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My first attempt at video blogging!
Here's my first attempt at creating a video blog. Enjoy (or not).Of course you don't have to post videos of yourself. You ca share anything from coaching tips, to clips from matches etc - anything that you've uploaded or found on sites like Youtube.
Tip: To add video from Youtube, simply copy the URL of the video from the browser (it should look something like http://www.youtube.com/v/ZK5cq5hraFk. If it looks like http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZK5cq5hraFk just edit it, deleting "watch?" and changing "=" to a "/"), then when you create your blog post click the media icon
. Choose 'flash' as the type, and simply paste in the URL that you copied. You can change the size too - if you do, tick the box to constrain the proportion and just change the height or the width.
As far as making the video goes, I simply used the in-built camera on my macbook, and iMovie. It was incredibly easy. I guess that Windows probably has some kind of movie maker built in, and a decent webcam should be enough to capture a simple video. You can, of course, use more sophisticated tools, but I wouldn't know about that! iMovie even let me upload directly to youtube (on creating an account). It can take a few hours before you can post the video on your blog - until it is ready it will just come up blank.
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Rob Robson
Co-founder, iStadia.com
Chinese Swimmer Banned: Evidence of Anti-Doping Effort or the Tip of the Iceberg?
Just 42 days before the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing, one of China's swimmers, Ouyang Kunpeng, has been banned for life after testing positive for anabolic steroids.
Given that the test was conducted out of competition, in China, this would appear to be a postiive sign that the Chinese authorities are making an anti-doping effort. I myself have wondered whether they would really follow up on their pledge to weed out drugs cheats in the run up to the Games. This test implies that the Chinese Swimming Association, at least, is making an effort. You may recall that Chinese swimming has a poor record, having produced a number of top females in the 1990's only to have four swimmers banned for positive tests, and another (and her coach) banned as they tried to bring human growth hormone into Australia for the 1998 World Championships. Funnily enough, their performance levels fell away again after that.
The athlete himself was not considered a medal contender, despite winning medals at World Student and Asian Games. Perhaps it is me, perhaps the secretive nature of the Chinese authorities, but I still can't help feeling slightly ill at ease. Is this really a "weeding out", an athlete that the Chinese were prepared to sacrifice to look more credible, or just someone that caught caught because they or someone they were working with slipped up?
I know that sounds awfully cynical. I really hope that if the Chinese have a great Olympics, that it's because of hard work and talent. Of course, I hope that's true of everyone that wins Olympic medals this year.......
Will this year's games be the dirtiest Olympics yet?
Rob Robson
iStadia - Networking for Sport & Exercise Community
Viagra to be added to WADA's banned substance list?
According to a number of media sources, Viagra (and Cialis, which is the same thing), is increasing being used by athletes to enhance performance, to the point that WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency) are considering making it a banned substance.Viagra could, apparently boost either explosive power, or endurance (particularly when there is air polution) - by dilating blood vessels, and "aiding the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to muscles".
Indeed, it's potential as a performance enhancing drug was flagged a number of years ago, and Victor Conte, who supplied a number of high-profile banned springers like Marion Jones and Dwain Chambers, has admitted giving it to his athltes.
If Viagra and Cialis are to be banned, it wouldn't be until 2010, so many athletes in Beijng may well be using them, so more athletes might be more 'up for it' than previously realised.
Ooh-er, missus.
It's not about sport or exercise, but I liked it
I hadn't come across the wherethehellismatt phenomenon before, but I challenge you to watch this video and NOT feel all warm and fuzzy! As for my blog title, I guess he is kind of exercising....Who says we have to talk about sport and exercise ALL of the time?
Gotta love the internet!
Playing throught the pain
Following on from Tiger Woods' performance at the US Open, SI.com (Sports Illustrated) have posted a collection of photos highlighting moments in sport where athletes have played through pain. Here is the link.It is, not surprisingly, very Americo-centric (when I say very, I mean completely), but potentially interesting and quite a good reference, no matter where you are.
It does, however, remind me of one of Victor Thompson't articles, Can you be too mentally tough?
Rob Robson
How do I get more publicity for my sport or exercise business?
I'm just back in from a day where I've had two rounds of a job interview, and managed to squeeze in a radio interview for the BCC World Service in between!Between my own site and my iStadia profile, I now get a lot of enquiries from the media. What do I mean by a lot? Well, it depends on what's happening, but most weeks I have some kind of contact, even if it is just for a quick comment. This week I've been quoted in The Times, been on BBC World Service, and have had an invitation from BBC Scotland to do something tomorrow. The irony is that I'm not really looking for publicity as a sport psychologist right now, but it is good fun to do it when I can. Sometimes, they will also pay (though not a lot).
