Madame Noire | Black Women's Lifestyle Guide | Black Hair | Black Love

Madame Noire is back with the first profile of the year in my Women in Technology series.  I’m  kicking this one off with a individual who wears a couple of hats, each very special.  Welcome to the world of Monique Woodard; an entrepreneur of a mobile company for lifestyle apps called Rebelle as well as the co-founder of a networking organization called Black Founders  for Black tech professionals.  I had the opportunity to catch up with the Florida-raised entrepreneur and  wanted to share the thoughts of my colleague in the tech space, so here we go!

LDC:  You started your career dealing with brand strategy.  What led you to your interest in brands and consumer behavior?

MW: I started my career at a brand naming agency, leading projects for companies like Starbucks, Avon, and Bayer. So that’s probably where my interest in brands started. Since then, I’ve worked in e-commerce product marketing and became deeply involved in what makes consumers act — specifically online.  Now, when brands are entering our personal lives more than ever and touching our lives at so many different points — web, social, mobile — I think it’s interesting to see how brand loyalty is influenced by consumer interaction with a brand outside of strictly commercial channels.

LDC: What inspired you to start this new venture of yours, Rebelle?

MW: Rebelle is a mobile app company for lifestyle apps that touch the ways you shop, engage with fashion, and entertain yourself. I’ve always been interested in fashion and lifestyle. I once ran a fashion blog. My goal with Rebelle is to continue to create web and mobile experiences that people love. Our first app, Speak Chic, is a mobile app that helps you correctly pronounce fashion brands. If you’ve ever stumbled over ‘Christian Louboutin’ or heard someone mispronounce ‘Versace’ (‘pass that Versazy’), then you know how potentially embarrassing that can be. This app helps you avoid that. Speak Chic will be available in the Apple App Store on January 24 and will be followed up later in 2012 with a fashion gaming app.

LDC:  What did you think of the Black in America CNN special that recently ran about the African-American challenge in Silicon Valley?

MW: Black in America put a much-needed spotlight on many of the issues around diversity in Silicon Valley, but more importantly, it highlighted a group of entrepreneurs who were stretching toward something really positive. Some of that was lost in people getting caught up in one or two controversial sound bites. Angela Benton and Wayne Sutton did an excellent job with the first class of NewMe Accelerator and you can already see companies like BeCouply and Central.ly using it as a launchpad to create sustainable businesses.

However, Silicon Valley has always had a small but well-connected group of black executives and entrepreneurs who have been in Silicon Valley for quite a while and could have given a perspective that was missing from the piece. If you want a true picture of black people in Silicon Valley, then those voices should be part of the conversation.

LDC:  What are plans for “Black Founders” for 2012?

MW: Last year (2011) was a year of Black Founders testing and refining our programming to determine what black entrepreneurs need most and 2012 is going to be the year of expanding those programs so that more people can take advantage of them. Sponsors are working with us on a college tour to expose students to Silicon Valley startups and internship programs and we are working on a major program that will give entrepreneurs outside of the Bay Area a chance to benefit from the programs that we’ve built.

Black Founders will be speaking at South by Southwest leading the panel “Pay-it-Forward: Building Successful Startups” and we’ve also been invited to attend TED — a conference for “the world’s leading thinkers and doers”. We’re incredibly inspired to see how many people and organizations have embraced our message and want to work with us on this movement to connect and create more successful black tech entrepreneurs.

They call ‘em an “ex” for a reason. And while we’d love to breakup with all of our boyfriends and find ourselves on good, positive terms with them soon after, sometimes feelings get in the way, drama ensues, and you find yourself on an irritating emotional rollercoaster you thought you had left behind when the relationship ended. Some ex-boyfriends can wind up being great friends, especially the ones you weren’t with for a long time, or the ones you were homie-omies with before partaking in a relationship. However, others can be a pain, and end up being the guy you’re so NOT subtly talking about on your social media statuses and with friends about all the time. Per all the Rihanna and Christopher Brown rumors and drama, know that if your breakup isn’t that old and you’re both already trying to find some type of door back into each other’s lives, you need to be mindful of the things that can happen when you let the wrong “one” back in.

