Back to the present.

St. John’s opens up its season tonight when they host William & Mary at Carnessecca Arena in Queens. The team is ridiculously young and inexperienced so I’m curious to get a feel for what it will be like to root for them this year. I checked out an exhibition game last week and it wasn’t pretty. The Johnnies couldn’t shoot straight and were especially pitiful from the foul line. They were losing for a large part of the second half and seem rattled until their athleticism helped them pull away in the last few minutes of the game.

They do have loads of talent. I’m especially excited by Nurideen Lindsay (scoring point guard who can get to the basket) and Mo Harkless (queens native with smooths style). With a brutal schedule and only seven scholarship players, six of those being first-year players, everything will need to fall perfectly into place for the Johnnies to have decent success. I keep trying to tell myself that I’m going to need to be patient with this team. But deep down I’m already fantasizing about them knocking off Arizona to win the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament and then shocking Kentucky at Rupp Arena on December 1.

For better or worse, I’ve been thinking about how being a “die-hard” St. John’s fan impacts my life. Sometimes, it doesn’t feel real and this is just an escape from the grind of life. I’m a fan. But I also know my excitement level to attend/watch games, time I spend thinking about the team and highs/lows throughout the season will be a big part of the next six months of my life. I imagine most passionate sports fans feel the same way about their team. Very rarely do we step back and reflect on why all of this is so important to us. Maybe there’s no point to doing that. It just is, right?

I have two season tickets for all of the games in Queens and at MSG this season. One of my buddies is taking most of the MSG games and I can usually twist my Dad’s arm into meeting me in Queens. But there are still a bunch of games where I need a wing man. My offer is that if you show up and root for the Johnnies then I’ll cover everything (tickets, zipcar, beers and jersey’s — you get to pick between a Hatten, Omar Cook or Mullin throwback). Let me know if you’re interested in jumping on the bandwagon. There is always room.

Here’s the home schedule

11/9 – Wed – Lehigh (Queens)
11/13 – Sun – UM-Baltimre County (Queens)
11/17 – Th – Arizona (MSG)
11/18 – Fri – Texas AM or Miss St. (MSG)
11/22 – Tu — St Francis (Queens)
11/26 – Sat – Northeastern (Queens)
12/17 – Sat – Fordham (MSG)
12/21 – Wed – Texas Pan American (Queens)
12/27 – Tuesday – Providence (Queens)
1/3 – Tu – Louisville (MSG)
1/15 – Sun – Georgetown (MSG)
1/21 – Sat – Villanova (MSG)
1/25 – Wed – West Virginia (MSG)
2/4 – Sat – Syracuse (MSG)
2/8 – Wed – Cincinnati (MSG)
2/18 – Sat – UCLA (MSG)
2/20 – Mon – Depaul (Queens)
2/25 – Sat – Notre Dame (MSG)
–
Related Post: I wrote a blog post in 2008 with the same headline except it was for Season 19.

Not one to lick my own popsicle, I’m somewhat known to be both daring and risqué when it comes to desserts. So I embarked on an epicurean adventure to create the next great popsicle and avenge my nemesis’s creation of the Big Sexy Pop (now sold at the Iowa State Fair).

I started off using simple ingredients like coconut water, Gatorade, coffee and grape juice. I struck out on the whipped cream pop. My pudding pop was respectable but unremarkable. The PB&J freeze failed to congeal properly. I’m not going to mention my avocado and salsa chilled samba.

The need to create the perfect popsicle became my one obsession. I thought about it day and night. Then I went to sleep and I dreamed about it. I even thought about popsicles as I rewatched the Johnnies exhibition game against CW Post on the internet.

I envisioned form. I contemplated texture. I learned how to mentally convert temperatures from Fahrenheit to Celsius to get a better grasp of how foreign objects freeze.

Then one fortuitous evening, as I was baking kale chips and watching PTI on dvr, it came to me. The Popsicle needs to be about more than just taste. It should be functional. It must be fun. The popsicle of tomorrow would have a physical, mental and emotional impact. It should change the world!

Naturally, I based my popsicle on the one ingredient that has had the most profound effect on my personality, relationships and social life. That would be 5 Hour Energy. If at any point in the last six months you’ve seen me and thought to yourself “boy, that Litty seems quite charming, energetic and lively” it was because I was under the influence of 5 Hour E. It’s just the right mix of B12, Folic Acid and Caffeine and Taurine to lift me out my mopey haze and allow me to absolutely kill it!

The only issue I have with 5 Hour E is that sometimes I’m so enhanced that I want to ensure peak performance while never experiencing the effects of time (300 minutes is always ticking away) or aging. Plus, while I’m projecting greatness out to the external world I also need to allow my internal systems to neutralize free radicals. It’s essential I get my daily dose of antioxidants like anthocyanins and falvonoids.

