BlackPerspective.net
Discussing the Diaspora as seen through an internal Black lens
Black Blogging Year In Review: We Did It!
December 27th, 2007
Black Bloggers had a banner year and we’ve only grown stronger as the year has come to an end. We’ve found our collective footing and the Afrosphere has given us new voice to effect cultural and political change – and boy did we use it in 2007.
I effectively started BlackPerspective.net in March of this year, and got into the full swing of it by the summer. But already in March the first major Black Blogger victory had transpired. Black blogs and message boards (where I learned of the case) help spread the word of Shaquanda Cotton plight, and fueled letter writing campaigns to help bring pressure on her behalf. By the end of the month she was free.
Also that month The Afrospear collective of Black Bloggers was formed, which has gone from an original few to about 100 powerful bloggers.
Then in July, led by What About Our Daughters, the AfroSphere first got some big advertisers to pullout of sponsoring BET’s ‘A Hot Ghetto Mess’, followed by forcing a name change by BET in defense of their show to ‘We Got To Do Better’, next pushing the show out of it’s prime time spot to late night after only two weeks on the air, to eventually being quietly cancelled all together a few weeks later.
Also that month the Afrosphere really started spreading the word about the Jena 6. On August 30 the newly formed Afrosphere Jena 6 Coalition put on the Day of Blogging for Justice, that saw some 40 bloggers or more call for increased media visibility of this issue, and immediately we got it.
Michael Baisden and other national media picked up the story from us and the few journalist on the web keeping it alive; and it resulted in, my estimation, some 40,000 turning out to the Historic march on September 20th.
When the national media did finally get on board with covering the story, they came to us! I know I personally got calls from NBC’s Good Morning America and Nightly News, from CNN and NPR. Shawn Williams of the Dallas South blog even appeared on NBC to represent the Afrosphere’s roll in pushing the Jena issue.
A number of Black Bloggers have often appeared on NPR’s News and Notes, such as the show I was on with Wayne Hicks of Electronic Village and LaShawn Barber of LaShawn Barbers Corner; and a number of us are already lined up to go back on in the new year.
In a final example of rising notoriety, the December issue of Essences Magazine named Gina McCauley of the blog Whataboutourdaughters.com as one the years 25 most influential black people.
Also by the end of the year, Black celebs such as Michael Baisden, Steven A. Smith, and Gabrielle Union were flipping the fuck out over Black bloggers rising closer to the cultural fore. They can’t handle that we didn’t have to beg white corporate media to give us an opportunity, and wait until they finally give us approval to have a voice; but instead we built our own media – Jealous fuckers!
Just know that people hate the bloggers because they can’t stop the bloggers. We’re disrupting mainstream media’s limited distribution of information plans. While the elitist media conglomerates are consolidating all media into the hands of a few; they can’t control what we do and say and they’re pissed. That’s why it’s so important that we FIGHT FOR NET NEUTRALITY! If IPOs or search engines can control what websites you can go to on their services, it’s a wrap. We’re back to the same thing because then they could block us out.
And that leads to the next point, what to do in ’08. Well, more of the same, just bigger and better with more exactness.
The net neutrality thing is something that all bloggers from all walks should come together to fight for – liberal, conservative, moderate – black or white - socio-politically conscious or celebrity bloggers; we all have the same stake in fighting for this one.
As for Black bloggers, we have to continue to make stronger ties to increase our collective notoriety, power, and ability to effect change; and to give more power back to the people, and take it out of the hands, so much, from the politicians and corporate media.
That means strengthening groups like the AfroSpear and the AfroSphere Bloggers Association. It means looking into creating a Black Bloggers union that will give us the opportunity to for getting credentials to more events like main stream media, and so we can pull bargaining power to get things like health benefits that will allow us to do this more on professional basis.
We have the Blogging While Brown Conference coming this summer, and should continue to forge such events to build our knowledge, connectivity and level of capability.
And we could all look at increasing our usage of multi-media, such as pod-casting and video-casting.
What do you think we can do to progress upon what we did in 2007?
Any big wins in ‘07 that I missed?
Video on Net Neutrality:
Popularity: 8% [?]
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12 Responses to “Black Blogging Year In Review: We Did It!”
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About The Blog
Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.
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Yobachi said, Just know that people hate the bloggers because they can’t stop the bloggers. We’re disrupting mainstream media’s limited distribution of information plans.
This is a terrific summary of the year in review! And I agree with the comment above. Just this morning I checked my visitors list and someone from the Washington Post was on my blog checking out my views on a particular story! Interesting, huh?
No need in them hating us though because we are here to stay. Looking forward to another great year.
LennieG
Thanks Lennie.
