I
spent my summer surfing - on my new Website, not the waves
Let's see, where was I
before I was so rudely interrupted by this
irritating, jobs-devouring recession?
Oh yeah, I was
cranking out sports sections for the local
newspaper at a pretty steady rate when -- ZAP! -- my sports editor
position disappeared faster than a double cheeseburger in a shark tank.
Like they say: One
minute you're the windshield, the next minute
you're the bug.
To make a short story even shorter, I decided I liked what I was doing
for a living way too much to let a bulldozer-sized dose of adversity
get in the way.
So I hired an
awesome Web-design guy, prayed a lot, bought the
domain name PlymouthCantonSports.com, prayed some more, talked to a
lawyer, came up with an advertising-selling strategy, kept praying, and
10 weeks later -- BOOM! (as John Madden used to say) -- I'm back doing
what I love best, only this time I'm armed with a more-efficient set of
tools.
Pros and
cons
Before I fill you
in on the reasons why this form of media is
superior to newspapers when it comes to covering local sports, I feel
obligated to let you know about the disadvantages of the Internet:
1. You can't roll up
your laptop and swat flies with it; and
2. You can't use it
to line the bottom of your bird cage.
O.K., now let's move
on to the two most prominent advantages.
First of all, in the
words of American Idol winner Chris Allen,
there are no boundaries. (By the
way, I don't watch American Idol.
Honest. My wife told me who won.)
I am no longer
limited by how much information I can distribute
to you, the sports fan, by a page-and-a-half sports section. I am
dealing with an infinite amount of space, which means I can write a lot
more profiles, a lot more columns and provide a lot more action-packed
photos than before.
Quick
response
Another significant
plus to this Website is immediacy. Within a
few hours after the final buzzer goes off at most high school athletic
events, I'll have game stories and photos online for you to enjoy.
And the site will be
updated multiple times daily, thus, my new
slogan: "Don't quit after just one hit."
Thank you to all of
the people who have helped make this Website
possible.
Eyad, the Web-design
genius, is nothing short of brilliant.
Props to attorney
Rod Dunlap, who helped me navigate the legal
waters, and to Chris Tidwell and Bob Staples, who, along with working
their full-time sales jobs, are helping me sell much-needed advertising.
Speaking of
advertising, please support the businesses you see
on this site. They are all good people whose services I would
whole-heartedly recommend.
Last but not least,
I'd like to thank my family -- my wife,
Laura, and sons Erik, Brandon and Ben. It's been a lean summer, but
better days are ahead.
Where
there's a well, there's a way
In the farewell
column I wrote in the local newspaper back in
May, in reference to the dried-up job market I'd be facing, I quoted
the
French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery, who wrote: "What makes the
desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well."
I then wrote that
I'd soon be looking for my well.
As it turned out,
there are no wells to be found these days.
So I decided to dig
one.
As you will discover
in the coming months, my well is deep and
plentiful -- a great place to visit if you're
thirsty for fresh and entertaining local sports news.
If you would like to advertise on
PlymouthCantonSports.com or if you have ideas for the site, please send
an e-mail to Ed Wright at info@plymouthcantonsports.com.
