Tristan Walker is the Vice President of Product Development at Foursquare, the location based social network that incorporates gaming elements while helping the user discover new venues throughout the city the are currently located.  On January 7, 2009 Blackweb 2.0 talked with Tristan about all things Foursquare.

The 2009 MUES (MillerCoors Urban Entrepreneur Series) offers its final ePowerlunch Webinar of the summer on Tuesday, September 15  at 11:30 a.m. CST (12:30 p.m. EST) and will be focused on Tech Your Biz  – The new face of marketing using Web 2.0 tools. Here is a brief description:

Blogging, viral videos and campaigns, search engine optimization and social networks, what does it all mean and how to use it to market your business.  Join the discussion as new media specialists share the tricks of this new trade that help maximize the bottom line.

Panelists include Juan Solana, Kevin McFall, Fred Sotelo and BlackWeb20.com’s Angela Benton.

The Webinar is free. And you can visit MUES online to listen to other podcasts of the series.  Register Here

When I first heard about Social Cord (via @waynesutton) the service which had been explained as being similar to “Cable for Social Networks” was immediately intriguing.  I visited the site and even read up on some articles via Venture Beat and Mashable, both of which didn’t do the service any justice (not so much Venture Beat, more so Mashable).  It wasn’t until I spoke with Founder David Dundas that I fully understood the company’s concept and opportunity it offers some publishers.  It just so happens the week we spoke was at the heat of an interweb debate on the most “elegant way to monetize content” on the web.

David Dundas, Founder of Social Cord

Simply put Social Cord is a self serve montetization platform for premium content for Twitter, Facebook, and websites in general.  The service bills directly to a mobile phone so no credit card is needed.  Unlike it’s closest competitors tipjoy, twitpub, and superchirp Social Cord works with or without Twitter.  Dundas explains Social Cord as being “ideal for media companies, music artists, social network app developers, and content creators who have an audience that they are interested in providing premium content to.”  Social Cord launched in Beta at the end of July and is currently looking for testers who are interested in monetizing their apps or Twitter streams.

Listen in on my quick but very detailed interview about Social Cord’s offerings (Social Cord Fan Clubs, TipCup, and Social Cord Alerts), their business model, and how content creatures can monetize outside of ad based models by offering premium content to niche audiences.  Enjoy!

In this part of our interview with Brett Wright he talks about being a print purest.  He makes a point on not trying to make Vibe an affluent publication in its’ rebirth while also stating:

“We would not have done Vibe.com if we couldn’t have figured out how to do a print version.  We believe it is critical to the Vibe brand.”

He also spoke about how Uptown and its’ partners are cutting down the cost structure of distributing the printed publication.  When asked “What will happen to old subscribers, will they grandfather into the new issues?” He told us they didn’t take on liability of subscribers but are working on ways to make sure paid subscribers of the magazine before it closed are happy.  Another company purchased the liability of the subscriptions, no word on who the buyer was.  Lastly, he also gives his personal take on the Freemium/Premium paid content model.

This is Part 3 in a series of 3.

Brett Wright goes into detail on the new Vibe’s business model and their advertising network referred to in our discussion as the Vibe Lifestyle Network which would not only focus on CPM sales but would service true brand integration opportunities.  They hope to not only include Vibe and Uptown but would also like to involve Soul Train which was recently acquired by InterMedia Partners and other lifestyle sites they plan to bring in the network.  He also speaks of the new management team which consists of Vibe veterans Rob Miller and Len Burnett.

This is Part 2 in a series of 3.

We got a chance to catch-up with Brett Wright Co-Founder of Uptown Media Group and new partner in the acquisition of the recently revived Vibe Magazine this morning.  He talks with us about the Partnership’s plan to revive a new version of Vibe that is being dubbed internally as Vibe 2.0.  The talks of the acquisition swirled around the interwebs yesterday and was confirmed late in the day with minimal detail.  Wright discusses integration, the formation of a network of sites (referred to as  the Vibe Lifestyle Network), restructuring the business model, and plans to reshape the product back to its glory days and beyond with a more current spin.  He also gives us his thoughts on where Vibe went wrong stating

“…Rolling Stone was trying to be more like Vibe while Vibe was trying to be more like The Source” (paraphrased).

Former employees of Vibe are also encouraged to reapply and connect with new leadership via the website, Vibe.com, which they hope to have back up by the end of the week.

This is Part 1 in a series of 3.

In episode # 17 of the Black Web 2.0 Show, we talk to Don Moore, President of Burrell Digital; the newly formed interactive division of Burrell Communications. Don is a media industry veteran. Prior to his new role at Burrell, Don served as Google’s Agency Team Lead for the Central and Western US where he was responsible for the management of all multicultural agencies in the US, as well as two of the country’s largest independent Agencies. Prior to joining Google, Moore was the VP of Multicultural Sales for The Citadel (formerly ABC) Radio Network. He also launched the nation’s first Hispanic radio network which has now become one of the most successful franchises in the Citadel network portfolio. During his career, Mr. Moore has also worked with Clear Channel Communications and Johnson & Johnson.

In this interview we discussed Don’s new role as President of Burrell Digital. Don sheds light on Burrell Digital’s goals as well as the type of team he plans on building. Don also gives on information on how to partner with Burrell. Don also took out time to share his thoughts on the role mobile and social media will play in future campaigns as well as his philosophies on small to mid-size sites. Enjoy!!

In this edition of the Black Web 2.0 Show, I sit down with the Founder and CEO of RapRadar.com Elliott Wilson. Elliott boasts an impressive resume, spanning across nearly 20 years of monitoring and documenting Hip-Hop music and culture. Elliott’s career was jump started after he co-founded an independent magazine, Ego Trip, which subsequently morphed into successful books and television shows. Shortly after Ego Trip, Elliott became a music editor for The Source, and a rap/Beatbox editor and columnist for CMJ: New Music Journal.

Just prior to launching RapRadar.com, Elliot served as  Editor-In-Chief of XXL Magazine and founding editor of XXLmag.com, as well as an executive producer of VH-1’s Ego Trip’s Miss Rap Supreme and Ego Trip’s The [White] Rapper Show.

Elliott and I discussed a wide range of topics including the differences between print and online content production, his personal blogging style, his impressions of other the Hip-Hop blogs, as well as the controversy surrounding Vibe selecting RapRadar as one of the top 50 Hip Hop Blogs.

Enjoy!!

In this episode of the Black Web 2.0 Show, we sat down with Daynel Smith, Chief Content Officer of Vibe Media Group. Danyel joined VIBE in 1993 and was appointed music editor a year later. In 1996 Danyel became Editor-In-Chief of Vibe Media Group, serving until 1999.  Danyel returned to VIBE in 2006 as Editor-In-Chief, and in 2009 was promoted to Vibe’s Chief Content Officer.

In this interview Danyel dicussed her new role as Chief Content Officer and Vibe’s newest project, TheMost Magazine, who’s first issue hit new stands last week, and TheMostmag.com which is a slated for a soft launch later this month. We discussed the subsequent events leading to the creation of TheMost, Vibe’s rational for creating the magazine in print format, as well as how TheMost will compare to Twitter as it relates to covering celebrity’s lifestyle. Enjoy!!

In this episode of the Black Web 2.0 Show, we talk with MSNBC contributor and founder of TheStimulist.com Carlos Watson. Carlos discusses his motivation for starting TheStimulist as well as the blog’s unique content structure and voice. We also dig a little into Carlos’ media background and how the industry has been changed by the Obama’s. Carlos also shares some tips for aspiring entrepreneurs and people interested in breaking into media. Enjoy!!