Road to the Cup

So, bowing to the interminable pressure of being Canucks, we’ve come up with a brand new show for all you puck heads and stick jocks out there. Road to the Cup is the new, definitive, all-you-ever-cared-to-know-about-NHL Playoffs-but-were-afraid-to-ask chat show where your opinions may very well change the course of the next few playoff series.

Or at least change the mind of a committed Blue Jackets fan...

I’m not going to lie to you; I’m extremely superstitious when it comes to hockey, especially when it comes to my beloved Canadiens. I know, I know – I’ve heard it all before – washed up, past their prime, old news, former glory. It’s all noise to me. The Habs are more than just a dynasty – they’ve transcended our national pastime into a whole new realm of fanatical devotion.

Don’t believe me?

Consider that the Habs and Leafs will never be able to face each other in an NHL final again, and haven’t since 1967, yet the rivalry is as strong as ever. Not convinced? How about the Montreal fascination with rioting when the Habs win a quarter-final series, let alone the Cup. Yep, there’s always something magical in the air when it comes to hockey in Canada. Well, magical or insane – it’s so hard to tell sometimes. Regardless, my superstition has convinced me that if I watch the Habs in the first round they’ll lose. I know it’s silly, but who am I to play around with superstitions.

Better play it safe...

With TXT-TV’s Road to the Cup, we’re giving you the opportunity to weigh in, and it looks like there will be plenty to talk about. As it stands the Habs are moving on to battle the Penguins. And in the realm of unlikely matches, the Vancouver Canucks (admittedly, my second favourite team – I’m sure you can tell which side of the border I think Lord Stanley’s Cup belongs on) will face off against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

The playoffs so far have had its fair share of drama, come-from-behind victories and unlikely eliminations, and already sports-fans have been exercising their thumbs telling me why it might be time for Martin Brodeur to think about coaching. A potential ‘Battle for Pennsylvania’ may be in the works, as Steel-Town heroes try their luck against the Broad Street Bullies. If you ever wondered about that Simpsons reference to the starting line-up of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers, all I can say is that they did their homework.

Those guys were brutal.

Hockey is more than just a game in this country, and despite the lame jokes, I’m glad what happens on the ice makes its way to the water-cooler, the bus stop, the school yard and every pub you can think of. Hockey is political and it’s always seemed to me that the game often reflects the struggles of our lives, the issues we deal with, and that’s why it will generate conversation long after the game is done.

With that in mind, you know why you need to get in on the text messaging action; may as well adapt the national pastime for the 21st century, eh?

Travelling at the Speed of Thought

So, part of this job means you have to be pretty on your toes when it comes to a wide variety of diverse subjects, everything from sports, to politics, to entertainment, to sex – whatever people are talking about, its like you almost need to be an expert in it.

Almost – not totally.

Clearly, not everyone can be an expert, and not all experts can be experts all the time. Plus, you gotta remember that some people have particular strengths making them more adept at specific subjects. This, from what I’ve gathered, has been a tough hurdle in getting the network up and running – the managers of the TXT-TV moderators have to figure out where to schedule people, and from certain looks I’ve seen around the office, I think this has been a pretty big headache.  

And it’s so vital too – it’s not like people can be thrown anywhere, a balance has to be found. 

All I can say is big props to the people making this happen.

But on our side, we have to become as flexible as possible, to cover for one another, and also to try and get as many hours as possible. There’s the added advantage of being able to focus more on developing the moderator’s ‘character’ once the moderator has achieved a high level of general knowledge about current events and trends. Once that happens, and the focus turns towards character, the managers can determine what characters work best for different shows at different times. It’s not only complicated, but it requires a lot of unspoken cooperation. In sum, it’s a difficult balancing act.

Then there’s just trying to stay on top of what the current trend is.  

For instance, major entertainment news blogs and websites are updated usually about three-four times as often as a major news site. So figure that TMZ keeps their content 3-4 times fresher than CNN or CBC. Fortunately, the boss and the managers picked out some pretty clever and connected people to keep on top of the latest. It should be of no surprise we’re mostly students and under the age of thirty. Man, I grew up feeling like I was a part of Gen-X, but now I find myself on the other side of a technology gap from people in their late-30s! 

