When I made the choice to go back to college, it was an easy one I have to say. I was granted an opportunity to pursue one passion through the discovery of another. And one thing I made abundantly clear in my quest to graduate: lead by example.
I have two children. My son Decker is 11. He's incredibly charming, is bright and has an amazing analytical mind. He loves science and Greek mythology, but math sits in the palm of his hand.
I recall back when he was in 5th grade. He brought home a homework assignment of only six complex questions. The problems required several steps to find the answer. His teacher was big on clearly showing every step, however, Decker simply wrote down the answers to each problem.
As his designated homework helper, I was perplexed (and suspicious) at how he arrived to the answers having not shown any work. So, I begged the question, "How did you get these answers?
"I did it in my head," he said.
Hmmm. So, dad grabbed pen, grabbed paper. Thirty minutes in and two trips to the electric pencil sharpener, my work equated to the exact answers that took my son a sixth of the time to figure out. I immediately asked my wife if I could take a paternity test (sarcasm). The word 'genius" has been tossed around occasionally about my son, but the only thing that's holding him back at times is effort.
My daughter Jessica is an 18-year-old college freshman studying to become an art professor. The arts come natural to her. She can grab her paints and whip up something beautiful in near impossible time. She's the calm natured go-getter. The type of girl who paves her own path and refuses any and all doubt over what she can or cannot do. Effort has never been her issue.
As long as she can quietly march her own way, she'll find her own way. But, that comes with a warning: just don't get into it.
No matter what my children decide to do, I've taught them this credo. "Effort is the key. You don't have to be the smartest, the most charming or even the most adept. Your effort is what will get you through everything."
I use Decker and Jess as my motivation, and as silly as it may seem, I've had to tap into every bit of it to get me through Web Pub & Design.
Make no mistake, I absolutely love this class. This class is everything I thought it would be and I'm doing fairly well. I place an immense amount of pressure on myself because I want to lead my children by example. Every time I work on my website, I'm no longer lost or intimidated by the lack of knowledge over how I can make things aesthetically better.
However, class has been a personal war of attrition as each week has passed. I've felt more and more behind trying to learn all the new coding techniques in combination with learning how to deal with IOs and Brackets. I overheard a comment the other day from one of the members of my project group. They said, "You're the creative mind behind the whole thing." I took that as a heavy compliment, however, doubt immediately blanketed me because the execution of it all simply cannot match my ability to create, organize and divide tasks.
Therefore, I have to apply the same rules that I've embossed into my children from day #1:
Effort will get you through it.
I've begun my portion of the group project and have made several steps in my personal as well. I have faith in my team members that we'll work through our issues and push forward a good project. However, my lack of execution does worry me. But, my team members have faith in me. I have to apply the same lessons I'm teaching Decker and Jess that nothing can outdo effort when it comes to accomplishing something. This class has proven I'm not the smartest, definitely not the most charming and certainly not adept. But I can guarantee, my effort will out match anyone because I have more on the line than just a grade.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Less is More
No matter the aspect of my life, I've always loved the credo, "Less is more."
In reference to the layout(s) we may choose for our final project, I believe the simpler the better, using simple aesthetics, colors and intelligent backgrounds.
I've always been a sucker for backgrounds that act as a metaphor for the message being told or product being sold. A great example is INTUIT INC.com
INTIUT Mint is a money management company and the homepage gives off a this relaxed, easy-going vibe which is smart for a company whose job is to handle your finances.
Another layout style I feel may work better for our project may be what's called responsive web design. With mobile web becoming more and more prevalent, responsive web design can be cost-effective and is extremely functional. Sleepstreet.be (out of Belgium) is a great example.
Sleepstreet is a company that advertises apartments and houses for rent in Ghent, Belgium.
The design is pleasingly spaced with crisp photos, a warm color scheme and a contrasting, yet workable blend of retro and contemporary aesthetics.
Despite the fact our work group is using Gatorade as our final project, the flat design Gatorade uses on its homepage is attractive and leaves you wanting to know more.
Now, I'm not a big fan of a websites that upon arriving to the homepage you have a product offer shoved in your face. However, I love the color scheme, the condensation/sweat-like background, and how cleanly placed the product category bar at the top of the page is.
