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The #1 reason I don’t like filtered browsers because I see it a step backwards in technology.
Anybody get their start online with AOL? Remember at one time lots of people thought AOL was the internet?
Once you control content through a browser you control access to information.
The web is about equal access to info and for all.
I don’t want African Americans to go into a web black hole with content choose by other people.
Remember, the browser is your main access to info.
Check out the link to my blog about this browser.
http://blog-aroundharlem.com/2008/12/08/blackbi...
This is my problem with Blackbird. Far be it from me to pooh-pooh the entrepreneurial spirit, but in this day and age I'm weary (and wary) of black people who continue to perpetuate the myth that there is only *one* black community, *one* black experience, and *one* black culture.
An African American / black themed browser in 2008, is just a browser. People of all races are connecting worldwide, and have been since....since...
Good luck.
You should have studied the internet crash of 2000/2001, AND Urbanexpose.com when it was up.
Consider getting into another line of business.
Regarding the product, it is interesting, I don't think I am their demo so would probably not use it on a daily basis plus I'm on a MAC. I think it is a rare opportunity that Black websites get the opportunity to be featured in a browser. I know BW 2.0 would not be a bookmark under News in any other browser (Chrome, IE, FF, Safari, Opera). BTW Thanks @Blackbird for that! ;)
I think I understand the intent behind it, but I don't think this browser is a good idea. Creating a piece of software that I have to install just so I can get at so-called black information doesn't make sense to me. It would be simpler and more accessible to a larger audience to just create a web application or portal site to bring together the information.
I guess we will see how it turns out, but I can't try it because this is a Linux box and my other computer is a Mac. I would just like to know at least one feature of this browser that can't be accomplished otherwise.
The above statement says it all. I'm tired of this where we question everything that is us, about us, deemed us, unique to us. "Black" is my interest and I ain't ashamed to say it.
When you log on to MSN and there are already some headlines there (and they don't look like you at all), have they then decided what you might want to read?
When the ticker goes across the bottom of CNN, have they then decided what you might be interested in reading? Your information is filtered bro, 24/7, all day long. Blackbird is not locking you in, at least it will show you more of you than anything.
Then you went there on installing it..omg come on now. We tweet each other all week long on this and that to install and never is there a debate.
Everybody needs to slow your scroll and step back. This is conditioning at its best. I can't believe this. I'm done.
@DryerBuzz my interest is Black too, but my idea of what's black -- or rather, what's relevant to black people, and me in particular, isn't necessarily yours.
I have a problem with any kind of product that claims to be for "African Americans" or "Women." Nine times out of 10, they're not for my particular brand of blackness, or my particular brand of womanhood.
And, to steal a point from Cecily, how does teaching people to install a browser so that they can find content actually help them navigate and evaluate the internet as it works today?
btw
I miss urbanexpose.com! I had a site then and appreciated the holes they poked in my site and my plans. It made me better ultimately.
...but I don't think most of the people I talk to on a daily basis have a problem installing a new browser. I also don't think they have much of a problem finding information that's valuable to them, whether it be regarding their race or not. That being said, I don't think this browser is for "us".
I don't read CNN and I don't even have an MSN account. I find things on my own. If that doesn't work, I find things through people who know. I don't know these Blackbird people, so why should I trust them as an information filter? Also, why should I have to install software to see information that's already available with my current tools?
It's a good idea implemented poorly. That is my opinion. The fact that the browser links to a bunch of black "stuff" doesn't change anything.
I'm just asking the questions. And I hear loads of my people's argument about it being separatist -- I felt the same way too about the hashtag #blck -- but I'm also seeing the other side of it. I'm trying to see what a newbie to the Internet sees. Or even someone who is only interested in what they believe to be the "black perspective."
And on the black experience, black content side of things -- Interactive One and Radio One recently conducted a BlackAmericaStudy, that digs deeply into the notion that, no, Blackness is not monolithic. But it also reveals that "most" black people don't trust mainstream media sources. [Not that I believe all studies.]
