In 2012, every day 2.5 quintillion bytes of data (1 followed by 18 zeros) was created, with 90% of the world’s data created in the last two years alone.

Sports marketers have invested a lot of time, resources and materials to develop effective ways to leverage analytics to determine content, programs and promotions.

Some brands are taking data a step further by developing products and services to make customers and athletes better by helping improve their performance through real time access to information.

Here are some examples of brands that are taking data and turning it into advanced products.

Armour39 by Under Armour

While other athletic brands have released performance systems that measures real-time key performance indicators like heart rate calories burned and intensity of workouts, Armour39 has taken their new technology to the next level with a new metric called WILLpower

This unique algorithm combines the length and type of workout, additional information like gender and weight, and specific heart rate measurements to score your workout on a scale from 0 to 10. Ultimately, the score will reveal how hard you, as an athlete, are training. This data can be used to help in determining an ideal score for an athlete’s workouts.

When the data is analyzed correctly, Armour39 may help guide and measure the ideal zone of physical exertion, but it could also provide psychological help to an athlete by providing a physical goal to strive for during training days.

94Fifty

94Fifty is taking a bit of a different approach to data measurement; it uses the motion of the ball to measure the player performance not the output of the athlete.

The 94Fifty basketballs use a suite of built-in sensors to track a player’s performance.  Data from the ball is delivered through Bluetooth to an iOS or Android mobile app to show motion statistics like shot arc, shot speed, backspin, dribble intensity, and many other key performance factors.

The basketball leverages high-tech hardware components from Texas Instruments that can generate over 6,000 pieces of movement data per second. The new basketball is being released in early March through a KickStarter campaign. The company plans to make the product available via online sales only with estimated ship dates in the 3rd quarter of 2013.

Many division one universities are using the 94Fifty basketball currently utilizing for training programs. This new era of data that we live in is very exciting. The analysis of information can only help us continue to produce smarter and richer programs both from the brand and the consumer side.

As brands continue to invest in data that helps us become healthier and better athletes, we’ll all benefit. We’ll live longer healthier lives and continue to spend additional dollars with that brand.

Are you a believer in data? What other brands are leveraging data analysis to develop innovative programs? Comment below and make sure to continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter @SportsNetworker

The post Innovation Through Sports Data appeared first on Sports Networker.

The action has already seen some fireworks with a 14-year old making the cut and Tiger Woods back in contention. Who do the numbers say will win the race and the ranks of legends? Here is a look back at history.

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The post Masters Winners From 1934-2012 (INFOGRAPHIC) appeared first on Sports Networker.

#7 Yahoo! Sportacular

App Store Star rating: 4.5* Cost: Free. Pro version $1.49 Smart Device: Only for iPhone

This app is designed to give sports fans scores, news and stats from their favorite teams. You are able to set alarms and reminders for specific events, games and matches. Alerts can be set up for games starts, red-zone plays and close situations. You can set it up to receive all your favorite teams for different sports. The coverage of sports is quite wide: NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB & MLS plus all the college equivalents. Also, English Premier league soccer, La Liga, Serie A and Bundeliga. Other sports include Golf and Women’s college basketball. This app is compatible with facebook, so you can connect with friends, where you can predict winners and compare picks.

My Opinion: All in all a good app, however I think there is a lack of sports to choose from. And it’s only for the iPhone, which limits its reach to sports fans. It’s easily laid out and easy to follow but I think its interface is bland and boring. You can get a lot more from other apps that are also free. The Pro version doesn’t offer you any more news or sports, just advert free.

#6 ESPN Player

App Store Star rating: 4* Cost: Free. Smart Device: iPad

What every sports fan needs, live sports on the go. The ESPN player lets you access your ESPN subscription whenever and where ever you want it. You can catch live and on demand videos across a range of sports. You can use ESPN player via wireless internet of mobile connection.

My Opinion: This is a great app for those with a subscription, however the ESPN Player is only available for the iPad, this does constricts true mobile viewing. But for those who love the iPad, airplay is enabled so you are able to put it on the big screen. A perfect app for those Americans overseas.

#5 the SCORE-Mobile

App Store Star rating: 3* Cost: Free Smart Device: iPhone & iPad

Similar to Yahoo! Sportacutlar, you can customize it so only your favourite team’s news, scores, match stats and even betting odds are displayed. You can also get alerts for goals, end of quarter scores and key moments. The coverage of sports is vast from National league sports, college sports, European soccer leagues and mixed martial arts, golf, tennis and even lacrosse.

