SoccerProfiles.org

We are really excited for the re-launch of our social networking site www.soccerprofiles.org. We had developed the site about 4 years ago and it has done well without any type of marketing or push from us. We have registered users from all 50 states and several foreign countries. We really think that the next 12 months will lead us to a huge growth spike as we re-tool some of our features and really open up with a marketing push.

Stay tuned, or better yet, check out www.soccerprofiles.org for more info.

Elite Soccer Camps

Next week we are hosting our last session of elite soccer camps for the summer of 2007. Director Simon Sheppard will once again lead the camp. If you want more information, please visit www.elite-soccer.com or email him at ssheppard@esmgroup.org

The Red Rubber Ball

Several years ago I attended a banking and real estate conference called PCBC in San Francisco. One of the keynotes was given by a man named Kevin Carroll, who worked for several companies, including the likes of Nike. He changed my mind, and helped foster my creative to both write my book and found ESM.



He spoke about the power of play. He talked about how each one of us has the ability to evoke positive change in the world, and to do so we needed to find our inner child. By doing that, he argued, we could have a powerful experience everyday. Most importantly he emphasized, that if we found that inner child and that passion to play that we could accomplish great things along the way.



In a lot of ways his speech helped me to write my book. In it, I talk a great deal about the power of play, and the ability we have in our society to effect kids through sports and empowerment.



One of the most interesting things I come across in my travels is that plethora of parents and coaches who don't get it. I can't put it any simpler: they just don't get it. They think that sports are about winning. They think that sports are about bragging about who is a better athlete. I am hoping that my book will shed some light on what's going on with the current plight of youth sports in America, but more importantly, provide a road map for what we need to do in order to bring about powerful change.



In the end, its all about finding a way to play.

The Getty

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Originally uploaded by wr_downing33

If you haven't visited The Getty yet, you have to. It is most likely one of the most impressive cultural experiences in the states. From the minute you walk in you are so in to the whole experience, and just keep going from exhibit to exhibit. You can spend the whole day there, and not even realize it.

Check out my flickr photos on the right hand side of this blog for more details.

Flickr

For about 4 months now, I have been using Yahoo!'s photo management system, Flickr.

Flickr has changed the way I communicate using the web. Now, I snap a photo of something, upload it to my Flickr account, click "blog this" and moments later the photo and any text I want appears on my blog.

It also allows you to create collections and sets that you can email to friends, family and business associates.

This isn't meant to be a plug for Flickr, but the more I thought of it today, tools like Flickr, Facebook, Paypal, and others have really changed the way we live, interact and thrive as humans.

What I have been thinking a lot about this week is finding a way to utilize all these new tools from web 2.0 and make it impact our small business.

Food for thought tomorrow as I hit the road to Santa Cruz.

Social Networking

There seems to be a lot of blogging going on about Facebook. As you know, Facebook launched its new "open" platform. A backlash has hit Facebook in the wake of a tremendous amount of upset users who have been overloaded with a sea of new apps.

Facebook's plan is simple. More users equals more revenue. However, they may have overlooked one key element: they need to keep their current users happy.

Social networking a la Myspace and Facebook seem to be played out a little bit, but there is a new paradigm in web 2.0 and its called user generated content. I really think that this is the key to the future of social networking. Wikipedia and others have done a great job of creating content that has come from the users. My hunch, though, is that there is another twist in this game that will soon hit. Social networking may be played out, but the paradign is going to shift again.

iPhone: Cingular, AT&T or whatever their name is today bungled the opening day sales of the iPhone. Steve Jobs, wake up, cingular is not ready to handle Apple. Open the iPhone to every carrier.