Daniel Roberts
Writer at Yahoo Finance. Covers sports business, tech, and everything in between.
Discussion
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Daniel Roberts
@readdanwrite · Journalist
I cover the business of sports and the business of technology, and the intersection of the two. Lately I'm especially focused on daily fantasy sports (DraftKings, FanDuel), digital payments (bitcoin), media startups, and social media services. Before Yahoo, I was at Fortune for 5+ years. There, I helped run the 40 Under 40 franchise. I've also written for Sports Illustrated, WSJ, The Guardian, Vice, Deadspin, NPR, Daily Beast, Salon. Hi.
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Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
Hey, Daniel! We're seeing an increasing number of companies building tech-enabled equipment and products to improve performance and train. As an example, just a few days ago, @justinkan posted Hykso, a smart sensor for boxers.
What do sports look like in a decade?
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Daniel Roberts
@readdanwrite · Journalist
@rrhoover @justinkan Data, data, data, data. analytics. sensors on uniforms not just for tracking info about the athletes, but for showing graphics and information on movement and speed for the viewers at home. tech-enabled stadiums and ballparks. far more streaming options for live sports at home, for a price.
Russell Crispin
@russellcrispin · student
@readdanwrite @rrhoover I agree. I saw @hbarnes write about how the Warriors wear sensors to track their heart rate as well as movements to improve their training. Yahoo streamed an NFL game this year right? Do you expect to see more of those type of events in the future?
Samee Zahid
@samee_24 · Android Developer, Grinnell Appdev
What's your take on services that are willing to intelligently condense news updates, and then allow them to be interfaced with bots within messaging platforms (Facebook messenger, WeChat, Slack maybe too?). QZ came out with something similar recently: http://qz.com/613700/its-here-qu...
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Daniel Roberts
@readdanwrite · Journalist
@samee_24 I adore them. I think the Qz news app is fantastic-- though a drawback is you can't load it up and then go underground. what I mean is, with other news apps, I can open it right before I enter the subway, and load it, and then access all the news stories on the train when I have no service. with the Qz app you need wifi/signal so that it keeps talking to you. but I love the concept and think the use of emojis on it is cute and clever. The "magic commands" on Slack and Peach are similar, and also super appealing.
Hash_tag_jeff
@jeffumbro · Book Marketing and PR - get in touch
What are your thoughts on Barstool Sports in today's media landscape, especially considering that they were acquired by Chernin Digital.
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Daniel Roberts
@readdanwrite · Journalist
@jeffumbro I appreciate this question-- love talking about digital news properties. For most people I know, Barstool amounts to a guilty pleasure. Many, many people I know read it, but they aren't likely to publicly share a Barstool story on their social media platforms. (Instead, they'll text or email the link privately.) The site occasionally breaks news, so in many ways it's legit, but the high volume of posts that are offensive/bawdy/raunchy obviously make it hard for mainstream media and people of a certain demographic to take the site seriously. I will say that Barstool has been extremely effective on social media-- the Snapchat accounts, the Instagram pages (especially barstoolu, which is hilarious) are great-- but again, they are guilty pleasures. It's also such a regional thing-- every single person (of a certain age) that I know in Boston, where I grew up, considers Barstool a must-visit every day. Journalists in New York? Far from it. I think Chernin saw future value here and is betting it will grow, but it also didn't invest without knowing the site in and out and understanding it has a very obvious niche and demographic and isn't likely to get far beyond that demographic (which is fine!). The niche is: gossipy sports stuff, hot girls, drunk college student fail videos... fun, but not exactly the next Vice, Vox, Buzzfeed, HuffPost, SB Nation, etc. As I understand it the site needed Chernin's money in order to invest in digital talent and other new hires it has needed for years-- so, great deal for them. Here's a good deep story on the sale by my former Fortune colleague Dan Primack (who also did a ProductHunt live chat recently!): http://fortune.com/2016/01/07/th...
