Why the Media Picks on Different

April 27, 2010 -- 8:51 pm

Type in the name Ricky Williams on Google, and browse through the results. The first few are typical -- NFL.com player stats, a Yahoo! rumor or two about retirement, the list goes on.

But halfway down the page, you see it:

2nd most popular search in the past hour.

Hotness:Volcanic

Google Trends, a service that tracks search queries, shows that Ricky Williams search level is "volcanic".

Type in Run Ricky Run, and you'll see that the new ESPN documentary series 30 for 30's airing of Run Ricky Run is the 13th most searched for topic in the hour following the airing of the episode

Here's why Ricky's story is different from the traditional star athletes: He left the game, in his prime, for SPIRITUAL reasons.

Williams is a different man; or should I say, a different NFL star. Ricky had trouble coping with NFL stardom, and after multiple suspensions (try 4) and an eventual year long ban from NFL football, many people had written off the talented Williams as a has-been who couldn't stay away from drugs.

It didn't help Ricky's image when he literally ran away from an $8.5 million dollar contract with the Miami Dolphins to an Australian camp site that charged a whopping $7 per night.

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Williams' Humble Abode in Australia

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Williams was struggling because he didn't truly know himself -- a reason he often cited for the use of Marijuana (when he did admit to use of the drug). He said he was trying to "get inside myself, see who I really am".

But the media didn't want any part of that. All they wanted to do was run his name across the mud on the crawl at the bottom of the television screen and tell the world that he was a delinquent. A criminal. Someone who could not hold his life together when everything had been handed to him on a silver platter.

What most media outlets left out is what Sean Pamphilon and Royce Toni set out to deliver in Run Ricky Run: the truth about why Ricky Williams was struggling in life.

Williams never denies his less-than-honorable actions. He knows he still owes the Dolphins front office $8.5 million. He knows he was an absentee father and temperamental (at best) life partner to his current wife, Kristen. He understands that he ran away from his responsibilities as a teammate, a father, and a husband.

But he does have a healthy, positive side that the media never chose to show during his early, tumultuous stint in the NFL.

Upon returning from Australia, Williams became interested in holistic healing and natural medicine. His spiritual shift led him to be taken under the wing of Swami Sitaramananda, the director of the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm in Grass Valley, California. There, Ricky learned the healing power of yoga and has been given the honor of being 1 of the 4 instructors at the farm.

According to Run Ricky Run, when he does retire Williams wants to go to medical school and study to become a physician. Five years ago, Ricky's own mother defined his roll in his own kids lives as "absent". Now? She says "present" with a smile, a full 180-degree turn in only a small matter of time.

But where is the media now? Aside from a few cheers upon his return to the NFL in the 2008 season, they have completely forgotten his story.

Williams is different; he always has been, and he always will be. Jason Taylor, a former Dolphin teammate, said he was "the hardest working guy who complained the least" on the team. Those who have taken Williams' yoga courses say he's been extremely calm and insightful; a real treat to be around.

And what is lost in the whole Ricky Williams story is this: he ran away from everything so that he could come to know, understand, and ultimately love the man he had grown to be. Ricky has never been accused of assaulting a young woman in a nightclub. He never got high in the wee hours of the morning and ran over a man in his car. In fact, he's never been charged of any violent criminal activity.

Unfortunately for him, the media has charged and convicted Williams of being different.

Ricky simply walked away from the confusing, shades-of-gray world he had grown up in in the attempt to discover himself and the man he was supposed to be.

Does that really sound like a criminal to you?

Untapped iPad Applications

The new iPad had been touted as many things -- the Jesus Christ of e-readers being one of my favorites -- and I'm curious to see what new functions consumers will discover for its use.

Take a traditionally analog product, like a set of turntables, and "iPad" it: Is it possible to becomes the world's next biggest thing wearing oversized headphones with the purchase of a pair of iPads?

Aside from physical gear, the biggest advance in DJ technology has been the development of digital mixing softwares. Serato, one of the most popular DJ-mixing software, revolutionized the way DJ's mixed because it allows them to use the music off their computers hard drive, eliminating the physical CD element, and also has unique features that assist beginning DJ's develop skills such as beat matching with helpful tutorials built into the program.

Turntables themselves have been moving into the digital world with advances in new technologies like C-DJ's such as THESE that allow users to insert physical CD's and mix as well as plug into their computers to mix digital audio tracks (ex: mp3 files).

For those who are still using good old vinyl tables, don't feel left out! You can still spin your favorite Bee Gee's record digitally with a USB connection from the table to your computer with a set up like this Audio Technica tables.

But for those of you who don't know, a pair of turntables, mixer, and the aforementioned Serato mixing software can cost upwards of $2,000 for a decent set up. And with audio equipment, the last thing you want to do is under invest in your hobby/passion and purchase a product that you are going to be unhappy with.

