Observations, Commentary and Diatribes by Amanda Rykoff

Why I’m Not Making a Super Bowl Prediction

This is a shot of the Saints taking the field at the Superdome on December 31, 2006. I was there. Sitting at the 50 yard line (yeah, I got lucky with great seats).

I love New Orleans. This April, I’m going to Jazz Fest, which will mark my 7th trip to the Big Easy. Two Final Fours. Three Jazz Fests. One wedding. One New Year’s/post-Katrina volunteering trip.

In other words, I cannot be objective about this game. I’m not going to break down the pros and cons, the game plans, the schemes. I’m rooting for the Saints. Pure and simple. If you really want a prediction, I say the Colts win the game. And it would not surprise me if it was a shoot-out in the 35-31 range.

But I’m not concerned about that. I’m cheering with all my heart for the Saints. For the city of New Orleans. For my friends who live there. For my friends who love the city. For everybody who wants this great story of rebirth to continue.

The game has already made the city a winner this weekend. Hotels are at capacity, bars are packed. People from all over have descended upon the city to watch the game. The mayor has already promised a parade for the team, win or lose. Isn’t that what this is about? I say yes. For once this isn’t just about the game on the field. It’s about the impact of a team off the field.

So, I’m going to enjoy this game and I hope you do too. Even if you’re rooting for the Colts. Who Dat!

POST GAME QUICK TAKE:

I’ve never been so happy to be wrong about a prediction. Which is why I didn’t want to make one. But I did say the Saints would score 31.

Seriously, what a win. What a game. What an ending. Who dat could have asked for anything more? Instant classic.

Game Changer: Sports and Social Media

If I told you there was a Social Media Week NY panel on sports and social media, would you believe I was there?  I know you are shocked – shocked! – to discover that this topic interested me. Almost as shocking as learning there was gambling at Rick’s place.

Social media is literally a game changer in sports. It’s leveled the playing field (pun most definitely intended), as fans can communicate directly with athletes. Social media has changed and is changing the way we receive, process, deliver and consume all information. Stories break on Twitter before they’re picked up by the so-called “mainstream” media. Blogs make everybody – including fans – reporters to a certain degree. Access to news and information changes every minute. The line between “mainstream” media and blogs blurs each day. And the impact of the blogosphere cannot be underestimated. Just look at Deadspin, which has become as much a part of the sports vernacular as ESPN.

Given the monumental impact of social media both on and off the field, the New York Times presented “Unleashing Social Media on the Sports World”, featuring the following panelists from a variety of perspectives in and around sports:

• Moderator: Gary Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee), Partner and Co-Founder of VaynerMedia, author of the best-selling book Crush It, and an unabashed New York Jets fanatic.
• Michael DiLorenzo (@NHLdilo), Director of Social Media and Business Communications for the National Hockey League
• Matthew Cerrone (@matthewcerrone), Founder of metsblog.com
• Tyler Kepner (@tylerkepner), National baseball writer for the New York Times
• Jim Bankoff (@bankoff), Chairman and CEO of SB Nation

As noted above, the panel represented a variety of perspectives (a league, a blogger, a mainstream media sports writer, a businessman who runs a blogging network, and a fan). Personally, I would have liked to see at least one woman on the panel (attention powers that be: there are plenty of female sports writers and bloggers); there were many women (myself included) in the audience.

[Ed. note: This would have been the perfect place to insert a photo of the panel. Funny story - I took a picture with my Blackberry camera and some time between leaving the NY Times building and arriving at the subway in Times Square, I lost my Blackberry. So no picture. You'll just have to google each panelist to see what they look like.]

After brief opening remarks by each panelist, Gary V. immediately opened up the floor for a lively and engaging Q&A session (in which I was a willing and vocal participant – another shocker). What follows is my Tale of the Tweets from the panel. For a complete wrap-up and more detailed analysis, check out the outstanding post by Matt Wurst of 360i at the SWMNY blog.

