Unemployed? In Between Jobs? Now Is The Time To Launch That Blog!

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF chair & freelance aviation/travel journalist and blogger

When I do my free resume reviews for students and young journalists starting out, many times I either see gaps in employment or not enough internship experience or time on school media platforms.

When I discuss the findings of my reviews, I note the lack of experience or the gaps and ask what they are doing to continue to perfect their craft.  I get vague answers about how hard it is to find freelance work, and the conversation peters out.

The lack of freelance work is NOT an excuse.  With all the free and low-cost web-based platforms out there, there’s no reason why you can’t use them to showcase your work. Today, I found a great article forwarded to me by one of my Twitter followers from the International Journalist’s Network blog: “Six tips for journalists on launching a successful blog.”

I blog here. I also created AviationQueen.com back in November 2010, and I regularly guest post on journalism and aviation blogs.  My blog and others were godsends when I got laid off last October. Some gigs were paid and some were not, but all of them got me exposure and led to job leads.

But blogging is not the only thing you can do.  Create a talk show on BlogTalkRadio on the topics you hope to cover.  I met Hezzie McCaleb, one of the founders of Barbershop Sports, at the NABJ convention in San Diego. Check out their website and how they use BlogTalkRadio.

Other ideas to get your work out and practice your craft:

• Create your own stories using tools like Ustream and post them on your own YouTube or Vimeo channel;
• Start a Tumblr blog on a specific topic;
• Offer to guest blog on blogs you admire and have some expertise in;
• Create your own podcasts using tools such as SoundCloud, Cinch or AudioBoo;
• Comment on blogs and websites you admire, using the URL for your blog so people can follow your work; and
• Sign up for social media platforms to further promote your work.

I understand that we all have bills to pay, and sometimes we have to take that job outside journalism to make sure we have a roof over our head and food in the fridge.  But with all the tools out there, you have zero excuse not to keep up your journalism skills. Good luck!!

Top 10 Things I Learned at #ONA11

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

This was my first time attending the Online News Association’s annual conference, held this year in Boston.  And it won’t be my last.  Rosental Alves,
director of the Knight Chair in Journalism & UNESCO Chair in Communication and director of Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas at Austin, summed up the conference beautifully in a tweet: “I haven’t heard single word of pessimism about future of journalism at #ONA11. It’s the dawn of a great time!” Refreshing, right?

I learned so much at this conference it’s hard to narrow it down to 10, so let’s get to it!

1. Digital folks are still struggling with newsroom diversity.  ONA co-chair and NABJ member Michelle Johnson put together a stellar ONA keynote, moderated by NABJ’s Retha Hill that discussed where we are and where we need to go.  My post on the session is here, and the video of the event is here.
   
2. The new Facebook isn’t nearly as bad as people think.  Vadim Lavrusik, who oversees Facebook + Journalists, took two sessions to explain all the changes and how they are a good thing. My post on his presentations is here.
3. Amy Webb of Webbmedia has her finger on the pulse when it comes to tech trends.  No surprise, it was standing room only in her session, which had interesting — and frankly scary — technology here and on the horizon. Check out her presentation here.  I also like this summary of her presentation from an attendee, and student (and NABJ member) Ugonna Okpalaoka’s report.
4. Livestreaming is the way to go.  If you couldn’t make this year’s convention, ONA thoughtfully provided livestreaming from all of the major events.  And the Twitter feed from the show just rocked, as demonstrated by this massive Storify of key tweets from Mo Krochmal, who wasn’t there.
5. ONA’s Career Fair & Summit just rocked!  The fair, overseen by NABJ Media Institute head Doug Mitchell, featured employers and some very helpful workshops on getting those jobs.
6. Our people represented at the convention!  ONA has gotten a rap in the past for not being as diverse as it could be.  But this year, there was a good group of journalists of color attending the conference.  it was even better to see so many NABJ members on panels, including Founder Joel Dreyfuss, Retha Hill, LaToya Peterson, Doug Mitchell, Dr. Sybril Bennett, Matt Thompson and me.
7. Having the chance on voting for three “unconference” sessions.  Attendees were encouraged to create and vote on three sessions not officially listed on the program.  I was delighted when the one I chose — We’ve Got A Tumblr: Now What? — was one of three sessions chosen.  My post on what I learned is here.
8. Mini-law School for Journalists = genius!  With all the changes in the newsroom and in the digital space, you almost need to have a law degree to understand what’s legal and what’s not.  This was not only a conference panel, but it was also a day-long, pre-convention session held at Harvard Law School. Check out the Twitter feed here.
9. ONA attendees are incredibly generous.  I attended the panel “Once Upon A Datum: Telling Visual Stories.” Panelist John Keefe, a senior producer at WNYC, and I chatted after the session about our interest in data journalism and we’re making a date to meet in New York to do some hands-on work.
10. The future of journalism is in good hands.  I urge you to check out the work of students at this year’s ONA Student Projects.  They were everywhere, and came up with some interesting stories across all platforms.

