Photoshop and Cloud Computing Post

My idea is for a machine that would teach basketball players how to properly shoot free throws. It would be able to adjust height depending on the height of the user. Once activating, it would shoot a perfect free throw each time, demonstrating the correct method of shooting one to people who don’t shoot them well.

One thing that can help in the marketing of the machine is having a website with appealing graphics. Photoshop is a piece of software that can assist in this process. Various effects can be used to produce pictures and graphics that can make the website bright, colorful, inviting, and more likely to attract perspective customers. I would use it to create both retro and flashy looking photos of free throws in order to provide variety and flavor to the website. This will be sure to generate more traffic and get the word of the machine around more effectively.

A key aspect of this machine will be cloud computing, as having a central location from which to operate and merchandise will not be able to be afforded until the machine has been a success on the open market. As a result, those working on it will need to be able to work from many different places, whether they are off trying to sell or at home and need to update content on the machine on the fly. Travel all around the country will be required in order to market the device effectively. Thus, it is paramount that information on the machine can be accessed wherever anyone working on it goes.

Therefore, multiple ways of cloud computing will need to put in place for the machine. Google Docs could be a start, as it as an effective way to bundle many important pieces of information together in an easy to access place. However, I would primarily like to use dropbox.com as the method for cloud computing. When one sets up an account, they can put files into the dropbox folder on their computer and it instantly transports onto the internet account of the user as well. This well, the files can be accessed easily, changed, if needed, quickly and efficiently, and accessed from a variety of locations.

Blogger Review

Blog's URL: http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/
Blogger's URL: http://www.sbnation.com/users/J.A.%20Sherman/activity?community_id=203

The blog I am reviewing is entitled "Welcome to Loud City." It's main writer is J.A. Sherman, who describes himself as "a decades old NBA junkie thoroughly enjoying the blogging experience. The URL for his profile is the following: http://www.sbnation.com/users/J.A.%20Sherman/activity?community_id=203

The blog is a professional blog for fans of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. As such, it contains various content regarding the team and its members, including Sherman's recounting of games and post game reactions, videos of press conferences, etc., and quotes regarding the team from the team or someone else, perhaps another team. Its posts are organized chronologically, as most blogs are. It also provides links within its posts to access the full content provided, especially if only a few quotes are taken from a certain interview or an original report is needed to confirm what Sherman posts to the blog.

I believe that Sherman's blogging style is extremely effective and very viewer friendly. He provides a wide range of content for a viewer to go through and makes the site interactive through its use of polls, comments, etc. His use of various forms of posts, whether its a video, a gamecast, or a post game analysis really gives a fan or just a casual viewer such as me a wide range of content to go through and enjoy. I particularly enjoy the way he takes quotes away from press conferences that he believes the viewer will enjoy, while providing the link in case the reader wants to see more. This ensures the blog remains easy to read and that people will not get bored and look at something else.

Competitive Analysis

My idea is for a machine that would teach basketball players how to properly shoot free throws. It would be able to adjust height depending on the height of the user. Once activating, it would shoot a perfect free throw each time, demonstrating the correct method of shooting one to people who don’t shoot them well.

http://dickbshootingcamp.com/free_throw_practice.php
This is a basketball camp in Indiana that places a particular emphasis on shooting. They stress quickness, accuracy, and distance in shooting from all areas from free throws to three pointers. In addition to their camp, they provide online tips on practicing free throws and other shots of basketball. They are thorough, in depth, and offer good advice to young and perspective shooters. The camp and my machine are similar in that they both provide hands on instruction step-by-step on how to shoot proper free throws. The biggest difference is that the machine has computerized instruction while the camp is instructed by people. Also, the camp works on all kinds of shots, while mine is targeted towards free throws.

http://www.basketballshootinginstruction.com/free-throw.htm
This is the website of free throw teacher Gary Boren. He has been hired by multiple college coaches and the most recent NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, if you look through his website, in order to improve their free throw shooting. He holds the philosophy that missing free throws is not because of a mental disadvantage, but bad form, etc. His approach and my machine are similar in the way that they break down shooting free throws, which is step, by step instruction in form. The only difference lies in the human vs. machine instruction.

I believe the fact that my project is a machine and thus will be programmed to display as close to perfect form as there is gives my machine an advantage over human competitors. Another is that my machine, once it enters circulation, will be a far cheaper option than hiring a coach or camps for multiple lessons. However, after analyzing the camp in Indiana, I feel that perhaps I should expand my machine to cover all shots from all court distances. This will make it a more useful machine and make it even more marketable. I will consider this as I continue the machine's development. 

Hardware Post

My idea is for a machine that would teach basketball players how to properly shoot free throws. It would be able to adjust height depending on the height of the user. Once activating, it would shoot a perfect free throw each time, demonstrating the correct method of shooting one to people who don’t shoot them well.

Essentially, being a robot with a specified function, this machine is a computer. So, what hardware is chosen for its building will be essential to its functionality. I feel that the machine will need a good power supply unit. The reason is that with a machine that has so many options as to preference in its function, it is essential that none of its components fail, which could happen if the power supply unit fails. Also, good power supply units can contain circuitry that prevent damage to the other components of the computer. It will also provide a more stable power distribution, which will act as another precaution to ensure the machine does not overheat.

Obviously, a quality processor is also important for this particular machine. The machine's processor must be able to function quickly and correctly, in order to ensure an efficient and satisfying product. An Intel processor will likely be needed, as they tend to be of high quality. The speed of the machine is positively crucial to its success on the market because those using the machine cannot afford to wait so long for it to be ready to function, nor will they purchase it if they need to. Therefore, a good processor is critical to how many machines will be able to be sold.

A final element that the free throw machine is in dire need of is a good and well-functioning hard drive. The reason is because one of the options users will have with the machine is to save their preferences as to height of the machine and speed at which it shoots. A good hard drive will be able to accompany the complexity of these settings saved to memory. It would ensure a speedy access to the previous settings by the user as opposed to having to set them every single time, which, of course, maximizes effectiveness of the machine. 

Social Media Post

My idea is for a machine that would teach basketball players how to properly shoot free throws. It would be able to adjust height depending on the height of the user. Once activating, it would shoot a perfect free throw each time, demonstrating the correct method of shooting one to people who don’t shoot them well.

Social media will be absolutely essential for marketing and promoting the free throw teaching machine. Without expanding our market into the social media world, the machine cannot hope to sell very well. All of the website’s pages will be linked to the device’s website, which will explain all of the plans along with other pieces of important information. I plan to market the device across all social media mediums. Starting with the device’s Facebook page, I plan to ask my friends and colleagues if they are willing to invite others to join the page. I also plan to target notable athletes who do not shoot free throws well and post the idea on their page, in addition to coming in contact with them to notify them about the device.

However, the main way that the machine can be marketed over social media is through Twitter. Especially since this product will be marketed to high-profile athletes principally. Also, we will be relying on their endorsements to market the machine to the public. I plan to seek the athletes out on Twitter and to post on their accounts about the machine. This will ensure the interest of the athletes and their use and endorsement of the product. In this way, Twitter will be essential to our marketing and salesmanship.

Also, crucial to the success of the product will be showing it to the public and possible famous customers via pictures and videos on the Internet. I plan to link both social media accounts to a YouTube account that will demonstrate videos on how the machine will work and first hand demonstrations of what occurs when the machine is turned on. YouTube is as much of a social media site as the other aforementioned ones and it is imperative that the product has a presence, especially one that demonstrates how it functions, on YouTube.