In the News

It’s been several months since PR professional, James Andrews, sent a message on Twitter that set the blogosphere on fire.  I’ve been seeing more mentions of the incident lately so I decided to weigh in with my perspective which appears to be different than the majority I have read.

If you are unfamiliar with the incident, James Andrews sent a tweet that said:

True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, ‘I would die if I had to live here’.

The back story was that Andrews was in Memphis for a meeting with FedEx about social media.  The tweet itself didn’t cause the stir in the blogosphere instead it was the public reaction to the tweet by a FedEx employee.

Mr. Andrews,

If I interpret your post correctly, these are your comments about Memphis a few hours after arriving in the global headquarters city of one of your key and lucrative clients, and the home of arguably one of the most important entrepreneurs in the history of business, FedEx founder Fred Smith.

Many of my peers and I feel this is inappropriate. We do not know the total millions of dollars FedEx Corporation pays Ketchum annually for the valuable and important work your company does for us around the globe. We are confident however, it is enough to expect a greater level of respect and awareness from someone in your position as a vice president at a major global player in your industry. A hazard of social networking is people will read what you write.

Not knowing exactly what prompted your comments, I will admit the area around our airport is a bit of an eyesore, not without crime, prostitution, commercial decay, and a few potholes. But there is a major political, community, religious, and business effort underway, that includes FedEx, to transform that area. We’re hopeful that over time, our city will have a better “face” to present to visitors.

James, everyone participating in today’s event, including those in the auditorium with you this morning, just received their first paycheck of 2009 containing a 5% pay cut… which we wholeheartedly support because it continued the tradition established by Mr. Smith of doing whatever it takes to protect jobs.

Considering that we just entered the second year of a U.S. recession, and we are experiencing significant business loss due to the global economic downturn, many of my peers and I question the expense of paying Ketchum to produce the video open for today’s event; work that could have been achieved by internal, award-winning professionals with decades of experience in television production.

Additionally Mr. Andrews, with all due respect, to continue the context of your post; true confession: many of my peers and I don’t see much relevance between your presentation this morning and the work we do in Employee Communications.

While most have jumped on the fact that Andrews offended FedEx by seeming to publicly slam Memphis.  Most have not pointed out that the person who wrote this message was in FedEx’s communications department which would be in direct competition for whatever services Andrews and his firm were selling to FedEx.  It’s obvious from the tone that the employee felt threatened by this PR firm coming in and “showing” them social media.

When Andrews was confronted with this, he explained that his tweet was in response to an incident by an intolerant individual at his hotel.  Many have said that they don’t buy it.  I’d imagine that those who don’t believe him have never been on the receiving end of intolerance when traveling.  Furthermore, I find it ridiculous that people can be so offended by a statement about a city.  Quite frankly I will admit that one incident can form my opinion about a place.

In 1998, I moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with my then fiancé (now ex-husband).  Many of his friends would ask me how I liked Milwaukee.  Having moved there from Washington, DC, I would say that it was a lot different than what I was used to.  Many of them took offense without even caring to ask what I meant by the remark.  It was not the best thing to say, I agree but they the failed to even consider my point of view on the matter.  I had moved to Milwaukee, which is the most segregated city in the north, from Washington, DC, which is the home of the most educated Black people in the country.  What welcomed me to Milwaukee was the fact that at work, I was ignored and avoided by most and treated like a spectacle by others.  When not at work, I was treated like dirt in general, especially depending on what side of town I was on. Not only that but the native Milwaukeeans that I knew were not very welcoming of transplants like me.  It was very depressing.   While I now have some good friends who live in Milwaukee my opinions of the city were directly shaped by my experiences there.  One can disagree with me all they want about how nice a place Milwaukee is to live but they didn’t experience what I experienced.  Even though I lived there for three years, I still say it’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.  And if you go anywhere near the airport, you will experience intolerance as the airport is not on our side of town.

Now, James Andrews visited Memphis from Atlanta, another center of successful Black people.  I’m quite sure being treated badly by a hotel employee was a huge culture shock to him.  Can he be blamed for his opinion of not wanting to live there?  What gives someone the right to be offended by his reaction to how he was treated?  His tweet didn’t even mention the city or the hotel so it’s even more ridiculous that anyone was offended by it.  As I said before, the FedEx employee was probably more offended that an outside PR firm had come to “teach” the internal communications department about social media.

