Welcome to my little virtual spot on the Internet. It’s probably been about two years since the first person asked me why I didn’t have a website. It was after they’d been reading some of my original long-form content that had been amplified on social media but in many cases it was also living on social media sites. In fact, all credit is really due to Luvvie Ajayi…
The energy at this year’s National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention was palpable, but it was noticeably different than in years past. What made the difference? There was a deliberate focus on the power of tech to not only drive powerful storytelling, but to also liberate a profession that has typically been tethered to news desks. It was four days to consider the possibilities of media ownership,…
They are dropping entire albums with a single post to Instagram on a random Saturday afternoon. Everyone in RocNation shares about it on their handles, while most other social posts are organic from frenzied fans who are “getting their complete life.” Is new music Tuesday still a thing? Perhaps it is not if you are the parents of Blue and the twins. Beyoncé & Jay-Z are also great…
Published on October 18, 2016 on LinkedIn On Oct 6, 2016, I spoke to students, faculty and staff from a variety of universities and colleges at the 6th Annual Howard University Social Media Conference. The topic was how social media has provided access and opportunity to marginalized communities. I share the original script of that keynote below, and I'd love to hear about your experiences. The keynote was…
Published on March 28, 2017 on LinkedIn It’s hard to know much about how I came to thrive at the intersection of business, culture and technology without knowing a bit about my story. It is ultimately an empty narrative without a cast of individuals who have and continue to help set my course. I’m talking about my very own board of directors. You should have one too. If…
Published on June 14, 2018 on LinkedIn I've been to one opera in my life, but I never returned. I shared with Opera America conference attendees why last year in a Q&A with it's CEO, Marc Scorca, after a keynote about inclusion marketing tenets. My reasons were linked to a feeling of not belonging. Anyone who looked like me was handing me a playbill or wiping up in the…
Working at a nonprofit can sometimes feel like a thankless job. Having worked with countless executive directors, along side them on boards or even as an agency partner, I've heard the stories. I've seen many local organizations open and close, unfortunately. Marketing is key to their success. Without awareness, there'll be no donors, volunteers or corporate sponsors; and that speaks directly to the bottom line. This is why…
In the final installment of this 2-part series, we dive deeper with these extraordinary women and ask them what advice they have for women, especially black women, on how to successfully bring one’s authentic self to work. Many black women in corporate America lit a figurative candle in honor of the retirement of Ursula Burns, the last black woman to occupy a CEO post in a Fortune 500.…
So you want to be your authentic self in your corporate job. You have a photo of Bozoma Saint John as your screensaver. She is #goals. But the data about how to break through like the chief brand officer of Uber is daunting, to say the least. Late last year, McKinsey & Co., along with LeanIn.Org released their annual Women in the Workplace study, and there seemed to be…