WTF? How did it happen? 

My Gen-X cousins showed me how to use a computer, and now I use it better than they can imagine! Now I feel more like my own generation, simply because I know what’s going on that much faster. 

Either way, knowledge is power, and I’m glad TXT-TV is traveling at the speed of thought.

Observations from the Desk Jockey

So, a few things I’ve noticed around our office.  

Take heed, management types, the workspace is very important, and a lack of imagination in how it’s designed can lead to a lack of creativity. This place, TXT-TV HQ, has no shortage of funky, eclectic style to keep you on your toes.

First, a few weeks back, a new ventilation system was installed. Now, every twenty minutes or so, a strange sound, like when you open a bottle of pop, except louder and followed by a thunderous ‘whoosh’, fills the office. Apparently, this is the a/c. It freaks me out each time. Also, for whatever reason, the building still alternates between shvitz and freeze, despite the new ventilation system. You gotta love old buildings – they’re too old to care who’s inside them.

Second, there are lights everywhere. Now this may seem like a no-brainer, but there are an awful lot of lights pointing off in various directions, not at anything in particular, and in some cases, pointing at very odd things, like directly into a vent, or at the exposed pipes. I have no idea what they are there for, and the building gets so much natural light, that they’re rarely turned on. Which means its especially bizarre to come into the office and only these oddball lighting fixtures, and not the table lamps, are turned on, while everyone keeps toasty under the warm, spring sun pouring in through the many windows. I wonder if upper management doesn’t spend some time at a huge console manipulating the temperature, lighting and breeze, laughing merrily while they watch the reactions of the employees.

Seems like something Dogbert would do.

Third, there are no cubicles, and man what a delight that is! Best part of working in a location without cubicles is that there are very few opportunities for drifting off or wasting time. The open concept office is going to save the economy, and the era of the drab grey cubicle, hopefully, will soon come to an end. Instead of using cubicles, there are plants all over the office, and I’ve been startled by my co-workers neatly camouflaged behind ferns and palms. When the windows are open and the breeze comes in off the water, it feels, faintly, like being up at the cottage.

Green leaves and cool misty breezes keeps people calm and focused. 

What a pleasure to know that the people who run this show have given so much consideration making sure their environment, the place they call home for 8 or 10 hours a day, is as well designed as this.

Bafflingly loud a/c vent noises and bizarre temperature fluctuations aside, it’s a damned cool place to work and it suits the job perfectly.

But best of all, I’m sure the viewers would find it just as inviting.

Magically Deceptive

So, today in the booth I got some texts I wasn’t totally prepared for. One of our loyal viewers texted in that she had the misfortune of having an inoperable tumour; and the response was totally heart warming. All of a sudden the screen was jammed up with well-wishing texts and a lot of big time props for being a great mom to her son.

So there you have it: one person’s misfortune gets a lot of other people’s attention, and the response was amazing. 

It was weird too, having so many positive things being said during an episode of My Life Sux. Oh well, if you can’t beat em, join em.

Also, people were not impressed with Nike’s new Tiger Woods advertisement. Good to know our viewers are as well informed and ethically grounded as us. Comment of the night goes out to McHorton, who said: “who’d of thought your dead dad could help you sell golf clubs?” - roflmao!

It’s weird though, with the chat shows you get a real mix bag of opinions and ideas, all at the same time. It’s like life turned down the filter something fierce, and everyone just lets their innermost opinions and ideas out into the ether. It’s bizarre, as a moderator, you spend so much time focused on making everything work properly, you can’t get too caught up in what’s being discussed.

But then something gets said that you can’t take your eyes off of.

It’s really rewarding and fulfilling to know that the other moderators are having similarly interesting experiences, and good for the whole network to know that people are watching, texting, and participating. Even though the raw feed of people’s ideas, thoughts and feelings can be hard to handle, people generally are not.

When people come together out of earnest interest, it can be magical.

