Message from Greater Tampa Bay Chapter President

BDPA Greater Tampa Bay Chapter (GTBC), founded May 1993, is the 26th largest country in the nation. However, the chapter is at a crossroads in many ways. Chapter president Leslie Mozon writes:

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"BDPA GTBC is in jeopardy of becoming defunct. To continue as a chapter we need new leadership and more members!

BDPA GTBC has limped along for the past few years primarily due to good leadership and participation in our Student Information Technology Education and Scholarship (SITES) computer camp program. Much thanks for this success goes to our SITES coordinators, lead instructors, faithful parents and students. Thanks to the Computer Mentors organization for partnering with us in training and sponsorship of part of the SITES team. Much thanks also to Verizon IT and Syniverse Technologies, who made in-kind donations of their training facilities.

The training facilities may be available to GTBC again this year. Several inquiries about the continuance of the SITES program have been made from both parents and students wishing to participate. However, we are greatly in need of dedicated IT professionals willing to volunteer their time and talent to continue this program.

During this last year BDPA GTBC has consistently held monthly program meetings featuring several guest speakers on a variety of topics pertinent to the IT professional and novelist. Much thanks to PricewaterhouseCoopers and their HR staff for providing an in-kind donation of an outstanding meeting place, for hosting a few of the meetings, and for providing several of the featured presenters. Unfortunately participation and attendance has waned to a level that is less than complimentary to the program meeting organizers and presenters.

This meeting facility is available for GTBC again this year. Presenters can be ascertained and scheduled. However we are greatly in need of dedicated IT professionals and novelist desiring to participate in this experience of sharing their experiences and growing their experiences through planning and participating in these program meetings.

These are just two of several ways BDPA GTBC has shared with this community lately. There are several other programs that have been offered in the past, and there are several more that can be offered in the future. It would be a great shame for it all to continue to dissipate to nothing.

The bottom line is BDPA GTBC NEEDS MEMBERS! Is that you? If you find that a Tampa Bay area chapter of BDPA is something that must have a future, and you are willing to put some effort toward assuring that it does, then I encourage you to make a way to attend our next meeting, or contact me directly.

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We encourage all BETF-Blog Readers in the Tampa Bay area to attend their upcoming program meeting and discuss 'The Continuance of This Chapter'. Here are the logistics for the meeting:


Thursday, January 24, 2008
6:00 PM - 7:30 pm

PricewaterhouseCoopers Office Complex
3109 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 6th Floor
Tampa, FL 33607

Please reach out to Leslie Mozon by email or phone (813.215-5902).

Rhonda Boyd Feels That BDPA is a Good Partner

BDPA Chicago chapter hosted their annual awards banquet earlier this month. Rhonda Boyd, BDPA Chicago chapter president shared her thoughts on why BDPA is such a good partner for corporations and others.




Hat tip to Blacks Gone Geek for conducting this interview.

Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA)

Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) conference enters its 22nd year with an eye on a global future. In February 2008, the conference which has stood as one of the best models of where corporate America creates strategic alliances with minority-owned businesses to increase productivity from underrepresented groups, will headline as the National BEYA Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Global Competitiveness Conference.

"BEYA conference was developed as a solution to help corporate America identify, nurture and promote the careers of its Black achievers," Career Communications Group publisher and CEO Tyrone Taborn says. "As America renews focus on competitiveness, and much of today's press concentrates on what industry is doing in regards to becoming a player in a global economy, there has been a feeling that the name of the conference should more clearly define who and what we are, while maintaining ties to our history. We feel that this name accomplishes both, and are excited about our future as the National BEYA Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Global Competitiveness Conference," he concluded.

The BDPA Agenda for 2008 (Chicago)

BDPA Chicago chapter, founded in March 1986, is the largest chapter in the nation entering the new year. They host their first program meeting today. The topic of the Jan 2008 program meeting is 'The BDPA Agenda for 2008'. Chapter president Rhonda Boyd and her leadership team will discuss strategies for better serving the needs of the IT professionals in the Chicagoland area.

Here are the logistics for the meeting:


Thursday, January 18, 2008
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

IBM Office71 S. Wacker Drive, 6th Floor
Chicago IL 60606

For more information you can call (312) 575-8503.

Message from Philadelphia Chapter President

Curtis Jenkins served as president of BDPA Philadelphia chapter in 2006-2007. He shared his farewell message on 12/31/2007. We are posting it here for posterity.

Enjoy these words of information and inspiration from Bro. Jenkins:

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We did it!

We have culminated another successful year as a Chapter - My thanks to you! I hope that this year has been a great one for you and your families. This is my final message as President of the organization, but not my final involvement as I now have the honor as Immediate Past President. In this role I can continue to contribute to the overarching theme of the organization "From the Classroom to the Boardroom." As we come to a close on the year and to my term in office, I want to take the time to say how much I appreciated the opportunity to serve as your President. I learned a great deal on how to lead by serving. Once again, thanks for your vote of confidence.

I am excited about Monique Berry becoming your new President and the team that she has working with her including the new officers: Hayward West as President-Elect and Cedric Edwards as Treasurer.