You might trick yourself others into thinking you’re “just friends,” but if you still are feeling him in some deep way beside the mutual friendly love, you could be using this friendship as a stepping stone to a relationship again. You’re supposedly done, but in both parties’ minds, you’re just on break. You’re thinking that he might come to his senses while you keep friendly, and who knows, maybe you’ll end up together again someday soon. However, while you harp on the past because it’s dead in your face (or texting you as you read this), you could be blocking yourself from the chance to meet a better man who could do a better job at keeping you happy. If you want to be friends, that’s all good and dandy, but leave it at that, and leave your feelings at the door. But that’s a difficult task, right? Especially when a friendship allows you to know the ins and outs of his life–what he’s up to, and of course, who he’s dating now. You put on that uber-fake smile and try and be polite, but inside you’re talking ish aren’t you?

Most importantly, if the shoes are switched and he’s looking for something and you’re not, then you have a problem, if not a pest on your hands. Straight up, you’ve inadvertently lead him on. He thinks by you accepting him back into your space with his same ‘ol drama and problems that you would possibly be willing to give him a second try. Not the case? Better make sure “boyfriend” knows what’s up from the very beginning so you can save yourself the time and energy and for him, a lot of unnecessary pain and aggravation.

Lady O is all up and through the news this week. First there was the “angry black woman” statement in the Gayle King interview and now the first lady has signed up for a Twitter account (@MichelleObama).

Since her account launched this morning, the first lady is following five people and has over 152,303 followers…and counting. The account is not for the first lady to engage in Twitter beef with the wives of other nation leaders. No, this account is to help President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.

Since it’s official campaign business, Michelle won’t be tweeting personally most of the time but you’ll know when it’s her because she’ll sign her personal tweets with an “-mo”.

Do you think this is a good move for the FLOTUS? Do you plan on following her?

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From the professionals looking to solidify entrepreneurial or consultant ventures to those who want to distinguish themselves in the job pool, online branding is the perfect venue for you. Fast Company reports that this year, smart social networking is essential to gaining control over your professional life. As you undertake a new online strategy, there are five key steps that you must fulfill effectively to reach your personal online branding success.

As important as it is to incorporate Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn into your personal brand, make sure you have your own personal website as your base. Your website doesn’t have to be extravagant, it can be a simple page created on Squarespace, webs.com or WordPress. Make sure to use a real professional headshot on your site to give make it stand out. Once you’ve established your website, don’t forget to use social media tools to drive traffic to your site to get people interested in what you are doing or hope to do.

The next step is to blog! While you don’t have to create a deeply introspective blog with posts every few hours or every day, a blog with a post a week that includes simple text and a bit of multimedia can make a difference. You can then use the blog to drive traffic back to your website.

Once you’ve got your website and blog established, never underestimate the power of 140 characters. One bad Twitter status can ruin your reputation or a potential job opportunity. Make sure you keep your most outrageous comments to yourself and double check your wording before sending your thoughts into the universe.

Although it’s not necessary to jump on every social media platform as soon as they come out, pick a few new platforms to boost your personal brand. For instance, Fast Company observes that Google+ is a great way to build your personal brand and so it the app Path, which allows you to network with people on a professional level. One quick thing to note about Path: you’re only allowed 150 friends, so choose wisely!

The last piece of advice is to network, network, network!!!! Networking is a never ending process so to continue to expand into the online realm, try to find new people to connect with or follow every day. Make sure you actively engage with your followers and friends by saying hello and responding to posts and messages.

by Cortney Cleveland

Some people spend their whole lives waiting for their big break. But, some driven people – like Issa Rae and Aisha Tyler – have the initiative to create their own opportunities. For those individuals, digital technology can be a godsend that allows them to take their careers into their own hands.

Aisha Tyler is receiving accolades for her podcast “Girl on Guy”. The series was designated a Best New Comedy in the iTunes Rewind 2011 year-end roundup. Tyler, an established standup comedian, is currently known as the voice of the character Lana on FX’s animated hit “Archer” and co-host of CBS’ daytime show “The Talk.” Her podcast allows her to step outside of comedy to showcase her interview skills through poignant conversations with guests ranging from well-known actors and comedians to indie rock musicians, world-class athletes and wounded warriors.

