Christmas Comes Early to the Cafe
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 12, 2009 12:39 PM EST
in Housekeeping
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PrintHey all -- a couple items of good news to report today. I'm a save-dessert-for-last kind of guy, so I will start with the smaller one. SBN, our network, has signed up with Getty Images for use of some pictures. I am awaiting the signal that our account has been activated so I can see exactly which images are available to us. However, they cover plenty of cycling, so we should have somewhere between "enough" and "an embarassment of riches" when it comes to available images. More details, such as who can post them (fanposts?) and how to do crediting, to follow.
Ordinarily this would be the day's biggest announcement, but not today. The second piece of good news... looks something like this:
At long last, I have been authorized to officially hire a teammate to help run the show here, and that person would be -- you guessed it -- Gavia!! Gavia has been a key contributor here for a long time, virtually since we started, and her trademarks include unparalleled race previews and breakdowns, info from Europe before other English sources notice, and a special brand of personality pretty well captured by the picture above. We're not big on titles here, but you can think of her as co-editor, whereby she will take the lead on all things Italy, France and Spain, while I will have first-line responsibility for the rest of the known world. This is more of how we will communicate than a restriction on anyone else. [For example, if the words "Italy, France and Spain" ring a bell, that would be the grand tours, which call for all hands on deck.] This isn't the Treaty of Tordesillas. Can't get enough Gav? No worries, she will still be contributing heavily to Steephill.TV, and we will still point you in the direction of everything she writes over there.
So please join me in welcoming Gavia to her new status. I would also like to express my appreciation to SBN for both pieces of good news. With Gavia's help, the Cafe is primed for a big year in 2010.
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Very Cool!
I expect a surf report now in the sidebar every morning.
"Jens! is my favorite rider. I love watching him handing out plates of hot, steaming suffer!" - Mahatma Gandhi
A surf report?
Bah. Crappy windswell, high tide, heavy onshores on the way. We will not speak of this further.
Congrats, Gav!
This place needs a few more crayons. And Getty images—cool!
It was just a long race--Edvald Boasson Hagen, on the Giro
+1!
Does she get her own parking space?
"My facking goat didn’t wear Robes! Does he look Scottisch?!" Baron von Frinkenstein
It's not been letting me log in for a week now
should I take the hint?
I did that today
I thought of a sneaky fix tonight too, logging in through one of the baseball sites, but now new posts don’t appear until I reload.
What, you're not really a mountain in disguise?
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
Winter?
Outside of June-October, I imagine that silly little marker is pretty hard to find.
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 12, 2009 1:47 PM EST up reply actions
Somehow,
it’s hard to find pics of the Passo di Gavia covered in midwinter snow. Of course, there is http://s2.elforo.de/ciclismo/viewtopic.php?t=21&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=285
that looks like fun
going uphill …
and deadly going down
Can’t wait to see the “other” Gavia in the 2010 Giro
Moo
Congrats Gavia!
Does this mean an increase in the amount of “Wednesday” posts we can look forward to?
http://www.irishpeloton.com/
not psyched on Getty Images deal
Getty is not a sweet company. I’ll spare you the lengthy grievances list and just say I’m most bummed because it means PdC now has access to a bunch of cycling photos that look exactly like everyone else’s.
Podium Cafe obviously needs photos. But populated as it is by a massive and far-flung membership, PdC was in a unique position to source its own race images from members. Now I’m a little worried—despite my faith in Chris’ and Gavia’s editorial discretion—I’ll see the same parade of finish line salutes here that I get everywhere else—despite my faith in Chris’ and Gavia’s editorial discretion.
The cost to capture, process, store and distribute high-quality images has dropped exponentially over the past few years, and there’s no longer a reason to rely on monopolistic copyright hoarders to sell or provide you with photos. Unique, user-created images posted here would both draw traffic to PdC, and make it simple—and with no middleman, more expedient—to discuss licensing terms with content creators.
Deals like this one between SB Nation and Getty merely serve to reduce a demand that independent photographers could (and should) be filling, increase the share of online images controlled by a few massive holding companies, and stifle the ability of users and photographers alike to negotiate fair prices for image use and re-use.
