Arts.Advocacy+Wellness: "Shadows&Lights"

Coming this DECEMBER

the debut

poetry collection

by Cornelius Jones Jr.

.....only 2 weeks away!!!!

“Jones’ minimalist writing, recalling in some ways E. E. Cummings, carves out finely designed pictographs for the mind to explore. The depictions in his poems of the Momma figure are so endearing and heart-warming, I could almost smell the home cooked meal on the stove as I read the often monosyllabic lines on the page. What Jones can do with one syllable, takes many at least a dozen to get across.”

-Pandora Scooter, CEO Fushicho Entertainment & Spoken Word Artist

"Jones' prose pops and percolates, possessing an immediacy and energy so electric you'd swear you were at a poetry slam. And, as with any riveting performance, you will be on the edge of your seat, captured by the rapture of Jones' "a-to-the-men" testimonies on love and lust, hurt and healing, sadness and celebration. Long before you get to the very last stanza, you will be giving this intensely moving collection--and Jones--a standing ovation."

- James Earl Hardy, author of the bestselling B-Boy Blues series

"Cornelius is simply masterful with the poetic word in Shadows and Lights; he writes with a fire in his soul that burns in the rhythm of his prose. His testimonies are fearless and brilliantly unapologetic. Through his writing, we share the passion of his triumphs and feel the heartache of his pains. He teaches us not only how to live, but how to love - especially ourselves! Kudos to a remarkable man on his extraordinary work!"

- Lee Hayes, author of The Bad Seed and Passion Marks

Shadows and Lights is a moving, intimate portrayal of the life of poet and playwright Cornelius Jones Jr. In this heartbreakingly beautiful book, Cornelius fashions images both brave and delicate to describe growing up black and gay in Washington D.C., the decay of the body and the rage of living with HIV. But it is the writer's honesty that lifts these words off the page. This is experiential poetry at its finest. You must listen to the music of Cornelius Jones Jr.

-Paula Brancato, CEO, The Writers Place --

Professor, University of Southern California

Arts.Advocacy+Wellness: "Information is Powerful"

GROWING KNOWLEDGE

Just a quick post today. Take 2 minutes and watch this video. Information is powerful as Knowledge is powerful. As Americans we have the resources to access whatever we need in the world today through the internet. It is up to us to take initiative and action. If one man can help an entire village in Africa, just think what every(wo)man can do to revive her or his household, family, neighborhood, community.

Thank you Zack Matere for this video:

A.A+W

with Cornelius Jones Jr.

Tune in next Wednesday for more

Arts.Advocacy+Wellness with Cornelius Jones Jr.

Stay connected with me:

www.corneliusjonesjr.com

FaceBook: Cornelius Jones Jr.

Twitter: CorneliusJonesJ

FaceBook Fan Page: FlagBoy Official Fan Page of the Actor

BREAKING NEWS - GLO TV with PRESIDENT MAURICE JAMAL FEATURED IN JET MAGAZINE

GLO TV, THE WORLD’S FIRST URBAN LGBT TV NETWORK AND ITS PRESIDENT MAURICE JAMAL FEATURED IN JET MAGAZINE

Maurice Jamal, President of GLO TV is featured in the current issue of Jet Magazine speaking about the future of independent film, digital media and GLO TV. As a pioneer amongst urban LGBT filmmakers, Jamal discusses how GLO TV sets an example for the new trends and desires in digital media.

“We have to create a different economic model as filmmakers and storytellers. I had so many friends, not just in the gay community, who would say they had great stories but no way to get them out. So a bunch of us got together and founded a television network as a way to get filmmakers out there whose voices you don’t hear from a lot,” Jamal reflects.

The article, with actor Jaden Smith on the cover, is on newsstands now. Pick up a copy and write to the editors at JET to inform them that you want to hear more about GLO TV, as well as quality representation of the urban LGBT community.

The future of TV has arrived and it is about reflecting our community. Be bold. Be proud. Let everyone see your GLO!

ABOUT GLO TV

The GLO TV Network is first urban LGBT TV network and our goal is to always make you proud. GLO is an innovative TV network with a diverse slate of quality programming for the urban LGBT audience, our friends, family and allies. GLO is about showing all of who we are with programs that are entertaining, informative, affirming and sometimes provocative. GLO understands that within each of us is a unique story to be told. You can trust that our programs will always be presented with creativity, quality and integrity.

GLO TV is led by President Maurice Jamal who is a celebrated independent filmmaker in the LGBT community for giving us such films and programs as “Ski Trip,” “Friends & Lovers” and “Dirty Laundry” which starred Rockmund Dunbar, Loretta Divine, Sommore, Jennifer Lewis and Terri J. Vaughn.

For more information about GLO TV, visit http://www.glotvnetwork.com. Subscribe, Sign-up, Support. The season's preview begins on Sunday, June 27 and the full season of shows will premiere on Friday, September 3, 2010.

It's About You. It's About Us. It's About Time!

Kool Moe Dee Assumes New Role as Digital Content Guru

Kool Moe Dee, he of "Wild Wild West" fame, has now taken on a new persona: Dr. Media, a character that's part of this sometimes painful to watch group therapy session with characters playing Publishing, Hollywood and Network Television. The three are all freaking out about sustaining relevancy in the digital space, but somehow discussing Ashton Kutcher and getting a verse from the doc himself seems to put them all at ease. Or at least that's we gather since we couldn't help but fast-forward a few times.

This effort is brought to you by SoHo agency Barker/DZP it appears and is for NYU Stern's weeklong "Digital Transformation of the Entertainment and Media Industries" seminar. We think Kool Moe Dee would be better served just reviving his feud with LL Cool J at this point.

