Black Web 2.0

Filmmaker Spike Lee has teamed up with Nokia to direct what is being dubbed the “the world’s first social film”, comprising videos made entirely with cell phone footage from everyday people.

The film’s theme will evolve around the way in which music tells the story of humanity. The final film will run across three acts. Each act will be announced online and people will then have four weeks to produce their submission. “You are seeing first hand the democratization of film,” Lee said in a statement on Thursday. “Aspiring filmmakers no longer have to go to film school to make great work. With a simple mobile phone, almost anyone can now become a filmmaker.”

People can submit text, music, video or images anytime between now and August 21 to here. Nokia will choose 25 submissions and then allow the people to vote online for their favorite. Spike Lee will then choose the winning submission from each act and direct the film through the Web site.

The final film with the three winning submissions and other contributed content will premiere later this year in Los Angeles.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was assassinated, as he stood outside of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. He was 39. Media sites and blogs all over, honored Dr. King’s life and legacy through touching articles, thought provoking poll questions, and video and image galleries.

We have compiled the best web coverage of the 40 year anniversary of Dr. King’s death.
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Global Grind, the user submitted social media site for the hip hop community, announced the release of new tools and features to help extend their reach across multiple platforms. Global Grind recently unveiled a new Facebook application that allows users to discover, collect, and share content with their Facebook friends, directly from Facebook.

Global Grind also announced the launch of a trivia game where users can challenge each other in Global Grind content categories such as news, entertainment, music, politics, sports and more.

“Global Grind wanted to be accessible across all sites and the Facebook application is our first endeavor to reach a wider audience wherever they may go,” says Global Grind CEO Navarrow Wright.

The Facebook Application is a much needed shot in the arm for the media network, whose traffic has seemed to slow since its mention on MTV’s “Run’s House”.

Global Grind also announced the beta release of a new mobile site, (http://m.globalgrind.com). The mobile site is optimized for various platforms including the iPhone, Sidekick and Blackberry devices. Through the mobile site and a breadth of RSS feeds, Global Grind content can truly be accessed from anywhere.

Source: Black PRWire

No this is not a joke, it is a real site complete with an embeddable Meebo chatroom, BallerAlert TV powered by Kyte, and its own social network. BallerAlert.com is self described as:

“The Ultimate New Nightlife based FREE Text Service That lets you know where the Ballers are!!!! (more…)

MIX08 got off with a BIG BANG today with what looked like a full house (roughly 900-1200 people in the keynote). Ray Ozzie kicked off the event and shared his vision for how Web developers and designers can deliver seamless rich media experiences across web applications, rich desktop clients and mobile devices with the HUB strategy.

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If you have been watching whats going on with Microsoft and Yahoo, the Danger acquisition may have slid by you without notice. This is a substantial asset for Microsoft, and its media partner ecosystem. Let me explain a little further, besides grabbing one of the best media portals (Yahoo), a deal with MTV, and now Walmart via Real Networks, they now have DANGER. The most popular youth culture device on the market, and hands down more units shipped than the popular iPhone. (more…)