Allow zipcode entry. Dragging the wee man all the way from Hawaii to the mainland so I could see what this thing did was a drag :-) Anyway, people don't always support their geographically closest team.
(I have no comment on the actual usefulness of this thing, not being a sportsgoer)
USE google.loader.ClientLocation; to sniff out the current location of the site visitor. I'm in California and you're showing me NYC. Not super effective.
Also (as frossie alluded to) you need an input to allow searching by location. Don't worry about zip code vs city, etc. Pass the data from the search box to the google api and it will do the rest.
I'm using server side lookup based on ip and falling back to google client location, but you're right on that I should just be using google client location. Definitel gives more accurate results.
Ditch the adsense and look for referral programs for ticket providers, I am sure some of them have them. That seems like a much better revenue model than hoping people click on that stack of ads.
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/base/python_lib/versions/1/google/appengine/ext/webapp/__init__.py", line 507, in __call__
handler.get(*groups)
File "/base/data/home/apps/hometeamed/1.336527601886172444/app/home.py", line 47, in get
site_settings = SiteSettings.get()
File "/base/data/home/apps/hometeamed/1.336527601886172444/app/models.py", line 235, in get
logging.info(("site settings count", site_settings.count()))
File "/base/python_lib/versions/1/google/appengine/ext/db/__init__.py", line 1485, in count
return self._get_query().Count(limit=limit)
File "/base/python_lib/versions/1/google/appengine/api/datastore.py", line 1038, in Count
self._ToPb(limit=limit), resp)
File "/base/python_lib/versions/1/google/appengine/api/apiproxy_stub_map.py", line 72, in MakeSyncCall
apiproxy.MakeSyncCall(service, call, request, response)
File "/base/python_lib/versions/1/google/appengine/api/apiproxy_stub_map.py", line 255, in MakeSyncCall
rpc.CheckSuccess()
File "/base/python_lib/versions/1/google/appengine/api/apiproxy_rpc.py", line 111, in CheckSuccess
raise self.exception
Error: An error occurred for the API request datastore_v3.Count().
That stuff should be in an error log somewhere, not dumped on the front page.
Except for the already-mentioned geo location fail, I think this is a pretty slick. I live in Columbus, Ohio, and was trying to see if it would mention tomorrow (9/23) nights Champions League match at Crew stadium. However, it was not clear how to "change your location".
If you dont mind me asking, do you plan on generating revenue through ads, being a middle-man to Ticketmaster, or ____ ?
It feels like a nice exercise in utilizing the google maps api, but I'm not sure this is solving a real problem. If I want to know when the next detroit tigers home game is (hardly what I consider local here 2 hours outside of detroit), I'm going to ESPN or the tigers site.
Increase the scope to include college games, and include non-mainstream sports (rugby, volleyball, etc.), ditch the map as the main site nav, and you might have something.
And yea, ditch the adwords until you get traffic. I thought it was seo at first.
b4 i looked at the site i thought it was a great name for the idea i was assuming -- "area" teams in the semi-anonymous onion sense, meaning, local teams like high school, local/division ii/iii college, etc.
not that focusing on the majors is bad -- it's a good idea -- i just thought it worth mentioning that the word "area" conjured up high school and not majors for me.
Yes i thought it would definitely include local high school games and even possibly local hobby leagues. There are a lot of those. Funny when I grew up in Richmond, VA there was a local Rugby league. The athletes there were amazing . I was just lucky I lived nearby and I am not sure if anyone else in the neighborhood even knew about it . If they did they would have been exposed to a different sport from a different culture with great action.
18 comments
[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 66.4 ms ] thread(I have no comment on the actual usefulness of this thing, not being a sportsgoer)
Also (as frossie alluded to) you need an input to allow searching by location. Don't worry about zip code vs city, etc. Pass the data from the search box to the google api and it will do the rest.
You need to ensure that the time zones stay local to the map shown, as well as what the others have said. Finally, link to tickets or something.
If you dont mind me asking, do you plan on generating revenue through ads, being a middle-man to Ticketmaster, or ____ ?
I'm in Raleigh, NC, and since I see nothing available in my area, I probably won't return.
Increase the scope to include college games, and include non-mainstream sports (rugby, volleyball, etc.), ditch the map as the main site nav, and you might have something.
And yea, ditch the adwords until you get traffic. I thought it was seo at first.
not that focusing on the majors is bad -- it's a good idea -- i just thought it worth mentioning that the word "area" conjured up high school and not majors for me.
Er showed me as Hayward whereas I'm in San Francisco. About 30 miles off. But otherwise it works.