Dot-Com Bubble 2.0?
In recent news, we have all read article after article about newly formed technology companies going public or filing for IPOs. It is safe to say that there is an incredible buzz behind potential investment opportunities in many online companies. About a month ago, the professional networking site LinkedIn, had its IPO and saw its shares rise 80% on day one. This spectacular reception of the stock speaks nothing to LinkedIn’s ability to make money (though they did see profits soar over 200% from 2008-2010), but speaks volumes to how desperate investors are for the next big thing.
In a time where not even Bernanke himself can figure out what is going on with the economy, investors are trying everything possible in pursuit of better returns. But who can blame them? U.S. treasuries are paying close to nothing, and the S&P 500 has been all over the place. With everyone sharing the same sentiment, people can’t help but gossip about the possibilities of investing in popular web companies that are looking to go public. The companies people are most excited about include:
· Facebook
· LinkedIn
· Twitter
· Groupon - daily deal site
· Zynga - social game developer
· Hulu - online video service
It has been quoted that the investment environment is at a “frenzied level not seen since the late 1990’s dot-com bubble” (WSJ 6/29/11), and it is easy to see why. There are countless articles written about all of the above-listed companies, when half of them haven’t even filed to go public yet. LinkedIn is currently trading at $98.70 (up around 5% today), though is it only earning a mere $0.04 per share. That’s a PE ratio of a ridiculous 2,720.03!
At the end of the day, the only people who actually benefit from all of this hubbub are the Private Equity guys. A good example of this is GSV Capital Corp: they recently saw their shares rise 40% after purchasing 225,000 shares of Facebook (after valuing it at $70 billion). It was the Private Equity firms and Venture Capitalists who were able to make these internet companies what they are today.
Nobody can blame any of these companies for wanting to go public at a time like this. Myspace recently sold for a mere $35 million dollars last week! With technology CEOs looking for a big pay-day and investors desperate for something new, it seems that another dot-com bubble is inevitable.
-Sam
Shadeism
Shadeism from Shadeism on Vimeo.
How can we be upset that others hate us
when we hate ourselves?
What always comes first: Love yourself
Mind the way you refer to others.
If it reflects anything other than love
make sure you remembered what comes first.
Dichotomies of the Diaspora
Dark Girls: Preview from Bradinn French on Vimeo.
Do you get it yet?
Do you love yourself?
Are you sure?
Lack of Black Love [pt. 2]
Second entry:
23 Dec 2010
For some reason I was never keen on reading Hill Harper’s book The Conversation. I picked it up the other day at the book store [since I do have much time on my hands]. The beginning of this book amazed me. I honestly thought this book was written for the whining females and impatient men who cannot have genuine relationships. Which I guess is true to an extent for it does focus on fostering healthy communication. BUT the driving factor for this book was based on our crisis of the black family. Yes a crisis. Read below:
"In 1966, more than 84 percent of all Black children were being raised in two-parent households. in 2006, just forty years later, fewer than 33 percent of all Black children were being raised in two-parent households. That’s a precipitous 51 percent decline. We could blame it on the change in attitudes about marriage over the past forty years, but that still would not explain why, in 2006, more than 80 percent of Asian American children, nearly 75 percent of White American children, and close to 70 percent of Latino American children were being raised in two-parent households."
This is more than complaining about the black man or woman. These relationships that we put NO kind of strength into effects our future. And literally. It effects our children. Who are our people of the future. Our relationship seeps into our babies. Their minds. Their characteristics. Their whole entire being. And well if mama did it alone, so can I. I can hold my own. I don’t need a man…. Catch my drift?
This is a problem.
Lack of Black Love
This was a blog I posted on my tumblr. Wanted to share and get some feed back on. Tried to organize my thoughts without being to long winded or by rambling. But it was hard:
14 Nov 2010
14 Nov 2010
My best friend. Her boyfriend. Very much so in love. They had a problem. Sat down to talk about it. Said a few things that might have hurt one another. No raised voices, yelling, or screaming… Realized that there are some things that they both needed to work on. Internally. There wasn’t any external factors involved. None whatsoever. After the discussion, they went on to cook dinner, talk some more, clean, go to bed finishing off with an I Love You. End of story.
They are both African Americans. Attend a majority school. Now sadly to say, if you were tell someone a story like this (in my environment) to your homegirl and n*gga (a term that we commonly use with no guilt) they wouldn’t believe it. That’s the perfect relationship. “Ain’t no body have all dat.”
This pains me to no end. Why is it so hard, painfully hard, for black love to exist. I’m pro-interracial dating as well. But black love - we have a problem here. And its internal. I have a beginning to the unsuccessful black relationship (in the environment that I am in), but no end. So help me out here:
Education and black love. Back in the day, when African Americans finally had the right to attend universities and colleges they pushed themselves to do better and be better. Thrived in academics. Made a point that I can be just as smart as anyone else lighter than my skin color… We attended HBCUs to be surrounded by amazing black people who too wanted to do something for themselves. Blacks found comfort in their profound people. Wanted to look for a spouse, who the same, wants so much more and BETTER. And then today’s generation decided to slap its disease in our schools. I love my HBCU but I can only count two genuine and heartfelt relationships on this campus. No one comes to school thinking “I’ll meet the one who aspires to be like me or greater…” Because half of these schools are starting to fill with individuals who have no business being here…
50/50. What I have realized within HBCU’s (today and near future) is that there are two crowds. The one who came here to surround themselves around educated beings of the same race and color. The ones who did amazingly well in majority schools. The ones who wanted to find something within their race. Something profound. And there are the ones who got in with there 1.9 GPA and lack of vision in their future. The more-than-a-handful crowd that got in because… well… we wanted more people. So now you have the talented ten looking for another talented ten spouse in a pool of, excuse my words, incompetent individuals.
No pain, no gain. Now our talented ten, who have amazing potential in this society of ours, do not feel the need to push so hard. Because we already know this handful of people are 100 times better than the ones who slipped in, so why give it an extra push to be better and do better when, naturally, I AM better… No more academic pain in our systems. Sad but true. Even I feel the lack of competition in my field. Even I’m guilty for my shamming and effortless work. Which then trickles into the way we carry out our daily deeds. We become lazy with people. We have no patience to work things out with the good people. Because there’s others around who won’t give us so much trouble. We don’t need the difficult. The lack of trust begins. Then society takes over our insecurities with that lack of trust… And then females become crazy by “policing” our men with their every move. And now men not having the patience with the one female who wants to take her time, because there’s another next door that is quick to let you have whatever. it. is. that. you. want. There’s no more “good” pain in our society because we’ve become impatient with it…. Hence we have no great gains in our relationships.
It’s one thing to see it with a group of people who don’t know any better. But this nasty disease is trickling into our own being. We have no healthy relationships. Not even the healthy minded and educated souls of our race have the patience anymore.
That story up there of this “perfect” argument is far from perfect. It’s being real. It’s about understanding. Our relationships die so quick because the minute we get into an argument we leave the option on the table for the other person to walk away. But why does every relationship have to end? Why can’t it just grow?
Now why am I relating this to school? College years are our prime years. Where we grow and we learn and we fall and we jump back up… If this is the example we set in our school… Why would it change when we leave?
My HBCU builds us up for the real world, but slowly took the hope of amazing healthy relationships with our people… I’m trying to figure out when and how it will reverse. Change of action? Change of thought? It’s an aching pain for me…
That’s all for now.
——————
**Side note: I speak from attending an HBCU and seeing the difference in successful relationships after leaving here verses attending a majority university.**
Discussion: The Pathology of White Privilege
special thanks to Damany Jenkins.