episode 40 of the dsmsports podcast w/ dr. jim kovach of crowdoptic

Best Of...Jim Kovach on theDigital and Social Media Sports Podcast

Jim Kovach, Vice President of Business Development for CrowdOptic, was the featured guest on episode 40 of the DSMSports Podcast.

What follows are some snippets from the interview. Hear the full episode on www.DSMSports.net or download it on from iTunes Store podcasts

Enjoy...

@njh287DSMSports.net


Jim's career path:

Attended University of Kentucky and played linebacker and attended medical school [in the offseason] while also playing seven years in the NFL for the Saints and 49ers

“I kind of combined the physical training and camaraderie of a team in pro sports with medicine and, lo and behold, it's serving me well with CrowdOptic, as we have verticals in both areas.”



After NFL, Jim went to Stanford Law School and practiced in Palo Alto and then got involved in Bio-Tech companies as those took off in northern California

→ After working for a start-up looking into aging, he joined CrowdOptic 3-4 years ago, before becoming senior vice president



On CrowdOptic

The underlying technology, now patented, allows individuals to leverage the sensors that are on wearables...And when multiple people are all looking at the same thing, like at a sporting event, we can take a GPS accelerometer and calculate how many people are looking at the same thing...It uses the concept of triangulation. If two points are known, a third point can be calculated...

When you think where that could be useful, the first things are entertainment and sports...the concept of allowing fans to share information, share and pictures and videos, based on something everyone is looking is something built out in the early days, based in the sports environment.



“We take the metadata and the display that, or curate it, on a console. So an event organizer has information in their stadium about where everyone is looking dynamically...

The interesting thing is that it allows two individuals to share content, based on what they're both looking at.”

(Jim cites example of ball boy looking at something on the field and someone in nose bleeds looking at the same thing, allowing the person sitting up high to get access to the ball boy's view)



NOTE: The content being shared is geo-fenced → “There is a whole dialogue we have with teams that they can create and lever content generated by their fans in an interesting way.


Best Of...Jim Kovach on theDigital and Social Media Sports PodcastOn the angle of enhancing the fan experience

“A lot of our effort was to tie in brands and gain ground in social media on what fans are interested in...That is where the money is, in terms of the brand part of it...

We see our engagements (mostly) derive from the marketing department. But, we've also and discussions about using our technologies to evaluate talent, as well...

(For example) We worked with their quarterback...to essentially track...the visual perspective as laid out in this console and used that as a way to assess quarterbacks.”

(Jim cites form factor being a key need for development with wearables to fully integrate into players wearing them)


Best Of...Jim Kovach on theDigital and Social Media Sports Podcast“We do believe in the wearable explosion, but the reality is we

work on any phone that has the ability, through sensors, to create metadata when you look through the camera feature of it...In terms of our sports environment, what it has melded into is putting Google Glass on specific individuals – players before the game, cheerleaders and mascots, selected fans...you put Glass on them and broadcast to three locations: to social/web, to television broadcast, and the third would be a jumbotron. A lot of the sporting environments have made big investments in these jumbotrons and they want content (for them)...

(Jim cites cool example of using CrowdOptic and Google Glass at a NASCAR race to show track-side perspective on the jumbotron)



Helpful Tool: App Annie, freemium website with extensive charts rankings mobile app by a number of variables


Best Of...Jim Kovach on theDigital and Social Media Sports PodcastHow CrowdOptic Works

Based on work with the Indiana Pacers: “Most of it goes to the jumbotron (for the Pacers)...It's all in real-time. Things like GoPro and others have not figured out yet how to broadcast in real-time...During timeouts and during the halftime fans are looking for things to captivate their interest...

Another thing we do with the Pacers is they'll put it on the PA announcer (for a unique view of the game and officials)...it gives fans a view they typically don't usually get. That is the theme of what we do...Whether it is in the tunnel...or (a mascot) as he rides on the bike down the steps...it gives fans a view they're not used to seeing.”



“The more we talk to major broadcasters and some leagues, as well,...everyone is interested in continuing to create and monetize new kinds of content and...this is now beyond phones; this is putting something on the athletes or the refs...you can put some sort of visual wearable (on an athlete) and you could, for example, stream batting practice live...

Or, in other sports with a lot of pageantry around the game like college football, you could put it in the crowd to crowdsource that kind of content...



