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Hawk Digest has changed hosts and is now on Ning. You can get there by going to
You'll want to change your bookmarks or links to hawkdigest.com going forward.
This page will go away on September 30, 2009.
Not this one of course, but you know ... generally speaking. I can't tell you the last time I actually visited RCT, Oread or The Shiver. Most everything I read on the internet is through a reader and that pretty much explains one of the big drivers behind the current "publishing apocalypse." Newspapers and magazines always thought they could transition to the web and capture all kinds of online ad revenue and save money by shutting down print.* Of course, after a decade long run-up, online advertising is still just a fraction of the overall revenue for publishers. Free content turned out to be a bad idea for publishing and at this point there is no turning back. I should know -- I have a front row seat right in the middle of the tornado. The carnage is pretty insane and it's changing people's lives. Still, sometimes I can sit back and look at the landscape and it's just fascinating as hell to watch it all burn down. I get a little bit more perspective because running a blog as hobby, puts me on the other side. That would be the free content, re-publisher/columnist side that is killing publishing.
Anyway, so the website is dead. Let's get into that. Without putting a lot of thought into it, how about we categorize internet users into three categories:
Grandma and the EMFS crew still might be visiting websites, so you can say website ads are still getting impressions.** Still, we all know that we've gotten accustomed to reading right around ads on the web. Anything that isn't black text on white "ain't getting looked at."
Here's the thing though, eventually Grandma and the EMFS are going to start moving toward feeds. Facebook, Microsoft/Yahoo or Google is going to get them at some point. Facebook is so close to nailing this bad boy down, but they bumble around so much it's more like watching The Office than say watching There Will Be Blood. Or maybe the better comparision would be like watching toddlers work together to build a block castle.
Anyway, it'll get figured out and online ad revenue may not ever be solved and kind of that fear that large businesses have had all along that maybe they were wasting millions on website development for something that is really just a fancy brochure and/or shopping cart is starting to feel a little more like a plausible reality.
At this point, you are saying to yourself -- you haven't put up a real post on football in a month and this is what I get? Calm down -- this is just a long-winded introduction to the Hawk Digest Ning social site. Boo -- social -- Boo! Yeah, I know. We all hate Facebook. But here is the reality. Squarespace is an awesome host and if you are a small business and you want to dominate search, you should give me a call. However, they've neglected their forum module. A fan site like this needs a good forum and the best thing for posting photos, video, chat and discussion is Ning (though also flawed). So, I've taken down the HD Squarespace forum and Ning is now going to serve as the forum.
The other factor is that due to the destruction inside of the publishing business, it's going to take a superhero-type effort to get my real company turned in the right direction. So instead of spending weekends typing out football posts, I may be going the extra mile for the man. Hawk Digest will always go on as a fansite for KU football, but I want to hear more from the readers/users, so the Ning site will open that up. The fact is nothing can keep up with current events more that a group of users, so there really is no reason for me to dominate the conversation.
Conclusion: Check out the Hawk Digest Ning site -- get signed up and start using that forum. I would love to see photos and video added as well. In fact, my big summer project is to start scanning ticket stubs and other memorabilia. Hopefully, this whole initiative can help fulfill the mission of HD -- be the ultimate resource for KU football fans.
*The great big lie is that print is expensive. Publishing companies have a hard time truly costing their digital efforts and went on a massive salary spending spree for new media types this decade. That over-valuation is costing them big time. As a side note, if you ever catch me at the bar, ask me why I believe the NY Times is not on the ropes and is actually more powerful than it has ever been
**Don't talk to me about ads in the RSS feed. That is the fastest way to get your feed dropped and they are so easy to ignore anyway.
Ready to rock! Get in on the live game thread here.
The answer is yes. But wait, there's more. There's not one, but two ways your voice can be heard.
1) Comment on the posted stories and the entire HD audience will see you username in the left column.
2) Don't want to be tied down to the lame topic the HD editor has chosen for the day. Head to the forum and get the word out. Once again you'll feed into the left column front page.
