Dorothy I. Height, founding matriarch of civil rights movement, dies at 98

Dorothy I. Height, 98, a founding matriarch of the American civil rights movement whose crusade for racial justice and gender equality spanned more than six decades, died early Tuesday morning of natural causes, a spokesperson for the National Council of Negro Women said.

Ms. Height was among the coalition of African American leaders
who pushed civil rights to the center of the American political stage after World War II, and she was a key figure in the struggles for school desegregation, voting rights, employment opportunities and public accommodations in the 1950s and 1960s.

She died at 3:41 a.m. at Howard University Hospital, a spokesman there said.

Ms. Height was president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, relinquishing the title in 1997. The 4 million-member advocacy group consists of 34 national and 250 community-based organizations. It was founded in 1935 by educator Mary McLeod Bethune, who was one of Ms. Height's mentors.

As a civil rights activist, Ms. Height participated in protests in Harlem during the 1930s. In the 1940s, she lobbied first lady Eleanor Roosevelt on behalf of civil rights causes. And in the 1950s, she prodded President Dwight D. Eisenhower to move more aggressively on school desegregation issues. In 1994, Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

In a statement issued by the White House, President Obama called Height "the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to so many Americans."

"Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality . . . witnessing every march and milestone along the way," Obama said. "And even in the final weeks of her life -- a time when anyone else would have enjoyed their well-earned rest -- Dr. Height continued her fight to make our nation a more open and inclusive place for people of every race, gender, background and faith."

In the turmoil of the civil rights struggles in the 1960s, Ms. Height helped orchestrate strategy with movement leaders including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph, Whitney Young, James Farmer, Bayard Rustin and John Lewis, who later served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia.

Ms. Height was arguably the most influential woman at the top levels of civil rights leadership, but she never drew the major media attention that conferred celebrity and instant recognition on some of the other civil rights leaders of her time.

In August 1963, Ms. Height was on the platform with King when he delivered his "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. But she would say later that she was disappointed that no one advocating women's rights spoke that day at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Less than a month later, at King's request, she went to Birmingham, Ala., to minister to the families of four black girls who had died in a church bombing linked to the racial strife that had engulfed the city.

"At every major effort for social progressive change, Dorothy Height has been there," Lewis said in 1997 when Ms. Height announced her retirement as president of the National Council of Negro Women.

Early champion for women's rights

As a champion of social justice, Ms. Height was best known during the early years of her career for her struggles to overcome racial prejudice.

She was also energetic in her efforts to overcome gender bias, and much of that work predated the women's rights movement. When President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, Ms. Height was among those invited to the White House to witness the ceremony. She returned to the White House in 1998 for a ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of that legislation to hear Clinton urge passage of additional laws aimed at equalizing pay for men and women.

"Dorothy Height deserves credit for helping black women understand that you had to be feminist at the same time you were African . . . that you had to play more than one role in the empowerment of black people," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) once said.

As president of the National Council of Negro Women, Ms. Height was instrumental in organizing and sponsoring programs that emphasized self-help and self-reliance.

Those included nutrition, child care, housing and career counseling. In response to a public TV program, "The Vanishing Black Family," Ms. Height helped create and organize the Black Family Reunion Celebration, which has been held on the Mall and in cities across the country annually since 1985. The gatherings are intended to honor the traditions, strength and history of African American families while seeking solutions to such social problems as teen pregnancy and drug abuse.

"The reunion is as important today as some of our marches were in the past," Ms. Height said in 1992.

In 1995, Ms. Height was among the few women to speak at the Million Man March on the Mall, which was led by Louis Farrakhan, the chief minister of the Nation of Islam. "I am here because you are here," she declared. Two years later, at 85, she sat at the podium all day, in the whipping wind and chill rain, at the Million Woman March in Philadelphia.

"She was a dynamic woman with a resilient spirit, who was a role model for women and men of all faiths, races and perspectives. For her, it wasn't about the many years of her life, but what she did with them," said former U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman, a close friend who has been running day-to-day operations at the National Council.

Herman called Ms. Height "a national treasure who lived life abundantly. She will be greatly missed, not only by those of us who knew her well, but by the countless beneficiaries of her enduring legacy."

A constant fight for equality

Dorothy Irene Height was born in Richmond on March 24, 1912, and she grew up in Rankin, Pa., near Pittsburgh, where she attended racially integrated schools. But she felt the lash of racial bigotry early in her life. A music teacher in her mostly white elementary school appointed her student director of the school chorus, but a new principal forbade her to take that position. At the next school assembly, the chorus refused to stand and sing until Ms. Height was reinstated as leader, and the principal relented.

The principal subsequently became one of her staunchest supporters, Ms. Height recalled in her 2003 memoir, "Open Wide the Freedom Gates."

As a high school senior and the valedictorian, she won a national oratorical contest, and with it a $1,000 college scholarship. But the college of her choice, Barnard in New York, had already admitted its quota of black students -- two. When Ms. Height applied, she was informed that she would have to wait at least a semester before she could enroll.