I would like to reflect on a few major accomplishments during my two-year term:

• Introduced an Annual Awards banquet to celebrate the accomplishments of all who directly contribute to the goals and mission of the Philadelphia Chapter
• Increased our sponsorship by greater than 100% of direct dollars to support our programs
• Won Chapter of the Year for the year 2006
• Won the membership category of Chapter of the Year for 2006
• Fielded an HSCC team to both the Los Angeles and Washington DC BDPA conferences
• Paid $11,000 in scholarships
• Instituted a yearly Membership Appreciation Event
• Instituted a yearly Corporate Roundtable to provide members direct access to hiring authorities at sponsoring companies
• Partnered with Wireless Philadelphia and Rohm and Haas to donate 95 computers to local Philadelphia residents
• Highly successful Programs including hosting the Black Family Technology Awareness Week
• Trained & certified 8 members with an International Computers Drivers License
• Provided direct assistance and leadership to chartering of the Northern Delaware chapter
• Represented BDPA by speaking at a number of community events including the opening of BFTAW (2006), Technology Symposium - Robotics Fair (2007), High School for Engineering and Science (2007)
• Added six (6) new members (John Dawson, Eileen Gadsden, Jamilah Brown, Hayward West, Byron Mayes and Cedric Edwards) to the Executive Board who served more than 1 year or took an elected position

This success could not be achieved without the help of key people and organizations. I want to personally thank:

• Rohm and Haas: my employer, for your support
• Merck and Co, Inc, CIGNA, SAP, Temple University, Mount Airy Community Computer Center, Computers for Schools, JP Morgan Chase and Deloitte for the sponsorship and support
• The BDPA Philadelphia Executive Board - past and present including but not limited to: Monique Berry, Duane Howard, Sheila Black, Jamilah Brown, John Dawson, Hayward West, Byron Mayes and Eileen Gadsden. You have all served as both mentors and supporters to me during this period and I really appreciate you.
• Special Thanks to Norman Fleming who served as a Philadelphia board member, provided mentorship on the protocols of leadership and governance, and the opportunity to serve as campaign manager for his National Election effort.
• The National Executive Committee and members of the National Board of Directors.
• Special Thanks to Yvette Graham and the Chicago chapter for coaching and sharing their successful blueprint for developing and maintaining a successful chapter.
• Also special thanks to Will Brown and Paulette Johnson-Davis of the Cleveland and Greater Columbia chapters respectively for their friendship and support
• Thanks to those chapters who have supported our events and who have invited me to attend their events. I found a friend in every chapter over these years and look forward to spending time with as many chapters as I can
• Thanks to the BDPA founder, Earl Pace, who had the vision to create the organization and the stamina to sustain it.
• Special thanks to Wayne Hicks who inspired me to leadership after seeing him open up the 2003 BDPA Conference in Philadelphia. His energy is unmatched and he continues to be a consistent mentor and champion of chapter success
• Thanks to the students who also inspired me to leadership when I saw their faces after they received their scholarship awards for participating in the High School Computer Competition Program.
• Thanks to Gina Billings for the wisdom and friendship. Your words go a long way and have resonated through my chapter during your visit to our annual awards banquets.
• Thanks to my friends and family some who have joined the organization just to support me in reaching the goals of the chapter
• Thanks to the members of PhillyPact (NSBE, NSN, NABA, NAAAP, NBMBA, NSHMBA, SHPE and the new organizations that recently joined the organization) for sharing your ideas and best practices for running non-profit, volunteer organizations. Thanks also for collaborating on social and professional events as we worked together to build our respective memberships
• Finally, thanks to the members who stepped up to the plate to run programs that support the goals of the chapter - most notably, Karen Scott who was awarded that distinction.

The future of BDPA Philadelphia is abundant with energy as the new administration is planning an exciting menu of programs and services in an effort to take the organization to new heights. Our 2010 Vision which started in 2007 is "Partnering for Continued Growth". This supports the overall "Classroom to the Boardroom" and the "It's all about Membership" theme.

One final goal for me is to build a chapter Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) which is already in progress. I did not list this as an accomplishment as it is being finalized. Members of the CAC and details of this group will be announced at the January Program meeting.

Curtis Jenkins, 2006-2007 president
BDPA Philadelphia Chapter

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I encourage all of you that know Curtis Jenkins to take a moment to share some BDPA-Love with him right now! What say u?

BDPA Member in the News (Frederick Johnson)

Frederick Johnson is a BDPA Cleveland chapter member who owns Ross-Tek. He was the cover story in January 2008 issue of Channel Pro.

Where are the Black Professionals

Hat-Tip to BDPA Detroit chapter for pointing us to Black Web 2.0, a remarkable blog that is a must-read for all BDPA members. The brothers and sisters that created this blog need to be featured at our upcoming annual conference.

Anyhow, Black Web 2.0 asked the question, 'Where are the Black Web Professionals'. They pointed to the 2007 Web Design Survey results from A List Apart (ALA). According to ALA, "the results represent the first data ever collected on the business of web design and development as practiced in the U.S. and worldwide. ALA breaks down their report data by race, age and gender, and lends itself to a couple of findings:

• Out of the 32,831 respondents, 1.2% (about 394 people) are Black
• 302 of the 32,831 respondents are identified as Black males
• 96 of the 32,831 respondents are identified as Black females

Anyhow, read the full article and let me know what you think. How should BDPA respond to this information on local or national level?

Message from National Vice President (Membership Management)

Coretta Poole served as National BDPA vice president (membership management) in 2006-2007. Coretta shared a final message with the national board of directors on 12/31/2007. I thought that you might enjoy seeing what she had to say ...

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Chapter Renewal
If you have not already done so, please be sure to renew the chapter term for your respective chapter in the global database. This may be accomplished by logging into the global database, navigating to your chapter page, and left-clicking the Renew this Chapter link near the bottom of the screen. You have the option of renewing for either a one-year or two-year term, in accordance with your chapter bylaws and procedures.

For those chapters that are experiencing a leadership transition, Immediate Past Presidents are asked to assist incoming Chapter Presidents with this task. When renewing the chapter, it is also important that chapter leadership roles be assigned to accurately reflect those member-volunteers who have stepped up to serve in a leadership capacity.

