Rocky III is the greatest Rocky Movie of the Entire Franchise (4 movies included)

So yesterday after I got home from work I turned on the TV and to my surprise I tuned in just in time to catch Rocky's comeback and rematch with Clubber Lang in Rocky III. I have to say that out of the entire Rocky franchise (in which I only include Rocky I, II, III, IV); this movie IMHO is by far the best.  Before I go any further I would like to further quantify why I only include those four movies when in fact there are a total of six ( I exclude Rocky V and Rocky Balboa)  .  Rocky 5 was a joke and Rocky Balboa should never have been released.  I feel this is enough qualification!

When comparing Rocky I,II,III, & IV let's look at the merits.  In the debut of the franchise Rocky gets a shot at fighting Apollo for the first time, Apollo is the champion, Rocky a no name boxer in Philly.  The outcome of the fight?  Rocky loses in a hard fought battle.  In Rocky II, Rocky and Apollo rematch, the fight scene is great and in the 15th round, Rocky and Apollo both fall to the ground and Rocky is able to stand up with 1 second left in the count and beats Apollo and wins the title.  In Rocky III, its described through discussion that Rocky fought a couple of guys in defense of his title prior to the start of III.  In the first part of the movie Rocky does a charity match against Thunder Lips (Hulk Hogan), it is touted as a boxer vs. wrestler match-up.  Obviously not a fair match-up but fun to watch.  Rocky gets his ass kicked.  He then begins training after being challenged to a fight by B.A. Baracus himself, Mr. T, after a miserable bout of training Rocky fights and loses, Mickey dies, and Apollo eventually become Rock's trainer for the inevitable rematch.  Rocky goes through emotional turmoil over the loss of Mickey and he questions his drive and desire to fight.  He faces his demons, trains with Apollo in the LA Ghetto and then kicks Mr. T's ass. Sounds like a complete package huh!

So let's think about how I just described the first 3 movies.  By far Rocky III has the most actual fight time, it has new opponents, it has big names involved in the cast, and Rocky win's by a natural KO!  I have no idea how anyone could compare the first two movies and say that they were as interesting and as fun as Rocky III.  In the third installment we are also privileged to hear the release of "Eye of the Tiger" for the first time, questionably one of the best pump-up jams of all time.

The only movie in this collection that can hold a candle to Rocky III is Rocky IV and the story line in four was such a stretch for me that it lost me.  I mean no way in real life would a guy like Apollo get back into the ring after a five year hiatus without researching and knowing his opponent.  Not only that but he would have trained for months before jumping into the ring. He for damn sure wouldn't have shrugged off the 2100 PSI punch measurement of Drago; and in real life Rocky would have thrown in the towel long before Apollo died.  Although I do have to say that emotionally this movie of all four will definitely pull on your heart-strings the most.  Unfortunately the criteria for a great fight movie doesn't highlight emotional investment for the largest qualifier.  So for the remainder of the movie Rocky trains in Russia, is received by a hostile crowd and beats the Russian and then makes a corny speech about why can't we all just get along.  Much of it is very contrived and annoying.  So what is the final result?

Rocky III is the best Rocky movie of all time.  Take that to the bank!

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Chip Koty can be reached via twitter @chipkoty or via facebook at facebook.com/chipkoty

Standing on the edge, looking back at Gen-X (Social Media as a personal brand)

So it is almost June 2012 and I have been a non-entity in the blogging world.  I'm recommitting to being a factor in this blogosphere and attempting to bring some interesting topics to light.

Social media is the hot buzzword for the first part of this decade, it is also becoming ever more apparent that it is here to stay and vital we all get aboard in order to stay pertinent in this new age of hyper-fast communication with second by second updates, and nearly instantaneous uploads to YouTube. Generation Y is on the fast track to technological superiority, unless the X'ers and Boomer's have something to say about it!

So a couple of years ago I started participating in this website called Klout .  It is an algorithm based website that calculates your level of Social Media influence and interaction.  At first it wasn't something that I paid very much attention to, but upon further inspection and contemplation I have to say I think it is invaluable.

In today's day and age staying on the cusp of technology and remaining germane are more vital than ever.  If you aren't relevant then what is your worth in the potential-job market?  I have to say that I believe going forward Klout, or an instrument very similar to Klout, will be a benchmark for potential employers when deciding if their candidates are going to have the consistency and intuitiveness to participate in spreading the good word about their company.

Many employers still block their employees from utilizing tools such as, twitter, Facebook, blogger and other vital social media tools in the workplace; while I can understand some of the thought process behind this, at the end of the day they are going to be doing it anyway, so why not support it.  With our iPhones in hand at the lunch table, and video cameras able to post to youTube instantaneously, to proverbially slap the hands of employees who utilize these tools will come back to haunt you.  Start to learn to say YES! Yes to social media, yes to change, and you will build something more important; sustainability!

I do think that showing employees that you trust their judgement will go a long way in getting more consistent buy-in and commitment in the long run.  Keeping employee's actively engaged is something that is always a struggle and by hindering their ability to connect with others can be very detrimental in building a positive place to work.  Sited from an article found at echannelline Andrew McAfee of the M.I.T. Sloan Center believes that social media is an amazing positive for corporations worldwide.

"A new three-part white paper series, titled "When Social Meets Business Real Work Gets Done" authored by Andrew McAfee, a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan Center for Digital Business and the AIIM Task Force on Social Business and Innovation, indicates that social technologies have brought business benefits."

A simple Google search of social media will highlight that there are varying opinions about social media and it's effectiveness as a business tool; but ultimately it is going no where. Figuring out how to harness some of it's potential and letting yourself get a jump on the competition will prove to be vital for survival.  Think about the companies we have lost because they failed to evolve (blockbuster, Houghlin Mifflin, Kodak).  The same goes for employee's! GET CONNECTED, STAY CONNECTED!  Check out Klout, get involved in tweeting, and share some information with your friends on Facebook, social media is here to stay!

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Chip can be reached via twitter @chipkoty - facebook.com/chipkoty