Milestone: 3,000 Posts on the BDPA Foundation Blog

Wow! Just noticed that this humble blog reached the 3,000 blog posts mark yesterday! We began this blog when I wanted to say something nice about Joe Smialowski back on August 7, 2007. We've stuck around long enough for BDPA to create a 'Hall of Fame'!

It has been a fun seven years ... who knows where this will take us over the next few years ... but, I hope that many of you will come back and visit with us. Take a moment to subscribe to the blog. It is a good way to stay informed of BDPA and BDPA Education and Technology Foundation information.

Anyhow, I hope you'll accept my thanks for being part of the first 3,000 blog posts!

8th Annual Blogging While Brown Conference (June 19-20, 2015)

'BDPAers' are encouraged to mark your calendars with an eye towards attending the 8th Annual Blogging While Brown conference on June 19-20, 2015 in Austin, TX. Austin is a thriving tech-centric city and is where the Blogging While Brown operation is headquartered. Early registration will open soon.

For information about sponsoring Blogging While Brown 2015, email Joi Gamble, director of Brand Partnerships at sponsorships@bloggingwhilebrown.com.

6th Annual Blogging While Brown Conference, June 21-22, 2013 (New York City)

The 6th Annual Blogging While Brown Conference will be in New York City, June 21-22, 2013.

Registration for the conference opens January 1, 2013.

If you would like to be a speaker at the conference, the Call for Ideas will open on January 15th and will likely close on February 1st.

Conference Location: Conference keynotes, workshops and panels will take place at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

515 Malcolm X Boulevard
New York, NY 10037-1801
Tentative Conference Schedule: The pre-conference business of blogging session will open on Friday morning and end on Friday afternoon. Blogging While Brown events will begin Friday evening and go all day on Saturday. Typically, there is an informal Sunday brunch for people waiting to catch their flights home. There will likely be informal social events on Thursday evening as well.

Nominations Open for 2012 Black Weblog Awards

Did you know that nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 Black Weblog Awards?

Twenty-nine categories are returning to the Black Weblog Awards this year. Nine categories were retired. Nine were added. The largest number of new categories recognize outstanding achievement in video blogging.

Due to the large number of nominations in this category in 2011, the Best Fashion or Beauty blogging category was split into two separate categories. There is now a separate category for Best Fashion Blog and Best Beauty Blog. Best Culture Blog will now be called Best Fine Arts Blog. In some cases, categories which were spin offs of broader categories have been returned to their original category.  Blog of the Year will now be selected through a separate nomination process based on essay-based nominations.

Rules Review
The rules for every category are under review to establish more objective criteria to be applied to each nomination to determine whether a blog is qualified to compete in that particular category.

Returning Categories

• Best Automotive or Car Blog 
• Best Book or Author Blog 
• Best Blog Post Series 
• Best Business Blog  
• Best Faith Based Blog 
• Best Film Blog 
• Best Food Blog
• Best Gaming or Comics Blog 
• Best Gossip Blog 
• Best Group Blog
• Best Health or Wellness Blog
• Best Humor Blog
• Best International Blog
• Best LGBT Blog 
• Best Micro Blog 
• Best New Blog 
• Best Personal Blog 
• Best Photography in a Blog  
• Best Plus Sized Fashion 
• Best Podcast 
• Best Parenting Blog
• Best Political or News Blog 
• Best Science or Technology Blog
• Best Sports Blog
• Best Sex or Relationship Blog 
• Best Teen Blog 
• Best Travel Blog 
• Best Video Blog 
• Best Writing in a Blog

New Categories 

• Best Beauty Blog 
• Best Comedy Video Blog
• Best DIY, Home Improvement, Interior Design Blog
• Best Entertainment Video Blog
• Best Fashion Blog
• Best Fine Arts Blog 
• Best How to & Style Video Blog
• Best Original Graphic Design in a Blog 
• Best Science & Technology Video Blog 

Retired for 2012 

• Best Blog Design (Replaced with “Best Original Graphic Design in a Blog”.)
• Best Fashion or Beauty Blog (Split into “Best Fashion Blog” and “Best Beauty Blog”.) 
• Best Culture Blog (Now “Best Fine Arts Blog”.) 
• Best Hip Hop Blog (Moved back into ”Best Music Blog”.)  
• Blog Of The Year (Moved to a separate selection process.)  
• Blog to Watch (Moved to a separate selection process.) 
• Best Green Nature or Outdoor Living Blog (Introduced in 2011. Small nomination pool in 2011.)
• Best Blog Network  (Small nomination pool in 2011.) 
• Best Lifestyle Blog (Subsumed in Fashion, Design, Fine Arts categories.)

I encourage all our our blog readers to take a moment and support this Black Weblog Award process by making your own nomination. Goes without saying that we hope you will consider nominating this blog!

