I have been
observing the growth of the Internet
over the past several years and am
truly amazed.
Think about
this for a minute. It was only a few
short years ago that email, instant
messaging, text messaging, ecommerce and
video sharing ... just to name a few
services, didn't exist. Companies
providing these services like MySpace,
YouTube and Ebay went from zero to
billions in just a couple of years. Many
make more money than large corporations
who have been around for decades.
We're
currently living in what is called a
"Web 2.0" internet environment and
change is rapidly taking place
everywhere online. For example, people
now have the potential to use social
networking sites to connect, communicate
and co-operate.
New software
or web-based applications are quickly
being introduced with new ways to do
things and old applications are just as
quickly, being set aside or seen as
obsolete.
With regards
to marketing a business online, what
worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.
So keeping up or staying ahead of the
wave is not as easy as it once may have
been.
As head of an
international black business
association, I am always looking for
opportunities that will help stimulate
economic development and wealth creation
within and for the Black community.
What I've
noticed is that many of us are not
effective in the use of the internet as
a "tool" for increasing income and
creating wealth. There is a big gap and
it appears to be getting wider.
Yes, we're
online and excited about the "gross
potential" of what we're experiencing,
but the "net reality" is, many of us are
getting caught up and taken off purpose
or task. Many are being distracted with
so many promises of instant success or
seeking to get "something for nothing".
Many are joining sites just to be
joining and not making personal contact
with anyone.
Did you know,
that feverishly posting ads all over a
site and submitting friends requests,
doesn't necessarily guarantee getting
sales?
You see, with
any tool, you must first understand it's
purpose and then learn how to correctly
use it to get a desired result. The
internet and especially social
networking sites, If not properly
utilized, will turn off more people than
are turned on. Instead of being a tool
for our advancement, "so-so" networking,
can become a big distraction and cause
many to lose more than they gain.
Here's
something to consider, did you know that
in spite of the economic and "Black in
America" forecast being portrayed in the
media, there is plenty of money in
circulation and wealth is being
accumulated every day? Yes it's true!
The problem
for many Black people is, that not
enough of that money and wealth remains
within our grasps. We're on the
internet, but many of us are not using
it correctly. We haven't been given the
real purpose for the "tool" and no one
is really showing us how to use it.
The great
(Black) American entrepreneur, S.B.
Fuller (1905-1988) claimed that, even
more than racial barriers, it was a
"lack of understanding of the capitalist
system" that kept Blacks from making
economic progress.
In an
interview in 1963, Fuller claimed that
when Blacks finally concentrate on
developing themselves so that they excel
in what they do, they will then find
that they have no real problems.
He claimed
that Blacks were left behind
economically because "they have nothing
to sell." That is, we offer nothing of
our own that we control the development
of, manufacturing and distribution for,
on any significant scale.
This simple
thing, is one of the reasons the "lion's
share" of resources, ie, capital,
manufacturing and distribution
capabilities, remain in the hands of a
few outside our community. What we need
is a way to increase and keep a larger
portion of our share.
If we would
work together collectively and grow to
any size or significance, we could do
something about some of this and start
to effectively change things.
I am
convinced that the Internet, ecommerce
and social networking are ways for us to
get started getting our share and more
with little or no out-of- pocket cost
... any major program, think tank or
study group. They say that "necessity is
the mother of invention". Well ya'll
.... its necessary. It's time for
change.
We must seek
to first and foremost, find ways to
network. We must "connect the dots",
establishing meaningful, mutually
beneficial networking relationships that
create new income and generate real
wealth, is our "product". This is
something that we can control develop,
produce and distribute.
The key is
for us to (net)work together.
Imagine, if tomorrow Black folk
everywhere on this planet (with access
to the Internet) woke up and started to
take "networking" seriously and began
"connecting the dots". Imagine if, they
immediately started to use the Internet
as a tool for wealth creation using
Black products and services. Imagine if
they saw the value of doing business
with Black owned and operated companies.
They saw the potential derived from
"recycling dollars" within our economic
group and were provided with the
resources, training and vehicle to help
them do better for themselves.
They did it
without a meeting, a march, a word from
their pastor, congress person or
favorite sports or hip-hop celebrity.
(Of course, those folk would come
onboard once they saw things were moving
along with or without them). Or they
would be used to campaign against our
"self-serving" behavior.
Imagine that, they didn't see it
happening on a "Reality TV Show", first.
They didn't hear some radio DJ or media
superstar say "its time to go". There
were no TV commercials or radio spots
pumping it up to the latest beats and no
corporate logos underwriting it. No just
us doing our thing. Black business
owners, entrepreneurs and consumers,
building a foundation of financial
strength that would uphold and uplift
one another and be available to pass
wealth to future generations.
They (we)
just started networking as though our
lives depended upon it. We just took the
time to get connected and in the process
let money start to flow.
