SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/37461
From the Sidelines Eric Schroder Editor eschroder@m2media360.com 717-805-4197 SportsTurfTu 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 Phone 847-720-5600 Fax 847-720-5601 The Official Publication Of The Sports Turf Man- agers Association Communication technology overload in public places, etc. Of course within months of that being published I had my own cell phone, foisted upon me by my insistent and, more importantly, pregnant wife. Fast forward to today where if you don’t have a cell it means you must either live off the grid or maybe cannot afford the bill. And even then you can buy disposable phones so you’re never “out of touch.” Add in the smart phone option and you have scenes like the one I experienced recently; at N a boys-only dinner there was a moment where the other five guys all had their devices in hand, checking email, looking up baseball stats, texting wives, and so on. I looked around the table and asked if any of them would be willing to shut off the device just long enough to eat and have some adult conversation and everyone said, “Sure”—but no one actually turned off their phones and two guys were back on within 10 minutes. Another friend sent me an email a few days before a party he was throwing for his wife’s 50th birthday, wondering why I hadn’t responded yea or nay earlier; after all, he’d posted the invite on his and her Facebook pages. He couldn’t believe I wasn’t on Facebook. “Everyone is on Facebook, get with it!” he emailed. “Don’t you want to connect with long-lost friends and know what everyone’s doing?” Uh, well, hmm, actually no, I don’t. Going to the party, sharing some laughs and seeing friends sounds good. Being informed of those same friends’ every move sounds boring as hell. Likewise, I’d question the judgment of any of my friends or relatives who would be in- terested in what I was doing all the time. That would be time for the old “get a life” refrain. LinkedIn, a site that is “Facebook for People with Jobs,” I’ve got an identity there and it has worked in connecting me with some folks I’d otherwise not know; it’s been helpful in my work. But I’m not tied to it like a crackhead is to his pipe the way too many people seem to be beholden to their phones and the oft-times useless information they offer. I first heard of Twitter 4 years ago at a conference for communications professionals; it seemed unnecessary then and it has proven to be just that. Unless you count reading about the incredibly stupid things famous people have to say, which can be hilarious. Only a matter of time and it’s probably happening already, Twitter will be sending you advertising messages about your favorite ice cream, which Big Marketing Brother knows about from your grocery’s “rewards” program card buying record. And while you are reading the message you’ll be miss- ing a chance to do something real, something better—like a conversation with another flesh- and-blood human being. EARLY 15 YEARS AGO I wrote a column for another publication under the headline “I Hate Cell Phones.” It decried the intrusion into our daily lives of communication technology—how it was impossible to claim you were “unavail- able,” how rude it was for people to be loudly carrying on private conversations PRESIDENT: Troy Smith, CSFM IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Chris Calcaterra, M.Ed., CSFM, CPRP PRESIDENT-ELECT: James Michael Goatley, Jr., PhD SECRETARY/TREASURER: Martin Kaufman, CSFM VICE PRESIDENT-COMMERCIAL: Chad Price, CSFM PROFESSIONAL FACILITIES: Allen Johnson, CSFM HIGHER EDUCATION: Ron Hostick, CSFM K-12: Mike Tarantino PARKS & RECREATION: David Pinsonneault, CSFM, CPRP ACADEMIC: Pamela Sherratt COMMERCIAL: Rene Asprion AT LARGE: Jeff Fowler, AT LARGE: Jeff Salmond, CSFM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Kim Heck STMA Office 805 New Hampshire Suite E Lawrence, Ks 66044 Phone 800-323-3875 Fax 800-366-0391 Email STMAinfo@STMA.org www.STMA.org Editorial EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Charles Forman EDITOR Eric Schroder TECHNICAL EDITOR Dr. James Brosnan ART DIRECTOR Brian Snook PRODUCTION MANAGER Karen Kalinyak EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Richard Brandes STMA Editorial Communications Committee Jim Cornelius, CSFM, Jason Henderson, PhD, Paul Hollis, Clayton Hubbs, Joshua McPherson, CSFM, Brad Park, David Schlotthauer, & Grant Spear SportsTurf (ISSN 1061-687X) (USPS 000-292) (Reg. U.S. Pat. & T.M. Off.) is published monthly by m2media360, a Bev-Al Communications company at 1030 W. Higgins Road, Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sportsturf, P.O. Box 2120, Skokie IL 60076-7820. For subscription information and requests, call Subscription Services at (847) 763-9565. Subscription rates: 1 year, $40 US & Poss.; 2 years, $65 US & Poss.; 1 year, $65 Canada/Foreign Surface, 1 year, $130 Airmail. All sub- scriptions are payable in advance in US funds. Send payments to Sportsturf, P.O. Box 2120, Skokie, IL 60076-7820. Phone: (847) 763-9565. Fax: (847) 763-9569. Single copies or back issues, $8 each US/Canada; $12 Foreign. Periodicals postage paid at Park Ridge, IL and additional mailing offices. COPYRIGHT 2011, SportsTurf. Material may not be re- produced or photocopied in any form without the written permission of the publisher. Member of BPA Worldwide. 6 SportsTurf | August 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com