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It\u2019s no secret that celebrities and athletes use social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to interact with their fans.\u00a0But with all the noise on these platforms, it\u2019s not always the easiest to engage on a deeper level. At least that\u2019s what MLB players think.<\/p>\n
So the Major League Baseball Players Association<\/a> (MLBPA), the group that represents all players in the league, is launching an app called Infield Chatter<\/a>.<\/p>\n The app is essentially a custom social network just for players and their fans.<\/p>\n Just like other social networks each\u00a0person has their own profile and can post pictures, videos, etc. You can follow your favorite players (who are verified) and comment on their posts, and they can reply back.<\/p>\n There are also some more unique features \u2013 like QA sessions and contests to win player memorabilia and unique experiences with players. It\u2019s also very much baseball themed \u2013 instead of \u201clikes\u201d you can give a \u201cfist bump\u201d to each\u00a0post.<\/p>\n The best part? Over 1,000 MLB players are already onboard as registered users. This means there\u2019s already tons of content for fans to start engaging with from day one.<\/p>\n Typically when apps\u00a0like this are created they suffer from a major chicken and egg problem \u2013 fans won\u2019t join until there are a bunch of players to engage with, and no player wants to take the time to sign up for an unheard of app that may never take off. That\u2019s why it\u2019s such a big deal that this was created by the players themselves.\u00a0Since the app is\u00a0being deployed by the MLBPA, literally every player in the league has an interest (both professionally, and potentially financially) in seeing that this takes off.<\/p>\n The MLBPA says that the app was built at the request of the players themselves, who wanted a more personal way to interact with fans, and presumably develop their personal brand in the process. While platforms like Twitter and Instagram certainly have a wide reach, most of us follow so many people it\u2019s\u00a0easy to miss the content we actually want to see.<\/p>\n So while a player may have\u00a0a million\u00a0followers, it\u2019s likely that those fans\u00a0also follow hundreds of other celebrity accounts in industries like news, entertainment \u2013 or just athletes playing other\u00a0sports like football and basketball. With Infield Chatter fans get their own space just to focus on baseball.<\/p>\n \u201cOther social media serve their purpose, and that\u2019s fine. But there is a lot of crazy activity on some of those sites, and they\u2019re not always the safest places to post personal stuff.\u00a0 There hasn\u2019t been a good spot for baseball fans to gather, until now.\u00a0 I think this is one of the best programs that the players have agreed to work on together.\u201d \u2013 Rajai\u00a0Davis,\u00a0Outfielder, Oakland A\u2019s<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n So far, it seems like other players agree \u00a0\u2013 most of the content posted by players so far is much more informal than something they\u2019d put on other platforms. For example, you may scroll through your feed and see\u00a0a blurry behind\u00a0the scenes locker room shot from your favorite player. In my opinion, this is much cooler than any professional photo a player would post on their Facebook. Players have also been commenting and replying to fans, which is definitely a neat thing that doesn\u2019t happen as much on other platforms.<\/p>\n The app was\u00a0built in tandem with a startup called Honeycommb, which helps build social communities for groups of fans. They most recently build a custom app for Lady Gaga to interact with her fans\u00a0on a more personal level than that allowed by other social networks like Twitter.<\/p>\n As of now there\u2019s no plan to generate revenue, but the association\u00a0won\u2019t totally rule it out. Advertisers would likely\u00a0find a platform with such dedicated fans pretty enticing, meaning if enough fans join there could be some serious advertising opportunities for the MLBPA.<\/p>\n The app is live now and you can download it on the iOS App Store<\/a> or Google Play<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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