Enter the Acai berry. The superfood cultivated in the Amazon is an antioxidant powerhouse with fascinating nutritional benefits. It’s not only supports native jungle tribes but it also generates millions in multi-level marketing scams!

When combined and frozen, the 5 Hour Acai-E popsicle has awesome mystical powers. It also tastes great and is fun to eat!

You might ask why does this potion need to be frozen and molded into a pop. I might answer why does water need to be frozen and shaped into a cube.

I think back to everything I’ve ever accomplished in life and try to imagine how much better it would have been if I had first consumed a 5 Hour Acai-E popsicle. Imagine watching the Johnnies go up by 25 at halftime against Duke at MSG on a 5HA-E pop! The only way I can actually imagine it is if I indulge in said popsicle!

Last weekend I went to Bloomingdale’s and bought a sports jacket. If I had first consumed a 5 Hour Acai-E Popsicle I would have sewed one myself!

This is just one example. You try it.

The other day I went —— and did ——. If I first snacked on a 5HA-E it would have been even more amazing!

I bet you didn’t know that the drugs in the movie Limitless are based on an 5 Hour Acai-E pop. David Freese enjoyed a 5 Hour Acai-E in the dugout after he dropped the flyball in Game 6. Yup, this pop gives a whole new meaning to juicing! Herman Cain was licking on a pop when he thought up his 9-9-9 tax plan! When Super Mario gets the star and becomes invincible he’s really just inhaling 5HA-E (albeit in gaseous form).

Suck on a 5 hour Acai-E pop and you’ll be soul cycling your way through your entire day!

Ingredients

Directions
1) Freeze your Zoku Pop Maker for 24 Hours
2) Pour 1 oz. of the 5-Hour Energy into the Zoku molds.
3) Wait 120 seconds
4) Add the Sambazon Acai juice
5) Let freeze for 314 seconds
6) Use the “Super Tool” to easily remove the pop

It’s that simple. A few easy steps and you to can be the best you that you can ever be!

The thing that Simmons doesn’t get is that neither the owners nor players seem to care. Errybody’s down to “Do the Eddy Curry” and take the entire season off.

Although the bloggers are reporting recent signs of negotiating progress, here’s what my people are telling me…

Owners: Many teams are operating at an annual loss. The market to buy NBA teams has also dried up so franchise values aren’t as inflated as they once were. In order to both turn a profit and prop up franchise values the league needs to drastically change the economic structure of the league. A new agreement is the perfect opportunity to fix all of this. The owners are willing and prepared to wait this out.

Players: Unlike other sports leagues the NBA only has 350 union jobs so it’s easier to keep the players united. Players also have an option to play overseas (or go down to the playground) so they don’t seem as desperate to get back to work. In fact, I bet some players would gladly take just half their salary each year to play a two-month regular season (The Roger Clemens), try kinda hard in the playoffs and then tweet away during a nine month off-season. Besides Derek Fisher and Roger Mason Jr., I’m not sure how many players actually want the season to start on time.

Turn on Sportscenter, go to your local park or check ya twitter feed. The players are chillin. They are going abroad (ESPN overseas tracker) at a higher rate than AEPi dudes from Long Island. Durant may possible have joined the new 21st century version of Harlem Globetrotters. Artest, er, Metta World Peace is now a comedian. The foreign guys are playing ball all over the world in the European Championships and Olympic qualifying. It doesn’t seem like anyone is worried about the NBA in the same way as NFL players were this summer.

Combine this with my theory that one day all athletes are going to unite and rule the world (as soon as they develop HGH for intelligence). First, they will pool their salaries together to buy their own teams. Between their earning power, media presence and physical prowess they will then dominate all other races, political parties and business leaders. Maybe my boy Curtis Granderson would be their leader!

My point here is that the players are in an amazing position. They are united and are not that desperate to work. All they are asking for is the status quo so they have the media and fans on their side. Furthermore, they may not even need the NBA.

The players have the perfect opportunity to form their own super league or tournament. Here’s how I see it working.

The Pro Sweet 16
The Pro Sweet 16 would be a single elimination basketball tournament played in the fall. All games would be in Las Vegas. Players will form their own teams. The sixteen teams that ante up the largest entry fees will compete (anybody is eligible). Sponsors can pledge the fee on behalf of a player/team. The 15+ tournament games (plus consolation games) would either be televised through Pay Per View or the global broadcast rights will be sold to media companies. The entry fees, event and media revenues will be pooled together and distributed to teams based on performance. It’s so beautifully simple.