We're better at streaming Glass content output than anyone in the world...Doing that in a way that, with our console, we automate and curate that...you can cut if you a bunch of activity around a particular tailgate or (on ESPN broadcasters, as Jim cites in an example)...

[Networks] have every camera angle at a football game that exists...The next frontier for them is finding out how to find what is of interest in all those nooks and crannies.



“We [now] also have the ability to plug in to social media directly with low latency...This would allow the concept of a 'virtual fan.'...Just a small percentage of fans can get to the games. What if you could create a source of content?...

What we see is the mechanisms to create content in broadcasts are so good...The hard part is to create a distribution chain for it. We're the technology part and, finally, we're starting to talk to the ones with the distribution (channels).”



“The beauty of us is we don't want to be Snapchat. We want to be the white label provider...I've talked to teams and colleagues and they say...why don't we get any of the value of Twitter or Snapchat or Facebook creating enormous value...Teams don't do that. Why not participate directly?...

Think of (content) more broadly and we can be the pipe all your fans everywhere, streaming that through a white label app...to the (team's distribution)...It comes to teams saying we're (ready) to do this and we're in those discussions now.”


Best Of...Jim Kovach on theDigital and Social Media Sports PodcastCrowdOptic's future for distribution and growth

“Our early work was all with teams (Pacers, Eagles, USTA, Manchester City, Sacramento Kings, Magic)...The real win is going to be when we work more closely with (the major networks)...(Jim cites examples of rugby and soccer broadcasts with views of officials and trainers)...

The major networks are looking at cutting across their (owned) sports and taking a technology-based approach...leveraging crowdsourced content...is an entirely new source of content and we can get better sponsors and have better fans by plugging this (content) into the distribution network (they) have already.”



On getting teams (team ops/coaches/players) themselves to buy in

“There is much more cooperation (nowadays) between the team marketing side and the player talent side. There is a recognition that this whole things is driven by revenue dollars, so we all have to work together. Coaches are more and more open to that concept...It is an issue you have to be careful with...Safety...Time...But it has worked and I think it's going to get even better in the days ahead.”



On monetizing CrowdOptic's content

“(Besides networks) are the agencies...Our technology has been used in some instances...to map an entire stadium and tell the sponsors or brands that have digital signage, for example, how many times fans actually viewed their sign through the app.

We all have certain notions that...the space right behind home plate is the most valuable...but when you get out into center field and left field...to be able to quantify that (based on what people are looking at) is extraordinarily valuable.”



“The beauty of the sports environment is it's a captive environment. You can geo-code down to six inches. We even incorporate tilt into our app...we can tell when (a fan) is looking at the concourse level, third level, etc...

With that kind of specificity, you don't need everyone to have the app...You can use it as as surrogate to sort of survey where people are looking...To be able to quantify that is another level.”

(Jim mentions other verticals where this technology can be valuable: security, medical, field service)


Best Of...Jim Kovach on theDigital and Social Media Sports PodcastOn whether a venue needs WiFi to leverage CrowdOptic technology

“In general, outdoors is better. We've cut our teeth in all sorts of environments. We've even developed our solutions beyond WiFi to our own frequency we can broadcast on, licensed with the FCC...

Connectvity can definitely be challenging, but, between the solutions we have developed and other aspects of our technology that can do stuff like calculate what is the best video stream and adapt it or change it based on the network and frequency. Those kinds of techniques and proprietary technologies help, as well.”

(Jim notes it is easy to integrate CrowdOptic's streams into any app)



“Some teams have adopted methods where it's all internal...They'll buy pairs of Glass and weave it into (the game presentation)...and they broadcast it directly from our software to the intended destination (in the venue, eliminating the need for an app).”


Best Of...Jim Kovach on theDigital and Social Media Sports PodcastOn sports and other verticals comprising CrowdOptic's business

vision

“(Sports) is how we started and it remains important. What we're trying to do is identify the best opportunities with networks and agencies and leagues, as opposed to just individual teams...

Another effort is medical use cases...Improving healthcare is (about) helping patients become educated and allowing patients to interact with patients outside existing environments – telemedicine...

For example, we put Glass on a surgeon that wants to train other surgeons on a new technique...We can put Glass on a surgeon and he can broadcast it in real-time (around the world)...Things like that are disruptive; they're going to fundamentally change (the medical field).”