That’s intersting, the Washington Post hun. What service do you use that gives you that kind of information? I just installed Sitemeter tonight.
This is an excellent review, Yobachi! It gives me shivers to see how much has been accomplished, the way I always feel when Black people’s issues are getting a powerful hearing and obtaining action on the national and international stage. I’m certainly going to repost this post at my blog, as well.
Yobachi,
I have the pay version of site meter. But I believe that the free version is adequate to give you information regarding where people are signing on from. So if someone from CNN or Washington Post, etc. is checking you out, you can see it. Again, I have the pay version of site meter. Not sure you have that option with the free version.
I just checked out your site meter, Yobachi. Yes, the free version of site meter DOES allow you to see where referrals are coming from. Just press where it says “referrals”. For example, when I pressed, I saw HickTownPress, meaning that someone found you via my blog. When you seen “unknown” it means that the person is a regular visitor who probably has you on their “favorites” list and just comes to you by clicking favorites and site meter does not pick that up. But be sure to check your referrals page at the end of every day so you will know who is sending you traffic.
LennieG (Lynn)
Thanks Francis, I felt the same when thinking about it to compose this piece.
Excellent work my brother!
FYI, I found that when I used site meter it only reported about 1/4 of traffic I saw once I began getting data straight from the server.
Thanks Shawn, I like your wrap up too, that’s why I linked it to your blog name in the post.
How do I get data straight from the server as you say?
In my year long effort to survey of internet media outlets (websites, Black Blogs, and online commentaries) the Afronet (Black-blogosphere, and Black website services) are all about
1. Business and Economics
2. Politics & other legal stuff
3. Entertainment including videos, hip hop, fashion, and sports
4. Social issues (how black people are suffering, struggling, falling behind and otherwise still trying the catch up; and though Education is an oft addressed topic it is often packaged as a social issue and not a self-standing issue in and of itself).
I’m rather disappointed that science, technology, education, and the arts are hardly ever (if ever) addressed.
Scanning the headlines of YBPGuide, RSSpect.org or AfroSpear feeds, there is hardly a discussion topic that isn’t one of the aforementioned. I’m not proposing that the fine bloggers should discontinue their posts, but I am suggesting that the net be cast farther and wider to include a greater variety of blog topics.
So in response to Black Blogging “what to do in 08″. I think Black Blogging in 08 should include more topics on the following:
include:
a) Science: including health, medicine, and lifestyle issues as well as info about natural and physical sciences discoveries and careers
b) Technology: by this I mean more than a review of the hottest new cell phone, music, and video gadgets. I mean biotech, engineering, mechanics, etc. Also include info about study and career options in Engineering and Technology.
c) Education: with commentaries offered by educational professionals and not politicians and lobbyists ranting about the state of Black children’s education. Discussions could include best practices, pedagogy, teaching and learning philosophies.
d) Arts & Fine Arts: that would include introductions and discussions about literature, artists, the fine arts, and reviews.
By the same note, I am REALLY hungry for websites (like Black America web, BET) that are popular among African-Americans to also follow suit. These are matters and subjects of importance and interest to the Black Diaspora as well.
(this comment is also posted on my site sciedsociety.blogspot.com/2007/12/black-blogging-year-in-reviewcomment.html)
Hmmm, well Urban Scientist; I’ve seen a few Black tech blogs around. The Black Weblog Awards contained a Best Science/Tech Blog award which was won by Nerd With Swag. You can see all that here: www.blackperspective.net/index.php/black-weblog-awards/
As far as more science posting in the Afrosphere, well science isn’t particularly a racial issue. Science is neutral, it’s not perspective based. I mean, analysis of results can be shaped by perspective; but the actual science is not. In fact, I don’t see many science blogs by anybody of any race. Science writing takes particular expertise, it’s not something that anyone can just write about like they can on their views of life, culture and politics. So you have a limited amount of people who would be adept at that. And being real about it, the representation of Black people in the science disciplines isn’t very high, so I think the lack of Black blogging on that subject is a reflection of a societal issue that has to be improved.
It’s not as if I’m not concerned with technology and science and don’t have some knowledge of these things, because I’m broad based in my awareness; but I’m not equipped to write on such things because my knowledge of them isn’t that in depth. I study politics, sociology, and history; and of course I live culture, so that’s what I write about.
I agree, we could use more blogging on health. I’m disappointed that my health post don’t receive much response. Personally though, I did do a lot of blogging on AIDS, and some on other health issues. It’s not difficult for people to study up on health issues, and everyone is affected by them, so I think that’s a legitimate criticism of deficiency in the Afrosphere.
