What do dreams really mean

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin At only 43, John Legend has accomplished an incredible amount already in his career. He was the first Black man and youngest artist ever to achieve the coveted EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). For Legend, all of that success was so he could make a difference in the world. As he recalled when we spoke over Zoom last week he won an essay contest at 15 by saying he would become a famous musician use that fame to make the world a better place. He is helping do that this Memorial Day Weekend when he will headline the Northwell Health "Side By Side" benefit show this Saturday, May 29, at New York's UBS Arena. Legend will perform with Jason DeRulo at a gig that raises money for healthcare services for veterans and their families. I spoke with Legend about why it was especially important for him to support our military during these difficult times, his love of playing life, how artists like Harry Belafonte, Stevie Wonder and … [Read more...] about Q&A: John Legend On Activism, His New Album, Playing Live And Marvin Gaye

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Jason Lee , the media maverick behind Hollywood Unlocked, has had an unique career path. Lee, an LGBTQA+ media personality, author, entrepreneur, and CEO of Hollywood Unlocked (HU) — a leading urban entertainment company — is well-known for his controversial opinions on the entertainment industry. In order to turn over a fresh leaf, Lee has decided to reinvent himself and redefine what he genuinely represents. Lee first appeared on the media landscape in the early 2010s, after leveraging contacts with celebrities and social media influencers to launch the successful online media company Hollywood Unlocked, which spawned the television and radio show Hollywood Unlocked with Jason Lee in 2015. The 44-year-old from Stockton, California, was always spilling tea, although in a different role, before starting his media company. Lee worked for SEIU United Healthcare Workers in California, where he was one of the few black … [Read more...] about Hollywood’s Cultural Critic Jason Lee Dispels Cancel Culture

So far in this eight part series titled "8 Reasons Subscribers Are Better Than Customers," we've seen how subscribers boost the value of your company , increase the life time value of a customer and smooth out demand . Today, we look at how the subscription business model gets you closer to your customers--for free. In a traditional business, the customer buys your product or service once and it is up to you to try and convince them to buy again in the future. You often have no idea if they liked what they bought and what would have made them buy more so you're left having to guess or invest in costly market research. In a subscription business, you have what I call "Automatic Customers" who agree to purchase from you into the future as long as you keep providing your service or product. Through the research for my new book , I've discovered there are nine different subscription models that are leveraged by everyone from accounting firms to art teachers to better … [Read more...] about The Surprising Way Companies Like Netflix and Amazon Do Market Research

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It is important to first acknowledge the words of scholar and activist Angela Davis. In her book Freedom is a Constant Struggle , Davis wrote “the call for public conversations on race and racism is also a call to develop a vocabulary that permits us to have insightful conversations. If we attempt to use historically obsolete vocabularies, our consciousness of racism will remain shallow.” For the sake of this article, the term white supremacy will be used throughout the piece because it is the term with the greatest amount of familiarity. It should, however, be noted that some have urged us to move away from the term white supremacy because it implies that the group of people that are racialized as white are “superior” to other racialized groups. Some alternatives to the term white supremacy that have been suggested include the terms white perversion and white insecurity . In the future, the term white supremacy will … [Read more...] about 4 Ways White Supremacy Harms Humanity

(CNN) In mid-February, privacy and digital rights activists were buzzing about a recent victory: Earlier in the month, the Internal Revenue Service said it would back away from a controversial plan to force taxpayers to use facial-recognition software before they could log in to its website. "This has definitely been a major team effort — the hook, right, left uppercut," Joy Buolamwini, the founder and executive director of the Algorithmic Justice League, said excitedly during a Twitter Spaces session. "So many people coming together for this win." In addition to the Algorithmic Justice League, which raises awareness of the consequences of artificial intelligence, these people came from groups such as Fight for the Future, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the American Civil Liberties Union. All have been vociferous critics of the IRS in recent months, contacting reporters and urging individuals, legislators, and the IRS itself to halt a plan that, starting this … [Read more...] about Activists pushed the IRS to drop facial recognition. They won, but they’re not done yet