Instead, she went to New York University, where she graduated in three years and received a master's degree in educational psychology in her fourth year. In 1980, Ms. Height was chosen to receive Barnard's Medal of Distinction -- the highest honor the college can give.

As a young woman, Ms. Height made money through jobs such as ironing entertainer Eddie Cantor's shirts and proofreading Marcus Garvey's newspaper, the Negro World. She went nightclubbing in Harlem with composer W.C. Handy.

Ms. Height began her professional career as a caseworker for the New York City welfare department. She got her start as a civil rights activist through the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Sr., pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, and from the pastor's son, the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who later represented Harlem in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ms. Height later said that as an officer of the Harlem Christian Youth Council, "I was one of the multitude whose first experience as a civil rights activist was in walking and talking with merchants on 125th Street."

'Freedom in a colorless society'

After attending an international church youth conference in London in the summer of 1937, Ms. Height returned to New York with the conviction that she needed to operate from a broader base than that of a welfare caseworker. She found her opportunity that November at the Harlem branch of the YWCA during a visit by Eleanor Roosevelt. Bethune, president of the Harlem YWCA, was impressed by Ms. Height's poise and style in greeting the president's wife, and she promptly offered her a job. "You come back -- we need you," Ms. Height recalled Bethune saying.

Quitting her job as a welfare caseworker, Ms. Height joined the staff of the Harlem YWCA. She remained a full-time YWCA staffer until 1975, serving the last 18 years simultaneously as president of the National Council of Negro Women.

As a child, she had once been turned away from the Pittsburgh YWCA swimming pool. As a YWCA staff member, she was instrumental in bringing about an interracial charter for Ys in 1946.

In the 1940s, Ms. Height came to Washington as chief of the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA branch. She joined the staff of the national YWCA board in 1944, and, until 1975, she remained on that staff with a variety of responsibilities, including leadership training and interracial and ecumenical education. In 1965, she organized and became the director of the YWCA's Center for Racial Justice, and she held that position until retiring from the YWCA board in 1975. She was a visiting professor at the Delhi School of Social Work in India, and she directed studies around the world on issues involving human rights.

Ms. Height became national president of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority in 1947, and she held that position until 1957, when she became the fourth president of the National Council of Negro Women.

Over the next four decades, she established a national reputation as a graceful and insistent voice for civil rights and women's rights. She was tall and stately -- some said regal -- and she spoke in a tone that always commanded attention. She rarely had to raise her voice.

"If the times aren't ripe, you have to ripen the times," she liked to say. It was important, she said, to dress well. "I came up at a time when young women wore hats, and they wore gloves. Too many people in my generation fought for the right for us to be dressed up and not put down."

Ms. Height never married. She is survived by one sister, Anthanette Height Aldridge of New York City. She was often described as the "glue" that held the family of black civil rights leaders together. She did much of her work out of the public spotlight, in quiet meetings and conversations, and she was widely connected at the top levels of power and influence in government and business.

In the 1960s, Ms. Height was uncomfortable with the "black power" rallying cry of young civil rights militants, and she said that the phrase "has harmed our cause. . . . The fact of the matter is that we do not want black power for American negroes. We don't want white power for American whites. . . . The kind of power we seek is the power of freedom in a colorless society -- the power to help build a constructive nation and a constructive world together with our fellow Americans."

But in time, Ms. Height would revise her opinion and say the "black power" slogan had merit. "White power in the system in which we live is a reality. . . . Simply talking about bettering race relations without changing the power relations will get us nowhere."

Influence from Mississippi to Africa

As the women's rights movement gained momentum in the early 1970s, Ms. Height forged alliances with white feminist leaders, while disagreeing periodically on matters of tactics and racial emphasis. "African American women have advanced in every field that women have advanced, but the sad point is that those are the few and not the many," she said.

Under her leadership, the National Council of Negro Women sponsored voter registration drives and organized an education foundation for student activists who interrupted their education to do civil rights work.

Another 1960s program, Wednesdays in Mississippi, was a favorite of Ms. Height's. It consisted of weekly trips to Mississippi by interracial groups of women to assist at Freedom Schools and voter registration campaigns. This was often perilous work, especially during the summers of 1964 and 1965, when the hundreds of young civil rights volunteers who streamed into Mississippi were routinely harassed, sometimes beaten and, in a few cases, killed.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the council helped organize and operate development projects in African countries. It ran a "pig bank" project in rural Mississippi in which pigs were given to poor, hungry families so they could raise them, with the understanding that two pigs from subsequent litters would be put back into the bank for another family.

Over the years, there were fundraising drives for a statue of Bethune and acquisition of a large and imposing headquarters building in downtown Washington to house the National Council and the Dorothy I. Height Leadership Institute. The building, with white oak woodwork, a marble staircase and fluted cast-iron columns, stands at 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, the site of what was once a slave market. For years after stepping down as president of the National Council, Ms. Height made daily visits to her office there, using a walker or a wheelchair as she became infirm.

"She not only expected us to keep going, she instructed us to keep going," Herman said. "She would ball that fist up and say that the National Council of Negro Women wasn't about one or two persons. She balled her fist to say that you can strike a mighty blow when you make a fist and work together."

