My Long Road To My Major In Tech Mangement @SPC

I have been thinking and debating about doing this blog it took 2 days to think about on how to write this blog oh well here goes and I am sorry in advance this will be uncut and uncensored to my readers and sorry for the foul language. Here goes it all started in the public school system I can remembered that we was all taught that we can be anything we wanted when we grow up in life, but in my case that was not only a lie, but it nearly stop my college career before it begins. I can remember that the so called teachers told me that," I was only going to be a greeter boy in my working career. So when I ask my teacher in grade school I want to be in the computer field when I grow up she immediately dismissed it and not only that she called me a "fucking retarded boy who wasn't amount to shit." Mind you I was in elementary school a little black kid so as I grow a little older so they school teachers along with their quack psychologists told me that I was going to Special ED or ESE I didn't know what ESE was, but over the course of my public school I found out the hard way.

I felt I was I was in a prison no way to escape sure the homework was very basic and rudimentary, but the classmates were crazy and have mental issues, now I am not saying that Special ED does not have a place in the school system, but it is reserve for the kids who really need it not the ones that do not need it. As I was saying the classes I was assigned to were separated from the rest of the school and my classmates . I was mocked, scorned,laughed at,and etc by not only by my non-special ed classmates, but by the teachers as well. I was kinda of feeling alone and felt hopeless no one listened to me in the school system, I do have a supporting family and some teachers who knew that I did not belong in the ESE program my family and teachers saw my potential to became great and helped me achieved my goals. Looking back in hindsight I should never been in the ESE program in the first place and yes I was sheltered from the harsh and cold world I had a rose cover view of the world at one time. I can remember one of my teachers(bad) told me that," I was a experiment and you are our cash crop." But it all became clear when I was in my junior and senior year at high school as you know you got to take an enterance exam before you going into Pinellas Techincal Education Center({PTEC) so I have pass the test with flying colors I wanted to be a computer technician as a trade college was the far from my mind nor it was on the blip on my radar at the time.

So then this quack, dumb ass, and piece of shit white male psychologist was doing a fucking psych evaluation on me in my high school I find it odd why the fuck are you doing a evaluation on me before I make the transition to PTEC so he was asking all this weird ass stuff making me complex math problems I never known and having a hard time doing them he was just writing down his notes to send to my ESE guidance conselors and then after the we was finish he said to me was," It looks like your going to the PTEC transition program next year." I said to myself finally I am going to great a trade as a computer technician  and have a career in computers even with a regular high school diploma and my mind it was cool it least I can support my family or so I thought. On May the 17th of 2006 I have graduated from high school everyone was happy for me that I have gotten my diploma I walked across the stage with my high school diploma and took a picture with my principal. Not only that I was taking pictures and selfies with my classmates chanting," 06,06,06 G High for life." Man I am going to miss my classmates some are going into the military and others are going to big time colleges and universities everyone was being productive and proud for the fruits of their labor for the past 4 years of high school and the hard work paid of well with our cap and gowns.

3 months later I was exited to go to PTEC for the 1st time and tackle my career in computer as a computer technician I was given a tour of PTEC as new student the people who was giving the tour for me when want to cafe' for lunch. What they said to me was shocking and disappointing they said," You are not going to have a career in computers." I said,"What do you mean I thought that was my career option." they said," Nope we have read the report the psychologist and under his recommendations and your diploma you are going to the Transitions program." I asked," What is that?" The two black women said," Oh you did not know the Transitions program is an ESE program you love it there." Remember at the time I thought this program on what my teachers were telling on at the time if you make into the Transitions program you have a career in computers.

When I was in my 1st year into the Transition program and it was not only a utter waste of time, but it was not living up to the hype. One of Transitions teachers told me," You got a ESE diploma right?" I said,"Yes" and then she told me," haha welcome to your new future greeter boy." I can also remember that in my time in the Transition program it felt like elementary school they did not train us to be adults, but just warehousing us it was mostly black and brown males in this program with the females. In the back of my mind I was saying," What the fuck did I fucking signed up for and this was bullshit." So basically after 4 fucking years at G High are you telling me when I graduated I was on the ESE diploma route? I do not fucking believe this shit I felt betrayed, lied to, deceived, and heart-broken. Also I remember my 1st meeting with the teachers of the program and I said I wanted out of shitty ass program and they said," No sorry Johnny be a good little black boy and accept your fate as is."  I told them," Fuck you I am going to get my GED and get an career in computers with or without your goddamn support." Before I go on one of the Transitions teacher assistants a brotha told me," You do not belong here you need to get your GED and get the fuck out of this crazy program."  he also told me," These Transitions teachers all they care about is their fucking paychecks and their pension plans damn the(brown and black)kids." I ask him,"Why are you telling me this you could lose your job?" brotha man said," I dont care about this job, but when I first saw you, you got alot of untapped potential to go to college and make something of your life."