I see people getting really passionate about this browser on so many fronts today, but when a new content site for African-Americans launches, does it raise the same ire? Just really curious what makes the aspect of a browser, different than a portal (from people's perspective)? And what if BlackBird had only launched the video stuff in an app like Joost once was? Would that still have had the same affect? (And consider this, there's Black Entertainment TV, BlackPlanet, BlackVoices, etc. -- is the feeling that BlackBird is sort of representative of the times when these properties were hot? Actually they're still hot, if you've ever looked at the data that is. And there's a reason, there's an entire groups of people, who may not be like most of the commentors here that support these products.)
I'm not arguing for one vs the other, so let's be clear, but I'm just asking deeper questions to get a better understanding about why this product sparked so much debate today. I saw people blog who hadn't blog in years even weigh in.
I think there are products available for different types of people. If what the consensus is that rang through today bears any weight -- does that mean that BB doesn't have a future? Is that what we all think?
But I definitely get all the arguments -- about the objectives, technology, whatever. No doubt. But it is interesting that we can't just make this a discussion about the technology. It is interesting that because it purports to be the African-American Web browser it's being judged more on its business model -- cuz that is what it is isn't it? It's targeting a particular niche demographic. Whatever that niche is.
I don't know, but I wish them all the best and I think it would spread and has a staying power if we support and give them feedback like what is spoken in this post and if Blackbird reaches out to the demo and survey users frequently.
Also, as a Mac user, a Mac browser is needed as soon as you can.
And --let’s remember, this is a new product, we have the chance to help them mold themselves and offer our opinions to help them be better browser for Black people. Let's just remember that and try to be supportive...
Also, I just saw this...thanks Blackbird for putting Clutch Magazine (the things you learn about on Black Web 2.0!!) in your bookmarks...like wow! This young black sister is very honored and humbled and will do what I can to support and spread the word.
BTW
What happened to Urban Entertainment the guys that created Undercover Brother? They would be so paid right now with aggregating content.
It is NOT a filter that seeks to lock you in or exclusively define what is "black" on the 'Net. It's a customized browser that is preloaded with content and other features that the developers feel would be of interest to the AA community. Now did they do a good job selecting this preloaded content and/or do the included features work to give the user a good browsing experience? Those are questions I hope to get answers to about this software after the "OH MY GOD, IT'S A BROWSER FOR BLACK PEOPLE!" hysteria dies down. Also, I wonder how many of the people complaining and putting this product down all over the web today have actually taken the time to install it (Yes, I have since you asked) and test drive it before jumping in with their commentary? I wish the developers much luck and success with this venture.
However, IMHO, there is a bigger issue going on here that concerns me. Why is it when something is created, developed or targeted towards the African-American/Black community there ALWAYS seems to be an initial uproar of NEGATIVITY about it. And this uproar comes from both the non-AA and the AA side of the aisle. This is the undercurrent about this whole Blackbird release that I've been noticing today. There seems to be a subliminal conditioning going on here whispering in everyone's ear, very quietly... "Black is bad, Black is bad". I think many folks here (and on a lot of other websites/communities too) need to check out "The Black Paper" by Veronica Conway. It may give you some insight into all of this.
Why not just author plugins for Firefox instead. This whole black this and 'black is beautiful', 'I love black people' is just so 70's IMO.
Why should black people always seem to remind themselves of who they are. Are people really that insecure..lack of self esteem ?
Lets just have awesome tech and leave race out of it :)
I'm surprised by the backlash to this idea from the comments I read on TechCrunch. You'll find those here. http://tinyurl.com/6aeyvp
While I LOVE the idea of a Black browser I hate its implementation. As one blog said this project is so 1990ish. Us in technology have to do better! While minimalist, lightweight apps are the growing trend what do we do make a bloated, ugly browser with way too much going on. As one poster said the brothers should of made a Black plugin for firefox rather than folk Firefox and mess it up. I don’t think I’ve seen a black (in color) browser ever! Why would you make a browser black? All that different stuff going on at the top just looks like IE6 infected with spam and adware. Overall these people didn’t put anything thought in design or trending and their browser reflects that. I wish Black folks stop building Black products that sucks and then except them to sale just because they are Black. Build a quality product first then Black folks will support you. Let’s have some pride!