Nominations Open for 2011 Black Weblog Awards (Apr 18 - May 7)

We want to encourage all of our blog readers to take a moment to support the 2011 Black Weblog Awards.  You have the ability to nominate your favorite blogs about any and every topic.  The nomination service is open through May 7th.  Not only do we want you to make nominations ... but, we hope that you will spread the word about this online award program to others in your sphere of influence.

Nominations:

• Nominations are open from April 18 - May 7
• The official Nomination site is here.
• You provide the web address (URL) for your favorite blog in each category as well as your name and email address on the nomination form and that's it.
• There are 37 categories.

Voting:

• Finalists will be announced the week of May 15
• Online voting commences May 16 – June 17. 
• Again, you will need to cast your vote (your valid email address will confirm you are a person and not a bot).

Winners will be announced live at the Black Weblog Awards Ceremony during the 2011 Blogging While Brown Conference in Los Angeles, California.

Here are the categories:

Best Blog Design (This category is for well-designed blogs that incorporate a unique and eye-catching visual web design, keen use of typography, and a killer layout)

Best Blog Network (This category is for Black blog networks. Blog networks should be comprised of at least three blogs with content updated regularly, include some level of quality control, and include some type of blog network indication which links to the blog network’s site.)

Best Blog Post Series (This category is for a series of posts in a blog about a particular topic. Posts can be fiction or non-fiction, but post series must be linked by a common and identifiable theme with the ability to skip forward or backwards through the series for judging purposes.)

Best Business Blog (This category is for blogs that talk about the modern business world.)

Best Culture Blog (This category is for blogs which analyze and discuss Black culture and/or the African diaspora with respect to art, dance, Black history, music, and other related content.)

Best Cooking or Food Blog (This category is for blogs which focus on food and/or recipes. Blogs may also include restaurant and product reviews.)

Best Faith-Based Blog (This category is for blogs which feature unique religious and spiritual content from any religion or faith.)

Best Fashion or Beauty Blog (This category is for blogs which cover the topics of beauty, fashion, clothing, cosmetics, design, accessories, personal styling, and other related content for either men or women.)

Best Film Blog (This category is for blogs which promote or discuss films, actors, film culture, and other related content.)

Best Gaming or Comics Blog (This category is for blogs which promote or discuss films, actors, film culture, and other related content.)

Best Gossip Blog (This category is for blogs that focus on the reporting, satire, and lampooning of celebrities and pop culture.)

Best Group Blog (This category is for a single blog which is updated by a group of people (two or more people. This blog can be about any topic.)

Best Health or Wellness Blog (This category is for blogs that focus on health, fitness, living green, and overall physical wellness.)

Best Hip-Hop Blog (This category is for blogs that focus primarily on hip-hop culture, including urban fashion, current events, hip-hop music, and other related content.)

Best Humor Blog (This category is for humor blogs or blogs which feature humorous content. All sites comedy-related, including humor sites, sites spotlighting comedians, and sites that simply make you laugh.)

Best International Blog (This category is for blogs of any topic that are based in countries other than the United States. The country of origin for the blog must be clearly identified for judging purposes.)

Best LGBT Blog (This category is for blogs that relate to or are about the LGBT community, including news, pop culture, or personal stories)

Best Microblog (This category is for the following types of microblogs: Twitter profiles, Tumblr blogs, or Posterous blogs.)


Best Music Blog (This category is for blogs that focus on music; blogs can provide downloadable mp3s, and may cover more than one genre of music. The majority of the blog should be about music, not satire on pop culture.)

Best New Blog This category is for blogs of any topic which have been started on or after September 1, 2010.)

Best Parenting or Family Blog (This category is for blogs which center around the topics of family, raising children, families, etc.)

Best Personal Blog (This category is for blogs written by individuals about themselves or about others. Blogs do not have to adhere to a specific theme, but should specifically be about the blogger’s life.)

Best Photography Blog (This category is for blogs which present and feature photographs taken by the blog author.)

Best Podcast Series (This category highlights podcasts — serialized audio files available to download — on any topic.)

Best Political or News Blog (This category is for blogs which are about politics or current newsworthy topics.)

Best Science or Technology Blog (This category is for blogs which feature content about biology, chemistry, physics, technology, the Internet, and the various realms of science)

Best Sex or Relationships Blog (This category is for blogs which discuss or analyze romantic or interpersonal relationship topics, sexual health or other sexual or relationship topics.)

Best Sports Blog (This category is for blogs which discuss or analyze anything sports-related, including professional sports teams, fantasy sports, sports players, and other related content.)

Best Teen Blog (This category is for blogs of any topic where the author is anywhere from 13-19 years old.)

Best Travel Blog (This category is for blogs which explore world travel, travel plans, tourism, travel writing, or other related content.)


Best Video Blog/Vlogger (This category highlights blogs which feature original video content by the blog’s author on any topic. Blog content must be primarily video content.)

Best Writing in a Blog (This category is for blogs which have exceptional writing.)

