I hope everyone has had a great Christmas and enjoying the holiday period.  As I was having a look at the latest news and innovations in social media and sport I came across this from Intel.

Initially it has been launched on Android (interesting that chose this first with iPhone to come later – usually its the other way round) and it comes with many features that stato football fans from around Europe will be interested in.

The app offers to provide 2nd screen insights I imagine aimed more at the TV viewer than those at the game.  You can follow your particular team, get live match info on all key events (corners, goals, offsides, fouls, shots, yellow cards, etc), player stats which are updated throughout the game and fan chats.

This last element is interesting as it offers something more interactive.  It allows you to see up-to-the-minute comments, etc from forums, Facebook, Twitter and fan sites as the game is progressing.

This is available for teams in the top leagues of Germany, England, Spain, France, Italy, Holland, Poland, Russia, Turkey and Sweden. This covers most of the top supported nations in Europe including some we would not usually expect.

Is this going to appeal to most mainstream fans?  possibly not but it depends on how easy to use, interesting and interactive it really proves to be.  Intel is a tech company and the main aim will be to show off the tech side rather than making it a great user experience.

You can download the beta Android version now here

For more info they have provided a YouTube video to explain it some more….

You can tell when Christmas is approaching when you write a blog.  The updates slow down as the pre-holiday rush to get work completed kicks in, as well as the christmas parties/drinks most evenings of the week.

Thus this week has been one where it has been head down and concentrate on the day job.  A quick thank you as well to everyone who came along to the drinks in London on Monday.  It wasn’t the best weather to be out and about but it was great to catch up with everyone.  Thanks as well to We Are Social for sponsoring the night.

This week in the world of social media and sport it also seems to have slowed down a little.  Less new campaigns and initiatives are being launched as people prepare for a week or two (or three!) off.  Here is a wrap up of those items that have caught the eye in the last few days.  As always just click on the title to link through to the full article…

Facebook Time goes live for everyone

Originally it was just New Zealand (any idea why just NZ?) that could get the new timeline set up for their Facebook profile, and the geeks amongst us who put the code in to get it early.  Now it is available to everyone to opt into having.  The testing phase where it is optional, giving everyone a short time to get used to the change before the old profile is dumped forever.  Here USA Today look at 9 things you need to know about the new Timeline.

Man City to extend Augmented Reality to include swappable content

The current Premier League leaders are again pushing the boundaries in the digital space.  I feel I could write something every week about something new they have launched or tested, they are going full tilt with plans and are not scared to fail along the way.  This week they have extended the AR capabilities of the membership cards to allow them to swap content using the built in RFID technology.

Premier League Social Media stats for December

Digital agency Freestyle Interactive, whom our very own Sean Walsh works for, have released an interesting infographic that summarises the social media stats of premier league football for the month. It looks mainly at the size of the Twitter and Facebook following and the rate of growth they are seeing.

Heres what People Look at on Facebook Brand Pages

This doesn’t have anything sports specific in it but for any club, NGB or brand with a brand page on Facebook it is interesting stuff.  It looks at where it is on the screen that people look when on a page which should help anyone running a page to make best use of the spaces most looked at and move away from those that dont.  I think its safe to summarise that people look at the picture gallery at the top and the top post the most.  Interestingly the tab links on the left are looked at only a few times.

OneUp turns live football (US) into a game of play-making bingo

Another Mashable article (shocking I know) and its from our friends in the US.  It is interesting as it another attempt to help gamify the sports viewing experience.  Many companies have taken variations of this and tried to help people do more whilst watching from the comfort of their own sofa.  There is a fine balance between adding a valuable extra experience and becoming too much of a distraction that it takes people away from the game itself.  Ahead of Euro 2012 and London 2012 there are going to be more of these types of 2nd screen experiences being developed for the sports fan.

5 social media tactics every football club ‘must have’

An interesting summary from Sean as he looks at what he has learned from looking at football clubs in the social media space over the last year or so.  Here he puts together those thoughts and picks out 5 of the most important areas a club must have to be successful.  Are these the key 5 in your opinion and are there others?

