is bloody shoes (ooh) Hit the store, I can get 'em both, I don't wanna choose (bah) And I'm quick, cut a n*gga off, so don't get comfortable, look (ooh) I don't dance now, I make money moves (wave, ayy) Say I don't gotta dance, I make money move (ooh, ooh) If I see you and I don't speak, that means I don't fu*k with you (ah) I'm a boss, you a worker, bit*h, I make bloody moves (bags, bags) If you a p*ssy, you get popped (popped), you a groupie, you a opp (opp, blah) Don't you come around my way (way), you can't hang around my block (block, nope) And I just checked my accounts, turns out, I'm rich, I'm rich, I'm rich (I'm rich) I put my hand above my hip, I bet you dip, he dip, she dip (grrrah) I say I get the money and go, this sh*t is hot like a stove (ooh) My p*ssy glitter as gold, tell that lil bit*h play her role (ah, ah) I just a-rove in a Rolls (oh), I just came up in a Wraith (yeah) I need to fill up the tank, no, I need to fill up the safe (ooh) I need to let all these ho*s know that none of their n*ggas is safe I go to dinner and steak (blah, yeah), only the real can relate (yeah) I used to live in the P's (ooh, ooh), now it's a crib with a gate (ah) Rollie got charms, look like Frosted Flakes (bling) Had to let these bit*hes know (yeah), just in case these ho*s forgot (oh) I just run and check the mail, another check from Mona Scott (oh) Said, "Lil bit*h, you can't fu*k with me if you wanted to" (ooh) These expensive, these is red bottoms, these is bloody shoes (ooh) Hit the store, I can get 'em both, I don't wanna choose (bah) And I'm quick, cut a n*gga off, so don't get comfortable, look (ooh) I don't dance now, I make money moves (wave, ayy) Say I don't gotta dance, I make money move (ooh, ooh) If I see you and I don't speak, that means I don't fu*k with you (ah) I'm a boss, you a worker, bit*h, I make bloody moves (bags) --------- end E2E email -------------------- E2E's "The N-Word's Multi-Layered Power Structure" video

@Cynique I would be willing to bet that there have been, over the decades, numerous individuals who failed to salute the flag, but they they did not garner so much media attention because there was no 24/7 news cycle and no social media. Again, Colin's story is only "relevant" because of the media's reaction. No one would have wasted a camera to isolate what individual players were doing during the national anthem 30 years ago. His action would have gone unnoticed. All the man has done is drop to a knee, for Christ's sake! It is not like he risked prison by refusing to serve in Vietnam like Ali. It is not he marched across the Edmond Pettus Bridge while racist cops were beating him senseless. Let keep things in perspective. Now that 45 has chimed in and everyone has taken a sides. What will come of this? Does anyone, for a split second, think racism will actually end? Does anything think that racists will question their own motives and see things differently? What is the goal of all this attention to the various knee-bending, arm-joining, activity going on in the NFL? Again, I think the whole knee bending is much ado abut nothing, simply because it will not improve race relations. It appears it is not even enough to get Colin his job back, but even if he did, nothing would change. In a pre 24/7 news cycle/social media era Colin would still have a job. Meanwhile the activists, attorneys, legislators, educators, ministers and their organizations, who actually do the work of making change could be getting the actual work done. But today some guy taking a knew gets all the attention, our organizations grow weaker and nothing changes... I'm reading,Ta-Nehisi Coates' new book, We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy. In it he draws an analogy between the aftermath of Obama's presidency and and the end of reconstruction. It is an interesting parallel we saw rise of the Klan and Black people had every benefit provided during reconstruction ripped away for another century. Poor and middle class, under-educated, white people are angry. Their social media filter-bubble-fueled bigotry is reinforced and they can't see Colin's actions as anything but overt hate of American and a threat to everything America represents.

@TSegal Adsense is a tough. You need a boat load of traffic to make any money with it. Since Google controls traffic they control your revenue. This is why I spend so much time trying to get webmasters to support each other. Thanks for the link!

@Cynique, very well put and I'm sure you are right. I guess I simply do not care what 45 thinks or what football playesr do. It is of little consequence to me. I would like to see the players, who provide the bulk of the entertainment, own a percentage of the league proportional to their participation on the field, but no one seems to care very much about that even though it is a more important issue. I don't even care if they want to risk brain injury. They know the risks. Still I can't help but feel the media is fueling the flames of this. If I turn on the TV, open a paper, or post to social media--I have to see 45's stupid tweets. Other than dropping off the grid there is no escaping his nonsense. Rather than taking a sober look at Colin's motivation and having a sensible dialog, the entire media landscape is inundated with childish bickering that will lead us nowhere good. The are no voices of reason with a platform large enough to rise above the noise and reach anyone. A thoughtful examination of the issues are not profitable. Emotion fueled controversy is, so this is what we get. Social media has put this on steroids and are laughing all the way to the bank--completely insulated from any negative repercussions due to their great wealth.

