Troy

Thanks everyone!

I created a several video this year which showed the activity of my PC's screen. Some of the videos included a video me in a small window. All of these videos included audio of me speaking while demonstrating various task on my desktop. In the past, I used TechSmith's Jing to create these videos. I still use Jing to annotate screenshots. This save me the effort copying the screenshot to the clipboard (alt-shift-prtscn) then using a graphics editor to annotate the image separately. Today I use Screencast-O-Matic It is free and very easy to use and is superior to the free version Jing software. But he real issue with these programs is that to get professional results you really need a good mic and good video editing software. The video you create without the use of a full featured video editing application may be OK, but it will almost certainly benefit from additional editing. There are plenty of free video editing tools available in fact Screencast-o-Matic and Jing come with some basic video editing functionality but you really would need something a bit more sophisticated for the best results. I used CyberLink PowerDirector, many other use Adobe Premier or Final Cut Pro. The free video editing software that comes with your computer's operating system and the free video software available on the web is usually inadequate. The mic I use is the one that comes built into the very inexpensive little video camera that Microsoft sells in Staples. This mic is suitable for Skype chats but little more. As a result, my audio suffers. Sure the audio is adequate, but you can certainly hear the difference in videos where a better microphone is used. The other issue is background noise and the acoustics of the room you are recording in -- it all makes a difference. I guess the real issue is how much are you willing to trade off in terms of time, money, and effort in exchange for quality. Another issue to consider when making videos demonstrating software, at least for me is that I find it very hard to speak off the top of my head when making these videos. If I was in front of an audience it would be MUCH easier for me describe what I'm doing as that seems more natural. Speaking live while making the recording is just hard for me to do. I have to have a script. I published a 3 minute video today and it took about 3 hours create it from start to finish. Most of the time was wasted with multiple takes. I did not write a script, so I spent a lot of time starting, stopping, deleting, restaring. I thought I could have some time skipping the script, but I was wrong. The editing took the next biggest chunk of time. Again this is where good editing software helps I was able to edit out things and really improve the quality of the presentation. The finished product was much better than the original video, which was essentially unuseable. I did not strive for perfection because besides being impossible to achieve, I have to balance the effort required to make the video versus the benefit it would provide. ------------ All things being equal, better produced video simply outperform poorly produced videos. But, content high in demand can get away with lower production quality. One has to determine the production quality threshold for their audience and content. For example, this video which has a relatively high production quality will be viewed 12,000 times over an 8 year period (about 4 times a day), while this video,with much lower production quality, has been viewed 75 times a day over the same period--and has more than paid for itself through YouTube ads. What software do you use to create videos of your desktop? Do you have any tips for creating these types of videos? What videos have generated the most views and why?

Thanks again @CDBurns I found your video pretty helpful. We should probably start another conversation about press this under bloggers helping bloggers. I took your advise and created the video (added to original post above). Creating these videos is not trivial-this 3 minute video took me a couple of hours. I'll start another conversation on this subject under Bloggers Helping Bloggers.

@Mel Hopkins, I modified the widget so that it would fit in your sidebar without the horizontal scroll bar. I made the AALBC.com logo and powered by text less pronouced. Shorted the text in the drop down menu (which was causing the horizontal scroll) I got rid of the indentation so the text and image use the full available width. The widget looks a lot better on both of your pages now. You see I never would have anticipated that people would the "widget" on the side bard of the page, so it was not optimized to display in a width that narrow. Now it is so it will bok good on a full width display as above or a narrow display like a cell phone of the sidebar of a Blog. The events page is very popular people are using it as intended. This should add value to your websites, help promote the events and AALBC.com--lifting all boats. If use of the widgets grows I could event insert a ad and do a revenue share with those who use the banner based upon impressions served. I'll create video to demonstrate how to use the widget and announce it's availability. I'll also use your websites as examples of how it is implemented. This idea should be applied to a wide variety of things. How about a sneaker widget when we sell Chris' most popular brand and earn a commission? Thanks again for the ideas, there is potential in this....

