Zennie Abraham: 180 iReports to Date, 74 aired on CNN

Wow, I had no idea I had so many iReports tagged for use by CNN, 74! Out of 180 iReports submitted, that's about a 40 percent rate, not bad overall.

The Secrets Of Oakland, California - A Video For CNN's iReport

I created this video at the specific request of Tyson Chandler at CNN's iReport. The idea is to give viewers a look at the secret places in your town, so I made this one for Oakland:

Zennie's Gold Card Song A Hit On CNN and iReport

On Saturday I for some reason as I was showering started thinking about the song "The Sound of Silence" and then how my friend Russo has a tendency to sing these songs with a weird voice, so then I was thinking of a submission to the iReport on what I've given up to save money, and that led to my American Express Gold Card which I'd stopped using. I had all of those thoughts in one minute of shower time, then I started thinking about the lyrics to the song.

See, American Express, or AMEX, is trying to go back to its old business model where you as a card holder never had a balance, you just paid what you owed each month. So it's sacking the balance-holding accounts regardless of whether you paid on time or not. My account wasn't "sacked" but I had seen first the establishment of a credit limit then decreases in that limit which caused AMEX to ask for more money for no logical reason -- to me. So I figured why keep using it? Save money.

Thus the song.

Goodbye Gold Card my old friend! We've seen good-eats on the high-end..
People tell me AMEX has crashed. People say their credit is
smashed. But I'll tell you, that's not going to happen to me; I'll
set you free. And use, my cash! Well, ok and my PayPal and gift
cards, and other things.

And this YouTube video:



Which I also uploaded at iReport here:



And that version was seen over 69,000 times in one day because CNN elected to post it at CNN.com and well it went from 25 views to 15,000, to 69,000! But I didn't know it was going to be on television and that happened Sunday as I was in the gym. And then I've gotten facebook messages from people and texts and phone calls, so I figured I should share the video and lyrics for anyone who wanted to sing a silly song. I've got another song somewhere in me, but it works better when it's not forced out into the open!

Zennie Abraham's Travel Problem Focus of CNN Live Appearance Today

I had the pleasure of sharing my iReport story with CNN's anchor Richard Lui who's a fellow Cal Berkeley graduate like myself. The original video on CNN is below and I told my story live today at CNN Headquarters. Thanks to Henry Hanks of the CNN iReport team and to the producers at CNN. 

Original video:

Zennie Abraham's Visit To CNN Atlanta HQ and iReport Team

This is a video of my visit to the CNN Atlanta Headquarters and to meet the iReport and CNN International people who've been so good to me. I took my Mom as I thought it would be a treat for her as well, especially since she keeps her TV on CNN.  


The iReport staff is pretty much like one would see at any Bay Area Internet startup and so I fell right in with their culture. Fun people. Jessica Ellis of CNN International who "discovered me" for the iReport coverage at the Democratic Convention, gave us a great tour of CNN from a behind the scenes view -- not the standard tourist tour.


Thanks to Jessica, Errol Barnett, David Washington, and the iReport and CNN International staff for being so great.

Obama party on Washington DC street still going at 2.30am

Obama Celebration: Harlem Style Parade For Obama

African American Students at University of Florida React to Obama Election

CNN Grill At Time Warner Center For Election Day

CNN's bring back The CNN Grill at Time Warner Center in New York for Election Day.  I guess MediaBistro's going as it looks like an official invitation; CNN should invite its iReporters (like me) too!

Reportedly, it cost $3 million to make the two in Denver and St. Paul.

COLIN POWELL ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT - ZENNIE62'S THOUGHTS

On CNN IReport

An Phillipines Man Looks At The Election And Makes This iReport

I don't agree with his view on the troops, or outsourcing entirely, but I like the way he expresses his ideas.  Still, he does have a point about labor cost but that's where government subsidies in key industries can help.    

False Steve Jobs Report Not CNN's Fault

Just two days ago an iReporters created a video that reported news that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had a heart attack. The result was a drop in Apple's stock price before the iReport team got wind of the news that the video's report was false.

They took it down 20 minutes later.

For some reason, some want to blame CNN for this situation. CNN's not at fault because the video was never tagged for official use by CNN.

The Bailout Bill Fails; The Market Falls - Zennie's Blog Report

http://www.zennie62.com - This is The Blog Report for September 29, 2008, or "The Crash of 29" - the day the stock market saw it's largest one-day drop in American History.
On this day, the market reacted to the failure of the U.S. House or Representatives to pass The Bailout Bill, the Emergency Economic Stability Act of 2008.
I discuss the implications of this action and the political fallout behind it. Moreover, I take aim at the unintelligent view of people who claim that government's not in the market and should not be. In point of fact, there's no place where Government isn't in our lives. Thus, we must make sure it works.
I also take on Senator John McCain, who deserves blame for the failure of the bill's pasage as much as he believed his involvement would deliver House Republicans -- that did not happen. Senator Barack Obama was smart enough not to try and out-do Senator McCain, but to let the Congressional House do its job.

See it on CNN - click here.

Zennie Abraham's Trip to NYC For The CNN Roland Martin Show

This is a video of my just completed (as of this writing) trip to the CNN Roland Martin Show and the CNN iReporters, Kevin Negenberger, Maggie Dowline, and Katy Brown, I met.

Zennie Abraham At JFK After CNN "Roland Martin: What They Didn't Say At The Debate" Show Appearance

I'm sitting here at JFK waiting to get on to the flight back to San Francisco and the Bay Area.  I had a terrific time in New York and at CNN and I'm going to write more when I get settled.  Right now, I need massive amounts of sleep.

If you didn't catch the show, here's a video of it.

 

"The Blog Report With Zennie Abraham" Coming To CoLours TV

http://zennie2005.blogspot.com - This is my presentation of our new show "The Blog Report with Zennie Abraham" coming to the CoLours TV network soon.

CoLours TV is at 9407 on the DISH Network, so if you have Comcast, dump it and get the DISH Network so you can tune in.

The show is in three basic segments: politics, pop-culture, and sports.

Zennie Abraham - CNN iReporter Interviewed After Obama Speech At Invesco Field

iReporters inside the stadium 2:51
iReporter Zennie Abraham describes what it was like inside Invesco Field.



This was my interview that I gave from inside the "Blogger Lounge" on the 4th floor level at Invesco Field.  What CNN did not know is that I had to talk loud over the din from the bloggers still in the room at the time.   But still I thank CNN for giving me the chance to share my experience with the nation and the World.  

Zennie Abraham at DNC Convention On CNN iReport After Biden Speech