Unfortunately since 45 is president I'm forced to hear with the ravings of a lunatic. Why does anyone pay attention to anything Trump writes on Twitter. Who cares what 45 thinks about what players do in the NFL? He has no power, no jurisdiction, what he says does not matter. I'm mean I know it sell papers and drives traffic but sheesh...

Of course I'm down @Delano. Just let me know what I need to do.

AALBC.com’s mission is to help promote and uplift independent websites created by, and for, people of African descent. To that end, I’ve been researching the “best” Black owned websites. Interestingly, many of the ones I through l were Black owned; The Root, Very Smart Brothas, etc; are not. I'm also seeing sites that, based upon publicly available data, have a lot less traffic than I thought. Sites in this category include, Awesomely Luvvie and Your Black World. As a result, I actually don't have very many sites that I'm working with to compile a best of list. Can you all take a look at my list and let me know if I’m missing any popular Black owned websites that get a lot of traffic. Here is my current list: https://aalbc.com/top_black_websites The sites I considered for inclusion are listed here: https://aalbc.com/top_black_websites/top_black_sites_list.php (almost 300 websites were checked) My criteria for inclusion are an Alexa rank of < 500K and SEMRush rank of < 100,000. I used these factors and others to compute an “AALBC Score.” Don't worry about determining if the site meets the traffic standard, just share any popular sites that you know of, not already on my list. I will continue to track these sites over time and if they eventually do meet the criteria, I've defined, they will be added to the Top Black-Owned Website list. I will also also adjust the criteria to keep the Top Black-Owned Website list relatively short, perhaps where the list is at now, 25. In fact, I will rename the page to The Top 25 Black-Owned Websites... lists do great in search and on social media. Currently the “AALBC Score” is computed based upon subjective criteria including MOZ, SEMRush, Alexa. None of these sources are perfect by themselves, but taken together they are very reflective of the strength of a site I plan to include a subjective measure in my calculus, which will hopefully raise sites with more substantive content over sites with content that is less so. Currently Worldstar Hip Hop is #1 on my list, because they are just killing all other Black owned sites based upon traffic. But Atlanta Black Star is #2 and has excellent content. Please feel free to share this request with others. AALBC.com, also researches and reports on, the top Black book website sites, Black owned bookstores, Black owned magazines, Black owned newspapers in the United States, and Top Black Owned Websites. Read why these sites matter.

I just added your site to my list of the Most Popular, Independent, Black-Owned Websites As an aside: @TSegal, do you find those google ads placed inside articles work for you? From an aesthetic perspective I hate them. I also hate the fact that Google pushes publishers so hard to place ads in this fashion I'm beginning to wonder if it is a ranking signal for their search results. At any rate, I'm interested in your thoughts. I've been experimenting with their text ads, I removed them in the new website design and my earning dropped. I put them back on the page. I definitely don't like the way they look, but if I can make some more money and visitors are not complaining why not. Perhaps that is your reasoning with the inline banner ads in your articles.

@Delano I find using the speech to text function works well when I post using my cell phone. Though it does sometime choose the wrong word, it is better than typing. Touché @Pioneer1 LOL! @Cynique, well I know women you can take a joke and others who can't. This is also true for men. As a guy coming up the way I did, if you could not take a joke, or took everything said to you seriously, you would never have made it... just as I wrote that I realized, in hindsight, that is probably our collective problem. We spent so much time demeaning each other it probably did have an adverse impact on our how we perceived ourselves and our potential for success... Del were you ever teased by any of the kids in your neighborhood for being smart, or going to that fancy school? I was called "brainiac." By the time I got to high school the last thing I wanted to be known for was being smart.

@Pioneer1, that is the purpose of the website; to provide a platform for authors to make readers aware of their books.

Though Mayweather and Strawberry are incredibly talented at their respective sports they are not, nor do they say they are geniuses. They do not represent most men. They are guys, like 45, who have actually had women throwing themselves at them for most of their adult lives. It is easy to understand why they might have less respect for women, than the average man, and get away with grabbing their pussies.

Pioneer Game of Thrones is an incredible production, with great writing and acting. Each episode it better than most movies. Sure it is a product of the culture which produced it. Any culture is capable of great art.

Maybe I'm just stoopid. I don't know what Del's excuse it It could be men are just dumber that women. Seriously, you can't possibly be deficient in technology. You'd run rings around most of the people I know anywhere near your age. If you think you are bad in math it is probably because you had crappy teachers when it mattered most. Nope, @Pioneer1, your problem is not syntax, just reasoning