Blacks Gone Geek: May 2011

Sunday, May 29, 2011

The BDPA Insider - May 29, 2011

The BDPA Insider - May 29, 2011

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:

Announcing BDPA 2011 Best Companies for Blacks in Technology Award Winners

Announcing 2011 BDPA Individual Epsilon Award Winners

Black Family Technology Awareness Week (New York)

President Profile: Michael Tyson (BDPA Baltimore)

Take Five: Steve Gutter (BDPA Cincinnati)

The Ugly Truth About Jobs

BDPA National Conference Career Fair Registration Now Open

2011 National BDPA Conference Registration Now Open

Click here for the latest issue of "The BDPA Insider":

http://blacksgonegeek.blogspot.com/2011/05/bdpa-insider-may-29-2011.html

Click here for "The BDPA Insider" Archives:

http://www.bdpa.org/?page=BDPA_Insider_Archive

Announcing BDPA 2011 Best Companies for Blacks in Technology Award Winners

The National BDPA, Black Data Processing Associates (www.bdpa.org), and WorkplaceDiversity.com (www.WorkplaceDiversity.com), the source for diversity talent, announced the 2011 Best Companies for Blacks in Technology Award Winners.

Allstate Insurance
American Airlines
BlueCross BlueShield of IL, NM, OK, & TX
Intel
Johnson & Johnson
Merck
Northrop Grumman
State Farm Insurance
Wal-Mart Stores
WellPoint
Wells Fargo

Click here for more:

http://bdpa.site-ym.com/?2011CorporateEpsilon

Announcing 2011 BDPA Individual Epsilon Award Winners

BDPA Epsilon Awards Recognizing Individual Achievement are awarded to technologists who are nominated by BDPA Chapters or sponsor government organizations, companies and corporations.

Nominees were selected for awards in following categories:

Professional Achievement,
Career Achievement,
Outstanding Technical Contribution,
Community Service

2011 Individual Epsilon Award Winners

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

Vince Edwards, Architect, State Farm Insurance Company

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT

Gregory Morrison, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Cox Enterprises

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION

Stephen Paskel, Assistant Vice President, Technology Manager, Wells Fargo

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Millie Liggins, IT-Implementations Lead, Walgreen Company

Michele Cheatham, Vice President, Technology Manager, Wells Fargo

Click here for more:

http://bdpa.site-ym.com/?2011IndividualEpsilon

Black Family Technology Awareness Week (New York)

BDPA New York chapter is truly reaching out to the community in their effort to provide access to technology education for everyone. This was never more evident than earlier this year when the chapter had the most powerful BDPA program in the nation during Black Family Technology Awareness Week (BFTAW).

Here is a video review of the chapter's BFTAW program:

Click here for more:

http://betf.blogspot.com/2011/05/black-family-technology-awareness-week.html

President Profile: Michael Tyson (BDPA Baltimore)

BDPA Baltimore chapter was chartered in June 1987. Some of the most accomplished BDPA Baltimore chapter members include past national president Denise Holland (Amtrak) and current BDPA Education and Technology Foundation director John Eckenrode (CPSI). The chapter also trained a team of high school students who finished in 6th place at the 2009 national High School Computer Competition championships held in Raleigh, NC.

The best is yet to come for BDPA Baltimore chapter ... they are the proud host of the 2012 National BDPA Technology Conference. The leader of BDPA Baltimore chapter is its president -- Michael Tyson.

Click here for more:

http://betf.blogspot.com/2011/05/president-profile-michael-tyson-bdpa.html

Take Five: Steve Gutter (BDPA Cincinnati)

We are reaching out to various volunteers to get their thoughts on BDPA. One of those volunteers is Steve Gutter. Steve is a developer for The Kroger Company. He joined BDPA Cincinnati chapter in 2002 as a volunteer for weekend technology training provided to local high school students. He took the leadership role in the annual BDPA Midwest Regional conferences held in Cincinnati, OH from 2003-2007. He was elected by the membership to serve as the chapter’s VP-Finance from 2006-2010. Steve has won a number of awards with BDPA, including Member of the Year, Executive Officer of the Year and a Community Service Award.

Steve was recently appointed to serve as BDPA Cincinnati chapter's VP-Strategy & Planning. He shared his thoughts as part of our Take Five interview series.

Click here for more:

http://betf.blogspot.com/2011/05/take-five-steve-gutter-cincinnati.html

The Ugly Truth About Jobs

My previous post on Congressman Jessie Jackson Jr's remarks regarding the iPad produced a few very interesting comments. I enjoyed reading them very much and I invite others to join as I think this is the conversation we need to have.