We must reinforce argument with results. – Booker T. Washington
Now if you are the creators of this project and you are reading my comment about it shoot me an email or two and I’ll take my time with suggestions to help this project because I know if you are not part of the solution than you are part of the problem. kamaubandele [at] yahoo.com
While I work on the web, I'm far from a techhead. The only reason I give a damn about a browser is to get on the Internet. Maybe I'm not using the full potential of browsers, but RSS feeds and the like were simply too time-consuming. As someone who works in black media, I need to keep up with the news in "our" community more than in any other and the news ticker on this broswer is amazingly helpful in that. The bookmarks, especially links to black colleges, etc., can just supplement the ones I have in other browsers. What is the big damn deal?
True diversity in workplaces and especially in the media is a joke. I just visited a company that gets accolades for diversity and I was one of three black people I saw there. So please - until there is true diversity of color, thought and opinion in what we consider the "mainstream," there will be offerings of all kinds to the black marketplace. Even porn is segregated. If black people felt their needs were being met by the mainstream we'd have no need for anything specific to our community.
I'm black and proud and I think it's disgusting that we are one of the only ethnic groups asked to shed our ethnicity and culture for acceptance. Every other group from Jewish Americans to Asian Americans to Italian Americans is encouraged to embrace their culture and uniqueness. Why can't we do the same??
I'm sick of all this political correctness and "Oh they aren't white, let them do what they want." While "Oh they are white, we'll sue them if they try to do what we are letting the other races do." Total bullshit.
If someone were to make a Whitebird version of this, they would getsued for racism almost immediately.
With that said, I've been having a lot of difficulty with browsers lately(as others have), FF 3.0 crashes often, Chrome is in beta, IE not even going to bother, Safari does not work with sites I go to, and Opera freezes, so I have downloaded this browser, and I am currently using it.
The dark skin hurts my eyes and annoys me, the heaviness of the tool bars, even with the book marks and the services removed causes me to hunch or lower my head to read content within the browser. The only benefit this browser has is it's speed, speed and the fact that it's working. If only I cold change the skin, add afew FF add-ons, and remove that service bar, it would be perfect.
Also I don't my perpetuating the stereotypes....Black Bird is as fast as Usain Bolt
@Hilo: "This is a racist web browser that will end up making it harder for blacks to get real equality." I cannot DISAGREE MORE with this ridiculous (IMHO) statement you have made. Software is not racist. Just like a gun (or a hammer for that matter), it all depends on what the PERSON USING IT does with it. Also, people of color in this country WILL gain equality and success in this world. PERIOD. A piece of browser software will have no effect on THAT whatsoever.
@John Wilson: "Thank you". I always like to thank people that make reasonable, intelligent commentary on this issue.
HOWEVER, upon further investigation...
Blackbird looks like it is having some problems with .JAR files. The FF theme I successfully installed had a .XPI file extension, BB seems to process those types of files with no problem. Another theme I tried to install (just before I posted this) had a .JAR file extension. BB did not process that file and install the theme, AAMOF the browser locked up on me all 3 times I tried to get it to open the .JAR file.
So I take this to mean that Ed & company have some additional work to do shoring up BB's Java support. Well, we must all remember, it *is* BETA software after all.
I mean, the people are already using a browser in order to find blackbird in the first place. And if people have gone that far, they may a well use the original mozilla powered browser (firefox) that isn't designed to narrow information down to "one" community.
And judging by most of the comments on this article is pretty wide community to cover. I mean, anyone and everyone could be into anything and everything.
Also, if you have the ability to find a new broswer or even know what a broswer is then I'm pretty sure you can already find the information you're interested looking for on the topics you're interested in.
I don't know, it just seems a little narrowminded to me.
Sure this would be better suited as a website/community portal than an application.
I'll go out on a limb and say that NONE OF US here, currently commenting on this product, are the ideal "target market" for this application. However, I am quite sure that there is a large population of folks new or relatively new to technology in general and to the Internet in particular that might find a product like this quite useful.
It is all about being able to find and benefit from information that can support our goals of economic, social, and political empowerment and interaction. One shoe does not fit all. Every ethnic group deserves a voice and a mike and yes a search engine that increases their access to information. The more choice the better.
