Mods: Can I get an Anchor if yall see fit?

So I've been playing with this idea for a minute. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has thought about this while spending countless hours posting and arguing here.

On a basic level, we as a community, have the perfect resources to make this work:
-smart people
-smart people who are passionate about sports
-not so smart (but extremely funny) people who are passionate about sports
-good writers (im not one of them)
-Techy guys who could help with technical logistics for running/recording podcasts/running a site.
-photographers
-guys who are good on the mic
-dissenting opinions
-a slew of topics
-experts in every sport imaginable. We even have guys who know horse racing/poker
-we also cover every major region/fanbase in the US --except for maybe Utah.
-guys with a lot of time on their hands
-guys who arent just sports guys but have
-even though unofficially, we are tied by a bigger online community in OKP--so were not completely starting from scratch.
-I imagine we have a huge network if we starting looking at our individual 6 degrees.

All this seems pretty easy, but I know its not. I've seen so many similar ideas online over the years on various sites flop. Ideas seem great because they don't require work and deadlines so you get a bunch of people rallying behind it for a couple weeks, but then it all falls apart when the initial excitement drops when people actually have to do something besides their regular posting routine.

I mean to make this work-we'd have to find a way for this to be manageable for everyone interested. It wont last long if one or two people are trying to do everything.

I think we have the ability to do this but I guess step one is figuring out who is interested in contributing and how:


Why am I interested? Yall know I love sports almost as much as I love my firstborn. I spend a lot of time here talking about sports cause thats what I love to do. Ive tried a couple times to get a blog going myself, but I'm honestly just not that good of a writer and making deadlines on my own is like pulling teeth for me. But I actually love this idea--and the idea of making it a network for sports coverage that we would al enjoy.


Some ideas ive for it.
Podcast: I think this can eventually become the main feature of what we do. We could do a show pretty regularly. Im thinking 3-5 times a week. This would be a chore if it was the same guys doing it every night, every week, every season but I think with enough participation we could run a rotating schedule.

It would be nice to have 1-2 guys who could consistently "host" the show (albeit not necessary) and be more of the play by play/straight guy who keeps the show moving and on track. Kinda like Dave Jacoby does for jalen Rose.


Blog, with all the guys here it shouldnt be hard to get consistent content. It doesnt have to be a long article everyday. Game recaps, game previews, Sporting event of the night. analysis of gambling lines.

Then just articles. Imagine a good Walleye baseball piece, or a Vex boxing piece ( i know he has his own blog), but also editorial pieces like OE talking about good sports writing by DFW, or Basa's celing post. hell those could also be podcast topics.

I actually think sometimes podcasts and sports media spend too much time talking about whats current rather than focusing on more "timeless" topics. In the world of fast paced media, i sometimes dont wanna listen to the latest podcast that came out 3 days ago cause you guys are spending 75% of your show talking about Manti Teo, but Ive moved onto Tuesday and ive been bombed with Manti Shit since Friday.


We'd definitely need a twitter feed which several people could contribute to ...maybe even a tumblr or pinterest page where we post different categories of highlights not just from the night before--but our favorite... of all time and make that a podcast topic one day.



Anyhow, whos interested: what could you do. Inbox me if you wanna keep it private and ill see what we have. If youre in post a general sense of what your areas of expertise are:

Like I said, I love yall but knowing the online world im not expecting much---but feel like its a possible missed opp if I dont even try to wrangle this together.

Jeremy Lin
Jeremy Lin
Asian Athletes
NBA
NFL
MMA/UFC
Prolly just Pac 10 basketball these days
Sports gambling
Fantasy Football and Basketball

>Prolly just Pac 10 basketball these days

Just fuckin w/ ya...I keep forgetting it's the Pac 12 now too

Great idea & I'd love to contribute on some Seattle shit when this gets goin

I will stay abreast.

There's a pretty wide scope of people on here that bring something different to the table.

That's probably while I'm on here all the time. That and I work from home now, so what else am I gonna do.

We could definitely get something going on some Grantlandish type tip.

>There's a pretty wide scope of people on here that bring
>something different to the table.

Even the views I dont agree with would be great for the standard sports talk formula.


>
>That's probably while I'm on here all the time. That and I
>work from home now, so what else am I gonna do.

I find that I can just refresh this site to stay up to date on most sports news around the country. Sometimes were a little slower than Rotoworld and twitter, but not far behind--+ you actually get some opinions and back and forth behind it.
>
>We could definitely get something going on some Grantlandish
>type tip.

I agree--at its best thats the type of potential I see (of course with better writing, right O_Editer-in-chief?). But thats a long way away from now.


Of course along the way theres also issues of workload, equity, $$$$, popularity, jealousy...but we'll cross those bridges once Ive seen weve drawn enough interest. Otherwise it isnt even worth hashing all that out yet.

http://tinyurl.com/b7tnawr

We need someone/a very small circle of people
to be able to tell Orbit_Established that his jokes
are bad and articles suck.

That is the problem with Grantland -- the personalities
outweigh the talent.

I actually don't think OKS regulars have that problem,
but management is key.

I'm not lazy at all, and will help however I can, because
I love my niggas

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

n/m


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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

then finishing off with a 'YOU MAD'"

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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

O_E's weekly "why for art thou?" review of mad-making
the "ass juice with piss ice cubes" all_stah review of the dumbest decision of the week

add on
-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

On someone who needs to calm the fuck down

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

for O_E to sign off on his mad column.

Might be the single finest modern pro-manhood
treatise ever written

Doubt it was archived

Wish it was


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

you don't have to be obsessive like me or anything, but if can't watch a game here or there each week...yeah, something is up.

and i HATE dudes who try to flip it and make it like something wrong with you if you prefer sports over social activities or WOMEN...like "you turnin' down some ass for a game, dogg? hahahahaha...what your problem?"...oh, i got the problem? like gettin ass is still a high priority pursuit for me? even before i was married, i'd choose a game over ass...ass can WAIT! if you REALLY REAL, you got ass lined up AFTER the game...and if you really really REALLY REAL, you can get ass while watching a game.

From Day 1, it's been like that. From when you was playing football or basketball on the playground. And there was one cat chilling only with the girls or the Double Dutch nigga.

That's how it all starts.

If you could re-visit that guys life right now, he's into some other shit. Guarantee.

I quote him/reference him almost as much as anyone
I actually know.

And I break out into crying tears laughter when I
think of his post about how his apartment got swallowed
in Howard Homecoming...the image of Walleye looking out
his window at gangs of dressed-up black folks sends me
into hyperventilation

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

He's the best poster on the board, please do not ask him if He Mad Son.

>He's the best poster on the board, please do not ask him if
>He Mad Son.

Ever.



----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

i started to do it once, checked who the poster was and assumed i was wrong. I'm sure i was lol.

Walleye is good people. The crazy part is that he's actually SMARTER than he seems on the board.

cuz that's just dumb. shit, i didn't even try snarking him and I still get embarrassed by that one pedroia post for mvp.

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

He sorta stopped, though

Don't know if "goes in" is the right phrase

He just don't be in the mood for all that chatter

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

just talking shit and doing boxscore analysis if his mic voice is as curmudgeonly/drunk uncly as his posting voice.

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

i think ive mentioned to him once or twice, but i don't know how interested he really is in it.
i'd read his columns way before i'd read a lot of national baseball writers though.

i'd ban him from trading with the twins.

The combined talents of this board would basically create a better version of Grantland in my opinion. At a bare minimum more entertaining.


I'm in for writing and editing. I have some free time that I would love to contribute to something like this.


My unbelievable credentials can be found at my MSPaint sports creative blog: Little Happy Clouds. Short stories, poetry, songs and killer mspaints of random sports shit.

http://littlehappyclouds.blogspot.com/

or one of them.

also down to talk futbol (all_stah, you down? cmon. tell me that wouldn't be epic. and the continual debate over patriotism and sports might be interesting too...even as my anti-american views on the game have weakened because I like the MLS).

honestly, i'm more of a generalist than someone who's so deep into anything that i warrant "expert" status, but i'm down to try. i'm also far less funny in real time and i'm not that humorous on here. plus my voice sucks on the mic.

wait, why am i down to do this again?

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

We should have a column where we invent random/stupid
advanced metrics out of thin air, and argue why they
are relevant (they won't be, and we won't really think
so)

Yikes that's not really a bad idea

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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Call it The Guinness book of dumb records?

it'd also be fun to find stats that are good that have really bad applications (like the ws/48 comparison between AI and Anthony Mason someone posted up when I said WS is an incomplete stat)

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

>Call it The Guinness book of dumb records?
>

Would we then be indirectly taking shots at Guinness and Grantland?

and taking a shot at his employer.

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

>Call it The Guinness book of dumb records?

This sounds fun. But I'd be a minor contributor at best, just cause of time constraints, really.

But this is a great idea and this is consistently one of the best boards around on the internet so I think you're dead on here.

Which means they'd have to be involved or else
this shit would get sued within days



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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

unless Basa is sittin waiting to set us up for the Okie Doke lawsuit once we blow up.

