The Brooklyn Cyclones have given students from all over New York the opportunity to create a jersey that the team will wear at an upcoming game! The winner will also throw out the first pitch at the game where the Cyclones will wear their new threads. One of these junior designers is Brooklyn’s own Liana Albano of Northside Catholic Academy in Williamsburg! Check out her home run caliber creation above and place your vote at the Cyclones’ contest website.
Go Liana!
With the news that Hollywood is thinking about launching a new version of “The Wizard of Oz,” TB9 unleashes an all-out assault on the horrifying trend that is the “remake.”
As social networking tools expand, are they putting us in danger? A brief look at upcoming features Facebook looks to offer users as well as the spike in popularity of location dependent social networking tool foursquare. Check out more after the break.
TB9′s latest (and so far only!) contributor, Kevin Korber takes a look at the Oscars and how the Academy’s nomination process has changed and how it could have led to an underdog victory. Plus, join our postmortem discussion on the ceremony. Read more after the break.
Ken Bruno brings you a quick news brief for Friday, including news about Ben Stiller and the release date of the long-awaited iPad! Read the rest of this entry »
The earthquake that struck Haiti in January prompted generous people around the world to open their hearts and wallets to aid their fellow man. Celebrities came out and used their visibility to urge the public to make a difference. The continued response to the events that occurred in Haiti is truly a triumph.
On Sunday, an earthquake struck Chile – one that was even higher on the Richter scale than the one that left Haiti reeling. Where’s Jay-Z now? Where’s the group of entertainers that remade “We Are The World?” It was not this long before these highly visible individuals had set up channels that the general public could use to send relief to Haiti.
In the grand scheme of things – and it is absolutely horrible to even have to make this comparison – Chile may not have lost as many lives as Haiti. However, people did die. People do not have homes anymore. And yet the response from the people who can make the general public listen has been questionable, at best. No matter what they tell you, this is not surprising: celebrities will always do what is best for their public image first. After they’ve got that great publicity, though? They’ve done their good deed for a few years. You’ll see them again when (hopefully, if) a natural disaster occurs again a few years down the line.
At the end of the day, suffering is relative. But an all too large portion of the public treats relief like a fad – they’ve donated to their one cause for the year and that’ll be that. They’ve been conditioned to respond this way because that’s how their favorite celebrities respond.
- KB
Below are ways you can make your contribution to the relief efforts in Haiti and Chile. I understand that this is not CNN in terms of readership, but if one person reads this and makes a donation, then I’ve done my job.
How You Can Help Chile and Haiti:
Text “CHILE” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross
Text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross
Is Twitter’s chirp getting softer? Not quite. According to reports released by both Twitter and internet marketers HubSpot, condensing thoughts into 140 characters (or less) is a trend that doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
HubSpot’s third “State of the Twitterverse” report generated buzz (not Buzz, Google; sorry) after they concluded that the rate at which new users were joining the social media phenomenon had slowed significantly. In the period they measured – October to March ’09 – new user sign-ups had dropped almost 10%.
But do not be alarmed Tweeters, the sky is not falling.
In fact, the millions of users that are already tweeting have become more engaged by Twitter. The average Twitter user, at the time this report was published, has 300 users following their 140 character blurbs, as opposed to 70 back in July. The number of accounts you follow has also grown exponentially – from 47 in July to 143 at the time HubSpot released their view of the “Twitterverse.”
Sad that you don’t have as many people reading your tweets as Ashton or Shaq? Don’t be – the average Twitter user has less than 100 followers.
Independent parties aren’t the only ones singing the praises of Twitter – data released by the company themselves pulled back the curtain on just how many tweets are sent per day. The total? A whopping 50 million tweets per day, or 600 tweets per second.
It appears that Twitter is learning from the mistakes of their awkward social networking uncle, MySpace. With deals in place with Google, Microsoft, and most recently Yahoo, they should be in good shape for years to come.
Even Conan O’Brien has joined in on the fun. No bitter 140 character assaults on Jay Leno yet, unfortunately.
**Cheap Plug**
Follow me on Twitter @KennethBruno
What do you think the future holds for Twitter?
Thoughts Before Nine will return on Wednesday, February 24th. We’ll see you then.
-Ken
A somber Tiger Woods addresses media at PGA HQ in Florida (Credit: CTV.ca)
Accompanied by his mother Kultida, the world watched a repentant Tiger Woods address his friends and the media on Friday. The five minute statement was the first public address Woods had delivered since November, when a suspicious accident at Woods’ Florida home led to the revelation that the once squeaky clean golf icon had engaged in multiple extramarital affairs.
Woods addressed the reaction that the scandal had received from not only the media, but his family and friends. “Many of you in this room are my friends. Many of you in this room know me. Many of you have cheered for me, you worked with me, or you supported me. Now every one of you has good reason to be critical of me. I want to say to each of you, simply and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in,” he said.
Tiger also confirmed reports that he had received in-patient treatment for sex addiction for 45 days spanning from December to February.
He then addressed the children who have looked up to the golf star or who have benefited from his philanthropic endeavors. “My behavior has caused considerable worry to…most importantly, the young students we reach. Our work is more important than ever. Thirteen years ago, my dad and I envisioned helping young people achieve their dreams through education. This work remains unchanged and will continue to grow. From the Learning Center students in Southern California to the Earl Woods scholars in Washington, D.C., millions of kids have changed their lives and I am dedicated to making sure that continues.”
His tone turned from somber to stern, though, when addressing allegations that his wife Elin struck him with a golf club on Thanksgiving night. “Elin never hit me that night or any other night… Elin has shown enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise, not blame.” Woods also urged the paparazzi to take a step back from the heavy coverage of his family’s lives. “However, my behavior doesn’t make it right for the media to follow my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to school and report the school’s location. They staked out my wife and they pursued my mom. Whatever my wrongdoings, for the sake of my family: Please leave my wife and kids alone.”
The superstar also denied rumors of PED usage and set no time table for his return to the game that made him famous. “I do plan to return to golf one day. I just don’t know when that day will be. I don’t rule out that it will be this year. When I do return, I need to make my behavior more respectful of the game.”
Tiger knows his road to redemption is long, and he made a plea to those who supported his career during better times. “…Today I want to ask for your help. I ask you to find room in your heart to one day believe in me again.”
There’s only one way we’ll believe in you again, Tiger: zip up, shut up, and win.
-KB
