done....lol at that bias question....but i answered it.
Solid survey. A few of the questions were difficult to answer based on the options provided: (i.e., I'm not an avid fan of a team in Europe, but am an avid fan of those leagues and watch them every weekend; I would consider (key word) pro/rel in MLS in maybe 20+ years once interest in soccer has continued to rise, but still not certain it would work here; I would be a proponent of instant replay in MLS, but only on limited items).Only way we can separate the trolls from the fans and get a clear picture of how we service each respective team Fantazma. And honestly ... I am pretty shocked at how that vote is going some 500+ votes in.
Thank you all for participating. Those who know me know I like to keep engaged and get a real feel for what you all think of us. Surveys like this really help us understand our readers and mold our coverage.
Cheers in advance. Maybe see a few of you for a beer one day on River Ave.
Solid survey. A few of the questions were difficult to answer based on the options provided: (i.e., I'm not an avid fan of a team in Europe, but am an avid fan of those leagues and watch them every weekend; I would consider (key word) pro/rel in MLS in maybe 20+ years once interest in soccer has continued to rise, but still not certain it would work here; I would be a proponent of instant replay in MLS, but only on limited items).
On the bolded part, your content is great, but some of your writers seem to take very flimsy evidence and turn it into internet rumors that put NYCFC supporters in a falsely negative light that gets picked up by other supporters around the league. I would expect more diligence on that front.
5 days too slowHe broke the Training Center story.
Appreciate the response. I know you guys didn't run the story and do enjoy your stuff and the coverage you bring to NYCFC. I'm definitely not questioning his work ethic, but in my eyes the credibility of one of your writers took a massive hit, at least with me.I know the reference and am totally comfortable addressing it, Soup.
In that case, it was Christian who found a damning thread on Reddit and shared it as gospel via social. However, we never ran that story (though several seem to think we did?).
To Christian's credit, he made a full public apology for sharing it after getting all the facts and meeting with Rox -- and I am sure the entire episode was a valuable learning experience.
Either way, I appreciate the input. And again, to Christian's credit, you will be hard pressed to find a harder working reporter on the NYCFC beat. He broke the Training Center story. Is always in Purchase and matches. His work speaks for itself.
Thanks man!
Appreciate the response. I know you guys didn't run the story and do enjoy your stuff and the coverage you bring to NYCFC. I'm definitely not questioning his work ethic, but in my eyes the credibility of one of your writers took a massive hit, at least with me.
I won't bother to say anything more on this, at least publicly on here. Always happy to chat.
[slow clap] Bravo.... bravo!!I answered the survey and the bias question at the end truthfully.
If you want more of my page views then try and be neutral. Once in awhile I will check out an article or two to see if you've managed to find some kind of non biased journalistic integretity. Since that is never the case the mean time between me checking continues to rise. I am being completely truthful when I say I'm virtually done with EOS, and I believe that you will find that to be a relatively common theme on this board. You may also find that there are a chunk of people on this board who are already completely done with EOS. Then again I'm just one person on the internet with an opinion, so take it as you will.
That said you asked for a truthful opinion in an attempt to make your site better, I will always happily provide feedback. Below is some feedback on EOS as a business.
I really hope you guys can get it together. As a niche soccer website you've got rather greater market potential than anyone else serving a similar purpose in the US. Have you considered hiring any writers/freelancers who actually support blue? For example, while aviewfrom226 rather needs to work on his on camera presentation, set, and graphics his views tend to be insightful and well thought out and logical. Frankly forming a partnership with any of the more popular blue supporters would be beneficial for the reason outline below.
To make the most out of your market potential your website needs to shake off the perception that is is a home for Reds and occasionally Greens. You're missing out on a significant percentage of your potential market by excessively catering to one side. Partnering with prominent blue supporters would do much, at least in the short term, to help you reapply the veneer of impartiality. The actual work of which will probably be a long and difficult undertaking.
Being perfectly frank in three years of existence and two years of playing NYCFC has amassed a larger fan base and audience than NJRB and the Cosmos combined; probably. This state of affairs will probably only get relatively worse for NJRB/Cosmos as time goes on. NJRB's marketing presence in the city is virtually non existent and the Cosmos's is only slightly better. Meanwhile NYCFC often has bus stops, subway stations, subway trains, and occasionally billboards plastered with NYCFC advertising; he'll I've actually seen some local TV ad spots for NYCFC on non YES network statsions. I've talked to a few friends in marketing and I would not be surprised if NYCFC was spending more than their salary cap in advertising, on a yearly basis. What this means for EOS from a business perspective is that you will be catering to a steadily declining percentage of your target market, NY soccer fans.
For the moment you still retain some first mover advantage and some structural advantage over a lot of the organic, non MLS or NYCFC produced, soccer websites and blogs that focus in the NY area. Your first mover advantage primarily lays in the fact that you've been functioning as a news website for longer than a lot of your recent competition. Thus EOS tends to possess better graphical presentation, writing quality, speed of presentation, and most importantly timely access to information. However, your competitors are catching up in all of those areas and I would not count on those first mover advantages persisting for more than an additional two years at most. Your primary structural advantage is that, ostensibly, you focus on and support the entire NY soccer scene, something rather uncommon amongst your competitors.