The point is, I get these requests because I am easy to find. If I were more serious about marketing my sport psychology business, I would make sure that they mentioned my site (or my company, if I had one). I don't really exploit them to their full potential, but maybe you could.
I'm easy to find because of my activity, not just on iStadia (though for obvious reasons it's where I focus my activity, but on other networking and bookmarking sites too. So, when people search for a sport psychologist, they often find me - either my own site or my iStadia profile. Sometimes, like this week, one media appearance creates others, because journalists read other newspapers and will then search for a specific person.
One other person I know that does quite a bit of media work is Amanda Owens. I can tell when she's done something, because Google analytics tells me that a lot of people have visitors have found her profile by searching for her name (normally, people would search for other search key words).
If you want publicity you have to go and get it. But you don't necessarily need to engage PR agents or seek out journalists. You just need to put yourself out there and iStadia is a great mechanism for that (by blogging, writing articles, and using the forums/clubs) . I have to say, too, that since we created different levels of membership, my visibility has gone up further, because my PremiumPlus membership gives me additional tools to help me - such as a personalised profile title (good for searches), profile summary (good for getting people to click on your link from search engines), and links to all of my latest posts from my profile (because I've very active, the "spiders" come back to my profile more regularly to get updates).
So, if you want publicity, you might want to consider upgrading. But even if you don't, being more active on iStadia will help. If you have upgraded, and aren't using it to it's advantage (it isn't just media enquiries that you'll get) then what are you waiting for?
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P.S. I'll be directing more media requests to the Media exchange club on iStadia (or to people in my network) so be sure to join. I'll also advise people so search the business finder (perhaps it should be the professional finder), so check your personal settings and make sure you are listed (no extra cost).
Rob Robson
iStadia - Networking for Sport & Exercise Community
British Olympic Team Mascot Unveiled - Win a Trip for 2 to Beijing 2008
The British Olympic Team (Team GB) mascot has been unveiled. If you fancy winning an all-expenses paid trip to the Beijing Olympics this summer, give him a name here, or by clicking on the image.
What do you think? I like him. I think I'll call him Arfur (hardly a winner, but I like it). Discuss this mascot and share other mascots in the Olympic Discussion Forum.
Rob Robson
Check the lastest news from the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Blogging on Peer Reviewed Research in Sport and Exercise
One of the comments that we've had back from members is that they would like more reference to peer-reviewed research. Well, thanks to Dan Peterson (an Information Services Director from Wisconsin, USA) and Mark Helme for leading the way, and showing how it can be done.Practitioners in the field don't have access to the latest databases and journals a lot of the time. When someone like Dan blogs on a subject that relates peer-reviewed research to the practical world of sport, it is very helpful. It gives someone like me a reference to explore. And as I've argued before, the more we all blog, the more we all learn and develop as professionals.
What Dan also shows is that you don't have to be an academic to blog on research and make yourself a valuable part of our community. But, let's be fair, there are many students and academics on iStadia that have peer-reviewed research at their fingertips.
I'm sure that I speak for many sport and exercise professionals when I say that, no matter how confident you might be in your writing style, or whether you think you have anything unique or interesting to say, blogs that keep us informed about what is going on in the world of research are of great value.
So thanks, Dan and Mark, and to the rest of the community: Next time you see an interesting piece of research, please tell us about it!
P.S. It also gives us another place to promote your material, which we love to do:
Rob Robson
iStadia - Networking for Sport & Exercise Community
Is Olympic Sponsorship Worth the Money?
Global corporations such as Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson and Adidas, along with Chinese businesses like China Mobile and Bank of China have paid a total of $850 million to be official sponsors of the Beijing and Turin Olympic Games.With Western economies slowing down, one of the main aims of this spending spree is to gain a foothold among China's middle class (numbering approximately 250 million).
But research by the China Marketing Research Group, reported in Forbes Magazine, has investigated the effectiveness of Olympic sponsorship as a tool for developing brand awareness, brand loyalty and sales. This research suggests that on these measures, Olympic sponsorship may not be justified.
The vast majority of Chinese consumers interviews “did not care” who the official sponsors were, and “did not consider official Olympic sponsorship” when buying. According to the publishers of the research, it is more important for multinationals to reach out to Chinese consumers by fitting “their image of the ideal life” and focusing on longer-term brand image than looking for a quick Olympic fix. Indeed, the research appears to contradict a prevailing belief that Chinese consumers and not brand loyal and would be easily swayed by association with the Olympic Games.
