The SID Files

The world of sports information is an amazing way of life. Here are a few tales from along the way.

[jaystancil]

Time for a re-boot

Well, it’s been a while since I blogged.

For the past couple years, I really didn’t know what to say or share. You could say I was in a rut.

But then, #CoSIDA17 happened.

I came away from this year’s convention rejuvenated, energized and excited about the future of the sports communications profession. The young, up-and-coming talent has arrived. The next wave of great SIDs has already invaded our campuses.

As I’m getting ready to enter my 19th year in the profession, I found myself like a young pup, eager to learn and grow. There are so many great stories out there, and I want to share there with you.

So, stick around and join the discussion. Got any topic ideas, send them my way.

[jaystancil]

#SIDChat for August Transcript

Here's the transcript of the last #SIDChat we had.

Live Blog #SIDChat for August 20

[jaystancil]

#SIDChat Transcript for August 13

Here's the transcript from last week's #SIDChat

Live Blog #SIDChat for August 13

[jaystancil]

#SIDChat Transcript from August 7

Small crowd. Short notice. Still had a #SIDChat

Live Blog #SIDChat August 7

[jaystancil]

#SIDChat Transcript from July 31

Took me a while to post this, but here's the transcript from July 31's #SIDChat

Live Blog #SIDChat for July 31

[jaystancil]

#SIDChat Transcript for July 23

Had a small but good crowd for #SIDChat this week.

We discussed the best practices on a variety of topics.

The full transcript is below.

Live Blog #SIDChat for July 23

[jaystancil]

Sometimes the simplest things produce big results

Today I was walking across campus. It was a perfect day weather-wise. Cool temps, a few clouds in the sky to create some contrast, a light breeze. A day that made you feel right at home in the mountains of southeast Kentucky.

It was such a beautiful day that I stopped and snapped a quick photo of couple buildings on campus. It was quiet, serene. 

Once I got back into the office, I shared this photo on the school's Facebook page and Twitter account with a caption about how beautiful of a day it is on campus and that the fall semester is a mere four weeks away.

That was it. Short and sweet and too the point.

I was surprised this evening when I happened to be on Facebook to see the response this image generated. In the span of 7 hours, the photo received 78 'Likes,' has been shared numerous times and a collected a number of comments. A lot of the comments came from alumni reminiscing of their days as a student.

Admittedly I'm not a fan of Facebook's analytics (but that's for another post on another day), but I was pleasantly surprised to see the photo had a reach of nearly 1,200 people. 

Now, this isn't earth-shattering, game-changing social media strategy here. But this is a little reminder that sometimes a simple photo from a cell phone can result in some quality engagement with your audience.

[fastcodesign]

These posters make learning about typography fun!

[chrisyandle]

Yup!

[jaystancil]

#SIDChat Transcript for July 16

Topic for the week was Game Notes.

Had a small but good crowd on hand. For those who missed the chat, the full transcript is below.

Live Blog #SIDChat for July 16

[sportsinfo101]

Legendary Lyricist of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' Memorialized in Anaheim

I’ll bet you did not know this, as I didn’t until very recently.  A good bit of baseball history and connection to Anaheim and Orange County, California

Every kid in America – and many more all over the world – can sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” But few baseball fans (even those in Orange County) are aware that the man responsible for the words of that song is buried within eyeshot of Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

[jaystancil]

We Are All Co-Workers

This weekend, I took the family to a Reds game for my son's birthday. It just so happened that a colleague of mine was there as well, taking in the sights and sounds of Great American Ballpark.

I always enjoy running into and seeing my friends in the sports communications world because it's so rare we get to see one another let alone get to visit outside of working an event.

Given that Wade Neely of Martin Methodist works at a school which in a different conference, it's rare we get to see other despite being only a few hours away. 

It was great getting to chat for a bit outside the realm of college athletics. During our conversion, Wade said something that struck a cord with me. When his friend he was there with came up to join us, Wade introduced me as a co-worker.

A co-worker.

Think about this for a second. We don't work for the same institution nor even within the same conference. Yet, Wade views me as a co-worker.

You know what? I have to agree with him.

For years, I have maintained sports communicators/SIDs are all on the same team even though we might represent different schools and/or leagues. We need one another to help us get our jobs done. We can get a lot more accomplished if we work together instead of trying to go it alone.

We can learn so much from one another. How to do things better, faster/quicker and sometimes even cheaper.

While we might wear different school colors, we are all on the same team.

[jaystancil]

#SIDchat Transcript for July 9

Had a great #SIDChat this week as the topic was the "SID New Year."

A good crowd was on hand and the discussion was lively.

Here is the full transcript.

Live Blog #SIDChat for July 9

[jaystancil]

#SIDChat Transcript for June 25

A small gathering, but good convo nonetheless.

Here's the full transcript of this week's chat.

Live Blog #SIDChat for June 25

[jaystancil]

#SIDChat for June 5

Last time we met was back on June 5 before the start of the CoSIDA Convention. 

Small crowd on hand, but good conversation as always.

Live Blog #SIDChat for June 5

[chrisyandle]

Is social media making us anti-social? The answer is complicated.

Yes.

and no.

Huh? How is that possible?

I, for one, am guilty of sitting at a table in a public place, scouring through hours of tweets and social media posts - trying to digest everything I missed in the last 30 seconds...

[jaystancil]

Great stuff here.

[dumbtomovie]

Wanna Go For A Ride? Click here for a chance to drive the Mutt Cutts Van across the country!

[frankkeenan]

NACDA 2014 is officially underway, with N4A (National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics) sessions kicking off the nine day college athletics fest at the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida, that includes the acronym heavy list of; NACDA, CABMA, CEFMA, ...