To Love or To Leave

To Love or To Leave, O.M.G! If I don't hear this a million times in a week. You see even though my friends seem to think I give the best advice, this question floored me. I couldn't really give an efficient answer because honestly I'm confused myself. . .. I know . . .I know. Yes I'm confused shocking isn't it!

It got me to thinking about my young fresh ,coming into our own Twenty Something Generation and I've figured it out. Still confused but, now I have a complete understanding of why.

Now as Children we learn once burned by the hot iron never to touch again. Mentally without us even realizing our subconscious mind just won't let us touch. I believe this to be true with emotions. Once burned, dogged out, ran over, played however you want to put it. Our good friend (Subconscious Mind) is like, Hey wait a minute. I remember we did something similar to this and it had a bad effect. If we choose to ignore this and proceed we're cautious and scared. Vowing to never let ourselves be that vulnerable again.

We're geniuses we think! Building imaginary walls and creating rules which we begin to live by. Buying our first class tickets for confusion. We're ready to join the nightlife of temptation.

Often swept off our feet in love on Friday. And highly annoyed by Monday. We play games as if there's not a care in the world. Then complain to an audience that there's no one worth loving around. Time passes us with rose colored vision while everything appears to be in our favor until reality approaches. Introducing a sweet gentle kiss of a new life. Do we stand our ground holding firm to our current Supreme Single Status, or do we crumble. Breaking every rule we worked so hard to establish.

We do a dance of dozens leading on both ends. No one wanting to appear the weaker so we put our love on lockdown (Check out Kayne's latest single. The man clearly has a point).

But, love is a strange thing and resistances are weakened once you've met your match. ( F. Y. I : People, every swagged person is not your Match). The blinders come off and suddenly the road doesn't seem so confusing after all. Finally seeing that we are truly the key holders to our destiny. We began to live life as intended breaking rules and creating our own path to happiness.

I believe once we realize that each person and relationship is different and should be judged separately from any other experience. We will see that love has no particular path which to follow it's wild and spontaneous. Most importantly it's what we make it.

So Keep an open and cautious mind.


One love,
Nesha Star

Spending on Alternative Media Jumps 22%

Marketers Follow as Consumers' Broadband Use Surges

By Jonathan Lemonnier

Published: March 26, 2008

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Spending on alternative media hit $73.43 billion in 2007, a 22% increase over the previous year, and will continue to grow, according to PQ Media's Alternative Media Forecast: 2008-2012, released today. The research firm tracked 18 digital and nontraditional segments, with a combined 16.1% of total advertising and marketing dollars in 2007, up from 7.9% in 2002, yielding a compound annual growth rate of 21.7%.

The forecast predicts a 20.2% increase over the next year, to a total of $88.24 billion, and a compounded annual growth rate of 17% for 2007-2012, reaching $160.82 billion. By then, alternative media will represent 26.6% of all advertising and marketing dollars.

'Where the money is going'
The upswing is as much a result of the effectiveness of new media in a fragmented market as it is from a lack of confidence in traditional media, said PQ Media President Patrick Quinn. "Traditional ad budgets have been going down, but spending has remained stable. This shows where the money is going," Mr. Quinn said.

"There is a lack of standards in these new areas," Mr. Quinn added. "Digital out-of-home advertising is getting recall rates as high as or higher than traditional mediums, but there are few studies on this. They're going to need more and deeper metrics: The bar is being raised across the board."

Alternative advertising, including online, mobile, entertainment and digital out-of-home advertising, saw spending rise at a compounded annual growth rate 25.8% to $39.22 billion in 2007, accounting for 17.7% of all ad spending that year (compared with 7% of all ad spending in 2002), and grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 26.2% from 2002 to 2007.

Online and mobile advertising spending --including search and lead generation, online classifieds and displays, e-media, online video and rich media, internet yellow pages, consumer-generated ads, and mobile advertising -- reached $29.94 billion in 2007 (up 29.1% compared with 2006), a compounded annual growth rate of 31.4% over the 2002-2007 period. The category received heavy infusions from brand marketers trying to reach key demographics that have migrated online and to wireless thanks to wider broadband adoption.

Entertainment technologies
Entertainment and digital out-of-home advertising -- including local pay TV, digital out-of-home media, video on demand, interactive TV, and digital video recorder, video game, home video and satellite radio advertising -- increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 15% from 2002-2007, and rose 16.2% over the previous year to $9.28 billion in 2007. The growth was driven by rising adoption of entertainment technologies, including ad insertion technologies and ad platforms to reach young audiences.

Alternative marketing -- including branded entertainment and interactive marketing -- hit $34.21 billion in 2007, a 17.9% rise over the previous year, and grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 17.5% from 2002-2007. This brings its share of total marketing expenditures up to 14.5% in 2007, compared with 8.7% of total spending in 2002.