This is actually already kind of happening without the high-level marketing genious and organization. Melo helped organize a game in Baltimore that featured a duel between Lebron and Durant in which Durantchala went for 59. This was a few weeks after Durant put on a shiw in NYC playgrounds including 68 at the Rucker. The Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas is putting together “competitive training sessions” with over 40 NBA players this month. Even Jimmer Fredette is putting on an exhibition tour in Utah.

The allure of the Pro Sweet 16 would be the players, teams and match-ups. Judging by fantasy spots and last summers Melo trade debacle we know that fans love player’s moving from team to team! Fortunately, Littyhoops has your team projections and seedings. Damn kid, get psyched, posts like this are why you read all my lame pseudo-intellectual entries about the internet. Buckle up!

#1 — Team USA
Always self-conscious Kobe brings together a bunch of egomaniacs under the USA flag as former national players, all-stars and veterans unite to form the most formidable team in the world.

Captain: Kobe Bryant
Team: Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade, Tim Duncan, Jameer Nelson, Kevin Garnett, David West, Rajon Rondo, Andre Igoudala, Chauncey Billups, Danny Granger

#2 – Nike Swooshes
Nike finally surrounds Durant with players who let him do whatever the heck he wants….which is Score!

Captain: Kevin Durant
Team: Amare Stoudemire, Kevin Love, Stephen Curry, Zach Randolph, Al Horford, Chris Bosh, Joel Anthony, Rudy Gay, Marcus Camby, James Harden, Eric Maynor

#3 – CAA All-Stars
Led by World Wide Wes, CAA puts together the biggest sponsorship package and buys the rights to the music video and documentary!

Captain: Carmelo Anthony
Team: Chris Paul, Rip Hamilton, Jonny Flynn, Rodney Stuckey, Eric Bledsoe, Andrea Bargnani, Carlos Arroyo, DeSagana Diop

#4 – Wasserman, Tellem & Associates
Casey Wasserman and Arn Tellem’s players are led by a dynamic back court of D.Rose and Russell Westbrook. Not sure if this helps bring Football to LA though.

Captain: Derrick Rose
Team: Russell Westbrook, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Tyreke Evans, Antawn Jamison, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kendric Perkins, Jordan Farmer

#5 – Emerald City
Not sure how Seattle became a basketball hot spot but it has. These dudes are super tight and mad proud of the 206.

Captain: Jason Terry
Team: Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Marvin Williams, Aaron Brooks, Brandon Roy, Jon Brockman, Brian Scalabrine, Terrence Williams,

#6 – Lebronmates
We know Lebron performs best when playing with scrubs who aren’t gonna boink his momma. Here he is with his best buds. This is More Than A Game. Even Mav Carter gets all up in the video.

Captain: Lebron James
Team: Mike Conley, Greg Oden, Zydrunus Illgauskus, Dru Joyce III, Romeo Travis, Willie Mcgee, Sian Cotton, Maverick Carter

#7 – The Excelerators
Jeff Schwartz is one of the best agent in basketball. He signs great character guys and builds long term relationships with them. He also stays out of the press. His people will do a nice job organizing this squad.

Captain: Paul Pierce
Team: Deron Williams, Al Jefferson, Emeka Okafor, Devin Harris, Jason Kidd, Charlie Villanueva, Blake Griffen

#8 The Iron Curtain
Back in the day, these guys would have been called the USSR. I kind of wish the Middle East could field some amazing sports teams so we can have some Cold War type rivalries.

Captain: Dirk Nowitzki
Team: Beno Udrih, Hedo Turkoglu, Marcin Gortat, Goran Dragic, Vladimir Radmanovic, Zaza Pachulia, Omar Asik, Timofey Mozgov, Andrei Kirilenko, Enes Kantor

#9 – Big East Alumni Network
Yup, we actually created something better than the Big East Tournament. Gotta have some Johnnies in our dance.

Captain: Ray Allen
Team: Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert, Ben Gordan, Hakim Warrick, DeJuan Blair, Ryan Gomes, Kemba Walker, Wesley Matthews, Marcus Hatten, Dwight Hardy

#10– The NATO Warriors
First Europe unites to support the Libyan rebels and now they all ball together. Led by the Spaniards, this might be the prettiest team to watch…

Captain: Pau Gasol
Team: Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon, Boris Diaw, Nicholas Batum, Marco Belinelli, Johan Petro, Tony Parker, Danilo Gallinari

#11 – MJ’s Carolina
You know MJ is licking his chops for any excuse to play competitively. His fellow alumni are probably the only guys to follow him. Larry Brown will coach these guys.

Captain: Michael Jordan
Team: Ty Lawson, Raymond Felton, Tyler Hansbrough, Ed Davis, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Brandan Wright, Danny Green Wayne Ellington

#12 – The City
I love NYC ball but shouldn’t there be more talent here?

