Does Anybody Have Time to Read Blogs on Sundays?

Well I already know the answer to that – yes. I mean I read them everyday but you know I spend a lot of time on the internets. Eventually I’m gonna have to uh…disengage a bit more. For now though I have a little too much free time on my hands. Of course time isn’t really free. Our clocks are ticking away until they…stop. We just have no idea when that will be. When you’re young didn’t you think you’d live forever? Or at least I remember when I was eight years old and thought sixteen was really old and it would take me forever to get to that age. Now that’s it been an equal amount of time since I then I’d like to be able to slow down the passage of time. Every year seems to go by faster and faster now.

I’ve noticed the traffic on my blog slows on weekends presumably because all of you are out living your lives – which is a great thing by the way. I have things I need to do, want to do and don’t want to do. I’m a notorious procrastinator. So I must admit reading is a nice distraction or tool of postponement. It’s all in how you look at things I suppose.  

Ok I just realized though I should be more aware of my time but I should also not bash myself. I could’ve married to first guy who paid attention to me and plunked out a few kids. I’d be busy but would I be happy? Now there’s another conundrum for ya. Right now I can get up when I want, sleep when I want, eat whatever I want and I don’t have to answer to anybody (human at least). There’s that whole spiritual aspect I’m avoiding right now…..

I mean here I am trying to come up with topics to keep my online play cousins entertained and challenged. It’s also a good rant forum and I can finally get some things off my chest. So really this is a win-win scenario for all of us. I’m also practicing one of the few avenues of discipline I’ve been consistent at. I made a declaration to write something every day and four months later I’m still at it. I’m relieved to know I can be consistent and I hope providing a variety of quality content.

Now it’s time to expand this to other areas of my life that I’ve long since abandoned out of fear, mediocrity, frustration, confusion or just not having a vision. What do you want to conquer that you’ve let lapse? How are you spending not just your Sundays but every day to make it work for you?

h/t Muslim Bushido

Blogger Interview at Womanist Musings

Hey I was a featured blogger at Womanist Musings last week. I'm the little blogger that could you know. Thanks to blog host Renee for reaching out and offering support. Check out Sometimes It Takes An Act of Faith interview. Here's an excerpt:

We live in a hierarchal society in which black women often find themselves at the bottom. To what do you attribute this and why do you feel that black women continually fail to make themselves a priority?

It could take volumes to reply to this question! Not every Black woman is in this situation first of all. Again, this goes back to systematic racism where the infrastructure is set up to favour white men, then white women and children. One of the biggest problems I see I how the Blacks who are descended from the slaves that built the Americas is the lack of acknowledgement of that. There is a psychic fissure that still resonates with a lot of people because it’s carried generation to generation – but people accept it as well. Those contracts to agree to carry this burden need to be broken. There needs to be a recognition of the different class structures that exist amongst Blacks as well. It’s funny how when things were much more difficult for Blacks overall many were in fact able to work around a horrible existence and be successful. Now there seems to be a defeatist attitude often where the focus is on all the negative things that can occur. There’s also this focus on protecting Black boys and men at all costs against the big bad (white) racism at the expense of Black women and girls. Women in general have a hard time putting themselves first because we live in a patriarchal society that teaches us to defer to men always. So for Black women it’s doubly so. In the end the only reason why Black women don’t put themselves first is because they choose not to. Society is set up to pass us over but that doesn’t mean we have to let it happen! It’s an indoctrination that begins as a child, much like the results of the test where children prefer the white doll. It’s a not always silent message being passed down generation to generation and it’s literally killing us. It has to change or most of us won’t make it. We have to do an extensive evaluation of where we stand, what our place in the world will be and learn to make better choices. When we know better we will.

Black Female Bloggers And Allies - Let's Get to Know Each Other Better

I have quite a few posts bubbling to the surface that I want to write about but I must prioritize my schedule this week. I am very excited that my recent engagements with other bloggers of color has encouraged a renewal of my mind. It's really good to know that if you're open you can still learn something of value well into one's adulthood. We all come to the blogosphere for different reasons and have diverse goals in mind, but I'd like to know if we're doing enough to reach out to each other. Or if everyone even wants to. 

It's just some of us find ways we can relate to people online that may not exist in our offline lives. We can hear, disagree with yet still ultimately learn from getting different perspectives. Are people being themselves online or pretending to be something they aren't? Do we need to have our viewpoints affirmed by others to make them valid? Is our level of engagement enough that we are being supportive of each other? We may think of the internet as this vast sea of people worldwide but I think it can be a much smaller world with niche markets. We can engage as much or as little as we want. If we want to reach more people we have to be proactive and focused about how we do that. 

There's this need - or want - for those of us who engage online to seek out things of interest and wanting certain comforts. I think we may have three good years left before the corporatists, working in concert with the government take over and our access is controlled and limited. In the United States our service providers are redlining certain communities in the first place and our connection speeds are one tenth of what you will find in Asia and a higher price. Just like with cell phones. When I lived in London in 2003 I took note of how incoming calls were free because they were paid for by fees from landline phones and the monthly service charges were around $30 when ours were double that. They were also using SMS regularly. I think that's why microblogging platforms like Twitter actually have a larger customer base over there. 

So if there are those that still have lofty goals of "changing the world" and "raising consciousness" or even "making money" we really do need to connect with as many individuals or smaller blogs to work with each other. A rising tide carries along more boats! So I am visiting more blogs, looking at some of larger blog networks and listening to podcasts in an effort to meet more people. What tools are you using and who do you recommend I should be engaging with? Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments, email or DM me on Twitter.

