Month: April 2011

The Blacks at Microsoft (BAM) employee network is offering a $5,000 scholarship for the 2011/12 academic year to outstanding high school seniors pursuing careers in technology. The scholarship is renewable, so the recipient will receive $5,000 annually for up to four years as long as they continue to meet the criteria. There are 2 scholarships available and applications must be received by 5/1/2011. You can apply electronically at the Washington Scholarship Coalition.

Founded in 1989 Blacks at Microsoft (BAM) is a company-sponsored diversity organization dedicated to supporting the continued growth and development of African-American employees of Microsoft Corporation. More than 500 Microsoft employees are members of BAM. In addition to financial assistance scholarship recipients are connected with BAM members for mentoring throughout their college careers. The program has been successful in bringing graduates to Microsoft as employees.

Eligibility Requirements

• Be a high-school senior of African descent (for example, African-American, African, or Ethiopian).
• Plan to attend a four-year college or university in the fall of the year following high-school graduation.
• Plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, computer information systems, or select business programs (such as finance, business administration, or marketing).
• Demonstrate a passion for technology.
• Demonstrate leadership at school or in the community.
• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher.
• Require financial assistance to attend college.

Application Details

Financial Requirements

• Must demonstrate financial need, Number of family members in household, Number of family dependents attending college, Family income

Instructions & Questions

• Briefly, explain how you have demonstrated a passion for technology.
• Briefly, explain how you have demonstrated leadership either at school or in the community.
• In no more than 500 words, describe how you plan to engage in the technology industry in your future career.
• In no more than 250 words, explain why you need this scholarship.
• Please include two reference letters with your application. These letters should be from people who know you through your academic or employment experience or your community leadership and participation. (Do not include relatives as references.)
• Please submit an unofficial transcript with your online application. Winning students will be required to submit an official transcript.

via Electronic Village source Microsoft

Got Milk? Details on Kevin Rose’s New Company

Weeks after leaving Digg, Kevin Rose released details about his new company: Milk. Rose and a team of five other coders will set out to solve specific old-industry problems related to using the mobile Internet. Rather than following the trends for incubators in Silicon Valley, Milk is taking a different direction. Instead of launching a bunch of smaller ideas within the next year, they aim for a more conservative four to six ideas with huge implications.

This setup plays to Roses’s strengths. The Milk team will be able to throw out ideas quickly and see what sticks. “People talk about pivoting all the time now, but if something isn’t working after four months, we’ll just shoot it in the head and start again,” says Rose.

via TechCrunch

Android Test Market Leaks Honeycomb Apps

Due to some type of odd glitch, one tech blogger at Tech From 10 found his Nexus S had suddenly been “blessed” with the Google Test Market. Most of the apps actually didn’t work, including: a Camera, Gallery, Desk Clock, and Cube Wallpaper. Most of these apps are presumably destined for Android 3.0 Honeycomb, including a slick new version of the default Music app, which seems to work flawlessly. You mileage may vary, but you can dowload the APK’s below.

Download: Camera | Gallery | Desk Clock | Cube Wallpaper | Music

via DroidLife

Motorola Xoom and Atrix Both Duds

While many were excited at the prospect of a high-end Android tablet and a powerful Android phone that doubles as a full-fledged laptop, the Motorola Xoom tablet and the Atrix smartphone haven’t done as well as expected. According to Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette, sell-through trends for both devices “have been disappointing.” He mentions specifically that the iPhone 3GS and HTC Inpspire, both at a $49 price point, kept sales of the Atrix “well below forecast.”

There are always two sides to a story, though. The disappointment hinges on sales of 100,000 units in the first few months and comparisons with iPad 2. I’d assume that, given the choice between an $800 Motorola Xoom and a $500 iPad 2, many consumers opted for the later. Joe Wilcox points out other sales deterrents that the Xoom has overcome and says the 100,000 sales are a success rather than a failure given the Xoom’s positioning.

via Forbes

Larry Page Ties Employee Bonuses to Success of Social

It’s no secret that Google wants in on social. Following their launch of Google +1 and Larry Page stepping in as CEO, a leaked memo now reveals that every Google employee is now responsible for pushing Google’s social initiatives. As much as 25% of employee bonuses will now be based on Google’s ability to succeed in social media. Even employees that have nothing to do with these social projects are bound to help them succeed: “This is a joint effort so it’s important that we all get behind it.” Even encouraging employees to push Google products on their loved ones, saying “When we release products, try them and encourage your family and friends to do the same.”

