The Lucrative Secret The Smiths Know And You Should Too

Mood Music- It’s A Family Affair by Sly and The Family Stone

Last week I was on the brink of death, well that’s what I overheard the nurse say after she looked at my labs. Honestly, it was just the flu mixed with some other minor things.

My illness forced me to be at home for ten days and in my sick boredom I did something I rarely do-channel surf.

I watch the news nearly everyday, but I’m not a big time T.V watcher. Hence, I was a little stunned when I watched daytime TV and learned that EVERY television talk show was dishing on Khole Kardashian.

No pun intended, but I don’t Keep Up with the Kardashians so I don’t know the entire story or all the names. However, the tea goes something like this; Khole Karadashian’s baby’s dad smashed out some girl that is a family friend.

While audience members ooo’d and ahh’d about the gossip, I in a fevered raged, said aloud, “I don’t give a damn,” and I turned off the television.

You could say that I’m mean when I’m sick, but in truth I really don’t give a damn.

In America, we have this weird orange guy in office that is threatening our democracy, we have homeless people freezing on the streets, and black kids being killed everyday, but I am expected to care about something as trivial as celebrity gossip?

I wish everyone the best, but I have little sympathy for a person who packages their private life as mass entertainment, and whines when ugly truths come out publicly.

When the news broke, the internet went wild with sympathy for Khole and hate for the “home-wreaker”.

I thought everything was over with the situation until I noticed on Friday that the internet was going wild again….

The Smiths, The Kardashians, and the Red Table

Out of curiosity, I clicked on my ‘trending topics’ on Twitter to learn that Will and Jada Smith hosted homegirl who allegedly ‘broke up’ Khole’s happy home on an episode of their web series the Red Table Talk so that Sis could air out her side of the story.

The conversation on the show apparently painted Sis in a positive light. So the internet decided to now go throw stones at Khole Kardashian.

Listen, I was not there, I don’t know what happened, neither do I truly understand the situation or care, but I do understand there was only one winner in all this drama- The Smith family.

I did not watch this particular, episode of the Red Table Talk and neither will I seek it out, but according to my social media feed, the Smiths handled the situation with dignity, love and openness. Everyone young and old who cares about this drama has been praising the Smiths for such a lovely conversation.

The attention moved from the Kardashians, the guy, and the girl and to the Smiths. I sat back and said to myself, “Genius money moves!”

You see, the Smith family has learned a little trick that we all need to understand- the internet is lucrative business. The Smiths have found a positive way to exploit all the celebrity gossip that is underway daily and cash in from it…. Are you a little confused? Let me explain.

The Smith’s Well Thought-Out Plan

Will Smith has been struggling to have a successful movie for a while, Jada hasn’t really been the in the spotlight since the 2017 Box Office hit Girl’s Trip, the Smith children are super beautiful and talented, but they can’t seem to go mainstream with their musical careers, so Daddy Will intervened for the good of the family.

As the resurgence of love for the early 90’s has been underway and youngster are excited about the show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air again, Will Smith from absolutely no where became active on Instagram.

He turned his page into an almost reality show, where he portrayed himself as this goofy fun loving dad and his children as bored and talented sitcom-esque kids. The quality of his Instagram videos are much better than IPhone HD and if you look closely enough you can often see a full camera crew behind the scenes.

In its own right, the Fresh Prince experienced a revival through Will’s Instagram. We got to see grown-up Will portrayed as himself as a dad. It was an amazing idea, but it was obvious this genius was working on ushering something in much bigger.

The Red Table Talk and Social Media

 BOOM! From no where there is the premier of the Red Table Talk. This talk show is primarily  Jada’s but Will makes frequent guest appearances. Red Table Talk is a talk show centered around honest and heart felt conversation. The show has been met with rave reviews.

The viewing audience gets to see two free thinking, beautiful people who do black marriage and parenthood in a very modern way. This is a show that would have been great for TV, but somehow it’s only a web series on Facebook- isn’t that curious?

Two very notable stars decided to use social media as a platform for a talk show rather than television. On name alone, the Red Table Talk would have thrived on a network like OWN or E! but it landed on the web for a reason.

The Smiths are very smart individuals. They understand something that you may not- the internet is where the cash is.

Changing Social Times

People aren’t primarily watching cable or buying physical copies of music any more. They are streaming though Netflix, Hulu, Sling, Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal.

People aren’t watching the news any more, they are relaying on news from social media – that’s how the Russians were able to influence our 2016 presidential election.

People aren’t shopping in stores any more; they are using Amazon and other online retailers. Just recently Kmart, Payless, Sears, and Toys “R” Us had to close their doors while for financial reasons, while Charolotte Russe is bankrupt, Wet Seale is now online only, and Victoria Secret is closing 50 physical locations.

The world is going digital. Some YouTube content creators are making over $60,000 a month. Instagram influencers are enjoying lucrative brand partnerships and several others have walked red carpets and been placed in major motion pictures for their digital eminence.

Will and Jada understand this and now they are using their web show to positively impact the world, but also make cash that isn’t tied up in paying for a studio, a production team, hair and make-up artists, stylists, and the hundreds of other people who must receive pay for helping to create a televised talk show.

The Smiths have jumped on every major thing that is happening in Hollywood, from the R. Kelly scandal to the current Kardashian drama. In a positive way, they are exploiting the social media climate and making coin, all while promoting their family as a brand.

Call to Action

I ain’t mad at all at the Smith’s and it sparked an idea in my head. Why don’t all of us exploit social media and make some bread.

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are becoming rich from selling our data to companies and tracking our viral footprints. Why not take back the power?

How about we stop being so idle with our time online posts and instead brand ourselves like the Smiths.

If you are a lawyer, baker, auto mechanic, or hairstylist, instead of weighing in on the Kardashian drama and posting each time you visit Starbucks on your social status, start marketing your business or services through social media.

The world is changing and the internet is where the money is. Exploit the companies that are exploiting you. If Facebook is going to receive money for selling your private information, why don’t you use them too to your pocket’s advantage?

Take notes from the Smiths, branding yourself online might generate the cash flow you need to passively pay down debt and get  closer to financial freedom. Think about this the next time you just use your social media account to comment about personal or celebrity gossip.