Entries Tagged 'The Blogosphere' ↓

Well, well, well. Another one of those exclusive �top blogger� get-togethers took place in New York Wednesday, and nobody invited me! Hmmmph!

WNBC, the flagship station of the NBC television network, invited 130 of who they consider the most-read bloggers in New York to a special NYC Blogger Summit. From what the news report suggested, it looks like the station wants to try to form an alliance to use bloggers as a corps of grassroots news correspondents. If you can�t beat �em, hire �em, I guess. They aren�t exactly offering money however, more like access to WNBC news reports and video footage. If you can�t beat �em, corrupt their sites with your mainstream media content, apparently.

Now from the brief glimpses of the blogger hordes seated in the audience section of the studio where Conan O�Brien tapes his show, it seemed like a replay of that less than diverse group that Bill Clinton pulled together up in Harlem. I spotted just two Black faces, one of them Nichelle, and two Asians, one of them Jen Chung from Gothamist.com. Despite the presence of WNBC techno-geek correspondent Sree Sreenivasan, perhaps they too think bloggers come in one flavor.

Anybody else get an invite…or not?

Black and brown members of the blogosphere gathered in Harlem Sunday to break bread, connect faces to blogs and just enjoy each other�s company talking about anything and everything, blog-related or not. Bill Clinton was not invited.

Inspired to a degree by the very noticeable absence of such faces at the former President�s uptown meeting with bloggers a few weeks back, but motivated more by a desire to build community among our own, it turned out to be a more intimate gathering than originally intended. Some 24 people RSVP�d to Donald�s evite to meet at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, but all told the final number was about 10 short of that, with a couple of non-blogging friends added. Mostly a five borough crowd showed up, with one New Jersey commuter and a NYC native who now lives in Baltimore also making the trip. With all due respect to those who didn�t show, the smaller size allowed us to have a more fun afternoon with friends old and new.

Cameras were in abundance so I�m sure you�ll be seeing plenty of pictures elsewhere. Mine are posted to my Flickr account. Donald toted out the professional gear while the rest of us brought our trusty point-and-shoot digitals.

Here�s a list of bloggers in attendance, with apologies if I missed anyone. I hope we can do it again.

Donald Preboot

Taylor Taylor Siluw�.com

Kenneth A Day In The Life Of A Divo

Kenyon Every Shut Eye Ain�t Sleep

Ryan The Ryan Chronicles

Ronn a burst of light�

Liza culturekitchen.com

Steven stevengfullwood.org

Philippe Life Up In Harlem Heights

Alvin AlvinAgarrat.com

Nichelle Nichelle Newsletter

Flickr photos Brown Blogger Brunch

Do you think that just because you own a blog you can print or say anything about anyone? Think again.

According to this USA Today article, an increasing number of bloggers are being sued because of false or malicious things they have written about other people. Like mainstream media, the offended parties are taking bloggers to court and in some cases winning.

Many are predicting that this new self-publishing capability will reshape the nation’s libel laws. Bloggers should be forewarned, learn the law and proper journalistic standards to avoid prosecution.

It was a holiday weekend and the unofficial end of the summer, so I found it hard to write anything original. But then again, I�m unemployed so everyday seems like a holiday. Maybe I�m just lazy.

In any event, I spun the dial and found some blogs more interesting than my own.

Angela at Pica 12 is jumping on the podcast bandwagon and apparently loving it. She makes a good point about our need to tell our own stories. LINK

Nathan at 7 Magazine interviews fashion designer William Taswell III. LINK

Ronn at A Burst of Light promos next week�s book tour by author Adarro Minton at P.O.C.C. in Brooklyn. Minton is the author of Gay, Black, Crippled, Fat! He is an old friend of mine from when I lived upstate. LINK 1 LINK 2

Andres at Blabbeando is chronicling the lives of our fallen community members, paying tribute to Eddie Garzon who died five years ago, and Willie Ninja, who passed over the weekend. LINK 1 LINK 2

Jonathan at Just Be Dat has more on the whole Ne-Yo mess, from the horse�s mouth, complete with pictures and sound. LINK

Larry assesses what happened and prepares to move on, as a relationship ends. LINK

Mama Junkyard�s ponders the legal liability aspects of blogging. LINK

Var comments on an earlier phase in his life and proves some child stars have turned out alright afterall. LINK

And in case you missed it, the Black Weblog Awards have been announced. Congratulations to all you winners. LINK

We�re now past the terrible two�s, walking around upright, forming full sentences and defining our personality.

Three years ago today, Bejata.com was born, or launched, or hatched, or open for business, or whatever it is that blogs do when they first start. The initial posting was a bit cryptic, more of a tease campaign than a real message. I was trying to meet a self-imposed deadline so I�d have an easy-to-remember anniversary date. I made it.

For some reason it seems much longer than three years. But then it�s also all a blur at this point. I have no idea how many actual articles I�ve written or how many people have stopped by. The tracker down there in the lower right corner is not the original one. We lost that, and all the initial data, during a re-design, so the stats listed are everything since. I don�t know that I actually care about such minutiae anyway.

I claim to write this blog for myself, using it as a brain dump for my thoughts. But I will admit to a certain pleasure when I know people have actually read it and perhaps found a point of connection. I suppose after three years this has now become too much a part of my life to ever abandon completely, although I go in and out of bouts of indifference and enthusiasm. In any event, thanks to everyone who has ever stopped by. I hope you�ll come again.

Now, if you�d care to show your gratitude, you can always stop by my wishlist. (C�mon, I had to take a shot, it�s my anniversary!)