Please forgive some minor self-promotion. Meaningful posts are imminent.

This year’s SXSW was such an enjoyable mix of sunburn, Tex-Mex, beer and intelligent conversation that I couldn’t resist throwing my hat into the ring for 2011. Common sense suggests I should stick to safe topics: user experience, the book, hand-wringing over what is and what isn’t HTML5. Instead, I’ve tossed all that aside and and am seeking permission to indulge my fascination with sports data. If you like the sound of this session, please do pop over to the Panel Picker and add a vote or a comment. I’m also named as a panelist on Perfect Your Web Navigation: Where Am I?, so support for that panel would be appreciated too.

The real-time sporting revolution

The sporting world thrives on prediction, with fans and professionals alike studying the form guides to best predict the outcome of upcoming contests. Until recently, the data that fueled these efforts told us of historical or theoretical patterns: how world records were broken, or the likelihood of being dealt a pair of aces. But modern technology has caused an eruption of real-time data, with profound effects on the sporting world.

Live performance statistics now inform us about the state of the game as it’s played: a quarterback’s pass completion, the heart rate of a cyclist, the likelihood of an incoming storm. The data hints at the story hidden behind the surface, giving us valuable insight into who’s struggling, who’s in form and how this might affect the outcome.

The real-time phenomenon isn’t limited to the stadium. Live betting markets rise and fall dramatically with each event of the game, giving an aggregated view of the watching public’s expectations. But we needn’t just read the mathematical tealeaves, since the backchannel chatter of Twitter and other social networking sites also provide a live public commentary on the game. Drop an easy catch, take a heavy punch and people will be sure to let you know.

This cavalcade of data is changing the face of sport, giving us revolutionary ways to understand the ebb and flow of the sporting struggle. This session will explore the power of sporting data, and how design can turn this data into meaningful insight.

The questions we’ll answer:

  • What new things can realtime data tell us about the sports we thought we already knew inside out?
  • Do different sports exhibit different data patterns?
  • How can designers present this cavalcade of data in meaningful ways?
  • What opportunities do the realtime flow of networked data offer the spectator, commentator and athlete?
  • Can realtime data help us to understand the excitement of sport, and help us build better sporting contests?