His podcast really is among the very best sports
podcasts on the web

Listening to the most recent show today...those
guys are fucking ON IT.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

are my top two go-to podcasts but Combat Jack it's really based on the guest.

When it's a Raekwon interview chopping up about his career & creative process, I'm enthralled.

When it's a day like last week where the guest cancels at the last minute, I'm not really that interested in the general staff banter.

Same thing with Juan Epstein, times a hundred because Rosenberg grates on my nerves at times.

I've heard some decent comedian podcasts on WTF with Marc Maron as well but it's not something I listen to regularly.

Fiyastarter is the only one where I'm listening for the discussion between hosts.

It's long as fuck but I like that, gives me something to put down & come back to or if there's a topic I'm not that interested in (the ratchet reality-show breakdown stuff in particular isn't really my thing because I don't watch those shows) then I can skip forward while still being treated to more entertaining content in terms of running time than other podcasts.

The Rae joint was good. And the one with Ebro too.

F.S. though, I get up at 5:30 a.m. make sure I don't have any early morning meetings so I can go uninterrupted and get some coffee and just laugh.

But like I said, I don't think of it as a just a Sports podcast. I think of the Jalen Rose and BS Report as just sports joints.

FS is smart funny brothas touching on different aspects of pop culture.

>The Rae joint was good. And the one with Ebro too.
>
There's tons of good ones, Fab 5 Freddy was great. Redman. Young Guru. Elliott Wilson. Bun B. Big Boi. Cormega. AZ.

>F.S. though, I get up at 5:30 a.m. make sure I don't have any
>early morning meetings so I can go uninterrupted and get some
>coffee and just laugh.
>
>But like I said, I don't think of it as a just a Sports
>podcast. I think of the Jalen Rose and BS Report as just
>sports joints.
>
>FS is smart funny brothas touching on different aspects of pop
>culture.

Agreed on all that.

I just think he was a lot better before he became an ESPN regular. I guess he could go harder back then.

I ain't mad at him though.

I don't mess with the Evening Jones anymore though, not sure if it's still going.

>Fiyastarter is the only one where I'm listening for the
>discussion between hosts.
>
>It's long as fuck but I like that, gives me something to put
>down & come back to or if there's a topic I'm not that
>interested in (the ratchet reality-show breakdown stuff in
>particular isn't really my thing because I don't watch those
>shows) then I can skip forward while still being treated to
>more entertaining content in terms of running time than other
>podcasts.

Yeah, my only problem with Fiyastarter is the discussion
of shows I don't watch/aint familiar with but sometimes
that's good because I'm now plugged into pop culture shit
without having to watch

Gotta skip some of the movie reviews re: spoilers too

This is what keeps me a week behind on Frank's podcast
too which is fantastic otherwise

But other than that, the length is fine...I basically
listen over the course of the week


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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

I don't watch either that religiously anymore. But it's always something I want to see and plan on seeing.

That's why I can't do Frank's either. I did mess with the Award show joint. I just download off of GP.

i hate when tone and kenny start talking about that stuff, man

I'll start going through emails or posting on OKP with it on in the background during that time & your voice will snap me back to the show knowing that y'all probably are about to move to something else.

The shit that's great about the FS podcast is that it touches everything. Sports is a minor part of it.

Unless Shawn intends on this joint to have a Porn Star rankings and Tanks. Then yeah, B, K-Badd, and TKO are gonna lawyer up. And I was never a part of this shit, or I'm saying Kareem Akbar was the ring leader and he threatened to kill my mother if I didn't contribute.

fwiw

in the infant stages tho

He's probably a Baptist minister at this point

(honestly hope dude is okay, apparently he had
some troubles years back...I'm sure he is)


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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

If I got to do the "Worst White Athlete/Tebow of the Week" column
____________________

Behold my works,ye mighty

>If I got to do the "Worst White Athlete/Tebow of the Week"
>column



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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

____________________

Behold my works,ye mighty

i guess leave the (e) out so it isn't so obvious.

picture with it could be a goofy ass white guy fly fishing.

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

http://www.colourbox.com/preview/2199167-308048-a-young-man-poses-with-his-fishing-reel-and-beer-cooler-isolated-over-white-in-studio-with-negative-space.jpg
____________________

Behold my works,ye mighty

anything more than that is getting into Grantland territory

White Thursdays.Asiatic Warrior Watch of Fridays.Taco Tuesdays or whatever.I think that works well
____________________

Behold my works,ye mighty

i liked the other one for the combo of fly fishing (WHITE!) and a c@ste reference that popped in my head.

but that's a lot of inside joke work that does end up being grantland-y.

(btw, u know one of their lurkers is freaking out right now, right?)

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

Ill split the cash with everyone who posted in here and we can just sit back and laugh about what could have been.
>
>(btw, u know one of their lurkers is freaking out right now,
>right?)
>
>-----------
>It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.


Either that or they are sitting back laughing at us...taking office pool bets on how long we last before we crash and burn knowing how hard of an operation this is to really accomplish.

Just saying. He's not gone, just hibernating.

____________________

Behold my works,ye mighty

I don't post about much of anything else on these boards, but I can go deeeeeeep on rooting for shitty teams. Lions, Mets, Knicks, Islanders...if a team can claim to be the most bumbling, inept, embarrassing clusterfuck of a franchise in their entire sport, you can bet I know them inside and out.

I have really good friends from each city; I talk to
each once a week about sports. They compete for who
sounds the most depressed.

I actually think Detroit is more cursed than Cleveland.

Cleveland just seems to have bad luck more than anything
else

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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

The Red Wings have had tremendous success in the last 20 years--to a lesser extent, so have the Pistons. Multiple championships for both squads. The Tigers have been to a couple of recent World Series. I know the Lions are wretched, believe me, but that's still decent output for a city, across sports.

Cleveland, on the other hand...

You're right about Detroit doing just fine
in basketball in Hockey

Detroit wins overall


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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

I'm way too close to it to give a fair response. Depends on whether you think it's better to be so-close-yet-so-far, or just MILES-away-from-even-being-close.

We have two teams who will ever again have a shot at a title.


Then we have the Bucks
____________________

Behold my works,ye mighty

Prob NBA, NFL, MLB, and footy...If need be I'd be willing to watch other stuff in order to comment.

It's a hell of an idea
If I had the time or the writing skills, I'd do it...but I would definitely support what the board wants to create

where whoever is on has to one-line hate on an athlete. "Rondo's just a stat-padding turd who can't hit a free throw." "Ray Lewis is all deer antler, no heart" etc.



-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

Only for every sport.

Like the story could be about the superbowl and someone could come through with fuck Kobe

Is Pujols the best? someone comes in with a Melo's a bitch

Is Wade really "that" good? someone comes in with a fuck Tom Brady

Shit would be classic

maybe an SEC show with all the resident SPEED freaks

I'm sick of reading MLS blogs and thinking to myself, "I could produce better content than this" so I'm putting it in front of myself to put up or shut up in that regard.

I'd be happy to contribute if y'all saw a space for US soccer.

not really comfortable calling myself an expert on much besides Nic Batum at this point, but yeah -- I take in roughly 3-5 MLS matches a week during the season, attending as many live ones as I can. it's my goal to actually *write* about that a little, because the present landscape for that is too dry for my taste at this point.

I really want to get into the MLS


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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

so yeah -- it's my goal to stop just talking about it with friends and actually focus my energy in that regard (week long preseason tourney coming up in Portland mid-February is my first self-made deadline, gotta prep!)

soccer fan who is primarily MLS centric (you) vs. someone who adopted a euro squad and follows them (me/all stah/b9/whoever) as an american. it'd be interesting to see what and how the fan experience/focus/whatever differs or doesn't.

at least for one column/blogpost it could be.

i'd suspect the main point would be that it's not that different, except the MLS fan can actually see his/her squad more easily, while the euro guy gets to watch a slightly better game, learn about a new culture/history and should probably get an MLS team already because why the fuck not?

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

Love this idea

all the Vanguard of current MLS "supporters" (which have been amazing for the league, don't get me wrong) spend hours scouring youtube for videos of Euro fans and they try to replicate what they do.

but you know what?

I think the *better* analog for how MLS is working right now is actually hardcore NCAA fandom, because it's a regional pride that extends itself to a team.

so yeah -- that's a topic I've thought about pretty extensively, trying to explain why being an MLS fan doesn't mean you have to have a "second" team to whatever Euro side you adopted. it just means being AMERICAN and rooting for the shit in your backyard (even if you know it's not the best product available...)

I think they should keep the postseason and two conference setup, because that is how American sports leagues are set up. But I know the early days of MLS had golden goals and I think a game clock that went backwards, in part to make it more "American." Those needed to go, but what kind of balance do you think they need, if any?

I'm undecided on the whole Euro naming trend, most of them sound dumb (Sporting KC, Real Salt Lake,) but for some reason Toronto FC sounds natural to me. Plus, most of the non-NASL inspired American style names suck/ed (Burn, Clash, Wizards, Impact etc.)

