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| June 2007 »
Whether you are a race car fan or not, you have heard of the Indianapolis 500. You might not know, however, just how large of a sporting event it truly is. Every Memorial Day weekend, Indy is host to the world's largest single-day sporting event - with race tickets bought by more than 250,000 fans.
I will admit that I am not a race fan and likely never will be. It blows my mind that this sporting event is the largest in the world when, in my opinion, there are way more exciting and fun to watch sports out there. When I first moved here two years ago, I attended the Indy 500 race and sat at the 4th turn. It was an unbelievable sight to look a 1/2 mile across the track and see a huge stand filled with hundreds of thousands of people - I had never seen anything like it. While I was "over it" about 50 miles in and headed back to the tailgate after an hour, I was definitely glad I went and recommend everyone going at least once for the experience (and the unbeatable people-watching).
Here some pretty amazing facts about the IndyCar cars that will be racing on Sunday:
* The IndyCar engines produce more than 675 horsepower, over four times that of a normal street car
* Fuel mileage of an IndyCar car is less than two miles per gallon
* The average IndyCar can go from 0-100 in less than three seconds
* At speeds of 220 mph, an IndyCar car travels the length of a football field in about one second
If you can ever make it here for Memorial Day weekend, try to make a stop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to see the action. Look next week for some up-close-and-personal event pics...have a great holiday weekend!
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It seems like every time you turn on the TV, read a newspaper or magazine, or log on to the Internet, someone is always telling us how overweight Americans are. This problem has been passed down to our children and the child obesity rates are soaring. There are lot of great organizations and products out there that are making people aware of this growing epidemic and that are focused on improving our quality of life. However, the Los Angeles Dodgers have taken a different approach…
The Dodgers have recently decided that their right-field pavilion wasn’t selling enough tickets, so they have introduced an “All You Can Eat promotion.” Fans can buy tickets ranging from $20.00-$40.00 to sit in this section and have access to as “many Dodger Dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn and soda as their bellies allow for one price.” So, you can come to the ball park, watch a baseball game and ingest as many calories as you possibly can through out the course of the game? Yum…
The Dodgers are a well-respected and profitable organization, but really? There has to be SOME other promotion that will help sell right-field tickets. In a world where we are trying to fight excessive eating and obesity, the Dodgers are basically promoting it. How sad is it that of all the things that would potentially draw fans – we are most attracted by a free gorge-fest. I’m sure it would be a great time, but this is just blatantly promoting an unhealthy three hours. But hey, as long as the Dodgers sell some tickets…
* (Image courtesy of the AP)
Any day now, I could get a phone call from my wife, telling me we need to go to the hospital for the birth of our son. I am of course both very excited and nervous about that impending call, but this isn’t a post about fatherhood, rather a question about the technology that awaits young Harrison as he grows up.
If you think about it, the technological advances in the last 20+ years are amazing, if not shocking. I remember in high school hearing about the Internet and Web sites and chat rooms. Never mind we logged onto the Internet using the extremely high-tech AOL service that called up Netscape slower than molasses on a cold winter day. Seeing a Web image appear on a site was almost as exciting as Christmas morning or a guessing game on a cheesy game show - you couldn’t tell exactly what you were looking at until it fully downloaded.
The last few years has seen the Web go from a one-way platform to this crazy new Web 2.0, where anyone and everyone can contribute with blogs, wikis, social networking, etc. Cell phones have moved from the brick phones a-la Zach Morris to small handheld computing devices. We are getting closer to searching for just about any information indexed in digital form. So, what is next? What will Harrison and his peers be geeking out about when they are teenagers? Will a 3-D interactive Web take over the user-generated Web? Cars are already able to park themselves – will they be able to drive themselves, too? Or, will we finally get those flying cars I have heard so much about? Will JCrew know precisely when I need a new pair of chinos and a new white dress shirt because a little RFID tag relayed that information to them?
I am excited to see what the next 20+ years hold for my son and me. Afterall, someone is going to have to test out these devices. Will we be living the way of the Jetsons or will it be more like Back to the Future II?
After having spent my first 18 years in rural Southern Indiana, I’ve picked up a thing or two about agriculture. For example, tractors are large machines with rear tires at least 4 feet high—you plow fields with them. Contrary to the beliefs of some folks from the city, a “lawn tractor” is not really a tractor. It is a lawn mower. Field corn—the kind fed to pigs and cows isn’t the same as the buttered sweet corn you eat straight off the cob. Milk tastes different depending on what kinds of foods the cow which produced it ate. Yes, I know all that and I wasn’t even a member of the FFA.
However, I learned something quite new about agriculture by reading the Wall Street Journal this week. We’ve turned to alternative fuels to mitigate our dependence on oil, with corn-based ethanol proving to be a viable option. But the production of ethanol is driving up the price of corn and farmers are now feeding their pigs and cattle the same junk foods we eat to save money! Everything from Kit-Kat scraps near Hershey, Pennsylvannia to French fries in Idaho—livestock are getting much more than their traditional grain-based meals! You are what you eat. So I have to wonder—is beef really what’s for dinner?
