Thank you Udacity l OneTen and BIT

My Udacity/OneTen Nanodegree: Digital Marketing

A very cool thing happened to me on Monday. I graduated and received my Digital Marketing Nanodegree from Udacity. It all started when I was awarded a scholarship to attend the online program. I believe the scholarship was a joint venture between Udacity, OneTen, and BIT (Blacks In Technology).

It was a great experience for me because I was able to pick up new skills, and be exposed to new methods concerning marketing, that I was unaware of.  As you may know, I'm a blogger and I write content primarily because I enjoy it.  But, the new knowledge will help me manage and operate my site more efficiently.

The techniques and the Insight that I gained from the program will hopefully help me increase my social media reach so that I can in turn, help others with their awareness campaigns.

Some of the topics we covered, and projects worked on, were data analytics using Google Analytics, scheduling content for posting, creating user personas (to identify your intended audiences), and managing marketing campaigns from start to finish. We also worked on ad creation, and AB Testing. Some of these things I had heard of before, but most I have never used/implemented.  Now, I can put into practice my newly acquired skills and take my site to the next level.

So, shout out and  thank you Udacity and OneTen and BIT for the opportunity.  I appreciate the knowledge and it was time well spent.

#DigitalMarketing #Udacity #OneTen #BIT #BlacksInTechnology #DanielSpeller 

History, Culture, Life. Now is the Time for Change.

Sunset image from Bing

I was sitting and thinking today that if there was ever a time for black people to  learn about history, culture, and life, now would be that time.  With modern technology, so much is available at your fingertips.

Even if people are trying to lie and keep the truth from you, you can find it.  Even if mama and 'em never said another word about the past, so much truth is crying out from everywhere that it is undeniable. Now, is a wonderful time of opportunity and discovery.

Of course you can't believe every single thing you read on the internet; and things have to be researched and verified, but just simply being exposed to so much knowledge and information is  simply amazing.

In many of our conversations, I think we get side tracked and focus on the wrong things.  Even when distractions are plentiful when in the effort of some trying to hide the truth--knowledge is still there. Right in front of our faces.

For instance, even though some conservatives like the Florida Governor, don't want you to learn about the civil rights activities  of circa 1954, if we just do the math-- that was only 69 years ago.

The Truth is many, many people are alive who are 69 years old... and much older. So the question is,

June 29th 2023: Clarence Thomas Day

 

My opinion about justus Thomas

Today, Clarence Thomas, and his buddies, decided to declare that Affirmative Action should essentially be no more.  It’s interesting that this decision should come at this time, but we as Black people will do what we have always done—grow and prosper.  It may take a little time to adjust, but not long.

As in all things now, time has considerably sped up and we are on a trajectory to overcome that cannot be stopped. Clarence Thomas, and his ilk, are but a cog in a wheel. And when cogs go bad, they are replaced.

I declare today Clarence Thomas Day because I want people to remember what NOT to be when you are in a position to do good for others.  Self-loathing, non-self-aware and a grifter, are all the traits he seems to display in his position as a “Supreme Court Justice” … or maybe he’s the supreme court jester, I can not tell. Let this day be a day that all remember and let it be said: He did all he could to keep his people down. May God wrestle with his soul.

Enough about Clarence. It’s time now for us start making decisions that benefit us as black Americans. Leave the parties, become independent and vote for those who hold your best interest at heart.

Ways to Reduce Water Retention

 

Since I’ve been back in my hometown, I’ve noticed I’ve been putting on weight… and my ankles look swollen. 🤨 In doing a few searches online, I discovered it could be from water retention. So, I thought I’d write an article about it.

There was one particular article found on Healthline.com that I thought was very interesting.  It’s was called 6 Ways to Reduce Water Retention (Edema).  Generally it said to:

1. Eat less salt

2. Increase Magnesium

3. Get more vitamin B6

4. Intake more Potassium

5. Try Dandelion

6. Limit refined carbs

Edema, water retention, happens when excessive fluid is retained in the circulatory system or within tissues—causing swelling in the hands, feet, ankles, and legs.  There are several potential causes for this.  Hormonal changes, lack of physical activity, kidney disease, obesity, and even allergies are a few that I'll mention.  The article I mentioned above names others as well.

My concern at the moment is with my ankles--so I was looking at ways of addressing that issue.  If you have a concern with water retention, please check with your doctor (if you have one), to make sure it’s not a serious condition associated with why you’re retaining water, otherwise there are a few things you can try to maybe help reduce the amount of water being retained.

NOT Drinking water is NOT THE ANSWER.  Surprisingly, you may not be drinking enough water to begin with—which adds to the problem of fluid retention.  So, one option to address fluid retention should be: DRINK MORE WATER.

High Points:

1. Exercise more. Who wants to do that right? …lol.  Subtle changes can make big differences.  Consciously add more movement and activity to your daily routine.  Do things that you will enjoy and know that you will continue to do. Then continue to add other things to your daily routine.
2. Eat less salt/sodium. No doubt this is hard…cause salt tastes so good. I know. Enjoy it in moderation.
3. Eat more fruit and vegetables. I read that eating fruit high in potassium like bananas, tomatoes or avocados could help reduce the fluid retention. Eating other fruit like peaches, watermelon and cucumber could also help.  Of course, eating a variety of fruit and vegetables can help with a lot of issues and get you looking right.
4. Eating herbs or making herbal teas could be a natural diuretic to add to your mix. I was surprised to find out how many edible things just grow out there in the yard.   I think you should absolutely investigate and learn about plants before you make a tea or soup out of it, but there are a surprisingly number of good plants that are helpful and used to be used as home remedies, but today we call them weeds or flowers.

There is a lot more information about this topic to be found in the links below.  I just wanted to write a few notes on what I found to get you started.

Thanks for reading and I hope you keep coming back to the site and exploring.  Tell your people about me and contribute to our grow!  ✊🏾

 

Resources:

Stop Retaining Water…By Drinking More Water

Google Search about Water Retention