This year marks the first that HBCUs will be included in the Microsoft Imagine Cup. We covered this earlier this year, but there is a burning question surrounding this event: Why, exactly, is this the first time that HBCUs are participating in a competition which has been held annually for the last eight years?

Last year, The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities called for the engagement and strengthening of HBCUs. According to Tara Walker, academic developer evangelist for Microsoft, HBCUs have long been liberal arts colleges and therefore overlooked in the recruiting process for these competitions. But these highly recognizable schools are producing students in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. Walker immediately made an effort to reach out to them.

“It’s more about awareness,” said Walker. “It’s not a conscious effort to exclude them.”

Twenty-four teams between six HBCUs–Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Howard University, Johnson C. Smith University and Tuskegee University–competed in both rounds this spring. None of these teams made the finals, but Tuskegee was recognized as having an exceptional entry.

“No matter the outcome, it’s a chance to connect and get opportunities. These are diverse competitions,” said Alfred Avor, a senior at Howard University. “Microsoft is revered. Anyone in this field would love to do something associated with them,” he added. The competition offers real world experience, gives students insight on the day-to-day operations in project management, builds resumes, and even provides an opportunity for student projects to get funding from venture capitalists.

“We have a lot of people who joined Microsoft from participating in the Imagine Cup,” Walker said. “Not many students [have] the initiative and drive to do this, so they already put themselves in a class above when they do.”

On a global scale, the US “lacks a strong impact in technology,” even as more technology jobs become available. It’s important to use all available resources in finding the most qualified students. The US ranks 17th globally in terms of education and is well behind nations like China and India when it comes to churning out degrees in the STEM.

“You can’t leave any ethnic or cultural group out of the US for that,” says Tara Walker. “The number of jobs in the next ten years will be in stem-type fields. We don’t have enough resources nationally to fill those. So it’s important that all colleges are aware of the benefits of being in this industry.”

via Atlanta Post

Google has announced that their Check-in service based on Latitude, launched in Austin last month at SXSW, is now available across the US. This means you can use the Google Latitude app to check-in at locations across the US and unlock deals based on your status. The way it works is pretty simple:

1. Check in. Check in using Latitude to share places with friends when you’re there.
2. Gain status. Keep checking in every time you visit your favorite places to gain status there. You can tap your current status level to see your progress towards the next status level.
3. Unlock offers. Places can make check-in offers available to you at each of their 3 status levels. When you gain higher status, you’ll unlock any available check-in offers.

Many are already asking what the point of all this is. We already have Facebook and Foursquare, among others, for check-ins and deals. It’s well-known that Google isn’t exactly the cream of the crop when it comes to doing social, so why would you bother checking in on Latitude instead of the competition?

Even though Latitude may not be as social as Foursquare or Facebook, there are some of us out there that don’t really care about the social features built into those services. At least, not as far as check-ins go. You may just want the badges and the status. Maybe you’re tired of getting 1 point for check-ins at places you’ve been to before and are looking for a reward system that’s a bit more flexible.

Google Latitude check-ins offers an interesting alternative if you want to share your location and care about getting deals. You can share your location to Twitter and Buzz from the app and I’m sure there is a way to also dump them into Facebook if the social aspect is important to you. Not only do you gain access to new deals based on your status level, but venues can even create their own achievement levels. Become a Champion of Taste at Quiznos or an AE Gold Shopper at American Eagle Outfitters, for instance.

Grab Google Maps for Android (Latitude is a feature of Maps; requires Android 1.6+) or the Latitude app for iPhone and start checking in to unlock deals. What do you think about Google Latitude check-ins? Waste of time or new weapon for your arsenal?

via ReadWriteWeb source Google LatLog

Drum Circle Kids is an app for iPad that allows your child to create unique jam sessions by tapping on five colorfully animated drummers. By toggling the drummers on and off, you can create dozens of possible sound combinations. You can also explore the scenery to discover ambient sounds hidden there.

In the learn section, kids can swipe from one drum to the next and touch to play each drum while learning fun drum facts. Includes: the American Trap Set, Caribbean Steel Pan, Chinese Drum, Cuban Conga and the West African Djembe with more drums to come! If you are looking to buy a great drum set then check out drumsdude.com.

Intended for toddlers, age 18 month+, the game was developed by Imani Powell-Razat. Imani is a mom and designer/illustrator for Harlem-based Spye Design. Drum Circle Kids, created as a “multicultural celebration of the world’s drums,” was developed using Corona SDK, a cross-platform mobile app development framework.

