Had good discussions on selling your school on why to spend money on your athletics website, the IMG digital programs, dream game destinations and much more.
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
#SIDChat Transcript for November 16
After taking last week off for some conference tournament fun, #SIDChat was back in affect this week and was hopping as ever. (Not overselling or anything there.)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Better late than never: My goals for 2011
Yes, this blog post is over three weeks late, but I've been busy dealing with snow, work, kids, school, life and yada, yada, yada. Of course, as a sports information director, life is always busy.
But I wanted to get my goals for the new year written down and posted here to help me 'keep my on the prize' as the old saying goes.
I've got two different sets of goals: a list for my personal/family life and another for my professional world. This is in large part thanks to a question poised to SIDs by Chris Syme on LinkedIn.
But I wanted to get my goals for the new year written down and posted here to help me 'keep my on the prize' as the old saying goes.
I've got two different sets of goals: a list for my personal/family life and another for my professional world. This is in large part thanks to a question poised to SIDs by Chris Syme on LinkedIn.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Multi-tasker, thy name is Jay
It is amazing the things you do as a SID. What I find most amazing is the number of things a SID does ... at one time.
SIDs do a ton of juggling. I mean a ton.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Why I love social media, especially Twitter
If you follow me on Twitter or a friend of mine on Facebook, you know I spend some time on these social media platforms.
OK, I spend a great deal of time, especially when you consider that when I'm on my laptop I have my TweetDeck up and running the entire time. (And yes, I have switched back to TweetDeck. Might ought to update you about that but been busy. Still would like to try out HootSuite. But I digress.)
I'll be honest, I was very hesitant about signing up and joining Facebook and Twitter, especially the latter. Yet, the more time I've invested in social media, the more I see some very good benefits.
OK, I spend a great deal of time, especially when you consider that when I'm on my laptop I have my TweetDeck up and running the entire time. (And yes, I have switched back to TweetDeck. Might ought to update you about that but been busy. Still would like to try out HootSuite. But I digress.)
I'll be honest, I was very hesitant about signing up and joining Facebook and Twitter, especially the latter. Yet, the more time I've invested in social media, the more I see some very good benefits.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Another day, another newspaper cuts staff
It's becoming so common now that it's easy to overlook. However, another big city newspaper has made staffing cuts.
Today's causality is the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., which announced the elimination of 14 positions today.
I've talked about this before in a previous blog post, so none of this is really a surprise. But yet, with each new layoff in the newspaper industry, it stings a little bit.
Today's causality is the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., which announced the elimination of 14 positions today.
I've talked about this before in a previous blog post, so none of this is really a surprise. But yet, with each new layoff in the newspaper industry, it stings a little bit.
Friday, January 15, 2010
When it truly is only a game ...
OK, I admit it. I can get wrapped up in sports. After all, my occupation of choice is SPORTS INFORMATION.
Yet, I can get caught up into the mix just like any regular fan as well. Right now, there are two things really vying for my attention as a sports aficionado: 1. All the offseason action as MLB teams gear up for Spring Training (pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 18 for most of the teams-YAY!!!); and 2. The football coaching search at the University of Tennessee (which is bizarre to say the least).
Yet, I can get caught up into the mix just like any regular fan as well. Right now, there are two things really vying for my attention as a sports aficionado: 1. All the offseason action as MLB teams gear up for Spring Training (pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 18 for most of the teams-YAY!!!); and 2. The football coaching search at the University of Tennessee (which is bizarre to say the least).
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Sports don't build character ... They reveal it
The title of this post is a quote from the legendary John Wooden, and for my money, it is the absolute truth.
Coach Wooden was not only the "Wizard of Westwood," but he is a very intelligent man whose insight should not be overlooked nor pushed aside. One of the most amazing facts about him as a coach - at least I find this very fascinating, is that he did not study film or scout opponents. In Coach Wooden's mind, his teams did not need to worry about their opponents did or were going to do. As long as they executed his game plan, they should win. (Not sure why more coaches didn't try this philosophy. After all, Coach Wooden only won 10 NCAA National Championships.)
Coach Wooden was not only the "Wizard of Westwood," but he is a very intelligent man whose insight should not be overlooked nor pushed aside. One of the most amazing facts about him as a coach - at least I find this very fascinating, is that he did not study film or scout opponents. In Coach Wooden's mind, his teams did not need to worry about their opponents did or were going to do. As long as they executed his game plan, they should win. (Not sure why more coaches didn't try this philosophy. After all, Coach Wooden only won 10 NCAA National Championships.)
Monday, October 26, 2009
Right brain, left brain
Saturday was an interesting day to say the least.
As you have more than likely gathered from my most recent postings, I am short-handed now, and I am having to juggle multiple tasks more than ever these days.
That was never more true than this past Saturday at our home football game.
It was Union's homecoming, so that naturally means there was a ton to do by everyone and not quite enough people to fill every single role. Those of you in the business have all been there. It's madness come homecoming welcome.
As you have more than likely gathered from my most recent postings, I am short-handed now, and I am having to juggle multiple tasks more than ever these days.
That was never more true than this past Saturday at our home football game.
It was Union's homecoming, so that naturally means there was a ton to do by everyone and not quite enough people to fill every single role. Those of you in the business have all been there. It's madness come homecoming welcome.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
How I spent my summer vacation
It's funny to think about all the misconceptions about the sports information profession - or any job in the sports media realm.