The bottom line: thanks to the emergence of social media, the boundaries in the sports world shift every minute. The old model has been turned on its head. This represents a challenge for some, an opportunity for many, and an exciting time for all. Read more »

It’s All About the Data: Bloomberg Sports Launch Event Recap

Ah, data. No, this hasn’t turned into a Star Trek The Next Generation blog post. Data is the lifeblood of sports. And as data and analytics have become increasingly important in sports fields and arenas, of course it’s becoming big business. Enter Bloomberg. Yes, that Bloomberg. The same Bloomberg that changed the financial analysis game is looking to do the same in sports (as was reported in the New York Times last December). And it starts with baseball. Ladies and gentlemen, the future of baseball analytics is here. And it’s called Bloomberg Sports.

Bloomberg Sports Launch Event

On Sunday, January 31, I attended the official Bloomberg Sports launch event, hosted at the financial giant’s stupendous offices on 59th and Lexington in New York City. I had been invited by my Twitter and real life friend Jonah Keri, who  recently announced that he’s joining Bloomberg Sports as the head of content and one of its lead writers. The Bloomberg Sports product, which is baseball only, results from an exclusive partnership with MLB.com, which will provide Bloomberg with every stat needed. As well as streaming video (this wasn’t announced at the event, but I’ve been told it’s part of the package).

Bloomberg’s baseball product represents the next level of baseball data analysis and analytics and leaves no stone unturned. You want splits for every hitter against every lefty pitcher? No problem. Pretty charts and graphs? Absolutely. The ability to almost predict what type of pitch will come next? Check. The room of baseball bloggers, fantasy sports experts and other sports media types could be seen gawking and, in some cases, drooling. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but this was an impressive product.

What is it and how much will it cost?

What will these fancy toys cost? On the consumer (i.e., fantasy baseball player) side, two fantasy-focused products will be made available on February 18: a draft kit for $19.95 and a suite of in-season tools for $24.95. Or you can buy both for the low low price of $31.95. It’s actually a fantastic price for this product. No price was provided for the professional product (which was pretty pretty pretty good).

For excellent recaps of the day and details regarding both the consumer and professional products, check out these posts from my friends at River Avenue Blues, my good friend (and Twitter husband) Ken Fang of Fang’s Bites and Subway Squawkers. Special baseball blogsphere shout-outs also go to Jason Rosenberg of It’s About the Money, Eno Sarris of Fangraphs.com (and a bunch of other roto sites), Jay Gargiulo of Fack Youk and James Quintong of ESPN Fantasy.

Bottom Line Impressions

There is no question that the data and analytics in these products is top of the line. On a personal note, I loved the ability to exclude certain teams from your lists of available players. That means that if you want to avoid all Red Sox players (as a Yankee fan, a strategy I employed last season), just one click of a button and they’re no longer on the board. Just like that.

Whether the consumer product appeals to anybody other than a hard-core fantasy player remains to be seen.  The pricing for the fantasy product is competitive and seems to be a great value for the level of technological and data sophistication included.  Bloomberg thinks that baseball fans (i.e., non-fantasy baseball players) will be interested, and I’m not so sure about that. However, as a long-time resident of New York City, I know that Bloomberg would not be venturing into this area if they didn’t think it was a win. And they’re the financial and business experts. I’m just a woman who won her fantasy baseball league wire to wire and went 17-0 in my survivor pool, so what the hell do I know?

As for the professional product, it seemed incredible and any team would have to have fools in the front office if they opted not to invest. Yes, I’m looking at you Kansas City (feel free to insert whatever other team you feel is appropriate, I don’t mind).

