Social networking integrated into stadium via LED displays

A US sports team is leading the way to make social media more integral to modern events through the medium of LED displays arranged around the ground.

The New York Giants will be harnessing a number of different LED display types, from video walls to ribbon displays, in order to showcase content from Twitter.

The displays can be found throughout the stadium and will be used to broadcast tweets sent by fans during the game so that a kind of socially sourced running commentary can enhance the experience for all visitors.

As well as using Twitter on LED displays at the stadium, the social networking sensation will infiltrate live broadcasts of the Giants’ games which go out to millions of viewers around the world.

The handling of the tweets is being carried out by Mass Relevance, which will be controlling the LED systems and ensuring that only appropriate, relevant content is pushed to the screens within the stadium.

The tweets will not be entirely random because the Giants are directing them by urging Twitter users to vote for their favourite players during given games. Whoever gets the most votes will subsequently have the cost of their merchandise reduced for a limited period at the official team store.

The Giants are not the only major US sports team to give Twitter and other social networking sites a privileged place during each game. In the spring it was the Cleveland Indians who paved the way for Facebook and Twitter users to really get involved in the game by dedicating a specific suite within the ground to the use of such tools.

Some might worry about the encroachment of social media via LED displays and TV broadcasts, but the community spirit of major matches will be enhanced, not tarnished, by the technology.