I had to be covert or under the radar because if the Transition teachers found out that I was getting my GED they will do anything in their power to tried to dissuade and discouraged me from achieving this path. My plan was attend Transitions, by day and go to GED program by night it was hard at first learning complex math equations was more then what I am bargained for, but the brotha man encouraged me to pass the GED test to go on to Saint Petersburg College(SPC) and he helped me under the radar by helping me improving on my math skills like my algebra,fractions, basic geometry, and etc. on the eve of my GED test on December of 2008 the Transitions teachers found out my plan, but by then I was in the GED program for them to do anything so they fired the brotha man and my mentor from his job and expelled me from the Transitions program for good. In the GED exam I was nervous as hell and I was having those what ifs in my stomach, but GOD ease my nervousness and I was calm cool and collected. To be honest with everyone I thought I was going to make it this far I thought I was going to be a statistic of black or brown males in ESE program across America being mis-educated and mis-guided and being robbed of my potential. So I took the GED exam and It was hard as fucked and I was struggling to passed it so when my test proctor did he saw that I was not giving up and he said," Time is up." I realize that only GOD can delivered me from this and passed this test.

1 month later I have received my scores back from GED headquarters in Tallahassee,FL in January of 2009 and I was shocked as hell I only came up short Get this by 10 points and the letter states that I have an option to take it again with any subject I chose and I chose my strongest subject Social Studies(SS) I have about an 510 out of 800 the retake was in 2 weeks and I had no time to waste I MAN UP and studied my ass off on SS sleepless nights and all day studying in the cold Florida air. On the 1st week of February of 2009 I was in the GED testing room and I have dominated the SS test with ease and 2 weeks later in February  I have received my GED test scores, but this time I have saw my award the official GED high school diploma attached with my test scores. My mind was singing," FREEDOM!!!!!!!!! FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!." I have finally escape from the ESE program for good and  now my life as an SPC College student begin from here on out. In other words, I have given the ESE and the teachers the middle finger.


Now I am currently enrolled at SPC and it took me almost 4 years to get my AA degree, but I am happy I have gotten the degree last year in 2013 and I am almost have my Bachelors of Applied Science degree in Technology Management and get this with no student loan debts I will be graduating with a clean ass slate and start my career as a IT Security Analyst or a Software programmer.  I love computers and I feel like I can make a different in the IT/Tech Industry.  I am glad that I am surrounded by positive positive and professors with industry experience and connecting for me to network so that when I graduate from SPC I will be able to get started in my tech career. If it wasn't for GOD,my parents, coaches,mentors, and true friends who supported me since day one. I will not be where I am at in my college career without GOD and this has been my long road for me to travel and it is just the beginning. I heard recently that the same Transitions teachers who stop my progress and growth are now laid off and unemployed and cannot paid their bills. PTEC Transitions program has been shut down for permanently due to lacked of funding and behavior problems from the students and it goes to show you that GOD does not like ugly. I am glad that the transitions program and being in Special ED is now permanently close for good in my life.



Okay everyone my next blog will be called," Hackers." Take care this is John"Tech Head" McSwain Signing out and once again sorry for the foul language once again.

Why Black People Should Consider The IT/Tech Industry

You might be wondering why should Black-Americans should considered Information Technology field as their career instead of sports. I will tell you why we all know that Black-Americans dominted in the sports arena like the NFL,NBA.MLB. NCAA, and etc, but they are only a handful of Black-Americans in the tech field. Is it because blacks are inferior to their non-black counterparts or it is because of racism in Silicon Valley? Here is my answer the racism part it is true, but blacks can overcome this bias by forming their own tech-start ups, networking with the black people who are already major players in the tech industry and by forming business connections with the financial backers or investors who will support black tech-start ups and transforming them into major black companies who can compete and establishing a presence in the tech industry i.e. Silicon Valley.