When you're pondering how to create your own website, why wouldn't you check out websites of some of the worlds best web designers? There isn't a thing I don't love about colly.com
Simon Collison is a web designer, speaker, writer out of Nottingham, England. He's written books on CSS web development, hosted workshops, written articles and has been the subject of dozens of interviews about proper web design and development. His use of soft colors here, the grid-like pattern background and vintage, schematic animal drawings is genius in his effort to promote contemporary web designs.
Now, I wanted to provide examples of web designs I find appealing and that I'd consider using for our final project. But I have to come to grips with the fact I'm a beginner. Yet, I'm intrigued and fascinated by noizeoriginal.com out of Canada.
The screen shot doesn't allow readers of my blog entry to see that Noize uses a video of a lovely young woman taking off her sunglasses, then looking at the viewer directly. (see for yourself: noizeoriginal.com) Next up, in pocket door fashion, viewers are taken to a menu of women's and men's outerwear. Noize's font is centered, clean and the use of a white background is smart with Montreal-based Noize in the business of winter wear.
In reference to the layout(s) we may choose for our final project, I believe the simpler the better, using simple aesthetics, colors and intelligent backgrounds.
I've always been a sucker for backgrounds that act as a metaphor for the message being told or product being sold. A great example is INTUIT INC.com
INTIUT Mint is a money management company and the homepage gives off a this relaxed, easy-going vibe which is smart for a company whose job is to handle your finances.
Another layout style I feel may work better for our project may be what's called responsive web design. With mobile web becoming more and more prevalent, responsive web design can be cost-effective and is extremely functional. Sleepstreet.be (out of Belgium) is a great example.
Sleepstreet is a company that advertises apartments and houses for rent in Ghent, Belgium.
The design is pleasingly spaced with crisp photos, a warm color scheme and a contrasting, yet workable blend of retro and contemporary aesthetics.
Despite the fact our work group is using Gatorade as our final project, the flat design Gatorade uses on its homepage is attractive and leaves you wanting to know more.
Now, I'm not a big fan of a websites that upon arriving to the homepage you have a product offer shoved in your face. However, I love the color scheme, the condensation/sweat-like background, and how cleanly placed the product category bar at the top of the page is.
When you're pondering how to create your own website, why wouldn't you check out websites of some of the worlds best web designers? There isn't a thing I don't love about colly.com
Simon Collison is a web designer, speaker, writer out of Nottingham, England. He's written books on CSS web development, hosted workshops, written articles and has been the subject of dozens of interviews about proper web design and development. His use of soft colors here, the grid-like pattern background and vintage, schematic animal drawings is genius in his effort to promote contemporary web designs.
Now, I wanted to provide examples of web designs I find appealing and that I'd consider using for our final project. But I have to come to grips with the fact I'm a beginner. Yet, I'm intrigued and fascinated by noizeoriginal.com out of Canada.
The screen shot doesn't allow readers of my blog entry to see that Noize uses a video of a lovely young woman taking off her sunglasses, then looking at the viewer directly. (see for yourself: noizeoriginal.com) Next up, in pocket door fashion, viewers are taken to a menu of women's and men's outerwear. Noize's font is centered, clean and the use of a white background is smart with Montreal-based Noize in the business of winter wear.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
We Want You; to Feel Good
The very first font I thought of when Professor Leonard assigned this week's blog entry
was the U.S. Army.
It's intimidating, block style lettering gives off this impression of toughness. This "We mean business," like tone. Not that I want to open up Pandora's box, but with women's equality as a major social issue, the U.S. Army font has always carried a masculine tone to it. I am in no way saying that a font style is what keeps females from wanting to join the military, but it's just an example of how strong a psychological message font can play. Font conveys the visual personality of what you are selling or the story you want to tell.
Interestingly enough, each branch of the U.S. military has their own font. Take for example the Marines.
The Marines use Trade Gothic font. It's short and block in style, yet has a polished grittiness to it.
Can you imagine if a branch of our military used Origins font to try and recruit young soldiers? I believe it would send a confusing message.
The same can be said for something that it supposed to come across as elegant like high line magazine Vanity Fair.