Not only is it cool to see a mom develop an app, but I’m sure there are grown people who can’t operate an iPad as smoothly as the kid in the video below. Check out the vid and download the app from iTunes.

via @karsh source If It’s Hip, It’s Here

Global human rights organization, Breakthrough, has launched a new Facebook game called 2049. Players actively explore “how the choices and challenges Americans now face will shape the future of the country, its democratic values and how we define ourselves as a nation.”

America 2049 is the first Facebook game to integrate the social networking platform with other resources, both online and off. It includes multimedia and interactive features, clues planted across the Internet and real-life events at leading cultural institutions nationwide. These real-life locations include the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience members, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and the Bosque Redondo Memorial in New Mexico.

America 2049 is literally a game-changer,” said Breakthrough President & CEO Mallika Dutt. “It parachutes us into an alternate reality perhaps not so far from our own, where we find America poised at a crossroads, and where we are asked to make critical decisions about how we truly want to define ourselves as a nation. The game experience allows us to immerse ourselves in a future that could be — but also inspires us to envision, and recommit to, a real America built on pluralism, democracy, dignity, equality and human rights for all.

Breakthrough multimedia director Heidi Boisvert says that, by placing America 2049 on Facebook, “Breakthrough is using one of the Web’s most popular cultural platforms to create the possibility of changing culture itself.” The game also features appearances by Harold Perrineau (LOST), Victor Garber (Alias), Cherry Jones (24), Anthony Rapp (Rent) and Margaret Cho (Notorious C.H.O.), who generously donated their time and talents to help Breakthrough put a human face on complex social issues, people are loving this game just as much as they love to get a victory over full damage champs for their video games with P4rgaming.

“’America 2049’ entertains and enlightens about the real-world issues of acceptance and tolerance,” said Harold Perrineau. “The project resonated with me because I love the idea of people fighting at all costs for their right to pursue the life they choose without fear of persecution. I hope that through playing ‘America 2049,’ young people in particular will be inspired to help stop institutionalized hatred and intolerance — today.”

Breakthrough is definitely hitting a hot spot between online social gaming and social networking and leveraging the largest social network may actually allow them to hit their mark. Play America 2049 on Facebook and tell us what you think.

WSJ reports that Google is looking to revamp YouTube in order to ride the trend of televisions that allow viewers to watch online video. Primarily, the goal is to compete with broadcast and cable television by enticing users to stay on the site longer and attracting advertisers.

The site is planning a series of changes to its home page to highlight sets of “channels” around topics such as arts and sports from batandballgame.com. About 20 or so of those channels will feature several hours of professionally produced original programming a week, some of these people said. Additional channels would be assembled from content already on the site.

Google is looking to carve out their own niche between the amateur content we’re used to seeing on YouTube and the professionally produced content we usually watch on TV. Those familiar with the matter say Google is willing to shell out as much as $100 million to get this low-cost content produced.

While streaming video sites like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon pay license fees to provide professionally produced programs, Google has mostly unwilling to do so. Rather than pay these hefty fees to grab existing content, it seems they believe it would be more cost-effective to create long-form video from scratch.

While YouTube executives have said the site is close to being profitable, Google is obviously attempting to take a bite out of the $70 billion U.S. television-ad market. The world’s No. 3 website for unique visitors, YouTube generated about $544 million last year. They’re expected to generate more than $800 million in net revenue this year, according to Citigroup estimates.

Currently, YouTube visitors spend about 15 minutes on the site each day. Probably watch cat videos or laughing babies. By switching up their content offerings, Google wants to change the perception of YouTube and give visitors a reason to stick around. YouTube executives have said they want people to ”watch YouTube” the same way they “watch TV.”

This is still in the rumor stage at this point, but it would be interesting to see what type of content Google could come up with using this strategy.

via WSJ

LinkedIn has announced today that they will be opening up full access to their new platform for building the professional web. There is much talk across the blogosphere about how Google, Facebook, and Twitter are building and extending the social web, but not much about the professional web. This is LinkedIn’s niche and, while the site itself is not a huge draw, a set of tools for integrating professional profiles across the web could be very powerful.

With this release, we’re including a powerful set of plugins, to further help bring professional identity & insights into your application. For example, you can show your visitors who they know in a professional context with the Member Profile plugin, and display rich personalized insights about companies featured on your site with the Company Insider plugin.

