Man Vs. Food

If you have ever passed by the Travel Channel during a channel surfing session while Man Vs. Food is on, there is no way to deny that you haven’t stopped to watch. Adam Richman, who claims to have held every job in the restaurant industry, premiered his exploration of food on December 3, 2008. In each episode, Richman explores the food a different American city before facing off against a pre-existing eating challenges at that local restaurant while regulars or people of the town cheer him on.
While on the road, Adam and crew remain in contact with viewers through social networking options. http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_V_Food provides discussion boards, areas where viewers can recommended sites for future episodes, live videos from filming, and so much more.

Discussion boards include the topics below:

Fan v. Food
We want to hear from you! Have you attended any of the Man v. Food events at NASCAR, the college TailGate Tour or a restaurant featured on the show? We want to hear about your experience. And if you have photos, we want to see them. Post your comments and photos here.
108 posts

Recommend Your Local Food Spots
Have suggestions for Adam on where he should dine? How about what food challenge he should take on next? Tell us right here. We also want your photos and videos! You can upload them on our What's Your Trip site. Click here to see some of the videos and photos that have been collected so far.
3160 posts


Some examples of fan comments are shown below:

mkoopsmagoops
Junior Member

I am a very big fan of this show. I think Adam is one of the best host of a food show if not the very best ever. He does some amazing things and I can't wait to see more. Maybe a new season idea would be to got to overseas and do some challanges. Again big fan Adam and if you read this you are the MAN! Hopefully I will get a chance to see a challange next time you are in Michigan!

And…

foodtraveler
Junior Member

We travel a lot. When we travel, we go out of our way to eat at places featured on Man v. Food.

Travel Channel also promotes viewers to get involved through their mobile phones and/or through signing up for e-mails. All a viewer needs to do is click the link below ( while on the actual website ) to join to Travel Channel's networks.






For those of you who have watched Adam pack down food such as a SIX POUND BURRITO, you might wonder why the host, who is "a bit on the husky side", is not obese. Turns out that Richman spends an hour or so on a treadmill, telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Being sedentary is incredibly uncomfortable. [...] [D]espite the fact that the first 10 minutes or 15 minutes on the treadmill might suck, it actually does alleviate a lot of pressure, and you feel better."

Interacting Online to Assist Animals

The Animal Rescue Site has found a smart way to get people to donate free food. This method is through a simple click of the computer mouse. Shown below, all people have to do is log onto the website in order to help donate to animals with no cost to themselves.

"The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily so they can meet their quota of getting FREE FOOD donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute (about 15 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals for free'. This doesn't cost you a thing.

Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising.
Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know.. "

Go onto the website and click! The site makes it very easy for people to assist the animals through technology, which everyone is already active with.

March Madness Mobile?

With March Madness in full swing, it is safe to say that talk of brackets have triumphed many recent conversations. Facebook statuses are filled with predications and the current status of their brackets, including the good and bad.

Statuses that I have seen include:

“byebye brackets. LETS GET THE MIDWEST TERPS! LETS GO”

“back in college park, but soo upset about the terps loss”

“early birthday brunch at turf valley then watching the terps fight for the sweet sixteen. LET'S GOO MARYLAND!”

“HERE WE GO TERPS! LETS GO MARYLAND”

and the more disappointing post…

so just found out that the clock was not started for approx .7 seconds after michigan st passed in the ball on their final possession...meaning the "game-winning" basket should not have counted, putting maryland in the sweet sixteen...thanks NCAA

For those who aren’t aware, the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single elimination tournament held each spring in the United States. This year’s competition began on Friday, March 19th in various locations such as Syracuse, St. Louise, and Houston. Sixty-four college basketball teams began the tournament, organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The first round includes two days of sixteen games. Once eliminates began, rounds of the titles include “sweet sixteen,” the “elite eight,” and then the “final four.” The tournament was first created in 1939 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Since its inception, the tournament bracket predictions have created an active role for audiences to play in the tournament. Friends, organizations, companies, and maybe even small children have put money down and filled out their brackets in hopes of their favorite teams winning it all and in return taking home all of their brackets earnings. Websites sponsor and calculate the points for each player so people completing against each other can see who put what team in each position and how many points they have as a result.

