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Posts published in “New Media/Internet”

Man And Woman Widowed By Tragedies Fall in Love, Marry Each Other

jessica and jordan marriage story

When N.Y.C. pastor Jordan Rice (pictured right) and marketing specialist Jessica Moreland (pictured left) married each other on June 22nd, they probably never guessed their union would spring forth from tragedy.  But it was grave misfortune that brought them together. Moreland’s previous husband, Jarronn, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2009, a mere two-and-a-half months after their wedding.  “His injuries were so serious that the blood had drained out of his body,” said Jessica. “There was too much strain on his heart.”
Eventually, she began dating, unsuccessfully, for the next three years.  Jordan’s previous wife, Danielle, fell ill shortly after their wedding; doctors found she had primary cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare heart cancer. An X-ray found that she had fluid around her heart that appeared to be a virus. Danielle died in 2011, barely two years after their marriage and 10 months after the horrifying diagnosis.  “She started really getting worse very quickly,” said Jordan. “Within four days, she couldn’t walk anymore. Her resting heart rate was around 140 beats a minute — lying down.”
“I was miserable,” Jordan said. “I felt out of place … a 27-year-old doesn’t die of cancer. It was very unfair and challenging on every front.”  Eventually, Jordan began dating again, with no results.  In 2012, one of Jordan’s friends sent him a link to Jessica’s blog, One Day At A Time, where she’d posted pictures from her previous wedding and shared its tragic ending. Jordan also happened to be a blogger, and Jessica describing her former spouse reminded him of their shared experience.
“I loved how candid she was,” he told ABC News. ”She described the raw emotion that I had felt on so many occasions. … I respected her for honoring his life. How much she adored him was something very powerful to me.”
Jordan decided to “friend” Jessica through Facebook, taking special care to not appear stalkerish. ”That’s not my MO,” he said.  Jessica initially ignored his request, until she noticed they had mutual friends from Morgan State, Jordan’s alma matter. ”I smiled, but I never responded,” she said.
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A few days later, however, she had lunch with a couple who knew Jordan and vouched for him as a good guy. She decided to look up his blog and offered him consolation, knowing what he was going through.  “I was a little further along the path — I was three years out and he was only at a year and a half — and I told him you never get over it, but you learn to live with it,” said Jessica.  The two began trading text messages and eventually developed a bond. Jordan decided to visit Jessica in Washington, D.C.  Their departed spouses became an emotional talking point.

Twitter User Genie Lauren Helped Stop Juror B37′s Book Deal

moreandagainjurorb37
The woman behind the Twitter and Change.org campaigns that put Juror B37‘s book deal to a screeching halt is New York-bred Genie Lauren.  Twitter and Facebook newsfeeds went ablaze with outrage last night as the unidentified juror expressed support for George Zimmerman during her interview with CNN. Lauren was also angry and upset while watching the prime-time interview — but decided that her emotions would be better vested in organizing people on social media.
“I was angry and I didn’t think it was right that someone would make money off of this tragedy–especially after they let Zimmerman go free,” Lauren told NewsOne. “I didn’t think that was right at all.”  It didn’t take Lauren long to realize that many others didn’t feel it was right, either. Right after watching the CNN interview, Lauren, who says she had around 1,600 followers before organizing the book boycott, sent out a tweet asking people to help her find the publisher. The feedback was immediate, something that emboldened her to push even harder.  “For the first time, it felt like I wasn’t powerless,” Lauren said.
Using Google as her guide, Lauren quickly found the literary agency that was backing Juror B37′s deal; soon after, she got the name of the agent, Sharlene Martin, and published the information.  And in order to show how determined she was to get the book canned, Lauren tweeted this:

This is only the beginning. I, personally, won’t ease up until you are no longer the literary agent for B37. @sharlenemartin

After getting a Twitter movement going, Lauren, 29, created a Change.org campaign, “Sharlene Martin: Drop Juror B37 from Martin Literary Management,” which so far has 1,346 signatures. Martin’s e-mail was included in the petition; the agent reached out to Lauren an hour later via Change.org.  Then, via @sharlenemartin, Juror B37 released a statement:
juror b37