Available plugins include:

Sign In with LinkedIn, which makes it easier for users to authenticate or register for your site using their LinkedIn identity

Share, a button which enables users to share your website with LinkedIn’s professional audience

Member Profile, which brings LinkedIn profiles to your site

Full Member Profile, which brings larger, more detailed LinkedIn profiles to your site

Company Profile, which displays key company info at-a-glance

Company Insider, which shows rich company data from several different views

Recommend, a button which enables users to recommend your products and drive traffic back to you

While the platform provides deep integration with LinkedIn geared towards developers, it’s also easy to use for those with no coding experience whatsoever. The goal is to give developers and publishers alike a “featherweight” way to “light up your site and increase engagement.” For example, here is all you need to include the Member Profile plugin on your site:

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://platform.linkedin.com/in.js"></script>

<script type="IN/MemberProfile" data-id="http://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman" data-related="false" data-format="inline"></script>

For more details on how to dig into the professional web and integrate LinkedIn on your site or into your web apps, check out developer.linkedin.com. They’ve created quick start content, including script generators that allow you to “visually configure and deploy your plugin of choice.” According to LinkedIn, this is only the tip of the iceberg and they are asking for feedback on what’s available so far.

What do you think? Will LinkedIn integration engage a different type of visitor? Will you be implementing this on your site?

via ReadWriteWeb source LinkedIn Blog

Blogging While Brown conference and the Black Weblog Awards will join forces this year to create a weekend of black social media with a live awards ceremony included. Blogging While Brown is the leading community of Black bloggers and the Black Weblog Awards is one of the oldest celebrations of Black social media excellence. They form a perfect match and their collaboration will produce the largest gathering of Black social media influentials in the country while featuring the first ever live presentation of the Black Weblog Awards.

“I am delighted and excited that the Black Weblog Awards will be presented with the Blogging While Brown Conference,” said Maurice Cherry, Founder of the Black Weblog Awards. “This is an amazing opportunity to showcase hard-working bloggers, video bloggers, and podcasters.”

The keynote speaker for the event will be Angel Laws, Founder of Concreteloop.com. Concrete Loop has been a recognized voice in urban lifestyle and culture since 2005 and has since been named one of TIME magazine’s top websites. Other featured speakers include Managing Editor of TheRoot.com Joel Dreyfuss, and Executive Director of Color of Change James Rucker.

“This partnership is a historic opportunity to leverage the resources of two of the most prominent institutions in Black social media,” said Gina McCauley, Executive Director of Blogging While Brown. “I’m looking forward to a weekend of learning, networking and recognizing the rich contributions of Black digital media content creators and the communities they nurture and grow year-round. ”

Check out BloggingWhileBrown.com and BlackWeblogAwards.com for more info. The event takes place in Los Angeles, CA, July 8-10, 2011. Will you be there?

President Barack Obama will be holding a special “Facebook Live” townhall event at Facebook’s headquarters with CEO Mark Zuckerberg & COO Sheryl Sandberg. The event will be live streamed for anyone to watch across the globe. The meeting will be used to discuss “tough choices we must all make in order to put our economy on a more responsible fiscal path, while still investing in areas like innovation that will help our economy grow and make America more competitive.”

You can participate in the discussion by submitting questions by posting them on the Facebook wall for the event. You can also submit questions at WhiteHouse.gov/facebooktownhall. Facebook will select which questions will be answered during the event.

Obama just announced his plans to run for reelection via Facebook yesterday. Currently 3,415 people plan to attend the event and the comments keep adding up, although many are not related to the event. Logon Wednesday, April 20 @ 1:45pm PST / 4:45pm EST to watch the event and see if your questions get picked.

Lebron is launching an animated web series called “The Lebrons” to provide positive messages to today’s youth. We first covered the show back in January. The show follows the four LeBrons: Kid, Athlete, Business, and Wise as they live in James’s hometown of Akron, Ohio. Much like the cartoons of yesterday, each episode will provide a positive message for viewers.

The show will be primarily offered via a YouTube channel with some syndication across major sports sites. Dan Goodman and Bill Masterson of Believe Entertainment Group helped create, finance and sell the show. They believe the webisode format is the new frontier of digital entertainment: “When we looked at LeBron’s audience, it really became a natural place for the show to reside,” Masterson said. “Unlike when we grew up and cartoons were on Saturday morning … now their access is not as programmed or dictated by timing. It’s on their own terms.

A portion of the proceeds from the show will go directly to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for purchasing computers. The show is sponsored for HP and Intel and actually started off as a Nike commercial. These products and logos will have a strong presence in the series. The goal is to strike a balance between being promotional and actually providing valuable content for viewers. While featuring brands will allow the show to thrive when the budget isn’t there, there is also the risk of overshadowing the message, which doesn’t benefit the brands or the show.