Blog of the Year (The blog of the year has it all: great writing, frequent posts, active comments and a strong reader base)

Blog to Watch (This category is for that great blog that not everyone knows about…but should! It’s undiscovered. It’s a best kept secret)

Best Lifestyle Blog

Best Plus-Sized Fashion Blog

Best Automotive/ Car Blog

Best Green/ Nature/ Outdoor Living Blog

I hope that you take a moment to nominate those Black-owned and Black-operated blogs that you've been enjoying over the past year!

2009 Black Weblog Award Winners

Over 8,000 votes by the blogging public determined the winners of the 2009 Black Weblog Awards. A second award in each category made by a group of judges. Maurice Cherry and his crew at the Black Weblog Awards are to be commended for putting together this recognition.

This BDPA Foundation Blog is honored to be named by both the Black Weblog Award voters and the judges as the 2009 Best Business Blog. This category is for blogs that talk about the modern business world (advertising, marketing, finance, business trends and such). We will proudly display this award in our sidebar for the next year. I hope that the recognition encourages more support for our foundation.

Here is the full list of 2009 Black Weblog Award Winners:

Best Blog Design
Popular Vote: My Brown Baby
Judges’ Vote: Black Digerati

Best Blog Post Series
Popular Vote: “Starving Artists” Series on 25 Magazine
Judges’ Vote: “Wet Wednesdays Erotica” Series on Naked With Socks On

Best Business Blog
Popular Vote: BDPA Foundation

Judges’ Vote: BDPA Foundation

Best Culture Blog
Popular Vote: Afrobella
Judges’ Vote: FreshXpress .:. The PULSE of Young Black America

Best Faith-Based Blog
Popular Vote: Infinite Gen
Judges’ Vote: Reflections of a Jazz Theologian

Best Food Blog
Popular Vote: FlavorDiva.com
Judges’ Vote: FlavorDiva.com

Best Gossip Blog
Popular Vote: The Fury
Judges’ Vote: The Fury

Best Group Blog
Popular Vote: MESH.
Judges’ Vote: Very Smart Brothas

Best Health and Wellness Blog
Popular Vote: Mother Knows Best
Judges’ Vote: Mother Knows Best

Best Hip-Hop Blog
Popular Vote: GangStarr Girl
Judges’ Vote: The Rap Up

Best Humor Blog
Popular Vote: Awesomely Luvvie
Judges’ Vote: TWiB! This Week in Blackness

Best International Blog
Popular Vote: Ebony Intuition
Judges’ Vote: black and (A)broad

Best LGBT Blog
Popular Vote: Xem VanAdams
Judges’ Vote: Xem VanAdams

Best Microblog
Popular Vote: @brotherjesse
Judges’ Vote: @elonjames

Best Music Blog
Popular Vote: GangStarr Girl
Judges’ Vote: Industry Plug

Best New Blog
Popular Vote: Three Ways to Take It
Judges’ Vote: FreshXpress .:. The PULSE of Young Black America

Best Parenting and Family Blog
Popular Vote: My Brown Baby
Judges’ Vote: spelhouseLove

Best Personal Blog
Popular Vote: Brother Jesse Blog
Judges’ Vote: Blog It Out, Bitch

Best Photo Blog
Popular Vote: Swagger: Paris, New York
Judges’ Vote: Street Etiquette

Best Podcast
Popular Vote: Man and Wife
Judges’ Vote: Man and Wife

Best Political/News Blog
Popular Vote: Postbourgie
Judges’ Vote: The Field Negro

Best Science/Technology Blog
Popular Vote: Urban Science Adventures! (c)
Judges’ Vote: The Koalition

Best Sex and Relationships Blog
Popular Vote: Single Black Male
Judges’ Vote: Single Black Male

Best Sports/Recreation Blog
Popular Vote: Ed The Sports Fan
Judges’ Vote: Ed The Sports Fan

Best Style and Fashion Blog
Popular Vote: Mane & Chic
Judges’ Vote: The Fashion Bomb

Best Teen Blog
Popular Vote: Houseofaura.com
Judges’ Vote: I (heart) That

Best Video Blog
Popular Vote: Xem VanAdams
Judges’ Vote: TWiB! This Week in Blackness

Best Writing in a Blog
Popular Vote: Very Smart Brothas
Judges’ Vote: The Black Snob

Blog of the Year
Popular Vote: Brother Jesse Blog
Judges’ Vote: TWiB! This Week in Blackness

Blog to Watch
Popular Vote: Mane & Chic
Judges’ Vote: FreshXpress .:. The PULSE of Young Black America

And the winner of the Aaron Hawkins Award is…
Bill Cammack! - Bill Cammack is an Emmy Award-Winning freelance video editor who has focused his attention on the New/Social Media space.

Share your thoughts on the 2009 Black Weblog Award winners. Did you choice win? Do you feel that some deserving Black blog was left out this year? Any new learnings from this year's list? In other words ... share your thoughts in the COMMENTS area below!

BDPA Foundation Blog is a 2009 Black Weblog Award Finalist

I am proud to announce that the BDPA Foundation blog is a 2009 Black Weblog Award finalist in two categories: Best Business Blog and Best Science/Technology Blog.