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd died before our eyes as a police officer knelt on his neck for approximately 9 minutes on a street in Minneapolis. Had Darnella Frazier, then 17, not captured the murder on her cell phone and posted it to Facebook, Floyd would have been yet another Black man to die in police custody – a statistic. Instead, George Floyd became a powerful symbol of persistent inequality and systemic injustice against Black Americans and a wake-up call for all. The response was historic – from the scores of leaders making forceful statements every day about racial justice to the $50 billion that U.S. companies pledged (but not necessarily paid) to support Black communities. To understand the complexities of where we stand as a nation, though, look no further than the racially motivated mass murder at a Buffalo grocery store on May 14. In an effort to capture the reality of being Black in America, we decided that we wanted to hear from leaders in the community. Here are … [Read more...] about Two Years After George Floyd, Black Leaders Reflect On Change

advertisement advertisement Access to safe and legal abortion over the last five decades has had a tremendous impact on women. It’s an issue that impacts labor force participation and career opportunity, as well as the health of the economy. As we reported in our recent package, “ The Business Case for Abortion Access,” state-level abortion restrictions also reportedly already cost the U.S. economy about $105 billion each year, due to women leaving the workforce, reducing overall earnings, and increasing turnover. That will only increase as more bans and restrictions go into place. Lack of access to safe and legal abortion also significantly raises the risk of maternal death. And all of this is to say nothing for the outcomes for the children born into families that lack the resources to care for them. We, of course, are still a country without paid parental leave, or universal childcare. But even with national legal abortion, individual experiences … [Read more...] about What it’s like to have employer support for abortion care

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin People with disabilities and chronic illnesses are asking themselves — not for the first time in the last few years — “What do we do now?” As a May 21, 2022 article in The Hill observes, “Americans are ‘checked out’ on COVID-19:” “Even in blue cities, restaurants are packed with people, and many Americans don’t wear masks even on the subway or on airplanes.” If the current surge continues, this may well turn out to be a serious problem for everyone. But this resolutely lax attitude already poses something close to an existential crisis for people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. High risk people today see a combination of more transmissible Covid variants, vaccines that may be losing effectiveness, funding for vaccines and treatments drying up, and public commitment to any sort of precautions just about gone. The disability community sees disaster looming — more mass death and disablement, and a choice … [Read more...] about 4 Things High Risk People Need Now To Fight Covid

Cavite 7th District Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla. From Facebook MANILA, Philippines — Cavite 7th District Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, who is poised to take the helm of the Department of Justice (DOJ), on Tuesday criticized the media, telling it to “be responsible,” and expressed relief that “god thing” there is “social media which equalizes everything.” In a series of interviews with One News PH, Remulla hit the current state of the Philippine media, saying it should help the public “love the country more.” “The end game really is, the Philippine media should help us love our country more,” he said. According to Remulla, the media should learn not to find slants and propagandas and “just complete the story.” “Just complete the story. Ayun lang ang gusto kong mangyari (That’s all I want to happen)… just be responsible…just be responsible,” he said. He also said that using the media itself “is the best way to do brainwashing.” “Ang maganda na lang … [Read more...] about Incoming DOJ chief Remulla chides media, lauds social media

Differentiation is hugely important for any company. When customers think you are a 'me too' mobile app or accounting service, they will pass right over it and find a business with a bit more flair. That's the reason Amazon tried having a Black Friday event ... in the middle of the summer. It worked. Despite the customer complaints , online orders went through the roof. In fact, the online store sold a flabbergast-worthy 398 products per second yesterday, a 266% increase over the same day last year and an 18% increase over Black Friday (the real one). Amazon plans to hold more of these events, which also pumped up the subscriptions to their Prime service, which costs $99 and lets you ship stuff for free and watch a ton of movies and shows for free (it's actually just as well-stocked as Netflix). What's the lesson here for other companies? If you are a pizza shop or make a business app, there's no harm in creating what is essentially a fictitious holiday and then … [Read more...] about Want to Sell 398 Products Per Second? Try Copying This Amazon Strategy