I’ve been to Memphis.  While the area around the airport is less than desirable, that’s not a big deal since it’s the same way for most cities I’ve been to.  What I did notice was that downtown was very quaint; a lot of the buildings have been restored and there are a lot of beautiful homes.  This is something you don’t see in many cities.  The riverfront area is nice (it reminded me of the lakefront area in Milwaukee which is also nice).  Just a few blocks from downtown, however, were housing projects where the Black people seemed to live.  While I was not in Memphis for an extended period of time, this is what I saw.  This is what I was greeted with.  What impressions should I make from that?

Have you ever been treated like you didn’t belong somewhere by a hotel or store employee?  I have.  This happens in a lot of places I go in my hometown of Chesapeake, Virginia.  They treated me like this when I was growing up there and they still treat me like this when I visit.  If you tell me that the place is racist, I won’t be offended even though William E. Ward, a black man, was the mayor for 14 years.  It’s just an opinion; everyone has one.  The funny thing is that even in the Washington, DC, area there are places that I could go and be treated like a common criminal.  It doesn’t matter how educated I am or how much money I make.

If I was visiting a place and that was the first thing I experienced, my entire experience of the place would be tainted by that indicent.  Instead of being offended by negative comments about your town, work to change it.  I am disappointed that in all the commotion, no one even thought to look at how Black people are treated in Memphis.  Andrews is not the only one with this opinion.

The case involving Julie Amero was decided the day after Thanksgiving. For those that are not familiar, Amero is the substitute teacher in Connecticut that was convicted last year of 4 felony counts of “Risk of Injury to a Child” stemming from a 2004 incident involving porn popups displaying on a classroom computer while students were present.

During the trial witnesses for the State of Connecticut testified that evidence showed that Amero had to have purposely clicked on the linked for the porn sites. The defense’s expert was not given the opportunity to testify but it was his theory that the computer was infected with malware from a hair website that caused the porn popups. Both theories were wrong. According to a report released by Alex Eckelberry, et. al., who examined the computer’s hard drive after the conviction, the computer was infected with newdotnet, spyware that was installed one week prior to the instance bundled with a Halloween screensaver.

This conviction was thrown out but this has proven all for naught though as Amero has accepted a plea agreement for her new trial due to health problems related to stress. The plea agreement resulted in a $100 fine and revocation of her teaching credentials. So she is essentially being punished though she is clearly innocent. This case drives home something that is of the utmost importance in cases involving electronic evidence – both the prosecution and the defense must utilize qualified experts do a thorough examination of the evidence. Had the prosecution thoroughly examined the drive in a forensically sound manner, they would have no doubt found exculpatory evidence related to this case. Had the defense thoroughly examined the drive, they would have been able to defend against the prosecution presenting actual evidence instead of theories. The best way to counter electronic evidence is not with testimony, demonstrations and shaky theories but with electronic evidence.

In addition to having qualified computer forensic experts, it’s also important to have counsel that is not only computer-literate but also understands electronic evidence. Such counsel on either side would be able to recognize misleading testimony.

With Jammie Thomas’ copyright infringement case, I originally felt that qualified experts were not used because of cost but in both cases, it seems that the reason was more likely lack of awareness of computer forensic experts. In the case of Julie Amero, help from computer forensic experts was received after the case was already in full swing when it was too late. The experts became involved because of the media coverage of the case. How many other cases are involving electronic evidence are going on that aren’t receiving media coverage?

Not only is it a lack of awareness on the part of people who need computer forensic experts but also we (computer forensic experts) don’t seem to make our existence known. To that end, here are some places to find computer forensic experts. Looking at the websites, some don’t seem to focus on people who need to find an expert. The HTCIA, however, has recently created a Computer Forensic Examiner locator.

• International Society of Forensic Computer Examiners
• International High Technology Crime Investigation Association (members are not allowed to work on criminal defense cases unless approved and on a pro-bono basis)
• SANS Institute – Certified Computer Forensics Analysts
• International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (members are law enforcement)
• High-Tech Crime Cops (mostly law enforcement)

It is important to note that members of some of these organizations don’t do criminal defense work but that does not mean that they wouldn’t given the right case.  Nevertheless these organizations are a good starting point for looking for qualified computer forensic services.

While I use computer forensics to identify unethical and illegal behavior, I don’t think anyone should be punished due to misinterpretation of evidence or because a thorough examination of that evidence was not done.

Click To Play

A bunch of folks watching Barack Obama’s victory speech at Art & Soul in Washington, DC.

