Earn upto Rs. 9,000 pm checking Emails. Join now! Love And Sex: Very Smart Brothas' blog answers African Americans' questions on life, love and culture

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Very Smart Brothas' blog answers African Americans' questions on life, love and culture

Ever had a crush on a co-worker you wouldn't normally find attractive outside of the office? You were probably wearing "Work Goggles." Or maybe you've encountered a "Diva Dude" - he's the hottie who knows he's in high dating demand and won't let you forget it.
These additions to the modern relationship lexicon are the work of the guys at VerySmartBrothas.com, a blog that focuses on love, dating and pop culture from an African American perspective. Washington-based Panama Jackson (31-year-old government analyst D. Marcellus Wright) and The Champ (Pittsburgh educator Damon Young, 30) became friends in 2004 after discovering each other's personal blogs; by 2008, they had abandoned those individual ventures to launch VSB.

Nearly three years and more than 700 posts later, the blog has found its own candid, catchy voice - and a devoted following, with about 400 posts a day. The duo write about their experiences and observations and take questions from readers. In his "Dear Champ" advice series, Young answers queries, mostly from women, such as "Should I wait on him if he's not ready for a relationship?" and "Can you sleep your way to a man's heart?" (No and no, according to The Champ.)
Despite their longtime collaboration, however, the two have never met face to face. Online contact keeps the partnership alive, but they haven't managed to be in the same city at the same time. "It's almost as if we're playing a very advanced and very peculiar game of phone tag," Young says. (Holding the two together is Liz Burr, 29, a consultant and mutual friend, who has been overseeing the blog's day-to-day operations and marketing since its launch.)

Over time, they've expanded to include a podcast series and organized meet-ups for fans in Pittsburgh and the District. And on Jan. 31, they released their self-published book, "Your Degrees Won't Keep You Warm at Night: The Very Smart Brothas Guide to Dating, Mating, and Fighting Crime."

The book expands on topics and dating vocabulary created on the blog, such as "Close-Bus Syndrome," the dating equivalent of a common public transportation nightmare when, frustrated that the right bus isn't showing up, you get on the next one even if it's not going exactly where you want, because it's better than going nowhere at all.

"We're doing pretty well for a book whose only promotion to this date has been word-of-mouth and some grass-roots efforts from our fans," Jackson says.

Jackson and The Champ hope the book will draw a new round of fans to check out VerySmartBrothas.com. And for those ready to join the fray, Young offers this advice: "Come in with an open mind and heart and willingness to laugh at yourself."

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