In November of 2013, Vanity Fair underwent a font change. The new style was in fact custom made for them called VF Sans Condensed. It's tall, it's smooth, it's fashionable, it's chic, yet aristocratically simple.
A 2005 study by psychologist Ken Larson (Microsoft) and Rosalind Picard (MIT) called "The Aesthetics of Reading" states that readers felt badly when reading poorly designed layout and that good design made them feel better.
They also concluded that, "well-designed reading environments don’t necessarily help you understand what you’re reading better, but they do make you feel good, causing you to feel inspired and more likely to take action."
was the U.S. Army.
It's intimidating, block style lettering gives off this impression of toughness. This "We mean business," like tone. Not that I want to open up Pandora's box, but with women's equality as a major social issue, the U.S. Army font has always carried a masculine tone to it. I am in no way saying that a font style is what keeps females from wanting to join the military, but it's just an example of how strong a psychological message font can play. Font conveys the visual personality of what you are selling or the story you want to tell.
The Marines use Trade Gothic font. It's short and block in style, yet has a polished grittiness to it.
Can you imagine if a branch of our military used Origins font to try and recruit young soldiers? I believe it would send a confusing message.
The same can be said for something that it supposed to come across as elegant like high line magazine Vanity Fair.
In November of 2013, Vanity Fair underwent a font change. The new style was in fact custom made for them called VF Sans Condensed. It's tall, it's smooth, it's fashionable, it's chic, yet aristocratically simple.
A 2005 study by psychologist Ken Larson (Microsoft) and Rosalind Picard (MIT) called "The Aesthetics of Reading" states that readers felt badly when reading poorly designed layout and that good design made them feel better.
They also concluded that, "well-designed reading environments don’t necessarily help you understand what you’re reading better, but they do make you feel good, causing you to feel inspired and more likely to take action."
Saturday, October 8, 2016
The No-No's are a Big Yes
In searching for unique, interactive websites that enhance user experience, I came across several that were very intriguing. I decided to highlight a few since I was lucky enough to stumble upon so many.
First was cobay.es/ by LaPhase5 from France. Their directive is on the horrors of animal research testing. It entices visitors with the opening phrase "Let's get into it." Upon clicking the arrow at the bottom of the homepage, Cobayes informs readers of the [methodical] cruelties of animal testing by allowing visitors to go on an interactive journey as an animal tester. I'm for animal rights, however this seemed more like a PSA with Cobayes pushing their message with interaction, that of which even the most staunch animal activists may not want to partake in.
The second website I visited was 51Sprints.com by Random Studio (Netherlands). The moment you arrive to the homepage, you see various clips of past/vintage Olympic sprints while a soft narrative voice declares that the Olympics is about equality; and that the Olympic sprinters representing their countries should be recognized as part of the human race battling for equal opportunity and equal representation. Visitors can then launch the "equaliser" and form your own custom sprint by eliminating racers based on their nation, class, race and body; then you can launch the race. Once the race has finished, it allows you to "level the playing field by eliminating the influence of the factors." You can also watch a documentary where the message is that Olympic athletes have become labels with the human being aspect, in essence, being stripped from them.
I visited a few more: remembereverything.com highlights (in HD) the latest film in Matt Damon's Jason Bourne series; and femmefatale.paris/en, a "creative studio [website] focusing on culture, luxury, editorial & art. Somewhere between sophistication and simplicity."
I have to say it was extremely fun searching and surfing through so many quality (and diverse) websites. However, the one I found most pleasing was Panera Bread's paneralandofclean.com by Resn Anomoly (Netherlands).
The moment you click on the link you're taken to, "The Land of Clean, the wondrous world, where everything is food and food as it should be. A world untouched by artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors and colors from artificial sources." No-No's as Panera calls them.
You're then invited to play a simple, fun and educational game. Panera takes you where some unwelcome No-No's have made it into the Land of Clean. Upon clicking the "Play the Game" button, you're thrust into an almost 3D-like landscape of explosive colors and crystal clear graphics made exclusively of vegetables, fruits, cheeses and bread. I began the first game stage called "Baguette Falls." The gentle music makes game play more pleasing. Your goal is to click on shifting, randomly placed items. Once you find each item and click, it flies into the air. The molecule-like item then poofs into colorful dust revealing (and describing) the harmful chemical Panera refuses to use in their foods and drinks. Once you complete each challenge per location, you earn rewards points towards Panera food.