He came out of nowhere.  He was a long shot.  Certainly I had heard of the freshman Senator from Illinois but why was he already running for President of the United States?  He hadn’t even been in the Senate that long and I knew nothing about him.

It was going to be George Bush’s last term and we were going to have candidates from both parties vying to replace him.  I watched all of the early Democratic and Republican debates and I wasn’t particularly impressed with anyone.  I had no idea who I would support.

I will even admit that I was tougher on Mr. Obama because of his newness in Congress and because I knew nothing of him.  And then I heard him speak.  He blew me away.  His message was the kind you rarely hear in politics.  It was not negative; it did not take down his opponents; it did not instill fear.  His message was about “Hope”.  The message was not about what the government can do for me but what I can do for government.  So I looked into his background.  This man came from nowhere, nothing – such humble beginnings – yet he was able to achieve so much.  For all intents and purposes he is the epitome of the American dream.  And this is before even bringing into the equation his multicultural background.  I could not help but be in awe of him.

Despite the fact that he seemed to be the perfect candidate, there was still the matter of his skin color.  Even in 2008 America, racism is still prevalent in every day life.  “How would that affect Mr. Obama’s chances at winning the nomination let alone the presidency?” I worried. And an incredible thing happened – he won Iowa.  As I watched him win primary after primary defying the odds, I was still in disbelief.

During the course of the campaign I could not help but be further impressed in his ability to endure his opponents’ attempts to diminish him.  The campaign that he ran is unlike any that I have ever seen.  It’s the kind that only works in civics textbooks; everyone knows that good guys finish last.

I can tell you that I never thought this would happen.  I hoped it would but I can admit that I was cynical – but not cynical to the point of not supporting him.  (This was the first time I’ve actually participated in a political campaign.)  Personally I think cynicism is a self-defense mechanism.  We protect ourselves by not getting our hopes up too high.  The thing, however, with Barack Obama was that his campaign was about hope.  And his winning of this most important election has given many people (including myself) permission to hope again.

This is only the beginning.  We have to hold Obama and his administration accountable for the things that were promised.  That is our job as citizens.  I pray that the momentum that was started with this campaign continues to be strong.  The kind of involvement that was a part of this presidential election should be a part of every election – national or local. It should be part of everyday politics.  The “We” in “Yes We Can” is the same “We” in “We the People”.  Mr. Obama gave us our government back so the question is what are we going to do with it?

Photo by: b_d_solis

I had been wondering what happened to my local Exxon station, one of only two gas stations in Oakton, Virginia.  I even Uttered about it.  I noticed some time ago that it no longer displayed prices on the sign.  Later I noticed that there was police line-like tape around the pumps.  Now just this past weekend the station has been boarded up.  I thought it might be undergoing some type of conversion to a new brand or that the particular station might be one of the corporate owned stores that Exxon would be closing.  Neither of these are true.

While looking for other information I stumbled upon this Washington Post article about Exxon selling off gas stations.  According to the article, the station was independently operated by an Exxon franchise owner but Exxon owns the land.  Amid rising gas prices and rents, the owner was forced to shut down after 12 years.  She could no longer afford to buy the gas she was selling.

It’s not just the consumers getting screwed.

Last week I saw on iGoogle (probably in the TechDirt feed) that 1938 Media had inked a deal with Verizon Wireless to distribute 1938 Media content on its VCast service.  I didn’t get to read it because it was a busy day.  1938 Media was no stranger to me, however, after all the controversy that his TechNi***: Where are the Black Tech Bloggers? video caused on the Videoblogging Yahoogroup a year ago.  (Google it).  So then Monday I see in my email from the Electronic Urban Report that Najee Ali, Paul Porter and other activists were calling for Verizon Wireless to withdraw the distribution deal.  I thought that interesting that this was in the Electronic Urban Report and also since the infamous video was about a year old.  I wondered if the boycott would work.  Apparently it did because the next day the Electronic Urban Report was reporting that Verizon dropped 1938 Media from the VCast service.

Now folks are crying “outrage” and “conspiracy”.  What you have here is the basic tenet that corporations don’t like controversy.  Corporations care about one color: green.  And if some controversy threatens that green they will drop the source of the controversy.  It’s simple.  Outside of Hollywood and the music industry, controversy doesn’t get you far in real life.

I read a lot of comments on TechCrunch saying the video wasn’t racist and that political correctness is evil.  It’s easy to say when you’re not a member of the group being ridiculed.  A minstrel show is a minstrel show.