That said if you guys can't get your collective shit together expect someone to see an underserved market and make a play for it.
Hope that helps.
I answered the survey and the bias question at the end truthfully.
If you want more of my page views then try and be neutral. Once in awhile I will check out an article or two to see if you've managed to find some kind of non biased journalistic integretity. Since that is never the case the mean time between me checking continues to rise. I am being completely truthful when I say I'm virtually done with EOS, and I believe that you will find that to be a relatively common theme on this board. You may also find that there are a chunk of people on this board who are already completely done with EOS. Then again I'm just one person on the internet with an opinion, so take it as you will.
That said you asked for a truthful opinion in an attempt to make your site better, I will always happily provide feedback. Below is some feedback on EOS as a business.
I really hope you guys can get it together. As a niche soccer website you've got rather greater market potential than anyone else serving a similar purpose in the US. Have you considered hiring any writers/freelancers who actually support blue? For example, while aviewfrom226 rather needs to work on his on camera presentation, set, and graphics his views tend to be insightful and well thought out and logical. Frankly forming a partnership with any of the more popular blue supporters would be beneficial for the reason outline below.
To make the most out of your market potential your website needs to shake off the perception that is is a home for Reds and occasionally Greens. You're missing out on a significant percentage of your potential market by excessively catering to one side. Partnering with prominent blue supporters would do much, at least in the short term, to help you reapply the veneer of impartiality. The actual work of which will probably be a long and difficult undertaking.
Being perfectly frank in three years of existence and two years of playing NYCFC has amassed a larger fan base and audience than NJRB and the Cosmos combined; probably. This state of affairs will probably only get relatively worse for NJRB/Cosmos as time goes on. NJRB's marketing presence in the city is virtually non existent and the Cosmos's is only slightly better. Meanwhile NYCFC often has bus stops, subway stations, subway trains, and occasionally billboards plastered with NYCFC advertising; he'll I've actually seen some local TV ad spots for NYCFC on non YES network statsions. I've talked to a few friends in marketing and I would not be surprised if NYCFC was spending more than their salary cap in advertising, on a yearly basis. What this means for EOS from a business perspective is that you will be catering to a steadily declining percentage of your target market, NY soccer fans.
For the moment you still retain some first mover advantage and some structural advantage over a lot of the organic, non MLS or NYCFC produced, soccer websites and blogs that focus in the NY area. Your first mover advantage primarily lays in the fact that you've been functioning as a news website for longer than a lot of your recent competition. Thus EOS tends to possess better graphical presentation, writing quality, speed of presentation, and most importantly timely access to information. However, your competitors are catching up in all of those areas and I would not count on those first mover advantages persisting for more than an additional two years at most. Your primary structural advantage is that, ostensibly, you focus on and support the entire NY soccer scene, something rather uncommon amongst your competitors.
That said if you guys can't get your collective shit together expect someone to see an underserved market and make a play for it.
Hope that helps.
Sidebar to the topic at hand (apologies), but thanks for this. I've tried to be substance first, though I do wish I had more time to improve the quality of the presentation.For example, while aviewfrom226 rather needs to work on his on camera presentation, set, and graphics his views tend to be insightful and well thought out and logical.
There is a lot to digest here, but let me break it down:
1) You lose me a bit when you say immediately go on attack: "if you've managed to find some kind of non biased journalistic integretity" -- makes me think you have made up your mind. Which is fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I just fail to see how our coverage of the team is bias in any way.
Sometimes we find ourselves in a vacuum online, where boards like this have 3-4 loud voices claiming bias, and people accept the narrative without looking into the allegation. Frankly, some of those voices have been so vitriolic it prevents me from visiting here as much as I like. But as far as an institutional bias, I don't see it. Again, I can't change your mind if you are of that school of thought. I just think it's misguided. We can only work harder.
2) Reaching out to fans is a constant goal for us. Getting in bed with any of the three team supporters isnt. When I vet my writers, I never select people who are STH. I want independent voices -- not popular figures within the fan community. That's not to say we dont have exclusive voices. Glenn Crooks writes a weekly column for us (BLUE), just like Mark Fishkin previews RB every week (RED).
3) Having said that, surveys like this are meant to get the pulse of fans on all spectrums -- and allow me to engage you. Try to find another site that does as much with as little resources. And believe me ... we have VERY little resources. I'll wait.
4) I welcome competition. Ask the guys at NYCFC Nation! There is no one that is as welcoming as I am to new faces on the scene. Remember -- this isnt the NFL. We arent killing each other for news. There are a HANDFUL of outlets that even CARE about MLS, let alone NYC, Cosmos or RBNJ. The more the merrier. And let fans decide.
------
The problem with your concerns are, as you say, you see a "perception that is is a home for Reds and occasionally Greens" -- and all we can do is continue to churn out quality news from the team in hopes to change your mind.
Anyway, appreciate the feedback. Feel free to keep going or reach out privately!
Sidebar to the topic at hand (apologies), but thanks for this. I've tried to be substance first, though I do wish I had more time to improve the quality of the presentation.