old.thought.remixer

What Whites Will Never Know: May 6, 2012 - March 23, 2017

What’s up, folks? My name is @nukirk and for some people, y’all may think this is a murder. But for me, it’s retiring a name. It’s a fresh coat of paint. It’s nothing more than me doing what I have to do to keep the energy going. Some people change their Tumblr names once in a while or once a month. I took longer than most.

So, why now? 

Simply because… I’m pigeonholed and I want to grow out of it.

On May 6th, 2012, after Alex gave up the name, on a whim, I grabbed the name and started doing the things that people thought the name was about; a Black person blogging about Whiteness. I turned the blog into one of those blogs on Tumblr that people get to know and appreciate. I won awards by peers, helped created awareness with news, and to top it off, launched a hashtag that is very, very popular and created a tumblr to that hashtag, which is now on it’s way to maybe winning a Shorty!

This is all great… but… my success is still limited.

W3NK isn’t without growing pains. I had missteps, sometimes I ticked off people, and made some other moves that usually spells doom for other bloggers, but for me, it was a chance at redemption over and over again.

However, the biggest problem? It’s the name. There’s a bit of irony with that.

Alex gave up the name because it attracted people who just won’t stop challenging them. I’m giving it up because of the opposite problem - no one wants to touch it! Sure, it’s mentioned an ABC News site. But beyond that, every time I tried to expand beyond Tumblr, people don’t want to deal with the blog. 

There are some friends of mine who don’t even want to follow the blog based on the name alone on Facebook. There are writing assignments that I turned down because the site doesn’t want to link back to the blog. There are people who want to support me, with no direction whatsoever, only if I changed the name of the blog.

I decided that maybe if I get 5K+ people to follow Thought Remixer, then I can cultivate that audience. However, after 1 year of pushing people to that blog, I only managed to crack 1K+ followers. 

On a personal note, I want to write for other people, launch new projects and innovations… I have a list full of stuff I would like to share, and even a few app ideas to make life a little easier. However, I can’t do all this under a blog name that no one wants to associate themselves with. 

With that being said, I decided to finally change the name of this blog to “Thought Remixer: Xtra”. Reason being? Well, I want people to know that this is actually a Tumblr for Thought Remixer, the blog I’m relaunching. 

So… what happens now?

If you’re searching from Google, chances are, you’ll be redirected to the link. I spent a week launching a site which ONLY purpose is to serve as a redirection to the 4+ year archive. If you ever linked to one of my posts, those links are intact. Eventually, search engines will update the links. So, I won’t be losing that traffic. 

(And if you’re wondering HOW the hell did I managed to do that, you can ask me. And no, Tumblr staff did not assist. I did it on my own.)

With that being said, sadly, old posts that were reblogged may or may not survived. Oh well… that’s the cost of changing the name. 

There’s a new domain (http://xtra.thoughtremixer.com) and the name is @thoughtremixer however, I’ve spent so much time making sure that the links work, it will be a while before I get to the looks. 

And no, the subject matter is not changing. I am not going to stop talking about Pro-Blackness. I just need a change of pace.

Changes are coming, but for now, I’m just letting you know… 

WhatWhitesWIllNeverKnow is no more. (However, I am holding on to the name, so no one can abuse it or take advantage of it.) 

Thought Remixer remains. 

Okay, people. I want to say something, but I’m going to take a few days to prep for what I want to say.

It’s good news, first off, so there’s that. Nothing major to worry about.

I’m going to announce that news here, on this blog. I’m not doing my usual tactic of posting it on @thoughtremixer and then posting it here.

So, if you’re following this blog, nice. Stay tuned.

If you’re following @thoughtremixer and NOT this blog, now would be a good time.

The good news is, I’m getting a replacement, free of charge since the phone might be a defective (shoutouts to Project Fi). The bad news is, I’m disconnected from my jobs until the phone is replaced since my delivery jobs depend on a mobile phone 100% of the time.

No texts. No Snapchat or other app-exclusive stuff. 

Honestly, as much as I love my cell phone, I hate the fact that I’m so depended on technology these days. Being without a phone even for one day spells doom in my world. 

This isn’t about “having practical skills”. I know how to read a map, sense of direction, what to do in the case of (an actual) blackout and how to communicate outside of the net. Obviously, I have a computer. 

The thing is… when I was 22, having a cell phone was basically a luxury. It wasn’t really needed to do much. I had a way to make money. And if I do need a phone, chances are, I was important enough to be reached. But nowadays, thanks to advances within the industry, not having a cell phone pretty much locks you out of the world! 

I used my phone to make money and “spare money” in a form of Amazon credit. Texting is my main form of contact for literally everyone, including my sister, who I can almost never get on an actual phone. The world is slowly moving away from desktop computers being the “got to own” communications device to the mobile device. Sure, laptops still have a niche to serve and it won’t be going away anytime soon, but it’s not a complete mobile device that you can pull up, get what you need, and put away. 

So, when people think that the cell phone = luxury item, I get annoyed. It was true in the early 2000s, but presently, it’s more than just an entertainment, it’s also the news, the weather report, my bank and funds, link to employment, access to friends and family, and self-independence and if it’s broken or in need of repair, and you’re close to broke without a backup plan, it’s going to hurt you a lot more.

Think about how important that phone has become and how society wants to simplify things. And then tell me why I need to give up my phone to pay for health insurance?