Final Blog Summary

At the beginning of the semester we were assigned our research project and asked to pick a topic of both personal and professional interest. Keeping this in mind we wanted to pick a topic that we would like to further explore and use this to expand our knowledge on its relation to reading and writing online. We have a passion for hockey and we decided to investigate the way in which hockey communities have expanded their market to include the internet. We looked at various forms of new media digital hockey technologies and created our blog “The Extra Attacker” (www.emilyandlorelei.blogspot.com). Through this research project we were able to read various articles and books by different scholars and professionals in the field. We also studied the ways that different hockey organizations have utilized the internet to broaden their markets. We later posted our findings on “The Extra Attacker,” practicing our own forms of writing with online technology.

With blogging technology being new to both of us, we knew that we should become more familiar with this form of communication. We thought that the best opportunity to do so was with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games. Each of us took turns providing in-game analysis and post game summaries of the Team Canada men’s hockey matches. We also took this time to review and write post-game reports of the Team Canada women’s hockey games. This form of updating fans is something that many professional hockey sites are using, so we felt that by immersing ourselves in this technology we would be better prepared to provide our blog viewers with the same caliber of reporting.

After finishing our reports on olympic coverage we decided we should talk to a local professional. We contacted Eric Postma, the Web Content Manager for the Mantioba Moose hockey team. Postma was nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule to sit down and enlighten us on how the construction of a professional hockey website is developed. Through this interview we learned how the Manitoba Moose has upgraded their website in order to provide information to their fans in a clear and efficient manner. This meeting with Postma helped us to wrap our heads around exactly what we felt that we should focus on for the rest of this project.

There have been several individual and collaborative posts that we have worked on throughout the semester. We wrote a proposal for this project that we feature near the beginning of our blog. We felt that this was important to include for visitors so that they would know exactly what the object behind “The Extra Attacker” is. We later feature our welcome video, which provides a personal touch to our blog and allows viewers see the faces behind the writings. We wanted to include different forms of technology on this blog, and we felt that the video helped us to meet this goal. Looking through all of our posts, viewers will see a variety of different hockey related postings. We have written articles for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League playoffs, and linked these postings to the “The Extra Attacker.” We have also discussed NHL trades, and provided information on the recent hockey happenings such as the new policies regarding hits to the head. We also followed the Manitoba Moose hockey team and provided on the road game summaries.

For major assignments this term we focused on topics and research that would expand our knowledge on hockey and the internet, and in turn be beneficial to our blog. We led a class discussion on digital advertising and found information on how many different companies and organizations market their brand to hockey fans, for example Reebok and Sidney Crosby of Pittsburg Penguins. Possibly one of the most beneficial assignments was when we took the opportunity to research what different scholars and professionals have to say about how hockey and the internet has expand dramatically to remain relevant. It was useful to read what these various individuals had to say and how their findings relate to our project.

Through this project we were able to better understand the importance of developing the ability to read and write online, and how these skills are essential for communication in the professional world as our society relies more and more on internet technology.