Voting is open for all BETF-Blog readers thru September 1st.

The Black Weblog Awards founded in 2005 to give recognition to Black bloggers (and those of the African diaspora) which were largely overlooked by other Internet award events online. What started out as a barely-known event has now grown into an international showcase. With participants from over 90 countries, the Black Weblog Awards stands out as one of the most widespread Internet award events for Black bloggers.

Call to Action: Please click here and vote for our blog! Winners are announced during the first week of September.

Top 10 Black Blogs (Jun 2009)

Hotep Villagers! I can't seem to get this monthly update posted on the 1st of the month any longer. But, the wait for the June 2009 Black Blog Rankings (BBR) is over.

I'm happy to report that we have 1,704 blogs in this month's rankings. Two new blogs (This is SOHH.com and Womanist Musings) enter into the Top 10 this month. Living Life Abundantly (BBR #13) and La Shawn Barber's Corner (BBR #14) dropped out of the Top 10.

Currently, we track 1,704 blogs ... up 45 from last month. One thing I noticed this month is that the overwhelming majority of Black-owned blogs have declining Technorati Authority scores. This means that we have less links to our blogs today than we did six months ago. Methinks that this is direct result of links related to the 2008 presidential election dropping from the mix.

We recognize that not every Black-owned & operated blog is on our current list and we are counting on you to let us know about any Black-owned and Black-operated blog that should be added to the BBR.

Without any further ado, here are the Top Ten Black Blogs for June 2009:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 918 / Rank: 1,841) - [Politics] Pam's blog continues in the BBR #1 for the 12th month in a row. Pam is a leading voice in the LGBT community as evidenced by her recent Huffington Post commentary. She will be a presenter at the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference later this month. This blog was BBR #2 in June 2008.
2. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 678 / Rank: 3,023) - [Entertainment] Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) is the top-ranked gossip or entertainment blog on our list. In fact, Vibe.com recently named Nah Right as the 'The Best Rap Blog'. I'm still waiting on some villager to give me the 411 on his blog logo!?! I was born and raised on St. Andrews Place in Los Angeles so the irony intrigues me every time I log onto Nah Right. This blog was BBR #4 at this time last year.
3. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 625 / Rank: 3,677) - [Entertainment] Moguldom Media Group, which owns Bossip, is run by Marve Frazier and the founder who seeks to keep her anonymity. So, I guess that I've finally figured out that The Bossip is a woman. One thing that I know for sure ... Gabrielle Union is pissed off at The Bossip. This blog was BBR #1 in June 2008.
4. Felicia Palmer and Steven Samuel: This is SOHH.com (Authority: 592 / Rank: 3,677) - [Entertainment] SOHH stands for Support Online Hip Hop and is a blog based in Jersey City, NJ. SOHH.com is a destination site for fans of hip hop music. The site was created in 1997 as a more cost-effective information alternative to a monthly print publication called 4Control Media, which launched two years earlier. This blog was not ranked a year ago.
5. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 504 / Rank: 4,702) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws is the 24-year old sister who who owns and operates popular entertainment blog. Her blogging history will be a compelling backstory for this presenter at the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference later this month. Unfortunately, not everyone is a fan. SandraRose.com (BBR #20) showed her animosity in a recent blog post. Anyhow, Concrete Loop is a popular destination on MySpace. This blog was BBR #3 in June 2008.
6. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 439 / Rank: 5,725) - [Entertainment] Natasha Eubanks has been in the blogging game since July 2005. This 27-year old nubian from Alexandria, VA was called a blogger to watch by Newsweek. She also has a popular site on MySpace. This blog was BBR #6 a year ago.
7. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 401 / Rank: 6,446) - [Politics] Oliver recently shared his thoughts on the Republican Party in the Huffington Post. Oliver has developed some blogging enemies in the four years since he started his blog. But, whatever you think about him ... it is nice to have a non-entertainment blog in the BBR Top Ten! This blog was BBR #5 in June 2008.
8. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics (Authority: 382 / Rank: 6,988) - [Politics] Baratunde and Cheryl will share their unique Black bourgeoisie perspective on U.S. politics at the 2009 Blogging While Brown Conference later this month. Cheryl wasn't in Cairo for Obama's speech last week, however, she did follow him to Europe for the G-20 Summit in April. This blog recently expanded into other social networks such as Facebook. Does anyone know the backstory on the half-eaten watermelon that serves as their logo? This blog was BBR #9 at this time last year.
9. Wayne Bennett: The Field Negro (Authority: 327 / Rank: 8,556) - [Social Commentary] Wayne is my favorite blogger, although I must admit that RiPPa is making a run for that title. This practicing attorney was born in Jamaica, however, he considers himself a citizen of the world. His blog is revolutionary in nature with no-holds barred commentary on the worlds of entertainment, sports, and politics. He operates on a blogspot.com platform and refuses to cross-promote on any other social network. This blog was BBR #14 in June 2008.
10. Renee Martin: Womanist Musings (Authority: 322 / Rank: 8,747) - [Social Commentary] Rene proudly laid out her Womanist Manifesto in April 2008. Her blog has risen faster and farther than anyone else in the past year. Once you understand the passion that this Canadian mother of two possesses it is not surprising to see the success of her blog. She speaks her truth as a anti-racist woman of color. About the only thing that Renee is mistaken about his her review of the iconic television series, '24' ... but, that is a story for a different day! This blog was BBR #860 at this time last year.

