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More written about this at my other blog.

As I steep more into social media, I am blogging more and more about it.  Here are some highlights from my other blog:

• The Want Of Latinos In Social Media
• Social Media Update Methods
• Social Media Solves Latino Assimilation Problem  (follow up to this post on this blog)
• 'Getting Facebook'
• And a couple of ReTweet posts

Obviously, I think social media is important.  It puts the gauntlet in the average person's hand.  However, at a higher level there are better practices.  That's part of the aim over at the other blog.  Hope to see you there.
 

Have you joined?

This is something I've addressed again and again over the years:  keeping one's traditions vs. assimilation.  With most 'hot buttons' this topic follows suit and lines up the ranks either for or against.  While I never understood why the lines had to be so trenched in the ground, it seems to me that both sides are skewed and serve to only slide it's proponents into a hole instead of maintaining a plateau.  Thankfully, there is now proof to support why Latinos should embrace US culture.

In a recent study, we see what does work is a revolving acceptance of the former and new, namely keeping one's Latino culture while embracing US culture.  This not-so-common, common sense method maximizes the benefits of both cultures and let's one successfully apply themselves in the real world - a world of diversity.

These same thoughts can be found at the heart of social media.  To limit oneself in social media to their own natural tendencies, one would have to put up many safe guards, namely locking their account from general public view and filtering content to select friends.  This is not what social media is and works against the social media movement.

How can one possibly restrict themselves to their limited sphere of influence and not expect to understand and grow with the world around them?  Social media breaks down real and perceived barriers.  It gives people the chance to softly engage other cultures and pursue new connections.  It is through social media that one gets exposed to the fast track of what being social is all about, and have the ability to connect to one's peers, both upwardly and laterally.  For Latinos, who are culturally social, I have hopes that social media can help bridge the gap between the traditional and the new without losing the essence of either.

(This is cross-posted at LouisPagan.com)

Update 07/01/09:  This was posted in the comments section by me in the cross-post site - see above:

...the term of ‘cultural assimilation’ with it’s allusion of domination, superiority and displacement forces some Latinos to take a rebellious stance instead of incorporating an advantageous tool to better fare in society that we consistently find ourselves at a disadvantage economically, as well as other vital areas.

I for one, by no means wish for anyone to abandon their language, food, music, customs and traditions. What you read here is not a call of abandonment, but a push towards adoption and utilization.

I did some filling in on the above statement for Telemundo's new ad spread in Advertising Age, but I am sure I caught the heart of what it was saying.  These type of statements probably irks many.  However, it is not so much a statement of dominance as it is a marker of what is hot and happening (I am sure Telemundo does not want to get political here, and only is interested in making the point that the Latino population is EXPLODING!)

Thanks Mi Apogeo!

I've a number of sites: LatinoPundit.com, LouisPagan.com as well as a private one or two, not to mention some upcoming ones. Each site serves a specific goal. Twitter however...ah Twitter, will server as a conglomerate of everything. Tweet along, my friends. Tweeeeeeet!

The title of the post is an idea I have in my head at the moment.  For now, that's all there is to it.  You can read more about branding over at my personal website as this post here is a work in progress.

Socialism.  Nationalism.  Patriotism.  Protectionism.  Turning-your-back-on-the-world-ism?  That's not American!

De-globalism is just not going to happen.  Not going to fly.  You want to see countries turn their back on one another?  Do you really want to see an 'every man for themselves' mentality? 

As much as I hate seeing jobs shipped overseas to cheaper desks, the reality is that it is not going to go away.  What about our exports?  What about our credit with other countries (that have helped keep us afloat)?

Poor countries such as India have flourished with globalization.  Do we really want to keep everyone under our foot, or is the US afraid of a little competition?

Honestly, the 'Made-In-America' tag just doesn't hold as much weight as it used to.  Companies got lazy, and the competition got better (think, auto industry).  Why the f*ck are some trying to regulate this now that they find themselves on a bigger playing field with the home team getting their butts kicked.  Look at the phenomenon of the internet and how that unregulated entity knows no bounds.  It would of never grown had we kept it home.

Put down the pipe, because if our fantasy of buying American and keeping everything home, we will see very shortly just how much we will be screwing ourselves for years to come.  Be a true American, support globalism (or keep your head stuck in the sand).

I did it.  It's done.  The blog of Louis Pagan now exists.  It's more personal that what will be here (this site will be revamped, yet again).  LouisPagan.com, will contain my professional endeavors (I told you I was into business), and whatever else I find of interest.  That site will also be aesthetically developed...you know, to make it pretty and all so that you keep going back - what's in content? - so, don't make any bookmarks.  Well, if you want to.

My goal is to do the same and enjoy the success of which LatinoPundit site has reached.  I plan to do it smarter and faster.  And I'm taking anyone who wants to reach the top with me.  I've never been a selfish man. 

Note with LouisPagan.com, I'll probably be reaching another audience.  It woun't be the same grassroots/activist type.  Then again, I hold no prejudices and may only be surprised at what is in store.  I don't limit myself, so I won't limit others.

That's enough about that for here, for now.  I feel like I've accomplished much today, and that is a good feeling.

What's in a name?  Everything if you ask some people.  I have the domain names in reserve. So, if you want some vanity or want to spice up your existing site, or even want to start up a new site...make an offer.  Leave it in the comments section.

LatinoReporter.com
LatinoVotes.com
DigitaLatino.com (also DigitalLatino.com)
LatinoBlog.net
LatinoBloggers.com
LatinoMessageBoard.com
SoyNuyorican.com
PoliticalPollo.com

Love this....


Hat tip to Majikthise.

There are a lot of persistent comments about Clinton and Obama (especially anti-Obama) from people w/ agendas or whatever; at first they were good, but now they are annoying as hell, because they comment about the same thing on different posts that have nothing to do with the topic, or keep posting blocks and blocks of paragraphs, and keep rambling on and on and on and on...hey listen, if you have that much to say and are THAT adamant about getting your message across, stop bombarding this site with your organization's politics (yes, we know about you guys), or your own personal mission, and get your own damn soapboxes.

This is another installment of the Latino Bloggers Series (formally known as "What Latino Bloggers Need To Do".

The Latino Blogosphere is now becoming more authoritative:  There are gossip sites, blog-journalists, witty-opinions, book reviews, independent voices, news sites, Venezuelan sites, activism, politics, marketers, authors. 

Note I said in the title that the Latino-blogosphere is maturing - not matured yet.  We can consider this the tip of the iceberg and the beginning of Latino Blogs maturing.  Just a few short years ago, Latino bloggers looked and felt like a faint aspiration of their author's intentions.  Those fledgling days are being outpaced by some of the strides made by Latino bloggers on a daily basis.  And now with election year upon us like salsa on a taco, we will see more establishments, organizations, reporters, shows, average Jose's look up Latino blogs than before.

I'm a big fan of social networking/web 2.0; it's the power of generosity and humaneness that exalts itself magnanimously within such arenas. 

I found this cool site:  BookCrossing.   The idea is to publicly distribute books and keep track of these books via their own ID number.  You place a book on a bench in the park, on the stairs of a building, a coffee shop in the mall, and jot it down on the site - the book is now ("out in the wild," as they call it).  Whoever picks it up can then sign into the website and state they have got it if they are so inclined.

I am releasing Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind," somewhere tomorrow (it's a book that's been lying around; I actually want to read it one day, but I don't think I'll get to it for some time).