At at time that we are constantly hearing from the Urban League that unemployment among African Americans are at record highs, and that President Obama needs to focus on jobs and job creation we need to understand what job creation means in the 21st century.

Click here for more:

http://whereareblacksintechnology.blogspot.com/2011/05/ugly-truth-about-jobs.html

BDPA National Conference Career Fair Registration Now Open

Are you taking your career in a new direction?

...or are you just entering the workforce?

...or are you undecided about your career path?

Then this EXPO is for you!!

August 5-6, 2011

Chicago Hilton

720 S. Michigan Avenue

Chicago, IL 60605

Click here to download the Career Fair Flyer to give to a friend:

http://www.bdpa.org/resource/resmgr/2011_National_Conference/2011Flyeronly.pdf

Click here to register for the Friday event:

http://www.bdpa.org/event/Career_Expo_Friday

Click here to register for the Saturday event:

http://www.bdpa.org/event/Career_Expo_Saturday

2011 National BDPA Conference Registration Now Open

Please accept our invitation to join us in the City of the Big Shoulders by registering for the 33rd Annual National BDPA Conference, August 3-6, 2011 at the Hilton Chicago.

Click here to register for the 2011 National BDPA Conference today!

http://bdpa.site-ym.com/?page=Conference2011

2011 BDPA Technology Conference
August 3-6, 2011

Hilton Chicago

720 S. Michigan Ave.

Chicago, IL 60603

Subscribe to the BDPA Foundation Blog via email: http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=649683

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This message has been brought to you by the BDPA Social Networking Team: http://www.bdpa.org/?page=BDPA_SNet

Contact the BDPA Social Networking Team: socialnetworking@bdpa.org

PS: Please share this information with your friends, co-workers, church members, etc so that they can help us pass the word. The key is that we must share what we know with others so we can all grow and prosper.

Join The Blacks Gone Geek Community http://blacksgonegeek.org/JoinTheBlacksGoneGeekCommunity.aspx

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Announcing 2011 Best Companies for Blacks in Technology Award Winners

In this economy, many African Americans in technology are concerned about opportunities for both employment and advancement. It is important to recognize exceptional companies that provide African Americans with challenging and fulfilling career opportunities in Information Technology. The Best Companies for Blacks in Technology are announced each year and recognize the outstanding achievements of companies who have demonstrated a commitment to people and an understanding that Diversity has a bottom line business case value.

2011 Best Companies for Blacks in Technology Award Winners

Allstate Insurance
American Airlines
BlueCross BlueShield of IL, NM, OK, & TX
Intel
Johnson & Johnson
Merck
Northrop Grumman
State Farm Insurance
Wal-Mart Stores
WellPoint
Wells Fargo

Epsilon (“Star of the Highest Magnitude”) Award Winners for the Top Companies for Blacks in Technology:

Tenure and Promotions: TBA

Career Path Programs: TBA

Minority Vendor Programs: TBA

Community Outreach Programs: TBA

Top Company for Blacks in Technology: TBA

The 2011 Epsilon Awards will be presented at the 2011 National BDPA Technology Conference Awards Gala on Saturday, August 6th to be held in Chicago, IL at the luxurious Hilton Chicago Hotel.

Click here to download the press release.

Click here for more information on the BDPA Epsilon Awards Program.

Thanks to the following judges:
Will Bundy
Milt Haynes
Paulette Johnson-Davis
Earl Pace
Dan Honig, Roger Watkins (WorkplaceDiversity.com)

Join The Blacks Gone Geek Community http://blacksgonegeek.org/JoinTheBlacksGoneGeekCommunity.aspx

Announcing 2011 BDPA Individual Epsilon Award Winners

BDPA Epsilon Awards Recognizing Individual Achievement are awarded to technologists who are nominated by BDPA Chapters or sponsor government organizations, companies and corporations.

Nominees were selected for awards in following categories:

Professional Achievement,
Career Achievement,
Outstanding Technical Contribution,
Community Service

Click here to download the press release.

Click here for more information on the BDPA Epsilon Awards Program.

2011 Individual Epsilon Award Winners

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

Vince Edwards, Architect, State Farm Insurance Company

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT

Gregory Morrison, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Cox Enterprises

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION

Stephen Paskel, Assistant Vice President, Technology Manager, Wells Fargo

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Millie Liggins, IT-Implementations Lead, Walgreen Company

Michele Cheatham, Vice President, Technology Manager, Wells Fargo

Past Winners
2010 Individual Epsilon Award Winners
2009 Individual Epsilon Award Winners

Thanks to the following judges:
Will Bundy
Milt Haynes
Paulette Johnson-Davis
Earl Pace

Sunday, May 22, 2011

The BDPA Insider - May 22, 2011

The BDPA Insider - May 22, 2011

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:

BDPA National Conference Career Fair Registration Now Open

Mobility Showdown (iPhone vs Android) from bdpalosangeles on Vimeo.

