Blog Archives
Omar Sharif and the Sabres New Media Summit
It takes a lot to motivate me to write these days, but I figure it’s time to get back in front of the keyboard.
Last night was the third “New Media Summit” held by the Buffalo Sabres, welcoming in 16 (yes, 16) bloggers/writers/fans to sit down with Ted Black and Sabres staff to discuss various topics relating to the team and organization.
After a nice happy hour and mingling (bonus points to the Sabres for getting food from La Nova, I approve) we were led to a “secret location” for the event. The secret location turned out to be the vaunted locker room.
I’m gonna spare a lot of the discussion points, because you can read that on pretty much every other site that was there.
Unintentionally, it turned out to be a nice little PR event for the Sabres. They were able to break some big news by way of a non-traditional sources, as everyone was pecking away at their laptops as Ted Black announced the new show on WGR. All the discussions were things they were well prepared for, including most of the questions, which were pre-screened.
While reading other accounts of the event shows that many attendees were quite enamored with the event, I’m pretty much on the opposite end.
Going in, I had anticipated a more open forum than the last one a few months ago, which had broached some controversial issues and led to some back-and-forth. That last one was supposed to be a “Live Suggestion Box,” and turned into a mini-press conference. This one was a straight up press conference. Press releases and everything.
It was fashion show, hence the title. The bloggers might as well have been Billy Charlebois walking down the catwalk and pushing the message. (Editor’s note: If you don’t get this reference, I need to tell you that you suck at being a hockey fan)
While the staff was fully prepared with everything that was going to be discussed, the attendees weren’t. Hell, they kept the location secret. Then they drop a bomb off the bat.
Personally, I fail to see how leading 16 people, who are basically some of your most passionate fans, into the locker room is gonna do anything but intimidate the majority of them. You could see people taking pictures afterwards. No one was going to sit there and challenge anyone on anything when that’s the environment. And for the most part, with few exceptions, no one did. That’s not a slight against my blogging brethren as much as disappointment with the way everything was set up. Read the rest of this entry
On “Sabre Summit” and blogging
This post is overdue, but definitely necessary.
Last week, the Buffalo Sabres held their first “Sabre Summit”, a discussion between Ted Black, Kevin Sylvester and a group of Sabres bloggers selected by the organization.
I’ll disclose that 3MI was not invited to participate, with indications being that the reason why being that I do not live in the area. Even if invited, work obligations would’ve prevented me from attending, so that’s acceptable, even though I’d never expect an invite. Would I be open to attending in the future? Sure. What fan would turn down an opportunity to sit down with the man who runs your team?
The attendees did a great job covering what was discussed. Recaps from Goose’s Roost, Hockey Rhetoric, Top Shelf, and Black & Blue & Gold (amongst others) were very interesting. It’s endearing to see the organization embrace the medium at last. One of the topics covered was the subject of credentials for bloggers and press box access. There’s a whole can of worms to worry about when it comes to credentials. Who deserves access? How do you judge that?
Sure, anyone can start a blog. That’s the beauty of the whole thing. But what makes a blog valuable is something more than just writing one. It takes an effort to stay current, thought-provoking content, and most importantly, a passion for doing it.
I can speak truthfully when I say that our Sabres blogging community is carried by a group of extremely intelligent, passionate, and thankfully sane individuals. These people who maintain their sites get more joy out of producing content than anyone can possibly get by reading it. It’s an outlet. It’s therapy.
We’re not professionals. Most of us have jobs, school or other obligations that we have to tend to as well. Sometimes that can get in the way, in my case, much more than I’d like. Is it better that we are doing this out of love and not necessity? We’re writers, we’re sports writers, but we certainly aren’t cranky sports writers who have to worry about deadlines or get to complain about their perilous travel experiences. We’re just fans, but I say that in a positive way. We care. Read the rest of this entry
Sabres Blogger Trade Deadline Mega Live Blog
SABRES BLOGGERS… ASSEMBLE!
With the trade deadline today, all Sabres bloggers are converging together for “Mega Live Blog” to be broadcasted across a bunch of the best Sabres blogs out there… like this one. Check it out at 10am… we’ll be rockin’ until the deadline.
Some of the participating blogs: The Goose’s Roost, Bfloblog, Willful Caboose, Top Shelf Cookies, Bangin Panger, Hockey Rhetoric, Black and Blue Hockey, Two Minutes for Roughing, Queen City Hockey, Roll the Highlight Film, The Fanatical Fan, Muckers and Grinders, Shots off the Crossbar, Hockey Night in Buffalo… and more.
Follow along RIGHT HERE!