Captain: Metta World Peace
Team: Lamar Odom, Sebastian Telfair, Stephon Marbury, Lance Stephenson, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Jamaal Tinsley, Rafer Alston, Royal Ivey

#13 – Role Models
This team is smoking!

Captain: Gilbert Arenas
Team: Michael Beasley, OJ Mayo, DeMarcus Cousins, DeShawn Stevenson, Glenn Davis, Allen Iverson, Delonte West, Javaris Crittenton

#14 – The Dukies
Gonna be fun to watch them lose. Batteir and Grant Hill are pissed he lost the Presidency to Curtis Granderson. Coached by Steve Wojciechowski

Captain: Grant Hill
Team: Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Shane Battier, Kyrie Irving, JJ Redick, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Nolan Smith

#15 – The High Flyers
The official team of the Tea Party, Kenny Chesney and Talladega Super Speedway.

Captain: Steve Nash
Team: David Lee, Chris Anderson, Kirk Hinrich, Chase Budinger, Landry Fields, Kris Humphries, Kyle Korver, Gordan Haywood, Steve Blake, Jimmer Fredette

#16 – Team Zeros
I never understood why a guy would want to be a zero. But apparently these guys do. And they understand each other. And they are going to match their win total with their uniform number. Maybe they will be sponsored by NASA or Mircrosoft or Yah00.

Captain: Mike Bibby
Team: Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, James Johnson, Jeff Teague, Gary Forbes, Avery Bradley, Darrell Arthur, Spencer Hawes, Chad CeroYcero

What team would win? What team would you like to see form?

Here’s a highlight video of Durant lighting up the Rucker. This is the type of ball you’ll see in the Pro Sweet 16.

I’m not a big fan of traditional, structured education. I didn’t buy into it as a student. I never felt like it correlated to the real world. I thought that the best way to learn and get ahead was to do worthwhile projects outside of the classroom. I still do. I’m also an avid reader and feel as though I’ve learned the most from good books. Perhaps this is why I’m now in a profession that isn’t really dependent on scholastic achievement.

Education hasn’t changed all that much in generations. 1) Do well in high school 2) Go to the best college 3) Move on to graduate school (depending on the career path). The cost of law school or business school is also high but at least there is an easier way to quantify its value by calculating the post-grad school options. But do you really need an expensive undergrad degree to enroll in these programs? Seems like we can pack all the fun and education into 2-3 years, save our youth some serious time and money, and get on with life.

That’s not the only thing that should change. Technology moves so fast that people need to stay more educated and learn new skills throughout their career. Education should never stop. I’ve never understand why school and learning is just for young people. I’ll happily defer part of my college education till later on in my life (when I’ll need it more).

Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder, hedge fund manager and venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, believes we’re all in the midst of a higher education bubble because it is “overvalued and intensely believed”. The education bubble is about security and insurance against the future. Pay to go to a good college and you will be set for life. Premiere colleges don’t focus on their level of education but rather at their level as “prestige” as a way to rationalize ever-increasing tuition. Thiel is taking aim at these institutions by launching the Thiel 20 Under 20 Fellowships. The fellowships are granted to the most talented students under 20 years of age and pay them $100,000 over two years to leave school and start something instead.

Here are some other cool new developments in education.

General Assembly in New York City is a center for technology, design and entrepreneurship that offers educational programming, space, and support. It create learning opportunities across a community “inspired by entrepreneurial experience”. It’s kind of like everything you don’t learn in college.

 

The Colbert Report	Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Salman Khan
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

 

Look around the world and you will see other countries and cultures that are doing a better job at education than we are here in America. It’s amazing how India has mass-produced an education system that is uplifting their entire country (at least that’s my take on it). It’s fascinating to me how accessible education is to people around the world who want to learn on their own (for free!)

FYI – I attended the University of Michigan. I had a blast. Formed amazing life-long friendships. Loved living in Ann Arbor. Partied. Spent two productive years in their business school. Tried to take advantage of all that the school had to offer. But I’m not sure how much it was actually worth. Just because it was as fun as summer camp doesn’t mean it was priceless (at least not economically). In fact, I often think of the opportunity cost. What would I have accomplished if I did something else with my time and my parents $100K besides college from the formative age of 18-22. Could I have invested my tuition money and then even earned enough money on top of that to support myself (an important life lesson!). Could I have traveled the world? Joined the Peace Corps? Experienced eight different 6-month internships to cultivate my life passions. I’m not sure. But I’m left thinking the next generation should and will do it even better.

