If you use MSN Messenger, Google Talk, or any Jabber client, you can now Instant Message RUWTbot.
Just add ruwtbot@areyouwatchingthis.com as a new contact, and you can ask him for sports scores for the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB. This is new for him, so be friendly. You can get the whole story straight from the source at ruwtbot.com.
Examples of what you can ask him: suns scores, yankees news, nba news, nhl scores, tv espn2, tv tnthd
Try it now!
Fantasy Football may be over, but that doesn’t mean the battle for bragging rights has to be. We’re launching our first WYG? mini-contest: the NFL Playoffs Challenge.
Here’s how it’ll work:
Be sure to check back here on the blog for updates and standings. What are you waiting for? Get picking!
First Round Games:
Redskins vs. Seahawks
Jaguars vs. Steelers
Giants vs. Buccaneers
Titans vs. Chargers
I’ve been working on some new functionality for the home page redesign. It’s inspired by the iPhone app, and not polished or close to done, but the code will become core to a lot of upcoming enhancements on the site. I’m improving this daily, so feel free to watch.
Happy New Year everybody. I hope you all had a quality day in front of the TV and are looking forward to the Hawaii vs. Georgia game as much as I am tonight.
Not only is this a National Holiday, but it’s also a RUWT? holiday because it was a year ago today that I flipped the switch on this crazy idea. 12 months, a few thousand users, and a couple radio interviews later and we’re still alive and kicking.
Thanks for coming along for the ride. It’s been a blast so far.
I joined my first Fantasy Football league last year to find out what the hubbub was all about. It didn’t take long for me to get hooked.
Fast-forward to this year, I’m in the finals and tonight’s MNF game will decide it. On the line? About 300 units of pride, kids.
I’m up 11 points on my opponent and we each have one player left. He has Brandon Marshall, the streaky second-year receiver that has been on a tear as of late. Who do I have? Nate Kaeding. That’s right America, my last hope for the title is riding on my kicker.
Come on Santa, you’ve got to have a 6 field goal game from Kaeding somewhere in that bag…
update: i won. that pretty much makes me the smartest man alive…or something like that.
Hey faithful blog readers. I’m up strangely early this morning as I just finished listening to myself yap about RUWT? on NPR‘s Weekend Edition Saturday.
Some of you might remember the last time I was on the radio, and despite suggestions from certain people, I kept the nerves under wraps this time and didn’t accidentally use the phrase “Wet my pants” on the radio.
They unfortunately cut out my opening “You’d be surprised how many people in America don’t have No-Hitter Insurance” line (I made Scott Simon laugh!), but it was still an awesome way to start the day.
There’s a full docket of games on ESPN today, so I’m going back to bed. I’ll have the audio link soon…
update: the segment on RUWT? is now available online…
Wow, this one was a long time coming.
I promised to keep the hits coming over the next couple weeks, and tonight RUWTbot and I rolled out one of the most requested features from fans: the ability to customize the list of stations you get.
You’ve always been able to pick your provider of cable or satellite goodness, but now you can choose which stations from your provider you actually get. So if you’re having trouble with your fanhood, and haven’t signed up for every premium channel possible, now you can clear out those games from your scoreboard that you can’t see, and your alerts will be only for the list of stations you choose.
This was a pretty major renovation on the geek side, so please let me know if you run into anything that isn’t working quite right. You know where I’m at: mark@areyouwatchingthis.com.
We haven’t had a YouTube Tuesday since September? Lies!
Okay, maybe not lies, but it’s definitely a conspiracy. Just like that Mitchell Report. Go Yanks!
I hope that features will be coming out fast and furiously over the next few weeks, but tonight I’m making sure everyone knows about an oft-overlooked one.
There’s a football game on tonight. Yes, I know most people can’t see it because of this NFL Network foolishness (I’m looking at you too Big 10 Network!), and granted Broncos vs. Texans isn’t exactly must-see TV (it’s Cutler vs. Rosenfels, people!), it’s a slow night in the sports world so you may be wondering where you can see it.
Before you hop in the car and head to the nearest sports bar, remember you can click on “Airings” on any game page and see which of your buddies has the game on TV, and more importantly, whose couch you need to invite yourself to.
Sure, you can get Social Networking anywhere, but how many sites give you Couch Networking? Thought so. Don’t forget who loves ya baby.
I ran into an awesome post in Adapative Path’s essay archives (what, they couldn’t just say blog?) called The Long Wow. If you run a startup, a company, or a hot dog stand, it’s worth the read. It
“Notably great experiences are punctuated by a moment of “wow,” when the product or service delights, anticipates the needs of, or pleasantly surprises a customer. OXO’s Good Grips Angled Measuring Cup triggers such a moment of wow. A set of angled markings on the OXO cup lets you quickly measure liquids for recipes without having to stop cooking and bend over. Suddenly a little part of your life is easier, because OXO thought carefully about the way you cook. This delightful surprise resonates because it feels tailored to your needs.” (more)
I’ve had to spend a lot of my time on “plumbing” type activities doing my best to keep RUWT? up and running. We had over 200GB of traffic to the API last month (triple the site traffic if you’re wondering) and keeping it humming to support the RUWT? Sports Toolbar, iPhone app, desktop widget, Twitter Bot, definitely takes up a lot of time. Unfortunately all that time revolves around work that you may never notice.
So Listen Up! Heading into the end of the year, we’re bagging the boring “plumbing” work and focussing on new features. Top 25 options for College Basketball in the Toolbar? It’s coming. A way to turn off games in NBA League Pass and NHL Center Ice? On it’s way. Include the message when you’re notified that someone shouted at you? Already done, son!
Christmas is starting early kids. Tell Santa RUWTbot what you want.