Ten Years Old

Birthday Candles Happy tenth birthday, Upbeat and Downstairs!

This site, in some form or another, was vaulted onto the World Wide Web ten years ago today. Originally started as a small site for links and musings, the site has gone through several iterations and ballooned many times larger in terms of size and content.

In 1996, I’d be lucky if I saw one hit per day that wasn’t me checking out my creation. Now, as of yesterday’s logs, this site receives about 7,000 hits daily and recorded roughly 2.4 million hits last year. Sure, it’s no Yahoo (106 million visitors) or Google (94 million visitors), but I’m pretty happy with it. (Yes, I know a “hit” is not a “visitor”, so it could just be me visiting my page 7,000 times a day. Ha!)

In trying to recall what the Web was like ten years ago, I came across a web site appropriately named “Internet ’96”. On the site, the author takes a look at how the front pages for several popular companies used to look in 1996. Some of them are quite entertaining, and I love the old-school White Castle page. Most companies would quickly fire their marketing firms if they launched anything like that now. But, hey, 80s clothing has come back, so maybe old site designs will, too?

As a matter of fact, I came across an internet archive that has a version of this site from early 1999. It’s … eclectic, to say the least.

What’s next for this site, you ask?

I really don’t know. This site has become a larger hobby than I imagined, and I’m not sure in which direction I’d like to take it. Even though I haven’t updated it as much as I’d like to, I’m not ready to hang it all up yet. Ten years has been a fun ride, and I’m interested to see where the next ten lead. I’d like to hear your comments below.

Simon School Communications Blog

Many corporations shun blogs for various reasons, so it’s great to see a B-school create and promote one. My alma mater announced its new communications blog yesterday, and I think it’s a welcome addition to the often boring methods of sharing news and information. Check out the press release below, or read what the blog is about.

Rochester, N.Y. — September 7, 2006 — The Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester is entering the online “blogosphereâ€? by becoming one of only a select few top-ranked national business schools to launch an online communications blog.

The Simon School Communications Blog, located on the Web at http://simonschool.typepad.com/communicationsblog/, is intended to be a communication forum for media as well as current and prospective business school students around the world to discuss business topics in the news and issues in M.B.A. education.

“The Simon School is known as the place “where thinkers become leaders…” so it is fitting that we are among the first top-ranked business schools to start a conversation about business and business education on the Web,” says Simon School Dean Mark Zupan. “We invite and encourage dialogue about issues facing leaders in the global marketplace as well as trends in M.B.A. education.”

The blog is being written by Charla Stevens Kucko, director of marketing and communications at the Simon School, a former TV news reporter and anchor at the ABC affiliate in Rochester, N.Y.

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The Simon School prides itself as the place Where Thinkers Become Leaders and is currently ranked among the leading graduate business schools in the world in rankings published by the popular press, including Business Week, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Forbes. For example, in the most recent BusinessWeek poll, the Simon School was ranked among the top 30 business schools in the United States. The Financial Times recently rated the School 4th in the world for finance 6th in the world for both accounting and managerial economics. More information about the Simon School is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.simon.rochester.edu.

Joining the List of “New Ivies”

Rush Rhees Library and Eastman Quadrangle In upstate New York, right off Lake Ontario and halfway between Buffalo and Syracuse, sits my alma mater, the University of Rochester. The U of R, or UR as most call it, has been one of those hidden gems that we all knew was an excellent institution, but never made a huge splash in the college rankings scene. However, the University got a bout of great news yesterday, and the official press release is reprinted below.

University of Rochester Named To Two Top College Rankings

Two highly respected national magazines have ranked the University of Rochester among the nation’s top 25 institutions.

The University of Rochester was one of only 25 schools named a “New Ivy” in the 2007 Kaplan/Newsweek “How to Get into College Guide.” The elite list, produced for the very first time, includes institutions whose first-rate academic programs and top students rival traditional Ivy League schools. The rankings are based on admissions statistics as well as interviews with administrators, students, faculty, and alumni.

The University of Rochester also placed 21st on The Washington Monthly College Rankings list. The list, presented for only the second time by the political magazine, includes institutions that The Washington Monthly believes are “benefiting the country.” The rankings take into account how a school contributes to social mobility by helping the poor improve their economic standing. Other criteria include the institution’s support for research in the humanities and in the sciences and its promotion of an ethic of service to country.

About the University of Rochester

The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation’s leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University’s environment gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty. Its College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering is complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, and Schools of Medicine and Nursing.

The Ivy League is an “athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education located in the Northeastern United States.” Sure, it may not sound all that exciting, but Ivy League schools are generally among the top 20 colleges in rankings and boast having the top 1% of endowments worldwide. Lacking the comprehension of any other well-regarded ranking systems, being known as Ivy League is a universally understood and well-regarded distinction.

Now, enter the “New Ivies”. These schools, with the U of R included, are a result of an increase in worldwide demand for excellent educations on both big and small campuses that provide great academics and first-rate faculties.

You can read the whole “New Ivy” article and see which other schools earned the distinction on Newsweek’s site.

Nike Golf Swing Portrait

Q: What happens when you combine the greatest swing in golf with the power of modern digital photography technology?

A: Nike Golf: Swing Portrait

Nike Golf is airing a new ad this week showing Tiger Woods’ swing via slow-motion, high-definition photography. The ad was orchestrated by cinematographer Junusz Kaminski, who won Academy Awards for “Saving Private Ryan” and “Schindler’s List,” and utilizes a Phantom v5 digital camera capable of capturing 4,000 still photographs per second. The ad was shot in April, 2006, inside a Las Vegas sound studio, with Woods taking 20-25 swings over an eight-hour period.

An original cello arrangement composed by Christopher (Kimo) Kemp, with cellist Cameron Stone, accompanies the footage.

You can view the poetry at nike.com/nikegolf/swingportrait/ and be sure to turn up your speakers for the full effect.

Update: It appears Nike have removed this campaign from their web site. Thankfully, YouTube comes to the rescue and you can still view the original ad there.

(Thanks to Berger for the background information.)