The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), chaired by House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, will debut Digital Fusion – CBCF 2.0 at a first-of-its-kind forum of the leading African American social media strategists called Black Power 2.0 – Social Media and Digital Content Mobilizing the Masses. The convening will address opportunities to engage communities through social media increasing rates of Internet adoption by the African American community. When: 2:00-5:30 p.m. September 24th, 2009 Where: Room 146A Washington Convention Center 801 Mount Vernon Pl NW Washington, DC 20003 Why: 54 percent of the African American community is not online. Underserved communities are excluded from opportunities to access job applications, health care information or financial services. Black Power 2.0 will feature the nation’s elite African American social media experts at the cutting edge of digital movement. A special session, “The World as We See It: Recreating Communities with Public Purpose Content,” will feature Rey Ramsey, CEO of One Economy, and award-winning director and producer, Robert Townsend. They will address the role of public-purpose media—online content that engages, informs and facilitates action—in stimulating demand for broadband among those who need its resources most. Townsend produces and directs Diary of a Single Mom, a ground-breaking online Web series that chronicles the lives ...

Everyone keeps asking me, "How was the Blogging While Brown Conference" and I either answer "great" or "excellent. I then think that this may sound vain in some way because I was responsible for helping to put the program together. In actuality, I didn't feel much different from last year when I enthusiastically sat on the front row of the inaugural conference (with Electronic Village, All About Race, and Pam's House Blend). This year I set up shop at the very back of the room. The major difference was deciding to wear a jacket and slacks in Chicago rather than jeans and a T-Shirt in the ATL. Shawn P. And Lola Adesioye of TheGrio.com Even having spoken with all the presenters and panelists via email or on the phone, I wasn't prepared for all of the wonderful information that was shared at this year's conference. From Talkshoe to Justin.tv; MindMeister to Gravatars; Buddy Press to Outliers, there was just so much to learn. John Davis and I interviewed by Carlos in D.C. The presentation that gained the most attention (check Twitter #bwb) was Hajj Flemings' session on Branding. Besides introducing up to the concept of Grustling (Grinding + Hustling = Grustling), ...

The 2nd Blogging While Brown Conference gets underway on Friday at Chicago's University Center with a Beginning Bloggers Boot Camp. Conference organizer Gina McCauley afforded me the opportunity to serve as programming chair for the conference, and I'm excited about the group of panelists and presenters that we were able to pull together. Here' the schedule: June 20, 2009 - Blogging While Brown Conference 8:00AM. - 8:30AM Registration 8:30AM Introductory remarks 8:35AM Workshop: “The Competent Blogger” This workshop will cover tapping into talent communities using web 2.0 tools and techniques to find lucrative and rewarding career opportunities. This is a must attend workshop for anyone interested in building an online presence or pursuing a long-term career in IT. This presentation will address all aspects of careers In IT and the core competencies necessary to build and sustain a vibrant, fulfilling and prosperous career powered by the web 2.0 social networking phenomenon. The workshop includes , research results from the 2009 IT Job Outlook Readers Poll, skill sets that are hot in the current job market, and how to use social networking to “get discovered” for the hot job opportunities How to build a successful online business in the IT Industry Presenter: Milt Hayes ...

There are very few memorable lines from the Star Wars prequels. But one that always sticks with me is when the Chancellor/Darth Sideous tells Anakin Skywalker “your patience has paid off.” It looks like the patience of Palm users has paid off with the arrival of the Palm Pre, now available from Sprint. For the last couple of years Treo users have been the laughing stock of the smart phone world, as iPhone and Blackberry users have ridiculed our archaic devices. Now, we may have the last laugh. With a lot less fan fare and significantly less advertising, Palm and Sprint have released a superior product to Apples iPhone, the current gold standard of handheld devices. Last Saturday the Palm Pre became available in limited quantities at a price of $199 after a $100 rebate. I bought my wife an iPhone for Christmas in ’07, and she has loved it. Why not, it’s a great device that really took the mobile experience to new heights. You Tubes, Movies, the scrolling flick, and a boat load of fun aps have made the iPhone a mega hit. While the Pre may not sell as many phones, it is equipped with lots of features that make it ...

