The media and professional sports

Let's face it, even though baseball is my favorite sport, I can see where people watching on television could find it a little boring.  I ofcourse have never had this problem.  I know the little things that happen on every pitch.  However, to someone who doesn't know the game so well could get bored during a three plus hour baseball game.  The Minnesota Twins do a great job of taking care of that problem.  The Twins had a very, well to put it nicely, a horrible year.  So they definately needed to do something to keep the fans interested.  http://www.jasonfpeck.com/2010/08/23/sports-and-social-media-why-should-fans-care/

During games, the Twins have several questions they ask the fans to respond to.  The two announcers for the Twins, Dick and Bert, really have a fun time with these.  They make it a competition between the two and they actually can go a long long time without getting a question wrong.  Another thing they do is polls.  During the game you can either go on the internet or use your phone to decide who should be the player of the game.  Another big promotion they do is "Sit in the booth for an inning.  During the game, and if your at the game you can use your cellphone to send in to the booth and if your lucky enough you get to sit with Dick and Bert for an inning.  The following link is information on Bert Blyleven in the booth.  http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/team/broadcasters.jsp?c_id=min

These are all great ways organizations use new media to get their fans more involved.  When the fans can actually see their question on tv, or get to sit up in the booth for an inning on tv, it makes them more involved with the team.  Fans can related to the team more when they have activities like this.  Owners know this, and try and get fans involved as much as possible.  http://bizofbaseball.com/

Newspapers still able to enjoy New Media

Newspapers are dying these days in America. http://journalism.about.com/od/trends/a/dyingpapers.htm We get most of our information off of the internet. Not too many people read the newspaper anymore. The only thing I ever read in newspapers is baseball scores and the funnies. I think part of the reason we read more online than read newspapers is because there is usually better pictures online. Visual aids is very important when reading information. It helps us get a better idea of things when we can actually see what we are reading.

The first thing that comes to mind is the Minot flood. If you read in a newspaper that there was a flood in a town, you would feel bad. I think the feeling wouldn't last very long though and you would go right on reading other articles. However, if there is pictures of the houses that are getting destroyed, and places you know that are completely covered in water, it sets in a lot more and is more dramatic.

Cell phones these days can basically do it all. One thing that cellphones have majorly improved on is the camera quality. The quality of cameras on cellphones these days is so high, you can't tell the difference between a cellphone picture and a picture from a high definition camera. Here is a site talking about how cameras on phones have improved over the years. http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20001061-264.html

The newspapers in Minot had many cellphone pictures on the front page. In the caption of the pictures it would say this photo is taken by so and so by their cell phone, and it looks like a high definition picture. This really helps newspapers out because they can get pictures from people that they might not be able to get themselves. This makes their newspaper article more enjoyable to read. I do however think that newspapers will be around for quite sometime. There are actually many people that prefer to read a newspaper. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/01/19/let-newspapers-die-already.html

Shopping online a benefit for both producers and consumers?

Shopping online emerged about a decade ago, and is a new and great way to shop.  There are many reasons why shopping online keeps growing and growing every year.  When thinking about why you would want to shop online, the first thing that comes to mind is convenience.  If you want to go shopping you don't have to dress up and drive to the store.  Then you have to deal with traffic.  When you get to the store you have to deal with crowdness and angry stressful shoppers.  Or, you can wake up, make a pot of coffee, and sit down and relax while moving your mouse, looking at all the endless posibilities that you can buy. http://anamikas.hubpages.com/hub/Online-shopping-sites-benefits

There are many other advantages for a consumer to shop online other than convenience.  There is a greater variety online than just what is in the stores.  You also get a better price on the things you are shopping for online.  The products come directly to you from the manufacturer or the seller, so there is no middleman involved.  http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~jinnie/advantage.html

Online shopping is also great for the seller.  Selling products online is a great way to view and track consumer purchase patterns.  This is great for the seller because he or she can see what is hot and what is a bust.  Their site can track what has been clicked on or viewed, and see what is being purchased.  http://montyalexander.articlesbase.com/ecommerce-articles/online-shopping-benefits-for-the-business-owner-459836.html  Sellers also enjoy online shopping because they also dont have to go through the middle man.  They are able to avoid expenditures such as hoarding the product.  All in all, I think online shopping can benefit the lazy stressful shopper like myself.  I would much rather sit at home on my nice comfy couch, then deal with the stresses of shopping at stores, especially during the holidays.

Yankees going home?

As I'm writting this blog I had a tough time coming up with a topic to write on.  I look up and see the Yankees playing and I decided to somehow tie it into social media.  The New York Yankees are playing the Tigers tonight for the game to go on to the ALCS, and the loser goes home.  The Yankees are one of the biggest and most successful franchises in the history of sports.  One of the reasons they are so successful is that they have a lot of money to spend, and they go out and buy the best players.

The Yankees literally make the playoffs every year.  They are always there, and media is all over it.  Media loves the Yankees, because it is a great way to sell their merchandise.  Merchandise is sold way better when a team is successful.  Not just having a successful season, but year in and year out winning, and winning World Series.  Media is a great way to get merchandise out there.

Most sales of merchandise are done online.  Most tickets sold, are done online.  There are countless amount of things that a franchise like the Yankees use media for.