Set the Master Control Room’s Controls for the Heart of the Sun

Anyone who gets this classic rock reference will earn one million Karma Points. Karma Points are not legitimate points and do not work towards any particular prize, aside (of course) from the prize of karmic re-alignment, as determined by the cosmos.

At first I was like, moderate conversations? D’uh, of course I can do that. What a no-brainer!

Then, after a few weeks of waiting for a call-back I grew concerned that I had misread the application. Did it say "moderate conversions"? Or was I supposed to moderate conversations between concerned conservative-moderates? Or was it to modernize conservative conversions into moderate conversations?

My brain was on overload before I had even walked into the booth.

On my first day in the Master Control Room, my job was to play around with the system, familiarizing myself with the controls, the screens, the mixer etc. It’s a lot like the on-air booth in a radio station, and for that reason it feels like an important place, a physical space that needs to be respected.

After all, there’s a lot of money in this room, a lot of high-tech gadgetry. Stuff that doesn’t function very well under particular circumstances. Say, like the dust coming out of the wall as the construction workers install a much-needed ventilation system. And I’m working in their midst. They’re overly apologetic for disturbing me, but I tell them its no problem and I’m not really live just yet. Always be kind to construction workers, especially the guys installing your climate control.

I’m tense sitting in front of the screen, as I’m generating conversation to test the systems; trouble-shooting comes naturally after going through training, though you still strain to remember everything you’ve been taught, not wanting to ask a stupid question. As much as I say there are none, we all know there are. Pushing the big red button is a definite no-no; bringing any food or drink into the booth is also a major no-no. Using the profane language you’re trying to moderate out of the conversations, is a HUGE no-no. And you wouldn’t believe the number of times things go totally FUBAR and you just wanna curse the world out.

Something I’ve noticed about people who have to pay special attention to the language they use, they swear like champions. True masters of expletive-based linguistics. This seems to ring true for some of the staff here. Including the bosses.

A few days later I’m back in the Master Control Room here at TXT-TV HQ, but this time it’s for real.

And that means several people standing behind you watching you work, a more unnerving prospect I can’t imagine. They all mean well and everyone knows that its impossible to work effectively with someone standing behind you, but it can’t be helped, because the whole team needs to see the system working, keeping their eyes open for the little glitches that separate a solid product from a mediocre one. No one here is interested in mediocrity.

So we hammer it out together and I keep my eyes on several windows spread out over four screens. I feel like a pilot. I keep darting my eyes across all four, mind the time, mind the levels, mind your language, mind your manners.

And all of a sudden, messages start coming in. And they're perfectly tame. It’s a salutation or a comment; almost neutral comments.

And I move my mouse and press the accept button.

Simple wasn’t it?

And then came the deluge: holy crap people are raunchy potty-mouths!

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

Hmmm, maybe that’s a touch too dramatic, or maybe I’m on a real Led Zeppelin tangent.

Things have been moving and shaking here as kinks are ironed out and programming is adjusted. I was amazed to see the numbers that have come out so far; people seem really psyched about the network. This could have something to do with a couple of ads going up on the “barker channel” on Rogers. But one thing is clear: people like to chat. A lot. Our evening chat programs are seeing a lot of traffic. Not a surprise: shows like “Sxt it Up” are pretty popular. But the amount of noise coming in regarding the recent passing of the health care bill in the US caught me off guard.

Even within the relatively democratic realm of TXT-TV, plenty of people got caught up in the passion of the moment and hotly debated the topic; similarly to some of the debates that we’ve seen coming out of the US. Sometimes I think there might be a real problem of communication though. As we saw on CNN and the CBC over the last year – yes, an entire year – the conservatives south of the border pulled out every trick in the book, every method they could come up with, to make Americans fear health care.

And what’s to fear? Being healthier? Not paying for operations or medication? Not being refused service at a hospital? What were they on about anyways eh?

As I slowly digested their half-cocked arguments, I realized the problem wasn’t the issue (health care) at all. The entire year of debate wasn’t even a debate. It was a lot more like a professional wrestling match. Shouting, taunting, back-flips, folding chairs and tight spandex – that’s how it came across to me. Oh, and crying, lots of crying.