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): Ill Doctrine, The Smoking Section, Living Life Abundantly, La Shawn Barber's Corner, Necole Bitchie, The Angry Black Woman, AfroBella, Angry Black Bitch, SoulBounce.com, Sandra Rose, Raw Dawg Buffalo, RaceWire, Tariq Nelson, Crunk & Disorderly and Clutch Magazine

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This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent who owns/operates a blog. Villager's Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

We added clickable links to the Word version of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings. Let me know if you want a copy of the Word version. In the meantime, I would be interested to hear from you. Is it worth the effort to update this list each month?

Diversity in Science Blog Carnival: Black History Month

DNLee of Urban Science Adventures! blog is launching a new blog carnival:

All year is great time to learn more about science and the people who make the discoveries. But February offers a great opportunity to learn about the achievements of African Americans (and others from the African Diaspora) in the sciences. So I'm introducing a new Blog Carnival - Diversity in Science. Blogs of every genre is invited to write a special feature post about a person who is a pioneer or innovator in any of the amazing fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Tell us all about him/her? How has this person impacted field of STEM or inspired you? Or why is his/her story
interesting?

This is a great chance for us to share information about our current and past Epsilon Award winners and other BDPA leaders. If you have something relevant, submit it through the Blog Carnival link by February 20th.

Bloggers and Barack Obama

Omar Wasow was the keynote speaker for the opening ceremonies at our 2005 BDPA Technology Conference in Detroit, MI. Did you see his interview on The Today Show on MLK Day?





I encourage you to read Omar's related article, 'The First Internet President'.

I invite BDPA Foundation blog readers to visit my primary blog -- Electronic Village -- if you have time or inclination. Are there other BDPAers that read or publish blogs?

3rd Annual ScienceOnline Conference

Soulclap to SES: Science, Education & Society for telling us about 3rd annual ScienceOnline Conference, the annual science blogging conference, to be held Jan. 16-18, 2009 in Research Triangle Park, NC.

The goal is to bring together scientists, bloggers, educators, students, journalists and others to discuss, demonstrate and debate online strategies and tools for promoting the public understanding of science.

The event is already sold-out.

One of the interesting panel discussions will focus on race in science – online and offline — moderated by Danielle Lee and Samia Ansari. Do most people still assume that if there is no profile picture, most readers will automatically assume that the author is white. What can be done to promote minorities blogging? How can blogs by minorities be used to attract kids into science careers? How the Web provides new methods and means for action and effecting positive change. Go here to discuss.

I hope that BDPA finds a way to use Web 2.0 tools ... including blogs ... to market and promote itself over the coming weeks and months. In fact, I wonder if we are promoting our 2009 BDPA Technology Conference ... that is also being held in the Research Triangle area ... at the 2009 ScienceOnline Conference.

Please share your thoughts on this conference via the COMMENTS option shown below. What say u?

Black Bloggers for Education

The BDPA Foundation is participating in the DonorsChoose.org Blogger Challenge ‘08.

In fact, there are several AfroSpear members joining the Black Bloggers for Education initiative as an effort to support individual classrooms in poverty-stricken areas. My hope is that you, as a reader of this blog, will consider making a small donation towards this worthy educational cause. The projects we focus on support science and math initiatives in classrooms with large number of African American students.
DonorsChoose.org is a simple way to provide students in need with resources that our public schools often lack. At this not-for-profit web site, teachers submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn. These ideas become classroom reality when concerned individuals, Citizen Philanthropists, choose projects to fund.
Proposals range from “Hands On Math Literacy” ($764) to “Input/Output - What's Your Function?” ($196), to “Classroom Jeopardy” ($325). In fact, if you have a specific school, city or state that you want to support ... let me know in the COMMENTS below and I will add a project from the school, city or state into the mix. OK?
Once a project is funded, donors receive a feedback package of student photos and thank-you notes, and a teacher impact letter.
I’m particularly happy today. One of the proposals highlighted by the BDPA Foundation was the Inspiring African American as Class Role Models project. One of our BDPA Foundation readers made donation to support this project. They only need another $180 to be fully funded for that project as I type this blog post.
Here are the current bloggers working together under Black Bloggers for Education umbrella:

1. Jack & Jill Politics (BBR #7)
2. The Assimilated Negro (BBR #98)
3. A Slant Truth (BBR #136)
4. SES: Science, Education & Society (BBR #453)
5. BDPA Foundation (BBR #502)
6. Springer Journal (BBR #598)
7. Fackin Truth (BBR #606)

I would be interested in your thoughts on this initiative. What say u?