Lots of love for broken leg victim David Villa from fans and players on twitter

To finish on a positive note and show how Twitter can be a platform of support as well as aimless gossip and talk about food.  After the unlucky David Villa of Barcelona fractured his shin bone playing in the FIFA World Club Championships this week, fans and players alike took to Twitter to show their support for him at what would be a really difficult time for any player.  He faces 4 or 5 months out of the game and lot of work to get back to where he was before.  All the best from the UK David.

5 tips for marketing to sports fans on Facebook

Mashable spoke to reps from the pro world of Sports Marketing including Christy Berkery (New England Patriots), Jim Spinello (rEvolution), Dan Lobring (rEvoltion), Laura Clemente (New York Jets), Kristen Baier (NETS Basketball).

Marseille receive 60k submissions for ‘fan designed kit’ competition

Back in March we posted an article praising French team Olympique Marseille for their asking fans to submit their own designs for a new official kit. Marseille used the landmark of hitting 1 million Facebook fans to reward their international fanbase and are the first football club world wide to essentially crowd-source their jersey. This week the club announced that they received a staggering 60,000 submissions for the competition and that after months of development and judging – they let their Facebook fans have the final decision.

JD Sports get top marks for social media

A quick look by Football Trade Directory on the social media presence of the Bury based sports retailer.

Using social media to make your sponsorship budget go further

Apparently, the 2012 Olympic Games aren’t just any old Games. They’re the world’s first social Olympic Games. Sponsors are lining up their social campaigns, most notably BT’s Storytellers and Lloyds TSB’s ‘Local heroes’ campaigns. But what of the (hundreds) of brands sponsoring major but non-Olympic events? The Grand National, FA Cup, Six Nations, Wimbledon, and the soon-to-be-not-the-Carling Cup?

Social media in Sports and Entertainment: Three mega trends in 2012

Beverly Macy from Gravity Summit LLC takes an early look at the top 3 trends to watch out for in 2012, in this edition of the Huffington Post.

BMW launches iPad app for Olympics

Not so much an article but a link to new BMW iPad app brought out as part of their sponsorship of the London 2012 games.

Shaq’s Social Media Guru Shares Her Secrets

Amy Jo Martin, CEO of Digital Royalty, tells Mashable how Shaq took over Twitter, what makes for a successful online presence and where she sees social media going in the future.

In a similar move to that Mindshare used when coming up with a new way to help people interact with the Lynx ‘Angels’, adidas UK used the same technology to help fans get closer to their Scotland heroes.

It took place in Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow on 11th November and was shown on a big screen in the shopping centre.  Peopler were encouraged to stand on the marked out spot and could then see themselves standing next to one of the Scotland stars.

This format is really fascinating and brings fans closer to the action.  Not only is it great for the people who are there it is also still novel enough to gain good PR, helping to reach an even greater audience.

Here is the video, what do you think of it?

(editors note: adidas is a current client though I wasn’t involved in this activation…sadly)

This is a post by Manchester City’s Head of Digital, Richard Ayers taken from the club blog www.mcfcgeeks.co.uk first published on 26th November this year.  Its a really honest appraisal of the clubs efforts and is well worth a read.

Pies, beer, football – that’s all you need for the perfect day out. At least, that’s the view of some people who think that media and technology are a distraction – both in terms of the organisation of a football club and also the fans’ experience on the day.

Last week I was speaking at the inaugural How-Do Sports Business and Marketing conference and I listened to Robert Elstone, Everton’s CEO, speak about the importance of the match-day experience for fans. He was very clear about doing everything he can to ensure that when you turn up at Goodison, you have as good a time as possible.

Where he and I differ is that I believe that digital media has an increasingly important role to play. Robert said he wasn’t convinced and felt that there were more important things to focus on for now – and as he’s infinitely more experience in football than I am, I’m sure he’s right – for Everton. Digital media can be an addition to the excitement, not an alternative.