Now according to the article Black Enterprise they was interviewing Eric A Hardy a Black CEO of the company called W3R Consulting and this is one of the largest black-owned tech companies in the US. He says that,"There’s still not enough emphasis placed on these early development STEM programs. My kids are 10 years old and they’re in several  development programs and I know several families that want to continue to provide that infrastructure and base so their kids can go on to do something technology related. But by percentage, there are still so few families that put emphasis on that. I think that’s part of the problem. I think the public school system is also part of the problem." I agree with the problem of the public education system's problem they mis-educated our young brothas and sistas in training them into being an wage-earner or being in sports not an owner of a future company or having a career in Scientific Technology Mathematics and Engineering or (STEM). The trends are showing them the STEM jobs are the future according to CNN Money and they say that,"STEM jobs are growing at 1.7 times the rate of non-STEM jobs, and the U.S. is simply not producing enough candidates to fill them. Only 16% of high school seniors are interested in pursuing STEM careers, according to the Department of Education.
The Obama administration is investing millions of dollars to produce an additional one million STEM undergrads by 2022. But that would barely fill the projected shortage in STEM jobs" 

Now all my black and brown college brothas and sistas if you want a career in IT field it is best to form your own contacts right now and talk to the local professors at your college they can recommend you for an internship for the IT field. That way you can get access to the major and influential players in the tech industry and forming life-long business relationships in the field because you never know when your going to need them in your career. Also in the inner-city high schools and middle schools get with positive black mentors in the tech field to help interest the youth and show them wonders about a career in the IT field or STEM will produce huge dividends in the long term unlike the sports and entertainment route. Now look I am a avid sports fan and support young black athletes, but we  got to have a perspective in the black community that sports and entertainment jobs are a few and far between in life. There is an old saying that," Many are called, but a few are chosen," If you are an college athlete use your NCAA scholarship to get an STEM degree i.e your computer science and scientific tech degrees. In case you do not make it into the NFL or NBA or if you get an career ending injury on the field at least you got an STEM degree to be use for real world applications and bringing something to the table to your future employers or forming a black tech-start up sometime in your career. Okay my next blog will called,"My Long Road to my Tech Management degree @ SPC." I will caution you the next blog will be long and be story everyone.


Here are the 2 news articles I have use see links below:

http://www.blackenterprise.com/technology/stem-education-black-community-technology/

http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/25/smallbusiness/stem-facts/

Is Facebook on the Decline?

I was pondering about this topic is Facebook on the decline. Someone might ask me," Why different does it make John whether if Facebook is on the decline or not?" I will tell you why have you notice that the social media network giant Facebook has about over 1.28 or 1.3 billion users currently right, but yet Facebook adds only about 1 million users per quarter in America. But wait there is more in the height of Facebook's zenith the company was adding 50 million users a quarter at one time and it looks like it will never reach that 50 million mark again.

There is this new social networking company called Ello this company is in its baby stage right now, but it has the potential to not only grow, but one day drive Facebook and other social networking giants out of business from the social media and tech market. For example, I was looking at the Ello social network business model and they promise there will be no data mining or ads on their website and it will protect privacy for the users, If Ello and its founders stays true to its principles and protect the privacy of its users then Facebook will have a fight on its hands. I said this will be interesting what will Mark Zuckerberg do? I guess we will wait and see what Facebook's next move will be.

Of course Facebook is the number 1 champion of social media, but remember this somewhere across this country there are always someone to take your spot. Right now if Facebook the Tech and Social media giant does not watch their backs Ello is waiting in the wings to take the number 1 status away from their hands. It is just like business you cant stop competition or small companies from gaining a foothold in the Tech and Social Media market(Tech Startups) or independent programmers in the basement or in college dorm rooms to try to take your spot that is why important to be more competitive if I was to advise Mark Zuckerberg CEO of Facebook I will say," Find integrative ways to be more marketable to the users, respect privacy from users, tune down the data mining and the ads from aggressive marketers and advertisers, prevent hackers from hacking into personal Facebook user accounts from stealing personal and sensitive informationm and etc." Otherwise risk being caught slipping in the near future by the tech start ups and independent programmers and not to mention catching a big huge lawsuits from former and disgrunted FB users and employees. Okay everyone my next blog will called," Why Black People must considered the Information Technology (IT) field."


Look at this 2 news articles below:

http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/ello-hype-proves-we-may-be-ready-to-move-on-from-facebook-1266997

http://www.businessinsider.com/decline-of-facebook-user-numbers-2014-4

Catfish

Before I go into this blog about catfish(online dating scams) I was once a victim of being cat fished.I know must people wanted to find the love of their lives, but we must be cautious when giving our love to someone online. There are people who took advantage of people's emotions and their financially this is called,"Catfish." Now according to Urban Dictionary a catfish is someone who pretends to be someone they're not using Facebook or other social media to create false identities, particularly to pursue deceptive online romances. For example, if you are a male on social media who is looking for love and you found an attractive female a ten out of 10 you and her are talking and getting chemistry going and all of a sudden she asks for money to see her from a different country and it goes vie-versa for male and females.


Okay lets say she ask for about 250 dollars for her bill payment like the rent,bills, and etc. So your interested in her or him you do it. I can remember a time this random chick ask me for $300 dollars for her rent and this was in 2012  I was a fool and overweight and lonely for love I did it for love or so I thought. Next then I supposed to meet her at the mall I called her over and over she says," I am on way baby." I was waiting 2 hours for her to show and guess what she never show up at all. There are millions and millions people who are cat fished everyday of the week 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 52 weeks a year.