BDPA Foundation Blog Milestone: 500 Posts

Our BDPA Foundation Blog hit the 500-post milestone this week. We began on this blogging journey on August 16, 2007. This is my second blogging effort. I created the Electronic Village (BBR #23) back in January 2007. Admittedly, the BDPA Foundation Blog (BBR #606) has a smaller niche audience than the Electronic Village.

I'm pleased with the growth over the past few weeks since our live-blogging at the 2008 National BDPA Technology Conference. Hopefully the progress will continue over the next 100 posts...

My overall goal with this blog is to provide information and discussion about BDPA that gives people a reason to financially support our non-profit foundation. BDPA exists to advance the careers of African Americans in the information technology industry from the 'classroom to the boardroom'. The BDPA Foundation wants to fund BDPA programs and services ... especially those related to our youth.

I encourage all of you to subscribe to BDPA Foundation Blog so that you won't miss our positive growth over the coming weeks and months! Currently, we have 28 subscribers to our blog. I hope to increase that number to over 100 by the end of the year. If you like the flow of our blog ... then I encourage you to subscribe today!

Our favorite topics over the past 500 posts have focused on program meetings, BDPA Cincinnati chapter and BDPA Philadelphia chapter.

One of the best things to happen recently is the addition of a guest blogger. Callie Herd and I talked at the annual BDPA Technology conference last month. She agreed to share information about scholarships for IT professionals, IT students and African Americans here on our blog!

This blog averages 53 visitors a day right now with 85 daily page views. I'm told that BDPA members appreciate the information that is shared here. I want to thank each of you that takes a moment of your day to view our blog updates. Personally, I believe you get what you measure. We track our metrics to show when we've done our best (see date in parenthesis):

• Highest Feedburner Subscribers - 28 (9/13/08)
• BlogCatalog Ranking - 46.6 out of 100 (6/30/08)
• Highest Technorati Authority Ranking - 23 (2/18/08)
• # Blogs Between BETF-Blog and #1 Blog in the World - 360,865 (2/18/08)
• # Blogs Linking to BETF-Blog - 115 (9/7/08)
• # Bloggers listing us as a 'favorite' - 10 (9/3/08)
• Top Daily Visitors - 101 (3/3/08)

We're not TechCrunch, but, we do our best! I have no idea where the next 500 posts will take us. However, I pledge to be consistent in efforts to grow our BDPA Foundation blog community.

I hope that you will regularly visit with us and POST COMMENTS so that we know what you're thinking. With your support we can grow our organization, our foundation and our blog! Asante sana!

How Can We Improve Our Blog?

I noticed that our blog fell to #612 in the Black Blog Rankings this month. We have not yet made a solid connection with BDPA members or supporters. We never had more than 25 subscribers at any time in our brief history.

At this point we would love to hear the 'voice of the customer'. Please take a moment and share your thoughts on the BDPA Foundation Blog. What can we do to improve it? What is missing? What should be added? What should be deleted?

Any feedback you can provide would be very much appreciated!

Next step is yours. What say u?

Top Ten Black Blogs (Aug 2008)

I had a great time at the Blogging While Brown conference in Atlanta last weekend! It was a remarkable opportunity for me to see some great bloggers face-to-face for the first time. A number of the bloggers in attendance (and via Twitter) let me know that they follow the Villager's Black Blog Rankings (BBR)! Therefore, it is with pleasure that I share with you the Aug 2008 rankings with 1,329 blogs being tracked! We have seen over 100% growth in the BBR since the beginning of the calendar year.

• September 2007 - 75 Black blogs
• January 2008 - 602 Black blogs
• March 2008 - 850 Black blogs
• June 2008 - 1,239 Black blogs
• July 2008 - 1,269 Black blogs

Anyhow, with no further ado, here are the Top Ten Black Blogs for Aug 2008:

1. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend* (Authority: 1,142 / Rank: 2,160) - [Politics] I had pleasure of sitting next to Pam during the BWB Conference last month. I marveled at her ability to break down the information from the workshop presenters into posts for her blog ... complete with photos! Her hometown newspaper wrote a detailed article on the growing respect that Pam is getting throughout the blogosphere. Her blog will be a centerpiece of the coverage later this month at the Democratic National Convention. Pam earned her position as the top blogger of African descent in the universe!
2. Ahsmi Rawlins: Nah Right (Authority: 974 / Rank: 2,713) - [Entertainment] This blog moves into the BBR #2 slot for the first time ever. Ashmi (a.k.a., ESKAY) has operated his blog since May 2005. He made a brief mention of my blog a few months ago that resulted in my highest daily traffic ever. His blog benefits from his timely posts about all things hip-hop. In fact, many consider ESKAY to be on of the top five writers on hip hop in the world.
3. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 916 / Rank: 2,866) - [Entertainment] Bossip.com works hard to say on top of new trends. I appreciate the 'link-love' given by The Bossip in support of our efforts here on da Village! Many Black bloggers respect the way in which The Bossip has been able to monetize Bossip.com. Has anyone figured out whether The Bossip is a brother or a sister?
4. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop (Authority: 916 / Rank: 2,999) - [Entertainment] Angel Laws is the young sister who started this blog as a hobby. I still need to go through the blogs on Angel's Dope Sites & Blogs to add the ones that are Black-owned to the Black Blog Rankings. One day we figure that our Electronic Village will be one of her dope blogs!
5. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 713 / Rank: 4,280) - [Politics] This must be one of the best times since Oliver began blogging in April 2005. His beloved Washington Redskins are getting ready for the NFL season and he is one of the few Black bloggers credentialed to cover the DemConvention later this month in Denver.
6. Natasha Eubanks: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 703 / Rank: 4,370) - [Entertainment] Natasha established her blog in late 2005, just a few weeks before starting Loyola University Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana. What originally began as a hobby to fill the void of Black Hollywood coverage in the mainstream media, has now turned into one of the most visited black celebrity gossip sites on the web. TheYBF.com receives anywhere from 80K-130K hits a day and averages 4.5 million page views a month [source]. Methinks that Natasha will break into the BBR Top 5 next month.
7. Sandra Rose: Sandra Rose (Authority: 467 / Rank: 7,809) - [Entertainment] I didn't see Sandra Rose when I was in Atlanta last month for the BWB Conference. I'm going back this month for the BDPA Technology Conference ... maybe she'll be in town! I imagine she couldn't come to the BWB Conference because of her ongoing beef with Kanye West. Anyhow, the sister is going strong. She is another blogger that successfully made transition from Blogger-platform to her own domain ... and managed to regain her position in the BBR Top 10. Perhaps this will be the month that Sis. Rose gives the Electronic Village some link-love on her blogroll.
8. Kimberley Kira: The Angry Black Woman (Authority: 454 / Rank: 8,168) - [Social Commentary] Kimberley Kira (a.k.a., Tempest) jumped two spots to BBR #8 this month. I recently learned that Tempest attended the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) in my current home town of Cincinnati OH. She describes herself as a "bisexual polyamorous pagan gamer geek" ... which might explain the focus that her blog places on sexism and racism. Now that I know about her Cincinnati roots ... I will be more proactive in following her blog over the coming weeks and months. After all, she ain't in the BBR Top Ten for nothin'!
9. Fresh Crunkjuice: Crunk & Disorderly* (Authority: 452 / Rank: 8,834) - [Entertainment] This gossip blog, created in August 2004, is in the middle of a transition to a new domain. The new domain is rising fast on the BBR. I anticipate that his other blog will crack the Top 10 shortly ... it is currently sitting at BBR #27.
10. Baratunde Thurston and Cheryl Contee: Jack and Jill Politics* (Authority: 444 / Rank: 8,385) - [Politics] Baratunde (a.ka. Jack Turner) and Cheryl (a.k.a. Jill Tubman) are two of the most active bloggers in the political realm. They are both credentialed to be on the floor of the 2008 National Democratic Convention in Denver later this summer. This blog is transitioning to a new domain. The new domain is rising fast on the BBR. I anticipate their other blog will crack the Top 10 shortly ... it is currently sitting at BBR #12.

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): How To Split An Atom, Jack & Jill Politics*, The Field Negro*, Necole Bitchie, What About Our Daughters*, Real Talk NY Provides The Latest Hip Hop News, La Shawn Barber's Corner, AfroBella, Angry Black Bitch, Keith Boykin, Raw Dawg Buffalo, Love B. Scott, Too Sense, Clutch Magazine and Electronic Village*

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This ranking is open to any blogger of African descent. You do not have to be a member of The AfroSpear or the Afrosphere Bloggers Association, although we invite all Black bloggers to join either (or both) of those organizations.

Those blogs with an asterisk after their name are members of The AfroSpear. Next month we will highlight those blogs that win 2008 Black Weblog Awards.

Black Blog Rankings lean heavily on the Technorati Authority and Rank score for each blog. The Technorati authority and rank numbers are shown in parenthesis. The authority figure includes a number of factors including the number of blogs that are linked to this blogger over the past six months. The rank number indicates how many blogs are between the one listed and The Huffington Post, which is the #1 overall blog in the universe.

We do think that these Black blogs are important spheres of influence. Let them know that you appreciate the work they have put in over the past few months and years to get on this list. My vision is that you will nominate many of the brothers and sisters on this month's BBR for a 2008 Black Weblog Award.

Finally, I encourage all bloggers to provide some link-love to this post so that your readers can learn about the Villager's Black Blog Rankings!

Next step is yours ... what say u?