Ms. Height had served on the advisory council of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the National Advisory Council on Aging. Her awards included 36 honorary doctorates from colleges and universities, including Harvard and Princeton. On March 24, 2004, her 92nd birthday, she received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest decoration Congress can bestow.

But Ms. Height often urged her co-workers to "stop worrying about whose name gets in the paper and start doing something about rats, and day care and low wages. . . . We must try to take our task more seriously and ourselves more lightly."

1912-2010

Newest Boy Scout Badge: Video Games!

Kids these days really don’t know how good they have it. Back in my day, having one’s video game obsession hobby sanctioned by the venerable Boy Scouts of America was merely a pipe dream of some utopian future.

That future is now, people: The Boy Scouts have officially introduced a video games badge into their awards curriculum. Earning the belt loop requires explaining the ESRB video game rating system, officially inking video game sessions into your calendar (holla!) along with homework and chores (boo!) and learning to play a new “approved” video game.

Young Scout gamers can go on to earn an academics pin by completing five of nine potential requirements, none of which includes beating “Through the Fire and Flames” on expert. Bummer — that skill will surely translate somewhere, someday.

What do you think of the Boy Scouts officially sanctioning our (lucky) youths’ love of video games? Let’s see a show of hands from the jealous over-20s crowd in the house who’d love to turn back time right about now.

[via Engadget]

5 Reasons Google and Search Won’t Dominate The Next Decade

Over the past few years, there has been an underlying shift in the way we use technology in our lives. This could be simply described as moving from user-initiated (search) to auto-serving (suggestions) technologies, and it’s about to change the way we live, communicate, make money, shop, collaborate and more. Instead of actively searching for things, we will be presented with them, as we live our lives.


Facebook (Facebook)’s new “instant personalization” is just the beginning of an era in which we will slowly allow more and more technologies to shape our discovery and decision processes. As they become more integral to our lives, search as an activity will become less relevant. Here is why.


1. The Search Process is Inefficient

Most of the technologies and platforms we use these days require our action. In order to achieve anything, we have to acknowledge the need, make a decision, and then follow through.

Example: You need a new swimsuit for the summer and you decide to find one that best matches your search criteria: Color, style, size, etc. You use Google (Google), ShopStyle, TheFind, or any other smart shopping engine. This simple task requires a bit of thought and effort on your part.

What if you could skip this process and let technology offer you the perfect swimsuit once the summer season arrives, without asking you to take any action?


2. Mobile GPS Eliminates the Need for Location-Based Search

Let’s look at location searches and the hottest startup of the moment –- Foursquare (Foursquare). In order to enjoy the rewards and badges of this location-based game, users are required to manually “check-in” at various places via GPS-enabled phones. All it requires is our confirmation, though this is likely to become automated in the future as geo-location technology becomes more precise.

Once Foursquare overcomes the user-initiation block, it will be able to offer you places on the go, according to your preferences. Are you on the corner of 44th street and 6th avenue? There is a nice coffee place on the block, and according to your last 10 check-ins, you must love coffee.

We already see some mobile applications changing these behavior patterns. Dating is one of the first verticals killing the search function. By using GPS technology, mobile startups such as Urban Signals connect strangers on the go, as they live their lives and walk on the streets of their neighborhoods. Right now, they are powered by instant human connection –- when you see someone you like, you send a signal and connect. But what if the device was actually signaling you when you walk by someone who could be a good match?

3. Social Matching Could Create Valuable Connections

Beyond dating, the same principles could be applied to the ways we do business, shop, and consume information. Instead of initiating the actions, we could simply receive opportunities based on our preferences and lifestyle.

Imagine a mobile app created for networking events which allows you to skip useless intros and irrelevant pitches, and instead connect directly with people who match your business goals (a natural evolution for LinkedIn (LinkedIn)). Or consider a web service that automatically matches people on the same mission, which would be great for social organizations and non-profits.

For example, one of your friends is very passionate about sustainability and another is an organic clothes designer. Professionally, they are only separated by few degrees, and their social data shows that they live in the same neighborhood. Combined, they could do a world of social good, but unless you think about introducing them, they might never connect.

By allowing technologies to make auto-matches from the group pool of social networks, we could create a more networked and efficient society by connecting like-minded people.

4. Content Recommendations to Replace Search

The same approach could be used for consuming content. Instead of scanning newspapers, magazines, RSS feeds, blogs and Twitter (Twitter) streams, only to find a fraction of the content matching our interests, we could have the best matches delivered to us, as it’s created, and filtered by our relevant social data.

It’s already happening on social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, where we get content recommendations from our friends and followers. Last week, Facebook’s Open Graph launch took the next step and opened a two-way street between the network itself and the larger web. In addition to providing an “instant personalization,” it is turning all of us to “instant curators.”

Assuming you’ve built a network of people with similar interests, you may never have to search for content again. You can simply rely on your network to deliver the top news to you, or point you in the right direction when visiting your favorite destinations.