Although "The Land of Clean" didn't present as compelling a message as the other websites I visited, Panera's effort is extremely pleasing to the eye and ear, keeps visitors engaged and teaches visitors about Panera's vision toward feeding customers good, guilt-free food.
First was cobay.es/ by LaPhase5 from France. Their directive is on the horrors of animal research testing. It entices visitors with the opening phrase "Let's get into it." Upon clicking the arrow at the bottom of the homepage, Cobayes informs readers of the [methodical] cruelties of animal testing by allowing visitors to go on an interactive journey as an animal tester. I'm for animal rights, however this seemed more like a PSA with Cobayes pushing their message with interaction, that of which even the most staunch animal activists may not want to partake in.
The second website I visited was 51Sprints.com by Random Studio (Netherlands). The moment you arrive to the homepage, you see various clips of past/vintage Olympic sprints while a soft narrative voice declares that the Olympics is about equality; and that the Olympic sprinters representing their countries should be recognized as part of the human race battling for equal opportunity and equal representation. Visitors can then launch the "equaliser" and form your own custom sprint by eliminating racers based on their nation, class, race and body; then you can launch the race. Once the race has finished, it allows you to "level the playing field by eliminating the influence of the factors." You can also watch a documentary where the message is that Olympic athletes have become labels with the human being aspect, in essence, being stripped from them.
I visited a few more: remembereverything.com highlights (in HD) the latest film in Matt Damon's Jason Bourne series; and femmefatale.paris/en, a "creative studio [website] focusing on culture, luxury, editorial & art. Somewhere between sophistication and simplicity."
I have to say it was extremely fun searching and surfing through so many quality (and diverse) websites. However, the one I found most pleasing was Panera Bread's paneralandofclean.com by Resn Anomoly (Netherlands).
The moment you click on the link you're taken to, "The Land of Clean, the wondrous world, where everything is food and food as it should be. A world untouched by artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors and colors from artificial sources." No-No's as Panera calls them.
You're then invited to play a simple, fun and educational game. Panera takes you where some unwelcome No-No's have made it into the Land of Clean. Upon clicking the "Play the Game" button, you're thrust into an almost 3D-like landscape of explosive colors and crystal clear graphics made exclusively of vegetables, fruits, cheeses and bread. I began the first game stage called "Baguette Falls." The gentle music makes game play more pleasing. Your goal is to click on shifting, randomly placed items. Once you find each item and click, it flies into the air. The molecule-like item then poofs into colorful dust revealing (and describing) the harmful chemical Panera refuses to use in their foods and drinks. Once you complete each challenge per location, you earn rewards points towards Panera food.
Although "The Land of Clean" didn't present as compelling a message as the other websites I visited, Panera's effort is extremely pleasing to the eye and ear, keeps visitors engaged and teaches visitors about Panera's vision toward feeding customers good, guilt-free food.
Monday, October 3, 2016
108 Stitches and Two Eights
My passion for fantasy baseball is evident. The work at UTRMinors has been strewn with enthusiasm since 2009. However, it started long before that.
Life's metaphors, memories wrapped inside a 3-inch diameter ball.
My brother kept all of his gear on a pitted wooden shelf in the back of dad's organized, yet chaotic garage. A shelf that held a vast surplus of various motor oils, window cleaner and mountains of buffing rags for his prized 1968 Buick Electra 225. A car so long that the tail lights nearly touched the closed garage door. A car that barely allowed me enough room to reach over and grab my brother's baseball mitt, and the worn baseball tied up inside of it.
"It's an old trick," Tracy said.
"You plant the ball as deep inside the webbing, then tie it shut with string."
Molding. Shaping. Safety. Security.
This was supposed to help morph the glove's pocket into a perfect cove, making the ease, and the art, of catching a baseball feel more complete, natural.
Catching a baseball is like life and the goals we strive for. We go after our goals because it feels natural. Reaching them makes us feel complete.