Anticipation for the Final Four is shown below from a countdown taken from www.cbssports.com



Below shows how people can sign up individually or with groups.



cbssports.com also can bring the tournament to your cell phone through the on demand iPhone App.

Matchmaker Matchmaker find me a match...

Patti Stanger, known as a Millionaire Matchmaker, is no longer closing off her relationship advice to those who can front the cash. Now if a fan wants her advice, all you need is a phone. In April of 2009 Premiere Radio Networks debuted a Satellite Radio Special Hosted by Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger titled P.S. I Love You. The call-in special first aired on Sundays, from 6 - 8 p.m. ET/3 - 5 p.m. PT on The Pink Channel (XM Channel 24) and Mix (XM Channel 22) but is now on Thursdays. All of those Million Matchmaker fans can call in at 1-800-449-8686.

This is definitely a smart way to allow viewers to interact with Patti’s services regardless of their income and to make them feel like they are also part of the show by receiving her advice. Callers might got get the face-to-face interaction of the classic makeovers that she does to her clients but it’s still something! And fans don’t even need to fly to California for a consultation with Patti.

Patti describes the radio show as “racy” and invites viewers to call in. She also has special guests come in to co-host! She advertises the radio show on her Facebook, Twitter, and website. She is sure to keep fans update on how they can contact her through all of those online outlets.

Patti tweets:

Tune in to XM Pink 24 or Mix 22 to hear my brand new radio
show PS I Love You - every Thursday at 4PM Pacific. Co-hosted by @destinpfaff.

So be sure to tune in to hear about the women whose shows have “rubbed off on the matchmaking industry,” according to CNN.

Coach Williams

It seems as though Gary Williams might interact with the most technological audiences on the University of Maryland Campus.

After the buzzer beater game on Saturday versus Georgia Tech I heard the announcer make an advertisement for the Gary Williams Radio Show, where he would discuss the game and give fans the opportunity to call in and ask questions. Surprised by how reachable Gary Williams was to audiences I further researched the topic.

The Gary Williams Radio Show, featuring Maryland head basketball coach Gary Williams and Hall of Fame broadcaster Johnny Holliday, made its season debut on Tuesday, November 13 in 2007-08. Originally the radio Show was to broadcast from R.J. Bentley's on route 1 in College Park, Maryland. The live call-in show aired throughout the season on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network. Shows on Mondays would run from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. In 2010, the show is still going strong and advertised at the end of basketball games. Currently the Gary Williams Radio Show airs from 7-8 p.m. throughout the season on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network. The location of many shows has also changed within the years and now will be taped live at area Buffalo Wild Wings locations. Fans are still encouraged and invited to be a part of the show in person or by calling (866) 950-5225.
The 60-minute broadcast is the University of Maryland and Gary William’s an interactive way to allow fans to ask the head coach the questions. The show must be a success if years later he’s still on the air.

If you could like to tune in this week, the show airs on stations WHFS 105.7 FM and ESPN Radio AM-1300 in Baltimore. Network affiliates include: WJFK 106.7 FM (Washington, DC), WTBO AM-1450 (Cumberland), WEMD AM-1460 (Easton), WFMD AM-930 (Frederick), WARK AM-1490 (Hagerstown), WPTX 1690 AM (Lexington Park), WMSG AM-1050 (Oakland) and WQMR 101.1 FM (Ocean City).

He also keeps fans updated on when to call in through his twitter account:

“Show starts at 7pm. If you want to call into the show the # is 866-950-5225”
2:26 PM Mar 4th via web

Fans can also listen to the show online if they couldn’t get by a radio.

As I said before, Williams can also be found on twitter under the name “MDCoachWilliams.” I was surprised to see that Williams is an active twitter user. The bio for the page states that the page is the official twitter page of University of Maryland Head Men's Basketball Coach Gary Williams. Williams has 4,737 followers; he is following zero.

His tweets range from talking about his personal life:

“I just want to reiterate what a profound effect Coach Millikan had on my career and me. I would not be the coach I am today if not for him.”

Williams keeps extremely up to date about on his twitter page. Throughout the snowstorm he tweeted several times about weather conditions.

“I want to thank all the fans who braved the icy roads and made it out to the game.”
1:54 PM Feb 8th via web 


“I want to thank all the police, security, ushers and other personnel who made it to comcast despite the snow storm”.
1:52 PM Feb 8th via web

Williams also tweeted about the stats for senior Greivies Vasquez when his records were released.