I'm a big supporter of the playoffs and even the conferences but my impression is that I'm in a pretty staunch minority in that. if you're an American sports fan, though -- it just makes *sense*. and yeah, okay, the team who has the best regular season would "win the league" in other parts of the world. guess what? most Americans, even in our staunchly playoff bound sports, *remember* who had the best regular season. we *remember* who the #1 seed was. we judge the 72-win Chicago Bulls not just on their postseason but also on the fact that they got 72 wins.

so yeah the playoff issue to me is dope.

on the Euro naming trend? I think "Dallas Burn" is just as shitty and cringe-worthy as "FC Dallas," except in the instance of FCD at least we *know* we're talking about a soccer team, so that's a positive. "Dallas Burn" might as well be a lacrosse team as it is a soccer team. so ultimately it's up to each organization to strike the right balance, but it's not anything I have particularly hard feelings about either way.

mainly I just want it to be soccer -- 90m, 11 guys on the field, FIFA sanctioned and alla that -- but for it to have an American soul to it as well. the league presently is doing a very good job of that imo.

conferences and playoffs are good and needed. as long as they play 90 minute FIFA sanctioned games, that's should be about all that matters. the only thing i would like to see done is probably more attention should be given to the Supporters Shield winner. some kind of trophy presentation or something. maybe that might make it feel more important. other than that, i'm good.

who cares if they have silly names? most team names are silly. New Orleans Pelicans anyone?

and actually, it was your anti-college ball arguments (I think it was you) that made me realize i was being an elitist prick...because I thought you (or whoever it was) was being an elitist prick about basketball.

so i wasn't watching the union because "fuck that, they couldn't complete two passes in a row. I want that tiki-taka!" but once i recognized my fandom of barca and spain (by extension) could be due to how that style and that fan base inspired my interest in a sport i hadn't really cared about before, that didn't mean I had to tie myself only to that one reason to root for a team. the union's on TV here, they've got some decent young players, a stout backline, and now a coach who might have a halfway decent strategy to maximize their talent. I'm kinda intrigued to become at least a casual fan.

but i don't want to be a "son of ben" because it's so forced. like, goddamit, you're a philly team...how the fuck do you not use Philly anthems for your music? I know people like the "doop" thing and all, but imagine if their intro had been:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyBCSYSjWx4

i know, that's not the demographic they're going for blah blah blah, but i bet 5k coulda gotten a changed verse or something.

seriously...20k people screaming "PHILLY PHILLY! PHILLY'S WHERE WE'RE FROM!" would be ill.

union. period.

oh well.

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

>and actually, it was your anti-college ball arguments (I
>think it was you) that made me realize i was being an elitist
>prick...because I thought you (or whoever it was) was being an
>elitist prick about basketball.

sounds like my M.O. lol

>so i wasn't watching the union because "fuck that, they
>couldn't complete two passes in a row. I want that tiki-taka!"
>but once i recognized my fandom of barca and spain (by
>extension) could be due to how that style and that fan base
>inspired my interest in a sport i hadn't really cared about
>before, that didn't mean I had to tie myself only to that one
>reason to root for a team. the union's on TV here, they've got
>some decent young players, a stout backline, and now a coach
>who might have a halfway decent strategy to maximize their
>talent. I'm kinda intrigued to become at least a casual fan.

yeah, it's fun to just follow along, same way I'll go to Single A baseball games from time to time -- a good sporting event is a good sporting event.

>but i don't want to be a "son of ben" because it's so forced.
>like, goddamit, you're a philly team...how the fuck do you not
>use Philly anthems for your music?

the league is only 17-years-old so it's still very much finding its identity. even the Timbers Army (the pinnacle of "authenticity" at this point it would seem) is pretty forced no matter how much history they try and paint on it. I was going to the minor league games. I can recognize the faces of the hardcore soccer fans in Portland who made this crazy thing work because I saw them on a weekly basis in 2010. those aren't the faces you see in the TA any more, so yeah ... it's a growing league. it's why it's SO FUCKING OBNOXIOUS when the ugly, elitist American soccer fan tries to be a dick to people just curious about the league. we're kind of ALL just curious about the league right now, it's too young for many to be able to claim a real history, the more the merrier!

>I'm sick of reading MLS blogs and thinking to myself, "I
>could produce better content than this" so I'm putting it in
>front of myself to put up or shut up in that regard.
>
>I'd be happy to contribute if y'all saw a space for US
>soccer.
>
>not really comfortable calling myself an expert on much
>besides Nic Batum at this point, but yeah -- I take in roughly
>3-5 MLS matches a week during the season, attending as many
>live ones as I can. it's my goal to actually *write* about
>that a little, because the present landscape for that is too
>dry for my taste at this point.

or as the on-air equivalent of the 47 spaces before "u mad"

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

OE making 'em mad with me breathing heavy in the background.

did i just blow your mind?

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

but, for other reasons, obviously i'd hold white thursday down.

ours now...along with green tea, tea in general, and the concept of being "centered"

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

became a highly successful instructor making bank, we did.

we took the monetary part of it. that's all we ever care about anyway.

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

I've done it multiple times but I'm not quite sure what it's affect is other than the requisite placebo 'it seems healthy so I feel healthier' affect.

i've been meaning to, but have gotten around to it. my sense is that it falls on the less active, more meditative side, which squares with what you're saying.

Check it out...it's a good change of pace at least, esp if it's just an off-day or something.

It's a wordpress multi-network site and this is one thing I am trying to cater to. I already have a ton of excellent themes and plugins- all paid for, not pirated- so anything from a wiki to a Q&A to an OKS store is a snap to create. We could create several individual blogs within that network to focus on specific sports or whatever.

I already pay for the hosting and own my own domain, but it wouldn't have to be listed under my domain- I could just domain map it to it's own unique url. Or I can just setup a new network under whatever domain is chosen and still host it from my hosting account without it being under my existing site.

General areas of expertise: Things about Minnesota sports, white people (the same thing.)

I'm really intrigued by the "timeless" idea in the initial post, rather than everything being super timely. Looking into the past, X's and O's coaches vs motivational guys and the timelessness of these uniforms.

http://thesportshernia.typepad.com/blog/images/2007/05/09/bryant_reeves_true_stud.jpg

I don't think that could sustain the entire blog, but it would be a nice way to break up some of the recaps/previews/daily stuff (although that's absolutely needed.)

I initiate nothing but work hard as hell for nice
people. That's pretty much my thing. Shawn is a
grade A guy. I'm down.



----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

n/m

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

People that live off the land dont have wifi or ties from what I've heard.

Its 2013 fam

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

All that sand and traveling distorts the Apple RDF

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/jco/lowres/jcon3350l.jpg

like a weekly recap..could end up bein funny as shit..it would be cool if we had like an oks podcast network with different podcasts...

what I know:
Knicks
CBB Recruiting
NFC East Hate
NBA Business (hirings, firings, caps, contracts, etc.)

What I wanted to suggest, since the offseason player movement posts were so fun last summer, was a podcast on the 2012=2013 NBA trade deadline.

Do one a week as the deadline is coming up, discussing news and rumors and a recap after the deadline. That I'd be down for.

im a much better talker than writer and I work from home 3 days a week so phone time during the day works for me.

Everyone can pitch in.

-I'm not involved in journalism but I'm a good technical writer so I could help with editing content

-Can and will debate sports (and other) topics to death with cogent arguments when I'm INFORMED. I know on this board we get into it sometimes just to pop off, but it helps the discussion and would immediately elevate us above much that's out there if people actually KNEW what the fuck they were talking about rather than just saying outlandish shit for reaction. It's pretty easy to tell when people are playing to their strengths on here.

I hate the sound of my recorded voice (but supposedly a lot of people do) so would likely not want to hear any shit re-aired but that's my problem.


Like I said, time strapped right now, but will check on this from time to time and can always be inboxed in case I don't see something in this thread.

First of all, sorry if these sentiments have been echoed earlier in the post, but this thread has gotten pretty big quickly.

I think it's better to do it as a podcast. It's actually easier to do. Get like three people to record once a week for a set amount of time (probably max it out at one and a half to two hours). As Shawn said, make it the same core group of people each week, with maybe one or two "special guests" popping up after a few weeks. That gives the core team time to get some good chemistry. That's how other successful OKP inspired podcasts have worked out (e.g. Long and Late, Get Out the Room, etc.)

I worry about doing it as a blog. I actually think we have a wider audience for what we write right here, rather than trying to start up something completely new. I don't think written content should be off the table completely, but I think it might be better to look at the site as "Come for the podcast, read the content while you're here" rather than vice versa.

Take it for what it's worth.

>First of all, sorry if these sentiments have been echoed
>earlier in the post, but this thread has gotten pretty big
>quickly.
>
>I think it's better to do it as a podcast. It's actually
>easier to do. Get like three people to record once a week for
>a set amount of time (probably max it out at one and a half to
>two hours). As Shawn said, make it the same core group of
>people each week, with maybe one or two "special guests"
>popping up after a few weeks. That gives the core team time to
>get some good chemistry. That's how other successful OKP
>inspired podcasts have worked out (e.g. Long and Late, Get Out
>the Room, etc.)