Of course, this system still requires someone to discover and share content in the first place, and search is one of the ways to do so. But it’s only a matter of time until new technologies fill in the gaps left by your network, and ensure you receive every piece of relevant content from across the web, prioritized accordingly.

5. Suggestions Will Be the Core of Our Shopping Experience

Shopping is the best space to adopt suggestion technologies. If you’ve ever tried searching for an item of clothing or a gadget, you probably got lost in thousands of product choices, only a fraction of which would suit your needs.

What if new gadgets were selectively offered to you, based on your characteristics as they come out to the market? What if new clothes came to your inbox every season according to your taste and budget?

Even today, universal social platforms like Facebook are able to provide enough personal data for a variety of technologies to automate these common processes, essentially replacing our need to search.

Will Google Catch Up?

It’s not a coincidence that Facebook has begun to surpass Google as the most visited site in the U.S. The shift will continue as we change our behavior from searching for things to discovering things through our social networks and geo-location services.

Although Google does try to make its search more social by adding results from the major networks, much of their focus still rests in “people searching for things.” If this behavior changes, it might put a big question mark on the future of this empire.

At this point, Google still has a chance to adapt to the new decade. After all, they do index nearly all online content, products, businesses and even locations via Google Maps (Google Maps). The question is how they use the data they collect. The faster they understand this shift in human behavior, the more chance they have to stay in the game when search becomes a far less important task.

{Via Mashable.com}

T.I. "I'm Back"

I Guess It's Safe to Say THE KING IS BACK!!!

After His 10 Month Hiatus do to His Imprisonment. TIP is Back Making Good Music & Has Just Released this New Hott Track Titled "I'm Back". Which Is Such an Appropriate Title For His 1st Single...{In My Opinion}


Be On The Look Out For T.I. New Album "KING UNCAGED" Set to Be Released Sometime In August.

T.I. has said in interviews that he went into the recording process with the intent to return to his grittier early days as opposed to his slightly glossy recent output. King Uncaged features crooners Trey Songz and The-Dream along with rapper B.o.B and beats supplied by producers TrackSlayerz, Jim Jonson, DJ Toomp, Lil C, and Danja.

Mark Milly "?!"/ YHGM "Callin All Shots"

It was once defined that the music industry consisted of individuals that composed and performed an array of versatile music. Music of today has stepped on a stage in where versatility hides behind a curtain. We ask ourselves who will bring this versatility to front stage?

Enter: Mark S. Clarke, musically known as Lucky a.k.a Mark Milly. Born on December 17, 1987 in Baltimore, MD, Lucky was believed to be born to make musical history. The inspiration of his father playing hip hop during Lucky’s childhood created the prototype for his success. At the tender age of ten, he started to explore and listen to different genres of music including, but not limited to, country, pop, rock, etc.

Fast Forward: The year is 1999, Lucky decided that he wanted to start “rapping” based on the influences of Bone Thus N Harmony, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z and Master P. Before Lucky emerged, he was originally known as Mark “the shark” and did not commence as a solo artist. While attending middle school he formed a group called “The GoodFellaz” with talented rappers ‘M-80’ and ‘Infinite’ later known as ‘4th Quarter’.

Curtain Closes. The Goodfellaz went their separate ways, Lucky continued to write with dreams of one day becoming a rap star but soon found himself succumbed under adversity of his neighborhood. Once he broke free from the misfortune and the occurrence of major developments in his life he realized that it was time to start taking music much more seriously from a vocal and business standpoint.

New Scene. After brainstorming and watching the development of the industry, Lucky forms a business venture with close friend and rapper Rod “Reality the Don” Mclean. In 2006, Young Hustlaz Gettin’ Money was formed in Baltimore. This new venture was a wide spread movement of young rappers, artists, and people striving to be successful in a range of areas. Once the lifestyle brand, YHGM, emerged on the scene, Lucky began working with many talented individuals and creating a buzz of recognition as one of Baltimore’s significant artists.

Fast Forward: The year is 2009, after releasing 2 solo mixtapes, various YHGM compilations, and assisting aspiring artists on their journey to become successful in the world of music, Lucky realized its time for the script and characters to change. Focusing more on his solo career and building his brand, he decided to transform YHGM into an artist consulting and representation company.

Enter: The Incredible Creation, a lifestyle brand formed with long time business partner Reality the Don in 2009. So as the logo for The Incredible Creation asks: “Were You Created Incredible?” Lucky’s response is: “I think highly of myself and in my talent in which people find hard to believe and that’s what makes me….Incredible.”

Stay Tuned…








Y.H.G.M PRESENTS "TRAGEDY" CHECK OUT THIS HOTT TRACK "CALLIN ALL SHOTS"



























ALSO BE SURE TO CHECK OUT "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN" {Webisode} PRESENTED BY Y.H.G.M FILMS...





WEBISODES CAN BE FOUND ON {http://yhgmfilms.blogspot.com/}

Nas & Damian Marley "As We Enter"

One is a hip-hop legend, the other descends from reggae royalty. This May, Nas and Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley are teaming up for what could be the most groundbreaking new 2010 album to hit stores all year. 'Distant Relatives,' the long awaited collaboration album from the duo has been talked about for quite some time, now -- some would say, far too long.

