Electronic Village Milestone: 3,000 Blog Posts

We began the Electronic Village blogging journey on January 13, 2007. Who knew that we would still be around over six years later! We have 3,000 blog posts over the course of that time. The main reason for our longevity is the fact that a blog doesn't cost me anything but time ... and I've managed to blog about things in the African American community that interest me.

The landscape for bloggers has changed quite a bit in the past six years. The growth of video-blogging, Facebook pages and Twitter have provided ol' school bloggers with other venues to share their personal quirks, insights and interests. I'm not sure if I'll still be doing this for another six years or 3,000 blog posts ... but here are some of my observations about the Electronic Village.

• Most Active Country - Outside of the United States ... the country that visits this blog the most is Germany.
• Most Comments - Over 270 comments received on my 'Introduce Yourself' blog post.
• Most Popular Label - 438 of my 3,000 blog posts featured Barack Obama.
• Most Popular Search Keywords - I was surprised to learn that the word 'vagina' is the keyword that brought the most people people to this blog.  The next two most popular search keywords are 'statue of liberty' and 'underground railroad'. This factoid explains why the 'Earthquake Vagina', 'OURstory: Black Statue of Liberty' and 'OURstory: Underground Railroad (1780-1862)' have been so popular.
• Most Posts in a Month - 81, October 2008. My activity was fueled by the run-up to the November 2008 election of our nation's first Black president.
• Most Viewed Post - Wordless Wednesday: Earthquake Vagina.

Sometimes it is difficult to keep up this blog. Part of my problem may be that I'm operating two other blogs, BDPA in the News and BDPA Foundation. For some reason I began to track taser torture in America a few years ago. I bit off more than I could chew with that as those types of deaths just continued to grow. I've been less vigilant about maintaining that effort in recent months and it makes me sad.

I've met and interacted with some great bloggers over the course of these 3,000 blog posts. For a little while I tracked the Top Black Blogs ... I was also active with a group of Black blogging activists known as the AfroSpear ... and I was a presenter and supporter of the annual Blogging While Brown Conferences.

Coming up with original content has been impossible for me over the course of these 3,000 blog posts. I often rely on weekly memes like 'Sunday Inspirations' or 'Manic Monday' or 'Good News Tuesday' or 'Wordless Wednesday' or 'Old School Friday' or the 'Weekly Address' issued by the president every Saturday. I admire bloggers like the Field Negro who create original content night-after-night ... that brother remains my blogging hero!

I'll keep the Electronic Village going for awhile longer. I began this journey in 1994 with a 2400 dial-up modem that connected my Electronic Village BBS to the world ... I suspect there will be an Electronic Village for many more years to come on Facebook, Twitter and who knows where else as technology moves forward. As long as it is still fun and interesting for me ... I'll keep doing it.

Villagers, you honor me by taking time from your day to read our blog. As long as there is at least one or two of you out there ... I'll be here!

Twitter Milestone: 700 Followers

I have talked about Twitter here on this blog over the past few months. It appears that the rest of the world discovered Twitter as well. You can barely watch television for an hour without someone telling you about their Twitter account. The world has not yet discovered my personal Twitter account yet ... but, I want to express my appreciation to the 700 folks that do follow me!

Special honors go to Louis Pagan. He is a New York-based entrepreneur/author of http://www.latinopundit.com/ and http://www.louispagan.com/. Louis was the 700th person to follow me on Twitter!

Are you on Twitter? How do you use it to improve your life or business?

I Hope You Can Handle It is 1,600th Black-owned Blog in Our Rankings

Villagers, I am proud to introduce you to the 1,600th blog on our Black Blog Rankings. RockNRollSista is a young nubian with a powerful voice in the afrosphere. She created her blog, I Hope You Can Handle It, in November 2007 and it is now BBR #1215.

Her blogger profile says:

'I was raised in what some call the ghetto but I grew into a serious hardcore metalhead. (Oh yeah and in case I didn't mention this...I am Black.) I am an exception to the rule and not that different from any other Black woman in this world. When I am not rocking out and killin' it in the pit, I keep track of politics and what is going on in the world.'