First Lady Michelle Obama Posts ‘Throwback’ Instagram Photo of Herself with Husband

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First lady Michelle Obama just got a little personal on Instagram, not to mention retro.  In a photo published for “Throwback Thursday,” the first lady posted a black-and-white picture of her and the president in their earlier years.
The first lady is looking straight into the camera, her arms wrapped around her husband’s waist, her head tucked into his neck. The president is looking down, squinting from the sun, one hand on his hip, the other wrapped closely around his wife’s shoulder.
“Barack and Michelle. #ThrowbackThursday #TBT #NoFilter,” she writes in the photo’s caption.
article by Eun Kyung Kim, TODAY contributor via thegrio.com

NBA Champ Dwayne Wade Releases Fitness App "Dwyane Wade Driven"

The Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade released a fitness app called “Dwyane Wade Driven” while his team was simultaneously celebrating its third NBA championship with a parade and rally. The app offers customized training programs and videos for basketball players and other athletes. 
“It shows people ways to work out, a lot of different ways to work out, whether it’s basketball drills or not,” Wade told The Associated Press. “A lot of people work out at home. A lot of people don’t have access to a gym. A lot of people don’t have trainers. So it’s kind of like I’m the personal trainer for basketball and fitness and I’ll show them a lot of things I do with my body and for my body.”
The app was available for download starting Monday. It includes basketball drills and a fitness routine, along with ways for users to track their progress. Driven Apps, the publisher, plans to release additional bundles for users to download once they have mastered or completed the initial Wade program.

EbonyLife TV: Nigerian Woman Mosunmola ‘Mo’ Abudu Launches Entertainment TV Network

In this photo taken on Sunday June 30, 2013, Mo Abudu, chief executive officer of EbonyLife TV, attends the launch of Africa’s first global black entertainment network in Lagos, Nigeria. Mo Abudu, who could be considered Africa's Oprah Winfrey, is launching an entertainment network that will be beamed into nearly every country on the continent with programs showcasing its burgeoning middle class. Mosunmola "Mo" Abudu wants EbonyLife TV to inspire Africans and the rest of the world, and change how viewers perceive the continent. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
In this photo taken on Sunday June 30, 2013, Mo Abudu, chief executive officer of EbonyLife TV, attends the launch of Africa’s first global black entertainment network in Lagos, Nigeria. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A woman who could be considered Africa’s Oprah Winfrey is launching an entertainment network that will be beamed into nearly every country on the continent with programs showcasing its burgeoning middle class.
Mosunmola “Mo” Abudu wants EbonyLife TV to inspire Africans and the rest of the world, and change how viewers perceive the continent. The network’s programming tackles women’s daily life subjects — everything from sex tips to skin bleaching.
“Not every African woman has a pile of wood on her head and a baby strapped to her back!” the glamorous Abudu, 48, told The Associated Press from a hotel’s penthouse floor against a backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean and high-rise buildings flanked by palm and almond trees.
“We watch Hollywood as if all of America is Hollywood,” she said. “In that same vein we need to start selling the good bits of Africa.”
Months of work to provide original content includes the flagship program “Sistaz!” about two Greek-Nigerian sisters and a British-born Nigerian friend who check into the Eko Hotel for a holiday reunion and rediscover the passion of sisterhood and the vibrant city of Lagos.

TECH: Four Tricky Facebook Scams to Avoid

(Photo Credit: Paul Sakuma, AP)
(Photo Credit: Paul Sakuma, AP)