It all began at the 2009 Grammy Awards, when Nas confirmed to MTV that he was working with Marley on a new album that would "build empowerment" and "show love." Beginning in 2008, the duo spent about three months together recording with a live band in studios across Miami and Los Angeles, according to Entertainment Weekly.

'Distant Relatives' isn't short on star power, either. Joining Nas and Marley in the studio, and making appearances on their new 2010 album are Stephen Marley, Joss Stone, Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne and K'naan. The thematic orientation of the album is rooted in African heritage, poverty and social commentary. As Marley told Rolling Stone, "We're trying to have a sound that's reminiscent of both of us, but not exactly like either."

After several delays, and rampant speculation about whether or not the record would ever get finished, a release date of May 19 was finally settled upon. The past few months have also seen numerous leaks that were later found to be unauthentic, but on February 23, the two finally released their first official single, 'As We Enter.' Since then, a second single, 'The Promised Land' has leaked, as reported last week by SHOUTCast. The two have also announced a 'Distant Relatives' tour, which will see them hitting stages across the US and Europe.




1. 'As We Enter'
2. 'Tribal War' Feat. K'naan
3. 'Strong Will Continue'
4. 'Leaders'
5. 'Wisdom (Sabali)'
6. 'Count Your Blessings'
7. 'Disappear'
8. 'The Promised Land' Feat. Dennis Brown
9. 'Nah Mean'
10. 'Angola (Friends)'
11. 'My Generation' Feat. Lil Wayne and Joss Stone
12. 'Africa Must Wake Up' Feat. K'naan
13. 'Ancient People' Feat. Junior Reid (Bonus Track)

Eminem "Despicable" Freestyle

Eminem Goes In Extra Hard on Drake's "Over" & "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" Instrumentals...

Eminem has scrapped plans to drop his eagerly-awaited Relapse 2 LP and will instead be releasing a brand new album, titled Recovery, early this summer.

The disc, the award-winning emcee’s seventh major label studio album, will arrive on June 22 and feature collaborations with artists such as DJ Khalil, Just Blaze, Jim Jonsin, and Boi-1da.



Here’s his statement:

“I had originally planned for Relapse 2 to come out last year, but as I kept recording and working with new producers, the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title.”

10 Killer Tips for Creating a Branded YouTube Channel

There was a time when YouTube (YouTube) was considered a wild-wild west of content — a place where marketers shied away from uploading their commercials, let alone building a branded channel. But these days, YouTube has become more mini-van than stagecoach. From Toyota Sienna’s high-profile television commercials urging consumers to visit their YouTube channel, to (what might be considered the anti-minivan) Harley Davidson’s fan-centric YouTube universe, there has been a noticeable shift in corporate adoption of the platform.

There are many companies now that are hopping on the bandwagon. Just about every corporation and small business is creating a branded channel on YouTube, but there are still relatively few marketers who have managed to harvest the full potential of the platform.

Whether your brand already has a YouTube channel that’s in need of a facelift, or if you’re interested in developing one from scratch, this article will provide some practical tips and valuable tricks to help you kick-start the process.


1. The Test Tube on YouTube

Look at your YouTube channel as a new, exciting learning lab. Be malleable in your approach to both the content and design of the channel. Don’t be concerned with acquiring thousands of friends and subscribers right away. Use this time to test, gather insights, and see what works for your brand and what doesn’t. Unlike your company’s website and traditional marketing collateral, the look and feel of the channel can be changed, tweaked and optimized without a huge investment of time and money.

2. Plotting Global Domination? Check Your Swagger

Ideally, you’ll want to be goal-oriented during the launch (or re-launch) of your channel. Before your itchy little finger goes to hit that “upload” button, consider the needs and goals of your various target audiences, and keep reminding yourself that web video is distinct medium.

Next, think about your marketing objectives and overall brand strategy. Are you using the channel to attract prospects, provide customer support, or build a list of subscribers? Understand that there might not be “one size fits all” content if you are trying to accomplish all three.

Let your strategic goals drive the tactics you use to create and promote videos, and consider whether a paid sponsorship would offer an advantage. If you check out YouTube’s advertising channel, you can get a basic overview of what brands can do with the platform, but be forewarned — the information is a bit heavy-handed on the sales side.

3. Avoid Over-commitment Issues

Strongly consider outsourcing. I’ve never met a marketer who wasn’t time-starved. Let’s face it: You probably don’t have time to be uploading content, let alone coming up with titles, descriptions and tags, friending, rating, commenting and optimizing. And I’m giving you fair warning: Entrust this project to a summer intern at your own peril.

While you should allow yourself the flexibility to experiment, YouTube can be a high-profile place to make gaffes, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you’re going to outsource, you might consider looking for a specialist who is already set up and can implement your strategy. Creating web videos and knowing how to market them on YouTube requires a whole different skill set than web development — just because it’s online doesn’t mean that it’s a job for the company that builds your website.