Lifetime Membership

Lifetime memberships are now available for purchase at the global database. Recently approved at the 4th Quarter NBOD meeting, this new membership type has been fully integrated into the global database. Chapters are encouraged to promote this new membership type as it will lay the foundation for BDPA member retention for years to come.

BDPA Digital Library Metrics

Although the usage metrics for the BDPA Digital Library were not available at the 4th Quarter NBOD meeting, we are pleased to report that from January 2007 through November 2007, more than 1400 searches were conducted in the two modules that comprise the library. Not bad for a resource that was first introduced to the members in 2007. This truly demonstrates that a number of our members have used this important members-only resource to access current information across a variety of IT topics. Thank you for promoting this resource to our members.

Farewell
Serving as BDPA’s VPMM for the last two years has truly been a privilege that has inspired me in all areas of my life. Thanks so much to each of you for your dedication to BDPA and our community. And thank you for the opportunity to serve. Having met with the incoming National VPMM, Eatonia Williams of BDPA Detroit, I feel truly encouraged that great success lies ahead for BDPA, the dedicated chapters and the deserving members. BDPA is truly fortunate to have her as the next VPMM. Here’s to great success in 2008-09! For matters related to Membership Management, Eatonia may be reached at the official VPMM email address, vpmm@bdpa.org.

Kind regards,
Coretta Poole, 2006-07 VPMM
National BDPA

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I hope that those of you reading this farewell message from Coretta Poole will take a moment to share some BDPA-Love with her by using the POST A COMMENT feature below. What say u?

Afrosphere Encourages Black Voter Participation

Barack Obama won the Iowa caucus. Hillary Clinton came back with a victory in the New Hampshire primary. Our response is simple. We demonstrate by our vote that we support this tremendous opportunity for change.

In order to make change ... we must vote. In order to vote ... we must be registered.

We want to encourage every person of African descent in our country to make a pledge to be vote this year. If you own a blog ... then we encourage you to grab the Proud Black Voter badge and post it for your readers to see. Let's ensure that everyone is clear about the process for registering to vote in all 50 states.

Kudos to Mrs. Grapevine, Villager and Yobachi for putting sails to this idea. BETF-Blog Readers, what say u? Are you a Proud Black Voter in 2008?

Message from Cleveland Chapter President

I've known Ken Wilson for almost 20 years. He is a remarkable brother with a strong legacy in BDPA and an accomplished entrepreneur and business owner. I was pleased to see that the BDPA members in Cleveland voted Ken into office as their chapter president. I thought you would enjoy reading his campaign message to chapter members last month when he ran for the leadership position.

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Dear BDPA Cleveland Members,

My name is Kenneth Wilson. I am running for President of BDPA Cleveland chapter and asking for your vote and your active participation in the new BDPA Information Technology Thought Leaders organization that we are building.

BDPA became an inseparable part of my life 27 years ago when it rescued my drowning data-processing programming career. Rather than seeking a new vocation, BDPA empowered me to launch a successful and fulfilling information technology business career. I have been an active member ever since.

For the past several months, I have been talking with other BDPA members, Corporate Advisory Council and community leaders, planning and praying for wisdom to determine where we should go from here. During this process, more than a few members suggested that I run for Chapter President in the upcoming elections. My first reaction was that I should step aside and help mentor some of our younger leadership, as I have already successfully been there and done that. Then it was suggested to me that taking the helm would be the very best way to provide that needed mentorship. So finally I said yes.

• Yes! I continue to believe that the African American business and technology professional will become more prepared, more highly regarded, more respected and more consistently looked upon as a world-class leader in business and technology.
• Yes! I continue to accept as true that BDPA continues to contain the potential to make life-changing improvements in the career and business success of hundreds (if not thousands) of African American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, Native-American, European-American and other professional people.
• Yes! I am steadfastly convinced that as conscientious community citizens, BDPA members have the talent and the moral responsibility to become fully-engaged partners in the technological and economic renaissance and revitalization of Northeast Ohio.

If you are an active BDPA member, I ask for your continued commitment. If, for whatever reason there might have been, you allowed your membership to lapse, your participation to decline or your dream to defer, I urge you to reinstate your membership, renew your involvement and reawaken your dream.

It is with willing anticipation of committed service that I humbly ask you to trust me with the responsibility and privilege of leading BDPA Information Technology Thought Leaders, Cleveland / Northeast, Ohio to our inevitable greatness.

Sincerely,
Kenneth L. Wilson

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His words had their intended effect. Ken was overwhelmingly elected to serve as 2008-2009 president of our BDPA Cleveland chapter. I encourage you to take a moment to share some BDPA-Love with Bro. Wilson! Let him know that you support his efforts in Cleveland to advance the careers of African Americans within our industry from the classroom to the boardroom.

Matching Funds * Wachovia Foundation

We are pleased to report that Wachovia Foundation matched a $200 donation made earlier in the year by one of their associates, John Hoffler. John is a past president of BDPA chapters in St. Louis and Greenville. Currently, he is a member of our BDPA Charlotte chapter.

The Wachovia Foundation matching funds will be placed in the restricted chapter fund to be used for Charlotte-based programs or services.

Does your company have a matching funds program?

Message from Gina Billings (2006-2007 National BDPA President)

Gina Billings is the outgoing president of national BDPA. We are sharing her final message to BDPA members and supporters.