Do We Create or Regurgitate News As Bloggers?

This ongoing investigation regarding the racist attacks against Dr. Yolanda Pierce at Princeton Seminary begs the question how blogs - especially those hosted by female bloggers with empowerment themes - have evaluated their processes for generating posts and in discussing this. What do we consider newsworthy? Who do we use as sources for stories? Why do some bloggers base their posts on things they read in the newspaper or watch on the television almost exclusively? Why are those sources considered "credible" when we know the information we get is tainted and controlled by conglomerates with an agenda? What others sources are we reviewing for inclusion as a story idea generator? Do we even need to do so as "non-professionals" and push any limitations? After all, I heard a failed Vice Presidential candidate say that bloggers are 'liars' who live in their mother's basement.

Prosecutors have tried murder cases on circumstantial evidence or even without a body when they believe a crime has been committed. In a local case Hans Reiser eventually took a plea deal after such a conviction in exchange for revealing the location of his mudered wife's remains. He had claimed his innocence the entire investigation and trial. People don't demand "proof" from children who tell an adult they've been sexually abused. They are questioned of course, but the general consensus is that they are credible witnesses to their own abuse and telling the truth. Why should someone who claims a racial attack against a Black woman has occurred have to jump through hoops to establish their claim beyond a shadow of a doubt to those that would deny them no matter what? Why does someone need conditions met when a distinguished witness first brought it to the blogosphere's attention before believing such a claim and/or taking action? Are we less likely to take someone's word if they are non-white and female? 

Some of those in the blogosphere consider themselves activists against social injustices, while others want to strictly report on celebrity happenings. Blog posts can be very personal.  Others talk politics and choose to focus on local or national issues. Still more just want a catalog of their personal journeys through life or swap recipes and baby pictures. Each blog has its own voice, can capture a particular audience and encourages active participation from a variety of readers. They can also face the scorn of those that oppose their voice and will argue with them ad nauseum. 

It can certainly be productive to hear many sides to an issue but the boundaries have to be drawn somewhere. People tend to forget these are public forums and can lose all methods of decorum when they post anonymously or with a nickname. A fly in the soup can derail a conversation quickly if the blog administrator doesn't control who they allow in their space or set the rules for engagement.

I find many so-called progressive blogs (kos, Open Left, etc) just as caustic an environment as the staunchest of right-wing sites because I feel the same level of intolerance, sense of entitlement and exclusionary attitudes from those that claim to be on opposite sides of the political spectrum and stick to their viewpoint. The readers easily fall into group-think and try to police out dissent - even if it's coming from those who offer constructive criticism.

Running a blog requires that you put a bit of yourself out for public consumption - that is if you are to have any impact or level of authenticity. The purpose and intent behind starting a blog of course has as many reasons as there are people running them. Not everyone who blogs is a so-called journalist and those with prior media careers have steadily switched to blogging in addition to their traditional work. There are many excellent writers who've used this form of technology to bypass the gatekeeper walls of exclusion. Corporate media has seen a 15% decrease in non-white journalists just this year alone when they were already underrepresented to begin with.

The only caveat with blogging is that anyone can start a blog. That is the great equalizer but there are certain skills those trained in journalism/writing use to investigate stories and produce content. They're also paid to do it. For most of us blogging is a side gig and labor of love. As Web 2.0 continues to offer new technology and people gain access to and comfort with the internet we need to look at ways of combining our collective voices into sustainable ways and increase our audience - and influence over the narrative. 

We need to start looking outside the 'mainstream' white middle class Americuh for Americans corporate media where George Bush is just misunderstood and the United States never does anything wrong. Depending on the impact of media coverage that day I can go to several blogs for their perspective on the same news story. Now that perspective may certainly be vital and interesting but it isn't exclusive - especially if you're like me and you read several blogs more than once per day. Telling lesser known stories certainly has value and can positively shed light on issues ignored by corporate media. We just need to decide if we - as bloggers and readers of blogs - will continue to wait for others to deem them worthy before we do.

Who Knew That Blogger Could Be Used As A Slur?

I tried to give Sarah Palin the benefit of the doubt. You know all those leaks of her ever growing list of foolishness came from her friends in the McCain camp. Yet time and time again the hockey mom from the tundra keeps showing us her ever growing sense of entitlement, lack of humility and foot in mouth disease. If the rumors prove to be true that she's getting a talk show she can kiss her political career goodbye. If I want a daily dose of dysfunction I can watch Jerry Springer. She really needs to get the hook right now or a tap on the shoulder that her 15 minutes are up! 

So now she says we bloggers live in our mom's basement and make stuff up. Oh really, Sarah? Why is it that some women cannot manage leadership positions and overcompensate by being completely unbearable? Let me tell you, I wish my mother owned a house in San Francisco. She raised six children. We probably would've lived between the Fillmore and Upper Haight. It would have appreciated in value by about 400% and I'd happily renovate a basement for that! Anyway......here's the cable news pundit who's quickly becoming my fave displaying a wicked sense of humor in tribute to all us....bloggers! 

h/t Think Progress 

Side note: I know she's on CNN with Wolf Blitzer today but I'm on West Coast time. Also she said some really obnoxious things about our President-Elect's parenting skills. You would be highly unlikely to see Sasha or Malia as unmarried pregnant teens. This woman will say anything to stay in the spotlight and I will not give her any more press.