Gignal

Search any given branded hashtag on Twitter from your favorite shoe brand, music band to your soccer team, and you will see people talking about it. Try to Google the tag or brand, and you will see videos, pictures from various social networks, posted by users, consumers and fans all over the world. Having conversations around your brand is what any company dreams of, but yet only few uses it for much other than support issues and marketing surveillance. Data is the currency of the web, and the more traffic you have the better. The problem is that most of the content produced by a global audience is spread across social networks, and not owned or utilized by the brands or events.

Gignal solves this in various ways. First we store the branded buzz, otherwise lost when it’s out of the social network cache. For Twitter that is a few days and Ftwo days and Foursquare 2-4 hours.?

Second we allow the brand to host audience conversations, so if you want to see what people are posting across social networks about Coca Cola, Superbowl or Radio Head, you go to their website to see the real time stream. This will also drive traffic to the brand website instead of to the social networks

Third we present the content in streams that engage and entertain, and more esthetic than the average stream. We also allow brands to use their design guidelines when setting up Gignal, to match their corporate identity.

And finally we measure, when people are posting content, what they are posting and how much content they produce on every social network.

This gives a brand or event the opportunity to amplify their buzz, by claiming it, hosting it and presenting it. People trust other people more than brands, so by letting customers tell other customers whats so great about your brand, or let them share their defining moments - trust is build, especially when it’s the brand that proud enough to buzz out loud!

More posts on sharing: To Share Or Not To Share!

Photo credit: flickr/biccc

Fans love to engage with their favorite players, and some sport clubs like the Giants encourage their players to do so through Twitter. The benefit is that fans feel more related and more updated, which makes them able to tell a story to friends and other fans - making the game viral.

Sadly some sport organizations are going against the opportunity of user engagement, and instead trying to prevent players from engaging with their fans. When fans are at the stadium or watching the game live on TV, social media is a part of their cross media experience.

The comments can be roars when a player scores a goal and personal opinions. Recently a team player shared a comment on Twitter, using foul language about the judge conduct in a game. This immediately made sports clubs create new guidelines, on how players should communicate, and thereby inhibit players the use of social media channels.The players on the national Danish football team have been prohibited from communicating with their fans on social media. Even more surprisingly the London Olympics have made terms for ticket holders saying that the audience is not allowed to share pictures, sound or video publicly. In other words no pictures or videos on Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare or any other social network.

This is hopefully a sign of an immature digital perception, that will change over time when savvy events shows the way for the Olympics and other analogue events. Moderation will always be necessary, but trying to prevent people from sharing their stories, will mean less PR and will eventually affect business. Gignal helps events host and facilitate their community content, by aggregating what people are sharing across social networks, so you can tune in on any given community of passion, whether it is events, brands or individuals wanting to show and share their buzz.

It is hard to see the point of these restrictions. Yes you might loose control, but over what? That players are expressing their emotions, or people sharing their defining moments with others. That’s being social baby, a core feature of human behavior and a very good way of making money - just saying!

More posts on user engagement:
Five Ways To Amplify Sport Events

So you acknowledged that people around the world are constantly talking about your brand, your product, your event or your line of business. All this data gets lost if we don’t save it, and as a brand you want to claim your buzz. So if anyone wants to see what people around the world are writing about your brand and the pictures taken, not only on one social network, but across the most used social networks - you should be presenting it, on your website and on screens at the office, in the foyer and on billboards. Just spread the word!

After creating your Gignal stream, either on your website on the front page, under a “live” menu, or on physical screens, you are now ready to optimize your viral buzz.

How To Optimize Your Gignal

1. Choose one event tag, and a few for misunderstandings and misspelling. Announce the tag(s) to your audience.

2. Let your audience, fans and stakeholders know that you are collecting and presenting all the buzz they are producing (we love to see ourselves in public - not you of course, but everyone else)

3. Pictures says more than a thousand words. Take some nice pictures showing some atmosphere and nerve, making the audience curious to see and click on more.