I know some diehards feel that nothing should distract from the action on the pitch, but my bet would be that it won’t be long before some fans are using handheld devices during the match to add something to the game.

Football isn’t like many US sports where there are long breaks mid-play that give you time to check up on the last play or the stats or watch a replay (like with FanVision)… but I think it would be foolish to bet against services being used by a large enough audience in the near future. In fact, if you include the use of SMS, then you could argue that handheld devices and their communication capability has already changed a match-day. How many people do you know who are in touch with mates at other grounds during the game?

Now, putting aside the fact that all stadia act like Faraday cages and so getting a signal (never mind 3G) can be nigh-on impossible, and assuming that this will change, then it’s interesting to consider how social media might affect the fans on a match day.

[as an aside, thanks to all the @mcfcgeeks twitter followers who continue to ask about our progress with boosting signal or installing wifi in the Etihad stadium - we're working on it and it's a high priority for me so it's good to hear your needs]

I wanted to experiment with social media on a match day. So we decided to run a test using twitter, discussion between two blogger/supporters over twitter, and integrating that into the pre-match media that we run in City Square.

As an experiment, it was a great success.

As an enhancement of the match-day experience it was, well… rubbish.

If you follow me on twitter, or @vickistansfield or @mcfcgeeks then you will know how much we try to be open and straight-talking with fans about what we’re trying to achieve as well as sharing with the digital community about our plans and progress. So, in that spirit, I wanted to share with you the case-study that we put together to debrief this experiment.

You can view or download the Manchester City FC Matchday Tweets Case Study_MCFC vs NUFC 19.11.11.

Our project manager, John Kearney, comes to some clear conclusions about what didn’t work and why: the conversation was out of context, it wasn’t live enough, you couldn’t interact with it … to name a few. But he also comes up with a series of recommendations which gives me hope for trying this again and making it work better next time.

Our American geek friends are particularly fond of a phrase that sums up our approach here – and it’s one we’ve taken to heart in the @mcfcgeeks team: Fail Better. Working with new technologies, new forms of social interaction, and integrating them into such a well-developed experience as the warm-up to a Premier League football match is never going to be easy, but we’re experimenting, learning and innovating…. and that leads to success.

When I wrapped up my talk about engaging a fanbase online at the How-Do conference, there was one thing I should have added: The reason why we feel like this kind of thing is important isn’t just to do with being innovative for the sake of it; it’s not because we like spending time and money on the latest digital fad; it’s not because we want to find a way to make money out of fans. The reason why we do this is because our fans deserve it.

City fans use mobiles and facebook and twitter and foursquare and and youtube every day, just like everyone else, and if we can give them more access to the club they love via those platforms, we will.

Welcome to the first of a new weekly feature.  There is only so much you can write about on one site and there are many out there doing a great job in breaking the latest happenings in the world of #DigSport.  Just click on the title links on each one to find out more.  Here is a mashup of the ones that have caught the eye in this last week;

Hashtag in EndZone

In what’s believed to be a first for college football programs (and anywhere else to be honest),Mississippi State has painted #HAILSTATE — the school’s traditional rallying cry and fight song — in its north endzone.  An interesting way to get your hashtag out there and encourage people to use who are both at the game and watching on TV.

FC Barca broadcast NextGen game v Celtic live on YouTube

From the clubs FCBMasiaES YouTube page, the club last night showed live coverage of the Next Generation game between themselves and Celtic.  Showing great use of content that is tied to any networks and thus is theirs to distribute as they please.  You can still watch the game in its entirety on the page.

Real Madrid latest team on Google+

A little bit behind their bitter rivals in getting onto the latest platform for brands.  Lost out on the PR around being a launch partner but may make up for it in their proven use of content and connecting with their fans (their Facebook page gets much more interaction than Barcelona’s each week despite being of around the same size).