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Dear Members and Supporters,

On behalf of the National Executive Team and the National Board of Directors, serving in a leadership capacity for BDPA has been both a pleasure and privilege. From 2006-2007, BDPA made great strides in developing and enhancing its programs and services for the Information Technology Professional. As visionaries for the organization and the IT profession, the leadership team integrated a number of new programs for the good of BDPA. These achievements lay the foundation that will support the organization into the next decade. Key accomplishments of the 2006-2007 administration are summarized as follows:

• Established the BDPA IT Institute which introduced three (3) professional certification programs and a PMP prep course
• Improved workshops at annual BDPA Technology Conference to target training and recertification needs of the IT professional
• Enhanced the user interface of the BDPA Career Center
• Established the BDPA Digital Library
• Upgraded the member benefits package for the IT professional
• Introduced BDPA Lifetime Membership
• Initiated SITES (Student IT Education & Scholarship program) accreditation process
• Relocated national office to accommodate future expansion

As a result of the united efforts of BDPA leaders at the national and chapter levels, BDPA has been able to advance our organization and the standing of the IT profession. We also note that the accomplishments would not have been possible without the tireless dedication and support of our member volunteers.

The time has come for the 2006-2007 administration to pass the baton and cheer the efforts of a new administration. We are proud to announce the 2008-2009 National BDPA Executive Committee as follows:

• Founder – Earl Pace, Jr.
• National President – Denise P. Holland
• President Elect – Yvette Graham
• Vice President (Finance) – Abraham Joseph
• Vice President (Member Services) – Kim Davis
• Vice President (Membership Management) – Eatonia Williams
• Vice President (Strategy & Planning) – Edwin Sapp
• Outside Director – Wayne Applewhite
• Outside Director – Betty Hutchins
• Outside Director – Norman Fleming
• Immediate Past President – Gina L. Billings

Based on the caliber of the incoming leadership team, we should all feel encouraged that BDPA will remain in steady hands. President Denise Holland may be reached via the official presidential e-mail address, president@bdpa.org.

Warm Regards,
Gina Billings
2006-07 National BDPA President

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BETF-Blog Readers, Gina put alot of time, talent and energy to her volunteer efforts as our national president-elect (2004-2005) and national president (2006-2007). Please take a moment to use the POST A COMMENT feature below to share some BDPA-love with her!

The Agile Development Methodology (Los Angeles)

BDPA Los Angeles chapter, founded in June 1982, is the 17th largest chapter in the nation. The chapter decided that the theme of their work in the first quarter of 2008 is Software Development: Career Track and Its Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Role'. The first topic for this quarterly theme is The Agile Development Methodology. Agile software development is a conceptual framework for software engineering that promotes development iterations throughout the life-cycle of the project.

Our guest presenter is John Malonson, Raytheon Corporation, Project Manager/Information Architect (Business Applications Solutions). John has many years of software development experience, including several methodologies. He has a broad technical background and teaching experience. Whatever your discipline may be, analysis, testing, development, networks, etc., you can expect to leave this meeting with nuggets of information that can be used throughout all phases of the project development life cycle.

The logistics for the meeting are as follows:


Date: Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Location: Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall
Community Meeting Room
Corner of Crenshaw Blvd. and Martin Luther King Blvd
(First floor, near Sears, adjacent to the Police Office)

Be sure not to miss this one as BDPA Los Angeles is putting together building blocks of training that will equip you for continued professional success.

As a bonus, this will be an opportuity to honor John Malonson as the 2007 Volunteer of the Year for the BDPA Los Angeles chapter. John untiringly gave countless hours as the coordinator of the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) program last year. He also was elected to serve as the chapter's president-elect, scheduled to become chapter president in 2009. What better way to start off the new year than with him as guest speaker for the program meeting on Tuesday, January 15.

BETF-Blog Readers, use the POST A COMMENT link below to share some love with Bro. Malonson on his award as volunteer of the year or to ask questions about the Agile Software Development Methodology program meeting topic.

Tavis Smiley is Keynote Speaker for ITSMF Awards Gala

International talk show host, broadcaster and author, Tavis Smiley, will present the keynote address at the ITSMF Awards Gala on Friday, February 8, 2008 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington DC. Smiley, who hosts the late night television show 'Tavis Smiley' and radio program 'The Tavis Smiley Show' is the first American to simultaneously host signature talk shows on both public television and public radio.

The ITSMF Awards Gala honors industry leaders who have made extraordinary contributions to the adancement of information technology while continuosly demonstrating proactive leadership in advancing diversity. The event is open to the public. Click here to register for the event.

Gala guests are the "who's who" of IT leaders from the public and private sectors and include representatives from Cisco, Dell, Deloitte, EDS, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Johnson-Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft and PepsiCo, among others. More than 500 are expected to attend this sell-out event.

BETF-Blog Readers, do you plan to attend? Do you have questions about ITSMF that we might be able to answer here?

Top Ten Black Blogs (Jan 2008)

Over 600 Black blogs are part of the Black Blog Rankings (BBR) for January 2008. I encourage each of y'all to add the BDPA Foundation to your blogroll if you haven't done so already.

I plan to share the BBR later this month on the NPR News & Notes Blogger's Roundtable. With any luck the other topic for that day will be the upset victories by Barack Obama in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries!

