From Sex Assault Fury to Internet-Fueled Fortune

Antoine Dodson Capitalizes on Accidental Fame With Facebook, Twitter, Web Page, Merchandise

By KI MAE HEUSSNER

For many people who dabble with fame, it's their face that determines their fortune. But Antoine Dodson's ticket to success isn't his face, it's his fury.

The "Bed Intruder" song has made Ala. native Antoine Dodson a viral celebrity.

Three weeks ago, the 24-year-old man was struggling to complete an associate's degree at a college in Huntsville, Ala., while living with his mother, three sisters and a niece. Now, he's an Internet superstar with Facebook fans by thousands, YouTube views in the millions and enough money of his own to move his family into a new house. All because of a televised rant that attracted a rabid following.

On the local news in late July, Dodson unleashed an animated diatribe the likes of which even the Internet had never seen, denouncing an intruder who allegedly attempted to rape his 22-year-old sister, Kelly, in her bed one night.

"Obviously, we have a rapist in Lincoln Park," the 24-year-old called out to the camera. "He's climbing in your windows, he's snatching your people up, trying to rape them; so y'all need to hide your kids, hide your wife and hide your husband, because they're raping everybody out here." He ended the video with a sharp warning to the still-at-large perpetrator: "We're looking for you. We gonna find you. I'm letting you know that. So you can run and tell that, homeboy!"

Gregory Brothers Turns Dodson Video Into 'Bed Intruder Song'

The next day, Dodson said, the online video surpassed one million views, making him a local celebrity. A few days later, his star rose even higher when the Gregory brothers, the masterminds behind the popular Auto-Tune the News videos, turned his blustering into the iTunes hit, "Bed Intruder Song."

Last week, the song broke through to No. 16 on iTunes' pop charts and the Gregory brothers estimate that, in total, the song has attracted about 15 million views.

"I love it," said Dodson, who now sits atop a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a YouTube channel, a personal website and even "official merchandise." "We laugh and joke about the videos. ... We watch it every day." He declined to say exactly how much money he's made from the video and his new celebrity. But between a PayPal account on his website, which lets people donate to help his family, his merchandise and YouTube ad sales (the Gregory brothers split the earnings 50-50), he said he's made "a nice amount of money." "It was enough to move my family from the projects," said Dodson, who is known by his first name "Kevin" at home.

Read the entire article here: The Dodson Story

And (The Original News Clip)

Face the FACTS - Facebook is here to stay!

Facebook 100 Million Mobile Users Strong (And Growing)
by Mark Walsh

Are you ready to Face the FACTS?

Facebook on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 announced that it has surpassed 100 million active mobile users worldwide. The new milestone comes only six months after the social network hit 65 million users on Facebook Mobile.

In a blog post on Friday, Chamath Palihapitiya, Facebook's vice president of user growth, mobile and international, highlighted the expansion of the company's mobile operations across its sites, text messaging and applications. Through its redesigned sites (m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com), Facebook is available on any mobile browser in 70 languages.

"With the explosion of smartphones, we want to make sure people have a great Facebook experience that scales with their device especially as people have begun to upgrade their devices more frequently," wrote Palihapitiya.

He added that Facebook had also recently introduced a URL-shortener called FB.ME to share content more easily via text message and updated Facebook applications across various handsets and operating systems including Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Nokia and Samsung. In its Mobile Internet Report released in December, Morgan Stanley spotlighted Facebook as one of the companies expected to guide development of the mobile Web.

"Facebook has already become a primary way for millions of people to stay connected and Facebook's lead is likely to be extended as more consumers use increasingly powerful mobile devices (with photo/video + high-speed access) and the communications options on Facebook (like voice/video chat and other services) continue to rise," read the report.

The proportion of U.S. mobile subscribers social networking via cell phones is still small, but growing. Almost 16% of mobile users over 13 accessed a social network or blog in December, up from 13.% in September, according to new comScore data.
Separately, Facebook in December ranked as the third-most-popular mobile site, with an audience of 18 million, behind Google Search and Yahoo Mail, according to Nielsen.