4. Create valuable content. What can you give of value to your audience, whether it is teasers before and event, information that makes their lives easier or even some good old fashion humor (requires that you are funny by nature off course).

5. Engage your audience through the stream. Ask questions, give them challenges like “the most loving picture” or “tweet and jump” - you got the picture, something that makes us want to play, with our media and on behalf of your brand.

6. Recognize your “super users”. People who are fans are also the best ambassadors - motivate them to contribute even more by using a basic reward - recognition!

7. Take your own medicine. Produce content, have your co-workers, bosses and any one else on the payroll contribute - waves needs to be initiated.

Nothing left to say but go - Share Your Gignal!

Want to know more about Gignal read the basic and techie description here.

Need yet a dose of Gignalism, grab it here:
There Is No Past & Future - There Is Just A Stream.

La industria deportiva aun se encuentra renuente para utilizar los medios de comunicación sociales, con el propósito de amplificar eventos y para compartir la experiencia social en estadios y con el resto del mundo. La potencial es notable y alienado en la entraña del deporte, lo cual es, captar la pasión en las comunidades que participan en los eventos deportivos.

Imagina estar en el estadio, absorbiendo el momento del ambiente que en décadas ha juntado a cientos de espectadores desde los tiempos de los gladiadores. Lo que estamos experimentando es la relación colectiva con la gente que compartimos el momento y pasión online u offline. Las relaciones colectivas suelen ser tan poderosos para la gente como la relación con nuestra pareja o amigos mas cercanos. Es la relación colectiva que en Gignal queremos apoyar, comprometiendo la audiencia en locaciones físicas y en el mundo.
Ya estamos en el 2012 ¿Que puede hacer los clubes deportivos y eventos, para amplificar ambiente colectivo y atraer las audiencias? Desde la perspectiva de Gignal, hay mucho que se puede lograr con o sin nuestro stream. Aquí cinco naranjas dulces que solo esperan ser recogidas.

1. Micro reportaje
Ya no solo es la televisión y la radio que reporta en vivo desde los partidos y eventos. Los reporteros mas activos es la audiencia con miles de móviles y ansiosos de comunicar el ambiente vivido, las emociones y definir el momento a través de redes sociales. La audiencia comparte sus experiencias a través de fotos, vídeos y actualización de estado. Todo visto por sus amigos e hinchas fuera del evento, que no pudo comprar billete para la entrada al partido. Es algo clave involucrar a la audiencia que ellos son como los reporteros parados en primera fila de la cancha. Interactuar con el equipo, los jugadores, el entrenador y el evento. Ahora encontramos los jugadores estrellas por Twitter y Facebook pero mucho mas se puede hacer para que la audiencia comparta su experiencia.

A través del stream de redes sociales por las pantallas en el estadio, la audiencia puede observar su participación colectiva y que a la vez, los hace conscientes de su función como micro reportero. La audiencia que sigue el evento desde sus casas pueden seguir los medios sociales online, como si estuviera ellos presente en el evento.

2. Cross media experience
En el estadio, la audiencia hace varias cosas a la vez aunque estén observando el partido. La audiencia sigue el espectáculo en la cancha, en la cartelera, en sus móviles y en las pantallas en la tribuna. En casa la televisión, el ordenador o la radio están encendidos a la vez. Aquí los hinchas acceden a la información y pueden interactuar con otros hinchas en redes sociales.

El stream del medio social no esta en competición con la televisión o la radio. Antes lo contrario, esto presenta el ambiente en vivo de la audiencia mucho antes que los grandes reporteros, haciéndolo un complemento para el cross media experience.

3. Entablar las comunidades de pasión
Los equipos de fútbol describe el jugador numero 12 como la audiencia. Si la audiencia esta excitados y aplaudiéndole a su equipo, ellos ya les confiere poder a los jugadores. A través del stream en las pantallas en el estadio, el entrenador puede enviar mensajes a la audiencia y así ellos hacer bulla en momentos cruciales. Los jugadores del equipo pueden enviar mensajes antes y después del partido, para crear el buzz y darle las gracias a la audiencia directamente.

