Tell me what you think about that follow suite my good friend Roz helped me snag from Eric’s blog! I did some additional tweaking and feel good about how it turned out.
An aside: remember when it seemed sensible to lifestream stuff, flooding the blog with content from every channel imaginable? Glad that’s passed.
Facebook Places. Game, set, match. Why? Because even though every last destination I visit hasn’t been loaded into Facebook, it means activating one less wonky app that crashes unexpectedly and then scolds me if I try checking in again. Another plus? People I know actually use Facebook. Foursquare? Not so much.
Facebook Places does to Foursquare what Twitter’s acquisition of Tweetie did for everyone else in the mobile Twitter app market: killed ’em dead, at least on the iPhone. I know Foursquare’s trying to put on a brave face, but if Facebook wanted to introduce badges and other rewards, it wouldn’t be hard and it gives people the all-in-one convenience they want in a mobile experience.
I used Foursquare off and on for months, sometimes deleting it from the phone, then reinstalling it if a friend convinced me to do so. It was pointless. The locations are silly, as are the tips and rewards. I know how it feels to be a regular at my local bar. It’s great. I don’t need an app to drive that point home. As I tweeted after Facebook Places was launched, “we don’t need no stinkin’ badges!” At the same time, I like to let friends know that I’m out if they’d like to join me someplace. Revive the drop-in visit! How fun!
Do yourself a favor and delete Foursquare already. You’re worried about privacy concerns? Here’s a thought: don’t bother checking in! I’ll go a step further and say that you should really categorize all of your Facebook contacts in a way that protects you from weirdos. That should be a no-brainer at this point in the game. As in so many things, be careful and have fun!
I arrived a bit late to last night’s game, missing the first inning, but I was there for the following 15. What happened in the top of the 4th is something I’ll probably remember — and maybe regret — for the rest of my life. I talked to Enrico over at The 700 Level about it early this morning. He posted our chat in full here.
It was a pretty amazing, if confusing experience. I knew the ball was headed directly at me from the moment it left the bat. It just loomed large as it approached. It seemed to be moving slowly right before it completely exploded into the seats next to me. Even though it ended up being a beautiful night, I’m happy Helen and Charlie weren’t with me because I don’t know what we would’ve done as the ball approached. Duck and cover!
Instead it landed harmlessly in a cupholder. I grabbed the ball and tossed it back onto the field. It nearly rolled to the infield. Should I have turned and handed it to the young girl keeping score behind me? In retrospect, yes, I probably should’ve. But I’m not sure anything will feel quite as euphoric as hearing a stadium full of people cheer the one time you throw a ball inside a major league ballpark. That was amazing.
I’m confident that if we hang on to our seats in left field we’ll probably get another shot in the future. We don’t have many righties who pull or hit for power, but I’m going to guess that sitting in the heart of the lower left field seats gives me as good a chance as any of catching one in the future. (As I wrote this, Jayson Werth hit a ball that snuck over the left field wall. See!?)
You can help the poor Astros out by watching this video of Carlos Lee’s homer here. Look for me at the :18 and listen to the cheer go up. Tell me that isn’t awesome!
Bring Your A’s Game has been a whirlwhind. After two weeks I’ve gotten more press than I could’ve ever imagined. This week I talked to Bob Huber at Philly Mag and Shai Ben-Yaacov at WHYY.It’s been exhilarating to build a guerrilla marketing campaign out of thing air. And that’s not even the strangest part!
I find myself suddenly immersed in the politics surrounding the Oakland A’s. It’s like my graduate work has come back to haunt me through my love of baseball. It’s urban political economy at its rawest: the A’s and MLB have everyone over a barrel as they try to leverage the best deal from either Oakland or San Jose. It’s a lose-lose for everyone involved. The A’s new stadium will be costly and it’s not clear to me that it really solves their problem. Can a new building make them the hot ticket when San Francisco has Tim Lincecum?
I’m not entirely sure where this project will take me, but I’m up for a good thrill ride. The mix of blind ambition plus a smattering of concrete goals ought to shape it into something worthwhile, if not entirely transformative. Can’t wait to share my progress!
As I’ve probably mentioned elsewhere, I often take my son Charlie on drives around our neighborhood to give mom a break and to get him to nap for about an hour or so. I frequently drive to the sites of old Philadelphia ballparks, most of which are just a short drive from our home in the Port Fishington triangle.
Today I took Charlie past the old Columbia Avenue Grounds on Cecil B. Moore at 29th Street. I was shocked when I arrived and there was no historical marker indicating that it was once the home of the Philadelphia Athletics. A World Series was played there, right in the heart of Brewerytown! There’s a great article here about the sights, sounds, and smells of the ballpark. Check it out.
The deeper I delve into the history of Philadelphia baseball, the more I fall in love with this city and its rich history. Everyone likes to talk about Philadelphia as the colonial capital, but too many historians and tourists treat the city as if it were frozen in amber in 1787. The history of its neighborhoods are told by those blue historical markers that dot the city’s landscape, serving as reminders of the city’s wondrous past.
The next question is how do we rectify this problem and get the Columbia Avenue Grounds a historical marker? (Originally posted at the Bring Your A’s Game tumblog.)