And fine arts, again, it’s a small niche’ market. How many Americans of any stripe participate in fine arts? Again the lack of blogging on that is a reflection of society.
The Education thing, I don’t know. It would be good if some educators started blogs if you’re talking about technical educational practices and implementation. But that’s resource blogging as opposed to commentary blogging. Most Blogs are commentary, not technical resource sites.
When it comes to extolling the need for education and maybe highlighting educational triumphs, I agree there could be more of that; but it’s not a grand dearth of it now.
In order for these technical blogging things to exist, you’ll have to have the people in those fields step up to the plate. You can’t expect people who don’t study or practice a discipline to be able to write on them.
So I think the challenge here is for those in these fields who are already blogging such as yourself to forge technical coalitions of blogs like a black tech/education/science/fine arts version of the Afrospear and work to develop a blogging culture for those disciplines and to identify and mentor those who might blog in those areas.
Also forming something like an associated press type service for these groups where those writing on these issues could provide a feed that makes their post available for other bloggers to repost; that way those of us who are not adept at writing on these things ourselves could still post on them by reproducing the post of those who are.
Further y’all should go ahead and join groups like the AfroSpear and put on work shops at the Blogging While Brown Conference so that you can add your perspective and piece of the pie to the dialogue and agenda.
Okay, we only a little star-crossed. You’re right, science, tech, and the arts are racial neutral, but that isn’t my point. And the lack of black science & arts blogging is perhaps reresentative of the # of Black people who are sinto science and the arts, but my point is that popular black blog directories or centers (like Blackperspective.net) don’t even have a tab for science, health, tech, education or the arts. I’m referring to the titles of your tabs or subheadings or headlines of things discussed in the Black blogsphere.
Moreover, black blog commentaries are almost exclusively about business, social issues, entertainment, and/or politics.
I beleive you when you say “It’s not as if I’m not concerned with technology and science and don’t have some knowledge of these things” and I think the same may be true of other black blog stars, but the fact remains, these issues are simply not represented or presented to your subscribers for consideration. That’s not your fault. This isn’t a blame thing. And I don;t expect you all to blog about these things. In fact, my request is that you include these types of blogs in your directory. Ask people to submit the links to your directory, place a Call to submit blogs from black bloggers who discuss Science, Technology, Education, and the Arts. And to defend George Jackson (a little) I want to believe he was referring to lack of diversity of thought when he referred to “lack of intellectual substance”. The matter you all present and discuss is important, but it’s not diverse.
Nerd with Swag..I didn’t know about this site, thanks for letting me know. The page is nice, but if this is what the black blogosphere thinks is the best science/tech blog, then we need to sit down get on the same page. The page seems to be mostly a hip-hop commentary that discusses some great new tech gadgets. What about commentary about up and coming science and technological advances, spotlights on professionals, breaking new research or how new science/tech frontiers will impact society, particular black folks? That’s what I’m talking about. That’s missing, and no one seems to realize that it’s not out there.
Forging a coalition is a great idea, but in my opinion it may only attract people who are primarily interested in those subjects. WE (black bloggers & activists as a whole) lose the opportunity to share something new and informational to a wider audience. I’m not that into hip-hop and conservative politics, but I like knowing I can read the headlines & choose to access those articles on occasions. I’d like the rest of the black blogosphere to have that access and opportunity to be abreast of Science, Tech, Education, & Arts issues, too. Follow me?
Finally, your statement “In fact, I don’t see many science blogs by anybody of any race” gives me pause. This signals to me that perhaps your interest and training in politics, sociology, and history has placed some blinders on you. Science blogging is big. And the fact that someone as hooked in and knowledgeable as you is unaware of the number and variety of science blogs or online science services only reinforces the stats…The average reader of popular science magazines is a middle-class, middle-age white male with a college education. This means that ALL other demogradphics are not keeping up with science and tech news. This means we have a whole host of citizens who are not as informed about science and tech issues that are affecting their lives everyday. These decision makers of policy, health and environment include women, seniors, young people, people of color, people from lower socio-economic scales, even black middle class people.
As an African-American scientist, this frightens me. And it makes me think that science outreach to the Black community in general is in serious need to reach out to not only the urban poor, but the colleged, technologically-advanced middle-class as well.
Here are some launching points: www.scienceblogs.com (ever heard of SEED magazine, well this is who sponsors this community of online science bloggers. Be sure to check out Science to Life - published by Karen V, a Black Science Blogger); www.scienceblog.com, www.livescience.com, www.sciam.com, www.sciencedaily.com, also Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has a whole science website and radio program www.deltasee.org, Sciece Spectrum - an online minority science hub www.sciencespectrumonline.com, and most popular science magazines have blogs too.