Es un poder increíble al incluir a la audiencia. Al fin de cabo, se trata de estimular comunidades de pasión y crear una experiencia social memorable.

4. Social media stream. Antes, durante y después del partido
Mientras de juega, muchas veces lo podemos ver por live stream video, pero muchas veces equipos de deportes se olvidan que los hinchas constantemente hablan sobre su equipo, juegos que viene y sus expectativas. Seria facil y obvio para los equipos de deporte tener un espacio “Live” en su pagina web para que sus hinchas pueden hacer click y ver en real-time producido por hinchas a través de redes sociales.

Gignal suministra un widget, haciéndolo fácil para los clubs poder presentar geo tag y hashtags que proviene de redes sociales en la pagina web del club. No solo es fácil para los hinchas buscar el buzz, también atrae el trafico de las redes sociales al partido y evento, envés de quedarse sin tocar dentro las redes sociales.

5. Real- time marketing
Cundo los hinchas hacen check-in a los estadios, escriben en un tweet o tomar fotos sabemos que son basadas a través del geo tag. Esto es el tiempo ideal para la venta de mercancías, billetes y otros bienes para una audiencia apasionados. En el momento del partido, es mas fácil vender billetes para el siguiente campeonato o mercancías y bebidas después del partido. Algunos clubs ya están aprovechándose de esta posibilidad. Uno de ellos es Real Madrid, que han incorporado la comercialización a móviles.
Con Gignal, los clubes deportivos pueden presentar estas ofertas por tiempo limitadas en pantallas del estadio alcanzando y cautivando la audiencia, que están mas propuestos a hacer click para comprar, mientras se vive el ambiente en ese mimo momento.

Read this blog post in English.

The sport industry is still reluctant to utilize social media to amplify their events and to share the social experience at stadiums with the rest of the world. The potential is notable, and aligned to the core purpose of sport - engaging communities of passion.

Imagine sitting at a stadium experiencing the atmosphere that has drawn people to arenas since the time of the gladiators. What we experience is a collective relation with the people we share that moment and passion with offline and online. And collective relations are as powerful for people as intimate relations with our spouses and relational relationships with friends. It is that collective experience we want to support with Gignal, engaging audiences at physical locations and around the world.

So with 2012 in front of us, what can sport teams and venues do to amplify the collective experience and engage their audience? From Gignal’s perspective a lot can be done, with or without our stream - here is five low hanging fruits just waiting to be picked.

1. Micro-reporting
It is no longer only the television- and radio stations that report live from a game, the most active reporters are the audience, with thousands of mobile phones they are standing in the front line eager to report the atmosphere, emotions and defining moments to their network. They share their experience trough pictures, videos and status updates, viewed by friends and fans outside the venue that did not have a ticket. To engage the audience as pitchside reporters, interaction with the team, the players, the coach and the venue is key. We already see sport stars on Twitter and Facebook, but much more can be done to make the audience share their experience.

Through the social media stream on physical screens at the stadium, the audience can monitor the collective participation, which makes them aware of their role as a micro-reporter. And the audience watching from home, can follow the social media buzz online, as if they were standing in the front line them selves.

2. Cross media experience
The audience are multitasking even when they are at the stadium watching the game. They follow the action on the ground, on the billboard, on their phones and on screens at the tribune. At home the TV or radio is on, and so is the laptop where the fans can search for further information and interact on social networks.

The social media stream is not competing with TV or radio, on the contrary it presents the audience experience rather than a reporters, making it an ideal supplement for a cross media experience.

3. Engage communities of passion
Football teams describe the 12th. player as the audience. If the audience is engaged and cheering for their team, they empower the players. Through the stream on stadium screens, the coach can send a message to the audience - to make them roar their support to the players in crucial moments. The team players can send messages before and after the game, to create buzz and to thank the audience directly.

