A Note about Voices Behind Walls q/a Tweet

A Note about Voices Behind Walls q/a Tweet

(VBWq/a*) Visit: twitter.com/vbehindw

Prior to registering Voices Behind Walls with a Twitter account, my impression of the social networking service was that it was a useless way of being inundated by commercial, mainstream, popular media junk.  I started learning how it worked after setting up an account for Hip Hop Alumni in 2013 and liked how the home link allowed for quick reference to people, programs and media I was interested in.  One of the first tweets I "favorited" was a notice from @MrChuckD which read "Unsung just aired a great feature on the life of Gil Scott-Heron also showcasing"Evolutionary Minded"album that re-imagines the music of Gil" ...I realized how useful this tool would become for connecting me to projects I wanted to invest my time and money towards...  and in the case of Mr. Chuck D's tweet, it may have taken months until I would've stumbled across Kentyah's Evolutionary Minded music compilation.  Since then, I've seldom heard anyone else make reference to it! 

I'm a sponge for information (always have been) and pretty much any social media tool I've ever used, whether it was my introduction to forums during the early part of the millennium or the world's introduction of MySpace, Facebook, YouTube... I've enjoyed how these interactive tools connect us to specific sources of info and networks that more traditional channels such as TV, newspaper, and magazine aren't really capable of.  It opened the floodgates (I'm reminded of a song by the Algorithms titled ((War at 120/80 (Floodgates))) to media allowing users to filter and connect with very specific sources of info they can share with peer groups and contacts.

In developing a Twitter for Voices Behind Walls @vbehindw, it's been a great learning experience connecting with so many social justice programs, advocates, and artist that are involved with creative expression, education, and issues centered around mass incarceration.  While I most recently got back on Facebook, I prefer how Twitter functions, especially on mobile devices and as an archive to post or find info relevant to work & study.

  

Today, I've decided to use our Twitter account @vbehindw to highlight specific contacts we're connecting with that agree to participate in a VBW q/a (Question and Answer).  Basically the 140 character question and 140 character reply will provide visitors with some background on a specific person, subject or program to promote what they're doing (whether its to a music page, film trailer, Amazon link to purchase a text, program website, etc.).  Over the past ten years, VBW's activities have involved different types of creative expression including music, education, history, poetry, film, Hip Hop culture, art, play writing, theater, photography, reading, scholarship, academia, chess, performance art, digital literacy, and mentorship.   

As a radio DJ in past years and a non-profit worker today, I've interviewed many people through audio, print, and person... I'm interested in utilizing social media with the similar goal of promoting people's work through a simple exchange of tweets that our followers can share.  I hope that if you're not on Twitter, you take the opportunity to sign up and follow sources out there that are attached to your work, education, and everyday learning.  Hopefully, including ours.

We will highlight and archive (label) VBW q/a's on this VBW blog page.

Peace.

#Lee, Co-Founder/Director #VBW


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