A baseball's countless scuffs aren't wear-and-tear. They are growth. They are scars. Badges of honor. Healing. They're memories.
A baseball's shape. Round. A metaphor of a life coming full circle. Like mine.
My days as a child up until today, baseball has always served me like a series of bridges. Necessary connections. That fresh break taking me from one land that built a memory to another that began a new one.
A baseball isn't a solitary thing. Just like us. It's got guts.
A core, multiple layers of windings, 108 stitches linking together "two cowhide number eights," I'd say as a kid. Just like all of us. A core held together by multiple layers with an outer skin. Intricate. Gutsy.
At times we look at life and want perfection. But think how life would be if everything was perfect. I aim to find the imperfect amongst the perfect.
This poem inspires me.
Tracy and I always joked about how we were so protective of that ball as if it was the only one we owned. The irony is that it was.
Just like life. Our only one.
And in a world striving to be perfect, there's nothing more perfect than the imperfect.
Life's metaphors, memories wrapped inside a 3-inch diameter ball.
"It's an old trick," Tracy said.
"You plant the ball as deep inside the webbing, then tie it shut with string."
Molding. Shaping. Safety. Security.
Catching a baseball is like life and the goals we strive for. We go after our goals because it feels natural. Reaching them makes us feel complete.
A baseball's countless scuffs aren't wear-and-tear. They are growth. They are scars. Badges of honor. Healing. They're memories.
My days as a child up until today, baseball has always served me like a series of bridges. Necessary connections. That fresh break taking me from one land that built a memory to another that began a new one.
A baseball isn't a solitary thing. Just like us. It's got guts.
A core, multiple layers of windings, 108 stitches linking together "two cowhide number eights," I'd say as a kid. Just like all of us. A core held together by multiple layers with an outer skin. Intricate. Gutsy.
At times we look at life and want perfection. But think how life would be if everything was perfect. I aim to find the imperfect amongst the perfect.
This poem inspires me.
Tracy and I always joked about how we were so protective of that ball as if it was the only one we owned. The irony is that it was.
Just like life. Our only one.
And in a world striving to be perfect, there's nothing more perfect than the imperfect.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
BaseballAmerica.com: Past and Present
In this week's blog post, professor Leonard said we could stick with subject matter we are familiar with and analyze the changes a favorite website of ours has made over the years. I love baseball. Mostly the minor leagues so I'll be evaluating BaseballAmerica.com.
Founded by Allan Simpson in 1980, Baseball America began as one of the top baseball-only print publications and has grown into a full-service media company.
According to Internet Archive Wayback Machine, BA kicked off their web version on January 25, 1999. With only a simple home page and no clickable links, BA's only content was a message promising readers content that only BA can provide, and they delivered on that promise. But it hasn't always been pretty as you can see here.
With early April marking opening pitch of the baseball season, BA finally launched an operational website. WaybackMachine tabbed April 29th, 1999 and what you see is quite elementary.
2007 saw the first color scheme change and I have to say, as an avid reader of this website, the change was very welcome. Going from green and gold, BA switched to powder blue. BA also made their first drastic format change. Listing the site ID at the top right with site sections now listed horizontally, this left more space underneath for features that were given more bold headers with the perfect amount of white space in between. Over the next eight years BA remained steady with their look despite adding ad revenue visuals and links to their site.
In 2014, BA made another format change which made navigation even easier with their sections having a three-dimensional-like appearance. 2016 saw another format change. Almost in block-like fashion, BA's transition from 1999's all editorial/no imagery to their current product is a complete 180 degrees. Imagery fills the page with little to no script at all other than headlines while the center of the homepage automatically scrolls so the reader doesn't have to. This works perfectly for today's reader. BA is using their reliability, sustainability and mixed it with nearly click-bait style headlines to help the reader dive into content, allowing them to spend endless amounts of time on their site.
At the left are the site sections and right side bar listing all the features. Many tools one visiting the website would fine useful such as Scoreboard, Features (which guide you you draft previews and top prospect lists) as well as an online store and a Help menu. Basic stuff. One thing not clearly present was photos, but a lot of editorial content.
