Introducing Fantasy Football 2014

Introducing ESPN's new Fantasy Football apps for 2014 - available now on iOS and Android. Highlights of this release are:

- Entirely new visual design - Full relaunch of the Android application - League creation and drafting from your mobile device - Get a team & join a league from your mobile device - Invite your friends with email, Twitter, Facebook Messenger or text message - Free alerts for injuries, scores, trades, and more - Fantasy News and Videos from ESPN Fantasy Football analysts.

And here are a couple of The Commish ad spots running on TV and other media:

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ESPN, Google & World Cup Highlights in Search Results

Yesterday, Google and ESPN combined to deliver real-time video highlights directly into Google search results via Google's homepage, World Cup related search queries and Google's new World Cup page, and so on. This integration will be live during the entire 2014 World Cup - meaning soccer fans can find their highlights.

- on ESPN.com & ESPNFC.com, ESPN's suite of mobile apps - on social media through integrations like Twitter Cards that play directly in-line and are sharable and embeddable - and now on Google and directly within search results

At ESPN, our mission is simply to serve sports fans, anytime and anywhere. This is another great, big step in that direction with our partners at Google.

World Cup 2014 Google and ESPN

Press coverage (as represented by Techmeme):

Chris Welch / The Verge: Google and ESPN partner to put World Cup highlights in search — If you're stuck in a cubicle at work and unable to watch every minute of the World Cup, Google and ESPN will at least help you keep up with the latest highlights. The two companies have teamed up to pair both in-progress …

More: The Official Google Blog, Re/code, GeekWire, The Next Web, eWeek, LAPTOP Magazine, Gigaom and Quartz

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Today on ESPN: US Open, World Cup 2014, NBA Finals

Today is one of those special days at ESPN: live on our networks and our digital suite of applications you'll find the US Open at Pinehurst, the opening game of the 2014 World Cup (Brazil vs. Croatia) and then Game 4 of the NBA Finals (Spurs at Heat). And that's in addition to a roster of other sporting events, news and happenings. It's a magical sports day and you can follow it all live and live-streamed on ESPN and ESPN apps. Everything will be available on Watch ESPN - which you can access on web, iPhone & iPad, Android phones & tablets, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, and more.

And you can follow along with the SportsCenter App (on iOS and Android) and the new ESPN FC App for World Cup and soccer (on iOS and Android).

You can also listen live via ESPN Radio, which is now available on iTunes Music, and of course via web, iOS, and Android.

It's a fun, unique day to be a sports fan - enjoy!

Schedule: US Open - 9am EST on ESPN, ESPN Radio & Watch ESPN App World Cup - 4pm EST on ESPN, ESPN Radio & Watch ESPN App NBA Finals - 9pm EST on ABC, ESPN Radio & Watch ESPN App SportsCenter - 11pm EST on ESPN & Watch ESPN App

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ESPN Radio Now on iTunes Music - In time for World Cup 2014

Ahead of tomorrow's opening World Cup game, ESPN Radio has launched on iTunes Music. To access the live stream of ESPN Radio, just open iTunes Music on your iPhone or iPad and either click on the ESPN Radio channel or search for 'ESPN'.

And with World Cup starting tomorrow (Brazil vs. Croatia at 4pm EST), you will also be able to listen to the game live on ESPN Radio within iTunes Radio or the iOS / Android apps.

More to come on World Cup 2014...

ESPN Radio iTunes Music

Introducing ESPN's Tournament Challenge App

Last night, the NCAA Basketball Tournament brackets were released... You can find your team among the field of 68 here. You can also follow your team - and make your bracket picks - with the new Tournament Challenge Application on iOS (iPhone + iPad), Android and Kindle. You can also dial **bracket from your mobile phone to download the app directly.

Here is a video of the new Tournament Challenge App on iPhone (where it is currently #2 in all of iTunes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Lcvh__7SM

And remember, choose wisely:

Choose Wisely - NCAA March Madness

2013 in Review... A Few Great Tech Reads

I am a sucker for year-end lists. I wanted to share a few great posts from '13 - which is terribly far from complete... if you have other's to share, please email or comment. In no order, whatsoever: Google2013

- The 30 Best Pieces of Advice for Entrepreneurs in 2013 - FirstRound.com - 2013: The Year in Interactive Storytelling - NYTimes.com - Designing for Exponential Trends of 2014 - LearningbyShipping.com - The Year in Review - The Verge - The Most Popular Quartz Stories of 2013 - Qz.com - Top 11 Mobile Trends of 2013 - RWW.com - The 25 Most Popular Nieman Lab Stories of 2013 - NiemanLab.com - RipTide: An Oral History of the Epic Collision Between Journalism and Digital Technology, from 1980 to the Present - RipTide - Facebook's 2013 in Review - Facebook - The Facebook Annual - Facebook via SlideShare - Google Zeitgeist 2013 - Google - Who Won 2013? - Grantland - 2013 - the Year in Digg - Digg

My 2013 Digital Habits

It's an annual geeky, blogging tradition: share those products and services that have made their way into your daily routines. It's a simple reflection on those experiences that have become meaningful, those that have become less relevant, and those that others find interesting and useful. Mike Arrington used to publish an annual, very simple list of "Products I Cannot Live without": 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006. And like many others, I did the same. It's fun to revisit them and see which habits have stuck and, much more likely, what's changed.

So continuing the tradition - here is a simple, incomplete version of those products I use habitually in 2013... and notice that most of mobile focused and freemium models.

Personal, Work, Utility

Spotify (Premium) I've been a paying subscriber from day one and have always thought that their pay-for-mobile-model is brilliant... it allows users to get hooked through the desktop & web (their web product is a little-known gem), build playlists & favorites on the best and biggest screen available, and then roadblocks mobility. Smart.