Enough of my blabbing, let’s get to my event recap via the Tale of the Tweets. Read more »

Truly Social Media: Crepes and Conversation with Converseon

My Social Media Week NY adventure continued this morning with an interesting, informative and quite delicious stop at the offices of social media consultancy/agency Converseon. Why was it delicious? Because they served crepes! And not just any crepes, my friends, crepes from Creperie on Ludlow, best crepes in town. Why was it interesting and informative? Because we listened to four veterans of this evolving industry talk about listening, conversation mining through social media and how brands can use that information to create a successful social media campaign and activation strategy.

Here’s who talked about listening (that sounded a little weird, but you know what I mean):

• Moderator: Rob Key, CEO, Converseon
• Jon Burg (@jonburg), Emerging Channels Specialist, Digitas
• Craig Daitch (@cdny), SVP of Activation, Converseon
• Andy Von Kennel (@avkthinks), SVP, Growth Director, Rapp

Why did Converseon host this conversation (other than because it was a great marketing opportunity)? Because listening and conversation mining is what they do. And why did Converseon invite Burg, Daitch and Von Kennel to talk about these topics? Because it’s what they do for their respective clients.

Beyond the crepes (which were amazing, btw), the conversation was interesting and engaging. My complete recap via a Tale of the Tweets can be found below, but here are my three topline takeaways:

1. Listen: listening is critical to any successful campaign because your business is ultimately about people and relationships.
2. Technology is not the answer on its own: your results as a marketer are about the value and insights you get from the technology, not the technology itself. Those are just tools to help you get the information, which then needs to be applied strategically, with human element involved.
3. Wild West 2.0: this area is so new we’re still figuring out how to utilize all the data and information. But this social intelligence will help brands navigate through a constantly changing marketplace.

For pictures from the event, check out Converseon’s Flickr feed. If you want more tweets of quotes from the event, check out @Converseon on Twitter.

Tale of the Tweets: The Road from Listening to Activation

Presentation? Who cares? They served crepes from Creperie on Ludlow! Win. #smwnyc (@ Converseon HQ w/ 13 others) http://4sq.com/4ZHH9J

Converseon: social media is not about the next Twitter account or viral video. #smwnyc

Converseon: Listen! Conversation Mining is the foundation of all social media activity. #smwnyc

Activation panel @converseon: Rapp’s @avkthinks Converseon’s @cdny Digitas’ @jonburg. #smwnyc

Need to move from “social can do everything” to “here’s what social is doing for you and your business.” @jonburg #smwnyc

“We are working hard to take the ‘media’ out of ’social media.’” @jonburg @converseon #smwnyc

Hey dude next to me @converseon, turn off your ringer. And dear god do not answer your phone! #badform #smwnyc

Your success as a marketer will be built on the technology, but it’s not about the technology itself. @jonburg #smwnyc

RT @bevisible takeaway from converseon panel: the human element in analyzing the data is the key #smwnyc

Sentiment is important, but need to drill down on topic level sentiment. @jonburg #smwnyc

Social intelligence helps inform the way brands navigate the changing market and how they speak to people. @jonburg #smwnyc

Interesting observation: lots of agency peeps here and there are a lot more blackberries than iPhones. #smwnyc

RT @catelinp That’s true of any field (even mine). Technology isn’t a solution, it’s just a tool. #smwnyc

RT @converseon “A prospective customer doesn’t care what part of the company you’re in – they care about whether you can solve your problem” @cdny #smwnyc

Re: crowdsourcing. Henry Ford once said, “If I listen to my customers, they’ll want a faster horse.” @converseon #smwnyc

Listening is great, but it has to work with your existing research. @jonburg #smwnyc

Better to have negative chatter than no chatter at all. Negative chatter means people care. @cdny #smwnyc

Ok, seriously dude next to me @converseon answered his phone AGAIN. *smh* #mannersfail

Really enjoyed the conversation @converseon with @jonburg @cdny @avkthinks @bevisible. #smwnyc

P.S. Great meeting @fasciano at @converseon. Hopefully I can get over his poor choice in baseball teams. #nopinkhats

Corporate Social Responsibility panel at Paley Center #smwsocialCSR

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