Toulouse FC press conferences to go live on internet

Again a club utilising content that they have some control over to connect with fans and show those who cannot make it to such events to watch from wherever they are. (note: article is in French)

 Real Madrid partners with Cisco to offer highest tech stardom

This piece of news was shared by several sites in the last week as one of the biggest clubs in the world partners up with one of the biggest tech providers to help bring the digital experience to the stadium.  Such places are notorious for having bad connections for mobile with so many people trying to call, text or get online in a small space.

NBA stars chat to fans on Google+ hangout

Basketball stars LeBron James and Dwayne Wade get to grips with the Google+ hangout feature on LeBron’s own page.

What niche websites can do for your brand

Man United and Fulham are mentioned in this article about the use of niche websites and how they can benefit/hinder those who try to form their own communities away from Facebook, Twitter, Google and their own website.

PSG shirt complete with QR code

This article does what it says on the tin (note: french article) and shows the new PSG shirt complete with QR code that fans can get their hands, and phones, on.  Not sure if this one will catch on.

QPR owner asks for fans suggestions on transfer targets

In a rather novel move this morning, Tony Fernandes – the QPR owner and Chairman – used Twitter to ask for ideas about the types of players Queens Park Rangers fans wanted to see in the future. Fernandes has been a huge advocate for Social Media in the last few months he has been in charge at the Premiership side, having seen the fruits of success in previous businesses Air Asia and the Lotus F1 team. Fernandes was quick to mention that QPR manager, Neil Warnock, called the shots in terms of transfers – but he was interested to hear about the fans hopes/expectations.

The digital guys at FC Barcelona and Chelsea have obviously been busy behind the scenes in making sure that the club is seen as being on the forefront of all things social media.  Just as Google announce that businesses can now have their own pages on the platform (after them being taken down upon the launch of Google+ back in July) then FC Barcelona and Chelsea also come out and say they are one of the first to join the platform along with Burberry and Pepsi.

The news only broke a matter of hours ago that the American giant was opening this up with some key partners, with both clubs being in there.  It is a fantastic coup for the Spanish and English clubs and it will be interesting now to see what they do with it.  I anticipate we will see others such as Real Madrid, Man City and Liverpool follow suit in the near future but many will be sitting back and waiting to see how it can work for a club.

Google+ is something I joined back in the beta launch but it has to be said that I havent been on there for quite a while now.  Part of that is because I work on Gmail at work and my Google+ is under another sign-in so I cannot access both at once.  I am sure I can change this but for the time being I havent seen the point.

Barca announced the news on its website under the headline “Strategic agreement between FC Barcelona and Google+”.  A headline I am sure they have been eagerly anticipating the use of and proud that they have beaten their greatest rivals, Real, to the punch.

Interestingly Chelsea have yet to make any such announcement despite going live at the same time.  Barca have taken a much more proactive approach whereas it looks like the English club are taking a more cautious line, possibly trying to figure out what it is they want to do with it and who will interact with them before making a big song and dance about it.

According to FC Barcelona’s New Technologies Director, Dídac Lee, “it’s good news that FC Barcelona is present at the worldwide launch of Google+ Pages.” Lee added, “this strategic agreement with Google+ is further proof our commitment to Barça’s global audience.”

So far the page has gained over 6,000 followers and had over 900 +1′s.  Content wise the club announced their arrival with a welcome message to fans; “Welcome to the Official FC Barcelona Google + Page, stay up to date with Club and follow all the new developments”.  The only other content is 11 photo’s from the Athlico Bilbao game yesterday.  Chelsea have only 32 followers at time of writing and added a few photos.

Will we now be writing articles on engagement and follower numbers on Google+ as well as Facebook and Twitter?  We knew this day would be coming but not quite so soon (the last update was that business pages would go live next year).  It is certainly something else that we need to keep an eye on and could possibly turn the big 3 (currently Facebook, YouTube and Twitter) into a big 4.

