The DNC in the Queen City

As most of you know the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was here in Charlotte, NC. The city was filled with politicians, celebrities and Americans from all over the country. While other vendors were selling product, financial media company, WallStreetHipHop took their movement straight to the streets. They hit the pavement at the Carolina Fest to find out what people thought about alternative energy and educated them with facts and how it affects our society.

  

W$HH, the world's premier digital financial company catering to the Hip Hop community. With a mix of free and premium services, WallStreetHipHop provides aggregated news, financial information, content and educational services for the growing Hip Hop community. WallStreetHipHop is committed to providing the necessary educational material, investment tools, and professional insight for the 45 million+ members of the Hip Hop generation.

While attending the Carolina Fest, we first explored the Google exhibit. The exhibit featured all alternative energy products including the self-driving car. 

After looking at the self-driving car, we explored more inside. To our surprise, the inside was completely different than what we imagined. We thought it would be filled with new interesting gadgets and products, however, it was more like a lounge to charge your cell phone, get connected to free Wi-Fi, get a snack and watch some current events on the latest energy saving LED TVs. 

I must say, even though it wasn't as expected, we still interacted with the crowd and even got some interviews with a few individuals on alternative energy. We were happy to hear how many people are paying attention to alternative energy and how it will benefit us in the near future. "Interviews coming soon."

As we continued through the Fest, we spoke with Duke Energy, Habitat for Humanity and a talented group of teens who built an electric car. It seems that alternative energy is the next BIG thing, it's a key piece in saving the Earth and becoming a more energy efficient society. 

W$HH is the next best thing for Hip Hop and Wall Street, it gives the Hip Hop community awareness to the things they spend money on the most. it also shows how money can be invested for the things people care about the most. 


To find out more information about WallStreetHipHop, make sure you log onto www.wallstreethiphop.com and check out the site.

Apple-Samsung Verdict

                             

Apple and Samsung have been going through this trail for a whole year and it finally comes to an end. Yesterday, it was announced that Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $1.05 billion although their original claim was $2.5 billion. The lawsuit started when Apple accused Samsung of infringing several patents. Samsung also countersued Apple for $400 million for damages to reputation and $22 million in royalties. The two companies have been disputed in 10 different countries.

Apple claims Samsung phones as knock-offs to its design.

In the end, a jury of nine agreed with Apple finding Samsung to have copied the iPhone and iPad. Samsung's counterclaims in the amount of $400 million have been rejected.

Most of the damages were linked to Samsung's smartphones. Now that Apple has won the battle, they have filed for an injunction against the eight Samsung devices; which are; the Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2 AT&T, Galaxy S2, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge and the Galaxy Prevail. Though these are the eight smartphones on the list, the latest Samsung product; the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note tablet is not included.

In an article reported by thevarguy.com, it stated that in the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson quoted the former Apple CEO saying about Google's Android, "Our lawsuit is saying, Google you f**king ripped off the iPhone, wholesale ripped us off. I will spend my last dying breath if I need to and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right the wrong. I'm going to destroy Android because it's a stolen product."

To read more on the article click here:

It seems like Apple is coming for Google next. What are your thoughts of this lawsuit and where Apple is going? Are you #teamiPhone or #teamSamsung? Do you agree with Apple? Is Samsung really a copy cat? Share your thoughts and ask questions.


Click here to read court document: Apple vs Samsung

What's Trending?

Technology has always been a big impact on everything in the world, especially when it comes to the entertainment industry. Recently, in the film industry 3D has become very trending. The evolution of film has changed rapidly over the decades. In the more recently time of the evolution, there has been high definition to blue-ray disc and now to 3D. I think society adapts to different trends all the time, that they are easily bored. This new trend of 3D is something different than what most are use to. The reality and illusions 3D gives makes people want it more and more. The economy is in a terrible state right now, however, movie theatre sales have not decreased and with almost every movie (action/adventure in particular) being featured in 3D, movie sales will continue to bring in money.

