So this little backyard basketball court I've created has become a draw for kids visiting my kids. Adults too. Men, women, boys, girls. The way the space is configured, you may have to adapt your shooting style. An apple tree overhangs part of the "court," and though I keep trimming it, it keeps growing, and its branches, leaves and apples sometimes act as shot-blockers.
A stand of bamboo at the rear of our "court" can literally steal the ball from your hands, sometimes. There are obstructions all over the place-- a barbecue here, some clotheslines there, a bicycle, some stairs, windows, fences, chairs, and so on.
Weaving in and out of these fixed objects, with great fluidity, a young child can master new shots -- flat hooks (under the apple tree), long 3-point jumpshots (over the apple tree), curling layups from under the stairs and before the cement meets the grass.
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Throughout my media career, I've been part of teams that design content destinations with the hopes of succeeding in attracting an audience. We've done it at newspapers, magazines, at radio and TV, and now on the web. Here, the challenges are huge. A website is not so much a place to read as it is a place to navigate.
The way the page is laid out is critical. For my blogs, I favor templates designed by Doug Bowman, another ex-Wiredling. But, whatever design you choose, it's critical that your audience can figure where they are, what this place is about, and what they can do here.
You hope they will bookmark you, and return to your site often. You hope they will see the ads and other promotions running on your site and that they will check those out. You hope they'll dig into your archives, and add Comments when they want to (at the end of each article.)
So the story teller is like a dealer, hoping to hook his audience. The best media are addictive. Thank you for visiting, dear reader. Later on, I'll post some more crack, probably about love...
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