donloeb.com

a week or so ago i went to cal’s final home game against USC. i wrote about the game because the ending proved why college basketball is far superior to the pros.

i was lucky enough to have witnessed one of the best college moments - watching steve panawek (walk-on senior) getting mobbed by his teamates after stealing a pass with 10 seconds left and successfully dunking it (ugly…but, a dunk nonetheless). the place went absolutely nuts…

but, during the game a more subtle and interesting drama was unfolding. every time USC star gabe pruitt shot a free throw the student section chanted “victoria, victoria.” i couldn’t figure it out at the time, but today we learned why (i hope it’s true - thanks jeremy)…

the cal rally committee (or maybe the student section…not sure) created a virtual college coed named victoria. they used AOL IM to start flirting with the unfortunate mr. pruitt. he took the bait and chatted with her frequently. and, in fact, was scheduled to meet her in LA that night. during the game, the students revealed their prank by sharing the IM chat on posters and chanting her name. needless to say he shot 3 for 13 and wasn’t a factor in the game.

now, the cal defense may have had something to do with it, but what a great prank…

life transitions are a good way to kick off a new (ish) blog, so here it goes…

friday was my last day at yahoo…while I’m sad to leave, I’m incredibly excited about where I’m headed…

i’m joining FeedBurner as vp business development, strategic partnerships. don’t worry, I’m not moving to chicago – instead I’m helping open our new sf branch office. of course, you might see me in the oakland airport a bit more…

the experiences i had during my three years at yahoo were some of the best of my career. i was primarily focused on RSS, community / blogging, and yahoo’s overall and social media efforts / strategies. i worked on some fantastic products including my yahoo, yahoo groups, yahoo 360, etc., helped acquire blo.gs and searchfox, and participated in our cross-company social media initiatives. and, most importantly, i worked with incredibly talented people, many of whom are now lifelong friends. i’ll miss everyone (too many to list), but I’m positive that we’ll continue to work together in some capacity.

so, why FeedBurner? the short answer…every dick costolo email makes me laugh. if you’ve read any of his blog posts or if you’ve met him, you know what I mean…

seriously though – over the past three years, media fragmentation has rapidly accelerated as consumers have become their own programmers and, increasingly, publishers themselves. yahoo led the way in developing some of the key user experiences (my yahoo, flickr, del.icio.us, etc.) that drove this consumer behavior shift. FeedBurner is also at the heart of this ever-changing media landscape. but, our focus is on helping publishers of all shapes and sizes navigate this new world – where syndication, subscriptions, and user generated content play ever more important roles.

additionally, i’m also a huge fan of the team. I’ve known dick, steve, matt, and eric, for nearly two years decades. they (and the rest of the fb folks) are some of the smartest, most passionate and honest people i have ever encountered.

Let the Madness Begin

while the bears were clearly outplayed on saturday against the bruins, they had a great pac 10 tourney. bring on nc state…

it’s my favorite time of year.

spring is around the corner and college bball is on tv day & night…

POWE BREAKS OUT / Bears forward scores 41 in 2 OTs

what a performance last night. it’s clear the bears are in the tourney now. let’s just see if they have enough gas left to take on UCLA today.

btw, if powe comes back next year, this team could be in the top 10.

great game tonight

and, the best part was watching the seniors at the end. walk-on steve p came in with 50 seconds to play. he proceeded to hit a free throw and then steal and dunk with 5 ticks left. the fans and players went nuts. does that ever happen in the pros? hah…

UCLA Bruins/California Golden Bears Box Score Thursday March 2, 2006