-Cosmo
http://cyclocosm.com
Head down, elbows out since 2005
Aha! Excellent.
Except now I can’t log into Flickr? I am a Flickr plus member!
-Cosmo
http://cyclocosm.com
Head down, elbows out since 2005
Interesting points
I won’t question SBN’s choices, for a variety of reasons but also in recognition of reality. Unless we buy bulk through the network, the individual sites have no resources to hire independent photographers. That may change later, and I will keep your thoughts in mind if and when it does.
The part about generic images… Gavia and I are both pretty conscious of the desire not to imitate other sites. I think I speak for us both in saying we would rather use stuff from the PdC photo library when possible, promoting the contributions of people here and not trying to look like VeloNews. So although we now have access like other sources, I hope that nobody will be left with the impression that we are imitating them.
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 12, 2009 2:08 PM EST up reply actions
With you on the sentiments, for sure.
Tho’ I’ve got some pretty strong faith that we won’t be seeing that many Getty images here.
I think between you and I
we can out shoot Getty on the local scene, what say you?
by Christopher See on Nov 12, 2009 8:10 PM EST up reply actions
On the hyperlocal?
For sure.
But really, Getty has great photogs (I was chatting with one the other day, and it was not unlike getting a chance to talk with your favorite indy rock star). It’s just the model and destruction of indy photo possibilities that I’m objecting to. Honestly, shooting pro cycling races (and getting to know a lot of the folks covering them) has really developed my views on the subject.
+1 half the game (shooting pro cycling) is getting to where JD and CG will share with you...
I believe I can say that I’ve earned that place….
Off to shoot bobsled shortly, a new challenge..
by Christopher See on Nov 13, 2009 3:53 PM EST up reply actions
Well..
In a perfect world, we would have the resources to send our own photographers to the races we are interested in. And, when we got to those races, our photographers would have press creds. and a moto driver waiting for them. You understand, this is how it would be if I were queen. But I am not queen, and I have to make do with what I have. I consider myself lucky if I can help a photographer onto a moto for a U.S. race. Very lucky. Forget about Europe.
It is nice of SBN to throw us some resources. It’s not perfect, what in life is? I’d have preferred a subscript to one of the cycling photogs in Europe – Bettini or Cor Vos, for ex. – or to buy photos from Lyne here in the U.S. Maybe someday, we’ll have an independent photo budget here, but we don’t right now.
You are seriously worried about our originality? Dood, we run crayon pictures and barbies on the front page. Really, I would have thought originality was the least of our worries here.
We are in the process of creating a user-created pool on flickr. This thingy will rock the casbah. I have been plundering the collections of specific users all along, but this is way better – cuz it’s fast, searchable, and we don’t have to search down permissions, cuz permission is already granted. Still, there are going to be holes in this collection – since despite our efforts to take over the world, we are not at every race, nor do we have photos of every rider that we cover.
So yeah, we’ll use the Getty collection, because it’s what we have.
Indeed
I mean, we announce the getty thing with a crayon drawing. If that’s not an indication of where this is headed…
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 12, 2009 3:38 PM EST up reply actions
Congratulations!
I hope you held out for a new box of Crayolas
"Drawing on my fine command of language I said nothing."- Groucho
I have taken note of your wishes
… for when I am Dictator. My advisor, Frinking, will work on it…
But yeah, I have a hard time picturing PdC featuring the usual fare of Getty-sourced images. Just can’t see it happening :-). Now I can imagine race results being accompanied by a picture of the stragglers making it home…
Of course I do..
What do you want? A photographer? I will fulfill the job/task.. So you can sit and enjoy the pics..
What do you fear most?
1. coup d’etat
2. putsch
Sure.
For all the races that roll past your apartment. You can shoot pictures from the window.
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 12, 2009 4:28 PM EST up reply actions
I guess that limits us
to the Vuelta, Giro and Tour this year.
Not that I’m jealous or anything.
not to mention
the TDU starting in japan rumour never came true
"well...you live in england so: you love the rain. loves the queen. hates cycling. based on mr bean had a tremendous amount of humour. all ride in a mini cooper. all getting drunk before the age of 12. getting drunk at least 3 times a day."- frinking, 7/9/09
Isn't there a way
to make the tour of misery start somewhere near Kierkegard’s house?