I think for me the podcast is the main feature and how I originally conceived the idea, but yea. One of teh challenges with podcasts is staying on topic and not going TOO long. It happens far too often with podcasts cause guys just get to talking.

Id like to have discussions around current news stories--butlike I said in another reply I think that is flawed just because the speed in which news moves now. It really only works if we do a daily show--and even then were behind--unless we record at like 11pm EST.

Im thinking of a hybrid podcast/radio show.

We want it to be undpredictable and fun in content, but I think we also want to keep it predictable in terms of which hosts will be on. Sometimes you have substitutes, and sometimes you have guests come in but you dont want to just cover the daily news headlines and be predictable.

Figuring out this core group will be key.



>
>I worry about doing it as a blog. I actually think we have a
>wider audience for what we write right here, rather than
>trying to start up something completely new. I don't think
>written content should be off the table completely, but I
>think it might be better to look at the site as "Come for the
>podcast, read the content while you're here" rather than vice
>versa.



I somewhat agree with this sentiment but just look above at all the ideas. We cant always record podcasts so it would be great to be able to put out ALL these editorials, weekly features, and articles using all these great ideas....or else a lot of this just stays in post form/idea form wasteland.



If we get as many contributors as people who volunteered above--even in minor writing roles--we will have a lot of content. This may be grandiose but I imagine Bleacher Report/yahoo sports contributors with much MORE ORGANIZED, and of course more well written content

The hard part of the written part will be the editing. Im not necessarily the man for the job because I'm not the best writer myself, I can see myself getting soft on something that needs to get cut when someone put time and effort in it. But editing is going to be a big part of the site.

Someone needs to figure out a formula/way to translate OKS posts into good written blog posts. Then we'd be well on the road.

But yea I think a White Thursday written segment and Asiatic Warrior watch would be fun weekly features...but that wouldnt be what makes us...

>
>Take it for what it's worth.

around the podcast(s).

Not unlike what they do at Nerdist, only maybe with some longer, more thoughtful pieces once in a while.

But the podcast should be the driving force.

in blog form.

For example that running Super Mario Post. Everytime he does something new and awesome, that page gets updated, and its a running list/timeline.

not sure i could contribute much to the creative or tech side, but one thing that pisses me off is a poorly written document/article/whatever.

time contstraints are going to be a serious issue, but i will be keeping my hand up for the foreseeable future.

also: sad sports narrative start and end with MN.

(I'm a web developer and I dabble in content strategy & ux stuff)

I've wanted to write before {cfb/recruiting, us soccer x's and o's and youth development}

I've got editing chops.

Not sure what kind of time I would be able to put into something like this, but I'd like to hear more.

and ry to organize some of this.

There's far too many podcasts where two or three dudes just talk and talk and talk and talk. That's the issue even with the Fiyastarter podcast. They'd have a great podcast if they committed to being 60 minutes or less.

To do that, you'd have to keep it to two people (I guess doable) and keep the number of things you actually discuss to a minimum. And any guest you bring on would have to be there to discuss one specific thing. It can work, but can sometimes go against the point of having a podcast in general. I still say keeping to an hour and half is good.

i'd need like 8 or 10 of those..

Like,,, older shit? If not, I can put you on to thousands of hours worth of genuinely hilarious and entertaining material.

When it's a subject I'm not interested in, I wish a podcast would be shorter.

When it's a subject I'm interested in, I could listen to people talk all day.

Movie podcasts? College basketball podcasts? Shiiiiiiiiit.

There's always the option of just listening to one hour out of however many. If you have a longer podcast I think the key is to split it up so people could listen to favorite parts or a certain subject that's coming up. And try to do it clearly, like put "1:45 White Thursday segment" as much as it's feasible.

That forces the topics, the pace and the performance to be damn good, cuts away the useless fat.

Unless you have an actual out-size personality who says hilarious shit 24/7 and an equally interesting guest it's pushing it if you go past 8 minutes, which is longer than most talk radio segments and longer than a feature segment on a radio magazine show.

You have to be a really special communicator to hold someone's attention for an hour. I've never heard a podcast that kept me rapt past about 50 minutes. And I listen to a lot of podcasts and sports talk radio. I'm pretty sure no one here is good enough to talk about anything for that long, myself included.

I don't even think I could listen to a 90 minute conversation between Obama and the Rock.

There are tons of longer podcasts and downloadable shows that people enjoy on a regular basis. I think you're in the minority here, especially with the 7-8 minute thing. That's hardly a podcast at all to be honest. 7 minutes is an absolute joke, to be honest.

and then you have many topics/segments/guests.

that makes sense to me.
-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

Stick to Mike & Mike.

and not even worth the time

______________________
DJ Muggs - Bass For Your Face
Pusha T - Wrath Of Caine
The Pharcyde-Labcabincalifornia

But how many podcasts/radio talk programs feature one topic? They're usually going to be 2 or 3 even if it's a two-way.

Going beyond 8 minutes on one topic and keeping my attention requires superlative narratives and/or production skills.

One hour is a commute. 2 hours is a commitment.

More than 2 is an ordeal to sit through, but less than one isn't enough if you're doing it weekly.

45, in my mind, is about the minimum.

Here's the thing: If there are a lot of contributors, this should be lined up to have 2-3 separate shows with different angles and objectives. Obviously not right off the bat, but within a few months that's doable.

for a few months now almost every Giant Bombcast has been over 3 hours long and I really wouldn't care if they stretched to 4. They spend half that time not even talking about video games, instead making E-40 jokes.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
"I don't read pages of rap lyrics, I listen to rap music." © Bombastic
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

Blabbering on about nothing really bores me. I fast forward through the first 15-20 minutes of WTF each time.

I can't listen to morning show radio either.

Or PTI

It sounds like noise. I imagine that's what they play to the terrorists when they torture them.

so for me, a lot of it IS just background noise. but Bombcast makes me laugh every 10-20 minutes it feels like, or it just SOUNDs like compelling stuff, so I keep it on.

but my podcasts are generally pretty basic.

Bombcast (I exagerrated, there's a LOT of on-topic conversation, they just diverge often)
PTI
ATH when the stories the day before were good
Tony Kornheiser Show
WTF (I also skip the beginning and end, but that's just because I'm more interested in Maron's thoughts about himself riffing off other people, not when he's staring at a wall. when I was unemployed I didn't)
Mohr Stories (depending on guest)
B.S. Report (depending on guest)
Jalen Rose
Hollywood Prospectus EVERY so often, very rarely cause both guys kind of annoy me


so yea, it's mostly sports (since I don't have ESPN/cable, podcasts are my main source of any kind of sports information). But there are days where I'll fire up three Bombcasts (didn't start listening til about 2 months ago, so I'm catching up from 2008-forward just for nostalgia over games I never played), be 6 hours into my shift by the end of 'em and think, "PERFECT!".


But my point really was that I don't even really play video games other than 2K13, Rockstar (GTA) games and whatever I can get for free on Playstation Plus, and I'll STILL listen to a three hour podcast about games because of the people on it. I even watch all their videos on the site proper.


I think the personalities on OKS, as long as their voices and crosstalk were good, could easily go three hours on a topic.


Also, it's a HUGE (i can't emphasize that enough), HUGE pet peeve of mine when Simmons says "one more question and then we've seriously got to go" on his pod. I hear that on Jalen's show, too. I get it with Kornheiser 'cause that's just a radio show getting put on iTunes, but YOU HAVE AS MUCH TIME AS YOU WANT, ideally, Bill and Jacoby. With the nuggets Jalen drops, and the caliber of guests Simmons is capable of, I'm not sure why they're always so over-eager to crank out an hour and nothing more. They almsot sound like they feel guilty they're giving you 90 minutes on the rare occasions they do.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
"I don't read pages of rap lyrics, I listen to rap music." © Bombastic
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

I'm shocked about the concept of one lasting more than an hour.

I like a few that are about 30 minutes long and the really could stand to cut out 10 to 15 minutes.

I do like a few near hour long pods but because of that marathon listening they have to be great. When their show is a little off one week it often means I am so put off by the experience that I won't come back for months.

<--- Blind faith

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================
Occupy Big Government..

Fannie, Freddie dole out big bonuses
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67292.html

..considering the range of different schools that we have representation for here...

good idea.



______________________
DJ Muggs - Bass For Your Face
Pusha T - Wrath Of Caine
The Pharcyde-Labcabincalifornia

i do front-end (HTML, graphic design) stuff mostly although I want to get into mobile development as well.

i have other projects that I am a part of so I wouldn't be able to work exclusively on this, but if you all are serious about this I would be more than happy to offer technical / user-experience / project management advice.

it also might be a good idea to post in GD, if only because a project like this could REALLY be successful but I think it would need a team and some formalized structure to thrive beyond the initial hype factor.

one representative per team, so four guys total.

