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Posts Tagged ‘Nate Silver’

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Breakfast, MLB Launch ‘Mission Control’ for the Nerdiest Fans in Pro Sports

There are two kinds of Major League Baseballs fans. The first is the type that gets stoked for the season every spring, keeps up through May, gets bored as hell, and tunes back in around September if his or her team has a legitimate shot at the postseason. The second fan is the diehard nerd. Think of the odd bunch of New York sportswriters who started what would become Fantasy Sports in the 1980s. Think of someone like Nate Silver, who got his start in the intricacies of baseball metrics before he became the numbers-driven face of the 2012 presidential election. This type of person, typically one who suffers from a severe case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, is the driving force behind keeping Major League Baseball alive in an era where the NFL continues to rise is popularity.

With a new contraption, MLB and New York-based agency Breakfast (of “Bike With a Brain” fame) are going to make the palms of baseball nerds sweat. Mission Control, a large interactive device that now resides at the MLB Fan Cave in Manhattan, allows weirdos to see, in real time, statistics about MLB games currently in progress. With more than 30 switches adorning the 20-foot long electronic thingy, fans can see metrics like strikes, home runs, stolen bases, and tweets because why the hell not. It even plays a pretty little light show, because baseball fans love pretty little light shows.

See more on Breakfast’s website here.

If You Missed SXSW, Let Havas Recap it for You in Twitter ‘Novella’ Format

Man, wasn’t SXSW Interactive just the best this year? What’s that? You didn’t get to go due to cost or an obligation to do actual work? Well, lucky for you, Havas Media is happily providing what they call a “Twitter Novella” to tell you about all the fun you missed. Because, wow, it was just so much fun, you guys!

I don’t quite knows what qualifies this as a “novella” per se, but I suppose if you have a bunch of character-based Twitter handles using the same hashtag, then that might as well be the definition. Again, advertisers, you can make any unsubstantiated claim about anything you so long as no one makes the claim before you. Bonus points if it’s somehow involved with social media.

Throughout SXSW, Havas sent a team of its employees around Austin to tweet about the festivities as walking stereotypes would. The Hero Worshipper tweeted about celebs, stalking Grumpy Cat to wherever Mashable had a branded tent. The Data Geek quoted Nate Silver and dispensed somewhat useless statistics. The Bar Fly partied and drank. The Cynical tried to be cynical, but found it difficult due to all the fun. The Optimist loved everything. And finally, The Loner tweeted about loneliness.

Put these tweets together, and it’s though you were actually there instead of sitting at your office wondering how people have the time to ignore work for a week. Catch the Havas tweeters in the upcoming sequel “Twitter Novella: Cannes Edition.”





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