What’s happened to the NHL? Does anyone know? This weekend, NBC cut off the Buffalo Sabres / Ottowa Senators Stanley Cup Playoff game for their scheduled national broadcast - WHEN IT WAS IN OVERTIME! Now I know what you’re thinking, they probably cut off that game for some breaking news. Perhaps peace broke out in the Middle East or Al Gore finally announced that he’s running for President. Well, not quite. NBC cut off the overtime play to air PRE-RACE coverage of The Preakness. Seriously. NBC cut off the series-deciding, overtime game of the Stanley Cup so that we could watch horses trot around and warm up for the race. It wasn’t even the race, just the pregame. If I remember correctly, the most exciting information that I took away from the pregame was information about the helmets and goggles that the jockeys wear.
I want to be mad at NBC for this one. I really do. But common sense (and my knowledge of the television industry) tells me that I can’t. Consider this: The Preakness attracted about 5 million viewers on Saturday. The Sabres/Senators game attracted about 1.2 million. For NBC this was a business decision. Your advertisers pay the bills. You’re going to get the best price for your advertising when you have the greatest number of viewers. When it comes to the NHL, unfortunately the numbers just aren’t there.
Here’s what bugs me. What’s happened to the NHL? How on earth could the current NHL commissioner let the league fall out of the graces of the American public in favor of horse racing? How sad is it that we’ve gotten to the point that the smart business decision for NBC is to pull the overtime game for horses trotting around?! It’s no secret that the league hit a big stumbling block during the league shutout, but the fact that the PR department and Gary Bettman - current NHL Commissioner - didn’t spring into action to regain the favor of the U.S. is appalling! The NHL has only one option to save the league: get rid of Bettman and find someone, ANYONE, who will get the NHL back into the public spotlight to ensure that hockey gets the attention and the fan base that they deserve.
What do you think? How can the NHL be saved? Can the NHL be saved?
P.S. - A big shout out to my dear friend Jeff, who got me interested in hockey. He recently suffered a big loss when his beloved Sabres lost to the Senators. Maybe next year buddy!
Yes, May 24 is “Talk Like Bob Dylan Day.” I don’t know about you but I plan on celebrating my favorite rock legend (look for me on youtube.) Here are some examples of other people’s tributes.
After arriving at the above Web site, click on “No Direction, Period” to watch an interview that exposes Dylan as single-handedly responsible for every hit song in the last 30 years. Funny stuff. Kind of Weird Al meets SNL. If you could emulate a legend for a day, who would you choose?
Some jerk has created an online video game called "V-tech Rampage" that is based on the tragic massacre at Virginia Tech. No, I'm not kidding. I read about it here on Yahoo! News this morning. You actually pretend to be the seriously demented Cho Seung-Hui and go on a shooting rampage, ending by taking your own life. The creation of the game is completely disgusting and utterly disrespectful in and of itself, but the creator's remarks about the game are even more unbelievable.
The creator, a 20-something man from Australia, simply says he created the game because "it was funny" and that he actually empathizes with the killer. A quote from the Yahoo story: "[the creator] said that while he had sympathy for those who had lost friends and relatives in the massacre, he also had sympathy for the gunman." The game creator states that he can understand Seung-Hui because he knows how it feels to not be noticed unless you do something sensational. Give me a freakin' break.
The creator of this game is another socially inept loser who never had any friends, could never get the girl and could never figure out how to act like a normal human being. Well guess what, there are a lot of people out there that experience the same things. Unlike you, they don't believe the world is to blame for their lack of social skills, completely childish behavior or mutant human interaction. Take some personal accountability for the pathetic state of your life and make some positive changes to turn it around. If you have mental problems and people tell you that you need help - TAKE IT. If someone you know has mental problems and needs help - GIVE IT.
What's even more annoying is that this is his turn to do something "sensational" and the media is sensationalizing it. Granted, I am bringing attention to it as well, but I refuse to mention the creator's name or where to download the game (unlike Yahoo News.) This is what the freak wants, and I'm not going to give it to him. The creator is not going to take down the game from his site despite the outrage and says he will not do so even if he receives requests from victims' families. What do you think should be done...can anything be done?
These days everyone’s a comedian- especially in the blogosphere. Personalities identified only by username are constantly critiquing blog entries via the “comment.” My favorite zingers and comebacks are usually in response to Valleywag and Boing Boing blogger entries. Some of these fools are actually pretty funny! But when tech geeks actually start referencing each other’s lack of suave with the ladies and noting the nonexistent girlfriend- priceless.
Amusing commentary aside, blogs are an excellent source for product coverage. Bloggers are usually very quick to post and constantly looking for interesting information. While this is great for the PR profession, it can quickly become a double-edged sword when it’s your client’s product that is getting the wrath of the reader annotations.
But isn’t that the price of PR? Sometimes there is no such thing as a free piece of coverage. Most of the time blog exposure works to our advantage but if not…we can at least hope they included a link.
