JC / Railbird

Miscellany Archive

Links for 2009-05-04

• Andrew Beyer: 'Bird' Watching
  Reacting to Mine That Bird's Derby win: "This was one of the biggest upsets in the history of American racing. In my four decades of covering the sport, it ranks as one of the two most mystifying results in a major stakes race, along with Canonero II's victory in the 1971 Derby."
  (tags: horseracing kentucky-derby andrew-beyer for-railbird)
• Sex, Cash, and Ponies
  A trip through the New Yorker's archive of racing articles.
  (tags: horseracing to-read-later new-yorker)

Posted in Miscellany on May 4, 2009

Links for 2009-04-28

• Spectacle and synergy keys to NBC’s Derby plan
  From Sports Business Journal: "NBC and Churchill Downs are repositioning the Kentucky Derby as a 'lifestyle' brand in hopes of drawing higher television ratings for this Saturday’s 135th Run for the Roses…. 'If we can get people to watch the spectacle and stay for the race, it’ll be a success,' said CD CMO Dave Tompkins." [Since many connections seem to consider the Derby a peak "lifestyle" experience, why not viewers at home? Related: Andrew Beyer on CDI. What effect does this big event/lifestyle marketing have on the industry overall?] (Via o_crunk)
  (tags: horseracing business-of-racing churchill-downs kentucky-derby for-railbird)
• MLB.com by the numbers
  Three weeks into the 2009 baseball season, subscription sales are up 45%, iPhone At Bat app sales total $1.3 million gross. [Subtract 30% Apple share, that's $910,000 net for a mobile app that delivers mostly repurposed content and data. Nice revenue stream if you can build it.]
  (tags: media business-media sports baseball mlb)
• Why you have to engage in social media, even if you don't want to
  Because if you don't, your business/web site/service is invisible. [I would add that it's not enough to have a Twitter feed or a Facebook page; your social media presence is only as engaging, compelling, and responsive as the person(s) behind it.]
  (tags: web2.0 social-media business marketing twitter)

Posted in Miscellany on April 28, 2009

Links for 2009-04-25

• Examining the contenders
  Dick Powell's straightforward assessment of likely Kentucky Derby starters. No flash, just solid background.
  (tags: horseracing handicapping kentucky-derby)
• BarCamp News Innovation Philadelphia
  April 25, 9-6, Annenberg Building at Temple University, 170+ journalism/blogging/web geeks. Where I'll be Saturday.
  (tags: media media-experiments journalism blogging social-media)
• Journalists: Where do you add value?
  "Every minute of a journalist’s time will need to go to adding unique value to the news ecosystem: reporting, curating, organizing. This efficiency is necessitated by the reduction of resources. But it is also a product of the link and search economy: The only way to stand out is to add unique value and quality." Really applies to any content creators …
  (tags: media business-media journalism blogging)
• Twitter clients are a UI design playground
  "But perhaps the most important factor that has made Twitter such a rich category for client software is that there is so little friction to switch between apps. There’s nothing to import or export, and zero commitment." Sense there's something here that could apply to a racing app/service.
  (tags: twitter user-experience usability application-design software)

Posted in Miscellany on April 25, 2009