4. Be a Social Media Butterfly

Think of your YouTube channel as an extension of your brand that lives and breathes. You’ll need someone who is dedicated to tending to that page, building your audience by reaching out to fans, and managing your profile online.

Start by searching your brand on YouTube and see what the existing conversation looks like. Then try reaching out to people who already have an affinity for your product or service by commenting on their videos and/or “friending” them. Remember that YouTube is an online community, and if you’re not participating in the dialogue, then you are missing the opportunity for true engagement.

5. Don’t Just Re-purpose Old Content

You should post your television commercials online, but don’t let that be the only content on the channel. Remember that television commercials are designed for a one-way medium, and that while audiences may want the ability to see your commercials on-demand, if that’s all you have to offer, they will never visit your channel again.

And don’t just post your commercial and 15 derivative videos about the making of it, or “director’s cuts” of the same, unless they have legitimate value as content in their own right. YouTube is an opportunity for your brand to go beyond traditional “push” marketing tactics and to create videos that address multiple audiences and a variety of consumer needs.

6. Broadcast Your Best Self

Make the feature reel on the channel the most entertaining or best piece of content that you have. If that means that it’s a cleverly written and witty commercial that was originally destined for TV, so be it. If a viewer visits your channel, you’ll only have one chance to impress them with your content, so if you don’t entertain them or offer some overwhelmingly valuable information, you’ll lose an opportunity.

7. Make a Menu of Content to Feed Everyone

Understand that YouTube is a search engine for video. Create tailored content that considers what consumers are searching for or need to know about your products and services. If you play your cards right, when consumers are searching for information about your competitor, they’ll come to your videos first. Instructional and how-to videos that show consumers how to use your product are always a good place to start, but also consider the value of integrating your product into existing YouTube shows and then favoriting those videos on your channel.

8. Juice Your Marketing: Extract Extra Value

YouTube does not exist in a vacuum. Try to integrate your YouTube channel into the rest of your marketing programs and cross reference/promote your content. You can extract more value out of your event marketing if you think about ways to co-produce video content. Remember, integrating marketing channels and initiatives is well known for producing a campaign “multiplier effect.” Whether it’s video shot at a trade show or a promo for an upcoming event, just make sure that the video is well produced and edited for length.

9. Be Homegrown

Grow your channel instead of “launching” it. If there is any medium that pays attention to grassroots movement, web video is it. And be patient — it takes time to spread the word about your channel, and it takes care and nurturing for it to catch on. Keep releasing content on a regular basis, integrate your YouTube channel into your other marketing efforts, bring your customers extra value, and your presence will grow.

10. Keep the Future in Mind

YouTube was started in early 2005 — look how much has changed in a five-year time span, and how fast web video has progressed. As new technology and distribution channels emerge (like the iPad), try to think about how you can create web video content that will serve your brand into the future. During the production process, you should keep user-experience in mind and plan for the audience to be watching your videos on screens the size of a TV, as well as on their mobile phones.

{via Mashable.com}

M.I.A 'Born Free"

Within a day of its widely discussed debut on the Web, the video for M.I.A.’s song “Born Free” has, in some instances, been removed from YouTube and in others labeled with an age restriction. The video, made for the first single of M.I.A.’s coming album and directed by Romain Gavras, the son of Costa-Gavras, depicts an unspecified military force, with some members wearing American flags on their uniforms, rounding up redheaded men from an apartment complex and taking them to a desert to be tortured and executed. In its community guidelines, YouTube says videos can be taken down from the site for violations like excessive violence, and can be flagged if users believe the videos violate these guidelines. YouTube declined to say if any versions of the M.I.A. video were taken down due to its violent content. The video is also posted on M.I.A.’s Web site.


It's My Pleasure to Allow My Viewers the Privilege to View this Video.


Viewer Discretion Is Advised!!

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

Malcolm X Killer to go Free After 44 Years

Thomas Hagan was captured shortly after the assassination of Malcolm X on Feburary 21, 1965.


Thomas Hagan pleaded his case for freedom: To return to his family, to become a substance abuse counselor and to make his mark on what time he has left in this world.

He was dressed in prison greens as he addressed the New York parole board. He had been before that body 14 other times since 1984. Each time, he was rejected.

Hagan is no ordinary prisoner. He is the only man to have confessed in the killing of Malcolm X, who was gunned down while giving a speech in New York's Audubon Ballroom in 1965.

"I have deep regrets about my participation in that," he told the parole board on March 3, according to a transcript. "I don't think it should ever have happened."

The board granted him his wish. On Wednesday, Hagan, 69, will be free.

He was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment after being found guilty at trial with two others in 1966. Since March 1992, Hagan has been in a full-time work-release program that allowed him to live at home with his family in Brooklyn five days a week while reporting to a minimum-security prison just two days.

To win his release, Hagan was required to seek, obtain and maintain a job, support his children and abide by a curfew. He must continue to meet those conditions while free. He told the parole board he's worked the same job for the past seven years. He told the New York Post in 2008 he was working at a fast-food restaurant.

A parole officer checked on him while outside prison, and he had to undergo random drug tests.


