As New Year’s Day comes and goes the sports fan is reminded of an interesting truth – the home viewing experience of a sporting event is beginning to outweigh the experience of actually being there. From high definition to 3D to 80 inch screens, anyone can essentially bring the “at the game feel” to home without spending the money on tickets, souvenirs, food and beer. In fact, today the sports organizations are the ones who need to lure fans with gimmicks to draw them in.
FanCam technology is certainly no gimmick, and it is the next big reason why fans will get back to attending sporting events.
Steve is a recent graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Sports Journalism from the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. He is currently working as a marketing and PR intern for Sports Networker.
As a Philadelphia guy, I’m having a tough year watching The Nightmare Team that is the Philadelphia Eagles. My pain is best showcased in week 12 against the Patriots when the Birds took a 10-0 lead on one of the better teams in the league before laying their customary egg, getting outscored 38-10 the rest of the game and falling to 4-7 on the season. As I sat there dejected watching the 2nd half of my favorite team getting blown out, I couldn’t help but wish there was a way I could get some enjoyment out of this game, because it certainly wasn’t coming from the Eagles.
PrePlay Sports gives fans a chance to get involved in games in a new way through an NFL app
The PrePlay Sports NFL App allows for fans watching any game to make a prediction about what will happen during the next play. If you guess correctly you earn points that add up toward prizes; if you guess wrong you can just guess again in 40 seconds and earn points on that play. From the opening kickoff to the final “victory formation” kneel, every play can be predicted and every play can earn you points, and they’re hoping to pioneer the format.
“PrePlay is the world’s first predictive game studio,” says Andrew Daines, PrePlay Sports CEO. “That means we’re basically a video game studio, but we specialize in games that enable fans to predict the outcomes of live plays and events on TV.”
The features that come with PrePlay Sports extend much farther than just picking right or wrong plays as well. For starters, the NFL app rewards the bold. PrePlay is based on an algorithm which has analyzed thousands of plays over the years and has been formulated to reward big points for big predictions and smaller points for predictions that are, well, predictable. While the “slow and steady wins the race” strategy may be satisfying for you, it might not get you far in the next feature that comes with this NFL app.
Steve is a recent graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Sports Journalism from the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. He is currently working as a marketing and PR intern for Sports Networker.
Being that I’m a huge sports fan and an avid social media user, I always wonder why there are no good sports-themed social networks. Many have tried, but none have succeeded.
In my opinion, sports and social media are a perfect marriage. Sports fans love to talk about sports. We spend hours of every day watching, reading, and talking about the teams and players that matter to us. Sports fans also love to show and demonstrate our pride. We want to show the world our allegiances. And most importantly, there are plenty of instances where sports and social media have succeeded!
I spoke to my boss and great friend AJ Vaynerchuk about it. He brought up a valid question: “is there really a problem there that needs to be fixed?”
I’m not sure of the answer, but I’m going to talk it through right now:
Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.
Nothing is sure in this world except death, taxes and text messages that will come back to bite you in places that will hurt.
Right now, future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback, Brett Favre, is smarting from even the suggestion that he texted a former game-day reporter for the New York Jets (there is no verification of these stories and the investigation by the NFL is in its infancy). This news evolves as golfer Tiger Woods continues to reel from released text messages, voice mails and his eventual admission to infidelity that cost him millions of dollars in endorsements and his marriage during the past year.
My guess is that phone companies are vetting each future endorsement prospect like never before.
There is a lesson here for everyone, however: everything we record in type or voice and transmit via Internet, phone or cable, is forever traceable and transferrable. The messages are also resilient to destruction. They are the movie ticket stubs that we keep for years as mementos or prom dress that hangs in a closet decades after your big night. The big difference is that texts, emails and voice messages tell stories. There’s little to guess about what’s being communicated because it’s out there for people to read and hear if that once-special someone chooses to share what you may have assumed to be forever private. [click to continue…]
Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.
