Gary Vaynerchuk broke my Twitter Spaces! (My first week as a beta tester)
So I've been granted the honor of being among the first few hundred people to beta test Twitter’s newest feature Twitter Spaces. I don't remember exactly how I found Twitter spaces (you have to be following someone who hosting or speaking in a room to see the feature) but I was definitely in love with the user interface and sound quality in comparison to the clubhouse app. So before I get into how Gary Vaynerchuk broke my Spaces, I'll give a run down into what I like and what I feel needs improvement before launch!
So I've been granted the honor of being among the first few hundred people to beta test Twitter’s newest feature Twitter Spaces. I don't remember exactly how I found Twitter spaces (you have to be following someone who hosting or speaking in a room to see the feature) but I was definitely in love with the user interface and sound quality in comparison to the clubhouse app. So before I get into how Gary Vaynerchuk broke my Spaces, I'll give a run down into what I like and what I feel needs improvement before launch!
At the time of this post, the Twitter Spaces beta feedback group is a very small group of people, so for you to experience the feature for yourself, you’ll need to find and follow a beta tester. (hopefully, you’re already following me.) If you’ve used the clubhouse app you be fairly familiar with the audio chat interface. Though the moderation tools are as well fleshed out yet, however, the host feels very much in control of their space. Unlike the seemingly unlimited amount of people who can jump on a mic like in the clubhouse app, you are limited to 10 additional speakers. No one is sure how many people total can populate a space but I am sure we have plenty of time to test that out.
Sidenote: much like the Clubhouse audio chat app, only iPhone users are able to utilize the feature at the moment. I am hearing the iPad is getting the ability soon.
Ok most of you are really only here because you want to know how Gary Vee broke my Twitter Space, lol.
So boom. I startup a twitter space, I think it was my second time hosting a room. After about 15 minutes of chatting with some of my followers and other beta testers, Kayvon from Twitter jumps in we start talking a little about my periscope days. (Kayvon is the founder of Periscope, which is owned by Twitter.) The thing is Kayvon is pretty popular so lots of people start jumping into the Space. The only way right now to find a Twitter Space is to follow the host, follow someone who has been given speaker privileges or get a direct link to spaces. So as Kayvon’s following starts to pile in and people start asking questions the room starts to become pretty popular turning my little “dinner party” into a town hall meeting. Things are going great people are spending limited time "on stage" and asking some great questions But little did we know Gary Vaynerchuk found the space! So Gary decides to screenshot the Space and shoot it out to his timeline and all hell breaks loose. lmfaooooo. My Space quickly goes from 3-4 people requesting to speak to Kayvon to about 40 all at the same time. At this point, this system is getting pushed to its limits because listeners are spamming the request button to get my attention, and some people who were granted speak privileges are getting kicked. Plus the UI isn’t designed to efficiently sort through 40 requests at the same time. So as I’m vetting each profile while simultaneously moderating and greeting each person who joins the convo, the tweet from Gary Vee is shared inside the space and we all realized what going on. so for about 15 minutes tech enthusiasts, Journalists, etc.. are flying into the space until Kayvon leaves, and then the room goes back to normal, or at least I thought. Turns out for the next 4 days the Twitter team was trying to figure out why 2 out of every 3 listeners would get kicked from the room when I brought them up to speak. Which I called the “Issa Khari bug” since my space was the only account that this was happening in. I haven’t seen Gary jump in since but he did jump in fellow beta tester Kyle Harris’ space later on that day and came up to speak on the “hustle” culture which was interesting, to say the least. lol
I think the best thing about the whole situation is that a lot of feedback was submitted from the experience and created the opportunity to see what would be needed for larger accounts to utilize the feature. My Fellow beta testers as well as myself have made several suggestions like co-hosting and some better moderation abilities, like muting individual speakers as well as the whole room. I do want to say the Twitter team has been incredible with reaching out, they are regularly in the rooms and even come up to speak from time to time to listen to feedback in real-time. It reminds me of my Periscope VIP experience, with a great line of communication and genuinely listening to those who cultivate communities to be a significant voice in how these apps are shaped. I’ll give an update down the line as the app gets some new features which I'm hearing should be rolling out soon. So that’s about it for now, let me go start up another space, go find me on Twitter!
