I’ve now been “officially” working in the Sports, Outdoor, Athletics and Recreation industries for slightly more than 3-and-a-half years now, and I must say I continue to be shocked at the overall lack of new media sophistication I see within these industries.
Understand that this is not meant as a slam against all companies in these markets (although it may come across as such).
I also recognize that almost every company I now find in any industry has a Web site. But for many companies, that’s it. And in some instances, companies have little more than a brochure-ware Website.
Others are beginning to step forward and are beginning to embrace newer forms of interactive media, sometimes known as Web 2.0 technologies. These solutions and tools include
- Blogging,
- Online video,
- Social networks (MySpace and Facebook being the most popular, but not the only ones),
- Microblogging (through such tools as Twitter and Pownce, to name two), and
- Podcasting.
What’s even more amazing to me, however, is the seeming lack of interactive / Web 2.0 sophistication among the media companies serving the outdoor and recreation industries. Here again, I’m not attacking every media-publishing company serving clients and/or end-users in the recreation, sports, athletics and/or outdoor industries. Just most of ‘em.
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We all have our interests in life. A few around the office include cycling, baseball, volleyball, golf and fishing, and we’ve talked a lot about doing these activities together to experience something a little different and to get to know each other a bit better.
Well, last week we took an opportunity to participate in an activity together by taking the afternoon to play mini-golf and hit a bucket of golf balls at a local facility called, appropriately, Mulligans.
Here are some captions of the event:
The Team at Mulligans
FORE!
Can’t Quite Get Away
Scoping out the lay of the land
One too many practice swings…enough already!
For the Win!
Past the Windmill…through the tunnel…off the rock…up the volcano…in the hole!
Needless to say, we had a great time together. While we did keep score, everyone, it turned out, won. We built team unity and relieved a bit of stress…for those of us who could get away.
We’re planning to do these types of events every couple of months. Who knows what the next one will be, but I’m sure it will be a great time to be had by all, as this one was.
I’ve been putting off writing something for our blog for a couple of reasons. One, life here at SOAR has been incredibly busy. Our biggest client, Interbike, is having their annual bicycle tradeshow in Las Vegas in 4 days and we have spent the last couple of months ramping up for that. The other reason is, I’m new to blogging, and I wasn’t sure I had anything interesting or significant to post. Now I do.
I’m bummed. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found Landis guilty of doping (see AP story here). I haven’t ridden regularly in a while, but I’m still an avid fan of cycling and racing. My wife and I cheered loudly at the TV during Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour, only to stare silently again later while learning that Landis was accused of doping.
I’m not even going to pretend to understand the facts surrounding the case and spout my opinion here in this post. I’m just bummed for Landis, racers in general and for recreational cyclists and potential recreational cyclists who might think twice about participating in a tainted activity.
The news about Landis will make for an interesting next few weeks, especially with the industry’s largest trade show, Interbike, and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Championships taking place at the same time. I’m sure everyone will be talking about the verdict and will have an opinion.
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By the way, we have filled the open job position at SOAR Communications.
Maura Lansford, formerly (and officially) an Assistant Account Executive at Politis Communications, has accepted the full-time position as an AAE at SOAR Communications.
Maura has been actively involved in supporting SOAR clients on an as-needed basis almost since joining Politis Communications. She also proved invaluable in almost single-handedly overseeing media registration for Interbike 2006.
So . . . formally, the position at SOAR Communications is now closed.
However, Politis Communications is now looking for two or more account reps. PR/journalism background preferred. Good writing skills a must.
Any ideas? Reach me via email at dpolitis (at) politis.com or by calling 801-523-3730 xt. 11.