“Greivis is now the first player in ACC history to reach at least 2,000 points, 700 assists and 600 rebounds in his career.”

As for the night of the big Duke game, Williams are sure to acknowledge his appreciation for the fans and the seniors on senior night…

“Also congrats to our senior managers Kyle Sweeney and John O'brien. They have done a great job for us.”
9:35 AM Mar 3rd via web




”Not enough space to say what Landon, Eric and Greivis has meant to me, the team or the university over the last 4 years.

“ 


9pm tonight. I want Comcast packed. The fans, especially the students have been great all year. Lets send the seniors out on a great note.”

Between his Twitter and several years speaking for a radio show it seems as though Williams is very active in social networking. I foresee a Gary William’s post game blog in the future….!

Shameless Social Networking

It’s so secret that the campus dining halls have the most inconvenient hours. With the dining hall closed and a rumble in my stomach, my friend led me to a Facebook application, “Food Friendzy.” For those of you who have not been shown the website CampusFoods.com, Food Friendzy is a way to get coupons or money off from your order from the website.

Maryland’s CampusFoods.com has 39 restaurants near University of Maryland-College Park including Panda, D.P. Dough, and Bono Pizza. The website has lists of places to order food and where they are located. Once click on the restaurant you can view their menu and order from there. If you create an account on CampusFoods.com and then connect your account with your Facebook account the coupon winning can begin. All you have to do is go onto the Food Friendzy application.



How to play: (The game is a board of tiles)
1. Flip tiles to earn points.
2. Redeem points for prizes and local restaurant coupons.
3. Play everyday to win.

The game is three levels where you can earn various amounts of coins. Once you win on Facebook, Campusfoods.com connects your total point earnings from Food Friendzy to your account on their site. Depending on how many points you earn, winners can redeem a certain amount of money towards a Campus Foods coupons or the offers off a specific restaurant.

Now only was the game fun to play, but I got hour dollars off of my Chinese food order. After I made my order online I was further surprised by what I saw. My screen was taken over by this:




I was slightly impressed and slightly annoyed by the shameless advertisement these restaurants are willing to participate in. It was definitely interesting that a website connects with a social networking site to get more people to use their business. However, I feel it was overboard for the site to then expect the costumer to make their status about the food order they just made. This really goes to show the depths in which social networking has changed society, and specifically the business worlds source of advertisements.

CNN too...

Everyone seems to know that Twitter is the new way to reach out. Prior to the Oscar's start, CNN tweeted about a live blog for viewers to participate in.




The rules included as follows:

If you would like to participate in our Live Blog (and we hope you do) please follow our rules.

Here are some of them:

1) Please keep your comments short
2) Don’t write in ALL CAPS (we don’t like screaming)
3) No links
4) Use your real name

The blog ended with a total of 793 comments.
Some of the comments were...

Stacy from NJ March 7th, 2010 7:07 pm ET
Got my popcorn, got my candy, got my viewing pal (my cat Tarabelle). All ready!

Kerstin March 7th, 2010 7:08 pm ET
Nicole Richie is accompanying her boyfriend Joel Madden who is Dj-ing the Oscars

Rob March 7th, 2010 7:10 pm ET
Love this live blog idea, but having to refresh my browser to see the new comments is going to be a pain. Oh well. Thanks for hosting this, Jack. Is there no way for you to feed your updates to your Twitter account?

The Post Reaches Out Through Twitter

The Washington Post has taken to their Twitter account to ask readers and followers for their input on the U.S. Postal Service.




Clicking on the link leads to an article. The offered poll is the one shown below.

Are you a 'single' or a 'with'?

I have previously blogged about the television show, Kell on Earth. Specifically during one episode the women who work for Cutrone are all out to eat sitting at a dinner table. Instead of talking to each other they’re all on their blackberries. Kelly even makes a comment about how they look extremely bitchy and over obsessed with work and that is the reason that no men go up and talk to them. The article, Cellphones in public: social interactions in a wireless era, goes onto explore the actions of Cutrone and her crew as well as the rest of society. The article discusses people doing research on the effects of technology and social interactions post the growth of cell phones. Two perspectives are demonstrated through their research: “How social norms of interaction in public spaces change and remain the name and how cell phones become markers for social relations and reflect tacit pre-existing power relations.”