]]> http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/2011/08/31/education-is-bugging-me-out/feed/ 0 http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/2011/07/07/college-c-r-e-a-m-get-the-money/ http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/2011/07/07/college-c-r-e-a-m-get-the-money/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:20:06 +0000 Litty http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/?p=604 After my last blog post, it should come as no surprise that I’m about to share an idea that’s bouncing around in my head. It’s happened before on this blog as I’ve pontificated a gambling website to bet on anything and a twitter-based fantasy sports game (for which we actually built a prototype). One of my first blogs (quickly defunct – nobody cared), Digital Epiphanies, was based on my different business ideas (check out my goofy Einstein graphic header).

 

Part #1: Revolutionize how colleges and universities raise funds from their alumni base.

I’ll start with my own experience. Despite thousands of pieces of mail (some notes hand written, some fake hand-written) delivered to my parent’s house (guess I haven’t updated my address) in the last ten years I’ve yet to make a substantial donation to my precious alma mater, the University of Michigan. I’ve even the school a pretty penny on the postage and printing costs of all that ineffective collateral.

I love the University of Michigan (Go Blue kids). It played a starring role in four great years of my life. I’m a beaming proud graduate of it’s business school. I’m a huge fan of Michigan athletics. I’d happily support my school through monetary donations …as soon as I figure out what’s in it for me.

Here’s what I’m “buying” from Michigan at this point in my life.

1) Recognition. Allow my peers, especially my classmates, to see that I’m donating to our prestigious university and to be commended for it.
2) Access. Cultivate a better relationship with my school, faculty and other alumni.
3) Gratification. It feels good to contribute to something that I love.
4) Philanthropy. I’ll throw this in there although I’ve read to much Ayn Rand to believe anyone does anything for purely philanthropic reasons.

The problem is that right now I receive none of these things when I make a donation to my school. Perhaps it’s because I’m not donating enough cash. If I added four or five 0’s to my check I’m sure the school would find somebody to kiss my ass.

Do you feel the same way about giving to your college?

There is also a big problem to solve for schools in how they solicit and generate new funds. Look no further than the 2008 presidential election to see how the fundraising landscape is radically changing. Large donors are being overwhelmed by the thousands of small donors who can easily make an online donation and then quickly “share” their cause with their networks on the web.

It took me just a few minutes on Google to learn that the college fundraising landscape is stale. According to the Council For Aid To Education, private donations to American colleges and universities have stayed flat at around $28BN annually over the last five years. The percentage of alumni who give continues to decline, dropping under 10%. Many schools, both big and small, are struggling to increase their endowment or even effectively reach and engage their alumni base.

So it’s only natural that alumni fundraising will go digital in a big way. My guess is that it hasn’t already because of the bureaucracy of academia. Schools are slow to innovate. The alumni relations department probably lacks any kind of significant technology budget. I’m sure that the direct mailers raise more money than emails blats (why else would they do it?). I’d even bet that hand-written note gimmick works to some degree on lesser cynics than myself. But shouldn’t schools be taking a page from the Ron Paul playbook and figure out how to use this Facebook thing more effectively?

I’d love to see a platform in which anytime I donated to the University of Michigan it was tracked online. I’d be able to be grouped or even compete with friends or my former classmates. I’d have more control of when, how and where I made my donations. As I hit specific benchmarks I’d unlock everything from virtual gifts, to networking opportunities with other alumni, meetings with professors, or tickets at the Big House. I’d like more control of how my donation is allocated or at least propose new fundraising campaigns (heated seats in the Big House or free tattoos for our athletes!). Alert me when my school makes me proud and I’ll text a few bucks. It’s almost like a Donorschoose (a website I’ve blogged about before and for which I’m a big fan) for colleges meets social gaming platform (think Zynga).

It would be ideal to partner directly with the colleges. Have them share their alumni database and watch the donations multiply. Make it turnkey for them. But I’m not even sure if that’s necessary. If there is a way to create a better value proposition to alumni they’ll give you their money to give to their universities. There’s good money in being a middleman and processing the transaction (I’m learning that now with LeagueApps).

Part 2: Use this new fundraising platform to expose and decimate the NCAA.

Like Rommel (an interesting general I’ve recently been reading about), I’ll strike deftly and strategically.

I’d like to enable fans to make donations on behalf of individual players. For example, I could pledge money to UM each time Denard Robinson scores a touchdown or if Michigan beats Ohio State. Heck, we all get to become boosters. Shoelaces would be entitled to a percentage of that revenue. To keep the sanctity of college athletic amateurism/corruption, he would only be able to access these funds after completing his enrollment at the University in good standing. If he does not claim his share it would revert back to the school fund. This would democratize college athletics as the players that are most popular would receive the most benefits…. legally. Schools and conferences wouldn’t even have to share their current booty!

I recognize that you might think the second part of this idea is lunacy. Taking on a huge and powerful organization like the NCAA is destined for failure and probably doesn’t make much business sense. But that is why this is an idea. It’s daring. It gets to the core of something that has been gnawing at me for as long as I can remember — the hypocrisy and bullshitty claim of amateurism that stains one of my favorite things in the world – big time college sports. The NCAA model is a farce. It needs to be broken and it kills me that nobody ever puts up a challenge. At the very least, this will get great pr (true, it might also scare off school partners).