There has been some scepticism about how well the platform will work and some comments have been less than flattering.  Users activity on the site has certainly dipped since the public launch but it still accounts for some 40m user accounts.

One other thing to note is that although the business pages are live, they dont have ‘vanity URLs’ yet, so dont go expecting to see either club posting up their Google+ URL on a poster anytime soon!

Other sports teams that have launched with Google+ include Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Mercury, Dallas Cowboys, WWE and Portland Trailblazers.

What do you think about the move and how do you think they can utlilise the platform?

Last week Facebook held its annual F8 conference where it announced a raft of changes that will come into effect in the coming weeks.

There have been some more immediate repercussions that are already being felt, especially by people who run Pages.  I’m not going to go into great detail about what happened on the night as this has been extensively covered.  Click on the links for articles by Brian Solis and The Next Web.

From reading endless articles on these changes and looking at them for myself there are a few areas worth highlighting.

1) Pages updates are showing less in newsfeeds

This is something that has been raised by several people in the last few days.  If you check out your newsfeed now you will see that more emphasis has been placed on updates from friends and less now from Pages.  This can be seen as decreasing the clutter by Facebook and also be seen as pushing people who run pages to spend money with them.

Zuckerberg announced that sponsored stories and apps would play a significant role in helping to tell stories.  Critics will say that it penalises those who put a big effort into providing great content within smaller communities as they cant afford to pay for Facebook’s features.We wait to see what the impact will be.  How this affects likes, comments and visitor numbers.   It will certainly provide new challenges and affect how Pages are run and what they do for brands/clubs.

2) User Profiles – Introduction of ‘Timelines’

Many people will be scrambling to delete embarrassing photos and updates they regret posting from when they first started on Facebook (people I know already have).

In a few days time the new profiles will go live and affect how people see themselves and their social presence.  It will be easier to skip through friends profiles to see what they posted in 2008 and give a sense of their recent history.  Here is what it will look like.

There are opportunities to become more involved in this timeline.  One of the most visual changes is the ‘cover image’ at the top of the page.  People will take their time to make this representative of what they like or are feeling.  It visually represents that person on Facebook, taking over from the profile picture as the most important feature.  You use pictures you have taken yourself but mobile uploads will come out blurry so many will search for images more suitable.

3) You can do more than just ‘like’ now

Developers can now use any verb when incorporating Facebook into other sites.  You can ‘recommend’ an article or ‘love’ some shoes or ‘is listening’ to a song.  The possibilities are pretty much infinite.  It gives fans more of a chance to interact and makes content more relevant as you don’t need to just like it.

4) You don’t need to ‘like’ a page to post on walls

This has implications for all those still hung up on follower numbers.  People will be able to join in with the discussions without having to add you to their liked pages.  Here is some more info on how it works.

Overall thoughts on these changes – the world is still going to turn and we will still be using Facebook for the foreseeable future.  Some of the changes are yet to fully realised and we wait to see how they will affect us.

There are some cool opportunities around things like apps (esp the social reader functions), the new use of verbs to replace ‘like’ to make interaction more meaningful and the new user profiles look pretty cool.

I’m sure there will changes to Pages so that their look and feel is more in line with the User Profiles.  How long this will take to be announced we don’t know and what other changes will be implemented we don’t know either.

Again it is a time for experimentation, watch what other people are trying and seeing where Facebook sits within the over all club/business plans.  This is a very quick review but I hope a helpful one.

Any questions please drop in the comments box and I’ll do my best to answer them.

It has been a while since my last post.  This has been mainly sue to a quick bit of holiday before starting my new role of which I’ve just started day 2.

This caught my eye this morning though it is something I have been aware of for several months during my work with adidas UK.  It is an interesting concept that brings some fun to a competition entry using video without making it to difficult to put together.

There is also the option to like the adidas Football Facebook page and follow UEFA Champions League on Twitter. But the bit I like is the ability to share your video by getting the code from the site and inserting into wherever you wish.

Here is my effort….think it will get me some tickets??

what would you do for tickets?!