Pipedream - A thought revisted

This is an open letter/statement to all those interested, most specifically the writers of this blog.
I recognise that you may (or may have not) liked to recieve an email about this but I think it is time to regurgitate something, since positions have changed (a little anyways).

By Hursty:

Dear brohams, and sheilas,
Today I had my careers convention at school. It was mostly boring shit. It looks like I'm going to do exercise science, then do physiotherapy and sports management etc, anyways, what I want to talk about is what happened next...
... I went to speak to a guy at Sydney University who is doing his PhD in media marketing.
This got me to think 'maybe he can help our blog out'. Turns out he can. He gave me a lot of advice regarding advertising the site etc.
Here is a large chunk of it.
1) Stop using blogger as a site.
2) Use a '.com' url, this is because it is much easier for someone searching the web (e.g. google) to find a site, than it is with a blogger account (seriously have you guys TRIED to find this site on the interwebs?)
3) This will cost money - all of $8. I would be perfectly happy to pay this domain name fee because:
4) We would be using wordpress - I know, I know, it sucks on slamonline, but that is a different form of wordpress apparently, and we would have no issues with it.
5) I don't know how much you guys know about computers (BET knowing the most I imagine), but the impression that he was giving was that, because blogger acts as our search engine/finder, it is hard for us to generate hits, because we reach such a small market.
6) He strongly suggested some search engines/affiliates which would maintainn our site (not edit work, but make it legit, so it's always running). I have them with me, so if you want to know what they are, hit the comment section up.
7) We would have to change the site name, because apparently numbers and letters are really awkward for a search engine to process (unless someone has deliberately placed them in the search box). It could just be 'Hibachi' or something, but anything 12 characters or less is the best.

I understand that there will be some very mixed responses to this, but it is worth a mention, and the PhD student said that the site (in total fees) would cost less than $30 Australian (about 17-20$ US) per year. I'd pay all of this. HOWEVA:
I need to get feedback, not just from the writers, but those who frequent the blog/site, to guage interest.

So, if this were all to go ahead, I assume the questions of $ would arise. We would NOT be forced to finance the site, however, this could be an option through paypal if we CHOSE to. I personally have no issue with paypal, as it has been very consistent and reliable when I've used it. I understand others may however, because of age, location, creditcard details and so on. This is why it is purely up for discussion. Just email me if you have anything that you don't want said on a public forum.

When I first came up with the idea of asking the PhD student about the site, I was NOT thinking of financing - don't get it twisted. It was purely to increase the flow of people who check out the site, and to generate more of an audience - honestly thats it.

Peace, Hursty

PS- We would just use our site name instead of hibachi when leaving slam comments. Duh! - If this ever actually happens :)
PPS- Read BET's video links below, they are pretty funny, if a bit um, rude

!!!Read These Blogs!!!

A Moose Track

OK, I'll get down to the point of this post right now: There are a lot of sports blogs out there. Some of them, people spend a good amount of time writing for. Most of them, however, don't get any readers. Even though they deserve them. So, here is my promo of some great hoops blogs that I read, but nobody else does. This is to get them more readers, really. Click on the name of the blog to visit it.

1. Truly Hoops
This blog is written by Collin and Jamey Burke, two frequent commenters on SLAMonline and HIBACHI. These guys are from Oregon and Boston, and are, as you could guess, Blazers and Celtics fans. They write about current NBA news and occurrences as well as old-school pieces, usually with accompanying pictures or videos straight from the Boston Garden. They must have more followers.

2. Orange Juice
This one is made by the baconator, a guy who shows up on HIBACHI and SLAMonline a lot. The subtitle for the blog is "Offbeat, witty and 100% like nothing you've ever read before" and that isn't so far off. Although it isn't updated all that often, what shows up on it is great. It is titled thusly because of his Syracuse and Knicks fandom, whose colors are . . . orange.

3. Another 48 Minutes
This blog is maintained by Gerard Himself, frequent commenter on SLAMonline, as all of these guys are. And yes, it's Gerard with an R, not an L. He says, "I'm Dutch, I've been following the League for almost two decades now but there are very few people in The Netherlands who share the same passion about the NBA." He has kept the blog since 2007, and it is updated frequently with his NBA thoughts. Needs readers!

4. The Sports Diary Online
This blog is made by Roy Afable, a Filipino Celtics fan who is also a general sports fan. He writes about all parts of the sports world, including hoops, boxing and soccer. This blog is great for general good writing. Please check it out, Roy is a great writer.

These blogs deserve to be read and get commented on. Put on your reading hats!

--Moose

Random Musings, Surprise Teams, NBA Look-Alikes, And "Which NBA Player Are You?"

Moose here. Hello, SLAM and Blogger family!

First, I have an announcement. Everyone knows how I'm a great Boston Celtics fan. Everyone also knows that I am very loyal to my point guard and favorite player, Rajon Rondo. So, I have started a new blog that will be updated almost daily (Hibachi 2.0 is still top priority) for everyone who is even remotely interested in Boston sports from ACFPOV (A Celtics Fan Point Of View).

It is found on the right hand column of this site, in the Blog List. It is called The Roost Of Rondo's Retinue (cute, huh?) and it is found at http://roostofrondosretinue.blogspot.com/ . I have a few readers (fellow Celtics fans) but I'd like a few more, so this was to spread the word.

This post is kind of devoted to random musings and announcements, and I also kind of wanted to post something as winter vacation closes out (back to school on Tuesday . . . meh. Say nothing, Hursty). One thought: Charles Barkley needs to stop doing things that hold him true to his "I am not a role model" schtick.

Being convicted of suspected DUI (we all know why, but I'm not gonna get all awkward on here) is not a good way to maintain a good reputation. With Sir Charles it's really a love-hate type of thing. He says a lot of stuff that makes me say to myself "Did he really just say that?", but he is hella funny a lotta the time. He was also a great player, fun to watch and all.

OK, on to current NBA. The Cleveland Cavaliers are stunningly close to my hometown Boston Celtics. We have a 29-5 record, where Cleveland has a 27-6 mark. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOLKS. This Friday, Celtics@Cavs. Getcha popcorn ready. And, hats off to the fellow-five-lossers LA Lakers. Happy birthday, B. Long and Presto.

Another team to point out . . . Miami Heat. 18-14, and Dwyane Wade is making a very strong case for MVP. He's posting averages of 28.8 points, 7.0 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. Those are gaudy numbers. Behind LeBron (who is running away with it in a way) he gets my vote. Too bad I don't have one. Congrats, Eboy.

I have been noticing a few NBA look-alikes over the past couple of weeks as well. Is it just me, or does Javale Mcgee look eerily like our President Elect, Barack Obama? That's something I've noticed. Corey Maggette looks a lot like Xzibit as well. Noticed that when I was watching Gridiron Gang (pretty good movie, no?). Also, Baron Davis and Kanye West. Of course, Sam Cassell and E.T. Kyle Korver and Ashton Kutcher.

Another thing . . . I've been thinking about "Which NBA Player Are You?"'s for the dudes who belong/read this blog, but I can't come up with anything. Anyone wanna help me out? Anyways, Fly Society inductions. Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, Mike Bibby with the buzzer beaters. Incredible.

Just thought I'd drop you guys a few lines, so there it is. Later, everyone!

--Moose