Believe...in a finished product!

I am now done with my website. The last things I added were a media page for when visitors want to follow us elsewhere. We have our blog and our facebook page that they can go take a look at. I also added community service so that people could see just how we give back to the community. I am very happy with the way the site has turned out and the coaches here are excited about taking a look into using it for the next few years. I have learned so much in this class and I am proud to show my site off to whoever wants to see it.

Colorbox!

I am proud to say that I have conquered colorbox! Not only do my photos display in a lightbox but you can also scroll through them without closing out of them. To do this I just added more image fields to the existing article content. When I added the module, I downloaded the colorbox module from www.drupal.org. I then followed the video that guided me step by step through the process. Here is the link to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY5KH6Ym-tA

I didn't add a lot of different modules, Facebook Like, Colorbox, photo rate as a few examples but I did add a lot of new content types. I added each new tab through a new content type. I learned a lot about adding content and how to link everything together. I am very pleased with my site and have learned a lot!

Creating Content

I haven't downloaded many modules because I like just creating new content types. I wanted to create a player profile for each member of the team. To do this I followed these steps:
1. Structure-content types
2. Add new content type
3. Create the name
4. Save and manage fields
5. Add each new field that you will need. (i.e. height, position, year, stats, image, interview, hometown)
6. Make sure you add a tag if you want to create a page from each entry. Have the tag the same for every entry.
6. Once everything you need has been added, save and go to add content
7. Your new content type should be here and click and add each content! In my case I added each player.

Once you have done this and have entered all your content you can now create you page with a tab.

1. Click on one of your pages and edit it adding a path, save.
2. Go to structure, menu, main menu, add link
3. The menu link title should be what you want the tab to read. The path is the path you created two steps ago.
4. Save and your new page will appear.

I have done this for two pages on my Website. The schedule page and the our team page.

Putting It Together

This week has been a week of putting everything together. I have to say I have learned a lot more than I ever thought about putting together a professional presentation. There is a big difference in your work looking "elementary" and professional. Just simple things like all the font the same, printing on glossy paper, don't overcrowd a presentation board and most importantly keeping everything consistent. I have learned a lot about the social media world. Did you know that if Facebook was a country it would be the 4th largest in the world? The networks should no longer be "social networks" they should be "impact networks" because of the turn they have made in the past years. Organizations rely on these networks for getting information out to customers and fans.

My presentation poster is completed and I have put together two binders, one displaying my portfolio and the other is the marketing/PR plan for the Women's Basketball Program. With this information I am hoping that the program will increase its fan base. I strongly believe that social media has a major impact on college athletics and can't wait to see the results of my work.

Fixing databases and moving on

I never thought I would have learned as much as I did last week with GoDaddy and Drupal. Unfortunately, my database was corrupt and I had to almost start all over. But good things did come out of it. I learned a lot about how to problem solve and how to pick apart GoDaddy. What we did was go back in the history of my site and retrieve my information from when I first launched my site. This cleared out anything I had downloaded that might have been bad or put in the wrong spot. The good thing about this is we found a date when I just had some modules so I didn't loose everything I had downloaded. While we did this, we also just created a new database and reversed my domain name. Doing this just reset everything and I was able to start over without having to relaunch a new site.

Needless to say, I didn't choose Maranelli which was they complicated theme I was using before, I switched to Danland. Now I feel like I have gotten a lot more done and have been working on it daily to get to where I was and further. Which I am proud to say I have completed more than expected. Although I still have a lot of work to do, I feel better about my site and my knowledge of Drupal.

Here is a new screen shot of my website.

Add a Video to your site!

I just added a YouTube video to my site and it was very easy. Here are the instructions on how I did it!

Log into your Drupal site.
Go to Structure- content types.
Click on Add content type at the top.
Name it Video then scroll down and click on display settings and uncheck the author and date (Not needed)
Then save content type.
Once it has saved, go to add content. This should now have a video option. Click on video.
Title should be the title of your video.

Go to youtube where your video is and get the embed code.

Copy and paste that code into the box that says video (not body).
Right below that is a drop box for text format. Change that to Full HTML.
Save.

You should now have a video on your site!

Here is a link to a video on how to do it also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-SN34JcyrY

Halftime Ideas

Here is what I have for ideas for halftime entertainment. I have put this into a word document and it will be put into the binder that I am turning in with the rest of the plan.

Half Time Entertainment

Specialty Games:

1. Take a Kid to the Game

a. Shoe Scramble: Find 10-20 Kids who are wearing sneakers or have shoes that tie. (They also must know how to tie their shoes) Take their shoes off and put them in the paint on one side of the court. Make sure they are spread out and mixed up. Line the kids up on the opposite baseline. When you say go, the kids will run down find their shoes, put them on, tie them, then run back. The first one to do so will be the winner.

