JESS3 / The State of The Internet from Jesse Thomas on Vimeo.

Wow. The internet is mad popular, like for reals…

But seriously, 200 Billion spam emails a day? Do people respond to those or something? Because apparently it must be working for someone.

There’s a great idea vying for the Pepsi Refresh Project $250k Grant this month. It’s called the Building Wealth Movement and it’s all about teaching financial education grass roots style. Building wealth in our community is imperative for our communities survival, and educating main street about financial empowerment is the key. Find out more about this movement at www.WSBuildingWealth.com.

Please support the movement by voting everyday throughout February at  http://www.refresheverything.com/wsbuildingwealth .

Follow on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/4buildingwealth

Become a fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/WS-Building-Wealth/474066540485?v=wall

Introducing Harlem’s first ever Restaurant Week! Well, actually, it’s a month long…but so is Harlem Week (Oh well *Kanye shrug*). Starting February 15 until March 15 you can enjoy 3 course meals for $20.10 at participating Harlem eateries and specialty items for $20.10 at Harlem retailers. If that didn’t sound intriguing enough, $1 of each purchase will go to UNICEF for Haitian earthquake relief efforts.

Check out the Harlem Restaurant Week Participants (Links to the actual websites, followed by links to their Yelp.com profiles):

67 Orange Street
(Yelp Profile)

Angelina
(Yelp Profile)

Cafe du Soleil
(Yelp Profile)

Chez Lucienne
(Yelp Profile)

Creole
(Yelp Profile)

Gospel Uptown
(Yelp Profile)

Grand Piatto D’Oro
(Yelp Profile)

Londel’s
(Yelp Profile)

Melba’s
(Yelp Profile)

Mobay
(Yelp Profile)

Moca
(Yelp Profile)

Mojo
(Yelp Profile)

Native
(Yelp Profile)

Nectar Wine Bar
(Yelp Profile)

Questan’s
(Yelp Profile)

Society Cafe
(Yelp Profile)

Sylvia’s
(Yelp Profile)

I’m definitely going to hit up 67 Orange Street, Mojo, Piatto D’Oro, Creole and Gospel Uptown. But then again at $20.10, all month long, I’ll probably make it to each restaurant…

Harlem Restaurant and Retail Week is brought to you by Harlem Park to Park and The Harlem Business Alliance. Find the complete list of restaurants and retailers at www.harlemrestaurantandretailweek.com

Its that time of year to tell you about programs to tell all your younger siblings, cousins, neighbors, mentees, etc. about.  Every summer kids across the country find that they have 3 whole months to fill.  Of course most kids want to hang out and relax and with the hectic lives high school students have these days, who can blame them?

However, from personal experience I could say that for any good high school student just hanging out or getting a part time job for the summer would probably be a mistake.  They are at the age where they can experiment and learn so that when it comes time to start making decisions about life, something that really sneaks up on you, they have some experiences to back up those decisions.

One such experience that I was fortunate enough to have my mom push me into was attending the LEAD program in business for minority high school juniors.  The LEAD program gave me 4 weeks of life changing adventures.  It allowed me to attend classes in business at one of the many renowned business schools that participate in the LEAD program.  Additionally, I got to, along with 29 other high school students from across the country, visit a number of companies (I went to the program at Anderson Business School at UCLA, so we got to go to companies like Fox Studios and preview the movie Barbershop!).  Even if in the long run you find that you don’t want to go into that corporate world, having an experience like that under your belt is amazing and can help you get a more well-rounded perspective to make that decision. On top of that, students will get to meet people from different backgrounds and states, giving them a chance to learn more about themselves and others.  Attending LEAD opened my mind and gave me enough courage to travel all the way across the country for college.

Over the years the LEAD program has expanded to not only include business, but now there is also an engineering program for minority high school sophomores.  With the economy in the condition it is in and with many American students not pursuing engineering and science career paths, getting a perspective on the field of engineering could really give a young minority student a cutting edge.

A really interesting development for the LEAD program is that for the first time this summer minority high school sophomores will have the opportunity to apply for LEAD abroad!  Students can apply to study at the University of Witwatersand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Whichever program the high school student in your life chooses, know that it will be an interesting and life changing experience, and of course these are not the only programs like this.  Based upon the student’s interests encourage them to look into programs in arts, writing, medicine, or whatever else.  The deadline for applying to the LEAD programs is January 25, 2010.  Visit www.leadprogram.org for more application info.

BE Next is a group you definitely want to be a part of (or at least I know that I do).  They are 21 to 35 year olds and are making bank running their own businesses.  The four young entrepreneurs profiled in BE Next are Nakia Stith, 31, who inherited and turned around her family’s security company, Jamail Larkins, 25, who owns an aircraft leasing and management business, Natasha Eubanks, 27, whom I sure you all know as the founder of YBF, and Darnell Henderson, 31, who owns a men’s skincare business.  All four of these companies had revenues of over $1 million in 2009 and all four of the entrepreneurs aren’t resting on their laurels, but  have plans in place for future growth of their brands.

