I have changed gears for my final project idea. I wanted to do something with video editing, but now I am thinking that is a bit too specialized and more work than I expect to be able to complete in a semester. I still would like to fiddle with it once I get better with the languages, but not for now.
I am looking to build a blog site for sports that can be customized. I think of it as a portfolio of sorts for me, as I ultimately want to write about sports and I think I could customize it to have some cool interactivity on it. I envision adding a section that aggregates tweets that reference the blog or certain sporting events (like the Stanley Cup Finals currently) on a rolling ticker on the right, and then content and allowing for video and pictures to be uploaded directly by me or other admins.
I want to keep the content to small chunks on the main page, with a “read more…” link similar to what WordPress already does, and make it so that the front page always keeps some pictures and videos static in place (not necessarily the same pic or video, but the same place on the page) to ensure that the page is visually appealing on first view.
So that is where I am starting from, with changes to be made at irregular intervals according to the whims of Greg, me, or the gremlins in the code.
Be sure to think about the structure of the site and how you can add structure to the content (e.g. if you’re constantly writing about a finite set of teams).
I really like the idea of following a sport online, and having bits of information surrounding it, just like you mentioned I think. It’s kind of like listening to an announcer while you watch a game, but in this case you could choose when to read interesting facts, when to chat with other spectators or fans, and when to follow play-by-play.
DJ I had no idea your focus is sports as well! We may have to talk about teaming up some time before we graduate. Excited to see your finished product.
I like the concept of the sports ticker like ESPN. Its an engaging way to read content. I just wonder how to even begin to code that, but perhaps theres a plugin already for it.
URL – http://www.eatatdjs.com
Description – The site is going to be a sports aggragation with commentary about the various goings-on by myself and a few other contributors
Goals – To be able to bring scores and headlines from other sources (ESPN, CBS, etc)
To be able to have a livestream of Tweets about certain big events (Super Bowl, Masters, etc)
To be able to have a short blurb about our individual blogs with links to our posts
Audience – Sports fans who want both the hard news (scores, winners, MVPs) and some easy-access commentary that isn’t “company line”
How – I plan to write in a code to search for tweets with hashtags or @ symbols that we are looking to import
I think the WordPress blog stream is pretty useful, with maybe a couple of tweaks to make it look sleeker and/or new
Theme – Twentytwelve, or maybe twentyeleven