Sista Web: Site Plug

When it comes to technology and web design, some of my posts overlap on this blog and on my other blog Sista Web (http://sistaweb.blogspot.com), but I think it's time that all that changed. From now on, all html and site development tips will be posted on the Sista Web blog. As a sista trying to make it in this web world, I want to share my design screw ups and successes with other African American web designers out there. Visit the site, send comments, and articles if you like. Sista web is all about the business of web design from a sista's perspective, so if your down for that, drop me a line when you can.

BET and the Ultimate Hustler

I'm sure we all have a few choice words as far as the quality of shows on BET. I'm sure there are those out there who would agree with me that in SOME ways Damon Dash's new reality show, Ultimate Hustler looks like a ghetto version of the Apprentice. But I'm also sure that there are some people out there who can watch the show and learn from these cats. Rather than get into the 101 ghetto things people say and promote on this show for ratings, I want to take this opportunity to focus on it's high points.

1. It's good to see that in spite of his Business up and downs with Jay Z, Damon is still doing his thing. As a business person you got to learn to roll with the punches. I watch the show for all his product plugs, so I know what he's doing and how he's staying in the game. Among is many financial endeavors he is coming out with the Roc Box (http://www.roc-digital.com) a new mp3 player, which I hope gives i-pod some competition. Let's be real, they all do the same thing - play music - so let's create a new trend by supporting a Black Man trying to come up in the Technology game. If we can spend money on psp and ipods, the Roc Box should get some love too.
2. On the topic of Damon promoting his stuff on the show. I learned that whatever I create I have to use. It's a great form of self promotion, and at the end of the day guess what - if I am not going to use what I am trying to sell - who the hell is going to buy it? You have to be your best customer, and indeed I am learning that.
3. Something I already knew, but it never hurts to hear again is the importance of networking. Some of the team members on the Ultimate Hustler cast are loosing Hustle points because they spend more time sleeping and being groupies than going out talking to folks and making connections. It's the people that you meet on your way up that might be the help you need later in life.
4. One thing I love and hate about the show is the way Damon cuts them down when they act like their 'ish don't stink. I think one of the many side effects of black youth having to grow up and fend for themselves (for whatever reason) is that we think "Because I did XYZ on my own, I am the shit, and nobody can tell me shit!" The cats on the show, and young black cats in general need to learn how to take constructive critism, listen, and learn that where you been someone else has been a thousand times before. I watch alot of the black reality shows and find that we, moreso than others, find it hard to listen to someone who is trying to help us out and give good advice. I'm hoping as "Hustler's in Training" some cats out there are getting something out of this show.
5. Of course, I think in any environment where you have to work with others, they are gaining an opportunity to learn team building skills and stay on top of there game. I for one will stay tuned for the next episode, cause truthfully speaking I rather learn a few lessons for free from a Hip-Hop Business man like Damon Dash, than spend my time gossiping to friends about how everything on BET is so ghetto.

*Thanks to listening to the words of my boyfriend, I now know that in between the booty shaking if you listen you can actually find some great information on BET. With a pen and paper always in had, I have found out about community programs that celebs are starting, new black businesses and products, plus commentary that you won't get in mainstream news. Had I not watched Ultimate Hustler I would not have learned about the Rock Box, or the start-up companies that some of these contestants have worked hard to create. Any source can be used as an educational tool. You just need to know how to use it.

What does it take?

I found this great post by Sandra, about What it takes to be a successful black business person. It's always nice to get inspiration from those who came before us.

How can I keep going?
Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there's love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong. --Ella Fitzgerald, 1987

But what If I'm not that good?
I made the most of my ability and I did my best with my title.--Joe Louis, 1964

If only I knew the secret:
There are no secrets to success: Don't waste time lookin for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence. Colin Powell, 1989

It's too hard:
Great careers don't come without sacrifice. Something in your life will probably have to go. Decide, now, what you're willing to forfeit to get what you want.--Cydney and Leslie Shields, 1993

They make it look it so easy:
Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.--Booker T. Washington, 1901

But I've been through so much:
You can't look forward and backward at the same time. --Coleman Young

So why do I keep doing it?
I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me--like food or water. --Ray Charles, 1978


Post from: News, resources and more for your black business *Support Sandra's site, because she made it to support you. Enjoy :)

Lessons in Web Development: Google Site Maps

As a sistah with an interesting in online entrepreneurship, I've spent a great deal of my time trying to figure out how to move up in the google ranks. Though I have a lot of good webpages on my site (www.msoyonline.com) , only a small percentage of my pages are indexed in google. Most of my stuff get's lost in cyber space, because I'm stuck doing the same old things - submitting links to a hundred search engines and sending one or two emails.

My marketing skills are improving, but it's taken alot to teach this old dogs new tricks. Truth be told, my online marketing has improved over the last year. In a few months my web traffic went up 150% because of a renewed committment to research and planning. Google, the big wigs of search engines, is of course on the top of my affiliates list. I've been going in circles trying to figure out how the google machine works, all the while ignoring some of the key strategies I dismiss everyday.

Sitemaps is the biggest key of them all. A sitemap is basically a file that lists all the web pages of your site. Google scans your website as best it can, but having a file that actually tells it where all your files are, is a great help. Moreover, in your site map you include how frequently you update your site, so google knows how often to come back and scan your site again. Best of all it's free. I just finished my site map and I have to say it's quite easy. All you need to do is find a website that will scan your site and create an xml file for you that meets all of google's protocol. Google has a list of such sites, so there is no need to search for them. Once you create a google sitemap account and upload your sitemap, you just have to sit back and let googles robots do the rest. I'm confident my ranking will go up once I put a few more marketing strategies in place.

As for the rest of my black online entrepreneurs out there, don't sleep on the fine details of search engine optimization. Make sure your page tags are straight, your headers look clean, and your on top of the lates SEO Technology. If you can't afford to buy a bunch of books - which I cant, sit in the bookstore, the library, or search the web. Don't just put up a site and hope it get's noticed. It's taken me 5 years to realize that's the stupid way to be seen. If you can learn from my mistake, you save your self a whole lot of wasted time in the game of Online Marketing.

For more details:

• Review Google's Site map program
• Check out yahoo's site map program
• Read this great article: Search Engine Inclusion with Google and Yahoo sitemaps
• Xml-sitemaps is a good online program to create google friendly sitemaps

Read Black RSS Feeds

Multiple Shades of You Online (www.msoyonline.com) now offers an extensive listing of Black RSS Feeds . Now you can read the latest articles from Essence Magazine to Black Conscious News, with a variety of other great African American publications mixed in between. Black RSS Feeds on msoy is powered by the Library of Urban RSS Feeds Generator, which is an Urban Web tool offered by Urban Dynamics. Web developers looking for black articles and sticky content, use this easy tool to add sticky content to their websites. To find out more about the the Library of Urban RSS Feeds, visit Urban Dynamics Web Tools.

New Website for Black Business Professionals

The Black Entrepreneur's Hall of Fame: designed by the by the National Black Business Trade Association (NBBTA). It is a tribute to the "entrepreneurial spirit" alive and well within the Black commUNITY.

Keywords: Black Business, Black Entrepreneurs

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