Side note: Sean Parker's Hipster International is a great lesson in the power curation. Forbes has a great piece on it.

spotify

Evernote (Premium) Organize the web, your email, images, and so forth. The Chrome extension is fantastically done. And their mobile application suite gives quick access to important documents from any device, anywhere.

Dropbox (Premium) Like Evernote, it's a product that I use multiple times a day - personally and professionally. And like Evernote, it becomes more powerful (and habitual) as I move between different devices and locations. Between products like Evernote, Dropbox, SpaceMonkey, iCloud, Gmail, etc - I could purchase a new computer tomorrow and be fully setup / connected minutes later.

MobileDay Such a simple, time-saving app: one-touch dialing into conference calls.

MobileDay_–_One-Touch_Dial_Into_Any_Conference_Call_On_Your_iPhone_Or_Android

Nike+ Running I have used all of the wearable devices (Jawbone Up, Nike Fuelband, Fitbit) - but, while each is impressive in its own way, I haven't made one part of my daily routine. I continue to come back to the old-reliable Nike+ Running app. The app is well done, relatively accurate, social and fun.

MyFitnessPal Simply and effectively monitor your eating habits and caloric intake. The interface (on iOS and Android) is simple and many foods can be uploaded through bar code scanning. And while MyFitnessPal is part of my daily routine - the power of the application is that it changes your routine. (Note: I am an investor)

ESPN SportsCenter Of course it's a biased habit, but I use the SportsCenter application several times a day for scores, news, and video.

StoryBots This is less about my daily habit - and more about my three-year old son's... but Dillon uses the StoryBots suite of mobile applications almost daily. Their digital books and learning videos are fun and smart. StoryBots is created by JibJab and has a premium, monthly subscription. A great, related read: the New York Times' Babes in Digital Toyland piece over Christmas weekend. (Note: Polaris is an investor)

storybots

Amazon Prime (paid) Our house runs on Prime... and has for years. From diapers to foods to gadgets. And based on holiday 2013, 20m other households now run on Prime too.

Also: Amazon's Instant Video (free with Amazon Prime) is a remarkably under-the-radar, under-appreciated service. The library rivals that of other services and the kids content is really expansive.

TestFlight (paid) A necessary, efficient tool to provision access to application builds. We use TestFlight internally and externally - from testing to PR. Similarly, I use TestFlight to test and play with friends' or portfolio's applications.

Proto.io (paid) There are several tools available for quick prototyping... About a year ago I played around with Proto.io and have been actively using it since. Really intuitive and simple way to craft quick prototypes, distribute them and collect feedback. Excellent product.

Proto_io_-_Silly-fast_mobile_prototyping_

Jot Pro I do a lot of light-weight product sketching on my iPad and have gravitated to the Jot Pro stylus by Adonit. It's sturdy, accurate, and cheap. I tend to use the Noteshelf iPad application... but anything will do. Side note: Adonit and Evernote have teamed up on a new stylus... I have not played with it yet, but it looks intriguing.

Skitch (an Evernote Product) I use Skitch multiple times per day - almost always via the the Mac OS app - although the Chrome Extension does the job as well. It's a simple, effective way to do quick screenshots, light-weight editing, and sharing. The Evernote integration easily saves images to specific folders (although it can be a memory hog if you're not a premium user).

Social

FaceTime From family to work calls and candidate interviews, FaceTime is tremendous and far preferable to a phone call. But when video is not an option: try FaceTime audio. It's digital over wifi (so saves minutes) and the quality is remarkably crisp.

Photography Suites (paid) So many applications and photo tools - it's impossible to list them all... but I'll try with those that I use regularly: - Path, I still consider Path's lenses and filters to be the best - Camera+, great for shooting photos on iOS - Instagram, the quality of the content stream is remarkable. From friends to special-access accounts like Duke Basketball - Photoshop - Apeture, lightweight editing and management - Skitch, less around photos and more around screen caputres

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Facebook & Facebook Messenger More and more of my communication has shifted to Facebook messages... and much through the Messenger application.

Hardware

Apple TV & ChromeCast Each TV in our house is connected to either an Apple TV or a ChromeCast. With Apple TV, you have iTunes Radio and the immediate accessibility of movies, Netflix, Watch ESPN, etc. ChromeCast is remarkably simple and priced perfectly. And if you have a ChromeCast, here are 10 tips to get more out of it.

iPad Air I use my iPad Air more than any other device - including my laptop. It is so light and so fast. The most incredible part: it is as powerful as the original Macbook Air (2008). And if you cannot get over typing on the iPad, get a <$100 ultra-thin bluetooth keyboard.

Google Nexus 5 Not enough attention is given to this device. It is cheap ($349 unlocked), fast, light, and runs on native KitKat. I love the form factor and the Google Now / OK Google integration is fantastic.

nexus5

NiteIze Gear Ties These things are brilliant and I go through them like candy... simple way to keep your cables organized. With daily use, they last 6-12 months and are an easy add-on to any Amazon order.

geartie

Facebook Extends Mobile Ad Units from Likes to Installs to Downloads to Purchases

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about Facebook's mobile "Install" ad units now driving movie downloads. Over the Christmas holiday, another format arrived: "Shop Now". The unit itself is the same: a glossy, mid-stream ad that asks users to "Shop Now" (rather than "Install" or "Download"). Clicking the units keeps you inside the Facebook Application - which is a little confusing since it is an App Store icon and says "open in app". The landing page is a gift store for iTunes gift cards - like other Facebook digital gifts.

The interesting point is less around the unit / action itself... rather, it is that Facebook has successfully created single in-stream, mobile-only unit that is flexible enough to drive "Likes" (purchased by brands), drive Installs (purchased by developers), drive Downloads (purchased by media) and now drive sales (purchased by e-commerce companies).

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