LeVar Burton, host of the children’s educational program Reading Rainbow, started a Kickstarter campaign yesterday with colleagues to create an interactive online version of the reading program for kids everywhere and to help schools in need. The goal of $1 million was reached in just 11 hours. (See video of Burton’s reaction below.”
Burton hosted the show since its beginning on PBS in 1983 until it went off the air in 2009 and recently helped launch the Reading Rainbow application for tablets. The Kickstarter campaign says they would like to be on the internet, not just in an app, so the program is accessible to more children.
With the first $1 million, Reading Rainbow could be placed in over 1,500 classrooms for free. New extended goals will be released for donations past their original goal, said CEO and writer/director of Reading Rainbow Mark Wolfe in an update.
The 35 day campaign still has 34 days left. As of Thursday morning, the Kickstarter campaign had raised over $1.7 million with over 37,900 backers who had donated.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-XHuNcSMLc&w=560&h=315]
article by Carrie Healey via thegrio.com
Posts tagged as “internet”
Justin Beiber used to be the king of YouTube, but a new queen has taken over. Rihanna recently passed Bieber in total video views, with 3.784 billion views across her 77 videos, outclassing Biebers 79 clips.
Those numbers are from the singers’ respective official VEVO pages on YouTube, Billboard notes. Rihanna also edges out Bieber in YouTube subscribers (8.73 million to 3.7 million) and Facebook likes (72.3 million to 54.3 million).
Where Bieber continues to reign supreme, however, is Twitter. The teen idol has over 40 million followers, putting him ahead of even Lady Gaga, who was in the lead on the social networking platform for some time.
What can account for Rihanna’s global dominance? For one, the singer appeals to a wider demographic of listeners, including urban audiences and an older fan base than Bieber has been able to tap into. Bieber’s latest efforts, particularly 2012’s “Believe,” see the 19-year-old doing his best to acquire older fans without alienating his teen and young adult base, but the jury’s still out on just how successful these efforts have been.
Those numbers are from the singers’ respective official VEVO pages on YouTube, Billboard notes. Rihanna also edges out Bieber in YouTube subscribers (8.73 million to 3.7 million) and Facebook likes (72.3 million to 54.3 million).
Where Bieber continues to reign supreme, however, is Twitter. The teen idol has over 40 million followers, putting him ahead of even Lady Gaga, who was in the lead on the social networking platform for some time.
What can account for Rihanna’s global dominance? For one, the singer appeals to a wider demographic of listeners, including urban audiences and an older fan base than Bieber has been able to tap into. Bieber’s latest efforts, particularly 2012’s “Believe,” see the 19-year-old doing his best to acquire older fans without alienating his teen and young adult base, but the jury’s still out on just how successful these efforts have been.
Will (pictured far right) and Monifa Sims (pictured) never imagined that they’d become overnight Internet sensations as a result of a quick trip to their local gas station to fill up their car.
Actor Tim Stack of “Pumpcast News,” a regular sketch on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,“takes a break from reading the day’s news to play around with unsuspecting patrons from pump-mounted TV screens. When Stack a.k.a. “Jack Rafferty” spied the Sims at a Burbank, Calif., gas station, he surprised Will with a greeting and asked him if he’d be willing to belt out a song for his telecast. Will, who admitted that he enjoys karaoke, agreed to sing a Bon Jovi classic, “Livin’ On A Prayer,” without hesitation.
As Will performed the song without any reservation, his wife of 12 years, Monifa, sat boisterously laughing inside their vehicle. When Will ended his rendition of the song, Rafferty asked Will whether Monifa would join in too. And while Monifa was initially hesitant, after Rafferty mentioned a free tank of gas and Will began singing about the offer, Monifa exited the car.
Rafferty was soon able to coax Monifa in to singing a song as well, with the fitness instructor choosing a Eurythmics chart topper, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).” Not only did Monifa belt out the song in near perfect pitch, but her husband soon joined her, chiming in where needed. The couple also showed off their synchronized dance moves.
Watch Will and Monifa Sims sing here:
Actor Tim Stack of “Pumpcast News,” a regular sketch on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,“takes a break from reading the day’s news to play around with unsuspecting patrons from pump-mounted TV screens. When Stack a.k.a. “Jack Rafferty” spied the Sims at a Burbank, Calif., gas station, he surprised Will with a greeting and asked him if he’d be willing to belt out a song for his telecast. Will, who admitted that he enjoys karaoke, agreed to sing a Bon Jovi classic, “Livin’ On A Prayer,” without hesitation.
As Will performed the song without any reservation, his wife of 12 years, Monifa, sat boisterously laughing inside their vehicle. When Will ended his rendition of the song, Rafferty asked Will whether Monifa would join in too. And while Monifa was initially hesitant, after Rafferty mentioned a free tank of gas and Will began singing about the offer, Monifa exited the car.
Rafferty was soon able to coax Monifa in to singing a song as well, with the fitness instructor choosing a Eurythmics chart topper, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).” Not only did Monifa belt out the song in near perfect pitch, but her husband soon joined her, chiming in where needed. The couple also showed off their synchronized dance moves.
Watch Will and Monifa Sims sing here:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNM0ENUCO5I&w=560&h=315]
article by Ruth Manuel-Logan via newsone.com
Adweek reports that Web portal AOL has 15 original projects slated to debut this fall, as it attempts to get advertisers to consider its original shows up against networks such as ABC and Fox. Among the shows in the works are Anthony Eats America, a food-centric travelogue starring comedian Anthony Anderson, Candidly Nicole, a series built around Nicole Richie’s Twitter account (#candidlynicole), along with Funded, a show that looks at crowdfunding business success stories hosted by author, entrepreneur and comedian Baratunde Thurston, and My Ink, a documentary focused on the back stories on sports stars tattoos.