Next year’s convention is in my home town of San Francisco.  I hope to see even more journalists of color — especially NABJ members — at next year’s event.  And if you haven’t joined ONA yet, click here; it’s worth every cent of the $75 a year or $150 for three-year fee.

Carnival of Journalism: How Journalists Are Using Google+

By Ms. Benét J. Wilson, DJTF chairman, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

I was excited when I saw this month’s topic for the Carnival of Journalism.  So excited, that I decided to write this post even though I’m on vacation!!  We all know about Google+, which is being touted as the next new social/new media tool.  I was among those who queried my Twitter users to get an invite to take it for a whirl.

I got on in July, created a few circles…then did nothing.  I’d read updates, but didn’t feel comfortable actually using Google+, which I found a bit confusing in the beginning.

But then I found an interesting use — live blogging an event.  From Aug. 3-7, the National Association of Black Journalists held its annual convention in Philadelphia.  On Aug. 2, NABJ’s board of directors was meeting.  We’ve had some issues we’ ve been dealing with, including our break from UNITY: Journalists of Color. I, along with other members, have had some issues in the past with how things were communicated.

Back in January, I attended the quarterly NABJ board meeting, which was in Washington, D.C., and I used Twitter to cover the meeting.  But about halfway through the proceedings, a board  member asked me to stop, because technically, the board meeting was open only to NABJ members.

I missed the April board meeting, but did attend the August meeting.  Again, I was trying to find a way to cover the meeting, but only include dues-paying members.  So I decided to give Google+ a try.  I created the circle NABJ 2011 and used this blog, Facebook and Twitter to let folks know I would be live blogging the meeting using Google+.

When people asked to join the circle, I used the NABJ website to make sure they were members.  I reminded folks on the day of the event and it was off to the races.

I found Google+ to be a great tool.  I could post as much — or as little — information as I wanted, not constrained by a 140-character limit.  Since it was live, folks could — and did — follow along in and out, but they could also go back to the stream later.  And they could post questions directly to the circle that I could answer in real time, or chase down a board member to get the proper answer.

I could see journalists using Google+ for a similar use, like covering a community or city council meeting.  The notes taken could be used as part of a summary blog post or even a story.  And the interactive feature can allow journalists to get questions from circle members they may not have thought of.

So my little experiment has caused me to take a closer look at Google+ to see the possibilities.  And I’m reading some great posts on how journalists do that, including: Prashant Rao’s Google+ For Journalists: A Primer; Mashable on 5 Ways Journalists Are Using Google+; and KOMU’s Jen Lee Reeves on 5 Reasons Why Journalists Should Play With Google+.

I look forward to following other journalists as they start using Google+ as a tool.  And watch this space as we take our own Google journey and share the results.

I Just Called/Texted/Blogged/Tweeted To Say…WHAT??!! Missing The Human Connection

By Meta J. Mereday, writer/editor and diversity, media and community development expert

I used to enjoy attending conventions, especially the National Association of Black Journalists Convention & Career Fair because it really was a family reunion of journalists, freelancers, media professionals, journalism educators, media entrepreneurs, marketing and public relations professionals, students, community advocates and celebrities who all came together to get to know each other, talk about what happened during the year and learn more about the industry and how we can help each other.

I walked great distances between sessions and events at the recent convention in Philadelphia and watched the young professionals and the seasoned members all wearing their name badges and heading here and there — but wait, what was I missing?   The eye contact and general association with a smile that we were all a part of the same group, the same struggle was missing for me.

