FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Here's the big press release announcing our deal with the Minnesota Twins, including a video of our Scoreboard Photo Sharing test last fall at the University of Minnesota football team's home loss to North Dakota State.

(Note that I went with Vimeo not YouTube for my video player. I needed the best picture possible to demonstrate the clarity of the mobile photos on the jumbotron and Vimeo was the, um, clear choice.)


FanChatter Stadium Scoreboard Photo Sharing Test from FanChatter on Vimeo.

Minnesota Twins partner with FanChatter to offer Scoreboard Photo Sharing

FanChatter’s Stadium technology will enable fans at the Metrodome to send photos from their phone for display on the scoreboard video screens during Twins games.

Minneapolis, MN — March 24, 2008 — The Minnesota Twins have partnered with mobile sports chat utility FanChatter.com to provide Scoreboard Photo Sharing at all 81 Twins home games in 2008, beginning with the season opener at the Metrodome on Monday, March 31.

FanChatter, which allows users to post and receive sports chat via text and photo messaging, recently launched their new FanChatter Stadium division to offer teams and event sponsors a full range of in-arena mobile interactivity features. The Twins are FanChatter’s first official team partner.

“We’re excited to give Twins fans the chance to take their own pictures and see them on the big screen,” said FanChatter co-founder Marty Wetherall. “FanChatter takes the old roving Fan Cam and puts it the fans’ hands, and you won’t believe the clarity of the photos. They look as good on the scoreboard as they do your phone.”

At each home game, fans will be invited to take mobile photos and send them to a custom email address at FanChatter, where they will be reviewed and selected by Twins personnel for inclusion in one of two fan photo slideshows to be shown during designated inning breaks.

Every fan that sends a photo receives an instant reply message on their phone thanking them for their submission and inviting them to visit an online gallery to see and share their photos after the game. The reply message and gallery are presented by the feature’s sponsor, Qwest Communications.

FanChatter successfully tested their Scoreboard Photo Sharing technology during three University of Minnesota football games at the Metrodome last fall. Now the Stadium concept has been expanded to include text message voting, trivia contests, and other mobile interactions, all of which provide teams and sponsors with a “triple-play” of brand communication platforms – in-arena (video board and public address), mobile, and online.

"FanChatter gives fans new ways to interact with games and events,” said Wetherall. "The technology on your phone has moved well beyond simple voice transmission, and it’s easy to use. Scoreboard photo sharing is just the beginning of what’s possible.”

Wetherall continued, “It’s also really cool to have our favorite team as our client.”

Fueled by their deal with the Twins, FanChatter plans to market their services to other teams and sponsors throughout the country while continuing to innovate in the area of mobile sports fan connectivity. They are currently enhancing their Stadium offering to enable more in-game interactions between fans, teams, and sponsors.

About FanChatter:

A Minnesota company, FanChatter is the joint creation of Fanacious, Inc. of Minneapolis and Slantwise Design of Hopkins.

Wetherall, 34, is founder and creative director of Fanacious, Inc., a sports social networking company, and is also senior producer at top creative advertising agency Fallon. His credits include the EDS Super Bowl campaign (“Cat Herders”, “Airplane”, and “Running With The Squirrels”) and independent marketing work for the Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Vikings. In 2003, he created THE SHOW TO BE NAMED LATER..., a "Sports Fan Reality Show" that aired first on community access television and later on Twin Cities NBC-affiliate KARE 11 in 2005. He is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Slantwise Design is a web design and software development studio founded in 2003 by Jonathan Dahl and Todd Emmel. The company creates usable designs and robust web applications using rapid, agile development methods. Clients range from startups to the enterprise. Most recently, Slantwise has been focused on mobile/web integration and video transcoding systems as well as Facebook and iPhone applications. Slantwise built FanChatter and FanChatter Stadium using the Ruby on Rails framework.