We'd do a draft recap, a preseason expectations episode, and then we'd record one weekly to go out on Tuesday that looks back out our team's game and looks ahead to the next week's game.

Which I hope to complete within a day or two. I wanna keep the energy alive and moving while we're in the moment without getting over zealous and rushing.

So many moving pieces and possibilities. And so many potential pitfalls if we don't come up with a sustainable model before really kicking this off. At the same time theres the danger of going back and forth forever to try and perfect this idea--when i believe some if the beat work like our posting is done more organically. Now I wish I woulda made this post like I planned at the beginning of Christmas break and used that 2 weeks I had off to organize this.

I knew there'd be an interest but even in shocked at how much interest this has generated off the bat. Aside from the great ideas and suggestions posted, I've gotten a number of inboxes that are offering to help get this moving. It's really exciting.

http://agendawars.listedcities.com/

Granted, this is very bare bones with. I wrote a couple of spoof articles and added a youtube and soundcloud post to show how simple it is to set all this up in wordpress. This iteration isn't very feature rich, but a few hours on a sunday morning and I can have a fully tricked out and branded community setup and ready to go.

Get a youtube channel, a twitter, and a soundcloud, and the site would be the hub for all of that content in addition to it's own written content.

I can setup users, authors, admins, avatars, messaging, friends, facebook like box, message board, twitter feed, and a grip of other features relatively quick. It's all pretty simple with Wordpress and the right plugins and themes.

As I said earlier, I can host it and create it without any problems whatsoever. I'm already setup for it. In fact, this mock-up was done through my site. Obviously I haven't launched yet and so my home page is nothing more than a mock-up itself, but I'm tinkering around the back and setting up basic networks.

Further, it's a multi-network setup, so people can create their own blog or site under the OKS brand or whatever. I can setup various access privileges, paid premium content, membership, whatever. I'm not a coder or designer or even a Wordpress expert by any means, but with all the themes and plugins out there all that's needed is the content and initiative. I can literally have this shit ready to go in a few days. I've even got a multi-database plugin to place every single blog or site on it's own database so that the site can scale on the fly if traffic grows quickly. I have a cloud hosting plan at Site 5, who have amazing live customer support 24 hours a day.

I realize not everyone will be on board with this particular approach, or the layout or whatever, but I've got a ton of other themes with various functions and layouts. This is just an example of how easy it is to setup a site like this with Wordpress. Even if you guys don't want to role with me to do this, I don't think developing a site from scratch is the most prudent, efficient, or effective way to go.... but that's just me.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

if I missed your name below or you didnt say anything but would still like to help, go to this google form and fill it out.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dFFEYzRfN3M0aF9fTHc0VXBlR2J5SVE6MQ
Mostly checkboxes, should take 5 minutes max. This doesnt tie you into anything---just gives me an idea of what we have.


Summary of who has volunteered so far below. Once you guys give me your emails I will share another spreadsheet Im working on with you

People who signed up to contribute
Basa
Real Billy Ocean
Longo
Jigga
O_E
TJT
Kajun
RyanM
Bomb
Beathustla
Cantball
Jayson Williams
LA2Philly
Kosher Sam
Clery
Bshelly
Cold Truth
Marauder
Jae Scott
madfapper
Beamer
SFmatt
HowieDooem

People who want to help/support in a smaller capacity
Ceej
Rex Longfellow
Cenario
Drizzit

People who we need to get on board
Walleye (lol this whole site hinges on Walleye being our superstar writer so someone go get him)
Vex id

with a link to this post. he'll find it. might be mad, but it'd work.

-----------
It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

guru, legacy, Tiger woods, WC, haj20 (might be missing one more)....you didnt quite yes, but I added you to a spreadsheet Im making anyways based on what I know about you.

Like I said write now nobody is excluded, if youre interested just fill out the google form. I just captured the names of guys who had replied by the time I made the post.

______________________
DJ Muggs - Bass For Your Face
Pusha T - Wrath Of Caine
The Pharcyde-Labcabincalifornia

those are my respective wheel houses and I am sure I could write or talk about either subject with confidence.

I can help with Dolphins/AFC east, LA Dodgers, as well as anything central Cali-related.

for the blogging portion of the site. I'm trying to learn how to make GIFs. It's easy enough to make a GIF out of a youtube video, but I'm more interested in making GIFs from NBA games that I can get on my broadband pass. I'd be willing to take requests assuming I can figure out how to do it easily enough.

It's been awhile since I've really dug in on MLB teams that aren't the Twins, but they still exist so I'm still paying attention.

so I can def help with that.

Also:

I'm offering to do any politics, social issues, gender, economics, with anyone else who's interested.

Also media criticism is a big hobby of mine.

No message

a message board..

lolololol....

I mean they have to be your cohosts

Thats the only traditional sports talk type show I will allow

I would consider doing an episode for fun....but you'd have to add more of my adversaries than those 3 because slaying those guys would be too easy....

lolololol...

with another spreadsheet with ideas.

make sure you look at the bottom theres a ta for a second sheet

One of the reasons I think blogging is more powerful is because you can reach more people initially. Especially with the depth and breadth here---we could really balance the workload if we get enough contributors. From personal experience, i have a tendency not to dl and listen to podcasts unless they get STRONG recommendations from someone who I trust. Maybe people who stream have other experiences, but as someone who listens via DL on NY Subway rides, I have to know what Im spending time DL is worth it.

If we have the content it wont hurt to do blogs and articles unless we spread ourselves too thin and compromise quality.


In terms of pop culture in general--I dont mind discussing it--but I think the general tone and the common thread for us should be sports and (maybe) hip hop.

Kinda like the Combat jack show, the underlying tie is hi hop and the hip hop industry. Same with Get up On this if any of yall have heard that podcast.

Different guys will have different wheelhouses--bt i dont want to get too much into Grantland territory with the pop culture. My vision is sports first. i know that pop culture references can help viewership so Im all for it--but in our genesis I think we should stay more focused when possible.

Lastly any good ideas for names?

Ive been playing with the word Base-- it does have some pop culture reference (lil B), but also part of OKP lexicon (maybe more in GD), Base also has sports connotations, and also refers back to OKS as our "homebase"

base
homebase blog
baseblog
or if we wanna throw another shoutout to OKP and connection of sports, music: homebass instead of homebase

just some real primitive ideas, but Id like a name that encompasses what this board represents as much as possible without getting too inside jokey/too snobby smart (Grantland)

>One of the reasons I think blogging is more powerful is
>because you can reach more people initially.

Agreed. The blog, or site, is simply your hub. That's where everything is presented. Youtube, podcasts, whatever, it can all be easily implimented in a blog. So the blog would/should be the starting ground for everything IMO.

>the depth and breadth here---we could really balance the
>workload if we get enough contributors.

Agreed.

>From personal
>experience, i have a tendency not to dl and listen to podcasts
>unless they get STRONG recommendations from someone who I
>trust. Maybe people who stream have other experiences, but as
>someone who listens via DL on NY Subway rides, I have to know
>what Im spending time DL is worth it.

True, but they all start somewhere. Expect crickets for awhile, however building a readership via articles and interviews will go a long way toward building a base to promote the podcast to. Also, I'd avoid calling them podcasts- I'd simply call them shows. Podcast lends a connotation of ameteur hour that people can be turned off by. Show, on the other hand, sounds professional.

>If we have the content it wont hurt to do blogs and articles
>unless we spread ourselves too thin and compromise quality.

Just looking at the spreadsheet, I doubt this will be an issue in the slightest.

>In terms of pop culture in general--I dont mind discussing
>it--but I think the general tone and the common thread for us
>should be sports and (maybe) hip hop.

Yeah I think a hip hop connection is inevitable. I also agree that sports should remain the focus. I think it will take a few months to find a collective voice and identity, even in the face of initial ambitions being what they are. The mere act of doing lends itself to a stimulating creative process as opposed to throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.

>Ive been playing with the word Base-- it does have some pop
>culture reference (lil B), but also part of OKP lexicon (maybe
>more in GD), Base also has sports connotations, and also
>refers back to OKS as our "homebase"

homebass
homebasement
homerbase
homebased
AgendaWars!!

I really, really like Agenda Wars personally. But that's me.

>just some real primitive ideas, but Id like a name that
>encompasses what this board represents as much as possible
>without getting too inside jokey/too snobby smart (Grantland)

Agenda Wars just works IMO. That's my vote :)

Or something along that line.

Although rooted in Okayplayer, I don't know if a name involving "Agendas, or Mad Making" would be best for the site. Obviously you're aiming for this to grow beyond this message board. You should take that into consideration when coming up with a name.

Podcast length, I think should be closer to 70mins, and no more than 90. I understand that I'm in the minority, but if you're doing a network, my guess is that you're going to have a lot programming so to speak. If you're releasing 2hr podcasts daily, I think a lot of good material is going to be lost in the shuffle because people can't keep up. People will say "you don't have to listen to it all at once", which is true, but when you put it off, and more of those other podcasts start to queue...