Mainly, getting into the action will help things stay fresh on site and it's going to be a great year to get in the mix. The forum is a little basic right now, but we are expecting upgrades. Get in early.
Catching up on the world wide web, I've got a friend who has started up a blog following the KC Royals. He's a damn good writer and a die-hard fan, so if baseball is your scene you should check it out at:
http://tangledupinroyalblue.blogspot.com/
I ran into another blog on the Buffs this summer. It'll be up on the Big 12 Portal page soon:
http://theralphiereport.blogspot.com/
A few new friends have stopped by as well and you'll now find both on the front page blog roll. First there is the http://hottytoddyblog.blogspot.com/ site covering Ole Miss and then http://deathrattlesports.com/ which covers it all.
Stay gold.
Mark Mangino has put a few years in now, so I think it's time we take a look at the all-time best "Fighting Mangino's" at KU. This is not a a definitive list, so help me out by clicking on the comments.
QB -- Todd Reesing
Consideration: Bill Whittemore Great Moments: Jason Swanson, Brian Luke
RB -- Jon Cornish
RB -- Brandon McAnderson
Consideration: Clark Green Future: Jake Sharp Great Moments: John Randle
WR -- Mark Simmons
WR -- Marcus Henry
WR -- Brandon Rideau
WR -- Dexton Fields
Consideration: Charles Gordon (FR), Brian Murph, Jr. Great Moments: Aqib Talib Future: Dezmon Briscoe
TE -- Derek Fine
Consideration: Lyonel Anderson
T -- Anthony Collins
T -- Adrian Jones
G -- Ryan Cantrell
G -- Adrian Mayes or Chet Hartley
C -- Joe Vaughan
Consideration: David Ochoa, Danny Lewis, Cesar Rodriguez
This is a tough call. I feel good about the tackles and center, but I need some help on the guards.
DE -- Charlton Keith
DE -- Jermail Ashley
Consideration: David McMillan
DT -- James McClinton
DT -- Wayne Wilder
Consideration: Tim Allen, Travis Watkins, Eric Butler
LB -- Nick Reid
LB -- Joe Mortenson
LB -- James Holt
Consideration: Kevin Kane, Mike Rivera, Banks Floodman, Gabe Toomey, Brandon Perkins, Eric Washington
CB -- Aqib Talib
CB -- Charles Gordon
Consideration: Chris Harris, Theo Baines
S -- Rodney Harris
S -- Darrell Stuckey
Consideration + Future: Justin Thornton
This week we've added a new link to the left with the KU Football Schedule. Not too big of a deal, but the future schedules are there as well for a quick resource for Hawk Digest readers. Right now, just the non-cons are there, but we'll get the conference schedules in later.
New Recruiting Tracker
Today you'll find a new section in the left navigation bar for Big 12 North Recruiting. Basically, it endeavors to track all of the North recruits and assign the HDr rating system to players from our division rivals. All six teams have their own link from the expandable main section.
This will be an interesting item to track as I've found that Mizzou is tearing it up on the recruiting trail and the page is three players out of date. All over pages are current. More details will fill in on those pages, but we were anxious to launch.
As part of the summer improvements, you'll find a Hawk Digest Feedback module on the left. It's a feed of all of the most recent comments made on Hawk Digest stories. If you want to be famous, just push the comments link on any recent article and type away.
In the future, the old forum will be resurrected and topics and threads from that tool will also feed into the same area. Final summation: get ready to talk Kansas Jayhawk football.
As promised, progess on the site continues. Today, I want to unveil the Big 12 Portal page. This new page merges the old Big 12 Digest news feed page with the Big 12 blog links. The links page is pretty popular and the news feed was before I shut it down early this year. The news is all baseball and recruiting now, but that news feed will really start spin as football season gets closer. Check it out, bookmark it, enjoy and remember there is always a link located in the left column.
DJ Goodwin