Ideas should be big. They should solve one’s own problems; make your own dreams come true. Helping universities raise money is swell. Going after the NCAA is as tantalizing as it gets for me. I can see myself spending all of my time working on that and staying motivated.

Let me know your thoughts. I’ve shared this with a bunch of people so far and most have had a lukewarm reaction. Everybody thinks the NCAA part is foolish. My buddy Wayne, an exception salesman, is the first person to really get into it and we’ve been bouncing ideas back and forth. I’m using this blog post to continue to learn about this world. So share your thoughts and your networks and maybe one day this will be more than an idea.

I’ll leave with this most famous Blue Chips rant about college athletics from Coach Pete Bell. Fine piece of cinema and speaks the truth! One day we’ll get QB1 at Michigan a fully loaded Lexus!

]]> http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/2011/07/07/college-c-r-e-a-m-get-the-money/feed/ 0 http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/2011/07/04/ideas-about-ideas/ http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/2011/07/04/ideas-about-ideas/#comments Mon, 04 Jul 2011 20:40:14 +0000 Litty http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/?p=599 If you have a good idea, share it. Connect with every smart person that you know and bounce it off of them. You will learn pretty quickly if your opportunity has real merit. You might even get some help, advice and inspiration from others.

Nothing gets me more than having someone tell me that his or her idea is top secret. Trust me Einstein, your idea has been thought up by others. You need to be figuring out why it hasn’t already been done before. If it’s SO obviously a sure fire home run than it would probably already be happening.

What are you going to do to make your idea a reality? How are you going to overcome the countless obstacles, missteps and new challenges to launch something of value? The English cartoonist Ashleigh Brilliant commented that “Good ideas are common – what’s uncommon are people who’ll work hard enough to bring them about”.

In thinking about new opportunities try to focus on creating a solution to a real problem. If you personally experience the problem – that’s even better. It will keep you motivated as the going gets tough.

It’s highly unlikely that someone will steal your idea and act on it. The mathematician and computer pioneer Howard Aiken said “Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down peoples throats”. Even if they do, then hats off to them. They’ve done all the hard work. I’ll take that risk in order to get early feedback and support. If anyone shares an idea with me there’s a good chance I’ll happily spend 5-10 minutes of free flowing feedback right then and there. If it’s well thought out and you flash some passion I’ll want to further discuss the opportunity and see how I might be able to help.

People get caught up on the idea. They’ve had or are waiting for an epiphany of brilliance. But the true beauty is in the execution. There is an old Buddhist proverb that “An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” I say no duh to that.

I like to check out the website Springwise. It reviews cool, innovative businesses ideas that are already operational. Each review makes me kind of wish I would have been the one to have done it.

Don’t be surprised if others aren’t as into your idea as you are. The psychiatrist Carl Jung, a man who had lots of ideas about people’s ideas, once said “Everyone is in love with his own ideas.”

Don’t let anyone talk you out of it either though. The science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke said “New ideas pass through three periods: 1) It can’t be done 2) It probably can be done, but it’s not worth doing 3) I knew it was a good idea all along!”. The early naysayers and haters will jump on the bandwagon. They always do.

Finally, I’ll leave with one last quote from Swami Vivekananda. The Swami was a Hindu spiritual monk and a disciple of the great Sri Ramakrishna of Calcutta.

“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced.”

]]> http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/2011/07/04/ideas-about-ideas/feed/ 0 http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/2011/05/26/israel-news-from-the-source/ http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/2011/05/26/israel-news-from-the-source/#comments Fri, 27 May 2011 03:24:57 +0000 Litty http://www.blog.littyhoops.com/?p=585 I closely follow the current events in Israel. A lot happened last week. I wasn’t sure what to make of these new developments. More concerning to me, I wasn’t sure where to turn to help make sense of it all.

So I tried something a bit different. I blocked out all the bloviaters, bloggers and pundits. Instead I watched full and unedited speeches by the politicians who are in power.

And what do ya know, as I watched these speeches in their proper context I was able to better understand the issues, get better clarity around the different arguments and form my own opinions and viewpoints.

I’m over the media. I’ll curate news for myself from now on.

This is President Obama’s initial policy speech that he made last Thursday (5/19).

 

The very next day Obama met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu at the White House.

 

Over the weekend, the annual AIPAC Policy Conference was held in Washington, DC. AIPCAAC is America’s Pro-Israel Lobby group. Below is the speech by President Obama.

