Halfway Through the Season

Technology and Society is halfway through its second season as London Seaward’s primary sponsor. Seaward sit seventh of twelve in Division 1 South East with a total of 15 points from eleven matches, and the Reserves sixth of eleven on 10 points after eight matches. Much bigger clubs such as Wimbledon, Norwich City, and Queens Park Rangers are above the Anchors in the standings, but the reverse fixtures in 2024 offer plenty of opportunities to move up.

I know she hates the attention, but The Athletic named Seaward defender and club secretary (and so much more in the early days) Jo Butler-Williams a Grassroots GOAT for her work (along with many others mentioned in the article) keeping the club alive after Leyton Orient went in another direction. The club’s success as an independent outfit earned them a 10-year groundshare agreement at Oakside Stadium in Redbridge and a technical partnership with Puma, both of which offer present stability and the potential for future growth.
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And, if you’re interested, the away shirt (which one online commenter described as “an absolute banger”) is available for purchase!

​Living 4,500 miles away means I don’t touch the club’s day-to-day operations, but that’s likely for the better. Experience, friendships, rivalries, and friendly rivalries built over lifetimes means that everyone on the ground in England is much better equipped to manage Seaward’s affairs than I could hope to be. When I came on as sponsor I felt I could trust the committee and other volunteers to wield the resources I provided effectively. I was correct. That custom-designed away shirt, as well as the Puma model Seaward plays in at home, highlight the club’s dynamic spirit.

What I haven’t done so far is ask the club to help me market my products and services beyond passive mentions of my website and pieces in the match-day programs. I’ve been fully booked creating courses for LinkedIn Learning and content for other clients for several years, but now that my outside workload has slowed I can turn to personal projects. In early 2024, look for me to release a series of training videos on my YouTube channel. I’ll mostly focus on Microsoft Excel, but I’ll also create videos for data visualization package Tableau and do the occasional book review. Techsoc started as a book review site in 1998 and I still enjoy reading and recommending books that look at the intersection of technology and society.

The videos will be free to view, but I hope to reach a critical mass of subscribers so I can share in the ad and subscription revenue they generate. I’ll let you know when to rush to YouTube to subscribe.
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I look forward to the 2024 leg of the season! Ginny and I hope to make it to London once or twice before it’s over to enjoy the football, bang some balls around at the snooker table, and visit our friends at London Seaward.