Enter a young creative, Rana Sobhany, who already has used a pair of iPads to DJ and event at the iPad Dev Camp in Sillicon Valley. Her total cost of the pair of iPads, a cheap mixer, and amp? Approximately $1,200. Even more interesting is the fact that all the applications and programs she uses to mix were already created prior to the iPad being released. She has them posted on her website, which can be found HERE

Watch her video...



If Rana has already discovered this idea so quickly after the iPads release, it makes me wonder what else the iPad can be applied...


An article on Mashable discusses her idea in more depth. Check it out HERE

Michael Jordan Is My Dad

Does a viral strategy really work?

One young man, Jeremy Salzman, is testing this execution out with his website, Michael Jordan Is My Dad, accompanied with an imbedded YouTube video and linked Twitter account.

Salzman, a young basketball fan trying to get free admission for Michael Jordan's annual Flight Camp.

In the video, Salzman says he is Mike's long lost 3rd son and wants to attend his Flight Camp to play him one-on-one. Then, he proceeds to drain 4 full-court shots in a row. At the conclusion of the video, he asks Mike if to take a look at the video and seriously consider bringing him in, free of charge, to Flight Camp.

Along with the video and website, Salzman is using a twitter account to tweet NBA players, college and professional coaches, and media icons who cover basketball.

Here's an example:

"@StephenCurry30 Steph there's no way you can shoot like me. Check it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCjQ86uZyWU"

This was sent to Warriors guard Stephen Curry, and the other tweets look very similar.

By going on a digital onslaught on those involved in professional basketball, Salzman is hoping to gain online popularity to the point where Michael Jordan might actually see his video.

Will this work?

Check back after Flight Camp tips off.

New Car!

I've never spent so much money on one item in my life. Now what, you may ask, did I purchase?

A new (albeit, 10 year old "new") car!

I've been in the market for a few months now, and finally went ahead and talked to a family friend, Rick Balch, a private dealer who has tracked down 3 (now 4) cars for my family.

The car is all the way across the state, and looking at the pictures makes me want to get in and drive!

Take a look at it on my Flickr page.

The Genius Behind The "I-5 Slog"

I've lived in the Pacific Northwest for the last 18 years of my life, and since I was old enough to remember, have driven in every direction in and out of the state of Washington.

When I was 10, we drove from Seattle to Bozeman, Montana, and on to Yellowstone National Park. At age 13, we took off due north and went through the US - Canada border to visit British Columbia. And last summer, at age 21, I drove the 16 hours from Seattle to Santa Cruz, California, stopping in Berkeley and San Francisco along the way.

But those are lengthy drives -- you expect the time spent in the car and are prepared for it.

There is nothing like the Seattle to Portland (or Portland to Seattle) drive. It's approximately 3 hours in length, and unlike a lot of the long car trips I've been on, you know exactly where you are the entire way thanks to landmarks and familiar cities. Knowing your exact location in the state and how close (yet SO FAR) you are from your destination is extremely frustrating. The relative shortness (yet again, FAR DISTANCE) of this drive is the problem.

Solution: Try one of Horizon Air's numerous, affordable daily flights between the two cities.

Take off to touch down: A whopping 52 minutes -- I've seen trashy VH1 reality TV shows last longer.

But how will Horizon market this concept?

Solution: Enter WONGDOODY, a creative Seattle-based advertising agency that called upon the history of the "old west" and created an Oregon Trail-esque campaign that transcended both traditional media outlets as well as literal "point of sale" promotional materials that they called "The I-5 Slog".

Buses with the map of the "slog" traveled up and down the I-5 corridor, reminding those who were making the drive how much easier their trip could have been had they decided to fly Horizon.

Even better, WONGDOODY used the familiar landmarks (example: "Last Meal Gorge" referring to one of the last places to grab a bite to eat in southern Washington) that people who regularly make the drive would know and appreciate.

The online videos are shot like a Ken Burns documentary, emphasizing the "old west" image WONGDOODY is trying to promote. Another great execution is the use of online skyscraper ads that urge the target to "Wake the Slogger", referring to the driver who is falling asleep at the wheel.

Its brilliance lies in the simplicity of WONGDOODY's concept -- now I gotta ford the river. Hope I don't lose any of my oxen...

WONGDOODY Interview

Just had an interview with four really impressive people from Los Angeles's WONGDOODY branch earlier this afternoon. One word came to mind once I finished my hour and a half long conversation with them:

WOW!

They really impressed me with the way they spoke of their clients as well as their general attitude toward those they work with and the WONGDOODY brand they represent.

I'd be honored to work alongside these people! The message they put out was simple -- the sky is the limit, and WONGDOODY wants its employees to push the boundaries and think in a way no one has ever thought of before.

Can't wait to hear back from JJ....hopefully the news out of my camp next week is "California here I come!"