Branded-entertainment marketing -- including event sponsorship and marketing, paid product placement, advergaming and webisodes -- also saw and increase of 14.7% to $22.30 billion last year, and climbed at a slower compounded annual growth rate of 13.4% from 2002-2007.

New-media strategies
The deployment of new-media strategies focusing on better interactivity, entertainment and engagement than traditional media was the driving factor.

Thanks to strong gains in segments that reach affluent and influential consumers, interactive marketing -- including e-direct marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, and e-custom publishing -- saw big increases in 2007 of 24.4%, reaching $11.9 billion, compared with the previous year, and a compounded annual growth rate of 28.6% over the 2002-07 period.

"The top-growing segments all share the same similarities," said Mr. Quinn. "They tend to be influential or youth demographics, the coveted 18- to 34-year-old, mostly male demographic with a strong digital component."

Hot Boys to Reunite in New Orleans During NBA All-Star Weekend

Feb 11, 2008 - New Orleans, LA -- Before the NBA's finest hit the New Orleans Arena hardwood at this year's annual All-Star Game, another breed of New Orleans' all-stars are reuniting for the first time in over seven years.

On the wee hours of Sunday, February 17, Club Dream in New Orleans will witness three of the four Hot Boys take the stage together for the first time since their massive departure from Cash Money in 2001.

B.G., Juvenile, and Lil' Wayne, together with producer and DJ Mannie Fresh, are ready to set New Orleans on fire like they did in the days of "Bling Bling," "Back That Azz Up," "Tha Block Is Hot," and "Project Chick." (Fellow Hot Boy, Turk, remains incarcerated on attempted second-degree murder charges, but could be released as soon as March or April).

Port Arthur, Texas, rapper and UGK's surviving half, Bun B, is also set to make a guest appearance at the reunion show, slated to be a precursor to his full-length album which is scheduled to drop later in May.

The gathering is set to take place immediately following the All-Star Game's final buzzer, and patrons must be 21 or older to be admitted.

For more information, visit Cash Money Degreez at cmdegreez.com or the official event website at allstarnola.com/.

Black History Month in Review: Are we Just Going Through the Motions?

Black History Month in Review:

Are we Just Going Through the Motions?

"...state the stats to stunt - I don't need to front I make history e'ry day - I don't need a month..."
Kanye West (Brandnew)

I keep hearing people mention to me that it's "Black History Month" and that this is the time to celebrate and remember such people as Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, Langston Hughes, Garret A. Morgan, Thurgood Marshall (just to name a few)...who have all played a crucial part in not only the lives of African Americans but the "Greater American Society" as we know it.

But as I continue to ponder, I have to admit that it seems as if [we] make this "Big-to-do" over the entire motnth of February and the importance of celebrating the lives and accomplishments of those who have "carried the crosses" before us, only to find out that when the month is over, [we] are back to the same old routine. And "Black History Month" is far from the brain.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the programs, speeches, marches and honorary gatherings that go on during this month, but what about the other eleven months of the year? I mean who's to say that we can't celebrate "Black History Accomplishments" on every day of the year? Now, I do remember sometime ago, that Mc Donald's in conjunction with the Tom Joyner Morning Show was doing a "Celebrate Black History 365" (or some similar title) that gave daily little known facts.

But what happened to that? It bothers me more and more each day to know that people [our people] don't take the time out to educate themselves and their families and friends about our own heritage. Thus, leaving room for confusion, manipulative thinking, blissful ignorance and complacency.

I come to grips of this on a weekly basis because

I tutor children and work with them in a lot of different areas and though I love these kids and love to see them excel in subjects where they believed that they were doomed, I can't help imagining the thought of wanting to smack their parents when I can hear them singing all versions of "Crank that Soulja Boy" known to man, but can't count past 100, or can't read past a first grade level, when they are in the sixth grade. These same children have no idea of what the black history movement is about, that slavery really existed and have the stories of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Thurgood Marshall all wrapped into one blob of wrong information.

Upon correction of their studies, and the stories of African American leaders I realize that there are more children who think this way and need to be supplied with the right information.

It sickens me to think that these children do not only have a clue of the reason behind the recognition of the month itself, but don't know the difference between a civil rights leader and their "favorite rapper's favorite rapper." (and no, I'm not a Hip-Hop or Rap basher, but it's time that we start facing some realities really quickly!!)

If the children are our future and we they aren't even being taught the correct information about those who have paved the way before them, then where does that leave all of us? Do we go through the same motions, year after year or do we make a change today? Do we celebrate "Black History Month" just because we realize that it's February and that's what's expected of us and if so, then what satisfaction do we receive from that? Are we failing ourselves? Are we failing the young leaders of today and tomorrow because we don't make changes to our own mindsets and practices?

by Erin Berry