Players Remember, @AFCCL Social Media Specialist Gets the Message Wrong

Players in the AFC Champions League laid down on the field yesterday for a moment of remembrance for those affected by the Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami three years ago. It’s a day many will never forget. Not I, who was was in nearby yet faraway Tokyo. Not those directly in the path of the destruction. Not those who lost loved ones or homes or got sick afterwards.

I’m not sure who is in charge of the @AFCCL Twitter account, but their access should be revoked. It’s a glaring mistake to call it the “Hiroshima Tsunami”. That’s like saying the 9/11 Attacks took place in Los Angeles.

Skinny 15 year-old pwns James Harrison

I am huge Steelers fan, and have been for many years, but I found this kid’s Facebook comment quite funny. So did a lot of other people. Steelers fans included. However, some people were outraged. Furious. WTF? If you can’t laugh at something as innocuous as a little jab like that you’ve got more pressing issues. Granted, the D played exceptionally well against the Browns – and Harrison actually got the team’s only touchdown – which perhaps makes it even funnier. The one man definitely not to blame for Week 12’s loss is #92. The fact that it’s a skinny little high school kid up against this century’s Mean Joe Greene makes it even more humorous.

Nike+ gets a minus in math… but an A in customer support

I have been using the shoe company’s Nike+ Android app for about two weeks now to keep track of my physiotherapy progress. It’s basically a pedometer that allows you to record your runs with some added touches such as:

• how do you feel after this run (with a choice of emoticons)
• what type of run it was (indoor or road, track, trail or beach)
• which shoe you wore
• add a note
• share this run with Twitter or Facebook

The app has a clean, simple interface, however it tends to crash about 20% of the time when starting a run. It also has some trouble calculating. On Monday I went 5.25km and got awarded a “Farthest Run”. On Tuesday i went 4.3km and got awarded a “Farthest Run” again even though it was nearly a kilometer shorter than Monday. I tweeted this issue to @NikeSupport and they were quick to reply and offer suggestions and even “recalculated (my) account” within 10 minutes of me telling them my username.

There is also a music option built into the app that allows you to to “Shuffle Library” or choose a “Playlist”. I have not yet been able to either create a playlist or load an existing playlist. There is also the option to “Select a PowerSong” which I have done, but I have not been able to figure out how to play it. The music player component of this app needs some definite attention as it is currently failing.

The app also integrates with your online Nike+ account and you are awarded “NikeFuel” for each activity. Exactly what is NikeFuel? According to Nike, it is “the ultimate measure of your athletic life“. I thought it was going to lead to earning points for purchasing Nike gear, but no, it is just a marketing gimmick. And a poor one at that. I’m sure a lot of people think that NikeFuel is similar to AirMiles and feel let down when they find out it more like Apple’s imaginary “Retina Display”. It would have been better for Nike to just leave out the NikeFuel. Nothing worse than making your customers feel scammed when they’re not even being scammed.

Bad Calls on Monday Night Football

Thanks to a labour dispute between the NFL and its referees, bad calls have been all over the place this year in the NFL. The most notable of these came during the final (game-winning) play on Monday Night Football between the Packers and the Seahawks (see photo below).

Colour commentator Jon Gruden also had his share of memorable calls, including:

“They should give Green Bay the game… there’s no way Green Bay should fly 6000 miles home after losing a game like this.”

That would make the USA wider than Russia, Jon.

Also, an NFL team should be expected to score more than 12 points if they want to bitch about losing because of bad calls.

Monday Night Fiasco