Social Media – Page 2

Google teams with NCAA, Turner Sports and CBS Sports for March Madness promo

March 17, 2014 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

Google is seeking to make waves during the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament in an effort that teams the Internet giant with the NCAA and its broadcasting and software development partners Turner Sports and CBS Sports.

The effort will revolve around Google’s social network application called Google+, a rival to industry leader Facebook, and it will be interesting to see if Google publishes the results from the effort. You constantly see Facebook listed as an almost default player in this type of event and a major push by Google into sports and other avenues will make for an interesting fight.

The effort actually started on Selection Sunday but will run the length of the tournament. A wide range of NCAA March Madness digital products will be flowing through Google’s pages including NCAA March Madness Live™, the Capital One March Madness NCAA Bracket Challenge™, the NCAA On Demand YouTube channel and the NCAA March Madness Google+ page.

However Google has taken steps to help steer fans who might not be aware of the effort or who might need a gentle reminder of the tournament on a daily basis. It has teamed with its partners to feature March Madness related search insights in Google Trends. This means that fans using Google for search and looking at what is trending will see the topics and teams from the tournament that are popular on Google Search.

Other efforts by the partnership include such features as Turner integrating Google sign-in technology into the NCAA Bracket Challenge game. Fans that follow up from seeing information in the Google Trends can go to a “Google Bracket” that will rank teams throughout the tournament based on Search interest.

Google has also created a number of “Google+ Hangouts” that are related to March Madness. These are social networking microsites where fans can discuss related issues and share photos, among other tasks. The Google+ Hangouts On Air enables fans to interact with Turner Sports and CBS Sports on-air talent and can be entered either from NCAA.com/hangouts or the NCAA March Madness Google+ page.

Google+ has seemed to be an afterthought to many, although any program that counts its membership in the hundreds of millions should be taken seriously. However this could help promote the company into a more mainstream awareness position with the sporting public at large, or it might just be like a 16 seed and go one and done. Game on, Google.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Basketball, CBS Sports, Google, NCAA Hoops, NCAA.com, Social Media, Sports Social Media, Turner Sports Tagged With: Basketball, CBS Sports, Google, March Madness, NCAA, Turner Sports

Turner, March Madness app ready for NCAA tournament

February 27, 2014 by Greg Quick 1 Comment

March Madness, one of the sports world’s iconic events is on the horizon and no doubt fans are already plotting out strategies to get out of the office or school to watch their favorite team attempt to advance in its bracket. However thanks to Turner Sports there is an alternative.

It has released NCAA March Madness Live, an app that will provide portable access to all of the games in the tournament, with a total of 150 hours available during the event. Even better the app will now be supported by three platforms, Apple’s iOS, Android and for the first time Microsoft as well. Now fans can use a smartphone or tablet as a second screen if at a bar or as a primary device if at work.

To use the app a fan and watch all of the matchups that will be broadcast on TNT, TBS, and truTV a fan needs to log in with their TV service provider information. Games will also be available online at various sites, including This year, NCAA March Madness Live will launch from more platforms than ever before including the NCAA March Madness page, CBS Sports, and Bleacher Report. There is no registration required for games on CBS. The app will also provide a temporary preview period giving fans access to live game streaming before login is required.

The app, Developed in partnership with the NCAA, Turner Sports and CBS Sports is a follow up to previous years’ offerings but it has made several major enhancements to the app since last year, aside from the Microsoft support.

Of importance to the fans of bracketology and seeing if they are winning in their office pool the app has a new interface that has been designed for work with the smaller screens that smartphones feature as well with the slightly larger screens on tablets. It allows users to go directly from this feature to a live game and includes broadcast times and schedules. It also has additional view modes for brackets.

The heart of the app might be the GameCenter, one of the features that has been redesigned. It is the central [point to find which games are currently live streaming as well as pre-game matchup analysis, live in-game stats, key social moments and fan chat.

To complement the enhanced features in the bracket area there is the almost obligatory bracket for fans, this one entitled Capitol One NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge. The app developers have enhanced its social media functionality as well as supporting computers as well as smartphones and tablets. It allows for the formation of groups, sharing brackets and chat via Facebook.