Another big trend in the technology world is social networking. Of coarse there have been social networks in the past like BlackPlanet and there was MySpace, which became pretty popular, however, Facebook has taken over completely. As many may know after watching The Social Network, Facebook wasn't for all individuals, it was mainly for college students. As it became more popular, it was offered to more groups of people. It is one of the most popular sites today with over 600 million users and now many companies have created fan pages to keep fans updated with their latest news. Another social network is Twitter, which is used by 175 million users. It is used by celebrities, companies and different individuals everyday. It has become a big part of the marketing world. Most of the world has become dependent on these new trends but there will always be something better to replace them, only time can tell. Can you imagine how the world and technology will be 5-10 years now?

Being a recent college graduate, I will be able to excel in these areas because, first I am a social network freak, two my institute has prepared be by using all these trends in my program. I have learned through marketing classes and research what trends are appropriate for different businesses.

Sources:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14270491/Facebook-Market-Analysis
http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2011/04/how-many-people-really-use-twitter-a-lot-but-less-than-you-think-chart.html

Finance

In this blog, I will be answering a few questions on financing and how it is being used in the two of the following companies. The first company is CDFI Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions. The second company is Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. Both CDFI and CFED's purpose is to help access financial resources and expand economic opportunity for low-income families and communities.

What types of financing opportunities are described on the websites?

CDFI Coalition's financing opportunities include loan funds, banks, credit unions, micro-enterprise lenders, corporations and venture capital funds all in community development.

Some of the financial opportunities that are described on CFED's website are the American Dream Match Funds, Asset Building for Children, Individual Development Accounts, innovation@cfed, Manufactured Housing and Self-Employment Tax Initiative.

What are some of the requirements and qualifications to obtain the financing?

When looking at CDFI Coalition's website; they had several members who were associated with them. After looking through some of the other websites, they only way to obtain any assistance was to simply apply fir it. These organizations are for low-income families and communities, therefor everybody isn't eligible for assistance.

After looking through the website, it seems that one would also have to apply through their local government to access assistance from the organizations.

What other types of information are available on the sites?

Other information that may be available on these sites are not only financial assistance but housing, community building education and jobs as well. These organizations are trying to help build the rural areas become a part of the working middle class. The are trying to help those who are trying but are unable to fully help themselves.

Some advantages that may result in the assistance of these organization could be financing for foreclosures, rebuilding one's home and funds for a college education. After carefully examining the two websites, I don't believe there to be any disadvantages from using alternative financing. The only possible disadvantage I believe to be is not being eligible to qualify for any assistance.

Sources:

http://preview.cfed.org/

http://cdfi.org/index.php?page=aboutus-4

Experts Views on the Value of Business Plans: Part 2

After researching about business expertise Daymond John, I thought about how I could make my company expand. Daymond John started his company in his house. He used it as his headquarters, which saved him a lot of expenses. He also did not have many employees; it was mainly him and a few friends, who were his business partners. I thought, in order to save money in the beginning, I should have fewer employees and gain more as I expand my company. I also wanted to change my marketing strategies to save money as well. Marketing is one of the biggest expenses in a company; it will change yearly within my company. In my business plan, I want to why my company is profitable and why the investors should invest in me. 

The section I consider to be most important to investors is the start up costs, marketing budgets and sales budgets. I believe these sections to be most important to the investor because investors want to know how much money a company needs, what they need it for and how much revenue can they raise. All three factors help them consider if they are going to invest in one's company and how much they decide to invest. Another important section I want investors to notice is how I plan to build my brand. Building a brand can really expand a company, this is another reason I would want and need the investors investments.

 Sources:

Burns, Renita. (2010, May 11). FUBU Founder Talks About Building Your Brand. Retrieved June 5, 2011 from http://www.blackenterprise.com/2010/05/11/fubu-founder-talks-about-building-your-brand/

Daymond John. (n.d.). About Daymond. Retrieved from http://www.daymondjohn.com/about/

Kristen. (2011, April 14). Starting a business, advice from Daymond John, founder of FUBU and Shark Tank investor. Retrieved from  http://theclothingmenu.com/2011/04/starting-a-business-advice-from-daymond-john-founder-of-fubu-and-shark/