The behaviors discussed in this study are extremely valid today. The article asked, “How do these technologies change people and their social relations?” In the previously read the article it also about how different personalities use cell phones in social relations.

One of the most valid points that the article made was that, “despite social rules against eavesdropping, observations and interviews indicate that eavesdropping was a fairly common practice among people whose partners were on their cell phone.” This sentence definitely caught my eye considering one of our most recent assignments was to listen on the other people’s telephone conversations during the week. The website that was shown during class with that sign referencing someone’s inappropriate conversation proved that people typically do ease drop despite being aware that it is frowned upon.
The sociological terms defined by the study were most definitely accurate. While I was reading I couldn’t believe how on point everything they wrote was. When it came to discussing ‘cross talk’ and how to handle talking to a person on the phone while still interacting with the person in front of you I was laughing to myself thinking of how I have done all of those things. It was strange to think of how there truly is an etiquette to dealing with that type of social situation and how everyone just picks up on how to comply with it.

The study according to Goffman stating that “there are two types of individuals in public spaces: people who are alone and people who are with other people. ‘Singles’ and ‘Withs.’” It was interesting to put a term with the types because everyone has been a ‘single’ or a ‘with’ and one point and reacted in the exact manner that the study explained. The explanation of when a conversation where ‘one member of a ‘with’ momentarily sustains exclusive talk with someone who is not in the ‘With.’ This may result in the other person in the ‘With’ feeling awkward and exposed,“ also really made me realize how I have been in that same situation before. This study made it so clear how people act in social situations. The article also said, “People often feel awkward when their former partner is engaged in an exclusive interaction. As a result, people often engage in activities to bide their time until their partner gets off the phone.” This proved that when people do act in social situations, they rely on their cell phone as a back up way if interaction is interrupted or not running the way it had planned.

I think everyone point they made was just so alarmingly true. Something they didn’t talk about was people’s use of their cell phone as a gaming device. For the most part the article talked about how people use their phone in social interactive situations but it can also be used as entertainment during boredom if a personal does have a game on their phone. As for cheating I have never seen or heard of people using their cell phones to do so in college. I know that in high school people used the notepad on their iPods to copy notes and cheat off of that if the teacher allowed them to listen to their iPods during the exam. There was also a time that I knew of people texting the A, B, C answers to someone to a scantron exam, but again I have not seen any of that in college.

The Kaplan Advantage

As commercials were running through my dorm room as background noise from the television I suddenly became interested in what one of them said. The commercial was advertising for Kaplan University, who claims to be a “different school of thought.” The online school is based to offer “a learning experience that's both customized and flexible, so you can study on your schedule, on your terms. With more than 100 degrees and programs, we put you first. It's time to put your talent to work.” The school is based on convenience and flexibility. Hence having everything be offered online through the use of technology. Students never have to leave their homes. Their websites reference the “convenience of online learning” due to technology stating, “that’s just part of the Kaplan advantage.”
Interaction with teachers is also offered so students can ask questions or learn more information. Live chat with “dedicated advisors” is offered through the website. Interesting to see how technological all schools are becoming.

The areas of study available include:
Arts and sciences
Business
Criminal justice
Education
Health sciences
Information technology
Concord law
Legal studies
Nursing

Kaplan University seems to be the definition of blended courses. The Kaplan Flexible Learning gives students multiple options for “online learning with additional on-ground support.” Eight campuses located in Iowa and Nebraska “provide the facilities, faculty and staff, and career options” for the future success of their students. This face-to-face interaction allows students to also participate in face-to-face traditional learning.

Theatrical Blogging

Technological audiences have reached from celebrities (so basically strangers) to students interacting with other students. On Facebook I received an invitation to the event from my sisters friend at the University of Delaware titled, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog LIVE!”



It seems as though the University of Delaware is taking stage performances to technology to a new level by allowing interaction with viewers, aka other students. The show will be held in a theatre like a normal play and will run for several days with several show times. The information on the event described that, “the video blog is the driving basis of the show, it provides much of the plot, such as the heists he’s pulled, reading emails from fans or letters from the ELE, or talking about Penny, the girl of his dreams, who he sees at the Laundromat on a regular basis, but is too afraid to talk to.” Seems as though blogging has moved from being the computers to being up on stage. Interesting use of blogging…