Ok, Black Enterprise, thanks for the challenge.  I’ll be working to be part of BE Next.

Harlem is poppin this weekend, we got Shop n Mingle on Saturday and the Harlem for the Holidays Bazaar on Sunday!

Check out the whole program, including free trolleys around harlem on Sundays on www.nycgo.com

Andersons, founders of the Empowerment Experiment.

I’ve heard countless times about people deciding that they’re just going to up and live a certain way for a year just to see if it can be done.  Going vegetarian, eating local, purchasing only second hand, etc.

The Anderson family are just these type of people, except they are being very strategic about their year long pledge to change their way of life and they are sharing it in hopes that they can spread their experiment to others.  Their pledge is called the Empowerment Experiment and it is their goal to buy only goods and services supplied by African-American owned businesses.  John and Maggie Anderson are a Chicago couple who believe that, despite stereotypes about Black owned business, everything one wants and needs can be found within the Black community.  They also want to set an example of how the Black community can find economic empowerment, citing that African-American purchasing power is about $1 trillion and only 5% of that goes into the Black community.  The experiment, released only 8 months ago is gaining momentum and publicity everyday.  There has been news coverage in everything from Black Enterprise (of course) to CNN (now why didn’t we see this on Black in America 2?).

Besides just making the pledge to the Empowerment Experiment, the couple is tracking all of their expenditures with Black businesses ($53,450 since September… dayum!  I know what income bracket they’re in), making callouts on the businesses that are lacking in Black ownership that they could really use on a daily basis, and listing the Black owned businesses they go to and love.  They’ll even be keeping careful comparisons on price and quality on Black owned vs. non-Black owned purchases.  Their main goal is to come away with practical insights that can be used by Black business owners and Black consumers with a view towards economic empowerment.  They have already inspired about 20 others to make the pledge and try the Empowerment Experiment.  I’m excited to see how this works out and hope that it becomes a real movement.

Exciting isn’t it? Viva la revolution!

S Dot Tell'Em

So I've seen other lists for where to go, but most are missing key events.  This list is based on how much you might get to interact with celebs, freebies, food and drinks, and the most fun to be had:

Adidas Sports Performance – Broadway and Houston – At 7pm get a free yoga session with an NYC famed yoga instructor + a free yoga mat and water bottle.  Reserve w/ Lindsay.Ash@Adidas.com

Giuseppe Zanotti – 68th and Madison – Giuseppe himself will be cranking out house on the wheels of steel.  What other fly-ass shoe designer does that?

Sephora Union Square – 17th and Union Square West – Personalized skin care and fragrance consultation done by the founder of Fresh cosmetics founder + cocktails inspired by Fresh's natural ingridients

Sephora Times Square – 42nd and 7th Ave. – Body painting by Make Up Forever!

Tory Burch – Elizabeth and Houston – Block Party! Delicious La Esquina food, Deejay Cassidy, Champagne and limited edition products

Tracy Reese – Hudson and Gansevort – Free head to toe makeover and style consultation + cocktails

Vera Wang – Mercer and Houston – Vera is really getting into it.  She will personally be offering style tips and posing for pictures with everyone in a photo booth + Vera Vodka and live DJs

Barney's – 60th and Madison – Designers will be all over the place hosting fun lessons and events.  The list of designers that will be on hand is like a who's who of labels in Michelle Obama's closet.  Events include salsa lessons, trunk shows and a fashion greenmarket

Bergdorf Goodman – 58th and 5th – TOP PICK.  Designer cook-off hosted by Padma Lakshmi from Top Chef, Andre Leon Talley of Vogue hosts a fashion game show, beauty photography exhibit, the Olsen Twins as bartenders (you know those drinks are going to be strong, right?)

A Bathing Ape – Greene and Spring – Kid Cudi hosts a listening party!

Rugby – 12th and University Place – everything in the store will be available for customization including the Fashion's Night Out T-shirt, live DJ, opening new section of the shop that will specialize in polo and rugby customization, revealing new iPhone app + chance to win an iPhone

Ralph Lauren Soho – Spring and Broome – Last days of summer Americana theme with food and micro-brews from the coast of Maine

Juicy Couture – 52nd and 5th – waiters in tuxes on skateboards bring you food and drinks as you hang out in Juicy's England on acid style salon

Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream – Broadway and Prince – None other than Pharrell will be ringing up your purchases!  Check your receipt, I doubt he has worked retail in a very very long time

Bloomingdales – 59th and 3rd – Howie Day will be performing while you meet your favorite accessories designers and eat delicious 40 Carrots frozen yogurt.  Tons of free stuff, too.

