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Twitter Fans of Bubba Watson’s Masters Victory Can Win Too — From Motorola

April 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Bubba Watson did not just win the Masters and its impressive trophy and the fabled green jacket but he also stands to make 10 Twitter followers winners as well due to his partnership with Motorola Mobility and its recently introduced MotoActv Golf Watch.

Watson had just announced his partnership with the company prior to the event and so to celebrate both the partnership and Watson’s achievement Motorola has launched a program that will enable 10 fans to be among the first to try out the Golf Watch.

To participate all a user needs to do is follow @MOTOACTV and retweet #10under, which represents his score for those of you who do not know, for a chance to win one of the Golf Editions of the MotoActv,.

The golf watch, which sells for $299.99, enables users to track and measure a number of factors in their golf game, including providing 20,000 course layouts, serving as a virtual caddie and providing distances to front, middle and back of greens.

Filed Under: Apps, Contests, Golf, Motorola, Twitter Tagged With: , ,

MLB Continues Strong Push in Social Media

April 6, 2012 by 1 Comment

While doing basic baseball research, i.e. watching a bunch of Opening Day games on television, I noticed a funny thing happening on Twitter, as a huge number of postings were coming with the #MLBTVme hastag.

The hastag is apparently part of a bigger effort to promote MLB’s MLB.TV according to a number of sources, which all seem to lead back to Mashable. The official site for MLB.TV had no press release on this topic, at least one that is easily found.

Apparently what is happening is that MLB’s @MLB account tweeted a number of trivia questions, and fans that answered correctly were entered into a drawing for a number of nice prizes including iPad and Xbox 360s.

The network used a very clever ploy to get the event out in front of fans that use Twitter. The longer the hastag trended at Twitter’s national and global trending charts the more prizes were awarded to fans that participated. Since it was a trivial contest, and most baseball fans that I know love baseball trivia (and most other forms) this was sure to be a hit.

According to the article MLB has also launched a series of social media correspondents at each of the ballparks, and if you are interested in what it takes to be one some of the job listings are still available online. There will also be a tumblr and pinterest accounts for each team.

I was amazed at the range of additional offerings that MLB has for fans. While I dig around at its site fairly regularly, there were a number of offerings that I was not aware of including a variety of contests, including one where fans pick a player a day and see if they can get a hit with each one until they pass Joe DiMaggio’s famous hit streak.

In addition, for those of you that like to follow individual players on Twitter, here is a pretty good list, courtesy of the MLBLogs Network of almost 300 MLB players that have twitter accounts as well as a few additional important baseball hashtags that you might want to follow.

As we have noted n the past MLB has been very aggressive in pushing all forms of social media and interactive content in the last decade and this is a extremely nice push. Fans love their teams and can now show it in additional ways, helping to strengthen the bond between them, while at the same time rewarding the fans for participating.

Filed Under: Apps, Athlete to Follow, Baseball, Contests, Live sports via mobile, Major League Baseball, Mashable, Social Media, Sports Social Media, Twitter Tagged With: ,

Rangers Catcher Videos Tornado’s Fury at Ballpark

April 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

While preparing for last night’s exhibition game against the Mexican City Diablos Rojos, Texas Rangers bullpen catcher Zach Zaneski caught a bit more than he expected- a video of the effect that the numerous tornadoes that swept through Dallas leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

The video then went worldwide when regular catcher Mike Napoli tweeted a version of the video which showed the impact the storm was having at the pall park including the wind and rain driving a tarp across the field.

The weather service reported that there was anywhere from six to 12 tornadoes that set down in the North Texas area around Dallas with a pair of them sweeping through the city, tossing big rigs around and destroying most everything in their path.

Even with all of the destruction and parts of the city recovering the teams went on to play the game with the Rangers beating the Diablos Rojos 14-3. Here is a set of videos including the one from Zaneski showing the storms impact in the city.

Filed Under: Baseball, ESPN, Live sports via mobile, Major League Baseball, Sports Social Media, Texas Rangers, Twitter Tagged With: , ,

Watching Golf This Week: Houston and the Last Chance for Masters

March 29, 2012 by 6 Comments

Welcome to a new feature here at MSR, something we are calling “Watching Golf this week,” at least until we come up with a better title. Anyway, what we’re doing is compiling all the ways you can watch the PGA Tour this weekend — online, on TV, on Twitter, and anywhere else we can find. Please give us a shout in the comments if you know of other outlets or have favorite columnists or reporters who follow pro golf. It’s all about sharing here so don’t be shy.

With one week to go before the Masters, this week’s Shell Houston Open is the last chance for players who don’t already have an invite to get one by either winning the event, or by doing well enough to move into the top 50 in the overall rankings, either of which will stamp your ticket to Augusta. Who’s on the bubble and needs to do well? Ernie Els, seeking a Masters title for his Hall of Fame resume, stands at No. 58 and just missed winning a couple weeks ago. Fred Couples (winner last week on the Champions Tour — ready for Augusta?) and defending Houston champ Phil Mickelson will also be on hand, so even with no Tiger the Houston stop should have its own drama worthy of watching.

Here’s where to follow the action:

SHELL HOUSTON OPEN

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE
Thursday, March 29 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Friday, March 30 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 31 — NBC, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, April 1 — NBC, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
12 p.m. — 6 p.m., Thursday-Sunday

ONLINE
No PGA Live@ coverage for Houston. But get ready for plenty of online at the Masters next week.

