Bloggers Roundup on the Radio: Vanessa Byers and Wayne Hicks

Shawn P. Williams (Dallas South Blog, BBR #87) hosts a remarkable online radio show each week on BlogTalkRadio. One of the segments on his show is 'Bloggers Roundup'. Vanessa Byers (Vanessa Unplugged, BBR #293) and I were guests on Shawn's show last week. We talked about President Obama's first 100 days and the H1N1 flu.

Listen to us if you have time or inclination.

Top 50 Best Blogs of 2008 Award

We were surprised and honored to be included on Marenda's list of the Top 50 Best Blogs of 2008. Her blog, Living Life Abundantly, has risen on the Villager's Black Blog Rankings from BBR #96 to BBR #19 over the past year because of the excellent information she provides to her readers.

This is our second year in a row being on Marenda's list. We will do all that we can possibly do to earn her respect again in 2009.

We'd like to beat the drums for other AfroSpear bloggers that made her list this year: Eddie Griffin (BASG) (BBR #178), Field Negro (BBR #9), From My Brown Eyed View (BBR #241), Raw Dawg Buffalo (BBR #16), Science Education & Society (BBR #457), and Vanessa Unplugged (BBR #311).

Blog It Forward

Danielle Vyas, author of Modern Musings has named the Electronic Village as one of her favorite blogs in a meme named Blog it Forward. Danielle is an Original Villager in that she was one of the first to discover our blog last year. She is an activist in the pure sense of the word and I encourage all villagers to check her blog out today if you can.

This Blog It Forward meme appears to have been created in October 2003 by Buzz over at the Buzzstop blog. The meme rules are simple: 'pick someone off of your blogroll (or bloglines, linklist, bloglink) and post a little something about them on your site. Tell us why they are on your list. What makes them link-worthy? Perhaps you'd like to spotlight someone on your list that isn't getting the attention that you think they should. Maybe it's someone who has made a difference in your life. Maybe it's someone who just puts a smile on your face every day.'

Here are those that I wish to share the love with today:

1. Black Political Thought (BBR #660) - Janet Shan owns & operates this blog. She seeks to be the premier blog for conservative and balanced political and social commentary. I thoroughly enjoy the detailed postings on her blog.


2. Blacks Gone Geek (BBR #641) - This is a relatively new blog created by Milt Haynes. I served as national BDPA president-elect when Milt was national president. Earlier we each served as colleagues on BDPA board of directors when Milt led the BDPA Chicago chapter and I led the BDPA Cincinnati chapter. I appreciate the support Milt provided to me over the years and I'm hopeful that his blog continues to grow and evolve.


3. Black Threads (BBR # 308) - This blog is owned and operated by my sister, Kyra Hicks. I credit Kyra with getting me started as a blogger. She is a published author and her blog focuses on niche of African American quilters. Any quilters or quilt-lovers out there?


4. Detrick DeBurr (BBR #666) - This brother provides a weekly rant worthy of notice. He's a bit slow on the uptake as far as Hillary v. Obama ... but, Detrick is a serious entrepreneur and an up & comer in the afrosphere.


5. On The Black Hand Side (BBR #246) - This is an informative, educational and entertaining blog with a growing blogger interview series called '20 Questions With...'. Vanessa Byers owns and operates this blog. She was kind enough to interview me on her blog. Perhaps you will be next?

Have you had a chance to visit any of these blogs in your travels through cyberspace?

Spread The Love

Our blog continues to evolve over time. There are so many issues that I hope to discuss with you over the coming weeks and months. Time will tell if I'm successful in creating an Electronic Village that is truly worthy of a daily click-thru by you and others. For now, I am grateful to those that share their village voice with comments on our posts as well as those of you that simply ~lurk~ in the shadows of the village.

Regina's Family Seasons (BBR #137) is a blog that I learned about recently. Regina surprised me recently with a Spread The Love award. This award originated in Jan 2007 with Gar-Boodles Soup. She used these words to describe the essence of the award, 'Do You know what friendship is ? - Yes- it is to be as brother and sister, two souls which touch each other without meeting, like two fingers on the same hand.'

In that spirit, I share the Spread The Love award with Black & Missing But Not Forgotten, Eddie Griffin (BASG), Mes Deux Cents, Mrs. Grapevine and Vanessa Byers. These five bloggers dedicate a good portion of their blogging energy to uplift others. I have not met any of them in person, however, I feel as a kindred spirit with each. I invite all Villagers to take a moment to visit their blogs so that you'll understand why this award is bestowed on them.

Villagers, have you made friends here in cyberspace that you've never met in the real world?