Thanks Cynique! I'll be in Chicago for about 24 hours in May, for BEA. I'm doing a panel and hosting the Black Pack party hopefully you (and anyone else in who can get to Chi-town) can make. I don't have a venue set yet, but it will take place on Wednesday May 11th. The final details will be posted here: http://aalbc.com/blog/index.php/2016/04/08/bea/

68th Day of ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth‬: First Black Billionaire, Robert L. Johnson Born April 8, 1946 Bob and I change the same last name, and birthday. But our bank account could not be more different

67th Day of ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth‬: Billie Holiday born April 7, 1915 here are a few books

I never heard this message from Dr. King. This is not the Obamaish "I have a Dream" speech, the people now want to pigeonhole King into; this is a important message, from an activist, explaining to people why they are in the situation they are in, how the government is involved, with a concrete plan on how to remedy it. King had not only the dream, he had the plan, but he also had the ability and the willingness to articulate this to the masses--this sort of thing gets you killed in America.

The mythology about the rise of the "super predator" emerging from the crack epidemic has been dispelled. There is no evidence to support a rise in crime or impoverishment despite the fact people often mention this. Have you read the wildly popular article that Coates wrote, "The Case for Reparations?" I have to assume you have. If you did there are several reasons that point directly to why Blacks are doing poorly in this country--despite prodigious efforts. Do you @CD Burns, not agree with anything Coates wrote? If not, I can point you to many books that make a much more substantial case than Coates' work did. The role of the government was substantial in all of these cases. It still is. So we can certainly agree on the government's role in keeping us (the working class in general and Black folks in particular) down. But what us the problem now? You ask. In a nutshell, I think the problem is that all of our institutions have all been gutted. As you suggested, don't support each--certainly not the way we once did... Assuming you agree with me the next question would be why is this now the case? The following comments are an exchange between two people that was sent to me via email. First person picked up the message from Twitter. Sent from my iPhone On Apr 6, 2016, at 5:22 PM, XXXXXXX@gmail.com> wrote: Michael Eric Dyson, on a rampage about President Obama. It's about an hour long. He's doing the same thing most African Americans are saying: the gods have him under their wings. No, we did.They had to know where this Presidency was going. White politicians in Washington probably said among themselves, OK, we'll let him in but... Yes, as Dyson is saying--preaching about here--his leaving office is leaving a vacuum that Trump is trying to step into. Can you see It? http://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Michael+Eric+Dyson From: XXXXXXXX Date: Apr 6, 2016 6:49 PM Subject: Re: Michael Eric Dyson, Author To: "XXXXXXXX@gmail.com> Cc: Dyson and West are public intellectuals. Personally, I think both of them are assholes. For some reason they thought having a black president could end the the problems plaguing the black community. The President was doing good to walk outside everyday. I guess he thought the President could act like a dictator. It's real easy to criticize from the outside and say what should have been done. Sent from my iPhone

Yes Sara, it was an April Fools Joke. But the idea that some folks found it plausible enough to be possible is promising (I think).

66th Day of ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth‬: April 6, 1968, Eldridge Cleaver, the author of Soul On Ice was in a shootout with police that left a Black Panther dead

Chris you wrote; "What in the hell did people expect to happen over the last 10 years when the crack babies are now becoming parents?" What percentage of Black parents today were former crack addicts? Was it 75%, 50%, 10%, if you know I'd like to know how you obtained those figures. Also to your points "You want Black books to sell, support AALBC, don't ask Obama." If the government creates conditions that are adverse to small businesses there won't be any AALBC.com's to buy those books. There are FAR few bookstores (online and physical) today than there were before Obama took office. I'm not saying it is Obama's fault, but corporation exert seemingly more control over the government and have way more power than they should and get bailed out when their ponzi schemes fail. The Obama administration has dome nothing to change this, indeed it could be argued the opposite is true. "You want Black small biz to work, take your ass to a Black business more than once a year." See the above "You want Black schools to get better, support the teachers, discipline your kids and then sit and discover what your kids are working on everyday." Chris corporations are taking over schools as well speak, schools unions are being busted across the country. Our children, based upon our global standings are poorly educated. BUT if you are wealthy you get the best education on Earth. Working class Parents however are overworked, have not seen a real increase in wages the whole time Obama was in office, and tired themselves. What good would it do for them to look at school they themselves may not understand or are too exhausted to deal with. I'm not trying to come at you, you are my man, but the situation is much more complicated than simply blaming Obama or pull yourself up by your own bookstraps. To your point about Dyson: I have to admit I was very surprised by his critique of Obama. Because he was one of the guys giving folks like Cornel West a lot of grief for this very same position. Sure, people can change their minds, but now when Obama is out the door and access to the white house is no longer in jeopardy--now you come at Obama?! Man it is too late now to make any difference, but I guess it is not too late to make money on the lecture circuit or from book sales.