PGA SHOT TRACKER
This thing is addictive. Live updates of every shot, with length, where it landed, how far the player has to go to the hole. Like eating potato chips.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend

LOCAL FLAVOR
The Houston Chronicle and writer Steve Campbell has you covered for local flavor this week.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Check out the PGA’s Inside the Course feature for a look at Redstone Golf Club.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
Lefty — aka Phil Mickelson. He’ll be paired with a couple other Masters champs, Boom Boom Freddie and Charl “no nickname yet” Schwartzel.

FEDEX CUP LEADERS
1. Johnson Wagner, 1,017 points
2. Rory McIlroy, 1,015
3. Kyle Stanley, 954
4. Mark Wilson, 887
5. Phil Mickelson, 880
See the full standings for the FedEx Cup points list.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Luke Donald; 2. Rory McIlroy; 3. Lee Westwood; 4. Martin Kaymer; 5. Steve Stricker.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.

Filed Under: Golf, Golf Channel, NBC Sports, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , ,

Forget Apps: ScoreTRAX Scores with SMS

March 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

In a world where everyone seems to be developing or using mobile-phone apps, a company called ScoreTRAX is betting that there is a big business providing sports fans with scores and updates via the simplest of technologies: text messages.

Instead of streaming video or interactive 3D, the Raleigh, N.C.-based ScoreTRAX gives schools and teams a simple way to send scores, messages and other information to fans via text messages, otherwise known as SMS (for Short Message Service), which is available on just about every cell phone, including cheaper feature phones. According to founder Mark Janas, SMS is a perfect way to provide exposure to “a whole group of sports teams that are underserved,” including high school teams, youth leagues, small colleges and even minor-league operations.

Entering its second full year of operation, ScoreTRAX is looking to push past its initial-season base of 50,000 subscriptions with the goal of having an audience of 1 million ScoreTRAX subscribers. To get there, Janas and his company need to find schools or teams who are looking for a way to simply keep fans abreast of what’s going on in bursts of 160 characters or less — with plans that call for little or in some cases no up-front spending by the teams.

The business model for ScoreTRAX is as simple as a text: Teams or schools sign up for the ScoreTRAX service, which provides templates for inputting scores and for sending messages. ScoreTRAX can also be used to set up an online portal, and to send the scores and messages to Facebook and Twitter. Fans then sign up for the teams they want to follow, a process that can all be done with text messages.

ScoreTRAX makes money by inserting national advertisements into the message stream, and teams can become revenue partners by opting to sell ads themselves. The service is free if a team doesn’t want to sell ads itself; there is also a $50 a month option for a mix of national ads and team-sold ads, and a $100 per month option for no national ads and unlimited ads sold by the team.

And though it’s not sexy or 3D, SMS does work when it comes to engaging fans, Janas said. “People read their text messages,” he said.

Next: The power of SMS

Pages: 1 2 3

Filed Under: Apps, Facebook, High School Football, Live sports via mobile, SMS, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,

Sunday Sermon: Thanks to Tiger’s Win, We’ll All Watch the Masters

March 25, 2012 by 2 Comments

I only got to see highlights of his victory Sunday so the thing that stuck me the most was how Tiger Woods was staring down his approach shots. Holding a pose, like a hitter who was looking for a fastball and got one. With two weeks to go to the Masters, Tiger is dialed in — and that’s why we’ll all be watching, on TV, or online, when the Masters happens.

In the long run another win at the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational presented by MasterCard won’t mean much in Woods’ long string of victories. But No. 72 was more important than most given the long stretch of time between it and No. 71. November of 2009 was the last time Woods was victorious in a regular Tour event, and we all know what else happened in between. Nothing short of one of the more epic personal meltdowns and letdowns of all time. For some of that he will never be forgiven, and rightfully so. But when it comes to golf it appears Tiger is ready for some major redemption.

And whether he makes it all the way back or not — whether he resumes his chase of Jack Nicklaus and the Golden Bear’s 18 major titles — we will all be compelled to watch what is probably the best and most pure event broadcast in sports today, the Masters. If you’re watching on TV it’s nothing short of heaven, since there are so few commercials, maybe just a few an hour. It’s nonstop golf in one of the world’s premier settings.

And online, the Masters has long set the standard of what Internet coverage should be. The tournament was the first to really show different views online, including a steady diet of “Amen Corner,” which is a great way to watch — instead of the television bounce-around with a focus on the leaders the Amen Corner cams watch holes 11, 12 and 13 and you get to see every group go through there. There’s also separate “channels” for holes 15 and 16, which are interesting in their own right. There may be many things you can call the Masters “stodgy” for but online coverage isn’t one of them. Here’s Chairman Billy Payne from last year, talking about how the Masters thinks about online coverage:

We continue to work hard on our Internet presence. Our website offers the many options that its visitors have come to expect: Live, high-definition quality video, realtime scores and comprehensive coverage. But this year we have added groundbreaking enhancements with up to nine live video feeds and some truly amazing beauty sequences showcasing Augusta National at its best.

As I’ve said before over the last several years, to the extent that emerging technology is
allowed, the development of digital media will continue to be a part of our larger communications efforts and will hopefully present the Masters and the great game of golf in a unique and exciting manner.

Every year, the Masters is great viewing, either on TV or online. And now with Tiger in form, it will be even more compelling.

Filed Under: CBS Sports, ESPN, Golf, Golf Channel, The Masters, Tiger Woods Tagged With: , , , ,
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