My Opinion: To me this beats Yahoo! Sportacular on many levels; the user face is exciting and so easy to use. The range of sports this app collects data for is unrivalled. You can share information on facebook and twitter. Not only does it give you news and scores but also live commentary for those who can’t get to a TV screen.

#4 MLB.com At Bat

App Store Star rating: 3.5* Cost: Free Smart Device: iPhone & iPad

A must have app for all baseball fans! This app has everything a baseball fan needs, team news, scoreboards, team schedules and exclusive in-game highlights. You also get live audio and live look-ins. You can customize the news feed by selecting to follow your favourite teams, use push notifications and purchase At Bat subscriptions. You can also catch up on classic games and re live those special moments. If you’re not able to watch the game you can just have audio access as well. All this access is available on you Mac or PC too, without buying another subscription.

My Opinion: This is great for the diehard baseball fan. It has everything you need to follow your favorite team around all season. It’s so easy to use and it looks good, you feel like you’re at the hub of all things baseball. The price isn’t bad either. Even if you don’t a subscription you can still easily use the app to follow your team, check out the score board or have a look at the Player review.

#3 Ubersense

App Store Star rating: 5* Cost: Free Smart Device: iPhone & iPad

Ubersense is a new breed of apps for coaching. It allows you to record the athlete doing a specific skill and lets you watch it back in slow motion. Not only that, it allows you to have two videos side by side and compare. You can write notes of the video and scribble your tips down. It also allows you save and send video clips online.

My Opinion: Whether you’re a coach or an athlete this is one app you’ll need. It easy to use and looks very professional. This app gives sports technology to the masses. The average high school coach will now be able to give specific coaching advice to any athlete. I would really recommend this app to every coach in the land. It’s also free, but only for a limited time only so make sure you get it.

#2 Everyday Golf Coach

App Store Star rating: 5* Cost: $4.99 Smart Device: iPhone & iPad

This is the complete coaching and golf swing analysis you wound ever need. You can switch between golf lessons and videos of your own golfing techniques. You can view a training video and a model perfect swing side by side. You can record your own swing and analyse, compare and overlay a model technique over your recording to see how to improve. This app is integrated with social media sites facebook and twitter, so you can share your golfing ability with your friends. You can access over 38 training videos to really take your golf skills on to the next level. These videos are available as soon as you download the app, there is no streaming required. This app was designed by PGA Professional Noel Rousseau, he is your very own personal golf coach with this app.

My Opinion: Although the app is initially a bit pricey, when you see what you are getting for your money, it’s a bargain. Effectively this app is your personal golf coach whenever and wherever you need it. The technology in this app is incredible, the over lapping of videos to see where you go wrong compare to a model swing is a genius idea. If this app doesn’t improve your golfing ability then nothing will. Any golfer without this app is like leaving your favorite club at home.

#1 Team Stream

App Store Star rating: 4.5* Cost: Free Smart Device: iPhone & iPad

Team stream collects all your favorite teams’ statistics, news, player information and match scores from a variety of different sports and puts it all in one place. Team stream collects your teams’ news from local newspapers, websites, blogs, twitter and the host site Bleacher Report. With this app you will never miss that important news story. All news feeds are in real-time and you can set up push notifications to receive the news as soon as it breaks.

My Opinion: This is a fantastic app, especially for all aspiring sport business individuals. This app relies on multiple sources for information and therefore you will never miss a news story about your favorite teams. It’s super easy to use and you can share the stories you found in one click to either facebook or twitter. And because its real time you get that story first and faster than other sport news apps. It’s easily customizable and easy to follow; there are lots of pictures and lots of information. This app is a must have.

These Top lists of apps are forever changing, but hopefully this one will tie you down for a while. Do you think I have missed any from my list, or can you recommend any of these apps? If so, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Keep the conversation going on our Facebook page and on Twitter @SportsNetworker

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My first picks are syndication widgets, one of them you can add your website’s RSS feed and increase traffic to your website. Why would you want a syndication widget that promotes content from other websites? The answer is simple – usability. Usability is a major factor that determines if people will ever come back to your website, much less social share or purchase your products. Adding a content widget that syndicates quality content will become a reference tool for your readers. You won’t lose readers because the links open in a new window and the people actually stay on your site longer, which is great for your SEO.

Check out these widgets:

1. ESPN Widgets: They offer a top story widget for most sport as well as polls, scoreboards, standings and team centric widgets.
2. Fantasy Sports Widget: This widget can increase your traffic because you can “join” the network and add your RSS feed. Great concept, great content and it’s free.

Scripts and Extensions can automate otherwise tedious and repetitive functions. I’d like to focus on content creation concepts with scripts and extensions by showing you how to automated Youtube videos and data mining sports related information.