National BDPA Webinar: 'Organizational Risk Management' - June 1, 2011 @ 7:00 PM EST

Eli Lilly Scholarship for BDPA Students, Deadline: July 1, 2011

bdpatoday – May 2011Digital Edition

Seeking TECHie Camp Instructors in Cincinnati, Dallas and Philadelphia

Health Care Service Corporation, 5/21/2011 (National BDPA)

Ask Not What The iPad Can Do for You, Ask What You Can Do for The iPad

Take Five: Ricardo Wilkins (Columbus)

Malware attack on Mac OS X

2011 National BDPA Conference Registration Now Open

Click here for the latest issue of "The BDPA Insider":

http://blacksgonegeek.blogspot.com/2011/05/bdpa-insider-may-22-2011.html

Click here for "The BDPA Insider" Archives:

http://www.bdpa.org/?page=BDPA_Insider_Archive

BDPA National Conference Career Fair Registration Now Open

Are you taking your career in a new direction?

...or are you just entering the workforce?

...or are you undecided about your career path?

Then this EXPO is for you!!

August 5-6, 2011

Chicago Hilton

720 S. Michigan Avenue

Chicago, IL 60605

Click here to download the Career Fair Flyer to give to a friend:

http://www.bdpa.org/resource/resmgr/2011_National_Conference/2011Flyeronly.pdf

Click here to register for the Friday event:

http://www.bdpa.org/event/Career_Expo_Friday

Click here to register for the Saturday event:

http://www.bdpa.org/event/Career_Expo_Saturday

Mobility Showdown (iPhone vs Android) from bdpalosangeles on Vimeo.

National BDPA Webinar: 'Organizational Risk Management' - June 1, 2011 @ 7:00 PM EST

National BDPA 2Q11 National Program Meeting

Disaster and Your Organizational Readiness

Organizational Risk Management

Featuring

Dr. Linda Hunt King, PhD.

President/CEO of Hunt-King & Associates, Inc. and Firestorm Principal

The 9/11 Commission concluded that the United States was not prepared for disasters. America’s experiences in Katrina and other natural disasters like the flooding we are now experiencing have reinforced this conclusion, and a renewed sense of urgency exists for creating a national culture of preparedness. Is your organization prepared?

Click here for more:

http://betf.blogspot.com/2011/05/national-bdpa-webinar-organizational.html

Eli Lilly Scholarship for BDPA Students, Deadline: July 1, 2011

The BDPA Education and Technology Foundation is proud to open up the application period for any graduating high school student or current college student interested in the 2011 Eli Lilly and Company Scholarship for BDPA Students!

The purpose of the Lilly/BDPA Scholarship is to recognize outstanding minority students, with an interest in information technology, who make significant contributions to society. Applicants must excel academically, show exceptional leadership potential, and make an impact on their communities through service to others.

Click here for more:

http://betf.blogspot.com/2011/05/eli-lilly-scholarship-for-bdpa-students.html

bdpatoday – May 2011Digital Edition

IT Career Fairs | CYBER & STEM talent acquisition

STEM Diversity Career Expo | Click for more information

Click here for more:

http://tinyurl.com/bdpatoday052211

Seeking TECHie Camp Instructors in Cincinnati, Dallas and Philadelphia

We are still looking for Techie Camp instructors willing to earn $1,000 for a week's worth of work with some 3rd-8th graders.

Cincinnati -1 instructor, web development (3rd-5th graders)
Dallas - 4 instructors, web development and programming (3rd-5th graders)
Philadelphia - 2 instructors, web development and programming (5th-8th graders)

Interested?

Apply Immediately -- http://techcorps.org/jobs/99-techie-camp-instructor

Click here for more:

http://betf.blogspot.com/2011/05/seeking-techie-camp-instructors-in.html

Health Care Service Corporation, 5/21/2011 (National BDPA)

Diversity. Our employees are the cornerstone of our business and our workforce reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. Ongoing efforts are made to attract, develop and engage our diverse pool ... Key components of diversity and inclusion (D&I) at HCSC include: Employee resource groups (ERGs) – These are voluntary, employee driven groups that support diversity and inclusion goals. These include: African Americans in Motion, Asian American Resource Group, Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA), Europa, HCSC Pride Alliance, In-Abled, Latinos for Advancement, Supporters of Military Veterans, Voices of Diversity and Women Improving the Strength of the Enterprise (WISE).