There lies an incredible power in audience engagement, because in the end it is all about stimulating communities of passion, to create a memorable social experience.

4. Social media stream - before, during and after the game.
During games we are often able to watch a live video stream, but sport teams tend to forget that fans talk constantly about their team, upcoming games and their expectations. It would be easy and obvious for sport teams to have a “Live” area on their website, so fans can click and see the real-time buzz, produced by fans and the team across social networks.

Gignal provides a widget, making it easy for clubs to host and present all the social media buzz from a geo tag and hashtags on their own website. Not only will it be easier for people to find the buzz, it also brings the traffic back to the clubs, instead of keeping it on the social networks.

5. Real-time marketing
When a fan checks-in to a stadium, writes a tweet or takes a picture, we know where they are based on the geo tag. This is also the ideal time to market and sell merchandise, tickets and other location based goods, to a passionate and captive audience. During the heat of the moment it us much easier to sell tickets for the game next week, merchandise and beer at the pub after the game. Some clubs are seeing this potential, one of them are Real Madrid, that has been working with mobile marketing for a while.

With Gignal, sport clubs can present these time limited offers on the stadium screens, reaching a captive audience, that are much more willing to press buy while they experience the atmosphere in that given moment.

Every brand is media company
Every organization and brand is a media company. But since this is not their core business or skill, utilizing the new media opportunities can be difficult for the people involved. We want to make it easy for sport teams to gather, host and present all the buzz that surrounds their brand, so they can be in charge of audience involvement.

Read this blog post in Spanish.

YouTube has increasingly become the preferred media channel for upcoming stars, waiting to be discovered. Established artists have reached out to their community of fans, by feeding them on YouTube. Lady Gaga’s producer revealed that their strategy is to produce videos on YouTube to sell concert tickets. Our Founder and CEO, Natasha was interviewed by the national Danish television station DR Mama Popular about this YouTube phenomena.

The interview is in Danish, but the talk is about three Danish talents that have become famous in Denmark at least, and with a dedicated fan community supporting them through their YouTube production. Two of them have even signed record contracts after their YouTube defining moments.

The new kids on the block are:

Lukas Graham
Kidd
Niklas

The Dream Team.

Friday the 18th. November 2011 our team joined Startup Weekend Copenhagen. We wanted to participate to meet and work with new talents, build a new frontend for our stream and get business strategy feedback. Friday evening after our pitch 8 people were gathered ready to execute. After midnight the weekend was planned and smaller teams organized based on peoples skills.

Our desktop stream. “Before Startup Weekend”

Saturday morning our focus was to create the design describing the user scenarios, address use case questions and sketch the first mockups. Ray - our designer worked intensely until the first design was ready at 2 pm Saturday. Now the developers could take over, Mariano, Morten on the backend and Signe on the frontend. With the design in place Jesper and Kevin could also start to work on our video - presenting Gignal in action at a stadium. Niels and I worked on our use cases, market research and business model. Saturday was mentor day, where we met with great mentors, giving us feedback and introducing us to valuable contacts.

Saturday evening the first version of our billboard version was ready - boosting our energy after twelve hours of intense work. A late evening turned into Saturday night fewer and after few hours of sleep, for some on chairs and on the floor, we were ready to work on the final version and our afternoon pitch.

On Sunday all the small pieces were put together, the last touch on the stream and a few more designs for later progress were in place - we were as ready as we could get with the design, the stream, the video and the pitch. And this is the result of a weekend of work.

The new billboard stream.

Kevin and Jesper did an amazing job with the video - presenting Gignal Stadium.

After the pitch we used the rest of our adrenalin to celebrate, relax and look back at an awesome weekend.

We have created a special branch for Startup Weekend on Github, so if anyone wants to hack feel free to be creative and please show us your work.