As BA moved on through the 2000s, readers saw a steady incline in imagery and wider variety of content. As I clicked through each season listed on WaybackMachine, 2006 appeared to be the year BA made their next leap in aesthetic (and editorial) improvements.
Not only did BA add more vivid imagery, but added features such as league and player rankings, individual and team stats and top off-season stories far exceeded readers expectations.
Founded by Allan Simpson in 1980, Baseball America began as one of the top baseball-only print publications and has grown into a full-service media company.
According to Internet Archive Wayback Machine, BA kicked off their web version on January 25, 1999. With only a simple home page and no clickable links, BA's only content was a message promising readers content that only BA can provide, and they delivered on that promise. But it hasn't always been pretty as you can see here.
With early April marking opening pitch of the baseball season, BA finally launched an operational website. WaybackMachine tabbed April 29th, 1999 and what you see is quite elementary.
2007 saw the first color scheme change and I have to say, as an avid reader of this website, the change was very welcome. Going from green and gold, BA switched to powder blue. BA also made their first drastic format change. Listing the site ID at the top right with site sections now listed horizontally, this left more space underneath for features that were given more bold headers with the perfect amount of white space in between. Over the next eight years BA remained steady with their look despite adding ad revenue visuals and links to their site.
In 2014, BA made another format change which made navigation even easier with their sections having a three-dimensional-like appearance. 2016 saw another format change. Almost in block-like fashion, BA's transition from 1999's all editorial/no imagery to their current product is a complete 180 degrees. Imagery fills the page with little to no script at all other than headlines while the center of the homepage automatically scrolls so the reader doesn't have to. This works perfectly for today's reader. BA is using their reliability, sustainability and mixed it with nearly click-bait style headlines to help the reader dive into content, allowing them to spend endless amounts of time on their site.
At the left are the site sections and right side bar listing all the features. Many tools one visiting the website would fine useful such as Scoreboard, Features (which guide you you draft previews and top prospect lists) as well as an online store and a Help menu. Basic stuff. One thing not clearly present was photos, but a lot of editorial content.
As BA moved on through the 2000s, readers saw a steady incline in imagery and wider variety of content. As I clicked through each season listed on WaybackMachine, 2006 appeared to be the year BA made their next leap in aesthetic (and editorial) improvements.
Not only did BA add more vivid imagery, but added features such as league and player rankings, individual and team stats and top off-season stories far exceeded readers expectations.
Monday, September 19, 2016
The Ripple Effect
From the day I decided to go back to college, I've had one strict goal in mind:
Earn my degree to back up my work.
In case you don't know, (as some people in class do) a great friend of mine and myself run our own website called UTRMinors.com, a niche website that focuses on low-level minor league baseball players that don't get the attention we feel they deserve.
I'm not going to lie. The website leaves a lot to be desired aesthetically. At the same time however, the service we offer is one-of-a-kind. During our last class I asked professor Leonard a question about search engine optimization and the power of keyword searching. Upon doing so, I immediately did a keyword search of my website. I typed "under the radar minors", "UTR", "under the radar minor league baseball players." Even I admit that I was surprised by the results. We ranked 1st, 9th and 4th respectively using those three keyword phrases. So, how does such a niche site that looks amatuerish at best have rather high SEO? I'm no expert, but I'm going to do the best I can to try and figure it out.
My first idea: Our website offers a one-of-a-kind stat service.
Every player you read about on our website has passed through our own self-created metrics. Metrics that have been tested over and over again since 2009. Metrics that were developed strictly to make it easier for fantasy baseball participants to find the next wave of great players. Metrics that we ourselves claim to have only scratched the surface of what they can do and who they can be applied to.
My second idea: Our fan base cares less about aesthetics and more about the numbers.
I'm not going to say our fans don't give a shit about the way our website looks. Of course they do, but when a reader is looking for something specific and they know where to find it, the beauty isn't as important as the priority. I mean, isn't that the principle behind the "dive bar?" It doesn't look appealing, but the cheap drinks and loud music are what gets people there.
My third idea: The experience behind the work.