"I can't really describe my remiss and my remorse for my actions".
--Thomas Hagan, killer of Malcolm X




The prison to which Hagan has reported for two nights a week, the Lincoln Correctional Facility, is at West 110th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.

CNN was unable to reach Hagan for a comment about his release. The Nation of Islam declined comment for this story.

Malcolm X is best known as the fiery leader of the Nation of Islam who denounced whites as "blue-eyed devils." But at the end of his life, Malcolm X changed his views toward whites and discarded the Nation of Islam's ideology in favor of orthodox Islam. In doing so, he feared for his own life from within the Nation.

Malcolm X remains a symbol of inspiration for black men, in particular, who are moved by his transformation from a street hustler to a man the late African-American actor Ossie Davis eulogized as "our own black shining prince."

The ballroom where he was killed has now been converted into The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. Board Chairman Zead Ramadan said the center doesn't have a position on Hagan's release.


"I personally find it strange that for a couple decades any person convicted in the assassination of such an iconic figure would be allowed such leniency," Ramadan said.

There's outrage among some African-Americans, he said, that he's being released. Would he be set free if he had killed an iconic white leader?

"It's really a struggle for Muslims to contemplate this issue, because our faith and our religion is full of examples where we have to exert mercy," he added. "The Malcolm X story has not ended. His popularity has grown in death. ... Only God knows why this was allowed to happen."

The center is preparing for a special service next month to celebrate what would have been Malcolm X's 85th birthday. Would the center welcome Hagan if he asked to attend?

"We'd cross that bridge if he called us," Ramadan said, "Think about that: How far-fetched is it that he could meet one of the daughters of Malcolm X? And what's going to happen then? Mercy, fury, anger, emotions -- who knows?"



Malcolm X was 39 when he was gunned down in 1965.

Killed in front of his family

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X took to the stage of the Audubon Ballroom, a site often used for civic meetings. His wife, Betty Shabazz, and four children were in the crowd.


"I heard several shots in succession," his wife later told a Manhattan grand jury. "I got on the floor, and I pushed my children under the seat and protected them with my body."

Gunshots continued to ring out, she said. Her husband's body was riddled with bullets. The native of Omaha, Nebraska, was 39

"Minister Malcolm was slaughtered like a dog in front of his family," A. Peter Bailey, one of Malcolm X's closest aides, told The New York Times on the 40th anniversary of the killing.

The assassination came after a public feud between Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam's founder, Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm X had accused Muhammad of infidelity and left the Nation in March 1964.

"For the next 11 months, there was a pattern of harassment, vilification and even on occasion literally pursuit in the streets of Malcolm by people associated with the Nation," said Claude Andrew Clegg III, author of a biography on Elijah Muhammad called An Original Man.

"Malcolm felt that if Elijah Muhammad snapped his fingers, then he could stop the escalation of the violent tone around the split of the two men. And I think there's some truth to that."

Over the years, the killing of Malcolm X has been the subject of much debate, with conspiracy theories involving the Nation of Islam and others. The Nation of Islam has repeatedly denied any involvement in Malcolm X's assassination.


Twenty-two and on a deadly mission


Hagan, then known by the name Talmadge X Hayer, was 22 and a radical member of the Nation of Islam the day he entered the ballroom armed and ready to kill. His allegiance was to the Nation's founder, and he was outraged Malcolm X had broken from its ranks.

After the shooting, Hagan tried to flee the scene but he was shot in the leg. He was beaten by the crowd before being arrested outside.





Last month, he told the parole board he felt the urge to kill Malcolm X because of his inflammatory comments about the Nation's founder.

"It stemmed from a break off and confusion in the leadership," Hagan said. "Malcolm X broke with the Nation of Islam, separated from the Nation of Islam, and in doing so there was controversy as to some of the statements he was making about the leader."

He added, "History has revealed a lot of what Malcolm X was saying was true." {He sure did pick a fine time to realize. Don't you agree??? SMH!!}


Two other men, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Kahlil Islam, were also found guilty of murder in 1966 and received 20 years to life. Both proclaimed their innocence. Hagan, who eventually admitted his part in the murder, testified at trial and subsequent parole hearings that both men were innocent. Aziz was paroled in 1985; Islam was freed in 1987.


At last month's parole hearing, Hagan again maintained that Aziz and Islam were not the other assassins. He said it was two other men who helped plot, plan and participate in the killing.

Did they receive orders from the Nation to carry out the killing?

"I can't say that anyone in the Nation of Islam gave us the idea or instructed us to do it. We did this ourselves for the most part, yes," Hagan told the parole board.

Hagan said he received a master's degree in sociology while incarcerated and that has helped him deal with his actions from 45 years ago.

"I understand a lot better the dynamics of movements and what can happen inside movements and conflicts that can come up, but I have deep regrets about my participation in that."

He added, "Unfortunately, I didn't have an in-depth understanding of what was really going on myself to let myself be involved in anything like that. ... I can't really describe my remiss and my remorse for my actions -- basically a very young man, a very uneducated man. "

He is still a Muslim but no longer a member of the Nation of Islam. He volunteers at a mosque to help young men. He told the parole board he hopes to become a qualified substance abuse counselor.