Playing The Bigger Game - PART 1

The MEGA World of Lil Mogul
by Lil Mogul

STEP 1: Accept The Fact That You Will Have To Stretch

(And That The Pain Will Be Worth It)

So far, you’ve been paralyzed by at least one big step you have to take because you know – you just know - that it’s going to be incredibly hard or painful or scary. There’s something you need to do, but it’s beyond your comfort zone. And you’ve made the discomfort of taking that next step so big in your mind that there’s no way in hell you’re going to take it.

Guess what? It’s not nearly as scary or painful or destructive than you think. You’re just blowing it out of proportion. Will it be easy? No, of course not. But it won’t be nearly as hard as you think – you’re just seeing it that way because you’re not “all in.” You have one foot on the train that’s going to take you somewhere and one foot on the ground, and it hurts like hell to live life and do business in that situation.

So you need to decide to go all in and do it. But that’s scary. I get it. But I also get how to defuse that feeling of scariness, and it all starts with the first sentence of the first personal development book I ever read. (a book that literally saved my life during a violently traumatic time as a kid)

“Life is difficult. This is the great truth, one of the greatest truths … because once we see this truth, we transcend it.” – M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

Don’t let the word “transcend” make you think this is some fluffy woo-woo thing (and to all my fluffy woo-woo readers, no offense, my friends). By transcend he means “get over it.”

Yeah, life and your business can be difficult. It really is. However, it seems much more difficult than it really is because society is training us to think that it should be easy. Microwave popcorn, drive-throughs, magic pills and American Idol have conditioned us to expect everything to be easy and push button and if it’s not, then oh-crap-what-is-wrong-with-me-I-am-such-a-failure.

That’s why we get livid when someone isn’t doing 10 miles over the speed limit, or the drive-through is slow, or *gasp* Twitter is down. We’re trained to believe that trivial things are difficult, and that the things that are actually kind of challenging – well, that’s impossible. Yeah! This happens to me too, and I have to find someone to kick my booty and read that quote again.

.
Here’s the point:
If you wish/expect/hope things should be easy, then getting out of your comfort zone is terrifying and paralyzing and something you will never, ever bring yourself to do it. Goodbye big game. It was nice to pretend I really wanted you.

But if you accept that life and your business is difficult, then it stops being so damned bad. Yeah, it’s a pain sometimes, but you expect it and it’s not so bad simply because you expect it. You know you’ll wince, but you know it’s going to be worth it.

This is the first and most important truth you have to accept if you want To Play The Bigger Game - it’s not going to happen without some uncomfortable stretching. You can’t get there with the muscles that got you here. But you can push yourself, you’ll survive (really), and after you go through the discomfort you’ll be stronger on the other side.

When Omaba was three, he was riding his tricycle at the playground, and he was complaining about how hard it was to go up the less-than-gentle incline. He was worried he wouldn’t be able to go there often on his trike because it was just too hard. So his mother told him the truth: If he just stuck it out today, then his legs would get a little bit stronger, and tomorrow would be a little easier. And then the next day it would be even easier, and so on, until it wasn’t a big deal anymore.

Most kids would have shrugged it off or complained some more. But not him. He actually pedaled slower, so it would be harder, and so he would build up his muscles faster. Holy crap! The kid was three and he was already upping his game.

What if you had that same attitude? What if you decided the temporary pain or discomfort was just a natural part of the process, and that going through it wasn’t “hell,” but just the dues you have to pay to come out stronger on the other side?
You’d Play a much Bigger Game, that’s what.

So why aren’t you? You most defuse the programming that has tricked you into thinking that the challenge of personal and business growth should be feared instead of devoured.

Game on!!! Until next week..

Play Defense and Offense on the Field of Business

The MEGA World of Lil Mogul
Most companies now realize how important social media guidelines are for setting the ground rules for employees' usage of blogs, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, etc. The best guidelines encourage users to be responsible and respectful, indicate how confidential information should be handled, and reiterate the corporate rules of business conduct. But even the most robust guidelines are written and used primarily as Defense. The intent is to protect the company and its brand name.