I also saw many say that if a Black person had made the same video then everyone would think it’s okay.  There were even comments about the “activists”.  I took a little time to Google Najee Ali to find out what else he’s been into.  Just last month Najee Ali and Paul Porter were apparently protesting the depiction of violence in an Ashanti video.  He consistently protested R. Kelly, even outside the courthouse at his trial two months ago.  Ali led a protest threatening an NBC boycott over the inclusion of Snoop Dogg in It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.   As long ago as 1999, Ali protested 1999 NAACP Image Awards given to Jay-Z and Big Pun for recognizing “gangster rappers that call each other [n-words] and denigrate black women.”  There is a lot more about Najee Ali and his various protests all over Google but I will stop there; I think it’s shown that Ali protests anyone who portrays Black people with this gangster/pimp image whether or not they are Black.

I would also like to point out this post that I also saw: BET, probably the single largest purveyor of negative Black images, has apparently lost some sponsors due to viewers petitioning those sponsors directly.  For Black people and others negatively portrayed in the media it’s about having more realistic images.   For the corporations it’s about business.  Controversy is not good for business.

Back to 1938 Media, this quote from Bill Cammack says it all:

The resurgence is due to Loren stepping outside of the Echo Chamber with his Verizon deal and exposing himself to people who don’t give a damn about Social Media AT ALL, but DO CARE who companies that they patronize associate with… as well as what those people appear to stand for.

Mobile post sent by KenyaOA using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

I have never seen a presidential candidate on a tabloid before but there’s always a first time I guess. It’s normally some photoshop’ed photo of Oprah, Tyra, Brangelina, Ben and Jen (pic one) or whoever. I can’t believe people believe this stuff.

When I snapped this photo, I didn’t even see the disrespectful “Death Watch” headline. That’s just fowl.

If you pick up the June issue of Northern Virginia Magazine you will find me. I’m on page 24 as the Commuter of the Month.

This came about because column writer Jan Linley found my blog post (I Hate Brake Lights: 9 Braking Offenses) and agreed with my rant about brake lights. I talked with her for a while about my commuting habits. At the time, I didn’t know that she would mention my videoblog at all. As a matter of fact, I released the specific video that she mentions, Tow-tally Screwed, after we had already talked earlier this year. When the photographer came out last month, I knew that my videos would be mentioned as I was told to bring my camera. There you have it.

I do wonder though if some of the scores of other photos taken were better than this one. At any rate, I guess I’ll just take my 10 seconds of regional fame.

I went to the candlelight vigil for DeAnthony Henson last night. I did not know DeAnthony; instead, I know one of his sisters from the Coaching for College Program. I learned a lot about DeAnthony, though, in that hour or so.

DeAnthony had been in trouble when he was young and had been sent to Oak Hill Youth Center. He became a focused young man while at the facility. He had goals on what he wanted his life to be. He mentored the younger kids and the staff members had nothing but good things to say about him, referring to him as a bright star. They knew he was going places in life.

At the time he was killed, he had been saving for a car and was preparing to move into a new apartment. According to his sister, he had already packed up his apartment for the move. He would also soon be starting a construction job full time. He was very much into family. He and his girlfriend of three years had plans for the future.

DeAnthony was involved with Earth Conservation Corporation (ECC) and Peaceoholics. Representatives of both organizations attended the vigil to speak DeAnthony’s praises. In addition to DeAnthony’s family, his long-time girlfriend, and representatives of ECC and Peaceoholics, representatives from the Mayor’s office also spoke about how good a kid DeAnthony was.

In this video shot less than one month before he was killed, DeAnthony is asked about why he was involved with Earth Conservation Corporation. I was impressed with his answer.

The neighbors in the Southwest community, in the shadows of the almost completed Washington Nationals stadium, where he was killed, spoke up to tell the police what happened which is rare in DC. According to witnesses, “friend” of his shot him. No one knows the reason as yet. The friend has been arrested. At the vigil the family thanked those that spoke to the police.

Violence in DC many times does not discriminate. There have been several cases this year where innocent people, many times children were killed just for being outside. I also found the another member of the Earth Conservation Corporation was gunned down earlier this year as he sat outside his house. This kid, too, had turned his life around, having become an important community journalist, activist, and youth advocate. Ironically just before his murder, that particular kid was producing a final video piece about putting an end to the gun violence endemic in his community.

It is sad that kids that have changed their lives for the better are being killed. Something has to be done.

Tags: senseless violence murder washington dc deanthony henson