Bee About the Business this Spring

We have gone to the moon. We have cured some of the deadliest diseases that have afflicted humankind through the centuries. We have even decoded the human genome. And with all these technological advancements, it's amazing how little we know about that most everyday of creatures -- the humble bee.

We are only now beginning to understand the workings of the hive mind. Tens of thousands of bees function as unique individual agents and yet manage to work in perfect harmony to build a vibrant community. As new findings emerge about the workings of bees, ants and other social super organisms, they will no doubt provide insights into how we (among the most social of species) can build communities both in the real and online worlds.

But here's what we already know. An important factor driving the success of the hive community is the clear division of labor. Each female worker bee takes on a different role depending on the phase of her life. During the first third of her life, she nurses the queen and the brood. She then moves on to processing food. Finally, she functions as a scout bee, where she leaves the hive to search for food and also find potential venues for new hives during the swarming process.

Online advertisers can learn from the hive mind as they look to build thriving brand communities online.

Before anything, they must attract the right kind of high-intent, engaged user to the community; i.e., connect with the worker bees while steering clear of the drones.

Second, they must engage the consumer in a number of relevant touch points. Just as the worker bee spends time processing food, people need time to process information. This helps them learn and process information about the brand in a way that is meaningful to them -- be it articles from the press, informational brochures, coupons or comparisons with the competition.

Eventually, like the scouts, consumers will go out into the world and evangelize your brand to new audiences, thereby expanding your social hive.

In short, a successful social marketing strategy will deploy a multi-pronged approach: run the right kind of acquisition campaign, follow it with a sophisticated email/CRM engagement strategy, and watch it grow.

Of all the different kinds of online advertising, performance advertising is uniquely suited to finding the user with high intent. Think of the person who is searching for your product category, or signing up for your ad. That's the person you want in your brand social community. Once you have this user, you can send her or him the resources he or she might need to learn about your brand and spread the word.

There are already a growing number of marketers who are using different elements of this common sense approach to social marketing.

JC Penney is using a combination of email, direct mail and social to promote its jewelry line.

To the surprise of many, Pepsi decided not to advertise during the Super Bowl. Instead, it began engaging consumers in a two-way dialogue through social networks to spark what Lauren Hobart, CMO of Pepsi called, "a full-year movement from the ground up."I LOVE THIS cuz they are studying their market base..." RP2

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is using a combination of performance marketing, email and search to increase its Facebook and Twitter membership. First, it ran cost-per-lead ads that invited pet owners and animal-rights advocates to sign up for ASPCA's email. The email drove the people who had signed up to ASPCA pages on Facebook and Twitter. On the social networks, the ASPCA provided information about pet adoption clinics and made available the Orange for ASPCA app, which allows pet owners to tell stories about their pets.

Before starting a social marketing effort, marketers would do well to ask a) Do I have the right people? and b) Do these people have what they need to learn about the brand and spread the word? HELLO

By following the tried-and-tested hive approach to community building, they might just be able to unlock the social marketing puzzle.

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.

Brands Need Face-To-Face Connection

The MEGA World of Lil Mogul

by Lil Mogul

We live in the most hyper-connected time in the country's history; and yet we exist in a constant state of disconnection. While Apple, BlackBerry, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Match.com, Fresh Direct, and Amazon are well-designed, convenient and address specific needs and for the most part work well; they are also responsible for the undeniable in-personal interactions we used to take for granted during the course of a regular day.

I live in Harlem and I'm always amused by watching teens walking down the street with their friends while texting and talking on their cell phones rather than with each other! How is this younger demographic, armed to the teeth with all the technologically advanced connectivity tools, going to cope and interact as responsible adults? Poorly, I contend. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace? -- "Social" networks that do not require you to engage in any kind of human socialization. Apple? -- Creators of the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and iTouch. I do not think it too crazy to say that we are in the midst of a dreadful away of human interaction that could seriously impact people's ability to truly "connect" with one another.

We've already seen the emergence of dieting coaches, dating coaches, life coaches. Now, people will pay many thousands of dollars to attend "Unplugged Retreats." Eventually, the pendulum will swing the other way, back toward more personal/human connections. And the brands that get that will be winners. I believe the brands that do not emphasize ultra-modern design, trendy badge value or blow-your-mind technological innovation as their core vision -- but rather emphasize the value of person-to-person, real live human interaction -- are the ones that will ascend and maintain leadership positions in the long run.

This trend may already be happening. One company that is already starting to apply that thinking is Macy’s. Macy's "Come Together" cause-marketing campaign scores points for teaming up with Feed America to provide 10 million meals for local food banks. With the tagline "The Great American Dinner Party," the retailer is encouraging people across the country to participate by having some friends over for a dinner party/fundraiser -- and just simply enjoy each other's company.

Macy's will match the contributions raised by each party. Television commercials for the campaign feature celebs such as Martha Stewart, Usher, Jessica Simpson, Tommy Hilfiger, Donald Trump, and Queen Latifah enjoying their own dinner party after hours inside Macy's Herald Square.

Old School? Yes. But in this day and age, also kind of revolutionary.

So, I invite all of my friends and business associates to join The Future every Saturday starting November 28th for the Saturday Experience at Desire Lounge, 45 West 8th Street, West Village, NYC for some Face-to-Face time. STAY CONNECTED and discover new friends. We are calling them OFFLINE EVENTS.

We have a preview offline event this Saturday, November 14th at Desire at 10pm, The Future, Nubian Dreams, Fela and Brother/Sister plays attendees are all inviting you to join us.