Lebron is very passionate about this project, calling it a “modern day Fat Albert.” He will promote the series using his strong social media presence. He currently has 1.6 million Twitter followers and 5.7 million likes on his Facebook page where he is currently displaying the show’s logo as his profile picture.

via Mashable

As if he wasn’t already into just about everything, from music to broadway, Jay-Z has now launched another website called Life + Times. As Forbes puts it, that site is aimed at “gentleman who are discerning enough to buy an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, watch video about Jean-Michel Basquiat, and care about the “internal perspective” of Studio Alhadeff Architects and its principal designer, Giancarlo Alhadeff.”

Don’t expect a table of contents or river of news here. The site’s design is focused on the visual, with each story represented by an image in a grid. Hovering over the image gives you the title and topic while clicking opens up the content. Topics on the site include: Style, Leisure, Art & Design, Technology, Music, and Sports. You might find anything from music and an interview with Killer Reese One and DJ/Producer Troublemaker to a sit-down with RIM VP of Industrial Design Todd Wood to discuss the design of the latest Blackberry.

You can also check Jay’s tour schedule and connect on Facebook. Of course, as always, Tweets is watching. What do you think about Jay’s new site?

via Forbes, Mashable

April 18 marks the launch of the African Immigrant Journal (AIJ), the first website dedicated to exploring the experience of millions of African-born immigrants and 1st and 2nd generation Americans of African descent in the United States. The interactive online publication will feature news, profiles, in-depth features, commentary, video, photos, discussion forums, and more.

“We view the site as an essential repository of information and a unique platform to shape, affirm and investigate the experiences of an emerging group that remains largely invisible to the American public,” says Henry. “We will locate our stories within the context of the larger American immigration narrative.”

In addition to telling the under-told stories of a largely invisible segment of the American population, the AIJ will give
voice to the concerns of African immigrants all across the United States. With an insightful eye and affirming voice,
the AIJ will celebrate the success stories, probe the problems and dispel common myths about African immigrants.

Founded by childhood friends and Maryland-based Liberian immigrants Lewis Kelley and Tanu Henry, the AIJ aims to tell the stories of a largely invisible segment of the American population. It will give voice to immigrant concerns across the United States, celebrating success stories, probing problems, and dispelling common myths about African immigrants.

Obama has officially launched his bid for re-election with a short video posted on YouTube. The tw0-minute video is embedded as the centerpiece at BarackObama.com and features average Americans telling us why Obama should be re-elected. Obama himself appears in the video for only a few seconds, but doesn’t actually say anything.

The site has been stripped down to the bare bones and reminds me of what you might find from a startup in closed beta, even down to the Twitter and Facebook sharing buttons. A note above the video states:

This campaign is just kicking off. We’re opening up offices, unpacking boxes, and starting a conversation with supporters like you to help shape our path to victory. 2012 begins now, and this is where you say you’re in.

The site is using the question “Are You In?” to gain supporters and invites visitors to the site to sign up for a mailing list. Taking things a step further, the site integrates with Facebook so that you can share your support for Obama with your Facebook friends. Once you’ve connected with Facebook, you can scroll through a list of all your friends to see who is not in yet. For those who haven’t yet taken the plunge, you can post to their Facebook wall with an optional message directly from the site. The site also invites you to check back to see how many people you inspired to join.

The launch also included an email blast to Obama supporters. While it may seem early for Obama to make this announcement, the campaign is trying to hit the ground running and some are quick to point out the fact that Republicans have basically been campaigning against Obama his entire term.

“We’ve always known that lasting change wouldn’t come quickly or easily. It never does,” the Democrat said in the e-mail. “But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we’ve made—and make more—we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest.”

The site links to official Twitter and Facebook pages, where the announcement has also been posted, and even uses the new Twitter web intents feature to make it easier to connect with the Obama campaign there. Not surprising at all to see Obama reaching out via social media and it will be interesting to see how they continue to use social media to engage their audience.

via WSJ, BarackObama.com

At an event I attended this week, called Alley to the Valley, at the overpriced Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel in Menlo Park, I discussed this subject with 50 very successful women. Half of the attendees were from the east coast, and half were from the west coast. We agreed that the best way of supplying this dearth is through recognizing that there is indeed a problem; providing mentoring, encouragement, and assistance to all aspiring women entrepreneurs; and showcasing the successes.

I have already presented hard data that show that there is a problem, and I’ve suggested remedies. Now I’ll showcase some successes—black women CEOs that graduated from Founder Labs, a pre-incubator for emerging entrepreneurs and from a related organization, Women 2.0. I’ll let them tell you their own stories.

more at Women of Color in Tech: How Can We Encourage Them?