When I was a sports reporter/editor at a newspaper, I cracked up every time when someone said to me, "Man, it must be great getting paid to watch sports." Like that was the only thing I did. To be honest, going to and/or watching a game was not even half of my job. Probably less than 10 percent of my time was spent at a game with the rest of my time being ate up by either writing, editing, laying out the section, developing film (yes, I had to that back in the day) and driving to and from the office, games and/or interviews.
Along the same lines of that myth is the one that SIDs have little to do during the summer. "There aren't any games going on, right???" is the argument.
While there aren't any games going on during the summer months, there is more than enough work to keep a SID busy. B-E-L-I-E-V-E M-E!!!
Summertime is used to tie up loose ends from the previous sports year (update record books, finalize stats, etc., etc.) and to gear up for the upcoming sports year (update player and coaching bios, compile the new schedules and rosters, ramp up work on the new media guides, etc., etc.). In addition to that, there are other little projects that tweaking and adding some new bells and whistles to the website.
I also tend my 'pet' projects. I have a lot of things I want to do but time does not generally allow me to work on them during the sports year (which by the way runs from mid-August through the end of May for me). And there is no way I can ever get to them all during one summer, so I aim to tackle one, sometimes two during the summer. For example, this year I compiled a Top 10 list for all the season individual records for our baseball program.
The only difference about life for a SID during the summer months is that working late is a rarity. Oh, and one does not feel as rushed to get things done summer - like you do during the sports year. Life is much more relaxed.
NOT SURE WHY, BUT THIS BUGS ME ...
I guess it's a hazard of my job, but grammatical errors bug me. Not just in stories and release, but even in social-media settings like Twitter, Facebook and the like. It kills me to see 'your' used in place of 'you're'. And you've got to love the confusion that the words 'there', 'their' and 'they're' brings.
Now, I realize that in social media one needs to be a little relaxed on spelling at times and abbreviations are used for words due to space constraints (only 140 characters allowed on Twitters and that includes spaces) and because people are in hurry and can't type tons in a short about time (I know I'd much rather type 'LOL' or 'LMBO' than say 'that was so funny, I can't stop laughing at that').
Still, the grammatical errors drive me nuts. I know I hate my typos and all, and I even edit myself when chatting online - provided I catch myself for hitting "Enter".
I guess this is in part of my love for the written word. I love to read, so much so that even after spending much of my day writing and looking at other people's writings, I enjoy picking up a good book (especially a baseball historical book, a biography or a good suspenseful, fiction thriller).
All I know is when I see a grammatical gaffe it brings out my inner professor and my desire for red ink.
Oh, and before anyone gets the notion that I believe I'm perfect in regards of being grammatically correct, let me assure that I detest finding mistakes in my work. When it comes to writing, I'm a perfectionist and my worst critic. (I have proofed this blog 10 times already and will likely proof it 10 more times before posting. LOL) But then again, who isn't their worst critic?
When I was a sports reporter/editor at a newspaper, I cracked up every time when someone said to me, "Man, it must be great getting paid to watch sports." Like that was the only thing I did. To be honest, going to and/or watching a game was not even half of my job. Probably less than 10 percent of my time was spent at a game with the rest of my time being ate up by either writing, editing, laying out the section, developing film (yes, I had to that back in the day) and driving to and from the office, games and/or interviews.
Along the same lines of that myth is the one that SIDs have little to do during the summer. "There aren't any games going on, right???" is the argument.
While there aren't any games going on during the summer months, there is more than enough work to keep a SID busy. B-E-L-I-E-V-E M-E!!!
Summertime is used to tie up loose ends from the previous sports year (update record books, finalize stats, etc., etc.) and to gear up for the upcoming sports year (update player and coaching bios, compile the new schedules and rosters, ramp up work on the new media guides, etc., etc.). In addition to that, there are other little projects that tweaking and adding some new bells and whistles to the website.
I also tend my 'pet' projects. I have a lot of things I want to do but time does not generally allow me to work on them during the sports year (which by the way runs from mid-August through the end of May for me). And there is no way I can ever get to them all during one summer, so I aim to tackle one, sometimes two during the summer. For example, this year I compiled a Top 10 list for all the season individual records for our baseball program.
The only difference about life for a SID during the summer months is that working late is a rarity. Oh, and one does not feel as rushed to get things done summer - like you do during the sports year. Life is much more relaxed.
NOT SURE WHY, BUT THIS BUGS ME ...
I guess it's a hazard of my job, but grammatical errors bug me. Not just in stories and release, but even in social-media settings like Twitter, Facebook and the like. It kills me to see 'your' used in place of 'you're'. And you've got to love the confusion that the words 'there', 'their' and 'they're' brings.
Now, I realize that in social media one needs to be a little relaxed on spelling at times and abbreviations are used for words due to space constraints (only 140 characters allowed on Twitters and that includes spaces) and because people are in hurry and can't type tons in a short about time (I know I'd much rather type 'LOL' or 'LMBO' than say 'that was so funny, I can't stop laughing at that').
Still, the grammatical errors drive me nuts. I know I hate my typos and all, and I even edit myself when chatting online - provided I catch myself for hitting "Enter".
I guess this is in part of my love for the written word. I love to read, so much so that even after spending much of my day writing and looking at other people's writings, I enjoy picking up a good book (especially a baseball historical book, a biography or a good suspenseful, fiction thriller).
All I know is when I see a grammatical gaffe it brings out my inner professor and my desire for red ink.
Oh, and before anyone gets the notion that I believe I'm perfect in regards of being grammatically correct, let me assure that I detest finding mistakes in my work. When it comes to writing, I'm a perfectionist and my worst critic. (I have proofed this blog 10 times already and will likely proof it 10 more times before posting. LOL) But then again, who isn't their worst critic?
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