His primary mission is to help his four children, ages 21, 17, 14 and 10. He has two other grown children.

"My focus is to maintain my family and to try to make things a little better for them. It's upward mobility, and to encourage my children to complete their education because it's a must."


Here's Mos Def Reciting a Malcolm X Speech "Message to the Grass Roots"


Thanks For Reading B James...

This Article Can Also Be Found On CNN.com

Caddy Da Don "Merk"

Welcome Home Caddy!!! Anything Is Possible Folks with a Little Bit Of Hard Word & Dedication!! BMORE Supports Your Movement CADDY!!!

Skarr Akbar "Ventilation"

I Know I'm Kinda Late On This One...This Video Was Actually Released About 3 Weeks Ago, So Please Forgive Me for Being Late. I Haven't Blogged In Awhile So Cut Me Some Slack....LOL


I'm Just Getting Back In The Loop...Anyway Get Into This HOTT S#!%....

Duce Wayne ft Al Great "Give N Go"

Stephen McGill aka DUCE Wayne is probably the exact opposite of what a “rapper” these days is thought to be. To use his own words, he’s just “regular”. As a single dad, college grad, and member of the working middle class, to outsiders, DUCE would appear regular. After one listen to his music, you will realize DUCE Wayne is anything but “regular”.
Born and raised in Baltimore, MD, the odds were already stacked against him. As the son of a school teacher and an automobile assembly plant worker, his parent’s main objective was for him to be a success and not fall victim to the streets around him. DUCE was like any other child, playing basketball, video games, and reading Batman comic books in his spare time. His mother’s teaching experience kept him interested in reading and writing at an early age, but it wasn’t until he saw his first episode of Rap City with his older sister, that he embraced hip hop. When his sister let him listen to Enter the Wu Tang: The 36 Chambers, he officially fell in love with hip hop.
As a fan of real hip hop, DUCE had many influences including Nas, AZ, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Biggie, Jay Z, and The Clipse just to name a few. However, even though he loved hip hop and music in general, DUCE Wayne never thought he would be a rapper. He made up rhymes in his head and even wrote a couple down occasionally, but never thought enough of them to actually pursue a career as an artist. He was fine with just being a hip hop connoisseur. In the back of his mind, he always had dreams of being a guest on Rap City, the show that opened his eyes to hip hop. He even had answers prepared to the potential questions the host would ask.
Fast forward to 2003-04, when DUCE Wayne was a Junior at Morgan State University. He still kept his collection of hip hop on hand, but with new mixtapes flooding the streets at the time, he had more and more inspiration to push him. He started off freestyling for family members and friends at holiday events, but after a while he began putting the pen to the pad with a purpose. Long time friend and producer Shak (Shak Trauma) told him he already had the “look” of a rapper and wanted to hear what DUCE was working with. DUCE wrote a verse, spit it to Shak, and he’s been going ever since.
Currently, working with another longtime collaborator Al Great, as well as producers like Shak Trauma, Heist, and Khafre Williams, DUCE Wayne has geared his focus on making the kind of music he came up listening to. A lyricist with a combination of witty punchlines, deep metaphors, and meaningful verses, his formula is simple: “Make the same quality music I came up listening to, and it will speak for itself.”

Los "Angel"

The Movement Is Moving People!!! I'm Not Sure If The World Is Paying Attention....But We HERE!!! BMORE Is HERE!!! I'm Loving The Positive Exposure My City Is Getting Right Now, From The "WIRE" to The Undeniable Talent In The Rap Game!!! Stay Tuned World BALTIMORE Has A lot to Offer!!

Let's Continue to Support Our Own!!!

410 BALTIMORE STAND UP!!!

BOSSMAN "Tomorrow"

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Bossman "Eye for an Eye"




Bossman "I Wanna Rock"


Baltimore!!! Let's Continue to Support Our Own....It's Projects Like The One's You See Posted On My Blog & Talent Like This That Makes Me Proud to Be From Baltimore!!!






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Lano ft Wooskie "Holding My Own"

Go Cop That!!! "Holding My Own" Mixtape Out Now!!!


















BMORE Stand Up!!! The Movement Is Moving!!!

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Once Again!!! Baltimore Stand Up!!!! Sorry Nicki!!! Imma Fan, But I Gotta Go with the Home Town on this One....


Keys is Really Going In!!! Some May Say She's Hating, But I Beg the Differ, She Let You Know in the Beginning of the Song Why She's Going In....


Shout Out to Keys!!! Keep Sitting That Fire!!!

SkyZoo "My Interpretation"

410 Stand Up!!! Shout Out to Skarr Akbar!!! Lets Keep Getting This Exposure!!! Great Video!!

Ray J & Brandy's Brother "C-Dove" Introduces His Kids

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Solar Addresses Gay Rumors & Says The Letter By Guru Is Real!

R.I.P GURU









Guru (Gangstarr) Nephew's MOMENT OF TRUTH (Part 1)





Guru (Gangstarr) Nephew's MOMENT OF TRUTH (Part 2)