InGameNow Launches New Version in Time for NFL Opening Day

Late last night, InGameNow launched a new version of the site in time for today's NFL opening day (and Tom Brady's torn ACL....). There are several exciting and prominent features:

New Sports If football isn't your passion (or you've given up since Tom Brady is no longer playing), InGameNow has launched in five new sports: Golf, MMA, Nascar, Soccer and Tennis. From Chuck Liddell to Roger Federer – we have you covered.

Upgraded InGameNow Blog The InGameNow Blog has become one of the most visited sports blogs on the web. We've released a new version that is fully integrated into the InGameNow experience and will feature the latest and best posts – showcasing your content to 100,000s of viewers.

Full API We have released an InGameNow Sports API capable of powering communities, widgets, applications, etc. If you are interested in partnering with us and using the API, please contact me.

Reply Functions You'll notice that we've added reply buttons prominently throughout the site. Pressing reply will enable you to chime in to any conversation – whether it's a rival or a fellow fan.

Team Widgets Have your own blog or website? We have over 1,000 widgets from you to choose from that deliver the latest scores and news directly to your blog. Just pick your favorite team or league, and grab the widget code – everything else happens dynamically! Learn more here

iPhone and Blackberry Integration InGameNow.com has been optimized for the iPhone and Blackberry. You can either visit the site directly to interact and get live scores – or you can set up your account to receive alerts via GTalk and AOL Instant Messanger (AIM). Both are great ways to stay atop of the sporting world while on the go.

At TechCrunch 50 Tomorrow

I'll be at TechCrunch 50 tomorrow - and am excited to see 52 companies publicly launch. If you are around, please drop me a note (rspoon at gmail dot com)

Here is the final pre-event note from Jason Calacanis:

Team TechCrunch50,

We've got an amazing program starting at 9AM sharp tomorrow--I can't wait to see everyone!

Doors open at 7:30AM, and if you want to get your badge in time for the first epic presentation please arrive no later than 8:15AM. We expect a crush of folks at the venue, both in the lobby and outside the venue.

The Location is:

San Francisco Design Center Concourse 635 Eighth Street (between Brannan and Townsend Streets) San Francisco, CA 94103 Map: http://tinyurl.com/sfdccmap

NOTE: The San Francisco Design Center Concourse is not the same as the San Francisco Design Center Galleria. Do not go to the Henry Adams address unless you want to go furniture shopping.

Again, please arrive at 8:15AM if you want to make it into the main hall for the 9AM start!!!

Did I mention Ashton Kutcher is presenting first thing!??!?!

best jason

MLB Releases At Bat v1.2 for iPhone - It's Awesome

I've said for a while now that MLB understands the web more than the NBA, NFL and NHL combined. The MLB At Bat iPhone App was announced at the iPhone's launch and it's been a hit since. Today, they released version 1.2 and it's a huge upgrade. The app used to reflect the game's score, number of outs and pitch count (with long delays) - and there was a video archive of "top plays" that arrived a few minutes after happening in the respective ballparks.

The new version now has a few more features (most shown below):

- Gameday: it's essentially ESPN's Gamecast on your phone. Full pitch details (as it happens) with location, count, mph, etc. Amazing. - Field: shows the ballpark's layout, defensive assignments and who is on base. - Boxscore: full boxscore optimized for the iPhone. - Summary: all scoring plays and a full inning-by-inning archive of every play. - Videos: now features a count on the main screen that updates when new videos are loaded. The video quality seems to be slightly better now (but I have no evidence of this being factual!).

Blown Away By Google Chrome: Firefox, Safari and Me (!)

More to come... but I am blown away by Google's new web browser, Chrome.

It's lightning fast. Blows Firefox, IE7, and Safari out of the water. Not even close.

It's slick. The UI is clean and there are tons of tiny enhancements like website thumbnails, most visited pages, etc.

