*Black nerds or blerds are having a 140 character blast on #BlerdDating every Monday night on Twitter for what creator Leesa Dean calls a “story telling Twitter chat” with funny and thought provoking memes. After they talk about their story she says they have guests.
Monday night the guest will be celebrated bassist André Cymone, considered Prince’s closest childhood friend. Not only was he in the touring band of the late Purple Rain singer but Prince lived with Cymone when they were growing up in Minneapolis.
“We ask every guest questions. We ask them what they’re doing. We ask them to give a dating tip. The guests also interact with everybody,” Dean said.
“Money” is the first single dropped from Cymone’s soon to be released album, “1969.”
Dean, along with her friend filmmaker Nicole Franklin, moderate what they say is an interactive experience made up of themes, interviews, and stories.
She calls it a party because “that’s what it feels like.” The writer/director/animator admits that because the episodes are from a blerd point of view they are “smart and funny and weird.”
Even though dating is in the hashtag – Dean made it clear that this is not a place for black nerds to solicit romantic relationships.
“No. Not a marketplace for dating,” Dean said. Through laughs she pointed out that “people are mostly complaining about dates. In fact, the very first tag line we had was ‘Black Nerds Dates From Hell.’ It was kind of about feeling alienated.”
#BlerdDating is about story telling she stresses. As you will see on their website (www.blerddating.com), “All of them (stories) are about dating/relationship issues. Some are deeply personal.”
She is excited about the number of hits they’ve been receiving. Since launching in January 2017 #BlerdDating has gotten close to 65 million Twitter impressions and trended nearly every week.
Dean has plans to expand #BlerdDating saying “in about six months we’re planning on doing a podcast and doing these stories read live over a podcast.”
You can be involved in the #BlerdDating conversation on Twitter every Monday from 9 p.m. until 10 p.m. ET.
Hear Tené’s exclusive interview with Leesa Dean:
Reach Tené Croom at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @TcTene
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