There is also a general chat forum called the Coke Zero NCAA March Madness Social Arena that enables fans t converse about games and other events as well as follow game tweets, post and view Instagram photos and Vine videos. Fans can participate in the social commentary by using the hashtag #marchmadness.

Understanding that some fans might want to set up schedules to just see specific matchups the app now includes a TV Schedule that helps with planning. This feature can be accessed from various other features such as game schedule or bracket and provides the round, date, time and network for each game. Also new this year is a Tournament News feature that provides news and updates as well as highlights, recaps and additional information each day.

Following the broadcasting of all of the just concluded Winter Olympic events online by NBC hopefully this is the wave of the future. While MLB enables fans to watch a huge number of games either online or on their television via a subscription model the NBA and NFL trail well behind it.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, CBS Sports, Facebook, Instagram, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Microsoft, NBA, NBC Sports, NCAA Hoops, NFL, Social Media, Sports Social Media, Sports Social Media Data, Tablets, TBS, TNT, truTV, Turner Sports, Windows 8 Tagged With: CBS Sports, Live sports via mobile, March Madness, NCAA Basketball, TBS, TNT, truTV, Turner Sports

Latest version of Fanatic sports app has enhanced features

February 27, 2014 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

The Fanatic sports app, from the same named company has some simple tools and an easy to use interface but its purpose is even more basic; it is designed to unite fans who are seeking sporting experiences with similar minded fans. However even simple ideas can be improved on, and that is what the company has done with its latest release.

The idea makes a lot of sense, particularly for people who travel a great deal and find themselves in a strange city yet want to watch their favorite team. You simply access the app, available for both Apple iOS and Android devices, and find a local sports bar that is highly rated for supporting a specific team so that you can watch in a comfortable atmosphere rather than having to worry about if your allegiance could create backlash from rival fans.

The company has built on this base and added or enhanced a number of features that most fans probably want such as the ability to organize a viewing party at a venue using social media.

The addition of a Live Score feature addresses a shortfall in the original program. Fans do not just want to know the score of the game they’re watching, and it always seems that the moment you look at the television the scores have finish scrolling and you miss the numbers for other favorite teams that might be playing simultaneously.

The news feed has been improved with a more robust and filtered feed that helps eliminate the chaff from the wheat. It has a private chat feature that enables chat before, during and after the event and includes a push notification so that you can quickly respond to comments.

Its core service, to find favorite team bars in different cities has gained an improved search function as fans using the app have increased the number of bars that are rated as well as expanded the geographical reach of the program.

The app can find bars for a wide number of sports and leagues including the NFL, NBA, NCAA, MLB, NHL and MLS, along with the top European soccer leagues, including the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the UEFA Champions League, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Baseball, FIFA, iOS, Major League Baseball, MLS, NCAA Football, NCAA Hoops, NCAA.com, NFL, NHL, Soccer, Social Media, Sports Bars, Sports Social Media Tagged With: Android and iPhone applications for sports, Fanatic, MLB, NCAA, NFL, NHL, Sports Apps

Variety of apps to support the Sochi Olympics

February 3, 2014 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

NBC’s broadcast of the Olympics should be boon to its online and streaming viewership, even though this is something that the network has made available for some time. As with many apps and capabilities users often only discover them when looking for specific tool or event.

There are a surprising number of apps available for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics that will be held in Sochi starting later this week. They range from simple calendars to one that will be showing live events.

Actually this is probably not surprising but then it’s hard to say why you would want something aside from the one that is available from NBC Sports, the official broadcaster of the games. Aside from the fact that the app, NBC Sports Live Extra, is from the broadcaster it was hardly just conceived for the Olympics.

The app also provides live sports events that air on NBC, NBC Sports Network and the Golf Channel so that over the course there will be IndyCar, the PGA Tour, Premier League Soccer and the NHL to name just a few.

We have already mentioned most of the features of the app as it pertains to the Olympics but it’s good to mention that there will be 1,000 hours of live streaming video with some replay on demand capabilities. It is free to use with select caveats.

