When I think of Haiti, I picture the beautiful beaches. Belle plaj is 'beautiful beach' in Haitian Creole! You will see family and friends playing dominos and eating conch (lambi) while having a great time! 

There are two vintage stamps from Haiti on the framed charm. The colors of the bracelet represent 3 parts of the beach: Turquoise waters, white sand, and yellow sun. Haiti's beaches are beautiful! This bracelet tells a story about the belle plaj that I love to visit!

This leather bracelet measures 16'' long when opened, but it's designed to wrap around twice with 2 different button snap closures for different size wrists.

I can do custom orders, so please contact me with your ideas! Learn more about when I am promoting Haiti and the culture at www.TheRealHaiti.com.

Last weekend, July 14, the Haitian directed movie premiere for "The Heavenly Side of Hell" was in Miami followed by an after party in Ft. Lauderdale.

When I saw this movie advertised like this... "we hope to give you a tour of the real Haiti on July 14, While the media is having fun exposing our nation like Hell on Earth, it's our pleasure to show you the Heavenly side of it. The Heavenly side of Hell, Premiere July 14," I thought for sure I would see the culture, beautiful places to visit and warm, loving, caring Haitians as they are. I was unpleasantly surprised.

This was my first Haitian movie premiere. As we drove up, everyone was dressed to kill. The women and men looked amazing! We sat down to watch the movie. While I really, really, really appreciate the excitement leading towards the premiere, the extreme talent of the actors and director, I have to admit, I left with a horrible feeling.

I know Haitians (and many others) love action movies. Action movies are extremely difficult to direct, shoot and edit. Although I don't particularly like action movies myself, I can appreciate the hard work that goes into them. However, this movie was full of violence, and very little dialogue. 

As an American who visits Haiti despite the negative attention it receives, I do not think that showing corruption, murder and violence was wise. Americans are deathly afraid to travel to Haiti. Everyone hears it and sees it on the news. The cast even mentioned that the news shows the bad parts. I believe that anyone who hasn't traveled to Haiti and sees this movie will be even more convinced NOT TO GO. It was exaggerated, violent and scary, to be frank.

As the Haitian government is working day and night trying so hard to improve tourism and clean up the country, this movie came out at a bad time. I really do not think that they would appreciate this perception that was portrayed. Haitians want to be respected and understood. This message just confirms the negative perception that already exists.

It is extremely important to be aware and not blind to the violence and corruption that does exist in Haiti, but advertising it as "the heavenly side" was the farthest thing from reality. I appreciate the hard work and applaud all of the cast, but please, please, please show THE REAL HAITI next time you make a film. If you believe bad press is good press, you might be right, but in this time of reconstruction, it is just wrong. 

Thanks Johnny Diaz from The Sun Sentinel for interviewing me and quoting me in your article! 
sun-sentinel.com/fl-digital-dinosaurs-social-media-20120712,0,7321687.story

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Are you a digital dinosaur?
Keeping current with social media is enough to make us feel old
By Johnny Diaz, Staff writer

8:14 PM EDT, July 14, 2012

You think you've mastered social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. But then other online networking platforms — Pinterest? Instagram? — pop up.

If you're constantly feeling out of the loop, you're not alone.

"I hear it a million times a day," says Sharon Geltner, a Boca Raton business analyst who has presented workshops called "You Are Not A Dinosaur" to teach people in Broward and Palm Beach counties how to use and manage social media sites.

"People feel overwhelmed. They see social media as like the devil that you don't know and the devil that you do. There is always something new coming down the pike."

Call it the digital dinosaur syndrome, which may explain why any change — no matter how small — to sites such as Facebook rattle us so much. And it's not limited to the older crowd: It's a situation more South Floridians of all ages are finding themselves in.

Social media consumption continues to rise as people adopt more sites and platforms to connect with friends, co-workers and family, or to generate their own content. In 2011, 65 percent of all U.S. adults online used some type of social media, up from 29 percent in 2008, according to the Pew Research Center in Washington D.C.