Imacros for Firefox: iMacros was designed to automate the most repetitious tasks on the web. The iMacros EXTRACT command automatically reads data from a website and exports it to CSV files which you can easily move to Excel or a mySQL database via cron or phpmyadmin. Option B) Write your own in Pearl or PHP. Now I know, right about now you’re like “pump your breaks, dude” but just keep reading. If you can’t modify those script to your liking then hit freelancer.com or elance.com – you can contract someone to write you a script for under 80 bucks.

The options here a limitless! Extract the lines on games, player stats, game stats and you’ll have a ton of great, free information, you can use on your website.

Youtube Automation: This Youtube script auto loads videos based on keywords. Videos increase the time on site metric and become another reason for people to like your site and keep coming back for more.

Last but not least we’re going to look at PODS for WordPress. With PODS you can use the information you gathered from your data mining to nicely display information without having to be a guru programmer. Watch the video below for a closer look at this powerful WordPress Plugin.

Now, I know there’s tons of other great ideas floating around the web, let us know what I missed in the comment section below. Make sure to continue the conversation on our Facebook page and shoot us a Tweet @SportsNetworker

The post Leveraging Technology to Infuse Sports Into Your Website appeared first on Sports Networker.

Players compete against each other on the social media site, collecting cards trying to build the best team possible. You are responsible for scouting and training your players, just as you would in real life. The game is produced by former Major League Baseball player Shawn Green.

The game works much like a regular baseball game would. Players try and build the best team possible by acquiring the best players possible. Cards combined together with similar skills, such as two Yankees infielders, in order to build the best team possible. The game encourages trading the virtual cards like you would in real life in order to build these combos that boost your team’s skills.

“I think the big thing we’re really trying to leverage is the collection element,” said Green. “It’s all about the collection and trading of players and how you build your roster. We’re really trying to turn it into more of a roster and talent management game, where you not only go out and get the players you want, but you constantly tweak your lineup to find the best combination of players.”

The game, created by Konami, is introducing new elements that will be online starting June 1. The new improvements coming out include new cards, scouting players, and min-games, including a fastest finger competition to simulate picking off base runners.

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The stadium is set to open its doors for the start of the 2014 season and will house up to 68,500 fans, who, if technology continues on its current plane, will have access to a Wi-Fi network on some kind of device.

Until this point, it was not physically possible to open a Wi-Fi connection of this size to stadium attendees, but former Facebook employees Dan Williams and Kunal Malik look to change this.

Williams is now the senior IT director of the Niners and Mailk is the team’s CTO. The twosome envision the new stadium as a data center for its guests and are certain that they can give all 68,500 people an available Wi-Fi connection at one time.

Both Williams and Malik say it can and will be done when the new stadium opens, although some people may disagree.

“Can 70,000 people get on the network at once? The answer to that is no,” said John Brams, director of hospitality and venues at the Patriots’ network vendor, Enterasys.

“If everyone tried to do it all at once, that’s probably not going to happen.”

Just to give you an example of how limited Wi-Fi access has been in the past, the Patriots have never had more then 10,000 people simultaneously connect at one time and never more then 16,000 people over the course of one game. At last season’s Super Bowl in New Orleans Wi-Fi only reached the devices of 30,00 in-house fans at one time.

The task is a daunting one for Williams and Malik and it may not even be necessary, but the pair is confident that it is possible and they plan on making it a reality.

How do they plan on accomplishing this?

It has to do with the design of the stadium.

The Santa Clara Stadium design will be unique to football stadiums, according to Williams and the access points will be spread and distributed.

The 49ers are testing designs in Candlestick Park and experimenting with different access points in a lab. The movement of fans and the impact of weather on Wi-Fi performance are among the factors under analysis.

Wi-Fi will be available in the stands, suites, walkways and the rest of the stadium, but the team has not yet decided whether to make Wi-Fi available in outdoor areas such as concourses and parking lots.

If Williams and Malik can pull this off, they could be innovators in future designs of sports stadiums around the globe.

Photo Credit: nfl-franchises.findthedata.org

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ScentAir

From movie theatres to hotels to fitness clubs, ScentAir’s brand is ever-expanding and they are ensuring that people everywhere get the smell they are interested in achieving no matter what the scenario.

ScentAir has decided to dive nose-first into the sports industry by providing the lovely smell of cotton candy to the noses of adoring St. Louis Rams fans and the Edward Jones Dome.

“One of the first things we wanted to do here was to look at all the ways we can improve the game-day experience for families,” says Brian Killingsworth, vice president of marketing and brand strategy for the Rams.