If you get a chance to watch the longer video, Dyson's more sensational comments are put into context. My goal with the trailer was to make it sensational enough to prompt people to seek the detail behind the statements. But it looks like I underestimated the desire of people to seek a deeper understanding--particularly of positions they disagree with. Early indications are that Dyson's statements are not actually promoting people to watch the longer video, but helping to reinforce their current positions pro or con Obama. This effect could be indicative of the way social media works. People will not leave it. I uploaded the 60 sec trailer directly to Facebook, people will watch that, but is seems people are less likely to watch the longer video. But it is really way too early to tell--I just posted the videos. I would not immediately watch a 90 minute video on my PC. I would watch it on my regular TV later, so I have to give it more time for word of the video to spread. to see how effective the trailer is at getting people to watch the longer video While Dyson did not come out and say that he is backing Hillary, he did say that Hillary is more likely to do more for Black people than Obama, simply because she does not have to navigate race they way Obama had to. I believe Bernice will be willing and able to more for Black folks for the same reason. Dyson also says Obama was a good president, as far as white people was concerned--an A+ but as far as Black people he'd give Obama a C-.

"...caught a little hell...," @Pioneer1, Tavis was crucified! His career, and platform, is a shadow of what it was before Obama. Besides it was Obama's job to come up with an agenda and execute on it. But sure, Obama was given plenty of agendas and things to do--he just did not do them. If he need an agenda, he could have pick up Tavis Smiley's The Covenant But he obviously was not interested. Again, as Dyson said, Black people worshipped Obama, so much so that they simply refuse to critique him--and attack anyone who does. Sad.

Here are the video I shot during the National Black Writers Conference which was held March 31 through April 3, 2016. These video represent just a small portion of the many panels, workshops, related events that took place during the four day conference. This event is a big deal. The event run by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson Writing Race and the Obama Presidency with Dr. Khalil Muhammad (1:26:24) 13th National Black Writers Conference Opening Night Program (31:40) Rita Dove's Poetry Reading (18.42) Rowan Ricardo Phillips Reads from His Collection of Poetry, Heaven 18:01) Afaa Michael Weaver Poetry Reading April 1, 2016 (18:42)

Here is a 60 second trailer from a much longer video I shot of Michael Eric Dyson critiquing President Obama, during the National Black Writers Conference a few days ago. It has been interesting to observe Michael move to essentially the same position Cornel West took several years ago, a position that Dyson himself beat Dr. West up over publically.

65th Day of ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth‬: Booker T. Washington author of UP FROM SLAVERY born April 5, 1856 I read Up From Slavery as a youngster. I don't recall what or prompted me to do it. It would be many years later before I would learn that he was a "controversial" figure.

65th Day of ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth‬: Booker T. Washington author of UP FROM SLAVERY born April 5, 1856

Wait to y'all see the video I post of Michael Eric Dyson taking Barack Obama to task....

People are still sharing this post, I think some are just blindly sharing it and not even really thinking about it. I mean I have posted something almost every day since February 1st; maybe this is just reflective sharing.