Companies need to play Offense too. Social media and networking are ideal ways to promote the company and the brand but how does the brand promote itself with these new tools. To take full advantage of the brand-building opportunities in social media and networking, companies need to play more Offense.

In recent years, many companies have cultivated the role of employees or members as brand ambassadors. Front-line employees and members in particular are recognized by many as critical brand touchpoints; "friends and family" discounts or coupons are often distributed through employees and members in order to generate broader awareness and positive impressions in the community. Why not extend these efforts to the new social platforms and encourage and enable employees and members to use these tools to promote the brand?!

I'm not talking about showing how to use trademarks and logos. Companies need Brand Guidelines to inspire and instruct employees and members how to generate excitement and interest in the brand. Brand Guidelines include:

• How to talk about the brand -- the messaging and themes that communicate what the brand stands for, what the vision is, and what the key differentiators are. Leaders shouldn't assume that employees and members know this information and how to articulate it. Relay the brand strategy in a way that's accessible and understandable to employees and members at all levels and in all functions. Explain the background and rationale behind the strategy since people are more likely to buy into the "what" if they understand the "why." Plus this knowledge helps them figure out how to represent the brand in unexpected or unusual situations.

• What the brand personality is and ways to bring it to life in writing style, images, etc.
Explain how the brand would act if it were a person -- that way, employees and members can personally relate to the brand and understand its defining attributes. Include writing samples, images, stories, and videos that capture the personality of the brand. These help people express the brand appropriately when they use similar methods.

• Examples and ideas showcasing creative ways to promote and interpret the brand.
Since using social media and networking as brand ambassadors may be new to employees and members, they need inspiration in addition to instruction. Provide thought-starters and "straw man" ideas as fodder to get their creative juices flowing. Share best practices from the few companies whose employees and members are already doing it well. Disseminate brand-building posts and content from your own employees and members who are on the forefront of the movement.

• How to foster relationships with customers that contribute to a great brand experience.
Ensure employees and members know who your key target segments are and what's important to them. At the same time, ensure they know what the current brand campaign or sales focus is and they have accurate information (e.g., website URL, promotional offer, new product announcements, etc.) to share with customers. Help them make the connection between what customers are looking for and what the brand has to offer.

Brand Guidelines promote proactive and productive engagement in social media. The combination of playing Offense with Brand Guidelines and Defense with Social Media Guidelines makes for a winning strategy.




The NFL has awarded $1 million in grants to 89 player charities during NFL Charities Week in 2009. Five organizations are being singled out this week to publicize the substantial philanthropy done throughout the league. Those players include Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Witten for his SCORE Foundation, brothers Torry and Terrence Holt, both current free agents, for their Holt Foundation, the New England Patriots’ Matt Light for his Light Foundation, Miami Dolphins QB Chad Pennington for his 1st and 10 Foundation, and New York Jets RB Tony Richardson for his Rich in Spirit Foundation.

Drama Dupree has NEW RULES!!! - #3

NEW RULE - You will be Schooled

Drama Dupree has NEW RULES!!! - #2

NEW RULES - You will be Schooled

Social media: fad, evolution or revolution?

Social Media is “the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution” and has put together a video filled with impressive stats to prove his point. For those who ever questioned the power of Social Media might change their minds after watching this video as these numbers speak for themselves. Facebook and Twitter might be soon replaced by something else, but social media has indeed revolutionized the way we communicate.

(Click the video below)

www.TheFutureForward.net

Tweet This with Drama Dupree - 008

Tweet This with Drama Dupree

Top 5 Twitters of 2009

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thefuturefrwd

Top 5 Twitters of 2009

1. Nandoism www.twitter.com/nandoism

2. Troy Monaco www.twitter.com/troymonaco

3. June Ambrose www.twitter.com/juneambrose

4. Black Gay Gossip www.twitter.com/blackgaygossip

5. Karsh www.twitter.com/karsh