Throwing Tomatoes at Doves

Back when I used to listen to British rock religiously, my favorite band was Doves because while they were far from the most talented band out there, they honestly tried to make the best music they could. This led to a lot of experimenting throughout their career and it actually produced an eclectic yet fun assortment of music.

Recently, I dove head first into the field of sports opinion sharing simply on the basis that I felt I had an honest opinion, one that could hopefully satisfy others and help me get better at this whole journalism thing I want to do with my life. I feel that I have but I also feel like this field is a terrible field for someone who is trying to be more honest about everything that surrounds me. A lot of people do not like honest opinions, especially when there is an unsolicited element to them as is the case when writing sports opinions. After all, who asks people for columns, they just sort of appear for us to analyze.

I guess that's what I was never expecting. The analysis of the analysis. The retort to the opinion. The 'Who asked you? Who are you to tell me what to think or do?' It is a justifiable response but it is often done in a very vitriolic manner in that the action has drawn an opposite reaction that was twice as strong as the action itself. Clearly, Newton did not think of people when he established his laws on thermodynamics. Had he did, he would have said if you gave people something, their response will always be opposite but not always equal.

Perhaps it's okay that opinion pieces draw responses but what's the point of those responses? There is no constructive conversation taking place in a comment section. There is no thread of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. There isn't that many personal chats that end well when things get opinionated. No matter how one could try to send the message (authoritatively, satirically, colloquially etc.) if the message is something people don't want to hear, there will be backlash. 

So the obvious counter is to tell people what they want to hear. However, if what people want to hear means not being honest with one's self then you've just sold out. 

Doves broke up recently under amicable circumstances and I miss them. I miss their intentions of sharing something people would be interested in. I miss how they would try any new method to create their music no matter what people thought of them. Most importantly, I miss their honesty.

Studying Abroad at Home

I'm studying abroad at home.

It's a fact, an oxymoron and something I'm not really sure I've come to grips with. I don't think I could hold my own in another country and Hollywood is definitely not for me so choosing to study in New York was the safely, progressive option. I got the comforts of home and the chance to further my career as a journalist in the city which sounds like having the best of both worlds but it isn't.

I'm getting restless. My hometown bores me and I've gotten tired of being in the same place for over 16 years. It doesn't help that that place is Long Island. Don't get me wrong, Long Island is wonderful but it's not for me right now. There is nothing to get excited about here for me in what is the essence of familiarity breeding contempt.

Maybe my cynicism is coming out because of wanderlust but I don't know. I do know why there's a brain drain on Long Island because I'm living it. This place is too expensive and too mundane for me. It's a trap concealed perfectly by the pizza, malls and BMWs and I'm set to get out of it. But I have to stay in it for a little while longer.

Hopefully this experience sorts itself out or I sort it out myself. It would be a wasted semester if it doesn't.

Analyzing the Pitches

When listening to the pitches presented over the past few weeks, I came to the conclusion that the best websites provide a legitimate service to a wide audience in a utilitarian manner. The two websites that did this were GetInformed-US and ComedyHub.

As an investor, these two sites would receive my support because the service they provide is based off of a demand that is pretty constant. GetInformed-US looks to enlighten the public on the various issues at home and abroad that exist in an unbiased manner. Although this website will have significant criticism from a skeptical public and a lot of competition from established websites, it's independence and thorough approach will help it find its footing and grow.

As long as there are aspiring comedians, there will be a place for ComedyHub. The website provides an outlet for them to be discovered and a service for all comedy lovers. Given comedy's strong standing in American entertainment, there will be a constant interest in a website like this which is good news for potential investors like myself.

Both of these sites provide a service to a large enough community that it can pretty much guarantee that there will be a sizable return on an investment made on either site. That is why I feel confident putting my money into either website.

Sigh

Courtesy of John Ourand at the Sports Business Journal.

Cortaca More of a Party than a Game

It is a lovely turn of events that I am able to cover a football team in Ithaca that has had its ups and downs over the two years I've been on the beat for The Ithacan. I will be covering an NCAA Tournament game for a team that has a decent chance of making a run to at least the Round of 16. I also covered two Cortaca Jug games.

Those two games have been the amongst most dramatic games I have covered in any sport and credit goes to both teams for playing both games tremendously. I also want to give respect to Fran Elia and the Cortland State Sports Info Department for showing class and professionalism, he sets an example that the rest of the University unfortunately does not follow.

