Networking

Okay, some things are falling in to place. I finally got Twitter to work but visualTwitter has been frustrating. Blogger.com has a mobile media tool so I may work with that too. I should be able to link to this blog as well. One of the questions has been internet access in Beijing. I'll get my answer soon enough (after getting to the condo 14 hours later). Some folks have said to text the blog on my cell phone. Are you kidding me. It takes me 10 minutes to write 1-2 sentences. You figure out the math.

On the upside, our new Sport Management faculty member, Dr. Don Lee put his Chairperson on his reference list. It turns out that Dr. James Zhang is managing the Basketball venue at the Wukesong Culture and Sports Center. He will give me a behind the scenes tour and I will post the pictures next to this post. I also got back in touch with a former volleyball colleague, Bob Gambardella Director, Sport Partnerships, United States Olympic Committee. He was formerly at West Point until his various involvements with USA Volleyball and the USOC. I already have tickets to some of the volleyball matches and will see him there. Most recently, I met Dr. Brad Vickers from Mississippi State via the University of Georgia (doctoral work) and he is doing a study on Self-Presentation Strategies of the USA Men's and Women's Olympic Teams. The purpose of this project is to gain a better understanding of self-presentation strategies utilized by elite coaches during a global competition to more effectively perform their duties as a coach. The hope is that this information will enhance our understanding of the ways in which elite coaches portray themselves in order to gain access to information from athletes and other coaches. I get to do the literature review and he gets to do the fun stuff. I'm going to try and get in to the venue to say hi and if I can help him. Security is usually very tight the first few days and then will relax a bit.

I spoke with Jeannette Bryson, the Mounts Media Relations Manager, and she is trying to pitch a story to the Cincinnati Enquirer. You know...local prof doing the techie thing from Beijing. Nobody said it HAD to work.

I find it interesting how anonymous this blogging experience feels except everything written and posted can be seen by ANYONE including my employer (the Mount) and future contacts and career poosibilities. My rule of thumb is not to say anything I couldn't say to my mother. She's pretty cool but she could still wash my mouth out with soap...