The digital age of smartphones and tweeting are fast replacing the art of human contact and live one to one.   I am all for technology, but let us not forget our precious human resource that is NABJ’s  hallmark.  There were iconic journalists, media legends, inspired media-preneurs and living historians within our midst, but many of the members – both young and old – were so busy clicking away with the growing “crick” in their necks, that they missed out.

In some instances, I walked up to some members and drew their attention away from their tweeting marathon just to say hello and find out about them. I was intrigued when I talked to first timers who shared that they often feel intimidated walking up to members, especially if they see them with lots of ribbons on their name badge or with a group of people.

I remarked that many of the seasoned professionals love to speak with the emerging journalists, but often feel that they are standoffish.  I always find it amusing that unless you have on a suit and coiffed hair, you are not considered much of a resource or someone worth talking to unless you get introduced.  In either case, holding a bag in one hand and with your head down looking at the screen from the phone in your other hand, does not make for great human connections.

It is as if the digital age is increasing speed and access to information, but decreasing courtesies and the all important small talk that provides the best leads and long term friendships. So many of us come to the convention with the notion to “see more folks who look like us” so that we can be motivated when they go back to the shops where we are flying solo and fully engaged in state of the art technology to stay relevant and employed.

But I always felt that NABJ was the oasis to just be and to “relax, relate, release.” Yes, it is a working convention for training and jobs. It is also a recharge spot to see old friends and to make new ones.  We don’t have to be uptight and high wired all the time.

Unfortunately, the digital age does not seem to make it better for us when we do come together, because we are too busy tweeting to someone else who is not there and missing out on connecting with those who are.  And each year, we lose more members.  Although I have lost many friends and colleagues that I was fortunate enough to meet at NABJ conventions, I still enjoyed just being around for the most part to laugh, to hug, to cry, to reminisce and, on occasion, to share a little wisdom with someone and gain a little from someone else.  I am still resistant to the “tweeting” and “liking” fad that has swept our industry because I still like to write, to call and to just “reach out and touch.”  That is just me.

BLOGGING & BEYOND: How To Go From Media To Multimedia

Markette Smith

By Markette Smith, co-founder and executive producer at www.dconheels.com

As a multimedia journalist and the cofounder of a popular Washington area blog, DConHeels.com, I get asked all the time, “How do I get started creating a blog?”

My answer is always the same: “Just do it.”  Getting started is the easy part. All you need is your own eloquent words and a platform on one of the many free blog host websites, like WordPress or Blogger.

Once you have a great idea for a content focus, such as “Food” or “Fashion” laid out into a blog format, the big question then becomes: “How do I make it pop?”

The answer? Photos, video, widgets, RSS feeds and more… they all certainly help. But it’s easier said than done.

So to help new bloggers and veterans alike, NABJ has pulled together a multimedia blogging Q & A panel discussion that I am helping to produce entitled, “Blogging & Beyond.” The panelists are superstars in their field and, at the 2011 convention in Philly, they will share with you their pearls of wisdom that will no doubt help any print or broadcast writer go from media… to multimedia.

The speakers include:

• Sarah Bernard, White House Office of Digital Strategy
• Dan Farber, CBS Interactive
• Neal Scarborugh, Comcast Corporation
• Clay Cane, BET.com (see speaker spotlight below)

Where you can find us:

• Date: Friday, Aug. 5
• Time: 2:15-3:45pm
• Where: Room 115A

You can get a head start on the panel discussion by asking your questions to our speaker in advance on Twitter. Just use the hashtag: #bloggingandbeyond

P.S. — Check out this spotlight on one of our “Blogging & Beyond” panelists:

Clay Cane is a New York City-based writer and an alum of Rutgers University, Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A. in English and African-American Studies. He has contributed to numerous publications such as The Root, AOL, theGrio and The Advocate.