Click here for more:

http://www.hcsc.com/diversity.html

Ask Not What The iPad Can Do for You, Ask What You Can Do for The iPad

by Kai Dupe May 15, 2011

Recently Congressman Jessie Jackson Jr. blamed the iPad for American unemployment. Jackson stated the iPad is "probably responsible for eliminating thousand of American jobs." I don't doubt that is a true statement. My response is so. The personal computer is responsible for eliminating thousands of jobs. The same is true of devices such as self-check out kiosks in grocery stores and ATM machines in banks. Cashiers and bank tellers lost their jobs!

This is what technology does. But it is only one side of the equation. Such was also the case during the industrial age and the agricultural age before that. Jackson expanded on his statement by saying "Why do you need to go to Borders anymore? Why do you need to go to Barnes and Noble? Just buy an iPad and download your book, download your newspaper, download your magazine."

Click here for more:

http://whereareblacksintechnology.blogspot.com/2011/05/recently-congressman-jessie-jackson-jr.html

Take Five: Ricardo Wilkins (Columbus)

Ricardo Wilkins is a member of our BDPA Columbus chapter. He has been a frequent workshop presenter at local and national level. Ricardo has been involved with the training of the high school computer competition (HSCC) team that represented Columbus, Ohio in the past few national BDPA HSCC championships. It is worth noting that his team was the most improved last year ... moving up 10 spots in the national rankings from 2009 to 2010.

We are pleased that Ricardo agreed to participate in our Take Five interview series.

Click here for more:

http://betf.blogspot.com/2011/05/take-five-ricardo-wilkens-columbus.html

Malware attack on Mac OS X

Posted by Ricardo Wilkins on 21 May 2011

Recently, Wired Magazine (UK) posted an article regarding a malware attack on the Mac OS X platform. I couldn’t resist commenting on this article, since as many know I've been known to bad mouth Apple products from time to time. :) But this one was particularly interesting because it reminded of a post I wrote about three years ago.

My favorite part of the article says:

It's an urban myth among many that the Apple's OS X operating system is immune, or at least highly resistant, to viruses and malware. In reality that's not necessarily true. Virus creators tend not to target the Mac ecosystem simply because of its low market share in comparison to Windows, and that's changing as OS X becomes more and more popular.

Click here for more:

http://rixbits.blogspot.com/2011/05/malware-attack-on-mac-os-x.html

2011 National BDPA Conference Registration Now Open

Please accept our invitation to join us in the City of the Big Shoulders by registering for the 33rd Annual National BDPA Conference, August 3-6, 2011 at the Hilton Chicago.

Click here to register for the 2011 National BDPA Conference today!

http://bdpa.site-ym.com/?page=Conference2011

2011 BDPA Technology Conference
August 3-6, 2011

Hilton Chicago

720 S. Michigan Ave.

Chicago, IL 60603

Subscribe to the BDPA Foundation Blog via email: http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=649683

Subscribe to the BDPA Community Blog: http://bdpa.site-ym.com/members/blog_view.asp?id=637492

Subscribe to Blacks Gone Geek Blog via email:

http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=blogspot/BlacksGoneGeek&loc=en_US

Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BDPA

Find the buzz on Twitter BDPA: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=BDPA

This message has been brought to you by the BDPA Social Networking Team: http://www.bdpa.org/?page=BDPA_SNet

Contact the BDPA Social Networking Team: socialnetworking@bdpa.org

Sunday, May 15, 2011

The BDPA Insider - May 15, 2011

The BDPA Insider - May 15, 2011

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:
Eli Lilly Scholarship for BDPA Students, Deadline: July 1, 2011
bdpatoday May 2011 Local Chapter Edition
Take Five: Will Bundy (BDPA Rhode Island)
Corporate Board Census Shows Significant Decline in Seats Held by African Americans
Multiple Personalities in Social Media

10 Things HR Won't Tell You About Your Resume

Microsoft buys Skype for $8.5 billion; creates new business division

2011 National BDPA Conference Registration Now Open

Click here for the latest issue of "The BDPA Insider":

http://blacksgonegeek.blogspot.com/2011/05/bdpa-insider-may-15-2011.html

Click here for "The BDPA Insider" Archives:

http://www.bdpa.org/?page=BDPA_Insider_Archive

Eli Lilly Scholarship for BDPA Students, Deadline: July 1, 2011

Click here for more:

http://betf.blogspot.com/2011/05/eli-lilly-scholarship-for-bdpa-students.html

bdpatoday May 2011 Local Chapter Edition

A Media Event Royale – SEO Target Marketing

Government 2.0

TeraGrid ‘11

“Hacking” Career Day

BDPA Supports Teacher Appreciation Month

NBDPA Increases HBCU and Minority Serving Institution (HBCU/MSI) Participation

BDPA IT Institute – 2011 Enrollment Periods

Techie Camp

SiriusXM Satellite Radio Career Opportunities

Endgame for the World’s Most Wanted?