2. Faculty Night

a. Free Throw Challenge: Have all of the faculty in attendance come down to the court and line up behind the free throw line. Have them each shoot a foul shot and those who make it go to the other end of the court. Those who miss are out and return to their seat. Once everyone who has shot and made it are at the other end of the court, they shoot again. The process continues until there is one person left. If the final two both make it they continue until only one misses and one makes it.

3. Pink Zone

a. Half Court Shoot-out: For $1, fans can come take a half-court shot for a cure in which all the proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Fans can take one half-court shot for a dollar. If they make it, they will win a pink zone shirt.

4. Alumni Game

a. Honor the alumni by introducing them. ( Name and years they played.)

b. Oldies Knock Out: Have the alumni play traditional knock out.

5. Senior Night:

a. Fans can come down and sign a poster for the seniors. Write a note to them to show their appreciation.

b. Hot Spot: Find two seniors in the crowd to play. There will be 5 spots on the floor; the two blocks, two elbows and the top of the key 3 pt line. Each contestant will have 30 seconds to get the most points. The blocks are worth one point, the elbows are three points and the three point shot is worth five. After the 30 seconds is up the other contestant will have a turn. Whoever has the most points at the end wins. (They do not have to shoot at every spot)

6. Greek Night:

a. Who’s Got Spirit? Each sorority and frat will put together a routine for halftime that they will perform. Each will be 30 seconds. By audience applause the winner will be determined.

All Other Games:

1. Beat the Clock: One contestant. The shooter tries to make four baskets in 30 seconds. The four baskets must be a free throw, a lay up, a three-point shot and a half-court shot.

2. Twist Contest: Find kids that are willing to show how they twist. Play the song Twist and Shout and let those kids dance.

3. 25 Questions: Test a fans knowledge of the team. Ask the contestant 25 questions about the team and see if they are a true fan

4. Relay Race: 4 fans. They must complete the 10 bounces of a basketball, 10 jumping jacks, 10 dizzy bat spins, them must go make a shot from a spot on the floor.

5. Hula Hoop Contest: See who can last the longest.

6. Half court shot: unlimited contestants, one dollar per shot.

7. Name that tune: Have one older fan name five different tunes by name that will be played for them.

Progress

Everyday in class I learn something new about Drupal including different modules that are available to use. Whats confusing is actually adding it to my site. I am still struggling with how to change the picture in the slide-show of the Marinelli theme. I have saved the pictures that I want into my files in GoDaddy and havn't figured out were to go from there. I took what Ashley taught us and applied it, unfortunately Marinelli works a little differently and I will have to take more time to research it in order to figure it out. If anyone has figured it out for Marinelli let me know! As far as modules go, I have only added a few and I am still trying to figure them out. Modules are a little confusing to me. I have downloaded an Blog module which allows to me have blog use. I am trying to add a blog to the site and have it continued on the site. I have it so it's on the main page but I need to work to get it into the Blog tab. I have also downloaded the lightbox module but there is still a lot of work to do with this one. I am hoping to have a gallery tab in which photo of the team will be for viewers to look through. I am hoping to have it look like it does on Facebook when I am finished with it.


Here is a screen shot of what the site looks like:


As you can see the pictures still need to be changed.

Talking about Photos

This week I focused on selecting which photos I wanted to be viewed on the website. I went through about 7 cd's full of photos and selected those I liked the best. I have learned through my sports photography class that there are a lot of features that are important when looking at an action photo. Those include dead space, the action, the reaction, and being able to capture what is about to happen not what is happening. If you are taking the picture as you are watching it, you have missed it. After sorting through the good and the bad, I have saved a file of which I can pull from when creating the gallery portion on the web page. I also thought a lot about how I can communicate to the community and the surrounding areas about coming out to support the team. Then I realized that I had already done that! One day towards the end of the season some of our fans put together a little party in the sky box after a practice. While there, I was talking to some of the fans and they were asking what I wanted to do upon graduation. From there I began talking to them about my senior project and they all seem excited, interested and a little timid. But I accomplished my goal of getting their reaction and getting the word of my project out there. I feel more comfortable with my project and where it is going.

Getting To Work

I am sorry to report that I haven't done much work this week on my project. I was out of town this week sadly to report that my basketball career is now over. But on the bright side for all of my professors, I will now be in every class. As far as my project I still need to get a few more pictures and really learn how to use DRUPAL. This week will involve a lot of work for me to catch up and get on top of my work.

Capstone

I have been gathering pictures of the team for the gallery portion of the blog. I wanted to get pictures of each of us so it would be easier to put names to faces. My weekly work has consisted of editing these pictures and putting them into a folder. I have also slowly been learning how to use Drupal which will be the software I use to put together my blog. I need to really get a jump on learning the software so I can get the blog up and running. There isn't much research to do because I have been doing it for the past four years playing. I feel as if I know the in's and out's of the team but just in case, I plan to talk to coach to make sure I have everything I need.