 

Also at the AIPAC conference, is thisspeech by Tzipi Livni, who is the leader of the opposition (Likud) party and a former Mossad agent.

Finally, I watched the speech by Benjamin Netenyahu to Congress on Monday.

Please share any primary news worth watching from those with power or influence.

The IPO made a bit of a splash in the news since it’s both the first digital media and venture-backed company to go public in this recent digital upswing. In the last few weeks LinkedIn, Pandora and Active Network (the largest company in recreational sports space) all have filed for IPO’s so this very well could be the start of a new, perhaps bubbly, trend. I’m not sure how this will all play out. Legendary early stage investor Alan Patricof drops some knowledge on the current state of the IPO market.

I steer clear of investing in individual stocks in the public markets. I’m suspicious about how the markets work. I still can’t get a solid explanation of how quant trading influences stock prices and what constitutes insider trading. I decided long ago that I’ll leave the fun and games to the hot shot finance guys on Wall Street.

But these digital companies interest me because, well, they’ve always interested me. I read approximately 40 tech/digital media blogs on a daily basis through my Google RSS reader. A key part to working in the fast-paced digital world is keeping up with all of the industry news. I breath, sleep, read and blog this stuff.

So I want to put on my virtual Armani suit and Berluti shoes and share some of my thoughts on Demand Media.

Demand Media calls itself an online media company but it’s really just a damn good content farm. Content farms are the cutesy term given to websites that generate lots of very cheap content specifically designed to rank highly on Google searches. These types of sites receive most of their visitors from people entering popular terms and then clicking on the top results. Often the user doesn’t realize or even care what website that they are on. The large amounts of web traffic are monetized through advertising, affiliate fees or lead generation. Read this article from WIRED for a fascinating look into Demand Media’s strategy. Compare it to a bar in Times Square. It doesn’t necessarily have to provide a good experience and doesn’t even need to do much marketing because it’s going to get a new wave of street traffic every day from tourists (and whoever else hangs out in Times Square) with a high DEMAND for a drink.

The content farm strategy has become popular because it’s a formulaic way to monetize content. It’s challenging, expensive and unpredictable to build large web audiences through sticky, engaging content. Besides a few major media brands like ESPN and the NY Times, most digital content publishers (including AOL SEED, Yahoo’s Associated Content) have employed some kind of SEO (search engine optimization) content farm strategy.

There’s a big fat under belly of the internet in which you can use all types of tricks and hacks to manipulate the flow of traffic. Demand is good at this. It’s in their company DNA. Their CEO, Richard Rosenblatt, helped launch MySpace using many of the same traffic-driving voodoo tricks. He knows how to do this. DM is not encumbered by trying to create quality content or trying to retain users.

Since Demand’s websites rely almost exclusively on Google to provide a fire hose of traffic it stands to reason that they must stay in Google’s good graces. Yet Google just announced they want to put an end to “gaming” of their search results (many believe this was directed at Demand Media and their digital agrarian friends). If you interested to stay abreast of how Google deals with SPAM and their search results then follow Googler Matt Cutts and his blog.

Before you eTrade it up and short shares of Demand realize the dynamics at play here. While Google has to organize the world’s information, Demand just has to figure out how to make a tweak here or there to stay in the search results and be the “best click” on Google. It’s like how every time the IRS changes the tax code, the savvy tax accountants always figure out a new loophole for their clients.

As I did some quick research for this blog post almost every article I read was negative. Apparently Demand hasn’t yet conquered the search results for “Demand Media IPO”. Yes, some of the negativism comes from the bleeding-heart journalists who gripe that the apocalyptic end of quality journalism is upon us. Others question how Demand will survive if Google has a Bulls Eye on them.

I see it a bit differently. Demand is smart enough to continue to stay ahead of the traffic curve. Demand will remain successful in driving traffic to their network of sites and will even figure out ways to expand their network through acquisitions and network effects. Even if Google tweaks its search algorithms Demand will still beat out other websites that have objectives other than just trying to optimize for search rankings.

But there are three reasons why I’m down on Demand.

1) In the short term, more content farms will pop up leading to more direct competition at the top of the search results.

2) As content farms grow in prominence they will get a bad rap (it’s already happening). Consumers will become more weary of this subpar content. Advertisers will no longer be willing to pay the premiums that Demand’s direct sales team is peddling. Instead Demand will be viewed as Ad Network traffic and will watch it’s CPM’s quickly shrink. It will get much more difficult to monetize.

3) If content farms continue to dominate search results users will begin to use other methods besides search to find information. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter will become more efficient ways to find what you are looking for. People you know will replace the little hamsters spinning on wheels in Google’s server rooms. Yeah, for this to happen Google will take a big hit. But more than anything, this further proves out the point that Demand is just capitalizing on an abnormality in the search market. Kudos for them for taking advantage of it but there’s no reason to expect this inefficiency to last.