However if you are looking for different functionality there are plenty of options starting with the U.S. Olympic team’s official app. It details who has made the team, links to athletes’ social media and an up-to-date following of how they do.

Another general purpose sports app, this one with a more international flavor, which will have a special focus on the Winter Olympics, is BBC Sports. It will have live coverage of events at the games and can be used to follow a wide range of International sports.

An interested app is the Sochi 2014 WOW (Wireless Olympics Works) that comes from Samsung Electronics, one of the major sponsors. The app is customizable so that a user can have it focus on their specific interests. Not too surprising is that it is also optimized for Samsung devices.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, BBC, English Premier Soccer League, Golf, Golf Channel, Indy 500, iOS, iTunes, Kindle, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports, NHL, Olympics, PGA, Samsung, Smartphone, Soccer, Social Media, Stanley Cup Tagged With: BBC, Live sports via mobile, NBC, Samsung, Sochi, Winter Olympics

PGA promotion enables fans to select tour pairing

December 19, 2013 by Greg Quick 3 Comments

It often seems that fans want to be part the action, it pretty much does not matter which sports (OK not too much in ones such as boxing and MMA) and you often see fans run onto the field such as with Hank Aaron’s historic home run.

Years ago baseball innovator Bill Veeck had a game where the fans could call plays during an actual MLB game, something MLB quickly put an end to. Now the PGA is taking a page from his playbook and is allowing fans to select a pairing at a tournament.

The PGA Tour has announced that fans will be able to select a pairing in the first round of the 2014 Hyundai Tournament of Champions via votes between now and the end of the year.

The vote, which takes place on the PGATOUR.com’s Social Hub to determine who will be paired with defending champion Dustin Johnson for the first round. The Tour is offering three choices so no write ins please. The choices are 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott; 2012 FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker; or six-time PGA TOUR winner Matt Kuchar.

The Hyundai Tournament of Champions returns to The Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii from Jan. 2-6, 2014 and the pairings, or should I say winner, will be announced the day before the event tees up.

The PGA says that it believes that the “Hyundai You Pair the Pros” event will result in a deep engagement of its fans to the tour, and that makes sense. It provides an additional level of rooting interest during the round as you can watch to see how the player you voted for does.

It sounds as if this might just be the first of many social media driven activities that the PGA plans on launching this season, and it will be interesting to see how well fans embrace the events.

Filed Under: Athlete to Follow, PGA, Social Media, Social Media Data Tagged With: 2014 Hyundai Tournament of Champions, contest, PGA Tour, Social Media

Bluefields app helps organize amateur sports leagues

December 11, 2013 by Greg Quick Leave a Comment

Running a team sport can be a nightmare even in this age of instant communications as parents and players often call at the last second because they are at the wrong venue, have the incorrect day in their calendar or a host of other reasons that might cause issues.

Anybody that has run a youth soccer team or league, or a little league event understands the issues all too clearly-it is like trying to heard cats and even the parents appear to lose the ability to think and plan clearly.

However just as a number of apps have emerged to help with almost any aspect of your life from upgrading your seat at a sporting event to selecting the correct wine while out to dinner there are now emerging a number of apps for sports leagues.

One that just came to our attention is Bluefields, a simple app that is designed to serve as a team management platform, a one stop shop for players, parents and coaches. It provides a single place for all of the pertinent information that a team, league or player needs to know.

It allows a user to send emails and texts to an entire team to set up practices, has a shared calendar to check on future dates and when a game is added or deleted all players can be informed at once. Also the app can be used as a tool for an entire league.

It comes with a database to store all players contact information and can be used to follow team results. A key feature for the memory challenged is that it has automatic reminders for parents and players of events and any event that is updated or changed that information is automatically sent as well.

So if you are just now starting on planning for next season it might be very well worth your while, to say nothing of your peace of mind, to take a look at the app and see if it fits your needs. Then all you have to do is remind people to install it.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Little League World Series, Smartphone, Soccer, Social Media, Sports Social Media, Sports Social Media Data Tagged With: App, Bluefields, Mobile

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