According to the Associated Press (via the Dallas Morning News), two University of North Texas researchers have found samples of a meteor seen in Texas skies on Sunday. More from the A.P. story: Two samples of fresh material from a meteor that alarmed numerous residents when it streaked across the Texas sky on Sunday have been found in a pasture in West. University of North Texas observatory manager Preston Starr and UNT's director of the planetarium and astronomy lab program Ron DiIulio said they found the pieces Wednesday about 5 p.m. DiIulio said the pieces are about the size of large pecans with a crust that's black like charcoal. Here's what the meteor streaks looked like from a video shot in Austin. Same video different source: We'll see.  I'm sure West, Texas which is South of Dallas on I-35 will have a lot of amateur astronomers in town on Thursday.

This is the first post from the new and improved WhiteHouse.gov . Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov Welcome to the new WhiteHouse.gov. I'm Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House and one of the people who will be contributing to the blog. A short time ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and his new administration officially came to life. One of the first changes is the White House's new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world. Millions of Americans have powered President Obama's journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country's future. WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration's efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement. Just like your new government, WhiteHouse.gov and the rest of the Administration's online programs will put citizens first. Our initial new media efforts will center around three priorities: Communication -- Americans are eager for information about the state of the economy, national security and a host of other issues. This site will feature timely and in-depth content ...

On Tuesday August 12, 2008, Dallas South will convene a live blog to discuss the upcoming Democratic National Convention. This will be a brainstorming session that is open to all. Dallas South is one of 125 blogs that have been granted credentials for this historic event. The live blog's primary purpose is hear from readers who will not be able to attend and have ideas on what they would like to see in our coverage of the convention. The secondary purpose is to hear from bloggers -including other credentialed blogs- about technology that can be utilized to relay the sights and sounds of Denver to those who cannot be there. Join us on August 12 @ 8PM Central for this live blogging event.

If there was a blogging conference and no one from the mainstream media covered it, did it really happen? Of course it did. This weekend, 60 bloggers gathered in Atlanta for the inaugural Blogging While Brown International Conference of Bloggers of Color. The event was produced by Executive Director Gina McCauley who also publishes the blog What About Our Daughters. There were established blogs represented, Black Web 2.0, Electronic Village, and Clutch. And there were new bloggers also in attendance, like LaQuitta Jones who started her Terrell Tax and Planning blog about a month ago. The conference kicked off on Friday night with a meet and greet at Fox Sports Grill in the Atlantic Station District. There were many bloggers in the room who had known each other for years via the web, but it was the first time that they had the opportunity to lay eyes on one another. As each person stood up giving their name and website, you could literally see people around the room shaking their heads and saying "Oh she's the one who runs that blog." It was a great atmosphere for folks to get to know one another before the more structured workshop ...

For months I've championed Mozilla's Firefox as my internet browser of choice. So you can imagine how excited I was when I read an article in USA Today touting Window Snyder's role in the release of Mozilla's Firefox 3 Web Browser. Read "Geek" girl helps keep Mozilla safe in scary times Snyder serves as Chief of Security for Mozilla, though her official title is chief security something-or-other which is displayed on her business card. Here are some highlights from the USA Today article: In setting out to elevate Firefox's basic security, Snyder is also compelling Microsoft and Apple, maker of the Safari browser, to follow her lead — or get out of the way. "The fun is in deconstructing where the security holes are," Snyder, 32, says with a wry smile and knowing laugh. But don't let her youthful facade fool you. Snyder's career path includes co-founding a security company and consultant work at At Stake, which was sold to Symantec for $49 million in 2004. Dave Goldsmith, who as president of Matasano Security has worked with Snyder in various capacities, calls her an "online security rock star." Adds Eva Chen, CEO and co-founder of security company Trend Micro: "It's gratifying to see other women ...

WHEN: Thursday July 3, 2008, 10:00 a.m. WHERE: Cornerstone Baptist Church; 5415 Matlock Road Arlington, TX (817) 468-0083 WHO: Michael Williams, Chairman, Texas Railroad Commission WHAT: "Williams Innovators" Summer Camp Graduation WHY: "William Innovators" is a summer camp that promotes young people's interest in math and science through the teaching of designing computer games. Sponsored by Friends of Michael Williams, Be The Game and The Institute of Urban Game Design, "Williams Innovators" learn how to design a video game with an energy exploration theme. There are 42 students participating in this inaugural summer camp. This innovative program started in Washington, D.C. and had fantastic results. Campers had fun, played games, and in the process, learned about math, science and technology. Williams hopes this will spur an interest in young people to go to college and study engineering, science and mathematics. More than half of Texas energy professionals are eligible to retire within the next ten years, many as early ...