An example of this insight is that consumers, when asked to identify the official sponsor from a number of choices, often plumped for the brand that they considered “best” in the market – using already developed perceptions. Specifically, unless they could recall a specific Olympic ad for Adidas, they tended to believe that Nike (perceived to be the superior brand) was the official sportswear sponsor. Rather than splashing out on offical sponsorship, Nike appear to have gained from their association with Liu Xian, the World and Champion (and World Record Holder) in the 110m hurdles.
Perhaps this will lead to a change in tack over branding in China, and may even influence future decisions to pay huge sums to sponsor the Olympics. But then again, maybe the multinationals are not as naďve and narrowly focused as the publishers of the research imply. Perhaps for many of the Olympic sponsors, there are other strong benefits – for example the potential cost of allowing competitors to have the global platform provided by the games – or even the feelings of pride and prestige that may be experienced not by consumers, but by employees, of the official sponsors.
More sports marketing blogs & articles
Zara Phillips out of the Beijing Olympics
Who? If you are asking this question you may not be British! Zara Phillips (, MBE is the second child and only daughter of HRH The Princess Anne, Princess Royal and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips), or more accurately her horse Toytown, has been withdrawn from the Beijing Olympics due to injury.
Zara is a World and European Champion (as well as 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year), so it is not only royal watchers who will be disappointed by her withdrawl.
Zara Phillips commented:
“I am very disappointed not to have the opportunity to ride at the Olympic Games and feel that Toytown deserved his chance to go. However, with horses these things happen and we still have a very strong team, I wish them every success.”
Simon Clegg, Team GB 2008 Chef de Mission said:
“This must be a huge disappointment to Zara particularly following the pair’s success over the last few years. Naturally we now need to focus our full support on the rest of the team including Zara’s replacement and give them every opportunity of competing to their full in Hong Kong.”
Will Connell, Team Leader for the Equestrian Team commented:
“The British team are saddened by the news, especially for Zara and her team. We have a strong team of reserves and the team are now focused on trying to win medals.”Source: BOA
Join in our Beijing Olympics Discussion Forum
Michael Johnson - Giving Back the Gold Medal
The breaking story this week, that Michael Johnson will give back his 4x400m realy gold medal from the Sydney Olympics because his team-mate (Antonio Pettigrew) admitted to taking drugs, has created a lively debate over on the sportpsy listserve, which is an email-based discussion list - yes, these things still exist ;-)
The initial questions asked were:
If an athlete knows his/her teammate is cheating, do they have the right/responsibility to come forward?
And, as in this case, after the event do athletes in team sports have the right to argue to keep their medals if a teammate is found guilty?
A number of interesting issues were raised including whether:
- - Athletes were actually scorned for coming forward and reporting cheating
- - Officials and others in power had a disincentive to report cheating ("losing their stars"), and consequently whether cheating was brushed under the carpet
- - The risks involved in encouraging greater reporting by athletes, whether it could be abused (naming someone for disingenuous reasons) and whether it could create a witch hunt
- - Or not the guilty parties are punished, and what the effect is if they are not
- - Without the testing procedures to adequately follow up on allegations, will this change anything?
- - It is possible for athletes/teams to police themselves (e.g. kicking a cheat of the team)
- - How effective are youth sports coaches in teaching core values?
Another perspective is that of Seb Coe's which is that Michael Johnson's stance might just help turn the tide in the US, which has been hit particularly hard by recent scandals involving performance-enhancing drugs.
What do you think? Please comment below. Here is a link to the story.
Rob Robson
iStadia - Networking for Sport & Exercise Community
Golf is Good for Your Health
Now, you might think that the anger, frustration and tears associated with playing golf (or is that just me), or the time spent at the 19th hole, might negate any health benefits gained "ruining a good walk". Not so, according to researchers from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. The death rate for golfers is 40 per cent lower than for other people of the same sex, age and (interestingly) socioeconomic status, and can expect to live up to 5 years longer. This is most true for low-handicap golfers, which is attributed to the regular play required to keep a low handicap, rather than the inner calm achieved from avoiding the aforementioned anger, frustration and tears!Here's a link to the whole story, from Science Daily. They seem to have quite a bit on sport and exercise, so I'll be keeping an eye on their site.
Rob Robson
iStadia - Networking for Sport & Exercise Community