At age 29, Diana Pierre-Louis sometimes feels like she's running a digital marathon to stay current with social media trends, even though it's her job as a digital media specialist at Palm Beach State College in Boca Raton.

Five years ago, her only social media outlet was MySpace.com. But these days, her work email signature reflects how times have changed: It includes links to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and photo-sharing site Flickr.

"I enjoy it, but it's hard to keep up," says Pierre-Louis, of Boca Raton. On her down time, she spends about 25 hours a week using the photo site Picasa and professional networking site LinkedIn, and updates her two personal blogs including therealhaiti.com.

"Sometimes I spend my whole weekend doing it. I do feel crazy at times because there is so much going on,'' says Pierre-Louis, who has been exploring Pinterest but hasn't posted any images. "It's tempting to look at everything and join because you think it will be the next best thing."

While innovations in social media are aimed at making our lives easier, it doesn't always seem that way.

Melinda Rosenthal, a Boca Raton blogger of minivanmadness.com, was frustrated after Facebook added new features to her profile recently such as a timeline design, which reconfigured how her page looked and worked.

"If the game changes, I know nothing all over again," the mother of two says. "I feel like I should be schooled."

What to do

So next time you hear of yet another online platform that all your friends, family or co-workers are using, take a step back.

Geltner says she caved the other day and finally joined Pinterest, a growing photography social networking site that allows users to share images they like and pin them up on virtual bulletin board.

"I opened a Pinterest account and haven't done a darn thing with it,'' Geltner says. "It takes time. I am catching my breath."

Sherry Turkle, author of "Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less From Each Other," recalled recently asking her daughter to show her Instagram, a mobile phone application.

"What it does is quite simply take beautiful, crisp digital photos and make them look like something my mother might have taken of me on her Brownie camera," says the Massachusetts Institute of Technology psychologist, in an email. "When one's life is turned into a retro diversion, one feels old. Sometimes it's as simple as that."

"Now we feel old when we don't know the name of the latest apps. Or we know their names but it seems too exhausting to think we might have to learn how to use them,'' she adds. "And there comes a moment when an innovation is simply designed to make the not-really-ancient feel old."

If that's how you feel, Geltner has a social media serenity prayer, which she has shared with her students at workshops.

"You are not going to be able to do it all, but try to do what you can and have the wisdom to know the difference. You can only do so much," she said, before returning to Facebook.

johnnydiaz@tribune.com or 954-356-4939

How to (social media) multitask

Limit yourself to four of five of the bigger platforms. More than that can overwhelm you.

Schedule an allotted time in your day for social media and try to stick to that time, whether it's 30 minutes or an hour or two.

To save time, sites such as Ping.fm and Twitterfeed.com allow users to update and share content simultaneously across various platforms.

When you start seeing posts related to platforms that you have not heard of, ask yourself, does that sound like something that makes sense for me?

Sources: Online research as well as Sharon Geltner, a business analyst, and Jeff Cohen, director of social media at MDG Advertising in Boca Raton

Geltner, the business analyst, suggested sticking with just four sites. Perhaps pick the bigger platforms that you know you're going to use. She also suggests scheduling an allotted time in your day for social media and try to stick to that time, whether it's 30 minutes or an hour or two.




Copyright © 2012, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

A logo creates instant recognition. When people see this logo, I want them to think of Haiti as an experience. This logo was created on the basis of Haitian pride, history and culture; 3 things that make Haiti stand out. The blue and red colors represent the Haitian flag, a symbol of pride and strength. The circular symbol is a modified conch shell, a representation of the untouched seas and traditional cuisine. The Makandal statue in the middle is a historical and recognizable image that reminds Haitians of the struggle to become independent. The Real Haiti logo encourages the viewer to find out more about the country and why they should experience it for themselves. The original design is atypical of a tourism logo that makes it stand out from the rest.