(misery = Missouri)
nice
well played
"well...you live in england so: you love the rain. loves the queen. hates cycling. based on mr bean had a tremendous amount of humour. all ride in a mini cooper. all getting drunk before the age of 12. getting drunk at least 3 times a day."- frinking, 7/9/09
Start working on your Dutch, Sui ;-)
I am forming quite an all-start support team here. It shall include: The Frinkster, the Kaz Fed (the brains of that operation, at least, whoever that may be), the author of the UCI’s response to the AFLD…
Don't forget the snow leopard..
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
"Dood, we run crayon pictures and barbies on the front page."
Can this be the next site header?
Tickets are bought, Belgium here I come!
actually
yes
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 12, 2009 7:08 PM EST up reply actions
In a perfect world
All girls would be beautiful, all beaches would have perfect waves and all smoke would get ah high.
Robert Nesta Marley
Ah!!! Congrats Gavia. Love the news!
Your bike doesn't want to crash so relax and let it roll!!!
rofl
I like the bit about perfect waves. Where do I sign up for that?
Beautiful isn’t a bad thing either, of course, now that I think about it.
Windows, what's that?
Eh, you got my point. I’m pretty aware of these issues, anyway, and hardly needed to be read on lecture on it.
another thing that's not perfect:
my photos of bike races. Oi. Ugh. So not perfect. The pros are good. Of course the pros often miss things – like beer-drinking marmottes. Best to have both in my opinion.
Little Pippo concurs
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
The high cost of photo rights
is the primary reason I can’t move forward with my book project (a companion volume to the work I do over at at TheVirtualMusette.com). It would literally cost me thousands (ten of thousands) to gain access to the archival images to pull off a print version of the Top 25 Cyclists of the Modern Era. Why is this stuff so damn expensive?
If any of you have any solutions/ideas, I’m all ears. I’m sure no one else wants to be bored with this information, so please email me at bikfit@yahoo.com
by The Team Chef on Nov 12, 2009 4:15 PM EST up reply actions
Have you checked out what's available for free?
There are pics of cyclists available on Wiki Commons.
It was just a long race--Edvald Boasson Hagen, on the Giro
Yes,
quite helpful for the more modern cyclists, but it’s the older guys (Coppi, Bartali, Bobet, etc.) that are so problematic. The picture rights are held by very few, and the asking price is simply unreasonable. I don’t mind “borrowing” images for my blog, as it is a non commercial venture, plus I’m very careful about giving picture credits (something very few blogs do) . Of course, a “for profit” book is a different animal altogether. Thanks for trying to help.
by The Team Chef on Nov 12, 2009 5:26 PM EST up reply actions
Ah. Sorry for the confusion--"Modern Era" made me think more recent.
It was just a long race--Edvald Boasson Hagen, on the Giro
Congrats Gav...I had no idea you weren't in that position already, but now it's official
yay for Getty, they have a ridiculous amount of images, and I’m sure PdC will use many of them unlike most national media sources who will only use a select few. Plus, I doubt Getty has any hotitude worthy pics so PdC will still need to rely on some other sources.
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
duplicate zapped.
I assume you only wanted to say this once?
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 12, 2009 2:10 PM EST up reply actions
My orginial plan was to say it 5 times but if you insist
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
What this means is that
I don’t have to suffer any more left-justified photos & graphics from Chris, right Gavia?
Ha!
Actually, Chris always puts them on the right. I’m not sure why. But the graphics team has begun to compensate for this tendency.
something in my brain
tells me they belong there. I don’t claim to be right. It just feels that way.
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 12, 2009 2:52 PM EST up reply actions
I'm confused
How can Gav goof off here while at work if she now works here? And congrats Gav. Nobody around here not named Chris contributes as much and deserves this as much as you do. I love meritocracies.
Drew
provides a lot of moral support.
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 12, 2009 2:29 PM EST up reply actions
Ah, the innocence of youth
"It looks like talking, but it’s just words that comes out"
~ Andy Schleck
That was a ways back
When my old job allowed it. Not so much anymore.