I was recently introduced to Matthew Higgins by mutual friend Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary and his team at VaynerMedia help manage the social media efforts of the New York Jets, where Matt is the Executive Vice President. After connecting with Matt and doing our interview, I should probably send Gary some wine or a thank you gift as I’m really glad we were able to share ideas.
After our Skype interview (video below) we ended up talking about personal branding with sports professionals, where social media is headed in the future, the business of sports, and a number of other interesting topics. It was fun connecting with Matt because we just seemed to have a similar opinion on a list of topics. It doesn’t hurt that I used to play football and he works with and NFL team either.
I hope you enjoy this video as Matt goes into detail about a number of things the Jets are doing in regards to maximizing social media as an organization, but also how they are integrating it with the players as well. He talks about measuring social media ROI, how to get a job and work in sports, and a number of other nuggets you will want to know about. Make sure to watch this interview below, and follow him on Twitter @MHigginsJets.
I hope you enjoyed this video interview as much as I enjoyed connecting with Matthew. Make sure to leave a comment about your thoughts from the video below, connect with Matt on Twitter, and Retweet or share this message on Facebook with your friends.
Don’t feel like watching this video? Feel free to read the transcript instead below. [click to continue…]
Question: Who can benefit more from social media: small-time or big-time athletes?
Ryan: My initial reaction is small time athletes and big-time athletes once their career is in a decline. I will start with the argument for small-time athletes. Upper echelon and mainstream athletes already have significant followings. Many have endorsement deals, sell tons of merchandise, etc. Why do we like certain athletes? Because they’re A) really good at what they do. B) something about their personal life, approach, style, etc. resonates with us.
Big-time athletes have two big advantages: 1) They’re better players. 2) This enables them to be on television more, do more interviews and enable the fans to get more insight into their personality. On both accounts, it’s easier to “like” the more mainstream athlete. Social media helps level the second playing field. Dwayne Wade is always going to be a better basketball player than Charlie Villanueva, but now that Charlie has a presence on Twitter fans get significantly more opportunities to witness his personality in action and grow their affinity for him as a person.
Ryan is an Associate Media Analyst at Sports Media Challenge where he helps champion social media strategies for sports, lifestyle and entertainment brands. In his spare time he serves as a social media consultant who is passionate about the power of web 2.0 and its ability to cultivate conversations, build relationships and spread of ideas. Feel free to leave your thoughts on his article in the comments section below, connect with him on his blog at Ryan Stephens Marketing or on Twitter @ryanstephens, and read the rest of his bio here.
On September 21st, @NYJET_Prime tweeted to Dustin Keller, “Hey, I just sprung for a white Keller Titans Jersey, I’m starting to sniff favorite Jet ever, lol. Pls sign 15 year contract!”
Two days later, Keller replied, “Hey @NYJET_Prime Thanks. Appreciate the support. Check out this video I made for you http://bit.ly/3PWTyz.”
The ensuing reaction from the fan was unreal. After seeing the video, his next six tweets were all Keller-related, including messages to Keller directly, to the Jets account, and to another fan.
Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.
In early July, the National Football League announced they would enforce a ban on players using Twitter during games. A Mashable article from July 9th stated, “If you were hoping for Chad Ochocinco to pull out his cell phone and tweet after scoring a touchdown this season, prepare to be disappointed.”
Last week on uStream, Ochocinco announced a contest he was going to hold this season. “I got my contest coming up,” he said: [click to continue…]
Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.
There is no better way to learn how to excel in business than to learn from those that have been there and done that. Here's what you get inside the FREE Sports Job Guide:
** Get Access To The Top Sports Job Boards **
** Advice From Successful Sports Business Pros **
** Learn How To Land Your Dream Job In Sports! **
BONUS - Download The Sports Job Guide To Get An Exclusive Offer To Join Sports Executives Association For Only $4.95 For The First 30 Days (Save 80%)
Question: Who can benefit more from social media: small-time or big-time athletes?
On September 21st, @NYJET_Prime tweeted to 
FOLLOW US