I would check out The Music Snobs as an example of a high quality podcast that is able to cover multiple topics (usually 3), in a relatively short duration time (around 1:10 - 1:20)

Good luck with this project. There are a lot of smart and funny people posting here, so I'm looking forward to the site coming to life.

I dont want to make us come across as angry sports guys...I think if not the name base, I think a name that comes across as more universal is key. I mean I do realize at the end of teh day ppl dont care much about the names--so much they do community and content...see deadspin, grantland, kissing suzy kolber, reddit. But I want to think about reaching beyond this board--cause obviously we already have this board here on lock.

Ill check the music snobs

>Or something along that line.
>
>Although rooted in Okayplayer, I don't know if a name
>involving "Agendas, or Mad Making" would be best for the site.
>Obviously you're aiming for this to grow beyond this message
>board. You should take that into consideration when coming up
>with a name.
>
>Podcast length, I think should be closer to 70mins, and no
>more than 90. I understand that I'm in the minority, but if
>you're doing a network, my guess is that you're going to have
>a lot programming so to speak. If you're releasing 2hr
>podcasts daily, I think a lot of good material is going to be
>lost in the shuffle because people can't keep up. People will
>say "you don't have to listen to it all at once", which is
>true, but when you put it off, and more of those other
>podcasts start to queue...
>
>I would check out The Music Snobs as an example of a high
>quality podcast that is able to cover multiple topics (usually
>3), in a relatively short duration time (around 1:10 - 1:20)
>
>Good luck with this project. There are a lot of smart and
>funny people posting here, so I'm looking forward to the site
>coming to life.

I was thinking either that or some variation of 3rd Bass (Word Base, Wrd Base) to incorporate the hip hop theme.

with others input reviewing upcoming action, could be in blog or pod form or both once it gets rolling.

Something along the lines of 'Line Steppin & Ass-Bettin with Chinese Bol' or maybe just 'Line-Steppin' for a shorter/cleaner version (dual meaning Vegas/Charlie Murphy play on words).

Also, for a 'beyond sports'-esque storytime segment, I've long considering actually documenting on the page some of the crazier incidents of my life particularly from the teenage/borderline-delinquint era into vignette/short-story form so perhaps actually doing it as a contributor would give me the excuse to finally start doing so.

I'm thinking of something along the lines of "Bomb's True Beyond The Statute Of Limitations Situations" but breaking down real warts-and-all first-person accounts of things like:

-the night I accidentally chopped off my friend's middle-finger while on acid my freshman year at Northeastern U

-the Vegas-drive-gone-horribly-wrong that landed me in a Barstow jail then later stranded running from a coyote on the side of The 15 in the middle of a dark desert night while trying to find an emergency call box because my phone had been stolen plus car broken down.

-the morning after a party we left the gate unlocked which resulted in a Baltimore cop shooting my roommate's beloved dog.

- The morning 18-Year-Old Bomb in Freudian fashion'took a shot at the title' in a not-so-fair-one verus his beloved father but ended up breaking his own hand in the process.

- a walk-in-the-wrong-direction from a Bmore rowhouse party one Halloween that led to me ending up holding court on the corner at 2 AM outside the then-standing-but-now-famously-demolitioned-and-documented-on-The-Wire-clothesline-covered projects sharing beers , bumming Newports and cypher-spitting with about 20 or so businessmen/hoppers/residents while dressed in a Popeye-The-Sailor outfit plus having been glitter-bombed earlier in the evening.

-the time we attempted to break my foot and/or ankle with increasingly ridiculous methods one Friday while out to lunch in my junior year of high school so I could have a legit excuse to miss my winter-track invitational in New York where I was running three events to attend the party of the year that weekend instead.

-The 'Attack of the Stilettos Story' that I shared here in abbreviated fashion a few years back.

Anyway, that's a few examples to help give you an idea but these would be laid out with hopefully enough humor & panache that you don't need to actually know any of the principles involved to maintain interest & despite sometimes being a somewhat serious/twisted/painful situation they'd be played primarily for laughs with a bit of time-worn wisdom looking back.

When a chapter is completed it could later be introduced in a podcast as a companion segment either by the author recounting it (leaving it open for it to include others sharing as well but with me setting the tone so you better come strapped with some doozies if you wanna compete) or then once we've settled into audio-banter as things hopefully move along it could be more like a casual conversation where co-hosts can interrupt or ask questions for clarification or spin off a bit into something else.

Anyway, a lot of this spitballing might be easier done in email form or in my long-delay summit meeting with Longo, Ryan, etc out here in Santa Monica sometime soon so Shawn I'm gonna inbox you my contact info now and we can go from there.

Longo, holla at me on email, my dude. We got some shit to do.

Im trying to decide whether theyd be better as stories told or written. Youre a hell of a writer and theres something to be said about a well written story. I think telling a story is a lot harder, especially when given time constraints.

I think these would be even better once you build your audience as a regular contributor on all things Philly and USC Football. Youll build a personality and a persona behind the guy who just talks about Philly and USC...and thats how stars are born.


>Also, for a 'beyond sports'-esque storytime segment, I've long
>considering actually documenting on the page some of the
>crazier incidents of my life particularly from the
>teenage/borderline-delinquint era into vignette/short-story
>form so perhaps actually doing it as a contributor would give
>me the excuse to finally start doing so.
>
>I'm thinking of something along the lines of "Bomb's True
>Beyond The Statute Of Limitations Situations" but breaking
>down real warts-and-all first-person accounts of things like:
>
>-the night I accidentally chopped off my friend's
>middle-finger while on acid my freshman year at Northeastern
>U
>
>-the Vegas-drive-gone-horribly-wrong that landed me in a
>Barstow jail then later stranded running from a coyote on the
>side of The 15 in the middle of a dark desert night while
>trying to find an emergency call box because my phone had been
>stolen plus car broken down.
>
>-the morning after a party we left the gate unlocked which
>resulted in a Baltimore cop shooting my roommate's beloved
>dog.
>
>- The morning 18-Year-Old Bomb in Freudian fashion'took a shot
>at the title' in a not-so-fair-one verus his beloved father
>but ended up breaking his own hand in the process.
>
>- a walk-in-the-wrong-direction from a Bmore rowhouse party
>one Halloween that led to me ending up holding court on the
>corner at 2 AM outside the
>then-standing-but-now-famously-demolitioned-and-documented-on-The-Wire-clothesline-covered
>projects sharing beers , bumming Newports and cypher-spitting
>with about 20 or so businessmen/hoppers/residents while
>dressed in a Popeye-The-Sailor outfit plus having been
>glitter-bombed earlier in the evening.
>
>-the time we attempted to break my foot and/or ankle with
>increasingly ridiculous methods one Friday while out to lunch
>in my junior year of high school so I could have a legit
>excuse to miss my winter-track invitational in New York where
>I was running three events to attend the party of the year
>that weekend instead.
>
>-The 'Attack of the Stilettos Story' that I shared here in
>abbreviated fashion a few years back.
>
>Anyway, that's a few examples to help give you an idea but
>these would be laid out with hopefully enough humor & panache
>that you don't need to actually know any of the principles
>involved to maintain interest & despite sometimes being a
>somewhat serious/twisted/painful situation they'd be played
>primarily for laughs with a bit of time-worn wisdom looking
>back.
>
>When a chapter is completed it could later be introduced in a
>podcast as a companion segment either by the author recounting
>it (leaving it open for it to include others sharing as well
>but with me setting the tone so you better come strapped with
>some doozies if you wanna compete) or then once we've settled
>into audio-banter as things hopefully move along it could be
>more like a casual conversation where co-hosts can interrupt
>or ask questions for clarification or spin off a bit into
>something else.
>
>Anyway, a lot of this spitballing might be easier done in
>email form or in my long-delay summit meeting with Longo,
>Ryan, etc out here in Santa Monica sometime soon so Shawn I'm
>gonna inbox you my contact info now and we can go from there.
>
>Longo, holla at me on email, my dude. We got some shit to do.

since I'm in the rare position due to region of being an avid anti-fan who still watches most games they play plus has a relationship with the city & local fanbase as a result.

>since I'm in the rare position due to region of being an avid
>anti-fan who still watches most games they play plus has a
>relationship with the city & local fanbase as a result.

Nah sike

I'm down with this

Just tell me what I'm 'posed to write
and when

Fellas and ladies if you would like to participate in anyway, please fill this out


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dFFEYzRfN3M0aF9fTHc0VXBlR2J5SVE6MQ

Itll only take a few minutes and is helping to inform what I think the next steps should be. There have been so many great ideas coming in the last few days--I would love to see this come to fruition in one way or another--even if II dont end up being a part of it.

Theres a lot of you that are a lot more funny and talented than me in these areas.

Anyhow, Ive gotten almost 30 responses to the spreadsheet above and almost 40 people originally replied. We've definitely got the manpower but now the challenge is the organization of it all.