I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?
Nice Drew...
blame the job and not admit to just being a slacker. ;-P
I'm ready for this road season to wrap up. Bring on Cross!
The only criteria to get on the list..
Is to be member of the first hour..
And YES The Netherlands is totally underrepresented in the list!
What do you fear most?
1. coup d’etat
2. putsch
That's just a nice way of describing a bench warmer isn't it?
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
And Majope.. Some of their posts are serious research work....
What do you fear most?
1. coup d’etat
2. putsch
Congrats Gav!
To those having problems with the site, try sending a report to SBN (as Gav & Jens suggested), link here
http://www.sbnation.com/pages/contact
Did that and now all good with the site.
You know, I thought about it last week
But at that stage I could not get sbnation.com to load for love nor money, so I gave up.
But thanks, Bruce – I have bookmarked the link and if the magic fix does not work for me, I shall avail myself of it (if it loads, LOL)
OMG, the magic fix seems to have worked!
You’re Da Man, Bruce!
I agree Bruce is da man, but SB Nation...
I also sent a report but nothing’s changed. I’m a magnet for technological mishaps :(
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Yeah, the improvement was short-lived for me :-(
(Bruce is still Da Man, mind you!)
I have also sent a report…
Chapeau
and thanks, Santa!
"The road is our agony, but also our daily bread; and at night, when it is deserted and the moon glistens on the asphalt, the ridiculous dreams of racers like us pass up and down it."
--Dino Buzzati
congrats gav and chris
two pieces of good news :)
"well...you live in england so: you love the rain. loves the queen. hates cycling. based on mr bean had a tremendous amount of humour. all ride in a mini cooper. all getting drunk before the age of 12. getting drunk at least 3 times a day."- frinking, 7/9/09
Way to go!
One step closer to the big time…. And to think you can get paid to goof off…..
by Christopher See on Nov 12, 2009 8:17 PM EST reply actions
What? Goof off?
This is serious business. What with the crayons and the gossiping and such. Very very serious.
I believe you have seen my point..
Well done none the less….
by Christopher See on Nov 12, 2009 10:09 PM EST up reply actions
Congrats Gav
or more accurately, congrats to us for getting more Gavia input. I found my way to this site originally trying to follow Gav’s posts so I have her to thank/blame for finding a way to avoid lots of work, particularly during Grand Tour months.
Same for me, KatieK.
Congrats, Gav, and good luck to you and Chris.
by Spot of Bother on Nov 12, 2009 10:20 PM EST up reply actions
No one Seshes like Gav !
Does it come with a corner office, perks-o-plenty, and huge cash bonuses ?
I waited a half an hour to give my two toddlers breakfast until I had my Eneco tour coverage sorted, then made sure I got them fed before the sprint. --- Bought With Blood. ..... Hmmm, my kinda people. If only they could explain to my wife why my bike belongs in the house and not the garage. --- Thevaro
Yay! How can the cafe possibly be anything but superb with
Chris and Gavia starring as the baristas. Oh, yes, well, it is good at silly and hottitude also.
I’m waiting for the free wi-fi.
Chapeau Gavia
Great news. In fact fantastic news. In fact, I hear the marching band is summoned.
However, I’m really confused about the business model in this old caff…
I get from PdC highly informed, witty, satirical and frankly slightly hallucinogenic news and opinion, as well as a thing to do when I should be working
PdC gets from me, as far as I can tell, absolutely bubkus. Not a sausage. Bugger, to be frank, all. I don’t even pay the price of a cup of tea.
So – not to put too fine a point on it -how on earth does SBN put food on the table? Or is this one of those mystery catch alls called “advertising revenue”? In which case I am even more confused because I have looked very carefully on my computer screen and the only advertising I can see is simply encouragement to spend more time reading PdC.
Anyway, for the moment I am very happy to continue to read high quality cycling banter and learn about lead out trains and / or echelons, depending on just how pissy Columbia are feeling today.