Dear Neighbors to the East,
I like your state. I really do. After all, if it weren’t for Ohio there’d be no Cedar Point, King’s Island, Skyline Chili or Buckeye Lake. Plus I’m joined by some of your finest exports every day (Katie, Lindsey & Heidi—I’m talking about you).
However, you cannot compete with the Hoosier State when it comes to auto racing—especially during the month of May. Since 1911, Indianapolis has been home to The Greatest Spectacle in Racing and we’re proud of it. That’s why I was so puzzled when I spotted an IndyGo bus sporting a large ad for the Ohio Department of Tourism. I’ve tried to get an image to share with you, but to no avail. Instead, you’ll just have to rely on my description: The copy read “Our State Flag” and was next to a checkered racing flag. On a bus in Indianapolis. In May.
Sorry Ohio, your race tracks simply can’t beat the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Please don’t try to piggyback on Indiana’s one claim to fame.
Yours truly,
A Deeply Concerned Hoosier
Are you guilty of vanity-Googling? I am. Google “Carey Hart” and you’ll find 1.5 million pages—nearly all of them linking to info about the motocross racer with whom I share a name. If you dig deep enough, you might find out a little bit about me—where I went to college, scholarships I received or you might even wind up right back here at the BLASTmedia blog.
According to the Wall Street Journal, some people have had enough of being obscure in the world of online search. They’re ensuring that they and their offspring are found when Googled by altering their own names (hybrids utilizing parts of middle or maiden names) and devising creative baby names. They want to be easily found on the Web so that they don’t suffer professionally or financially when others search for them.
As for me—I don’t want to be found! I’ll continue to live my days in the no man’s land of Google-obscurity.
David Henderson, Emmy Award winning journalist and former CBS Network News correspondent, recently posted about something we at BLAST have always preached - Public Relations does not equal press releases. Henderson even comments that receiving unsolicited press releases is the No. 1 pet peeve of journalists.
While we certainly do write press releases at BLAST for major client announcements (and include an "about" section at the end, sorry Henderson) - we are very careful with how often, to whom and how we distribute them. They are never sent unsolicited. Editors still ask for press releases when they want more information, though it seems less and less every year. We are successful in PR because of the media relationships we have, not how well we know AP style. Unfortunately, many agencies still rely too heavily on press releases and sell their clients on how well they can write and distribute them. Sure, we can do press releases, but we don't use that as a selling point to new clients - we talk about our relationships. I know that Web site is always two words, capital W, but I get client coverage because I have personal connections with editors who cover Web sites (not because I know the correct spelling.)
I'm glad BLAST gets it. Having worked previously at a large agency, it is interesting that I never had really strong media relationships until I was in an environment that fostered the idea. Is relationship building crucial in your line of work, and how do you make those connections?
Ever had your day ruined by a stubborn jar of spaghetti sauce? Or made a fool of yourself trying to crack an oyster at a fancy restaurant? Today my life just got a little easier when I stumbled upon a simple headline. I would feel too guilty keeping this treasure to myself, so in the spirit of sharing the wealth, I give you: HowtoOpenThings. Here is how it works: You want to know how to open say, a conversation at a tech show with a joke. So, you post your request on the Web site and offer money for the best solution (you decide how much). People see your request and upload videos showing how to open whatever it is you desire. The person with the best video solution gets the cash. How’s that for win/win? Via Boing Boing.
I am not a Digg sycophant and I am not sure if it is really the best way to see what news is important or worthy of my attention. However, after seeing the power of Digg users yesterday I see the influence of user generated sites. A quick back story: Someone posted the decryption code for HD – DVD’s and the story was Dugg to the top of the page. Digg received a take down notice (and did so) but the community revolted - continuing to post the key and stories that linked to it, continually putting the code to the top of Digg’s homepage. Well, after deleting story after story and facing a torrid amount of comments on the code, Kevin Rose, founder and the face of Digg, acquiesced to the mob (I mean community) and decided that Digg would go down swinging.
The rest of the fight will be interesting to see unfold, but I think companies that are based on the Digg model have to realize that their communities might be stronger than they think. If you ran a site like Digg and had a potential legal issue hanging over head from a community post, would you still let it live on your site? Would you have the guts to fight your business model and loyal users, or would you pull a Digg and stand behind your customers? My guess is that not everyone would be as brave as Digg.
I admit, I’ve smoked a few cigarettes in my day. But I’ve never been desperate enough to rub nicotine directly into my pores.
Huh? Yep, this morning I discovered Nicogel at the local Speedway (my first mistake today—not visiting my Wild Bean Café friend). In case you happen to live somewhere like Indianapolis, where smoking is banned from most restaurants, Nicogel has finally arrived on store shelves as your savior. Just rub the gel directly into the palms of your hands… Voila! Instant nicotine buzz!
I’m happy to report that Nicogel isn’t a BLAST client and my heart (and lungs) go out to their internal PR person (if they have one).
Addiction is a disease, but wouldn’t you rather quit smoking than use ridiculous alternatives like Nicogel to perpetuate your poor health habits?
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