Some folks talk the talk. It is my opinion that RockNRollSista is a blogger that walks the walk. Check out what she wrote in her second blog post back in December 2007:

'I am still a virgin and it seems as though people think that there is something wrong with me. Maybe that is because I am 23. I made it 23 years without having sex ... I do like many guys but I know one day the right man will come. Until that day I will wait and no I do not believe that anyone dries up without sex either.'

Not many of the other 1,599 blogs in the BBR are quite this blunt about life! Anyhow, take a moment and surprise this young sista with a visit to her blog. Leave her a comment. You know how we roll!

Electronic Village Celebrates 2nd Anniversary

It is truly hard to believe that it has been two years since I created the Electronic Village. I must admit that I've enjoyed the evolution of this blog. We are not as successful as many others ... but, I'm having fun with this thing.

I don't know where this blog will go over the coming weeks and months. I just hope that all of you villagers will continue on the ride with me!

Electronic Village Milestone: 1,000 Posts!

I had no idea that I would post 1,000 posts when I first started this blog back in January 2007. I didn't have a vision for the blog when I first created it. My sister told me that I could start a blog for free ... and that was pretty much my only motivation.

However, this blog evolved over the past 1,000 posts. We seek to provide information that uplifts people of African descent here in America. Our most favorite topics have been 'Barack Obama', 'Election-2008' and 'Criminal Justice'. It should be interesting to see how we evolve in the coming weeks as the 2008 election cycle comes to an end.

I am very grateful to all the villagers that have supported this blog. Cliff, Danielle, Field, Gattina, Iya, Keith, Kyra, Mike, Mrs. Grapevine, Pam, Purple Zoe, Regina, Sojourner and so many others have shared comments, insights and suggestions.

My hope is that I discover a way to encourage more COMMENTS from those of you that visit. That is going to be a focus for me over the coming weeks.

Anyhow, I decided to go back and find my favorite posts within the ten 100-post intervals since we began this thing. Here is what I came up with.

1. Posts 1 - 100: Manic Monday: Graphic - Manic Monday is a weekly meme that helped introduce me to some remarkable bloggers. I use it to research Black history and Black culture. Anyhow, this post focused on the inhuman legacy of lynching in America. Unfortunately, I find myself referencing this post often ... including just recently when a McCain supporter hung Obama in effigy.


2. Posts 101 - 200: Jena 6, Racism in America - Black bloggers brought this story to the attention of the mainstream media. The result was the largest civil rights march in over a decade on 9/20/2007. I provided villagers with an overview of the Jena 6 case in this post.


3. Posts 201 - 300: Only A Dad - I posted this photo and poem a few days after my father passed away. I miss him everyday.


4. Posts 301 - 400: Iowa Victory Speech - I watched this speech with my Mom. She didn't notice ... but, I cried. I was already an Obama supporter, however, this speech was the first time that I realized deep down in my soul that he had a chance to win. This remains my favorite Obama speech of all-time.


5. Posts 401 - 500: Evolution of the AfroSpear - My blog has grown exponentially since I hooked up with the kinfolk in this alliance of progressive Black bloggers. This post provided an overview of the AfroSpear for my blog readers.


6. Posts 501 - 600: Al Sharpton & NAACP Are Wrong - It felt good to be part of the online activism that supported the woman terrorized by the gang of rapists in Dunbar Village. We forced Al Sharpton and NAACP to revisit their approach to the situation down in Florida.


7. Posts 601 - 700: Justice for LaVena Johnson - I introduced the late Pfc. LaVena Johnson to my blog readers with this post. We still have work to do. We need to get Congress to investigate her wrongful death while serving in Iraq.


8. Posts 701 - 800: Blogging While Brown Conference - This was the first time in history that bloggers of color gathered together under one roof to learn and motivate one another in a serious way. This post gave my review of the BWB Conference to my blog readers.