He has interviewed various celebrities, including Beyoncé Knowles, Nicki Minaj and Jodie Foster. Clay has provided commentary for WVON (the largest black talk radio station in Chicago), BET, TV One and several online outlets. Clay is a member of New York Film Critics Online and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association. Currently, he is the Entertainment Editor at BET.com.  http://www.claycane.net

Clay’s BET Blogs include:
http://blogs.bet.com/celebrities/entertainment-spotlight/
http://blogs.bet.com/celebrities/what-the-flick/

He’s also on Twitter: @claycane

 

NABJDigital Profiles Latoya Peterson, Owner And Editor Of Racialicious Blog

By Jeannine Hunter, News Producer, Washington Post

LaToya Peterson

NABJ Digital profiles freelance writer/blogger Latoya Peterson, the owner and editor of Racialicious , a collaborative blog about the intersection of race and pop culture.  This media junkie is a Poynter Institute Sensemaking Fellow and a Public Media Corps fellow. She has contributed to numerous publications and websites including: the Guardian ; Jezebel.com; Clutch, an online magazine; as well as TheRoot.com and Slate’s Double X. She has also contributed to books such as Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape () and Feminism FOR REAL: Deconstructing the academic industrial complex of feminism. She will also participate in the NABJ convention workshop “GOT GAME? A NEW DESIGN FOR INNOVATIVE JOURNALISM” on Saturday, Aug. 6 from 10:30 am to noon.

Peterson discussed the vision behind Racialicious and the challenges of maintaining and promoting it.

NABJDigital: Are you a Washingtonian or someone who relocated to this area and fell in love with it? 

LaToya Peterson: I grew up here.  My mom lived in Maryland and my Dad lived in D.C.  So I’m a local.  I don’t call myself a Washingtonian though – Washington is a different kind of place from D.C., and I learned that as I got older.

ND: What inspired the blog? How often is it updated and what are peak days/times when you and your colleague(s) encounter more traffic and news?

LP: Carmen Van Kerckhove (now Carmen Sognonvi) started this blog as Mixed Media Watch as a way to monitor representations of mixed race people and interracial couples in the media.  Her then-partner, Jen Chau, wanted to be more involved with her mixed race advocacy organization Swirl. Carmen had also wanted to bridge the gulf between larger conversations on race and mixed race issues, so she rolled them all into Racialicious.  I came on around the transition as a special correspondent and went from there.

I was attracted to the blog because it was a pan-racial take on events – it wasn’t just about black issues or Asian issues, but was welcoming to all.  As we’ve grown, it’s been a struggle to keep up as well and to learn about all the different communities we serve.  We’ve also been on a heavy learning curve since we have an international audience, and race issues change depending on how that society has constructed different groups.

We update daily, the goal is to do three posts a day, though that doesn’t always happen.  Heavy traffic days are mid-week, lightest on the weekend.  But our posts tend to have a long tail – so something we post Monday will still receive comments and debate on Friday.

ND: What sets Racialicious apart from other sites that addresses the complexities of all things racial (sexual/political and any other -ism warranting closer attention)?

LP: Three things – 1. We’re a multiracial space, which makes things infinitely more complicated.  Traditionally, race work has been silo-ed with most folks sticking to their own background group, and occasionally reaching out to white audiences.  Our goal is to get people talking to each other across racial, ethnic, and national boundaries.

2. We base everything in pop culture.  Most people (and most of us on staff) didn’t have the ability or luxury to spend a lot of time with critical race or oppression studies in school.  So pop culture becomes an easy way in to open up broader conversations.  I’m currently working on a piece about two shows – Single Ladies and Love Bites – to talk about the differences between how the shows present interracial relationships.  Love Bites, which is a show revolving around a handful of white characters, takes the colorblind approach, where race is never mentioned and is never an issue.  Single Ladies, which revolves around two black women and one white one (who dates black men) bring up race, but not in the heavy-handed way it’s often dealt with on other shows.  Pop culture helps people grasp onto these larger issues of theory in a way that makes sense to them.

3. We deal with structures.  We’re interested in the root cause of a lot of these problems and we want to discuss that with a wider audience that normally doesn’t get that kind of analysis from mainstream media sources.

ND: W hat are some challenges you face in gathering information and maintaining the blog?

LP: Time is the largest one.  Racialicious is a volunteer effort, so we are always out of time.  Information and such flows through to us at this point, far more than we can handle.  So our biggest challenges are increasing capacity and figuring out how some of us can transition into doing this full time.