“We wanted to create a positive first impression for fans when they first walk into the stadium and we trigger their senses.”

How do the Rams go about acheiving this in such a large space? Is it an expensive process? The scent is pumped through the HVAC systems at the two main entrances of the building and that’s it. Quite simple.

Services range from $100 a month for a small storefront to thousands a month for a more complicated space. That price includes everything from the scent development and selection to delivery systems. Killingsworth said the return on investment was hard to measure, but believed the first year was successful and the process will continue.

With the added cotton candy smell floating throughout the building, concessions sales at Edward Jones Dome went up, which including cotton candy. ScentAir reaches the noses of more then four million people a year and are developing new scents everyday. You can follow them on Twitter @ScentAir

Photo Courtesy of: www.merchantcircle.com

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Sports technology

In a document assessed by football’s rule-makers over the weekend, FIFA reversed its previous stance that referees could be undermined if the results from high-tech aids were revealed.

The lawmakers behind soccer approved the use of images on giant screens and on TV of goal-line incidents and said it was up to the individual competition organizers to allow the images to be used in stadiums or not. Competition organizers can also determine whether to approve the use of goal-line technology in their own competitions, whether it be a domestic league or a cup competition, but not all matches in any particular competition have to use it.

“If goal-line technology exists in a stadium, there is no advantage to one side or the other and therefore if the technology exists and it has been switched on and agreed by the competition organizers then there is no reason why it can’t be used,” said Stewart Regan, the chief executive of the Scottish FA which hosted Saturday’s meeting.

“If it has been approved it will then be up to the individual club in consultation with the organizers or their league body to decide if it can be used.”

All in all competition organizers will have the final say in whether or not the sports technology is actually used at their event, but the idea of using it seems to be one that people are more open to.

MLB has also been using similar sports technology to take a closer look at balls that could be determined home runs or otherwise and it is fair to say that this technology has saved umpires from making wrong calls on more than one occasion.

Similar sports technology is also used in the NFL and it leads to referees making the right call on more decisions than in the past, which has only improved the game as a whole. If it can work for American football, why can’t it work for soccer?

Photo Credit: www.baltimoresportsreport.com

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On a ticket from a NASCAR event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASCAR claims to own the rights to “all images, sounds and data from this NASCAR event.” As the story surrounding the crash developed, NASCAR went on to claim the video had been taken down due to the uncertain health status of the approximately 30 fans injured in the crash. However, NASCAR still claimed the rights to the content.

YouTube disagreed and reinstated the video. The following statement from YouTube was issued to the Washington Post regarding the video:

“Our partners and users do not have the right to take down videos from YouTube unless they contain content which is copyright infringing, which is why we have reinstated the videos.”

The statement claims that NASCAR had no right to remove the video from YouTube and that NASCAR does not own all images, sounds and data they claim they do. However, those involved realized that there was nothing in the video that was copyrightable. The video focuses more on the stands than the actual race itself.

Most leagues have similar copyright rules, preventing fans from uploading images of the game to YouTube. This incident could play a future role in cases involving professional leagues and images captured by fans.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/John Raoux

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Dictionary.com defines digitization as:
1. to convert (data) to digital form for use in a computer.
2. to convert (analogous physical measurements) to digital form.

How is digitization changing the world of sports?

We live in a tech-savvy world where smartphones are in everyone’s pockets and athletic shoes are no longer the good ole’ Dr.J’s. Technology is changing the way we enjoy sports and how we perform. Cutting-edge digital technology can now analyze a runner’s speed and distance and offer training advice tailored to a runner’s goals and NIKE Inc. is at the forefront of it all.

NIKE is the world’s leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and is using digital innovations to provide information to athletes in new ways. Through the use of digitization, NIKE is capitalizing on the technology era by creating running management applications for iPhones and Android-based smartphones.

In the past, runners would have to write down their running distance, time and course details in a notepad to track their goals and progress, but not anymore. Thanks to digitization technology by NIKE, users can automatically log training information and track statistics such as distance, pace and calories burned. This integrated system of digitized products and services is known as Nike +, and the community of users has soared to more than 10 million worldwide.

It was in 2006 when Nike took its first steps towards combining sport with digital technology when it released a product that wirelessly connected a sensor in the sole of a running shoe with Apple Inc.’s portable iPod music player and that was just the beginning.

NIKE intends to continue working with digitization to enhance their products and better the results of athletes across the sports world. Check out this great article on sports technology and digitization featuring NIKE and watch the video below for details about Nike +.

Sports Technology: Nike +

Photo Credit: www.free-extras.com

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