(Jim said evolution of hardware and evolving wearable forms as helping to progress where CrowdOptic can go in the present and future)@njh287

DSMSports.net


Shareable Stat: 6.34 Terabytes of data usage, between the WiFi network and DAS, at the College Football Playoff Championship Game at AT&T Stadium (per Dallas Cowboys)



Jim's favorite NFL anecdote or memory

“I was lucky enough to be the guy that tackled Walter Payton on the play he broke Jim Brown's record...My team all laughed after. I shook Walter's hand after and (teammates said) 'Hey, you're not supposed to do that!'”

(Jim also tells a great story about being a rookie and hiking the ball to Archie Manning and being a bit starstruck!)



The coolest use of CrowdOptic's tech outside the sports vertical

“This has been putting it on ambulance technicians who are racing to the hospital with stroke victims. And they're broadcasting their view...to the emergency room...Those minutes (used to be) typically all lost...We think we can revolutionize stroke treatment by allowing evaluation to be done in the ambulance.”

“It's definitely something that, as a physician, we all look for opportunities to have some kind of impact.”



The most popular camera view with CrowdOptic's tech

“Generally, people love when the mascots put them on...(cites example of mascot dunking after jumping off a trampoline...

What fans like is when you use the person wearing the Glass as a kind of surrogate people generally don't get to see.”



Jim's preferred view at an NBA game

“To me, the NBA is the greatest example of a sport where you want to be as close to the floor as possible...The athleticism of the players is something you have to be close to (witness)...It's an amazing experience to be right on the court in an NBA game.”

“If we can get people the feeling they're on the field, that's always the place to be.”



On Google Glass's recent decision to ax development of its main consumer version

“We view it as a real positive because they turned their full attention to the enterprise...They now have a specific department within Google to the enterprise, which, for us are sports, field service...and the medical. It's great for us because of the fact that it is really going to focus on aspects of the Glass...on enterprise applications.”



The best NFL venue for fans and the best Jim experienced as a player

Now (as a fan): The Cowboys stadium...”It is just an amazing place and unlike any place in the world.”

As a player: “The best on I experienced was the Superdome (in New Orleans)...It's such an iconic football place...Even today, it's such a great place to be, connected so close to the entertainment and the French Quarter...And it's just a nice to play to view a football game...It was far and away the best back in the '80s.”



Which current or past NFL head coach would have the most entertaining video if they were outfitted

“(Former Bears and Saints coach) Mike Ditka...He is a great guy and has no idea what Google Glass is. But could you imagine him in his prime; broadcasting all of (his stuff) in the sidelines?”



The meal Jim misses most from his New Orleans days

“The hardest thing to get anything close to (elsewhere) was my favorite mainstay, a shrimp po'boy. A simple shrimp po'boy. The bread in New Orleans...you can't duplicate that. Even the coleslaw is different and, obviously, the Gulf shrimp...There's nothing like the shrimp po'boy in New Orleans.”



Jim's Social Media All-Star to Follow

Robert Smith, @ESPNRobertSmith

“He serves on the NFL committee for former players that oversees healthcare benefits for the disabled...He is relentless in his pursuit of new technologies...He uses technology a lot in his own life.”



Jim's Social Media All-Star to Follow

Robert Smith, @ESPNRobertSmith

“He serves on the NFL committee for former players that oversees healthcare benefits for the disabled...He is relentless in his pursuit of new technologies...He uses technology a lot in his own life.”


http://www.twitter.com/ESPNRobertSmith


Which current or past NFL head coach would have the most entertaining video if they were outfitted

“(Former Bears and Saints coach) Mike Ditka...He is a great guy and has no idea what Google Glass is. But could you imagine him in his prime; broadcasting all of (his stuff) in the sidelines?”



Where to find Jim and CrowdOptic on digital and social media

@drjimkovach

http://www.crowdoptic.com @CrowdOptic


http://www.crowdoptic.com/


Thanks so much to Jim Kovach for joining the Digital & Social Media Sports podcast!

For more info on the podcast, check out http://www.DSMSports.net and follow me @njh287


http://www.DSMSports.net/

episode 40 of the dsmsports podcast w/ dr. jim kovach of crowdoptic

Technology

social media sports

pro sports

sports environment

interesting thing

lever content

senior vice

medical school

ball boys