The podcast may have started out as a hobby, but it has become a stepping-stone for her career, introducing her to new audiences and invigorating her brand. “I set out to make a little podcast about things and people I’m passionate about,” said Tyler. “It’s grown into much more, and I’m thrilled my enthusiasm for unvarnished conversation with compelling people is shared by my audience.”

Issa Rae; star, writer and producer of the hit web series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl”; used digital to launch her career. The comedy debuted to 60,000 viewers on YouTube after its launch in January of last year.

When Rae found herself jobless and tapped out financially at the end the series’ sixth episode, she again turned to a digital solution. Rae and Tracy Oliver, a producer and writer on the show, launched a campaign with Kickstarter, an online funding platform, to crowd source financing for the show. They were able to generate over $50,000, nearly doubling their original goal, to complete their first season and produce a season finale, set to air this Thursday.

Rae’s success brought Hollywood to her. She recently signed with United Talent Agency and 3 Arts Entertainment, the same representation behind Tina Fey. But, Rae is not anxious to turn her product over to a big network.

As someone who grew up and is still growing up in the internet age, I’ve been connected to the web since I was 9 years old.

It wasn’t until I was in junior high school that I fully used it to its full potential. I remember the first time me and my friend discovered chat rooms. We would talk to the weirdest people online, never giving out personal information. Even then we knew that could lead to all types of problems. We also realized how sexual people are on the web. I would just laugh at their crudeness and keep it going.

As I got older I got sucked into all of that social media nonsense. We all thought we were cool with our cute AIM screen names like babyprincessxoxox90 or basketballchamp91.  In high school if you didn’t have a MySpace and your layout was lame you weren’t cool. And your top 8 friends? Boy that was enough to ruin friendships.  There was Friendster, Sconex, Facebook, Livejournal, and Twitter.  Add me on Photobucket so we can share all our photos with each other.  Add me on Last.fm so we can see your taste in music. Watch my videos on Youtube.  Check out my very exclusive LookBook to see my fashionable style. You have a 360 (Xbox 360) what’s your gamertag?  Read my blog!

Basically anything you like, there’s a social media website for it. I love poetry, so the website AllPoetry.Com is perfect for me. I get to socialize with other poets. We have started creating our lives online. So much that it didn’t matter if you weren’t cool in school per se. If you have a million friends on the web, that’s all that matters right?

So of course it only makes sense that relationships would get thrown into the mix eventually. I mean online dating is now one of the most popular ways people meet. I know so many college kids who are using OkCupid, some as a mere joke; others are actually looking for love.

But what about the people who are still meeting the old fashion way? With things like relationships statuses on Facebook, you still have to declare (or not declare) whether you’re dating someone or not.

Social media has changed the way people date, interact, and socialize with one another.

If I want to find out about the interests of a person I’m dating, I can just go to his Facebook page or follow his Tumblr. That cuts out the whole first date and learning about the basics of someone because it’s all on their website. But what about people who lie about who they are on the web just to appear cooler? Sometimes you don’t even know who you’re dealing with.

From personal experience, the best advice I could give is to learn about your significant other outside of social media. Stalking their Twitter or Facebook isn’t healthy to begin with, yet it is also important to note if their online life doesn’t match up with their real life then it’s time to move on. Log off and spend quality time when the person you care about. Face to the face time is so much more valuable than Face Time with your iPhone.

Sharron Smalls might as well pack up her pencils and start brainstorming new career options because there’s no way she’s going to bounce back from the scandals she’s currently wrapped up in.

Smalls, 43, who is principal of Jane Addams High School in the South Bronx, was already under investigation for a credit-swap program that has allegedly allowed students to receive a diploma without taking the courses required for graduation. Half of the entire senior class is in danger of not graduating because they don’t have the necessary credits.

And then this happened.

A photo of a shirtless man grinding on the principal while pouring chocolate all over her body surfaced. According to the New York Daily News, the photo was Small’s profile image on Facebook—until ish hit the fan this week—and when students found it, they blasted it online and in e-mail in retaliation.