The transition is simple. I hate installing new browsers because there is typically a big switching cost (namely, time). Chrome inherits all of my Firefox preferences (including quick searches) and makes the transition to the new browser seamless.

I have a new starting browser. And I didn't expect to say that at all!

Apple, iPhone Dev Center Can't Keep Up With Developer Demand

I will say it again: Apple and the iPhone are in trouble unless they figure out the App Directory. The iPhone and its platform are only successful and game-changing if it enables content to be produced, released and used. That's not happening. I've written before about Apple's inability (apparent failure?) to meet the demand of potential developers... I've been waiting in the queue for weeks(!). The result is more than just developer annoyance - it's a lack of content for consumers. Here is the most recent screenshot from the App Directory's "New" module which show 21 apps in the last 30 days (note: I am not sure how / why the "new" module is different than searching for "all free apps" or "all paid apps"):

beRecruited and STACK Media Reaching Targeted, Large Audiences

July's Comscore numbers for sports networks were released recently and STACK Media made it's first appearance on the chart with 3.5 million uniques in July and importantly is the #1 platform for "active young men (12-24)".

Why is this important? Because beRecruited is part of the STACK network and played a critical role in these numbers and demographic targeting (the 12-24 year old audience is clearly our sweet spot). From Circulation Management:

Key to that traffic spike is a content partnership with three properties: sports retailer Eastbay.com, Footlocker.com (Footlocker owns East Bay) and BeRecruited.com, an online recruiting tool for high school athletes. “We focused on executing against a distributed media strategy where we take our content and distribute it to partner sites. In exchange for distribution of the content we’re also selling all of the advertising inventory on those sites. The tagline ‘Content is king, but distribution brings the bling’ is definitely a motto here,” says Palazzo.

But before STACK could effectively enter into distribution partnerships, the company had to prove the worth of its content. “Our content is the glue that is making these partnerships function because it’s unique in the sports space. It’s not news coverage, it’s sports lifestyle and performance. They’re the who’s who and we’re the how-to. That differentiates us and gives us the ability to create these types of partnerships,” says Palazzo.

Despite the initial focus on the high school athlete, the company has found that sports training, especially when it’s presented by professional athletes, is appealing to a broader audience of 12-to-24 year olds. “We’re focused on a new market. Our competitors now are ESPN.com, Yahoo Sports, and AOL Sports and Fox Sports—people that are in the top five that blue chip marketers are using. We may not have 20 million uniques, but the uniques we have are definitely [the marketer’s] target.”

1. Yahoo Sports - 21,851,000 uniques 2. ESPN - 18,101,000 uniqueS 3. Fox Sports - 14,644,000 uniques 4. MLB.com - 12,778,000 uniques 5. AOL Sports - 11,631,000 unique s (doubled in a year - 6,858,000 in July 2007) 6. NFL Internet Group - 7,482,000 uniques 7. CBS Sports - 5,923,000 uniques 8. Sports Illustrated Sites - 4,656,000 uniques 9. WWE - 4,206,000 uniques 10. STACK Media - 3,580,000 uniques

From STACK:

STACK Media today announced its ranking as the #1 online property to reach the coveted active young male demographic--as measured by comScore Media Metrix. With over 3.5 million unique visitors in the U.S. during July 2008, STACK Media jumped ahead of NBA.com and Nascar.com to land as #10 on the prestigious comScore list of Top Sports Web Properties. In addition to mass reach, STACK Media now offers display and video brand advertisers the greatest efficiency against the highly desirable but elusive category of active young (12-to-24-year-old) males online.

Measuring Widgets by Defining Viral-ity, Reach and Engagement

I regularly am asked three questions:1. What makes a great widget? 2. What makes a widget viral? 3. How do you measure a widget?

Three buzz words come out these questions (or are tied to directly them): "reach", "viral", and "engagement". And in the end, I argue that engagement is the most critical of the three because the other two are functions arising from engagement:

en·gage: To occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons). To attract and hold fast.

