The Sports Info Business

Here are a few of my random thoughts while I finish up a business trip to New York City.

* The Bulldog Reporter Media Relations Summit in New York City, which was the main reason why I was in town, was a business trip to help connect with others in the industry and to all visit with other colleagues in the city.

*I was amazed, how many people were checking their iphones and Blackberrys during the presentations.  I could not figure out if they were: 1) working while at the conference 2) posting Tweets on what the presenters were saying or 3) bored with the presentations and were trying to keep busy.

* Did not see of meet one sports executive at this conference.  I question where the sports industry really is when it comes to the development of Social Media game plans.

* I love to walk the streets of New York between meetings.  The city is alive with people, noise and action.  It made me think however, that in a world were today social media reins and we desperately are trying to connect and reconnect with friends relatives and new contacts, the people often times seems lonely as they make their way around the city.

* A buzz has come back to the city streets here, something that was missing the last time I was in town a few months ago.  The restaurants were half empty then, now they seem more full in the mornings and in the evenings.  As the Dow is up 50 points and the Wall Street is on a nice little run of late, are better days ahead for us all?

* I was contacted by a woman who helps produce events and was asked to cover the June 1-2 program in San Francisco for this blog.  We will see what happens in the next few days.

*  Social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg and others are here to stay.  It was the buzz of the Bulldog conference, though many of traditional means of the communication industry were pushed to the door for the 2 1/2 days.  I truly think effective marketing and PR campaigns are a combination of the two.

* Words of wisdom by several speakers.  Before jumping into any social media programs with your brand, take the time to actively listen before you begin a dialogue and finally engage.

* Be flexible when scheduling meetings with leading executives of large firms.  I was able to hold quite a few meetings while others had last minute  issues was forced to juggle my schedule.

* Anytime you have a business trip to New York City, take time out to spend time walking through Central park.  Since I arrived on a Sunday, I had time that afternoon and it was well worth the walk.  Might post a few photos of it later here and on flickr.

* One last meeting before heading home.  Going to catch up with Scott Carmichael, the Founder and President of Prodigy Sports.  Scott is an executive recruiter for the sports industry.