Students say the photo shows the principal, who enforced strict dress codes and often told them “the thug look is out,” is a hypocrite. Education Department spokeswoman Margie Feinberg, isn’t too sympathetic either. “When you are in a leadership position in a school, you have to consider the potential downside of exposing your personal life on social media.”

Chocolate city situation aside, Smalls, who has been principal of the school since 2007, earning $140,000 a year, has enough marks against her regarding students’ performance. In 2011, Jane Addams earned an F in every category of its city-issued progress report, and only 45% of the senior class graduated on time. It really shouldn’t have taken all of this for the city’s education officials to get a clue.

Stephen Tavano, 58, who has taught math at Jane Addams for 19 years, says it’s time to get things back in order. “These photos are just another example of our leader’s poor judgment,” he said.

“No matter how this turns out, principal Smalls needs to go.”

What do you think about this situation? Should principal Smalls’ personal photos be used as evidence of her poor judgment as an education leader? Is the photo even relevant with all of the other issues going on at the high school?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.  On its best day, the site is great for social networking, catching up with old friends and spreading awareness about your own personal business ventures and life events.  On its worst day, Facebook is a place for people to overindulge in self-promotion, irrelevant drama and become way too informed about other people’s personal lives.  At the end of the day it’s all about discretion, and one of the things that Mark Zuckerberg has taught me is that there’s one thing people love talking about more than other people: themselves.  Take a look as I poke fun at 10 annoying behaviors that you can find on “The Book.”

So you have a man now. (Yay!) While you should be basking in the glory of your new relationship you just can’t help looking for the cloud in the silver lining. Whenever you’re not with him you spend your time glued to his Facebook wall, scrolling through his Twitter timeline or going through ancient pictures on his now defunct Myspace Page. Girl, stop!

Check out what relationship expert, Virginia Feingold Clark, has to say about this behavior and what it says about you over at YourTango.com.

Knox and her husband, Gene.

I’m sure you’ve had many career advisers tell you time and time again to watch the pictures you post on Facebook. Why? Because employers often use Facebook to check up on you in the hiring process. We all know ratchetness on Facebook could possibly keep you from getting a job, but it sucks to know that the opinions you share–and display on the site–could possibly cost you your job as well.

A teacher in New Jersey named Viki Knox is in the center of the debate on free speech on through social media, as many are calling for her job after she posted anti-gay comments on her Facebook page. Knox has been put on paid administrative leave while the matter is investigated (and has been since the beginning of the month), but during a school board meeting yesterday, protesters were in full force for both sides of the matter. On one side, individuals were holding up posters that said, “No Hate in Our State,” while on the other side, a large group of people standing by the teacher held up smaller signs that said, “Don’t Bully Viki.” Many argue that a woman who teaches around young people of all different backgrounds and orientations, and is open about her disapproval of the gay lifestyle, shouldn’t get to keep working in the school. However, others are saying that firing a person because of what they believe in based on their religious teachings would be a violation of their free speech and religious freedoms.

I know what you’re thinking: if she was just speaking her mind on her Facebook page on her own time, what’s the issue? Well, according to the Los Angeles Times, Knox, 49, was commenting on the school’s recognition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender History Month. The special education teacher wrote that being of the LGBT community was a “sin” a sin that in her mind, “breeds like cancer.” She made it clear that celebrating the month in the school is like parading “unnatural, immoral behavior before the rest of us.”

Many gay advocates say that her opinions could cause her to not keep an eye out for those bullying students of the LGBT community, and that she may not fully enforce new anti-bullying legislation passed in New Jersey last spring. Not really sure how I feel about this one, because I think it’s sad that people’s religious opinions, which are expressed outside of school halls, can still get them axed. However, some people commenting on this story did bring up a really good point: remember the story we posted about the white supremacist principal in the Bronx who was fired after it came out that he wrote a string of books about minority inferiority? Well…this is somewhat similar. Not fully though, because racism isn’t something commonly taught (at least not out in the open), while Knox’s beliefs are a common view held by some Christians due to their personal interpretations of the Bible. But still, her known beliefs could possibly play a part in how she treats her students, or even worse, how they feel about being around her. As if there wasn’t enough as an adolescent teen to be uncomfortable about in school…But what do you think?

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