Anyhow, it has been a pleasure to share the Top 10 Black Blogs over the past five months. I remain open to ideas and suggestions from all BETF-Blog readers on ways that this project can be more useful to you. What other features or information would you like to see in future iterations of this list?
We plan to publish interviews with some of the brothers and sisters on this month's BBR. Please use your Village Voice to contact me if you would like to be interviewed! Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) is the driving force behind the BBR. Let others have lists of so-called influential bloggers with no melanin. We created our own list to highlight the talent and creativity (Kuumba) that exists in our own community. And our list continues to grow grow:

• Sept 2007 list ranked 75 Black blogs.
• Oct 2007 list ranked 300 Black blogs
• Nov 2007 list ranked 430 Black Blogs
• Dec 2007 list ranked 516 Black Blogs

Today we release the January 2008 BBR with 602 Black blogs in the mix with much love to the Top Ten Black Blogs:

1. Angel Laws: Concrete Loop* (Authority: 1,111 / Rank: 2,225) - [Entertainment] This blog has been in the #2 slot since we began the rankings, however, this month Concrete Loops reached the top slot! This is a Black celebrity entertainment blog with gossip, music, celebrity interviews, pictures and such. Have you seen your favorite celebrity on Angel's blog?
2. Pam Spaulding: Pam's House Blend (Authority: 1,086 / Rank: 2,357) - [Politics] This blog falls out of the top spot for the first time since we started the BBR in Sep 2007. Pam shares her thoughts on politics and invites others to join in the debate. Many of us will be on her political blog as we watch the presidential race heat up this year. Someone let Pam know we are looking for her to share some blogging tips with us! Pam, are you out there?
3. The Bossip: Bossip.com (Authority: 1,051 / Rank: 2,475) - [Entertainment] We just learned about Bossip.com this month. They moved directly into the #3 slot on this month's BBR! Bossip.com is a fast growing urban-focused new media property that draws a loyal following of young and influential trend setters who are up to date with what’s hot in society. Does anyone know if The Bossip is a brother or sister?
4. Fresh Crunkjuice: Crunk & Disorderly* (Authority: 780 / Rank: 3,993) - [Entertainment] This blog was created in August 2004, however, it didn't get serious until May 2005. This is an active entertainment blog. The motto is simple and direct, "In Fresh We Trust". Yo' Fresh ... consider giving us some link-love as one of your Fresh Picks!
5. Natasha E: Young, Black & Fabulous (Authority: 762 / Rank: 4,146) - [Entertainment] Natasha moved her hot gossip blog to her own domain. Her newer blog has moved up to BBR#20, making her the first blogger with multiple blogs in the Top 25!
6. Nah Right: Nah Right (Authority: 698 / Rank: 4,797) - [Entertainment] This is another Black blogger that we only learned about this month. Some say that Nah Right is the most important East Coast hip-hop blog there is. His blog began in May 2005 and continues to thrive. I'm open to learning more about the brother. Do you have any 411 to share?
7. Oliver Willis: Oliver Willis (Authority: 622 / Rank: 5,740) - [Politics] Oliver is a fan of the Washington Redskins. This is a good time for the brother as his team made the playoffs and the 2008 presidential race is heating up bigtime in places like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He began his blog in April 2005.
8. La Shawn Barber: La Shawn Barber's Corner (Authority: 610 / Rank: 5,907) - [Politics] Freelance writer La Shawn Barber offers political commentary from a Christian perspective. NPR News & Notes listed the 8/15/2007 Blogger's Roundtable with Sis. Barber as one of their best shows in 2007. I 'met' Sis. Barber during NPR panel discussion in Nov 2007. She is an insightful sister with a powerful political blog.
9. Sokari Ekine: Black Looks (525/ 7,820) - [Social Commentary] Sokari brings a focus on all things African. This is the highest-ranked blog on the BBR from outside of the United States. Sokari is currently in London. Her posts cover a range of issues such as gender violence, racism, sexuality, HIV/AIDS and cancer. Sokari and her guest bloggers are all progressives, Africanists and activists with a strong belief in the power of the pen to bring about change. This blog began in June 2004.
10. Gina McCauley: What About Our Daughters* (Authority: 443 / Rank: 9,880) - [Social Commentary] This blog was created by a sister who believes that now is the time for organized action to combat the destructive portrayals of Black women in popular culture. 2007 was a remarkable year for this blogger. Sis. McCauley was named one of the 25 most influential African Americans by Essence Magazine. Her blog was listed as BBR #19 in Sep 2007 and breaks into the Top Ten Black Blogs for the first time this month!

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HONORABLE MENTION (11-25): How To Split An Atom, Sandra Rose, Soul Sides, Afro Bella*, Paula Mooney’s Tips, Darla Mack News & Reviews, Rod 2.0:Beta, The Field Negro*, Entre mes Lignes, Young, Black & Fabulous*, Keith Boynkin*, A Hot Mess!, Republic of T, Angry Black Bitch and Mudd Up.

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The only qualification is that the blogger needs to be of African descent. The blogger does not have to be a member of BDPA, The AfroSpear or the Afrosphere Bloggers Association, although we invite all Black bloggers to join any of these excellent organizations.

These Black blogs are important spheres of influence. Reach out and let them know that you appreciate the work they have put in over the past few months and years to get on this list.

Those blogs with an asterisk after their name are 2007 Black Weblog Award winners. 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 person listed and the #1 ranked blog in the world.

Post a comment below if you are a Black Blogger interested in learning what your ranking is this month!

My vision is that many of the brothers and sisters on this month's BBR will share their village voice with us right here on the BDPA Foundation blog (BBR #334) or over on the Electronic Village blog (BBR #34). Happy New Year!

Where Are They Now? Dr. Stephanie Parson

One of the great friends of BDPA over the years is Dr. Stephanie Parson. She was a charter member of the BDPA Rocky Mountain chapter when it was founded in April 1989. It is also worth noting that today is Stephanie's birthday!

I met Stephanie when she was an executive at Walt Disney World. She was a key player in the successful 2002 national BDPA conference held in Orlando. Stephanie helped us land Roger Berry, WDW Chief Information Officer as the keynote speaker for the Awards Gala that year.

