Short Sabbatical

If you didn't notice I took a little time off from writing. I have found myself smack in the middle of Lee U. Convocation (basically a revival schedule of church services)and finishing up writing my thesis.

Having said all that, I am back and hope to interject more of my wit and wisdom to all of my faithful readers.

I need some help. Over the past few years I have been helping the Lee U Basketball teams in their pre-game and in-game music. Obviously the music must remain tame to coincide with Lee standards but I (and I am sure the fans and teams) am getting a little bored with some of my selections. I would appreciate any suggestions that you may have for music especially for pre-game for both men's and women's games.

New Media Marketing - YouTube Baby

Over the next several months I plan on posting some information and examples of using digital media as a marketing tool. Digital media from websites to blogs give the average person the incredible ability to simply and effectively market a product. The product can be an individual, company, product, artist, idea, or anything else. I will typically refer to generically as products.


YouTube is the first digital marketing tool that I will discuss. As most people know YouTube has changed the landscape of the media and marketing. Anyone can post almost anything and there will be someone who watches it. The goal for marketers is to go viral - which is simply stated the spread of the message from person to person through several means including word of mouth and mainstream media piggybacking. Wikipedia has a good article on Viral Marketing with some examples of successful viral campaigns.

I will discuss YouTube (and other web video sites) in terms of how it has changed other media namely television more in depth later.

The example I wanted to demonstrate how YouTube is being used to market products is a young man who has been dubbed as "Kindergarten's top prospect." A young man named Marquise Walker is being poised by his father to be the next basketball phenom. The whole campaign began on YouTube and is document very well by ESPN's show Outside the Lines. It is a fairly long video, but very informative on how to initiate a plan using YouTube (the website is very well done too). Click her for Video.

Marquise's YouTube page.

This type of marketing could easily be adapted to position a church, business, musical artist, actor, etc.

A couple of my Videos

One of my main tasks at Lee University is editing promotional and internal videos. I thought I mught share a few of those with you. I do have a youtube acount (insideleebasketball)and these came from there. Hopefully I can upload some of my other videos later.

60th Annual Emmy Awards

So once you get past the leftist rhetoric and comedy there were some good moments at the Emmy Awards this year. My favorite was Josh Groban's performance of the TV show theme songs from the past 60 years.



Don Rickles was funny too. I told April, if you don't want somebody to go long then don't let a 90 year old opinionated comedian give an award. You have to know he is going to vary from the script.

Having reality TV host to host was a terrible idea. I missed the opening of the show, but apparently it was terrible and too long.

None of my favorite shows won, but that's OK. I'm a TV guy and it was entertaining. I'm glad that the new season of shows begin tonight.

We made it back...

Well it was a very interesting weekend. April and I had the opportunity to go to Northern Kentucky to visit April's parents and sister. We had a great time as Abby reconnected with our family. The weather was great on the way up and all day Saturday, but as we left church to go to the Titans/Bengals game the wind began to pickup.

We sat in section 334 row 20 which means pretty high up. During the game the weather shifted. Winds picked up to a constant 30-40 m.p.h. with gust at 60-70 m.p.h. There were a few scary moments at the top of the stadium. Lights were shaking, the tarp-like cover was popping loudly as it was lifted and unceremoniously dropped against the steel structure. Beer bottle (plastic), pizza boxes, and nachos were flying in the air hitting both April and me.

Did we leave? Of course not, our Titans were whipping the home Bengals and we had to stay. Highlights of the game.


Watch CBS Videos Online

We knew that the weather was bad and that power had been lost in areas, but it wasn't until we headed back home that we understood the severity of the wind across the region. Trees were uprooted, power lines downed, and building debris everywhere. At one point over 700,000 homes had lost power, including my in-laws (where Abby and my mother-in-law held up safely even without power). Check out this video from the local news. At around 6:00 pm my in-laws' power came back on, while across the street the power remained out. Our original plan was to leave on Sunday, but after driving on the Interstate and seeing how dangerous it was we decided we needed to spend an extra night. We woke up on Monday to temperatures in the 50s and had a smooth ride back to Cleveland.

All in all it was a nice weekend and we are praying for those who had damage to their homes and that all the power would be restored soon.

Titans vs Bengals

April and I are going to Cinncy this week to visit my in-laws. My mother-in-law being the wonderful person that she is purchased us some tickets to the Titans game (they would say the Bengals game). April and I will go decked out in our Titans jerseys and hats while my father-in-law and sister-in-law are sure to be clad in orange and black.

I promised I wouldn't be one of those fans who goes on the road and is completely obnoxious during the game, but we'll see...

9/11

Most everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing on 9-11-01. I certainly do, but far from what I was doing my focus over the last few days are the images that filled my head and the stories of the survivors and victims.

I have had a difficult time dealing with the terror of that day even though I didn't know any of the victims personally. I find my self shuttering from the images and even the mention of the events of that day. I have not even watched the films World Trade Center or Flight 93. I know the story, I watched it live on television and lived in the aftermath as a helpless distant bystander.