"blacks now have advantages that white people don't have," I've heard this so many times it's ridiculous. The sentiment is ridiculous as well, but I understand why people feel this way. The first time was heard this was in college; I was in a program to help underprivileged kids the inner city become acclimated to college life. It was summer program which allowed us to earn 6 college credits and we did not have to pay a cent. "Free" room and board and well as tuition. I think we may have even received a small stipend. Our RA was a white upper classman. Whenever ever the subject of cost of anything came up we had the habit of saying "Pay?...Pay? We don't pay for anything!" Once I was saying this in unison with one of my buddies, who was also on a free ride. and our RA lost it! He started yelling about how hard he had to work and how his parents did not have any money and we were getting everything for free and one.... This kid unloaded this was 36 years ago and I never forgot it. One, the kid was so angry; and two, I just assumed all white people had money. Understand I grew up in racially segregated New York City. Of course as I got older I learned that there were plenty of poor white, uneducated white people. Today I'm I'm probably older than my RA's father was and I'm saddled with a ton of student debt, putting my own kid through the very same school. So I feel his pain. But coming from that position I would never want to be trade growing up in the environment I did for a scholarship to college. I'm sure the RA made out find in life, despite having to work through college. I suspect however he still believe Black folks have much better than white folks.... and is probably a Donald Trump supporter. Pioneer, I know things are bad now Because I see more and more people are begging for money in NYC and here is the kicker--most of them are white! I see young white people begging for money every single day. This is very unusual.

Read the full article that the The National Law Review The self-publishing vendors (i.e., Amazon’s Kindle Digital Publishing, Barnes & Noble Nook Press and Smashwords) sought summary judgment asserting that they were not publishers of the book but merely allowed the author to use their systems to distribute it, and that were protected from any liability for third-party content by CDA Section 230. In opposing dismissal, the plaintiffs argued that the vendors worked in concert with the author to provide a platform for publishing books the same way a traditional publishing house does. Siding with the defendants, the court dismissed the claims against the self-publishing vendors, finding that their services are not “publishing,” as that word is known in the book industry. The court pointed to the terms of service that the author agreed to when registering for defendants’ services. For example, the terms of the Kindle agreement contained representations that the uploader owned all rights to the material and that no rights were being violated. In the Nook agreement, the author represented and warranted to Barnes & Noble that he held “the necessary rights, including all intellectual property rights, in and to the [book] and related content” and that the book could be “sold, marketed, displayed, distributed and promoted [by Barnes & Noble] without violating or infringing the rights of any other person or entity, including, without limitation, infringing any copyright, patent, trademark or right of privacy….” Moreover, the Smashwords agreement stressed that: “Smashwords does not… undertake[] any editorial review of the books that authors and publishers publish using its service.” It is interesting to read the summary of the court ruling. While Amazon and the other companies provide a service, and have actually given Black folks more of an opportunity for our voices to be heard, they should not be confused with publishing. You see unlike publishers that take on both financial and legal risk these self publishing platforms do neither. They get paid not matter what and assume no legal risk. Indeed they provide little more of a publishing service that my Canon printer.

64th Day of ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth‬: Poet Dr. Maya Angelou born April 4, 1928 This photo was taken, during the National Book Awards, just a few month before Angelou passed.

Cynique, there are plenty of Bernie supporters who are my age. In fact, I don't really know anyone (other than yourself) who is so staunchly supportive of Hillary. Basically folks are either "Bernie or bust", or "I'll vote of Hillary if Bernie does not make it." The later may be in the minority. When you write, "...in his role of savior, will pull off his miracles by applying simple solutions to complicated problems..." that same thing could have very easily been applied to Barack 8 years ago. I did not know Bernie had a child out of wedlock, I'm not sure why you mentioned it other than to demonized Bernice in the same why you accuse others of demonizing Hillary. Considering the fact that the mmajority of Black people born in America are born out of wedlock, I doubt very many people will hold that against Bernie, but rather see him human--like the rest of us. We need people who are far m,ore progressive in the white house, not moderate centrists who parrot whatever the polls say people want to hear, then proceed to do the bidding of the oiligarchy once elected.

62nd Day of ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth‬: Carolyn M. Rodgers passed April 2, 2010. The Black Arts Movement era Poet was a 1976 National Book Award Finalist