If a widget is able to engage (attract and hold a viewer's attention) - it is capable of being viral (being socially spread throughout the web). And if a widget becomes viral, reach and traffic follow. The trouble with starting in the reverse order is that widgets can get tons of traffic (pageviews and uniques) without being spread or growing... but you need to understand user engagement and the widget's viral-ity to understand it's traffic. Here's how you measure those three components:

1. Reach The most basic measurement of any campaign is its reach - and widgets don’t differ significantly than a tradition online campaign:

- Widget Impressions: the number of loads a widget has received - Unique Users: how many viewers a widget amasses - Demographics: the geography of a widget’s viewers and demographics of the sites the widget sits on

2. Viral-ity Unlike traditional online ads, widgets enable rapid reach because they are customizable and sharable. Understanding the social patters on a widget is important to determining a campaign’s growth and the path with which it was viewed and shared. Subscribers are critical because they grab the widget and embed it on real estate that they deem relevant and worthy… introducing the widget to that website’s traffic and effectively kick-starting a virtuous, viral circle: - Subscriptions: number of installed widgets - Active Subscriptions: number of installs that generate viewership - Subscribers: which domains have installed your widget and the traffic each has delivered - Viral Pathing: which subscribers and installations are most effective at delivering new subscriptions

3. Engagement Widget impressions are meaningful, but an engaged viewer is far more valuable than someone who overlooks the widget as though it were merely a banner unit. A core element of understanding a widget’s efficacy is understanding its users’ interactions. The most critical aspect is determining whether widget views lead to widget sharing and/or destination traffic (such as your corporate website):

- Get Widget Interaction: How many users open the “Get Widget” menu - Widget Subscriptions: How many users open the men and actually grab the widget - In-Widget Promotions: Widgetbox, for instance, allows publishers to run ads or promotions within their widgets. You can track unit impressions, mouse hovers and click throughs - In Widget Interaction: Understand whether users arriving at your website from the widget and how it’s impacting your site’s web traffic

Facebook Mail Spam and/or Viruses - I'm Getting Tons

This is a disturbing trend. I am getting a lot of messages like these now... usually the same message arrives from multiple users / friends:

Comparing Yahoo Buzz and Digg After Hitting Buzz's Homepage

In March, I wrote that Yahoo Buzz could pose a threat to Digg because of their ability to drive more traffic - and I assumed that Digg's product would be markedly better.

Now four days after Yahoo Buzz officially opened up to all publishers, I will take a bolder stance: I'm finding Yahoo Buzz more effective as a reader / consumer and as a publisher. And I'm surprised.

My major critique of Digg has been that it has struggled to extend it's community and product outside of technology. And that's where Yahoo Buzz excels: the content is diverse... across categories and sources. I expect this will continue as Yahoo's community (the largest on the web) will power / demand diversity.

InGameNow's Blog made it to the Yahoo Buzz homepage yesterday and it delivered big, steady traffic. Whereas Digg sends massive traffic instantly (and it tends to somewhat worthless traffic) - Yahoo's sends very consistent traffic that, from this single experience, seems to be more active and engaged. Two things are yet to be seen though:

1) how Yahoo's algorithm matures and whether it creates a community of power users (such as those that rule Digg) 2) whether Buzz's current traffic / activity will change dramatically as it gains popularity

For now though... and based on my first few days with Yahoo Buzz... I'd rather hit Buzz's homepage than Digg's.

The official email from Yahoo Buzz on August 19th:

START SUBMITTING STORIES TO YAHOO! BUZZ TODAY!

Thank you for your patience as we fine-tuned Yahoo! Buzz. You can now showcase your stories to the largest audience on the Internet.

Visit our Publisher page to pick up a button for your site and see tips on ways to get more votes.

Do not forget, your story may be featured on Yahoo.com. Good luck and welcome aboard.

GET STARTED NOW http://buzz.yahoo.com/publishers

Yahoo! Buzz Team