From snake-oil salesmen and pool-hall hustlers to Nigerian princes and Spanish prisoners, scams were happening long before the Internet. Unfortunately, the Internet has only made things worse.
Modern scammers can reach billions of potential victims with a single message. And their scams are getting better every day. If you aren’t paying attention, you could fall for a scam and not ever realize it.
One of the easiest places to encounter online scams is Facebook. Facebook encourages sharing, which means certain scams can travel far and wide. These aren’t harmless scams either. Some of them can install viruses that take over your account or steal your money. Yikes!
Here are four popular scams that should set off your warning bells as soon as you see them:
1. Free giveaways
The easiest scam to fall for on Facebook is a free giveaway. You’ll see everything from gift cards to free tablets, laptops and smartphones. Who doesn’t like free? Just one catch. You have to give the “company” your information. Or you have to download a program to qualify. 
This is a variation on a classic survey scam. These trick users into giving out their information or downloading malicious files onto their computers. With the information you enter, a scammer has a foothold into stealing your identity. Entering your cellphone number often leads to bogus premium charges appearing on your wireless bill.
It’s true that some companies do give away free stuff through Facebook. When they do, however, it’s promoted on that company’s official Facebook page. If you check the company’s page or website and don’t see the giveaway, steer clear. Even if it’s real, only enter through the company’s official page. And only if it’s a company you trust. Scammers like to set up fake sites and pages that mimic the real thing.
2. Viral videos
Almost as exciting as free gadgets is seeing the latest viral video. However, many supposedly salacious celebrity “videos” posted on Facebook aren’t videos at all. When you click to watch, you’ll be asked to update your video player first. You’ll even be provided with the updated program file. How helpful! Of course, the program is really a virus. Plus, it will automatically share the scam with all of your friends. This one is easy to avoid. Type the video’s title into Google. You should see a link to it on YouTube. If the video isn’t on YouTube or a legitimate news site, it’s a scam.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker Releases 1st Senate Campaign Ad

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Newark mayor Cory Booker has released his first television campaign ad for the New Jersey Democratic race for U.S. Senate. This ad is his first foray into the primaries which conclude in August. This ad is titled “Run”, and features Booker listing some of the successes he’s had tacking problems as mayor.
corybooker“I’ve proven that by bringing people together, even with big problems we can make big progress,” says Booker in the video. “Washington ducks our problems, I wont.” Booker is competing against his fellow Democrats Frank Pallone and Rush Holt to win the seat of the late Frank Lautenberg who passed away earlier this month.
article by Adrienne Green via thegrio.com

Blogging While Brown 2013: Conference Creates Innovative Atmosphere for Blacks in Online Media

agirltravels: #bwbnyc panel
agirltravels: #bwbnyc panel – #harlem #nyc #agirltravels #traveler #travelblogger #outandabout #blogger #blogging #bloggingwhilebrown #igers #igdaily #igaddict #instadaily #follow #necolebitchie #concreteloop (Instagram)

What do you get when you take a group of stylish, ambitious black women and place them together in a room? Given all the debates currently taking place about the image of black women in media, particularly reality television, unsavory images might be the first (unfortunately) to come to mind. But, this past weekend’s Blogging While Brown conference, which just wrapped its sixth year in New York City, was an oasis of truth demonstrating the power, positivity and true sisterhood of African-American women interested in blogging and technology.
“Unfortunately, we as black women carry a stereotype of being loud, catty, and constantly trying to outdo one another,” said Karla Trotman, the Philadelphia-based proprietress of Bellybuttonboutique.com, a site that helps mothers and moms-to-be with supportive products related to pregnancy. “But this conference draws out women, all of whom were coming from a place of abundance. The sharing of information and the openness was so refreshing. The connections, discussions, and fellowship were all incredible. I felt truly filled by the experience.”
While Blogging While Brown is not geared to black women specifically — and there were many men, other people of color, and whites who attended and sat on panels — the overwhelming percentage of the 300-plus assemblage consisted of African-American women. This setting, far from being limiting, made Blogging While Brown a refreshing sanctuary for people seeking exposure to interesting individuals and fresh information with a result that was truly enlightening. Even for black women, it was like getting to know a whole new tribe.

'My Promise,' Earth, Wind & Fire's Comeback Single, Hits The Web (AUDIO)

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R&B super band Earth, Wind & Fire is releasing its first album in eight years on Sept. 10 and dropped the record’s lead single onto the web on Monday.

Earth, Wind and Fire“My Promise,” which leads the promotional effort behind “Now, Then & Forever,” the band’s twentieth studio album, features Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Maurice White and Ralph Johnson, as well as contributions from one of the group’s founding producers, Larry Dunn and Bailey’s son, Philip Bailey Jr. The single was written by the band and Academy Award nominee and Grammy Winner Siedah Garrett.
article by Kia Makarechi via huffingtonpost.com