Although my attempted seclusion from the day does not preclude the fact that another generation must be exposed to the events of that day; not the conspiracies or dramatic recreations but the actual footage and stories from the people there. The Pearl Harbor of my generation must be shared with future generations so that they may take away the lessons and the love for country, freedom, and God that has resulted from the tragic events. It is my duty as an American father who has living memory of 9/11 not let my daughter read about it in a school history book or watch a Hollywood version, but to share it with her when she is old enough. I must tell the impact it had on our country, lifestyle, and me personally. I hope all people will do the same.

Basketball Season

MySpace Countdowns

It's almost time for my favorite sporting events to attend. Every year I look forward to watching these men an women compete. They play an exciting brand of basketball and everyone should check it out when possible.

Not to mention I have done the coaches' TV show for the past 7 years. You can check it out at Inside Lee Basketball

Opening Pandora's Box

I may be behind, but I have found something new (to me) on the web that I have thoroughly enjoyed. It's Pandora Internet radio. This is a site that creates a playlist for each user based on his or her artist preference. Say you like Third Day, Pandora will pick music that is similar in genre and sound. It also let's you choose the genre you like and will play various artists. The user is able to rate all the songs for a more precise list of your favorites. It's a pretty cool tool to have running while working on your computer.

I'm Hooked...

I am hooked on politics. I have found myself reading every article about the subject. The Drudge Report is constantly on my desktop waiting for any breaking news and Fox News is on in the office and at home. I think my wife may be a little sick of it, and because she is a teacher she can't stay up late watching the speeches. I personally watched most of the Democratic keynotes as well as the Republicans; all intriguing.

I only hope that the next few months are exciting and atypical of most presidential campaigns. The 2008 election comes down to a blend of candidate personality and issues; ideology and relating to the American people where they live. What a wonderful country!

Energized

Over the past several months I have been growing weary of the political process. The primaries didn't yield a candidate that I could really get behind and support 100%. I'm not going to get into specifics on the issues that I disagree with but it was enough to cause me some trepidation in one of our greatest responsibilities and rights as Americans.

However, today I was energized at the choice of John McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. She brings a historic element to the McCain ticket similar to that of the Obama ticket, which assures a clearly historic election no matter what. I like everything about her from her strong family values to her outdoor lifestyle to her nickname the "barracuda". While she might lack some foreign policy experience this will come with time, good advisers, and of course with being linked with McCain in the Oval Office. I can see this woman as America's first female President.

Finally someone on any of the tickets that reenegizes the race.

Why are the Yankees tanking?

I am a rarity in my family and circle of friends. First I am a baseball fan. Second, I am a Yankees fan (something I may never reveal to my Grandmother Salyer). I either know Braves or Reds fans and to some extent I like the Reds. I only have two friends who share my affinity for the Evil Empire.

I am having a pretty disappointing year. Last year I wanted to buy mlb.com coverage of all the Yankees games. They were in a race towards the playoffs, but now I just want next season to come or better yet the hot stove season. The most disappointing thing is that this is the last year for the house that Ruth built. I am glad that I can say that I have been there.

Even though I hate to say it, it may take moving some of the highest paid players in the league to get some hungry young talent to win again - including Alex Rodriguez. As long as Derek Jeter never leaves.

What do I know? I am just a less than enthusiastic fan. Moving on to football...

It's been a while!

My last post was along time ago and lots of things have changed. Abby is bigger, she talks more, and she has begun to walk some. April and I are having a blast raising her which leads me to my question - why was I so scared to have children?

I am not saying that it has been or will be easy, but it has far more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. I know it will only get better as we go.

Hopefully now that I am close to finishing my thesis and my course work in my Master's program is completed I can post more and be consistent.

Motivation

One of the things that I struggle most with in life is prioritizing my time. I think this stems from my nature to want please everyone. You just can't do that; in fact it will make you sick. Going to school and trying to manage work while Ron is gone has been difficult. I get lots done but I feel like nothing is ever completed. I have found myself putting more trust in and delegating more work to students. And why not? It's how I learned about TV and video. I'm even letting a new person work significant time on "my" TV show. I never thought that this would ever happen because I am so control freakish.

My real struggle and worry comes from the lack of completion of my thesis. I love the topic (The Journey of Rocky Balboa - A psychoanalytical approach to the Rocky Anthology) and the fact that I can focus on one of my passions - film. I just can't get the time or the motivation to start writing chapters 3-5. I have to get it done and defended by March 16 and as that day approaches my stress level rises.

Part of the motivational issues come from having that wonderful and beautiful little girl calling me in only the way she can in a soft whisper "Da-da-da." It melts my heart everytime and I just want to hold her and play with her all night. Thus taking away from academics. I know that I must make time to work on academics, but my daughter is growing so fast I hate missing any moment with her.




I pray daily - Lord give me the strength, time, love, motivation, passion, hope, and peace that all things will be accomplished in Your name and in the way You desire for me to do. Let those around me know You are present in my life and that You work through me. Let all things I do bring honor to You. Amen.

Until Next Time...