Coach – 57th and Madison – Famous graffiti artists will be decorating the Coach limited edition Fashion Night Out tote + cocktails

Alice + Olivia – 40th and 5th – Get professionally styled then photographed for a chance to be an Alice + Olivia model for Fashion Week.  All photos will be posted to the label's website

Saks Fifth Ave – 49th and 5th – Tons of cosmetic giveaways, tons of famous designers and beauty gurus, and a red carpet (everyone's pictures come out better on a red carpet in front of a step-and-repeat)

Stella McCartney – 14th and 9th – Since Stella McCartney is the queen of green in the fashion world there will be a vegetarian food truck, tips on green fashion, and earth-friendly cocktails

Roberto Cavalli – 63rd and Madison – 10 cocktails inspired by 10 gowns on display from the designer's 10 years in NYC.  Cavalli is the host

Henri Bendel – 55th and 5th – Customers can be photographed in their favorite accessories with the chance to win one and can view The New and the Next Gallery of new accessories of up and coming designers and designers who were discovered by Henri Bendel

H&M – Spring and Broadway – Miss J. Alexander from America's Next Top Model will be teaching you how to work the runway on the H&M red carpet.  Get snapped by the "paparazzi" with the potential to end up an H&M billboard.

S Dot Tell'Em

Is this racist or offensive?  Enough people complained about it that Microsoft issued an apology and said they will be investigating who is responsible for this decision.  I'm not super mad at whoever it was.  I've never been to Poland, but I'm taking a wild guess that there aren't nearly as many Black people there for this ad to appeal to, so why not throw a White guy in there for that market.  The person's thought process was probably like, "Should we have a Black guy in an ad that hardly any Black people will see?"  The substitution was probably unnecessary, but if they thought it was a big enough deal to spend money on the crazy photoshop job somebody had to do to get a White man head and hand on a Black man then, oh well.  Note they also lightened the woman and other guy in the Polish ad… I'm gonna go with that there is less sun in Poland?  I'm not offended, but I see how people could be.

S Dot Tell'Em

1.) you don't want your child to hear from the president of the United States.  No matter what he is saying, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Why are these people so bitter?  

2.) you can't teach your elementary school age child to believe whatever you say.  You feed them and hold the fate of their weekends in your hands… you can make them believe you.  

3.) you forget that your child won't be voting for another 10 years.  I'm sure the U.S. will be dealing with a whole different set of issues that should be addressed now, but we're spending so much time on health care and whether or not Obama should be able to speak to children.  SMFH

On top of that the right wing is doing what they do best, wagging the dog.  To further scare the shit out of conservative Americans and make them believe that Obama is a socialist, anarchist, racist, extremist etc. they dug up dirt on his environmental advisor who specializes in the creation of green jobs, Van Jones   (also author of the definitive book on green jobs, The Green Collar Economy).  Admittedly the guy made some strong comments about Republicans and right wing media (um, who hasn't?).  I guess the clincher is that his name was found on a petition for an investigation into government involvement in the 9/11 attacks.  Strange that this all comes out just before the anniversary of 9/11, when everyone's emotions are going to be most high.  So, Van Jones resigned this morning so that attention wouldn't be brought to him when it should really be focused on the issues.

Van Jones

Tough week, President Obama. I hope Obama takes a nice little rest in Martha's Vineyard tomorrow.

 S Dot Tell'Em

I guess we should get ready for a slew of bastardized, action packed, nonsensical comic book movies.  Disney is already looking at some not so well-known characters from Marvel's arsenal to turn into movie heroes.  I just hope they don't turn out looking like made for Disney Channel movies.  That would be a womp womp (and yes, I am a comic book nerd.  I said it!  And what?!).

S Dot Tell'Em

Ethnic women doing it big in the U.S.?  Well, right up at the top we've got #3 Indra Nooyi the Chief Executive of PepsiCo, #14 Ursula Burns, the Chief Executive of Xerox Corp and #25 Andrea Jung, the Chief Executive of Avon.  

Mrs. Obama of course made the list coming in at #40!  And right behind Mrs. O?  Another Chicago inhabitant, Ms. Oprah Winfrey, who came in at #41.  Don't be salty that you weren't in the top 40 because you were muscled out by M.Obama.  You're in some really great company no matter where you fall on this type of list.  Anyways, I'm sure Oprah doesn't mind since these two women profess to have great respect for one another.  Beautiful!

There are all kinds of "buy for a good cause" efforts going on right now and I fully support all of them, but the "teach a man to fish…" idea always comes to my mind.  We can keep buying things being made by big corporations and then the corporations can hand over some of the money to people in need, but that money runs out and the people are still in need and might not have the means to support themselves.  On top of that I always wonder if the things people are selling for the good cause are being made in some piss poor sweatshop.  You know like robbing Peter to pay Paul (what your granny always says), but robbing one third world country to pay another.

Its not just the stake holders who are upset.  The company is cutting almost 21,000 jobs.  Factories in rural towns across the U.S. will be suffering as the main source of income, GM plants, will be closed.

Its sad, but honestly GM has been messing up for a few years.  When gas prices were sky high they made more trucks.  When Japanese car companies were cleaning up in the mid-sized market, they made their cars bulkier.  When people were starting to be concerned about the environment they were pushing SUVs.  Its going to be a hard and uphill battle for them to get back with buyers.  GM has already lost its market share to smarter car companies.  Maybe after seeing the effect of letting the U.S. car companies go under people might want to "buy American," but who really is read to buy a car from a bankrupt car company? 

-S Dot Tell'Em