ND: How does maintaining this effort differ from your other writing/journalism experience(s)?

LP: I started digitally, so to me digital writing is a lot more free than other types.  I’m not worrying about word counts or page limits, I don’t have an editor, I don’t have to worry about timeliness or arguing why something is relevant – we write what we like and what interests us.  I love the collective that we built – our commenter base is whip smart and informed and just as snarky as we are.

I like the people who helped make this happen – Carmen, Wendi, Arturo, Thea, Fatemeh, Nadra, Jessica and Andrea all came into this project knowing it was this weird kind of collaborative experiment, and yet stayed around anyway.  That’s what I love it about it.  Other writing is fun too.  It just never feels like home the way Racialicious does.

Friday Fast Five + Five: The NABJ Convention Edition

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF co-chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

The National Association of Black Journalists Annual Convention and Career Fair is only 12 days away, and I’m in full preparation mode.  First, I hope you’ll attend my workshop — BRAND YOU: CREATING YOUR ONLINE IDENTITY — on Thursday, Aug. 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 119B.  My goal is that by the end of this interactive workshop, you will be well on your way to creating your own brand.

Today’s Fast Five + Five is all about the iPhone apps I’ll be using to help me keep up and document everything going on at the show.  For you Android users, I’m sure you can find similar apps. And for Blackberry users? I’m really sorry (don’t hate – my work phone is a Blackberry).

1. Concur: My company uses this program to track travel and work expenses.  I’m blessed that my company pays for me to attend NABJ, and this app will allow me to keep track of expenses on the run.  And after the convention, there’s no huge pile of receipts to track. Nice!
   
2. WordPress: I write two blogs — AviationQueen.com and this one — on this blogging platform. The app allows me to review, approve and write comments and even churn out a quick post on the run.
3. CamCard ($6.99): every year I collect a huge stack of business cards and 0nly input a fraction of them on Microsoft Outlook. I hate paying for apps, but this one was worth the money.  I can take a picture of a card and the information is automatically updated in my NABJ contacts group. Plus it’s environmentally friendly.
4. Ustream: this app allows me to shoot live video from my iPhone. I can also upload the video to my YouTube channel.
5. Instagram: anyone who knows me knows I’m always carrying my camera.  I love the pictures I can take with my iPhone, which makes this app a joy. I can do all kinds of photo tricks and upload directly to Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.
6. Tweet Deck: not only can I keep track of my five Twitter accounts, I can also create columns to follow the #NABJ11 and #NABJ hashtags.
7. Dragon Dictation: Let’s say I’m in a workshop or plenary and I want to dash off a quick message about what I’m hearing.  I can use this voice recognition app to record and upload the message to Twitter, Facebook, email or a text message.  The translation isn’t perfect, but it’s still quicker than typing.
8. BlueFiRe: the audio recorder that comes with the iPhone is adequate. The FREE Blue FiRe audio recorder app ROCKS!!  It has markers, different sound recording levels and an FTP site that automatically allows you to upload up to 2 GB of recordings.
9. QR Reader: more and more convention exhibitors and attendees are using QR codes to provide information on goods, services and data.  This reader allows me to snap a picture with my iPhone and download information.
10. Around Me: when you’re in an unfamiliar city, you need to know where certain things are, like banks/ATMs, parking, pharmacies, restaurants, stores and even hospitals.  This app will use the GPS function on your iPhone to tell you where the nearest outposts are.

So did I miss any? What are your must-have iPhone apps for the convention?

Make Sure There’s No Shame In Your Social Media Game

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF co-chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation WeekGroup

I went to college during a time when there was no Internet. I wasn’t a wild child, but I did have some fun during a trip to Fort Lauderdale during spring break my senior year in college. I didn’t have to worry about folks carrying smartphones ready to photograph and video the festivities.

But times have changed — drastically. This topic came up after I read a recent article in Gizmodo: “I Flunked My Social Media Background Check. Will You?” It serves as a precautionary — and frankly, scary — tale of how your social media past can be held against you by potential employers.

I do resume reviews for NABJ members (my offer to review yours — for free — still stands). As matter of course, I do a Google search of every name. I also look at Facebook and Twitter accounts. And trust me, employers are doing the same. You would not believe the materials that are floating out there.