Although not yet profitable, Demand Media’s valuation is $1.5 Billon. Blogger Peterk Kafka explains how that is a higher valuation then the NY Times. If you had asked me a few weeks ago to estimate Demand Media value I probably would have said $100MM. That’s around the same price that Yahoo acquired Associated Content (another content farm) for last May. The major difference is that DM does a better job monetizing/selling their content to advertisers while Associated Content focused on the content creation and distribution.

I’ve looked over Demand Media’s S-1 filing (a new hobby of mine). First off, 40% of Demand Media’s revenue is from their domain registry business. This is a low-margin no frills business that is very separate than the media part of their business. You might expect Demand Media is printing money with their laser focused formula on aggregating and monetizing content. But that’s not the case. They haven’t been able to SPAM their way to profitability even with annual revenues reaching about $200MM.

Ultimately, although I’m impressed by their business strategy innovation I’m down on the company. Demand Media doesn’t create value for any of it’s customers or stakeholders. It’s hard to get behind a company whose whole existence is based on an arbitrage move on the market. It feels like Richard Rosenblatt is running a scheme as shaky as Rich Rodriguez system at Michigan. Users seem to be better off clicking on a different search result. Advertisers willing to pay a premium will see better performance on sites with better content. Both these things will happen (they already are happening). When it does I’m not sure what Demand will do.

I’ll continue to follow DM and interested to see how this all plays out. I’m sure I’ll keep my eye on the stock price as well. BTW, If Littyhoops was an analyst that farted out lofty projections he might say Demand Media would fall to less than $10 per share within the next 12 months.

In just one week Stacey has sold over 850 calendars. It’s a staggering amount and more than she could have ever imagined. Her new goal is to sell 1000 and I know she would be delighted if you could help her get there.

I’ve had a front row seat (or at least an open IM conversation window) since before she launched and have been rooting her on. I love to see people challenge themselves in an entrepreneurial way. Stacey works for a company that does custom promotional/gift product distribution. Her friend Stephanie is a talented photographer. Creating a cool calendar makes lots of sense. I also love to see people put their time and effort into things they are passionate about. It seems like the personal reward is always there no matter if the outcome or result goes your way. If you talk to Stacey you will see she has the fire in her to make this work.

If one of Stacey’s goals was to inspire it certainly has rubbed off on me.

Over three years ago I blogged about wanting be more involved in a philanthropic cause. I wanted to devote some of my time to a project that was more selfless. I wanted to work with family and friends that I may never have a chance to work with in my professional career. I wanted my time to be spent on something I helped create rather than contribute to something I might not be passionate about.

I’ve been thinking about this for years trying to formulate exactly how I want it all to come together…and then to muster up the courage to go out and do it. A few months ago I emailed my friend Kras sharing some of the themes, ideas, and goals I wanted to achieve through the organization I wanted to create. Kras is measured and thoughtful so it took him some time to warm up to the idea. After a bunch of conversations I think we are very much on the same page and both excited to move forward in 2011. When I received Stacey’s original note the first thing I did was forward it on to Kras with some more thoughts to incorporate into our plans.

One of my major life goals for 2011 will be to try and get this project off the ground. I’m partly writing this blog post as another way to motivate and challenge myself to follow through on this goal. I hope to be sharing more information with you, as well as asking for your support, contribution, passion and skills in the near future. Stay tuned…and buy a damn calendar!

I’m just now getting around to figuring out how I should share this pirate’s booty. My original idea was to donate to – an awesome organization that allows people to pick specific projects to help fund school and classroom needs. (I wrote about Donor’s Choose here) I’m still definitely going to hook up a few of there projects and probably focus on literature, sports or math projects in NYC schools. If you spend over $100 to help fund a project all the students in the classroom will write you a thank you card. How sweet is that. I’m already saving some space on my fridge.

But I wanted to open this up to all of you readers. If you have a good cause that you support, I’d be happy to donate $36 to it. Just send me an email about the organization and how I can donate. I’d even like to do it in your name or honor. It would be great to hear why the cause is meaningful to you. Better yet, if you make the request as a comment to this blog post (for all to see) I’ll donate $50.

As I spend some time reflecting over the Jewish holidays and doing my all to get Littyhoops inscribed in the Book of Life, I’m kind of bummed out that I have yet to be more directly involved in philanthropic activities. I jotted down some thoughts about how I wanted to do this in a blog post but that was over three years ago and there’s been very little movement on my part. I even made a secret goal for 2011 to raise at least $2K for charity and right now I’m only a quarter of the way there. Perhaps this is the first stop on my tzedakah train. Perhaps your projects or cause will inspire me. I sure hope so.

Shana Tova Homies.