2008 SXSW Panel Picker
September 3, 2007
The good folks at SXSW Interactive are accepting votes for panels for SXSW Interactive 2008. Visit the Panel Picker to choose your favorite panels. But make your move now, because polls close September 21st!
Here is a quick list of my favorites (so far):
Where are all the Black Tech Bloggers? by Lynne d Johnson
In August 2007, Podtech Vlogger Loren Feldman got dressed up in black face (a tech nigga nonetheless) and asked the question, “Where Are The Black Tech Bloggesr?” While Feldman’s video drummed up controversy and was labeled as racist, it got the blogosphere thinking and talking. Especially the black tech bloggers. Here’s your chance to discover that they really exist, and to learn how they think about technology, and well, people like Feldman.
How To Roll Your Own Blog Awards. by Karsh
With over 30 different blog award events spanning the globe, you’d think all bases were covered in terms of blogging recognition. Well think again! In this session, you’ll learn the basics, logistics and secrets from the most popular blog award coordinators in the blogosphere on their popular Awards series.
Your Ticket to the Afrospear by Karsh
You’ve heard of the blogosphere, but have you heard of the Afrospear? This group of socially active, progressive-minded bloggers of African descent are setting out to change the landscape of the ‘Net. Find out how they are changing the landscape of activism through blogging, podcasting, videocasting and more.
10 Tips for Managing a Creative Environment by Bryan Mason
Stage Managers wrangle directors, designers, writers, and actors every day, under strict union guidelines. Editors cajole writers into producing on time(ish) for each week’s publication. Conductors balance the needs of dozens of musicians while staying true to the needs of the music. These disciplines can teach us how to set up and support creative environments that are conducive to excellent design and development. Dual presentation with Sarah Nelson.
Posted in Web, Blog, Content, Education, SXSW
Comments (1)Choose an HBCU
August 5, 2007
This from AOL Black Voices: According to a new study by researchers from Virginia Tech, black men who earn degrees from historically black colleges and universities have higher lifetime earnings than those attending other four-year institutions.“Our study … shows that Black males have no initial advantage from HBCU attendance but that their wages increase 1.4 percent to 1.6 percent faster per year after attending HBCUs compared to Black males who attended other colleges and universities,” says Dr. Bradford F. Mills, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.
Though this study showed black males from HBCU had no initial advantage, I will point to some experiences I took away from my HBCU experience that has separated me from some of friends.
School Pride = Work Pride
After I accepted admittance to Florida A&M University, I was invited to a brunch held by the local FAMU Alumni Chapter. The brunch opened with a small but touching speech by the head of the Alumni Association. Though I cannot remember her name, I do remember her speech. In a nut shell, she spoke of FAMU’s history, and talked about some of the great men and women who had come before us. The president then closed the speech with this quote “Pride is an attitude which separates excellence from mediocrity. Take pride in yourself, take pride in your work, and take pride in FAMU and its legacy”. Not the most profound words ever spoken, but pretty inspiring. After entering FAMU, I noticed that the tone of her speech was echoed by most of the upperclassmen and Professors (most FAMU or other HBCU graduates) on campus. It was as if, we were working for more than grades, we were working to leave FAMU better, than the way we inherited it. I and many of my classmates, take that same feeling of pride to the work place.
I don’t recall seeing that type of pride from most of the friends who attended majority institutions. The only time they did have pride was during sporting events, and that was only when their school was not playing against their favorite hometown team. My friends did just enough to achieve their personal goals. If the goal was grad school their GPA was just high enough, they joined just the right organizations, and interacted with just the right people for good letters of recommendation. It was all about self. For most of my friends, I have notice that the same selfish mentality has transfered their workplace. I here them saying things like “It’s not my company”, or “How does busting my hump help my bottom line?”.
Graduation from and HBCU does not automatically equal school/work pride, and not all majority institutions graduates lack pride. But being receptive to my heritage, and my understanding my school’s legacy taught me lessons beyond the classroom. And I truly believe that it’s the lessons outside of the classroom that define you.
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