9. Posts 801 - 900: African Americans & Sarah Palin - The hits on my blog have increased almost three-fold since I published this post on what African Americans in Alaska thought about Sarah Palin. I will miss Gov. Palin when she goes back to obscurity after November 4.


10. Posts 901 - 1,000: NAACP's Ben Jealous Meets With Black Bloggers - My relationship with the NAACP evolved over the past year. My first NAACP post was entitled, "Is the NAACP Relevant?". Now, I find myself with other Black bloggers talking to the NAACP president. Only in America!

Let's turn this into an OPEN THREAD until our next milestone post. Feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, memories and anything else on your mind as it relates to the Electronic Village blog. What's on your mind?

Electronic Village Milestone: 700 Posts!

Recently, a reporter asked me if I would be willing to go to jail as a result of my work as a blogger. My answer was 'No'. I consider my blog to be a hobby at this point. I don't consider a hobby worthy of prison time.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I realized this weekend that our Electronic Village just passed the 700-post milestone. We began on this blogging journey about 550 days ago on January 13, 2007. Can a hobby survive the 700-post milestone?

We have talked about our blogging milestones in the past:

• 100 posts (May 2007)
• 200 posts (Sep 2007)
• 1-year anniversary (Jan 2008)
• 500 posts (Mar 2008)

Sometimes it is difficult to keep up this blog. Part of my problem may be that I'm now operating two other blogs, BDPA in the News and BDPA Foundation. Also, I support a number of other blogging efforts to grow the influence of Black bloggers in the afrosphere via groups like The AfroSpear and a new Facebook group.

Villagers, you honor me by taking time from your day to read our blog, either in person or via RSS feed. I suspect that our blog is reaching a point where I need to make a decision about continuing the hobby or trying to take this to the next level.

I am very interested in hearing from villagers on what they would like to see from this blog.

What would you like to see more? What would you like to see less? What were your original reasons for becoming a villager?

This is an open thread for your comments, critique and suggestions. We want to improve this blog and we need your feedback to do so. What say u?

Electronic Village Celebrates our 200th Post

I had no idea what I would do with this blog when I started it in January 2007. My sister inspired me with her niche blog on African American quilting. Electronic Village evolved over time with the help of our online community of villagers with an interest in creating a more connected world. Some of you remember our celebration of the 100th post back in May 2007.

Today, we invite everyone to introduce themselves and subscribe to the Electronic Village.

I suspect that our blog is motivated by the seven principles of Kwanzaa more than anything else. I'll need to expand upon that thought over the next 200 posts.

Anyhow, I thought this would be a good occassion to respond to the Archive Meme that I found from Danielle on Modern Musings. The Archive Meme rules are simple enough:

• Link 1 must be about family.
• Link 2 must be about friends.
• Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are... what you're all about...
• Link 4 must be about something you love
• Link 5 can be anything you choose.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintences so that you get to know each other better.... and don't forget to read the archive posts and leave comments! So villagers, here are my five links...

1. About Family - I regularly share updates on my sister Kyra, however, I have not posted very much about my family here on the Electronic Village blog. For a hint on my family you need to visit the Electronic Village website.
2. About Friends - The majority of my blog-related relationships have come from The AfroSpear. My most recent inspiration from these blogger friends led to a ranking of the Top Black Bloggers.
3. About Me - This post revealed more of me than I first intended. Earlier I shared the five reasons that I blog.
4. Something I Love - There aren't many things that I love. There are some people that I love including, Iya, Wayne Sr., Charles, Kyra, Iyisa, Nailah, Laura, Khalis and Shenita.
5. Wild Card - Any excuse to see Serena is a good excuse in my book!

I tag five of the most prominent Black bloggers in the universe:

1. Natasha E (Young, Black and Fabulous)
2. Terrance Heath (The Republic of T)
3. Steve Spalding (How To Split An Atom)
4. Dame (Truth & Opinion)
5. Earl Dunovant (Prometheus 6)

I am grateful to the 20,000+ villagers that have been here at one point or another since we began! I hope you enjoy the next 200 just as much...