Peace, Power, & Blessings
No, there isn't. What people are saying (not whispering) is that self-centering around one's Black identity is just as bad as self-centering around any other ethnic identity - it's the kind of thinking that leads to racism.
Of course, the self-proclaimed "Black community" (which, gladly, doesn't even represent the majority of the real one) is always seeking for anything that can be perceived as targeting them on racist grounds. Nothing new here.
But if this is truly your concept of a product, if this is truly your idea of a "good" concept for the greater good of people.. then your truly incapable of thought. For your company to believe that Blacks, rather African Americans "need" a browser that "caters" to their needs is a mockery to what it means to be an American. This country is a “melting pot”, if your not familiar with that term, use the “World Wide Web”.. you know; that little engine you are trying to separate from and search for it. I am an African American and I will never download your browser, nor will I ever purchase, download, or stream any content you provide. You are perpetuating an ideal many have tried to correct; the ideal that blacks are different and we (blacks) need “Special” attention. This is a false ideal. I respect the right you have to advertise your product, but I reserve the right never to use it.
And last I thought GREAT here comes another door opened for the NAACP, al sharpton, and other demagogues to bring forth costly and frivolous law suits on institutions of education, libraries, work places and businesses for not offering the black content.
Dumb
So, Markus, when's the Whites-Web Browser due to be released? I don't want to have to see all of your black websites when I am trying to find my white websites. How can I filter your black culture out of my life?
I never said anything before because I figured I'd be labelled a racist for it. Apparently, now that it's 2008, it's okay to be "racist" (read as: identify with my own culture). I don't want to see any double-standards here, so when's my White-Browser coming out?
One other question: Does this new browser display in actual English, or does it use "Eubonics" (read as: English, but with no comprehension of the rules of grammar)?
Now on to my disagreement with your statement: This African American web browser completely undoes decades of hard work by men both black and white. It took two assassinations on the books, and countless murders for all men to be treated equally. Now this blacks only web browser comes along and reverses the deeds of so many American heroes.
This is a product we are talking about here. An application. A piece of software. It is not reversing anything. It is not trying to undermine the Constitution of the United Sates of America. It is not going to cause the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to be repealed. It won't cause the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision to be reversed. It won't change the outcome of the 2008 presidential election here in the US. It is just a software program, a web browser. One that is pre-configured with content that the developers feel would be of interest to the African American community. It does not LOCK YOU IN nor LOCK YOU OUT of searching for or surfing to any of the content that can be found on the Internet. Also, and I mention this because I have seen so many folks making this erroneous statement, it is not for BLACKS ONLY. It can be downloaded, installed and used by anybody regardless of their race, creed, culture, religious beliefs, sexual preferences or whatever. AAMOF, I'm sure that the developers would be very happy if all people AA and non-AA downloaded and used it. *smile*
Oh and to answer your question, "Yes!" the color of your skin does matter. Just as the melanin-rich color of my skin matters. See the issue here is that we are not a "color-blind" society/world. And truthfully, as I've gotten older (or "more experienced" as I like to think of it *smile*), I don't think that we should be. I WANT to see the color of the different people I meet. I don't want to be blind to the differences of the various ethnic groups in the world. I want to see the differences, learn from the differences, be further educated by the differences that the various cultures have in this world. What I DON'T WANT though is to be discriminated against, put down, held back, shoved aside, used or abused because my color/culture is different from yours or someone else's.
{sigh} OK. Just let me point out that your comment here is very typical of the many, many types of comments I read over on TechCrunch that has fueled a lot of the conversations about Blackbird.
Since you are "going there"... to directly answer your question though (since you don't seem to know) the "Whites" web browsers already exist. They are called Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc., etc. The "caucasian mindset" as far as day-to-day existence in this country is concerned *is* the "default configuration setting" so to speak. And in far too many ways the cultures of non-caucasian people are already filtered out of your life/lifestyle.
Apparently, he didn't catch the buzz about the Motrin Moms campaign. The web is fickle.