There are a lot of ways to do this--I want to keep this process as democratic as feasible because I think this belongs to this community--but at the same time I realize if we make it a full democratic process were gonna end up arguing and going back and forth like we so often do on thee boards. For something like this there will have to be some hard decisions made if we're gonna be successful.


For those of you who have the spreadsheet. I've just added a 3rd sheet for us to do some more Market research. Just plug in sites we should look at whether its to emulate a little of what they do--or if they do something we SHOULD not do.

Also in case all of you dont know. We can comment on anything in the spreadsheet by going to Insert and then Comment on the top menu. The comments show up in a separate box that wont clutter the spreadsheet.

Once we officially hit phase 1.2 ill create a new post that I hope will allow us to have more of a discussion as a group on here.

May also create an email chain..we'll see

I haven't heard from anyone but OE about it.

I was saying that I like the general idea, themes, and possibilities with what you put up. I clicked around a bit to all teh different pages, but its hard for me to really focus on that right now since I'm still trying to figure out the content and organization of everything else..

One thing I was thinking is :Im not sure I want sites off sites. My initial line of thought is I want everything in one place, of course that could become extremely confusing and cluttered but I'm still back and forth on the idea of spreading people out too thin.

In my mind (again this is just my early vision) I want a lot of what we do to be interconnected. This may be unrealistic given everyones schedule and real life commitments, but if I'm doing my gambling podcast or blog like bomb suggested, I want to be able to refer to something bomb might have said in his storytelling section.


The guys at KSK did a pretty good job of this--but you still ended up with different blogs being linked to the "mother blog". I know were all different here and thats what we love about it---but Id like us to have some underlying theme or tone that we can call our own as a community.

This may change as I think about this more--like I said, the way my brain works its hard for me to really think much about the site when the pieces to put in are not complete.

I want the site to work with the different content areas, and not the organization of the site to have to be made around a particular site template.

>I was saying that I like the general idea, themes, and
>possibilities with what you put up. I clicked around a bit to
>all teh different pages, but its hard for me to really focus
>on that right now since I'm still trying to figure out the
>content and organization of everything else..

I know it was a bare bones mock up but it's really just scratching the surface. I hear you about everything else though, this does take a bit of planning before the site phase takes hold.

>One thing I was thinking is :Im not sure I want sites off
>sites. My initial line of thought is I want everything in one
>place, of course that could become extremely confusing and
>cluttered but I'm still back and forth on the idea of
>spreading people out too thin.

There are pros and cons to both approaches- but within the network arrangement, there are ways. I have one theme that allows for the creation of mini-sites within that one theme that doesn't require the network feature. All in all, having the option available is always good IMO. Initially, having everything located in the same main site is obviously ideal, but with growth, the option to network sub-sites is invaluable. I think it's clearly best to start with one site full of content, but I wanted to present the 'big picture' of what *can* be done.

>In my mind (again this is just my early vision) I want a lot
>of what we do to be interconnected. This may be unrealistic
>given everyones schedule and real life commitments, but if I'm
>doing my gambling podcast or blog like bomb suggested, I want
>to be able to refer to something bomb might have said in his
>storytelling section.

Agreed. Though, I will say sub-sites would still maintain this ability. Again, it's simply a feature to illustrate the possibilities.

>I want the site to work with the different content areas, and
>not the organization of the site to have to be made around a
>particular site template.

Perfectly possible with Wordpress. Many themes are highly customizeable and widgetized to allow for fluid organization. For example, certain widgets only show up in particular posts or categories. The SEO benefits are also a huge plus- every last post can be easily SEO optimized.

Wordpress is also open source and unencrypted, so any theme can be altered to do whatever you wish, provided you've got the coding know-how. Plenty of major sites and/or their sites blogs are run on Wordpress, like Mashable, Forbes, CNN, etc.

It's not the only solution. I know I'm coming with the hard sell, but I think it's the simplest, most efficient, flexible, and cost effective approach. There's a wealth of possibilities.

good work.

I'm not the designer. I merely search for quality themes and plugins that do the things I want them to do. That's the Exciter Theme from Mojo Themes. Cost me $37.

Granted I had to write those articles and set the background options and whatnot.

i'm thinking of a weekly column/blog where whitlock or woj or king writes something terrible by OKS standards and some OKS vet red-lines the fuck out of it, calling out blatant stupidity, cism, favoratism, etc.

is that "allowed"?

was actually Marauder

(NOTE: If this is infringing on the best sportswriting ever at all, it can mainly focus on broadcasting.) Who is out there doing an exemplery job? Who is out there making people slam their laptops/mute their TV's in disgust? And what is it that seperates the good from the bad? Why do some ex coaches/players thrive once they join the media and some can't string three coherent sentences together about a game they spent their whole lives invested in?

I like the idea but keep in mind...because of the sheer nature of things we'd become targets ourselves, so we'd have to be tight.

First, no one will ever do it better than Fire Joe Morgan.

Second, it's such low-hanging fruit. Line-by-line takedowns of Mitch Albom-esque drek is an internet cottage industry at this point (Deadspin w/Peter King, KSK w/Gregggg Easterbrook, the entire internet w/Simmons, etc.). And frankly, unless you're doing it with incredible panache and wit (FJM), it tends to have the lingering stink of sour grapes.

Just my opinion, as I said. I know where ya'll are coming from, believe me. I absolutely understand the impulse to spend 2000 words explaining why Woj's 1000 words are terrible.

I was thinking more along the lines of straight analysis and breaking down WHAT makes it good/bad than FJM style ethering (although I think there should be a place for that)

surely it's legal.

not sure if there's anything I'd be able to contribute to, but as a sports fan this is something I'd put some of my friends on to.

All of us tapping into our networks to tap into their networks. We have a pretty wide network here. I imagine a lot of us keep our friends and family away from OKS--but this is one way we could bring them into some of the brilliance that occurs here.

Great idea & good to see all the positive interaction already

Site advantages:

1. It increases potential traffic. Some kid is a prospect without a ton of press, he tells his friends about his interview, here they come.

2. It gives us a possible line if/when they hit the pros. Some guys will remember the guys who showed love way back when and show love in return.

Thoughts?

there's a bunch of us in NYC, but I'm a hshoops/recruiting junkie and on friendly terms with one of the top coaches in the PSAL.

plus there's all kindsa all-america type tourneys that come thru here, Barclays is hosting the Jordan All-America game which I would love to attend and submit something for the network.

There's other guys here in different regions that have hs ties, and then plenty of guys are in close proximity to/connected to the college game as well.

you'd have to make sure we weren't doing anything untoward, and clear things with moms/pops/"advisers"/coaches, etc, but yeah, giving an outlet to a young guy will make it more likely you can get him as a guest as his career progresses, or vouch for you with other guys.

of local rec leagues- gotta show The Marine some love!- And 1 type leagues and players, tourneys, NBDL teams and players, catching up with retired players, things like that?

I doubt I can help but I sure will listen.

gender. sexuality. violence. economics of sports.

IMO.

like a thoughtful, point by point analysis of why ESPN is so terrible, or why certain writers are such hacks and/or douchebags.

So after doing some research on things that people have sent me/ I already know about. It seems like on the surface level what we're trying to do is already being done, and in a couple cases, I have to say it's being done well.

For example:

Reddit: Someone above (I believe wallysmith) mentioned reddit and reddit subpages. They do a great job of capturing some of the magic we have on these boards on a larger scale. Then with things like their AMAs have something exclusive that keeps the community engaged. The aggregate content and dont really create any of their own though.

Deadspin: http://deadspin.com/ Kind of the OG we've already talked about them. They write their own pieces, have actual journalists write, have done some investigative reporting and broken big stories. They have a huge fanbase and community interaction. How are we going to be different/better? Decent design, but too much clutter.

Shadow League http://theshadowleague.com/: Kind of a Black grantland. Cover sports, pop culture. Editor used to be at Slam. Some decent pieces but nothing spectacular. Not a lot of fan interaction. Not a design I like


Sports on Earth http://www.sportsonearth.com/: Lots of "real" journalists contribute here. Kinda boring. Nothing really stands out to me. I'd hate to have all invest in time and end up like this. But they do have a wie range of content...and yea I hate the design. Looks like it was designed by 55 year old guys trying to think what would be cool to 20-30 year olds--which is essentially what the site is.

The Classical: http://theclassical.org/ MY Favorite of the bunch. Could see myself spending time here if it wasnt for OKP . Comes across as genuine and speaks more to people in our demographic. Really good ideas for features--although not always expertly executed like their Why we watch series which highlights and breaks down one aspect of a player's game:
http://theclassical.org/tags/why-we-watch
They cover wrestlinga nd a bunch of other sports---not huge fan interaction. Again, overall I dig the design.

Then of course is the Monster SB Nation:
This is kind of the corporate overlord of this world (if you dont count Grantland). They stay pretty sports focused but have gobbled up different bloggers for basically any team/sport that has a following here. In some ways Brilliant...but i think whats lost is that you can tell the bloggers arent connected and are were just for the most part put together when they got swallowed into the belly of the beast and were slosshing around in stomach acid together. Lots of fan interaction. Boring--corporate design

Lastly there's Grantland which I think steers too much on pop culture for what I want to do. But i do think there are some salvageable ideas from the site.