As we all prepare to go to this year’s National Association of Black Journalists’ Annual Convention and Career Fair in Philadelphia Aug. 3-7, many attendees will be there looking for jobs. So now — not when you hand that resume over to a prospective employer — is the time to do a social media check.

Start by Googling your name. See what comes up, especially on the first page. When I did this, everything was professional — the top link was my company-linked Twitter account. The rest were links to blog posts about the aviation industry. There’s nothing in there that could cause any problems for employers.

Next, go to Facebook. Do a check of all your friends. Are they really friends or someone you met years ago and don’t really know? Start purging. I did this and managed to dump “252″ people.

Also create separate Facebook friend lists to control who sees what. I have Friends, Professional Benet and Limited Profile lists, and everyone is in their proper place. Check out this great post on Strategies, Tips & Tools For A Wired Life on how to do it.

Go through your photo albums and pictures where you’re tagged. You may have had a really good time at that frat party, but a potential employer will not look kindly on you drunkenly “backing it up” on the dance floor. This Tutorial Bite post shows you how to protect your photo albums. And check your friends’ albums to make sure there are no embarassing photos of you.

I take lots of pictures at the NABJ conventions, and I ask people to go to my Facebook and Flickr albums to tag them. I have had some requests to remove some of my pictures, and I always comply. But what about others taking photos who don’t announce their intentions?

Next, go to Twitter. Make sure you have separate accounts for personal and professional. And don’t assume that just because you have a locked account, your Tweets won’t go out. Folks can easily retweet your comments for the world to see. So either create a personal account that covers your identity (like @FlyGirlBWI) rather that @benetwilson, or just resolve not to Tweet anything you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the New York Times.

Check your LinkedIn profile. Make sure it’s close to 100% completed as possible. Many employers are going to this site to find potential employees. And resist the temptation to link your personal Twitter feed or personal blog to your account unless you feel it’s relevant — and not damaging.

If you have a Flickr account, take the time to check the privacy settings. I have more than 1000 pictures of my daughter in my account, but no one but me can see them. You remember all those pictures you posted fron this year’s Urban Beach Week in Miami? Your potential employer doesn’t need to see them.

In the end, the absolute best way to protect your online identity is to make sure you don’t do anything that could cause a red flag. But should you find yourself in that position, be prepared to shell out some money for the services of a company like Reputation.com, which helps monitor and remove negative information about you. And I’ll see you in Philly!

Friday Fast Five + Five

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF co-chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

1. 10000 Words — 3 iPad apps to help you give better presentations
2. Reynolds Center — Steve Doig’s best of CAR Conference: 13 free tools to analyze, display data
3. Media Shift Idea Lab — How to Design Fast, Interactive Maps Without Flash
4. Journalists’ Toolkit – Web hosting and domain names
5. Mashable — 8 Ways to Improve Your Live Event With Social Media
6. MakeUseOf — The Top 5 Best Search Engines To Search Photos On Flickr
7. SmartBlog on Social Media — 6 tools to measure your personal branding efforts
8. Innovative Interactivity — Five mobile apps to deliver multimedia news in real time
9. Social Media Examiner — 17 Ways to Grow Your Blog From Top Bloggers
10. Journalism.co.uk — Five great examples of data journalism using Google Fusion Tables

Black Enterprise Celebrates Black Blogger Month

By Benét J. Wilson, DJTF co-chair, Online Managing Editor-Business Aviation, Aviation Week Group

I have to thank NABJ/DJTF member Natalie McNeal (aka Frugalista) for letting me know that Black Enterprise magazine is celebrating black bloggers for a special series this month, “Black Blogger Month, A Celebration of the Best in Blogging.”  The magazine has tapped 20 of the ones it calls the “brightest and most influential voices in the blogosphere.”  Some of the ones I regularly read include:

• Natalie McNeal, Frugalista;
• Danielle Benton, The Black Snob

And Mario Armstrong’s SiriusXM show, which covers the digital lifestyle, did a an episode on the BE black bloggers yesterday (although the show has not been posted yet).  We’ll keep up with the series for the rest of the month, and I hope you’ll do the same.  There are some really good black bloggers out there who deserve support.