Entry fee
It could happen but I don’t think it will work:
7. Fees.
SBNation reserves the right at any time to charge fees for access to new SBNation Network content or services or to portions of the existing SBNation Network content or services or to the SBNation Network as a whole. In no event will you be charged for access to any SBNation Network content or service, or to the SBNation Network as a whole, unless we obtain your prior agreement to pay such fees. If you do not consent to the payment of such fees, however, you may not have access to paid content or services. Details regarding the content or services you will receive in exchange for fees, as well as the payment terms and conditions that apply, will be disclosed to you prior to your agreement to pay such fees. Any such terms and conditions shall be deemed to be a part of (and are hereby incorporated by reference into) these Terms.
You don’t see any advertising? No mention in the ToS of ad blocking so I guess it’s allowed. However, now that you know that your (online) friends rely directly on those ads for all their Sex Wax needs, you might think about whitelisting podiumcafe.com (allowing ads specifically on this domain). Also, the ads here aren’t really intrusive like they can be with popups, slide-outs or sound.
I totally ignore most of the ads to the point where I might as well not see them
but I was Pepperidge Farm’s bitch during Milan-Sanremo week, when they kept pushing Milano cookies.
It was just a long race--Edvald Boasson Hagen, on the Giro
We use a well established business plan
1) Blog about pro cycling and other marginally related nonsense.
2) ?
3) Profit!
Exactly
And I have long learned that if I like 1) and 3), I should avoid asking questions about 2).
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 13, 2009 6:07 PM EST up reply actions
Now I look a little harder...
… there are a couple of ads discretely positioned at the top of the page – which naturally I miss as I skim down to the bottom to get my latest fix of half naked children’s dolls and picture of very tough belgians
Gavia was always a woman to be respected and feared....now we must bow down in homage.
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
I personally welcome our new Overlord
(more cross please)
I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?
Btw The drawing of Gavia reminds me of:
Is there going to be a Thread of the year contest? (Or will that be at the end of decemeber?)
What do you fear most?
1. coup d’etat
2. putsch
I hope I'm not jumping the gun here,
but how long will it be till PodiumCafe has it’s own brand of coffee. I am thinking about it because we will need to get Gav a raise real soon and many of us drink coffee already and even if someone doesn’t they might buy it because Gav’s artwork would grace the packages.
\o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ – Espresso
\o/ \o/ \o/ \o/ – French roast
\o/ \o/ \o/ – Medium roast
*10% of profits go to Gav’s Xmas Bonus Fund
- No marmots were harmed in growing this coffee
"Drawing on my fine command of language I said nothing."- Groucho
Can we quickly
add to the coffee line, chocolate covered coffee beans? Damn things are flippin’ addicting here, to the point that I’ve had to go buy more to take home as the first bag was consumed in our adventures around the island.
I'm ready for this road season to wrap up. Bring on Cross!
This is a job for
Ruthann.
"Harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" Philippe Gilbert
by Chris Fontecchio on Nov 13, 2009 6:08 PM EST up reply actions
It will help keep her busy during her very long winter. :-)
I'm ready for this road season to wrap up. Bring on Cross!
Can we have tea too?
Albertina <——————- so does not heart coffee
"If I were World Road Race Champion, I would wear black shorts. That probably has more to do with me being on the wiser side of 30 and understanding better that the decisions I make now never really go away. White shorts would not be something I'd be proud of...." - David Millar, in Rouleur.
Will there be Employee of the Month awards now?
"As you can imagine, there are better places to have your birthday party than in some village called Mushny Mush Mishme." --The Wisdom of Jens
Ok, let's not get ridiculous
How’s Chris going to take Gav winning it 12 months straight?
I mean uh... hasn't that ever occurred to you, man? Sir?
Supercool news about Gavia!
The PdC teammate news, I mean, not the wavesmak depicted in the accompanying news photo ;-)
This place just keeps getting better and better!
Yeah great news about Gavia and the cafe. I can't wait to see the shenanigans
question re:Getty. That is only a one-way deal right? ie sbnation has the rights to use Getty images and not the reverse?
Should be one-way
Photos from Getty in exchange for cash from SBN. But we’ll make sure – cuz that would be wacked, if it was two-way.
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