I talk more about this on my blog
See the issue here is that we are not a “color-blind” society/world. And truthfully, as I’ve gotten older (or “more experienced” as I like to think of it *smile*), I don’t think that we should be. I WANT to see the color of the different people I meet. I don’t want to be blind to the differences of the various ethnic groups in the world. I want to see the differences, learn from the differences, be further educated by the differences that the various cultures have in this world. What I DON’T WANT though is to be discriminated against, put down, held back, shoved aside, used or abused because my color/culture is different from yours or someone else’s.
I agree and disagree. I agree that every ethnicity has something to offer society as a whole. Many of my Hispanic- and African American brothers have shown me many things that I have never noticed and that I greatly appreciate. You are 100% right in that the cultural differences of the many races that make up this great nation should never be ignored. I do however disagree that this browser does not hurt the trials of the men and women who have gone before. This is just the beginning. I'm not bagging on BET. I'm not saying that whites need their own browser. But others are. It has already been said in this post and many others centered around this controversial topic, "When do the whites get their own browser?" This is a foolish statement, as it is thoughts such as these that can and most definitely will spur on more and more heated arguments in the schools and communities of our country. The last thing we need is a reason for more hate. There is enough of it in our society as it is. I respect your opinion tgrundy, and the fact that you have discussed this topic with me rationally and reasonably. I am not a highly educated man. I am not a scholar nor do I have a degree from ANY university. I have not seen as many years as many people and I am willing to learn from them. I have seen the racist side of life(unfortunately). But I have also seen multitudes of men and women whose only similarity is that they were born, or now live, under the same set of stars and bloody stripes that makes us free. It is here that we must regrettably agree to disagree.
To be honest, as a computer professional and Internet veteran of almost 20 years, I don't think that I am the ideal user that this application is (or should be) targeted at. That fact may be true of most others commenting in this forum. Additionally, from using it this past week (Hmmmm, I wonder how many other folks who have had so much to say about this thing have actually taken the time to install it and use it?) I can factually say that it has a lot of room for improvement if it hopes to be a viable product in the marketplace. Actually, from watching the interview that the developer Ed Young did with Brian Lehrer earlier this week it sounds like he did not intend for the product to be released to the general public at this time.
I'll get to point!! First, true equality is when all people have equivalent access to economical and technological resources and thus are empowered.
White people (addressed to the mixed individual and others) are the majority
and all other browser and multimedia web technology plus most businesses cater to the majority thus they're desires and needs are best assessed and met because there are more profits to be made. But because they are more PROFITS TO BE MADE simply doesn't warrant the indifferent approach to so called minority desires. They are alot of differences as well as similarities, hence the birth of BLACKBIRD. I'm ashamed of the black people who are criticizing BLACKBIRD. i understand the ignorance of some black people ( it comes from fear and possessing an inferiority complex. A lot of Black people expect less and have a low standard because they feel like they are beneath there white counterparts. THEY ARE FOOLISH AND WEAK MINDED. IF MARTIN LUTHER KING, MALCOLM X, ADAM CLAYTON POWELL AND MANY OTHERS FOLLOWED AND INFERIORITY COMPLEX STANDARD...THESE house negros and fearful, spineless, cowards would not even be able to have access to a compuTer to blog they're ungrateful comments. HOW MANY BLACK PEOPLE OWN DISTRUBUTION AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, INTERNET COMPANIES AND TECHNOLOGIES? NOT MANY. THESE UNCLE TOMS ARE THE SAME ONE'S THAT SAID AT FIRST BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA WOULD NEVER BE ELECTED AS PRESIDENT. AS SOON AS WHITE PEOPLE BEGAN TO GRAVITATE TO BARACK THEY SWITCHED FROM HILLARY AND OTHERS AND SAID BARACK MAY WIN. WHILE I COMMEND THEM FOR GETTING ON THE RIGHT TRACK..I SCOLD THEM FOR ALWAYS SEEKING APPROVAL OF WHITE PEOPLE BEFORE THEY DO ANY THING!!
FINAL NOTE THE FIRST PEOPLE WERE FOUND IN AFRICA. (IT''S A FACT) WHERE WOULD EVERYONE ELSE COME FROM OH!! BARACK MOTHER IS WHITE BUT HE KNOWS HE IS BLACK!