Networking is
as natural as breathing, we do it all
the time. The problem is, we have not
systematically worked out a schematic
for making it pay us everyday. If we
did, we as a people, would be on the
road to financial independence.
Individual
wealth is nothing until we all have an
equal opportunity to be better off. Its
not "civil rights" today that is the
issue, its "silver rights". I personally
have been preaching this for over 25
years and, at times it seems for
nothing.
Talking about
what others can do so uncomplicatedly is
frustrating at times. Folk, its not that
complicated. We only make it complicated
as a way of avoiding the inevitable ...
CHANGE. The complication is in our own
minds. The marketplace is ready for
change.
We can and
should seek out opportunity within our
own community before crossing over to
accept what someone else passes off to
us as opportunity. The best way for us
to be certain is to establish meaningful
relationships from the networking
connections we make with one another.
Of all
American immigrants, Blacks alone came
to these shores in chains. This country
was no "land of opportunity" for them.
They didn't come here seeking financial
independence and the accumulation of
assets on their balance sheet. They came
here as assets on the balance sheets of
others. You know how it went, "$100, two
pigs, four cows and one Negro". Our
history in America started as us being
owned by someone else as chattel slaves.
Someone claimed ownership of us. We were
their property.
When the
"spoils" and means of enrichment were
created and divided, one group always
helped themselves to the lion's share.
From their perspective, they were
superior and there wasn't anyone around
to challenge them. They institutionalize
their policies of injustice and
proceeded to amass fortunes. Slavery was
a "cause" and fear based, poverty, not
trusting one another mindsets, of many
of our people, is the "effect". This
effect is now creating causes all its
own, and as a result, the system
self-perpetuates.
Frederick
Douglas said it best, "Power concedes
nothing without a demand. It never did
and it never will."
We didn't
demand enough, we didn't get enough. And
so Blacks, became conditioned to believe
in his-story, and accepted the small
mouthful of welfare crumbs and menial
jobs that offered no real chance of
economic enrichment.
That
perspective, has caused all kinds of
problems for Black people in this
country that continue until today.
Just to survive, Blacks have lived
through slavery, reconstruction, "Jim
Crow" segregation, integration and
affirmative action and today
"affirmative re-action" (the dismantling
of most of our civil rights gains).
Nevertheless, the problem and
solution is the same. Its on US! We've
got to CHANGE!
Our challenge
now is to take "re-affirmative action",
not only for ourselves and the short
term personal gain a business
opportunity may offer, but for our
families and our community. God has
blessed us with natural gifts. One of
them is the ability to network. We are a
visual and oral people and have lived by
that tradition all our lives.
I
propose that instead of joining every
network marketing company or money
scheme that comes along or being
isolated as "rugged individualist" or
just using the Internet to play video
games, network silly jokes, sentimental
stories, urban legends, unsubstantiated
PC virus scares, or have long winded
debates in forums, as some of us are
known to do, we instead mobilize our
collective Internet strength and create
income streams that will flow, perhaps
starting slowly at first but building up
like "rivers of living water" from mouse
to mouse, house to house.
I
propose that we come together and
organize. Getting a critical mass of
people involved in the process is
crucial. Check out the information
below. We are looking to find groups of
leaders who are willing to (net)work
together with ... The National Black
Business Trade Association
If you are
interested in taking Black business
networking to the next level ... get
connected with us!
Suppose all
Black business owners, entrepreneurs,
salespersons and distributors made the
connection.
Suppose all
the Black churches linked into this
network. Suppose all the historically
Black colleges came onboard. Suppose all
the other non-profit organizations were
encouraged to participate along with all
the fraternities, sororities, and
community groups and so on.
Tens,
possibly hundreds of millions of dollars
could start to circulate, all from just
taking a small step and a simple action.
This would be "new money". Money that we
would usually just give away to someone
else with no hope of return. And it
would cost us very little to
participate.
How hard is
that to do? Not hard at all. If we can
take time in the day to link hundreds of
people to a silly joke or hoax, why not
take action that will generate income
for yourself today and future
generations tomorrow?
Why not? We
must do something to help reverse the
cycle of poverty and under privilege
many face. By formulating positive
attitudes and effective strategies to
build our businesses, our personal
worth, our schools and our communities,
we all will overcome.
The fact
that we were able to endure over 250
years of slavery and more than 100 years
of open discrimination is evidence of
our ability to survive. We must move
past survival as a strategy and move
toward contribution.
We must now
mobilize and utilize all of our
collective resources to build and
prepare for the future. We must change
any non-cooperative attitudes and
negative perceptions and assume the
responsibility for our own future. No
one is going to do it for us ... but
with God's help, we can do it for
ourselves.
Peace & Blessings,
Lee Green,
Chairman, National
Black Business Trade Association
(NBBTA)