I still have hope though, despite the constant noise, because I know how the real world operates (ok – not fully, I just turned 25, but I can fake being a 30 year old pretty well). The real world operates pretty efficiently, because we’re all speaking the same language and we’re not trying to confuse each other. That’s why TXT-TV encourages me.

People are having a real conversation, they exchange ideas and thoughts and the moderators keep things moving fluidly. Some people are definitely more opinionated than others, but the conversation keeps rolling along, it doesn’t get stuck in a ditch, y’know? Either way, this new medium lets people speak in a new way – so we’ll speak our way and understand each other, and everyone else will just have to catch on.

Like a Kid in a Candy Store

So a few days back I’m standing outside TXT-TV HQ, enjoying my coffee, when I see a bunch of pre-school kids being led into the candy store across the street.

And it’s one of those high-end, luxury, candy stores too.

Did those kids have the slightest idea what they were getting into?

I can picture it in my head: the day before on the playground the tikes had a meeting:

“The rumours are true! I got the email confirming it! Tomorrow we go to El Dorado!"

"Then the prophecy has come to fruition my friends – today we rejoice, tomorrow we gorge!”

And then the kids lit off some illegal fireworks they got their hands on; and they were all very happy – like this:

Right now, I feel like a kid in a candy store.

Candy stores are about the anticipation of choice; you know you’ll like pretty much anything in the store, so for kids, the point is about considering your options, and having free reign to choose whatever they want. Quantity isn’t the issue, quality is – and no one knows candy quality like children. It’s part of their culture, and we should respect that.

Another thing: Tomorrow I turn 25.

Been getting a lot of the ‘what’re ya gonna do wif yer life?’ from el familia.

As TXT-TV’s official blogger, I think I’m doing alright for myself. A quality life so far, eh? A new TV network, new ideas, everything so new it has a nice shine, and feels plush like warm velour.

And a new job means new opportunities – and again, quantity isn’t the point, quality is.

Meeting people who honestly care about their jobs is a big part of the process. It makes everything so worthwhile. What’s more, it energizes your spirit, adds to your commitment, and makes you think about all the possibilities.

A quality job and a quality product can go a long way, especially in times like these. All around we see what has happened to a society that stopped producing, and drifted off towards limitless consumption. People are angry, they don’t have answers to their problems, and everyone wants a scapegoat. We all got so used to quantity; we didn’t notice the quality of our lives had taken a hit.

Which is why you need to pay attention to the youth. 

Despite the inexperience and folly of youth, my own as an example, there is something to be said for the purity of spirit of a small child. The same child that will confer with his or her friends, debate the merits of Gobstoppers and Runts, and carefully choose the ideal candy for this special occasion. Regardless of what they choose, they’ll be happy they had the choice at all, and for that reason they’ll choose purposefully.

I’m standing on the ground floor of a major local company; a company that produces something very valuable: open and public conversation. What’s more, I fill an interesting space; moderating, blogging, tweeting, writing.

The product we offer is evolving quickly, and I can only imagine the entire process of developing a new television network behind a radically innovative idea to be, essentially, a long process of careful consideration. So many different combinations of offers, rules, constraints, capabilities and costs to deliver the new, the cutting edge. So many decisions that worked out for the best, the result of deliberate calculation. And best of all, we have the viewers who are adding to the content we generate, giving more options, a higher quantity of quality content and ideas. We’re in the candy store with you, working to achieve the highest amount of total satisfaction.

Earlier this week saw a celebration for the launch of the network.

We’re having champagne at eleven in the morning in the conference room and I realize we either have too many employees or our conference room is simply too small.

On the other hand, a small conference room packed with people having a drink is a nice moment to have, to share with other people. It’s a mitzvah, especially when it comes with a round of sincere kudos for a job well done.

I’m enjoying how this experience is unfolding, to say the least.

But most of all I’m enjoying watching the human condition evolve, and see a group of committed and passionate people do what they like doing to the best of their abilities.

It’s a rewarding and thoroughly cathartic situation to be in when you’re turning a quarter century old.

Here’s to three more quarters!