Exhibit A... the above comments by "A nigger"
Exhibit B... the comments expressed here http://www.crunchbase.com/company/40a-inc
It sure clarified my position in a hurry.
The first people were not "in fact" from Africa. The "Out of Africa" THEORY is just that - a theory. Also, not the best of theories. For example, have you ever heard of the "Peking Man"? I'll give you a hint. . . it's as old as African fossils, but it was found in CHINA.
Do not be fooled by popular opinion. The popular opinion is that the THEORY of Evolution is probably right, and that people probably came from Africa. Nothing that science has found has proven these theories correct. They are, in fact, just THEORIES.
Please, do not tell the world something is "A FACT" when it actually nothing more than a theory based largely on circumstantial evidence.
Your comment about BlackBird filtering content from the perspective of Blackness, as well as, your comment on trust is...just bad.
First you don't know every person that writes all of the information or content you consume on a daily basis. Or the people that directly or indirectly impact your personal well-being. Its impossible. Second, trust is implied in alomost everything you do. You trust banks, your boss, food producers, medicine makers, your doctor, traffic light builders. You trust a whole bunch of people that can do harm to you, but a bunch of guys that are TRYING to enrich your internet experience, you don't know and don't trust.
People we have to do better by each other. If not, 8 years will pass and nothing will have CHANGED.
MINI RANT: By the way, I'm going to join my homeboy. I don't want to be Black anymore. If your actions and thoughts posted on this blog help to define Black Thought, Black Unity, & Black Loyalty...you all can have it. You all depress me.
but i'll go at your point from a different direction. n00bs aren't quite the audience for this browser either. after all, it requires the user to (1) fire up a browser, (2) go to blackbirdhome.com, (3) download the software, and (4) install it. if you know how to do steps 1-4, you probably know how to use google or yahoo or rushmoredrive.com to find what you want. and if you don't, wouldn't it be just as easy to learn how to use Firefox or Internet Explorer?
let's be real: the browser UI itself is not n00b-friendly. it's a hot a** mess. there's poor contrast. there's ugly iconography and typography. it's cluttered. it's inconsistent. and it behaves like shady software by featuring ads, by looking bad, by not being clear about its licensing, and by making itself the user's default browser without asking. it fails all the way around.
"First off who said it was for blacks only? CPL Carter as soon as I read your first sentence I knew you were going to be way out in left field!!!!"
Download Blackbird
* CONNECT to African American Internet News, TV, Sports, websites, and all that's most popular in your community
* EMPOWER your Internet to find what you want when you want it
* ENTERTAIN yourself with entertainment content from the African American community
-taken directly from http://blackbirdhome.com/
Excuse me Big Al, here is something else from blackbirdhome.com-
After more than six months of development, 40A, Inc. has completed the development of the Blackbird internet browser, a software application designed for the African American community by the African American community. The Company has also today announced a grassroots marketing program to promote the Blackbird Browser -- making available banners and buttons for use on websites to promote downloads of the Blackbird Browser. The Blackbird download graphics can be obtained from the Company's website under the tab, "Spread the Word."
With statements like these, I can see how Caucasians, Asians, Native Americans and Hispanics are encouraged to download and use this browser. If you would like I am sure I can find more statements like the following on the home page:
BlackBird is the web browser for the AFRICAN-AMERICAN community.
And in response to your question, yes I have downloaded, installed and used the browser. And guess what, it uses Google Search. I tried the "Black Search" and yes I found news reports from BlackPressUSA and blackvoices.com and blackamericaweb.com. Guess what else, those same stories can be found on any other news site.
And to your disdain at the inclusion of my race, I was merely trying to show that even though I am white and from the South, most of my closest friends are not. My personal opinion of the BlackBird web browser, that is clearly targeted at African Americans(so says the very homepage where said browser may be downloaded), is no different than FireFox or IE. It still uses a Google Search. When someone is on FireFox there is no option for "White Search" and I feel there should not be. You clearly do not wish to discuss this topic in a rational and reasonable manner so it is here that I say good day.
Their DNA is the closest to Africans .
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/18339...
95% of the human DNA dwells in Africa.
What say you friend?