*NecoleBitchie.com--A Review*

Entertainment blogs and websites have taken over the internet. People make it a point to visit many of these sites everyday whether it be by cellphone, or on their computer at work. Entertainment blogs and websites have drawn a large audience around the world. The exposure to such sites has been promoted easily with the social networks Twitter and Facebook. Today, people have never been so connected to their life interests, music, and entertainment interests.

            Amongst the most popular entertainment sites is my favorite, the site of Necole Bitchie, http://necolebitchie.com/. Necole Bitchie incorporates not only the latest celebrity gossip but also fashion and relationship help. These things separate itself from other gossip sites like Perez Hilton’s. I prefer Necole Bitchie’s site because it is not one-note. As it is a blog site, and it is based on opinion primarily, I find the perspectives taken very interesting and entertaining.

            Now as most probably would look at the blog and think of it as nothing special, if they found out the background story behind it they probably would have more respect for it. Necole Bitchie herself was in a dark place in her life a few years ago, when she decided to start her blog. She started writing for Russell Simmons at http://globalgrind.com while keeping her personal blog going. It took much planning and execution for her to eventually get her site to where she wanted it to be. After dedicating her time and being diligent in her work, she started to get enough exposure and revenue on http://necolebitchie.com to run her own site full time. Half of her operation is based on finding and keeping advertisers on her site. This business savvy entrepreneur knew where she wanted to take herself, and did it. I think this is very cool. It would be interesting for her to put up an entertainment-business news section on her website.

            Necole Bitchie noted that Twitter gains her much attention. I believe word of mouth has a lot to do with her success as well, as that is the way I learned about her site. All in all, she has undoubtedly created a name for herself in the entertainment industry. VH1’s new show, “Single Girls,” referenced Necole Bitchie twice this season. “If it’s Bitchie then you know it’s true!”

Other sources: http://www.dondivamag.com/index.php/hustlers/bitchin-is-a-business/

*UCLA Jazz & Reggae Festival*

            The annual UCLA Jazz and Reggae Festival is a tradition for Los Angeleans and out-of-towners alike. Held every Memorial Day weekend, this picnic-style festival has drawn many top names in the music industry. This year, on “Jam Day,” artists featured included Lupe Fiasco and Talib Kweli.

            Being that I have attended about 5 of these festivals, I must say it is a huge production. Attending UCLA has allowed me to get a background access to the set up, and take down of the event. The main constant in the running of the festival is that there are teams everywhere. Clean up teams, security teams, stage teams, and even food and beverage teams. Teams facilitate the entire festival. As thousands fill the intramural field of UCLA, teams are everywhere running the show and keeping things in control. And although I do not know the budget of the festival, I do know the planning is year-round. I also know that the festival is very lucrative for the vendors working on the festival grounds.        

In my experience attending the festivals, there has always been a flawless execution.  There is a real peaceful and relaxing, yet exciting feel to the festival. Whether one attends both days of the festival or just one, the comfort of a simple day laying on the grass (or standing and dancing) with amazing food, non-alcoholic drinks, surrounded by a massive crowd is just…well… great. Walking through the event, it seems as if it is a bike chain properly connected---just moving in a constant flow. The collapse or failure of any micro-team (if you will) would affect the macro-essence of the event. As long as everyone does their job, there are no problems. So far, I have not seen any.

            I would assume that the artist recruiting team has one of the most important jobs in the festival committee, as music is the reason for the gathering. Customer satisfaction seems to rely mostly on the artists scheduled for the festival, the security of the festival, and the food and drink at the festival.  If anyone is in town during this event, I’d say it is somewhere you must attend!

http://jazzreggaefest.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JazzReggae_Festival_@_UCLA

http://www.facebook.com/jazzreggaefest