Protesters Riot in Brooklyn Over Walter Wallace Jr. Shooting
Walter Wallace Jr, who was shot 10x in West Philadelphia on October 26, is the latest Black Man to be killed by police. The incident has thrown more fuel ton a fire that has burned all summer nationwide which started with the death of George Floyd. Wednesday night a crowd of a little over 100 demonstrators took the streets of Brooklyn in a pure rage smashing windows, throwing trash, and lighting whatever they could find on fire.
Walter Wallace Jr, who was shot 10x in West Philadelphia on October 26, is the latest Black Man to be killed by police. The incident has thrown more fuel ton a fire that has burned all summer nationwide which started with the death of George Floyd. Wednesday night a crowd of a little over 100 demonstrators took the streets of Brooklyn in a pure rage smashing windows, throwing trash, and lighting whatever they could find on fire.
Wallace, who was said to suffer mental is illness has not only pushed the divide between the Black community and law enforcement further apart. But it also strengthens the call for better training of officers across the U.S. in addition to less-lethal options and professionals within the mental health field to answer calls of distress instead of armed officers. Though these riots in Brooklyn won't solve the problem by any means, it seems to display the lack of patience from those who feel they have no other means to get the attention of those in power.
Spike Lee throws Brooklyn Block Party celebrating 30th anniversary of Iconic film ”Do The Right Thing”
Do The Right Thing Way, became official back in July of 2015 and is the official location for Spike Lee's annual Block Party! Spike makes it a point to return to the very location where he filmed the thought-provoking story some 30 years ago. DTRT like so many of Spike’s other films tells the story of the Brooklynites and the Greater Black Community.
Do The Right Thing Way, became official back in July of 2015 and is the official location for Spike Lee's annual Block Party! Spike makes it a point to return to the very location where he filmed the thought-provoking story some 30 years ago. DTRT like so many of Spike’s other films tells the story of the Brooklynites and the Greater Black Community.
Spike Brought out several guest throughout the 7-hour event including his castmates from the film Rosie Perez and Giancarlo Esposito , as well Les Twins, Public Enemy, and many others! I did spend much time at the gathering as I has to hit another event afterwards but I did manage to capture some really great photos! You can check out my full gallery below! My favorite shots have to be the dance battle that broke out during DJ Spinna’s set.
Legendary Cyphers Season 7 Photo Gallery
Check out the Full Season 7 Photo Gallery by Issa Khari, official camera man for Legendary Cyphers!
Joining Legendary Cyphers has definitely been an honor and while my primary function within the media team has involved filming I decided I would incorporate more of my passion for photography in my work for Season 7. Here is some of my favorites from this year!
I'll be posting photos from each week of LC here, so for the rappers and looking for photos of themselves you should definitely bookmark this page!
Week 1
5.3.19
Week 2
5.10.19
Week 3
5.17.19
Week 7
6.14.19
Legendary Cyphers visits College Of Staten Island
During our visit to Staten Island College not only did Legendary Cyphers showed off their Lyrical prowess but explained to the students how a cypher was and still is the original social medium for communities.
I had my first visit to a college campus in a long while thanks to Legendary Cyphers. Eli, Bjorn and Miky showed out for the CSI students, who didn't seem to know what was going on at first. Thanks to mainstream media the culture of hip-hop has been lost to a generation that eat, sleep and dreams hip-hop.
So L.C. not only showed off their Lyrical prowess but explained to the students how a cypher was and still is the original social medium for communities. There was even a conversation sparked by one student employed by the school about the lack of promotion of the event. Overall it was a great experience being able to connect with the youth and bringing light to traditional values of hip-hop culture. It's was definitely a warmup for the upcoming season which starts May 3rd! If you're free that Friday and want to test your skill with some of the best emcees in NYC come through.
Check out the Full Season 7 Photo Gallery by Issa Khari, official camera man for Legendary Cyphers!