Stephanie served in national leadership positions with BDPA from 2002 through 2005 as both one of our Outside Directors and as VP-Strategy & Planning. Her place in the BDPA Hall of Fame is based on the intense passion that she brings to vision and strategic planning for our organization. She taught us how to create a shared 3-year stategic direction and base on current year budgets on a detailed 1-year business plan. We still use that methodology in our strategic planning today.

On a professional level, she left WDW and started her own company ... Crowned Grace. She is very active with an organization of chief executive officers known as CEO Space. In fact, her involvement in CEO Space resulted in recent opportunity for her to become part of an investment opportunity in Costa Rica. Here is what she had to say about her visit to South America:

"Wow!

• 4 hour drive from the airport to our cabins!
• 1 hour drive each day to the plantations
• 3 hour walk on 1 plantation (only able to see ~1/4th of this plantation)
• 3 hour horseback ride on another plantation (able to see ~1/8th of this plantation) My horse knew that it had been years since I had been on a horse
• 2 hours down (and up again) 500 steps to get to the waterfall
• 2 hour hike in the rain forest (rained for about 1.5 hours --- HEAVY RAIN!)
• Saw an active volcano Saw monkey's, creatures with long tails, beautiful birds, dogs, flowers and so much more Met wonderful people!
• Created LONG TERM Strategic Alliances
• Wet...Covered in Mud...Covered with Ant Bites...Broken fingernails...Broken toenails...don't even get me started on my hair :->
• WOULDN'T TRADE THE EXPERIENCE FOR THE WORLD!!!

Who knew that wood was a profitable venture??? Who knew that replanting the rain forest would be such a profitable experience???"

You can see Stephanie and her partners in this 4-minute video from Costa Rica. Hmmm, I need to get that sista a BDPA Foundation T-Shirt that she can be wearing for her next YouTube video (smile).




Do any of our BETF-Blog Readers remember working with Stephanie? Care to share your rememberances with us?

Message from Cincinnati Chapter President

Brenda Gunn-Hogan shared the following message with members of the BDPA Cincinnati chapter. She gives a great review of accomplishments over the past two years for her chapter. Here is her message:

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To: BDPA Members and Supporters

It has been a pleasure serving as your President for the last two years. I want to thank everyone for all the support and encouragement you have given me. We have been very successful this past year and I would like to share those successes and all the progress we have made together. To name a few:

• Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship Program (SITES) High School Computer Camp
• The Leadership Connection - BDPA Cincinnati's mentoring program
• IT Fusion - Emerging Trends in Information Technology, a panel of senior IT experts discussed technical innovations occurring today and ended the year with another great IT Fusion presentation from Kenneth Frank
• Our Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) was active again this year providing leadership and support
• The celebration of our volunteers and sponsors - 7th Annual Awards Luncheon took place at the Bankers Club
• Project Management Prep Class
• Midwest Regional Computer Competition
• BDPA Cincinnati Annual Cookout
• At the BDPA National Conference students representing Cincinnati:
• Participated in High School Computer Competition
• Participated in Youth Conference
• Placed first and second place respectively in the high school portion of the 2007 BDPA IT Showcase
• During the BDPA National Conference the Cincinnati chapter:
• Honored with the Professional Development award
• Won 2nd place Chapter of the Year award
• Annual Education Luncheon to honor the students that participated in the Computer program as well as the volunteers that make it happen

In closing, I would again like to thank all those who volunteered their time and the Board of Directors who worked long hours to make these advancements possible. I would hope that our renewed commitment would allow the same for the New Year as Janice Lee begins her reign as president! It is this commitment that keeps BDPA strong.

Best wishes for the New Year and always,
Brenda Gunn Hogan
2006-2007 President
BDPA Cincinnati

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Please take a moment to share some love with Brenda and some words of encouragement and support with Janice!

High Performance Computing 101 (Washington DC)

BDPA Washington DC chapter founded in May 1978 is the 6th largest chapter in America. Part of the success for this chapter is the strong program meetings that they hold each month. This month ... January 2008 ... is no exception. The chapter's program meeting will cover everything that you ever wanted to know about to know about high performance computing (HPC), the TeraGrid, “Internet2,” “Web 3.0,” and “next steps”. This is a program meeting that you will not want to miss if you are in the Washington DC area.

The guest speaker will be Dr. Jesse Bemley. He will explore HPC, or a more current and evolving definition of HPC referring to High Productivity Computing, and reflect the purpose and use models of existing and evolving architectures, the supporting ecosystem of software, middleware, storage, networking and tools behind our next generation of applications currently under development.

This is a profesional IT networking and catered chapter event. Online registration is requested. You are encouraged to invite co-workers and college students to this meeting. Here are the logistics:

Date: Thursday, January 24, 2008
When: 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Where: ASAE Conference Center
1575 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
Do you have any questions about this topic that you want to ask in this forum?

BDPA IT Showcase Sponsored by Johnson-Johnson

One of the best things that I did while serving as a national BDPA officer was appointing Dr. Jesse Bemley to serve as the conference delivery manager for the BDPA IT Showcase.

My vision was twofold. First, I wanted to find a way for HSCC alumni to continue to participate in the annual BDPA technology conference after their high school careers ended.

Second, I wanted to inspire young African American technologists to continue their educational arc through the Ph.D program by providing role models ... successful African American Ph.Ds in the computer science, engineering and information technology fields.

Dr. Bemley took the BDPA IT Showcase from a one-day event to its current position of being a 3-day event, sponsored by Johnson-Johnson, at the 30th annual BDPA Technology conference in Atlanta, GA. IT Showcase activities are now a part of the Youth Technology Camp (YTC) and Adult Forums. The main IT Showcase occurs on Thursday.