Between Jim and myself, we bring over 30 years of fantasy baseball experience to the table. With the popularity of daily fantasy leagues rapidly on the rise, it puts a slight dent in the appeal of dynasty leagues. These are the days of immediate satisfaction, but there are still millions of diehards who find lifetime dynasty leagues the way to go. You build something from the ground up, and with minor leagues playing a bigger and bigger part in said leagues, people want to go to a trusted source, and sometimes the most trusted sources don't always mean they're the most popular or most well-known.
Now, it might seem that I'm taking this staunch approach when referencing our current product. Sure, I have the utmost faith in the numbers we apply and the players we promote. Several players we bought into years and years ago (that no one gave a glancing look at) are now stars at the major league level. Kudos to us right? No. We just do what we do, we love what we do and just so happen to have solid SEOs to back it up.
But I'm taking this course to take what I believe is an already good service and want to take it up not just one notch, but 10, 20, 100, 500 more notches. I want the website to appeal to everyone, not just those baseball stat heads like myself. I want to appeal to a mass audience, not stay within the niche community. The service we currently provide is simply applied to minor league players. We haven't begun to sniff the major leagues yet. This is all part of a plan. We want to take a pure grassroots approach, and when we're ready to take the visual appeal of our website to the next level, we bring with us the tried and tested metric side, and most importantly, a loyal fan base, with us.
Some would say that it's selling out to the masses. No, it isn't.
It's buying in to ourselves.
Earn my degree to back up my work.
In case you don't know, (as some people in class do) a great friend of mine and myself run our own website called UTRMinors.com, a niche website that focuses on low-level minor league baseball players that don't get the attention we feel they deserve.
I'm not going to lie. The website leaves a lot to be desired aesthetically. At the same time however, the service we offer is one-of-a-kind. During our last class I asked professor Leonard a question about search engine optimization and the power of keyword searching. Upon doing so, I immediately did a keyword search of my website. I typed "under the radar minors", "UTR", "under the radar minor league baseball players." Even I admit that I was surprised by the results. We ranked 1st, 9th and 4th respectively using those three keyword phrases. So, how does such a niche site that looks amatuerish at best have rather high SEO? I'm no expert, but I'm going to do the best I can to try and figure it out.
My first idea: Our website offers a one-of-a-kind stat service.
Every player you read about on our website has passed through our own self-created metrics. Metrics that have been tested over and over again since 2009. Metrics that were developed strictly to make it easier for fantasy baseball participants to find the next wave of great players. Metrics that we ourselves claim to have only scratched the surface of what they can do and who they can be applied to.
My second idea: Our fan base cares less about aesthetics and more about the numbers.
I'm not going to say our fans don't give a shit about the way our website looks. Of course they do, but when a reader is looking for something specific and they know where to find it, the beauty isn't as important as the priority. I mean, isn't that the principle behind the "dive bar?" It doesn't look appealing, but the cheap drinks and loud music are what gets people there.
My third idea: The experience behind the work.
Between Jim and myself, we bring over 30 years of fantasy baseball experience to the table. With the popularity of daily fantasy leagues rapidly on the rise, it puts a slight dent in the appeal of dynasty leagues. These are the days of immediate satisfaction, but there are still millions of diehards who find lifetime dynasty leagues the way to go. You build something from the ground up, and with minor leagues playing a bigger and bigger part in said leagues, people want to go to a trusted source, and sometimes the most trusted sources don't always mean they're the most popular or most well-known.
Now, it might seem that I'm taking this staunch approach when referencing our current product. Sure, I have the utmost faith in the numbers we apply and the players we promote. Several players we bought into years and years ago (that no one gave a glancing look at) are now stars at the major league level. Kudos to us right? No. We just do what we do, we love what we do and just so happen to have solid SEOs to back it up.
But I'm taking this course to take what I believe is an already good service and want to take it up not just one notch, but 10, 20, 100, 500 more notches. I want the website to appeal to everyone, not just those baseball stat heads like myself. I want to appeal to a mass audience, not stay within the niche community. The service we currently provide is simply applied to minor league players. We haven't begun to sniff the major leagues yet. This is all part of a plan. We want to take a pure grassroots approach, and when we're ready to take the visual appeal of our website to the next level, we bring with us the tried and tested metric side, and most importantly, a loyal fan base, with us.
Some would say that it's selling out to the masses. No, it isn't.
It's buying in to ourselves.
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