80 people were arrested in Cortland after 'celebrations' went too far and made us wonder what is the definition of a riot. I put 'celebrations' in quotations because of the new mantra that exists around colleges – Ithaca is guilty of this too but not nearly as much – 'win or lose, we still booze.' What happened on Cortland's streets was bound to happen regardless of the result of the game.

Don't get me wrong, I was looking forward to last weekend just as much as anyone else was. However, the reason we look forward to these weekends has little to do with the event they are centered on. In the past decade, Cortaca attendance has dropped from 12,620 at Butterfield Stadium in 2001 to 6500 last Saturday. Part of the reason this has happened is because Cortland State fans have stopped travelling.

It is standard operating procedure for Ithaca to use temporary bleachers on the opposite half of the field to accomodate all travel needs. The way things are going, it may be a smart move for facilities to recycle those bleachers for scrap. Red Dragon fans have stopped travelling to the game because of, ironically, ICTV. ICTV — aided by a webstream and Time Warner Cable syndicating the broadcast —set a record number of viewers for their Cortaca broadcast. This allows for bars to open early and show the game. In Cortland, bars were open at 8 a.m. with a $25 cover. They were packed in an hour.

That is the environment in Cortland now. The game itself has become second-fiddle to the event. The event is a party weekend that is circled on our calendars and we take pride in it. We ran a story celebrating the Cortical and NYCortaca parties that got a lot of play, even a mention from Bomber Head Coach Mike Welch. My preview of the game itself, not nearly as much buzz.

Cortland and Ithaca have opposite cultures and quite frankly, winning the Cortaca Jug means more to each student there than to each student here. Cortland State is a school that has athletics at the forefront of its student life while Cortaca may be the only instance that a sports are the big deal on campus here. In a younger life, I salivated to be at a school like Cortland because I wanted to turn up, be at football games, have a sign featured on College Gameday etc. Now that I see that for every Saturday, there is a Monday.

Cortland State students are spending Monday still not fully recovered from the weekend, Cortland residents clean up and Cortland State's president is trying to save face. All after a season-defining win. This is going to be the future of Cortaca and most people do not seem to mind. The straws are building on the camel's back and I fear that as long as Cortaca remains about the party than the game, the straw that breaks the camel's back will fall.

Then regardless of who wins and regardless of who boozes, everyone loses.

Google's Ambiguous Nobility

For all its criticisms lodged its way, Google has done one thing that can go down as being undoubtedly good – centralize self-generated content distribution.

I'm using Blogger, a Google product, to write this. Though I probably won't make a dime off of this post, there are others who have profited off of their content thanks in large part to Google. As the New York Times examined, it is viable to use YouTube, another Google product, as a way to turn a hobby into a business.

There is an ambiguous element of nobility to this. Google is a central hub and distributor for self-generated content. The content is created by users who have genuine interest in their subject and, initially, did not anticipate to make money off of it. Now that it is evident that users can make a money, the gold rush begins. This was Google's goal and it is, for the most part, a good goal to set.

However there is a drawback – censorship.

How you feel about Google's decision to buck to China's pressure on censorship is dependent on how principled you are about free speech. If you fiercely defend free speech, the decision is a disillusioning one. If you are more pragmatic, then you can understand the decision. Seven Levy's In the Plex, chronicles the pressure Google faced internally and externally before making the decision and it brings up a relevant point.

As Google continues to grow, it will be faced with several dilemmas. The Chinese censorship issue illustrated the issues a foreign company like Google has trying to provide a genuine service in a government unlike the one it is based in. The current data collection issue is an issue of trust.

Google genuinely believes they can provide as many services as possible. Centralized self-generated content distribution is one, Maps and Gmail are others. We know that in order for them to effectively do this, they will need data. However, how much data we allow them to have depends on how much faith you have in Google.

I have reasonable faith in Google. Enough so that I use Google Chrome, Gmail and an Android phone. I do acknowledge the potential issues that can arise. But for the most part Google's services have allowed for people to express themselves and get noticed – just like this guy.

When Smarter People Express What's On Your Mind

I am not an eloquent person. But this conversation between Glenn Greenwald and Bill Keller has been the debate I have had internally throughout the course articulated by people who can articulate themselves far better than I ever could.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/opinion/a-conversation-in-lieu-of-a-column.html?pagewanted=1&smid=tw-share

Oh and this should be required reading for posterity, especially for those, like me, who take Indy journalism with a grain of salt.