All this was only made possible by the great team organizing Startup Weekend and our amazing team! Even though we had hours of fatigue and last day stress, the team spirit was high and the collaboration was admirable. Proving ones again that teams drive progress not individuals, it was a true honor to be a captain on this team - thank you Signe, Mariano, Niels, Kevin, Ray, Jesper and Morten!

-Natasha

So said Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick from Wired in June 2011, and we certainly agree! But what is it about the stream, why do we follow it daily on our devices and where will it take us in the future?

We are constantly exposed to tremendous amounts of data across our social networks, when friends and followers distribute pictures, videos, links and messages. The only way we can qualify the content is by scanning it briefly, deciding what message in the stream will get our attention, while the rest will be lost and forgotten forever.

But that’s how we navigate through the flood of information - the stream is constant but our attention is random. We screen, we pick and we participate when it makes sense, and ignore the rest. True qualification of content still depends on humans cognitive skills, no algorithm can replace that - yet. Until that happens, which might take a while even in Internet years, our remedy is the stream. One of the big challenges in data qualification is that robots cannot anticipate what an individual defines as value, nor which topics will be relevant to us tomorrow, because algorithms are based on our actions in the past, which doesn’t necessary lead to our behavior in the future. This gap in technology leaves the need of a stream for us to follow, engage and interact with others.

That is why we are building Gignal. We want to make a stream that amplifies peoples voices and images from events. We want to give any person online, access to any event they want to witness through the eyes and thoughts of the people physically present. Gignal takes the physical atmosphere online in a shared world based on a shared experience.

We are not inventing a need, we are just supporting what people are already doing when their favorite football team scores a goal and when they win a match - they roar with their mobile phone on social media - and we will echo that on Gignal.

The same reaction happens at basically any event where a crowd are sharing an experience. From festivals to world movements as the Arab Spring, where the world joined and supported the young people in the streets of Cairo. Instead of just following the content on Twitter or Facebook, we want to show all the real-time conversations surrounding an event and across social networks, giving our users a real-time experience.

So there is no past, there is no future and there is no end to where our stream will take us, engage us and entertain us - but we want to define it.

- Natasha

Gignal was presenting Startup Week 2011 in Vienna last week. On physical screens, on the Startup Week 2011 website and of course on Gignal. Here is their testimonial we received yesterday - thanks guys it was a great event and we were proud to participate and present all your buzz on Gignal!

Gignal + Startup Week was a perfect fit. Tons of pictures were uploaded during these 5 days, the audience tweeted like hell and thanks to Gignal, it was all collected and amplified from one place. It was a win for our participants, who saw at a glance what was going on, whether they were engaging from our main venue, at one of our side events or at home. And it was of course, also a win for us as organisers. We were always up to date with what was going on, saw potential problems mentioned by our audience in minutes, and stayed in contact with our participants. #sw11

- Moritz Plassnig, Co-founder STARTeurope & Organiser Startup Week 2011

This week the European startup scene will be taking on Vienna. From several locations the program is stuffed with startup fueled activities, from speaks, startup challenges, pitches and panel discussions. Lots of entrepreneurial mind juice and motivation will be produced in this cultural epicenter - but this week the orchestra will be playing the tunes of building businesses in the world of web.

Gignal is proudly presenting the social media buzz from Twitter, Facebook, Check-ins and photos to everyone watching the event as an audience or at home. We present the thoughts and knowledge people are sharing online through messages and pictures. So if you can’t be in Vienna - Gignal will still take you very close.

You can dip into the atmosphere here:
Startup Week 2011 website
On Gignal’s site

And if you are present at the two venues, you can watch the Gignal on physical screens.

If you want to take part of the conversation - use the event tag #SW11.

Event though we are people of the stream we are also in Vienna live - so if you want to meet us, our founder and CEO, Natasha Friis Saxberg is a part of the Business Model Panel on Wednesday - and would love to meet real-time.

Enjoy your Gignal @ Startup Week 2011!

Photo credit: Startup Week