“The main thing is AOL is positioned to bridge the gap between Web and TV,” Ran Harnevo, Senior Vice President of AOL Video, told Adweek. “We think we can show there is no substantial difference between the two media when it comes to quality and measurement.”
Author, journalist, former Uptown Magazine editor and founder of SimplyRides.com, SékouWrites, has expanded his automotive-lifestyle business with the launch of BumperCandy.com, a multicultural women’s-interest website featuring beautiful cars and the lifestyle that comes with owning them. BumperCandy.com joins SimplyRides.com under the banner of Sékou’s newly created Dubbnet Networks, an assortment of automotive lifestyle websites tailored to audiences with unique interests.
“Ironically, my childhood career goal was to be a car designer,” says Sékou about his new-found path. “Later, when I was the Managing Editor of Uptown Magazine, I edited the car section to reach an audience of folks who are interested in cars but aren’t very interested in what’s under the hood. Once I started writing the car section myself, several women told me that they liked the way I covered automotive and I realized there was a niche for readers who care about the aesthetics and lifestyle associated with automobiles but don’t like to get bogged down by car jargon.”
African-Americans have little-to-no representation in the technology sector, especially when it comes to dot-com businesses. Fortunately, William Michael Cunningham has created a platform specifically for African-Americans and women of all races.BlackCrowdFunding.net allows is a new crowdfunding platform that allows people to contribute to ventures created by African-Americans and/or women of all races.
In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Cunningham discussed the nature of his business. “Most people start a business by taking out loans on their houses or going to friends and family and raising money that way,” Cunningham said. “If you’re in a demographic where your housing wealth has been impacted significantly negatively, then that’s less of an option with respect to raising capital.”
Crowdfunding has been known to launch very successful projects, including the YouTube series “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl.” Cunningham said that crowdfunding presents a more promising option. Incase you’re unfamiliar with the term crowdfunding, it’s a method by which an entrepreneur can raise money for his or her start-up online by collecting small investments or donations from a large number of people. “The idea is that crowdfunding is a tool that can be used to get resources to low to moderate income communities in way that we haven’t seen before,” Cunningham said.
The site already has a number of ventures seeking funding, including an education on identity theft, a boutique, a garden, and a pride t-shirt, and more.
article by Maria Lloyd via techyville.com
YouTube hopes users will get on the good foot with its new James Brown channel, featuring, concert footage, testimonials — and, of course, opportunities to purchase DVDs and other merchandise, reports Deadline.com.
The channel (youtube.com/jamesbrownofficial and shoutfactory.com/jamesbrown) is a partnership between the James Brown Estate and label Shout Factory, which distributes the Godfather of Soul’s properties.
“These digital destinations will continue to evolve as we program content specific to key events as well as discover and add new video assets, leveraging Shout Factory’s unique content curation capabilities,” says Jeffrey Thompson, Shout Factory’s VP of digital strategy and business development.
The launch coincides with the 45th anniversary of Brown’s Boston concert following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Many historians believe that the concert helped to prevent riots from breaking out as they had in several other cities.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P318KJwNx-E&w=560&h=315]
original article via eurweb.com
GOOD BLACK NEWS proudly celebrates its third anniversary today, with 4,367 Facebook followers, 2,803 Twitter followers and scores more via Pinterest, Google+ and Tumblr. Last September, GBN launched a dedicated website, goodblacknews.org, which allowed us to expand our presence on the internet beyond Facebook (we are also on YouTube and LinkedIn) and provide archives and search functions to you, our loyal readers.
The outpour of appreciation you’ve shown us via comments and e-mails means the world to us, and only inspires GBN to keep getting better. In the coming months, we aim to refresh and revise the look of goodblacknews.org to improve mobile access, provide more original content, and (if you sign up for it) a downloadable e-newsletter featuring GBN’s Top Stories of the Week.
Please keep helping us spread GBN by sharing, liking, re-tweeting and commenting, and consider joining our e-mail list via our “Contact Us” tab on goodblacknews.org. We will only use this list to keep you updated on GBN and send you our e-newsletter — nothing else. And, of course, you may opt out at any time.
GBN remains a labor of love, and our Founder/Editor-In-Chief (Lori Lakin Hutcherson) and staff are all unpaid volunteers. We believe in bringing you positive news, reviews and stories of interest about black people all over the world, and greatly value your participation in continuing to build our shared vision.
Thank you again for your support, and we look forward to providing you with more Good Black News in the coming year, and beyond!
Warmly,
The Good Black News Team
Kid President, who says on his website that he is “sponsored by Mom,” began his positive offerings last July, according to NewsOne. Making sure he has ample time to dance in between his cathartic messages, one can only fall in love with the adorable young boy who is wise beyond his years.
In the midst of school shootings, high unemployment, divisive politics, and seemingly neverending violence in many of our communities, it is refreshing to see a young boy armed with a camera, a good heart, and loving words attempt to inspire the world…one video at a time.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o&w=560&h=315]
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/57615262 w=400&h=300]
GBN may be a bit biased, but every time Prince puts out new music, we are compelled to define it as good news. What’s more, he has a new website, 20princ3.com, where you can view and get share codes of his latest videos and protégés. The New Yorker recently published an article entitled “Has Prince Made Peace With The Internet?”, which we certainly hope he has, and that more music videos from him, past and present, will be available for all to enjoy.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson