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Pogoseat’s NBA Playoff Predictions (Western Conference)

Get ready for the Playoffs!

Get ready for the Playoffs!

On the heels of a phenomenal march madness tourney and an epic Masters, the NBA playoffs are about to begin. And if those two sporting events are any indication, these upcoming playoffs are going to be filled with barn burners and buzzer beating 3s. Here’s a quick look at the matchups, if the playoffs started today:

1. Thunder vs Lakers: We’re going to pay homage to Bill Simmon’s “Ewing theory” and predict a Lakers upset. It doesn’t strictly apply here since it’s usually associated around stars who have never won anything, and Kobe certainly isn’t that star, but it’s still applicable. The media has written off the Lakers for dead and it’s a foregone conclusion they’ll be swept by the Thunder. But the Lake Show will rally around they’re fallen star, feed off the “no one believes in us” hype, take the series to game 7 and then win it when Dwight and Pau combine for 70 points and 40 boards and World Peace plays at a mythical level.

2. Spurs vs Rockets: As much we enjoy watching The Beard and Linsanity in the backcourt, this is the Spurs final march towards immortality (haven’t we been saying this for years?). Timmy Duncan is the greatest power forward to ever play the game and he ain’t going out in the first round to the Rockets, unless Hakeem the Dream comes out of nowhere.

3. Nuggets vs Warriors: This is the sleeper pick for most entertaining first round series. Curry is hands down the purest shooter in the Association right now and can go off for 30 any night. The Nuggets play tenacious team ball, are deep and are rugged. But Klay Thompson is the x-factor here. He’ll play well and back up his boy Curry and the Warriors take this in 6. Shameless plug: use Pogoseat to upgrade your seats at the Warriors game and get courtside to watch Curry make it rain!

4. Clippers vs Grizzlies: Actually check that, this will be the most entertaining series in round one. Lob City is really just an NBA highlight reel and you can be certain Chris Paul is ready to make a deep run. When you combine the best point guard in the league with Blake and DeAndre, good things happen. But don’t think the Grizzlies will going quietly into the night. Pau’s younger bro Marc is a beast down low and Mike Conley is emerging into a legit threat on the perimeter. This will be a backyard brawl with the Clippers emerging bloody, but victorious.

Enjoy the games ladies and gents!

(Written by Pogoseat’s founder and avid hoops player, Evan Owens)

The Price is Right!

Changes to Seat Upgrade Pricing

Changes to Seat Upgrade Pricing

Would you pay full price for a ticket upgrade if the game were halfway over? Probably not, and we think that’s completely understandable. That’s why, with the help of the Golden State Warriors, we are proud to introduce our new pricing model.

As the game goes on we now offer different price breaks enabling fans to enjoy upgrades anytime during the game. Get to the game late and don’t like your seats? Score is tied up at half and you want to get down for the second half battle? Or maybe it’s a blow out and you want to upgrade to see your favorite players in the fourth quarter. There are many reasons fans may want to upgrade at various times through the game, and now they can do so affordably with our time-based pricing model.

Our partner teams are happy as well. They have full control over pricing and can test various types of pricing models to see which ones drive the most upgrades.  With this data they can learn more about fan behavior and implement solutions to optimize the fan experience.

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  The Pogoseat tech team has developed a more comprehensive pricing algorithm that takes into account a number of variables such as score, availability, and demand when calculating upgrade prices. We plan to roll this out with some of our clients in the near future.

We also have the privilege of working directly with QCue as Barry Kahn, its founder and CEO, is one of Pogoseat’s advisors. QCue has done an amazing job of helping teams and other clients augment ticket sales through their dynamic pricing algorithms. Working with them we will be able to help our clients do the same.

Just follow this link to our mobile web app (m.pogoseat.com) to signup for price drop notifications.  You will receive a text and/or email when upgrades go live and then a notification when prices change. Being able to upgrade for a price that you are comfortable with..now that’s seating freedom!

Pogoseat Co-Founder Interviewed at the 2013 National Sports Forum

Sunday Bloody Funday

Since I graduated high school, it seems like every year I play less and less football. I can remember back when I was 10 years old playing for the Westside (Los Angeles) Bruins and all we did was live football, on and off the field. Unfortunately as my generation ages, my friends have become less and less motivated to do a pick-up game.

A couple years ago, I reached a personal low for the amount of football played – we had our annual Thanksgiving game (“Turkey Bowl”) and that was it. I looked into flag leagues but the only thing I could find was one in Eagle Rock- a long drive from Silicon Beach.

This year I decided to take matters into my own hands and start a regular Sunday game. I have been talking about it for a while but the idea never seemed to receive enough interest. Nevertheless, I chose to venture forth and blasted an email off to 30 or so friends and acquaintances, mostly in the start-up industry, and aside from all the “get me off of this list responses” I actually got some decent feedback.

Despite the positive response, only five turned out for the inaugural game one and it looked like the effort had been wasted. However, word spread and that next week I got some calls asking if the Sunday game was still on. Ten players turned out for the next game and since then it has been going strong with 10+ weekend warriors each game.

One unique thing about this game is that we keep performance stats on a google doc for any game when 8 or more players show. This creates a new dynamic of bragging rights and controversy, which feeds the fire… yours truly happens to be leading the league in TD’s for now.

Post Game Shot!

Turkey Bowl Crew 2012

Even though we’re only playing flag, our old man bodies can’t seem to hold up like they used to. We have already had multiple sprained and broken fingers, a separated shoulder, a rib injury, and a badly cut arm. So if you want to play in the game – note that you have been forewarned of the risks involved.  That being said, the rewards far outweigh the few minor injuries and I encourage everyone out there who has thought about it to spring into action and get back in the game.

See you Sunday!

GS Warriors Upgrade Promotion Terms for Tonight’s Game

POGOSEAT NOW LIVE!

Game Changer

We are excited to announce the release of our iPhone app!  Download it now and use it to upgrade at your next game or concert.. You’re too old to keep sneaking down and getting caught by the usher. 

Don’t have an iPhone? Check out our web app

Download our iPhone app!

We are proud to announce that we have partnered with the Golden State Warriors to provide their fans with in-game seat upgrades for the 2012-2013 season at Oracle Arena. 

We have successfully piloted Pogoseat at the Stanford Football Stadium this season and have received a tremendous response. Looking forward to rolling-out for the 2012-2013 Cardinal basketball season!

Our fans love Pogoseat and Mashable agrees:  Pogoseat App Spares You From Seat-Swapping Humiliation on Game Day

Here’s what users are saying:

Pogoseat Wins the Award for the Top Mobile Shopping & Commerce Startup at iMedia’s Breakthrough Summit

Click Here to Read WhyPogoseat is 1 of the 3

Most Promising MobileStartups for Marketers

Pogoseat’s Evan Owens talks about love, starting a company and how to nab seats next to Ben Stiller

Click here to listen to Pogoseat’s live interview on Business Rockstars.  Segment starts at 37:20

Upgrade Your Game

 POGOSEAT HANGING OUT AT THE STANFORD FOOTBALL GAME

 

Commanding Social Media

Social Media has evolved into household name over the past decade. Myspace made the personal profile a major part of youth culture several years ago, then Facebook took over, and now finally Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr and a swarm of others have joined into the chorus. When Twitter began, the founders had no idea that in just a few years, entire rooms would be dedicated to handling the traffic for just one event! Social media, and its members, are truly changing the sports landscape. And changing how every organization interacts with its fans.

Before there was Twitter or Facebook, professional and college sports teams were forced to interact with fans through either advertisements or physical interaction. Mostly the communication was one way. Now, teams like Oregon and companies like Gatorade, are realizing the benefits that can come from interacting with fans and other teams. These rooms, or Social Command Centers, are designed to monitor everything that is said related to that team or corporation. This offers full two way communication when a team or company immediately sees fan responses to their words and actions.

For example, the University of Oregon’s Command Center is manned during the workday by a combination of students and staff. During the day everything from Twitter to Facebook to Instagram is patrolled to make sure mentions and follows are replied to. And if you are an adventurous fan, they will carry on a conversation with you in order to answer any questions or just interact with their followers.

After hearing about these Command Centers, I looked into what was the most effective way to interact with fans through social media. I found that several teams, and even a select few events, have gone with these command centers. This allows them to catch any and every social media interaction that comes their way. However, by having multiple workers monitor that social media hub, it eliminates the personal relationship that a single person can develop with the team’s followers.

The other way that teams use is the traditional method of having one person keep tabs on each social media account. Now there are two ways that a team can choose to use this one person. It all depends on what type of social media connection they are managing. The first type is general information. This mainly focuses on giving information to their followers and occasionally having a conversation with a select few. The second type of social connection is like that of the @LAKings. These connections share important information with fans, all while communicating with their followers and even reaching out to important figures.

These different types of social media interactions and ways of using social media, allow teams and companies to interact in multiple ways with their fans. By using these new Command Centers, fans will see teams reach out to them even more and hopefully see an upgrade in their in-game experience. Have you ever directly interacted with a sports team or celebrity through social media? Tell us your story! Tweet, Facebook or email us with your stories and we’ll share them!

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