The activities include presentations, both paper and poster, of advanced computing topics. Participants are high school and undergraduate students. The focus is leading edge technologies, hardware and software methodologies, research proofs of concepts encompassing, but not limited to, intelligent technologies (i.e., smart toys, machine learning, genetic algorithms), wearable computing, web technologies, high performance computing, computing curricula, computational science and so forth.

Demonstrations are incorporated in the presentations where applicable. Presentations/projects are judged in two categories, college (undergraduate) and high school. Three awards will be made in each category. Previous showcases have answered questions such as:

• What is a smart toy?
• Can machines actually learn?
• Is there a difference between virtual humans and avatars?
• How will high performance computing change IT as we know it?
• Will genetic algorithms put more programmers out of work
• Can neural networks actually be trained?
• Why would anyone want to wear a computer?
• Should I get an Internet phone?
• Are those movie/video scenes actually computer-generated?
• Can I actually make maps on my computer?

Click here for a copy of the 2008 IT Showcase Handbook.

Our hope is that all 49 BDPA chapters will identify HSCC alumni or college students to participate in this year's IT Showcase. We are pleased that Johnson-Johnson stepped up to become sponsor of the 5th annual BDPA IT Showcase taking place on August 6-8, 2008 in Atlanta, GA. Let's see if we can make this the largest IT Showcase in BDPA history!

Any thoughts or questions?

SITES Program Orientation (Detroit)

There are a number of components of our Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program. One of those components is our High School Computer Competition (HSCC). HSCC is a national program that brings teams from all corners of the United States to compete nationally for the crown of National Champions.

BDPA Detroit chapter participated in this program for over 18 years resulting in 5 national championships and several regional championships. BDPA Detroit chapter averages a Top 5 placement in the 18+ years of participation at the national level.

The chapter is proud to announce 2008 support from their partners and sponsors --> Detroit Public School District, Compuware Corporation, EDS, The Detroit Lions Retired Players Charities, and the Detroit Youth Foundation. BDPA Detroit chapter seeks young adults interested in advancing their education and career using information technology. BDPA Detroit chapter provides Web Development training that is comparable to the same training to youngsters in Southeast Michigan ... training that they would not otherwise receive until they attend college.

The program is free! BDPA Detroit chapter needs your help. Can you spread the word to your students, friends and organizations in Southwest Michigan?

BDPA Detroit SITES Program Orientation
Date: Saturday, January 19, 2008
Time: 9:30 AM

Location: Compuware World Headquarters1 Campus Martius, Downtown Detroit, MI (Free Parking in the Compuware Parking Garage)
You can contact Glynis Talley (Glynis_Talley@yahoo.com) or Tonji Zimmerman: (Tonji_Z@yahoo.com) for more information on this orientation session.

Internet 'Necessary' to Africa's Growth

Hat-tip to BDPA Philadelphia for letting us know about a professor whose work in spreading information technology in Africa has been awarded by the Internet Society who hit out at critics who say the continent should focus first on basics like water and sanitation. Nii Quaynor, professor of computer science at the University of Cape-Coast, Ghana, said affordable computing was "necessary" to Africa's development.

Click here for the rest of the story.

BDPA Cleveland Election Results

BETF-Blog Readers, please join me in congratulating the 2008-2009 officers of the BDPA Cleveland chapter.

2008-2009 BDPA Cleveland Chapter Officers

• President - Kenneth Wilson (Wilco Information Management)
• President-Elect - Aubrey Morgan (KeyBank)
• VP-Finance - David Moore (Self-Employed)
• Immediate Past President - Willard Brown (National City)
• Founder - Norman Mays (Self-Employed)

These brothers have the challenge of maintaining the remarkable legacy of a chapter, founded in November 1980, that currently sits as the 8th largest chapter in America. Share some love in the comments section for Kenneth (shown in photo) and his incoming leadership team.

Wayne's 2007 Blogging Year-In-Review

It has been a remarkable year for those of us in the afrosphere. The number of blogs included in the Black Blog Rankings (BBR) grew from 75 to over 600 in the course of a few months. We saw the creation of both the Afrosphere Bloggers Association and The AfroSpear.

Mainstream media become much more aware of our presence as evidenced by events in Jena LA, Paris TX and Atlanta GA. Many Black bloggers are regularly featured on weekly National Public Radio broadcasts. Heck, a Black blogger was recognized as one of the 25-most influential African Americans in the country by Essence magazine.

I encourage all BETF-Blog readers to check out the comprehensive 'Black blogging year-in-review' perspective provided by Yobachi earlier this month.

I was inspired by my sister (Kyra Hicks) to create two blogs in 2007. The Electronic Village (BBR #34) was brought to life in Jan 2007 and redesigned in Sep 2007. The BDPA Foundation Blog (BBR #342) came online in Aug 2007. Both blogs evolved during the course of the year. Generally, the mission for both blogs is to share information that will inform and uplift our readers about people of African descent. The BETF-Blog tasks itself with an added goal to raise funds for the education and technology programs of BDPA.