Project Makes Since!

Today I sat down and had a meeting with the "one and only" Monica and she saved my life. I am now not nearly as stressed out as meeting my deadlines and knowing what to do for my project. Yes, I still have the name "Believe in the Rampac" and it will remain that way. I learned today that I need to shorten my sentences and really make them more concise and to the point especially in a overview. We worked to edit what my description and concepts were of my proposal. My deliverables went from 6 to 2 in a matter of minutes. My overall deliverable is to make a marketing/pr plan. This will include things like a gantt schedule for the year, half time entertainment programs, game day promotion plans, social media strategies, and a resource disc that will include video, audio and photo files. My second deliverable is a player blog. This will serve as a interactive way for players to reach out to fans. I will have questions that the players will answer so the fans can really get to know who they are watching. My goal is to investigate how to use online media to promote women's sports. I am really excited to get to work on this project and much less stressed.

Rampac Blog and Pictures

While still working on the research aspect of my project I have begun to put together my pictures and blog. The blog will allow player, coaches and fans to communicate with one another and feel as though they are all part of one team. This is a chance for fans to talk to players to get to know the players they are watching. I will make it clear that there is no talk about how the players perform or how the coaches coach. I was thinking that the first blog post will be an introduction and explain how they can set up an account to participate and I will go from there. I will also have my teammates log on and introduce themselves. Within this blog I will incorporate pictures of the team. This is all a part if the beginning process of putting my idea out there and trying to make them happen.

Senior Capstone Research

I have been thinking of ideas for getting more people to the games and also adding to some of the strategies that we already have in place. For example, the other night was "Greek Night." Our goal was to get more students to the game but also have contests for the fraternities and sororities to compete against on another while supporting the school. Part of it was a success because we did get more people out to the games but there were no activities. So for next year the planning will begin earlier and there will be things like making signs, shirts and other spirit items that they wish to bring. There will be contests at halftime like a shootout or relay. This will be supervised by an administrator. This plan will help for one game but to get people to keep coming back there has to be give-a-ways or halftime activities which is what I am currently working on.

Ebay Case Study

Well, I am now an eBay user! Navigating through eBay to set up an account was just like any other site. I had to change my username three times until I found one that it accepted, created a password, and typed in a security code among other things. A conformation e-mail was sent to me and although I couldn't click on the link, there was another option for me to get my conformation code and click on the other link if the previous one wasn't working. This is something that most other sites when dealing with email do not have. I then proceeded to search the site for something worth following. Happily to say, everything I searched I found which was a nice change. Maybe the items I was searching for were relatively popular but it was still refreshing. Once I found an item, I easily clicked on the icon that allowed me to follow the item, overall nothing too complicated. Downloading Flex was the easiest download I have done so far. It literally took all of 50 seconds to complete and there is now an eBay tab on my Safari page. I find that the quick link is very easy and allows you to view the items that you are following with ease. Both Flex and the eBay page were easy to navigate. For those avid eBay users I can see that this sidebar is very easy and convenient. The navigation portion of the sidebar is easy being that you can buy the item and watch it without having to load the eBay page. It gives you the basics without all the hassle of loading a page. I think the sidebar is a great thing to have if you are consistently buying things on eBay, its a quick organization tool that allows you to access what you want fast.

Usability 101

Using the web for some people can be very challenging. But there is a difference, at least in my eyes, as to using the web and being able to use the web. Confusing? Let me explain. If a website isn't user friendly, it won't survive. The web is supposed to be fast, if someone can't search for what they want and find it with ease, the web has failed them. Most sites have different layouts. Once the user has figured out how to navigate the site, they can perform their tasks quickly. The challenge is making your site user friendly. Every page of your site is important, like the article says, if your homepage doesn't say what the site has to offer then it'd not giving off the right information the user wants to know right away. The most frustrating thing is not finding what you want on a site but if your site is user friendly you shouldn't have any problems.

The Web is Dead

The web is used all day, everyday, but they say it's dying. For me thats hard to believe. How is something dying that people use everyday? After reading an article about how and why its dying, I have come to realize that there are other means of using the internet. Apps seem to be taking over the world. Using apps help you get what you need. I learned that they bypass the searching and go directly to getting. This is something that Americans will rejoice over. No one in todays age wants to sit down and search for what they need. They don't have time for that. I want to get things done in the most efficient way possible, and thats through apps. Although a lot of the article confused me as to I am not up with all of the internet/web terms, I do for the most part agree with it. American's wait for the next technological advance. And with that advance comes an entire new meaning of how people communicate and get what they need. Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are taking over but connecting people at the same time. I use the web everyday as do most people. The most common sites I use are checking my Email through a school server, Facebook, and the Apple site. For me if the internet were to die and it went to all apps I would be able to manage. Just as I think other American's will do. The web may die but people will not die without the web.