Click here for more:

http://www.bdpatoday.org/11/MAY11-Newsletter_Final.pdf

Take Five: Will Bundy (BDPA Rhode Island)

There have been thousands of BDPA leaders, members and supporters over the years. Each of them have added value to the organization. It would be difficult to name the 'top 10' of these people when it came to influencing the growth and evolution of our national organization. If asked to create that list ... methinks that I would place Dr. William Bundy on the list.

Dr. Bundy is a Naval War College Professor and a retired Navy captain. He was the first African American to rise from the enlisted ranks to command a submarine and the third African American to command a submarine.

Click here for more:

http://betf.blogspot.com/2011/05/take-five-will-bundy-rhode-island.html

Corporate Board Census Shows Significant Decline in Seats Held by African Americans

I have served on a number of nonprofit boards in my time. I have not had a chance to serve on a corporate board in my career. It appears that very few people of color are getting the opportunity to serve on corporate boards.

At least that is the conclusion reached in the corporate board census by the Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD).

ABD reported a surprising decline in the combined number of seats for women and people of color on the boards of the nation’s leading corporations. The largest decline was among Blacks. This year’s report found that in the Fortune 100 between 2004 and 2010, African Americans lost over 40 board seats while white men increased their presence on corporate boards, adding over 30.

Click here for more:

http://betf.blogspot.com/2011/05/corporate-board-census-shows.html

Multiple Personalities in Social Media

Posted by Ricardo Wilkins on 15 May 2011

I recently decided to start shifting my SharePoint-related posts over to a new blog, instead of here at RixBits.com. My main concern was that I had [at least] two very different types of content that I was producing at RixBits, and I felt it was time to stop mixing them. SharePoint, while a very popular topic, certainly has a smaller and more specific audience than many of the other general techie topics I blog about. I wanted to make sure that anyone coming to RixBits to read about tablet PCs, or about how Apple is overrated, would not be confused when they see a post related to SharePoint team development using InfoPath. :)

But as I thought about it a little more, I realized how important the idea of multiple personalities is to social media……

Click here for more:

http://rixbits.blogspot.com/2011/05/multiple-personalities-in-social-media.html

10 Things HR Won't Tell You About Your Resume

by AOL Jobs Contributor, Posted Apr 5th 2011 @ 9:57AM

You're Unemployable After ...'

The rest of that sentence is one of those things hiring managers know but won't share -- usually.

Once you're unemployed more than six months, you're considered pretty much unemployable.
When it comes to getting a job, who you know really does matter
If you're trying to get a job at a specific company, often the best thing to do is to avoid HR entirely.
People assume someone's reading their cover letter.
We will judge you based on your e-mail address.
If you're in your 50s or 60s, don't put the year you graduated on your resume.
There's a myth out there that a resume has to be one page.
I always read resumes from the bottom up.
Most of us use applicant-tracking systems that scan resumes for key words.
Resumes don't need color to stand out.

Click here for more:

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/04/05/10-things-hr-wont-tell-you-about-your-resume/

Microsoft buys Skype for $8.5 billion; creates new business division

The rumors were right . Microsoft announced on May 10 that it bought Skype, an Internet communications vendor, for $8.5 billion.

Instead of trying to mash Skype into an existing Microsoft business division, the company has decided to create a new, separate Skype business division , with Skype CEO Tony Bates as the newly minted President. Bates will report directly to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

In its press release announcing the deal, Microsoft played up the potential synergies between Skype and its own communications offerings, including its Lync VOIP platform, Outlook mail, Messenger instant-messaging, Hotmail Web mail and Xbox Live gaming service.

Click here for more:

http://bdpadet-tac.blogspot.com/2011/05/microsoft-buys-skype-for-85-billion.html

2011 National BDPA Conference Registration Now Open

Please accept our invitation to join us in the City of the Big Shoulders by registering for the 33rd Annual National BDPA Conference, August 3-6, 2011 at the Hilton Chicago.

Click here to register for the 2011 National BDPA Conference today!

http://bdpa.site-ym.com/?page=Conference2011