We track our popular posts throughout the year. However, it is tradition to reflect on the year just ended. As such, we share with you our list of the top ten posts for 2007:

1. Black Blog Rankings - I got pissed when a blog listed the most influential bloggers in the world ... and not a single person of African descent made the list. I channeled my anger into the creation of the Black Blog Rankings. I publish updated rankings on the 1st day of each month. The inaugural publishing of the Top Ten Black Blogs took place in Sep 2007.
2. Jena 6 - The saga of justice in Jena, LA is well-documented on my blog and elsewhere. Without doubt, the major reason that the Electronic Village rose into the top 5% of all Black blogs was our coverage of the Jena 6 situation. I didn't know it at the time, but our blog was one of a handful of Black blogs that helped fuel the fire resulting in over 20,000 marchers descending on Jena in early September. I summarized my thoughts originally in a post titled, Jena 6: An American Tragedy.
3. HSCC Testimonials - Jena Six showed us high school kids going in a bad direction. I also wanted to show high schoolers going in the right direction. BETF wants to provide scholarships and funding for the high school computer competition (HSCC). As such, I share testimonials from HSCC students on my blog. One of the most powerful testimonials came from a youngster in Charlotte, NC.
4. The AfroSpear - One of the biggest accomplishments for Black bloggers in 2007 was the creation of The AfroSpear. My post explaining the evolution of the AfroSpear is one that I hope to update in the future.
5. Barack Obama - One of the first major stories in 2008 will be the results of the Iowa caucus. If Barack Obama wins that state caucus it will be one of the biggest stories around the world. For now, it is a dream and a prayer for many of us. My support for Barack Obama came after reading his first book. He is a remarkable brother ... and I truly believe that America needs him in the White House. I posted about Obama and his family a number of times during the year, however, I'm most proud of the fact that my blog provided live/streaming video of his appearance with Oprah Winfrey in South Carolina.
6. Nooses - One of the negative outcomes of the Jena Six story was the rapid and visible rise in the number of hateful nooses placed in public places to intimidate African Americans. One of my most powerful posts this year gave a history of lynching in America.
7. Tasered While Black - African American Political Pundit recently told me that our blog inspired him to create Tasered While Black (BBR #298). Back in March 2007, I shared my first post that talked about tasers.
8. Only A Dad - My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year. My father succombed to cancer later in the year. I shared his photo with my blog readers in a post dedicated to my Dad.
9. Hot Ghetto Mess - Another time when the power of the blogosphere showed itself to me was during the battle with Black Entertainment Television over a degrading television show. At one point, I saw direct action taken by a BET advertiser as a result of our blogging efforts. My inital post on this effort was simply entitled, BET is a Hot Ghetto Mess.
10. Don Imus - I was surprised by the speed in which this story circulated through the blogosphere. I joined with many other Black bloggers when I wrote that Imus should be fired.

Anyhow, these are my thoughts on the 2007 year-in-review.

Now, I am interested to learn what you think. After all, you have been a blog reader for some period of time.

What would you care to share about the past year. Were there other posts or themes that you thought should be in the Top Ten? Where do you want us to take this blog over the next year? What say u?

Amazon Kindle - Have You Tried It Yet?

I am in Los Angeles CA this week visiting with family. My mom and sister both have Amazon's new wireless Kindle. Here is what my sister had to say about it:

"Have you tried the new Amazon Kindle - the hand-size ebook reader? I can't believe it - I got one! Plan to use it extensively this weekend as I downloaded a mystery by a favorite author. Like many others, I'm not crazy about the size page forward and backwards tabs (shown in photo) because it's too easy to leap pages by accident. What I will really enjoy is the EASE of getting new books via Amazon - literally purchase online and the book appears on your device. No trying to learn how to transfer files from a computer. I was surprised to also have internet access via Kindle as well as ability to listen to music via MP3 files."

Do any of you have (or plan to get) this ebook reader?

2008-2009 BDPA Strategic Direction (Houston)

BDPA Houston chapter, founded in June 1995, is currently the 27th largest chapter in the nation. However, they plan to increase their membership total in the coming weeks and months with a strong monthly program meeting schedule. BDPA Houston is the first chapter to host the new national president, Denise Holland, as a guest speaker. She will be in Houston to talk about the 2008-2009 BDPA Strategic Direction that her executive committee is putting in place for the successful growth of BDPA.

Here are the logistics for the meeting:

Date: - Tuesday January 8, 2008
Time: - 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Place: - Houston Area Urban League
1301 Texas Street (Downtown Houston at the corner of Caroline)

This should be an excellent opportunity for BDPA stakeholders to speak directly with the highest ranking member of the BDPA team.

We realize that not all BETF-Blog Readers cannot be in Houston on January 8th. As such, we encourage you to ask questions right here. What would you ask president Denise Holland if you had the opportunity?

The Gimme Consumer (Cincinnati)

BDPA Cincinnati chapter, founded in December 1989, is now our fifth largest chapter in the country. The chapter hosts outstanding monthly program meetings on a variety of exciting information technology topics designed for your professional development.

The January 2007 program meeting is entitled, 'The Gimme Consumer'. The guest presenter is Michael Wilson, Chief Technology Officer for Bridge Worldwide, an innovative, interactive leading relationship marketing agency for national and global brands headquartered in Cincinnati. Bridge Worldwide was named one of the Top 25 Places to Work in America (2006 & 2007)!

'The Gimme Consumer' presentation by Michael will address today’s consumer and focus on trends that are emerging based on new technologies available such as Internet, Facebook, Google and Tivo among others.

Here are the logistics for the January 2008 program meeting:

When: Thursday January 17, 2008
Networking: 6 pm - 6:30 pm (bring your business cards!)
Presentation begins at 6:30 pm

Where: The offices of ResolvIT
895 Central Avenue – 1st Floor Conference room – Cinti, OH 45202

Who: Those in technology as well as friends and supporters of these organizations.

Cost: This event is free, however we ask that you RSVP

You can RSVP for this event by phone (513.956-0636) or email (info@bdpa-cincy.org).

7 Ways to Generate Business With LinkedIn Network

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You are invited to view my LinkedIn Network profile or join the BDPA Group that exists on the LinkedIn Network.