-------


This isnt meant so much as discouragement but rather a challenge. We have to think outside the box. I already has some wheels turning, but I want to see if what I'm thinking coincides with anyone else.

I do really believe in the talent on this site but I think there are some questions we have to consider:

1a) Are we happy maintaining this site for our little circle + extended family/friends or do we wanna think BIG- globally.

1b) If so or not who is our target audience?

2a) What content are we going to provide thats different from above sites?

2b) How are we different? Not just content wise, but in our culture and tone.

I want to answer this one briefly. I think we have more diversity: of both ideas and ethnic/racial diversity that we have to embrace. Someone mentioned above but talking about race, cism, and sport is part of what we do he on OKS, and it should be maintained in any avenue we have going fwd. We shouldnt be shy about it.

As I investigate this more--I'm learning more about the power of Habit and routine in internet usage. Whats going to make somebody change their habit and routine and come to our site? When they get exactly what they THINK they want now? in their little internet bubbles?

Again this isnt a call to give up. Its actually exciting to me because its gotten me to really think creatively. I have one idea in particular that I need to figure out technically--but could be potentially groundbreaking.

Hate to post this on a Friday evening when the board is going more ghost--but id love to get some real feedback here. This will probably spawn a new post.

Reddit: You nailed it at the end: they're a glorified aggregator, not a producer of content. They're not in our niche at all, IMO.

Deadspin: Horrid design. My mockup with the Exciter theme eats it's lunch in my humble opinion. I'd say content wise, my ideas about having an additional focus on the ameteur athlete and adding sports fitness and nutrition sections would be a sizeable plus on our end. It skews less mainstream, but it can potentially bring a lot of people our way.

Shadow League: Nothijng special and nothing to worry about. The sheer number of contributors at launch would likely lead to overtaking this within a few months. IMO they're a non entity and just another fish.

Sports on Earth: Where is the personality here? I'm perusing quickly but I don't see a real persona or a niche outside of sports. Design doesn't lend itself to interaction and it's poorly organized.

The Classical: Need to spend more time here to see what's what. You mentioned a lack of fan interaction, and our aim is to make that a hallmark. We can be the Zappos of fan interaction.

SB Nation: Blech. This thing leeches a lot of garbage from bleacher report and is typically late. I like nothing about it and to be honest, I don't see the personality there either. It's well organized but a large portion of the content on there is of the 'Lakers Must Trade Pau Gasol/Lakers Foolish To Trade Pau Gasol/Lakers Must Deal Pau For Luol Deng" variety. Whenever they come up in a search, that's the kind of nonsense I see- and it's usually ripped from another article published days earlier.

Grantland: Again, I think you noted the difference.

All in all none of them really do what we're setting out to do. We're essentially bringing OKS into that format. The articles and segment concepts proposed on that sheet already illustrate much more interesting, forward thinking in terms of content.

A successful website really requires three things:

1. Content
2. Interaction
3. Design

That's it. Innovating isn't even necessary, it's merely a bonus. Even a vanilla site just like those, given the sheer breadth of contributors and their individual networks gives us a strong foothold on launch. That's half the battle.

1a) Are we happy maintaining this site for our little circle + extended family/friends or do we wanna think BIG- globally.

I say think big- but then we need a financial plan. Big=money. Who gets a cut? What level of involvement, and when, determines that?

1b) If so or not who is our target audience?

Young urban males who like sports, probably 15-30. I think sometimes we can overthink things like this. The number of contributors with varying perceptions allows for a wide and varied approach that can easily target multiple sub-genres.

2a) What content are we going to provide thats different from above sites?

The same content we already post, just more focused and cleaned up. Everything on that sheets stands out and doesn't feel like just another sports site. Maybe I'm being lazy, but I think that foundation is already there. Again, I'd say my suggestions onf sports health and nutrition, a focus on ameteur athletes and leagues is a solid point of division.

The sites that have huge fan interaction (i.e, Reddit) don't really fit our overall niche. In the end, the combination of diverse people, content concepts that have already been stated, and a heavy emphasis on fan interaction coupled with our own shows and



2b) How are we different? Not just content wise, but in our culture and tone.

Again, maybe I'm just lazy or my brain is on hold, but you answered this perfectly. We're a diverse group and we hit a wide range of topics on the whole. The whole 'agenda wars!' culture here has lent itself toward finding interesting angles in which to approach those topics. Content wise I think our culture and tone is already there.

"As I investigate this more--I'm learning more about the power of Habit and routine in internet usage. Whats going to make somebody change their habit and routine and come to our site? When they get exactly what they THINK they want now? in their little internet bubbles?"

Interaction. As I suggested earlier, when you have people who consistently provide quality content, we highlight them. Interview them, give them a little shine for their contributions to the community. People that show and prove, why not give them a shot to do their own column?

I've got more incentive to contribute quality material more often if there's a chance for some sort of recognition or even a short writing gig, do I not? So I think that focus on our readership will have a huge payoff in the end.

Honestly, I think you've answered most of your own questions. Not that there isn't more to be had- but with what we've got right today, we're good. Anything else is a bonus. I'm curious about your potentially revoltutionary concept, too.

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=11798523&mesg_id=11798523&page=

http://www.theroot.com/buzz/new-sports-website-partners-espn

http://jetmag.com/sports/former-espn-journalist-launches-the-shadow-league/

1. Superior design. Don't sell this short. Other than Grantland and The Bleacher Report, the design of sports sites is wanting.

I don't just mean the glossy front end either. I'm talking about better comments sections and responsive related content databases/feeds from web and social trends.

We have nerds that care. We can, if so motivated, build things that for-profit companies don't think about. You might even be able to recover costs with affliate links and how-to tutorials.

An example: Instead of just allowing poetx, will1958 or walleye to just apply analysis, someone creates a dynamic data visualization--something beautiful and truthful that will move as the stats move from week to week. Then whomever develops that page can also call up related content from other great analysis spots like michael Felder's chalk talk or smartfootball for added context. Pull it in because, who cares, right?

It's about bringing value to the user anyway.

2. The agenda wars. Some poopoo or steer clear of the Race, Regional and society-normative conversation. OKP kinda delves into that feet first and at it's best it's honest.

It's honesty in a way that people tune into Jalen Rose or Charles Barkley for, but for OKP there don't need to be limits

We spend a lot of time discussing who is winning and who is losing, be it teams, individual athletes, fans, and agenda-pushers.

Also good job by asking all the right questions. This is stuff that needs to be addressed that will help us focus.

One of my favorite things to look at are mock lists, both from college to pros and high school to college. Those sites don't do that nearly enough, and we can absolutely put those together.

Even when the news is slow, mocks will always get hits.

unless you just planning to bounce and rebirth the same steez in a different environment?

that said, oks, over the years as evolved into a distinct subculture. there's mad talent here. and i think its been beta tested that a lot of our topics and humor travels well.

it's certainly a viable proposition. it will take a shitload of work to pull it off.

i'm interested in the techological and economical underpinnings of it. assuming that the content is really compelling, the equation would come down to:

revenue (ads) - expenses(infrastructure + dev + mgmt) = $/(x contributors).

i wonder what the math is on that, where $/x > $50.00/mth.

peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
** i move away from the mic to breathe in

>unless you just planning to bounce and rebirth the same steez
>in a different environment?

I get the impression that this will be a spiritual child of sorts, not actually affiliated with OKP.

>revenue (ads) - expenses(infrastructure + dev + mgmt) = $/(x
>contributors).

I despise the idea of an ad funded site to be honest, and while I've got a great solution for monetizing my own site when I launch, utilizing my own classified and daily deals in addition to a scant few affiliate products. I haven't figured out how to translate that premise into this. I do think we need to go outside the box in terms of generating revenue, aping some sort of combination of adsense and affiliate sells into the mix.

Traditional PPC/CPI banner ads are a little dated and not really the most efficient way to go. I think we should partner with independent business owners with products that appeal to our core demo(we could mine the many already on OKP to start) and create an internal affiliate program (another reason why I think wordpress is a great way to go, because there are plugins for this) so that we can skip the clickbanks of the world. We could also create some sort of membership section.

Not that all of these ideas are the end all be all or guaranteed to be successful, it's simply to say that we should aim for something greater than simple ad revenue.

my shit is my own...make up your own slang.

not exactly tryna be a dick...just stating the obvious, if this thing is ever monetized.

without you getting a nice cut.

That part is the easier shit to figure out actually. Whats hard is figuring out if we get a lot of contributors like poetx said, how are we going to split up the revenue streams. Its something thats way down, but I have to think about it now so we dont implode when shit happens.

never seen that before

Im almost ready to get phase 1.2 kicked off...what do yall think will be more efficient/ more likely for you to join a dialogue?

Since the goal is likely to keep discussions private, inbox me if you'd like to do this there and you can email the link to everyone on your list.