Clutch Magazine Offers Summer Blog Academy

I'm pleased to see more and more Black bloggers taking their craft seriously. Dede Sutton, the sister who runs Clutch Magazine (BBR #17), plans to partner with with Black Web 2.0 (BBR #237 and others to create a summer series that helps her readers learn how to succeed online. The seminar will go over just about every element someone should know when entering the online game. Also, it will hip them to the most up to date trends in social media.
Some of the topics to be discussed in the Summer Blog Academy include:

• How to make money from your blog or website.
• Tactics to increase traffic.
• Learn about social media/marketing in general.
• Learn how to set up, design and maintain your site.

It should be an interesting experience. I plan to participate as a prelude to attending the Blogging While Brown Conference in Atlanta on July 18-20.

BDPA Foundation Blog Milestone: 300 Posts

Our BDPA Foundation Blog just passed the 300-post milestone this weekend. We began on this blogging journey on August 16, 2007. This is my second blogging effort. I created the Electronic Village (BBR #27) back in January 2007. Admittedly, the BDPA Foundation Blog (BBR #448) has a smaller niche audience than the Electronic Village, however, I'm still disappointed in the results from this blog to date. I'll need to do much better over the next 300 posts...

My overall goal with this blog is to provide information and discussion about BDPA that gives people a reason to financially support our non-profit foundation. BDPA exists to advance the careers of African Americans in the information technology industry from the 'classroom to the boardroom'. The BDPA Foundation wants to fund BDPA programs and services ... especially those related to our youth.

I encourage all of you to subscribe to BDPA Foundation Blog so that you won't miss our positive growth over the coming weeks and months! Currently, we have 19 subscribers to our blog. I hope to increase that number to over 100 by mid-year. If you like the flow of our blog ... then I encourage you to subscribe today!

Our favorite topics over the past 300 posts have focused on program meetings, BDPA Cincinnati chapter and BDPA Philadelphia chapter.

This blog averages 29 visitors a day right now with 56 daily page views. I'm told that BDPA members appreciate the information that is shared here. I want to thank each of you that takes a moment of your day to view our daily blog updates. Personally, I believe you get what you measure. We track our metrics to show when we've done our best (see date in parenthesis):

• Highest Feedburner Subscribers - 22 (2/20/08)
• BlogCatalog Ranking - 41.3 out of 100 (12/6/07)
• Highest Technorati Authority Ranking - 23 (2/18/08)
• # Blogs Between BETF-Blog and #1 Blog in the World - 360,865 (2/18/08)
• # Blogs Linking to BETF-Blog - 72 (4/8/08)
• # Bloggers listing us as a 'favorite' - 7 (12/1/07)
• Top Daily Visitors101 (3/3/08)

We're not Bossip.com, but, we do our best! I have no idea where the next 300 posts will take us. However, I pledge to be consistent in efforts to grow our BDPA Foundation blog community.
I hope that you will regularly visit with us and POST COMMENTS so that we know what you're thinking. With your support we can grow our organization, our foundation and our blog! Asante sana!

New Black Search Engine: RushmoreDrive.com

Villagers, did you check out the new search engine that seeks to deliver a better experience for Black folks? It is called RushmoreDrive.com -- named after the street on which its Charlotte offices are located. The new concept is to go beyond the traditional search results that we can get from Google. Each query on RushmoreDrive also returns news, images, video and blogs. The guy who runs it is Johnny Taylor (president, Black Web Enterprises).

Blacks want "everything we already get from Google plus highly relevant news," Taylor says. "RushmoreDrive will deliver a more relevant search with people who identify with being Black."

RushmoreDrive determined through focus group interviews that Blacks on the Internet were most interested in search tools, news and job networking, which led to the addition of features that rival job sites Monster.com and LinkedIn.com, plus ways to network based on church, Greek and social affiliations. The site's editorial staff will also cover timely issues.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to list 'BDPA' as one of my professional networks. This is the first time in my memory that this 30+ year old organization of African American information technology professionals has been listed as an pre-identified option. Showing some love to BDPA, along with the fact that AfroSpear member Faye Anderson is a featured blogger gave me the incentive to register with this new search engine.

As traffic grows, those learning schemes are designed to create a smarter search site, and similar technology can create search engines for other communities. "It's not just a Black search engine and it's not just a Black technology. It's where vertical meets search and creates this new thing," Taylor says. "Identity search is going to be the way to go." [SOURCE]

BlackBlogWatch.com Tracks Black Authored Blogs

Drumbeats from AAPP took us to a new online community that tracks the best African American Authored Blogs ... BlackBlogWatch.com.

Enter the Invitation Code 8BEACFFBED8F834D when you register at BlackBlogWatch.com and you'll automatically be connected to my Villager profile.

This unique site was created by Courtney Payne. He is a full-time contractor and budding entrepreneur from Fort Washington, Maryland. He is a graduate of Florida A&M University. BlackBlogWatch.com runs on SmartCF Software that he created to run his online community/social networking package. Hopefully, this brother gets hooked up with the BDPA Washington DC chapter because he has skillz!