Now there are some people give about their retirement pensions, live savings,inheritances and get this their bank information for their catfish lovers. Sometimes people will travel all around the world to meet catfish in person and all of sudden they never show up at all. Once the truth is exposed to the victims their lives are devastated and destroyed think about the their hard-earned money and their savings are gone and not to mention the emotional ties behind the online dating world. My message is this do not be a victim of a catfish online dating okay everyone.

I forgot to mention that they are people right now are being awareness to cat fishing for people to beware for the scams. People like MTV's Catfish host  Nev Schulman and Co-host
Max Joseph exposing the catfish money scams everywhere all across the United States for viewers to beware of catfish and preventing future victims of cat fishing(not the species of Catfish) Here are some news articles see below everyone. My Next blog will be," Is Today's Social Meida becoming the new Myspace?" Tune in to find out everyone take care

 

Saskatoon widow who lost $191k in ‘catfish’ scam appears on ‘Dr. Phil’

http://globalnews.ca/news/936493/saskatoon-widow-who-lost-191k-in-catfish-scam-appears-on-dr-phil/

5 Ways to Spot a Catfish Scam This Valentine's Day

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-levin/5-ways-to-spot-catfishers_b_4762940.html

Local woman duped by love in 'catfish' scam

http://www.10news.com/news/local-woman-duped-by-love-in-catfish-scam-12172013

The Internet and Trolls

Now look at the 2 pictures I have pasted below these 2 pictures are internet trolls or wanna be tough guys see below. Now what is an internet troll you asked internet trolls are a group of cowards living under their momma's couch or their girlfriends house on the computer every single day causting internet drama all over social media and YouTube. These Trolls have no life of their own, but love to stirred the pot on the internet and cause never ending drama on the web. Now Black folk makeup the largest users on social media outlets, but yet like to cause drama on the web. I have seen internet drama 1sthand myself people on social media asking me to pick a side on who is right and bash the other person who is on the video. Internet trolls comes in of all shapes, sizes,colors, creeds, and stripes. I do have to admit some of these trolls are interesting but sad at the same time. There was this one internet commentary said,"Dont feed the trolls." Meaning do not respond to them because all there going to do is cause more drama and you cannot win with them all they are going to do is get you pissed off and go into a keyboarding war with them and with that they have win the battle and the war. Why because think about this for a second why the hell are you want to respond to a negative comment for a stupid troll the more you get into a internet beef with a troll or trolls that can take a toll on your offline life like your family, friends schoolwork, and your day job. If you look at closely at these trolls all they are a bunch of cowards behind a keyboard and a house thinking they are a tough guy behind the computer 6 foot 6 and 250 pounds of muscle but in honestly they are 5 foot 5 155 pounds of coward with all talk no action. The best thing you can do with a troll is just block them and don't respond to their bulljive save you the stress and pointless argument. Remember the internet trolls have no life outside of the internet they need the internet to breathe and become relevant to the person that they are attacking and making negative comments for the person to respond.

The internet gives voice to the stupid people(trolls) with a big megaphone i.e. the world wide web think about this there are high school kids are fighting over internet drama in the schools because of 1 or 2 trolls said about that person that led to the fight and they are have been people get shot or killed because of internet drama and trolls. I know the streetz everyone these wanna be tough keyboard warring trolls will not last 10 minutes on the street they will get the crap kicked outta them or be shot dead because of their mouths. With the internet the trolls felt like they are safe and talk bad and causing envy, discourse, drama among people on the internet the moral of the story everyone be careful on what you say online it will come back to haunt you because once you pissed off the wrong person they will find you or the lawmen will arrest for cyber-bulling  or in the streetz terms they come see you with their gats. Stop please stop trolling and causing drama among good people on the internet Next up I will be talking about,"Catfish and how to avoid them." Thank you.

1st Blog

  Hey Everyone my name is John "Tech Head" McSwain and I am the owner of this blog called Cyber_Brotha and no I am not Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs I am a black kid from the inner-city of Saint Petersburg, FL. It is not where you from and what zip code you have to determine your outcomes and economic outcomes. Peep this I could have been a gang banger,dope boy(Drug Dealer),pimp,baby daddy, and etc.  I am blessed to know that I did not turn out like that and have a promising future ahead of me in the Information Technology career path awaits me after college next year and I will graduate with my Bachelors of Applied Science in Technology Management at Saint Petersburg College (SPC). I hope everyone enjoys my blogs on IT and employers are more than welcome to look at my blogs as well take care.