Hash_tag_jeff
@jeffumbro · Book Marketing and PR - get in touch
@readdanwrite Thanks, Daniel. I know Barstool well, read that article, and asked Dan a question when he did a LIVE. I think you're basically spot on, but I also think everyone is counting them out way too early. This is a company literally raised from nothing in the last decade. Imagine what can happen (for better or worse) in the next decade.
Diane Florescu
@dianeflorescu · Marketing Assistant @ConnectiD Ltd
Hi Daniel, thanks for doing this AMA. What would be your piece of advice for a new start-up to get press coverage before a big tech conference e.g. TNW, TechCrunch? What could possibly persuade you to write about a tech startup ?
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Daniel Roberts
@readdanwrite · Journalist
@dianeflorescu Good, important question. I have much more P.R. advice than can fit here-- I used to speak to PR agencies more often but have gotten busier, but enjoyed doing that-- but overall I'd say you need to tailor a pitch to the publication you're pitching. It is very, painfully obvious to us when we get a pitch that was sent out to a big net, as a mass email. It doesn't take long to do the 5 minutes of homework on a reporter or the publication and tailor the pitch. For ex, the reason Yahoo Finance would write about a tiny startup is if it somehow involves (partnership, exec hire, investment from) a much bigger, publicly traded company. Tech sites like Engadget, Gizmodo, Mashable might be easier in that they'll write if the tech is cool or has some cool implications. It also may help if the startup is in some way "taking on" a much bigger incumbent-- for ex, I'm not likely to write a story on some tiny flower-delivery app (to pick something totally random) but if it's somehow an Uber competitor, that may be more interesting. think about what clicks for news sites, play the game a little bit.
Diane Florescu
@dianeflorescu · Marketing Assistant @ConnectiD Ltd
@readdanwrite Thanks for the tips, Daniel. Great answer, it makes you put your thinking caps on!
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
During your career to date, what's been the most creative way someone has pitched you their story to cover?
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Daniel Roberts
@readdanwrite · Journalist
@ems_hodge I don't love "creative" pitches and would warn companies away from doing them. I know what you're referring to-- all the time we get packages with schwag, elaborate mailings that contain a USB stick or a disc you have to watch. it all gets thrown away or ignored. A good simple direct brief email is pretty damn good.
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
@readdanwrite Do you see a lot of value in PR firms for startups, or do you recommend in house - or does it not really matter to you that much in your experience?
Kia K.
@imkialikethecar · words...
Hi DANIEL. So I have 3 questions: 1) how much do you miss me? 2) can i say "lol" without you getting annoyed? 3) biggest takeaway from the DFS drama?
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Daniel Roberts
@readdanwrite · Journalist
@imkialikethecar HI KIA. I miss the crew at Fortune all the time. love love my new coworkers, but also loved my old ones. trust me that I am watching what Fortune does closely, from afar (not that far). and I don't really have a fellow bitcoin-dork at Yahoo, so you are missed. I don't feel any pull to be in SF, though, I'll tell you that. also: "lol" must be pronounced "lawl" not as separate letters like el-oh-el. ugh, lol, anyway, I gtg, brb, ttyl.
BEWARE: Ed Zitron
@edzitron · CEO, EZPR
So, there're sports startups all over the place. What kinds are actually going to survive/grow? What ones haven't happened yet that you want to see? More importantly, how do you feel about Jared Lorenzen?
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Daniel Roberts
@readdanwrite · Journalist
@edzitron HI ED. Yeah, the sports app space has exploded just like online dating apps. But not all will survive, or many. In fact I'd venture to say that we now see more press coverage than ever before of apps that haven't yet proven they will survive. many of them-- both the sports and dating apps-- will sell, many will fold. (see here, ahem: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/on...). In sports tech, I think new entrants MUST have some exclusive, unique, original offering/function that others don't have. I get pitched on so many apps that are identical. What's different? If something has a brand new idea, it will work. Take Peach-- fun, I like it, but hard to compete with the incumbents, and even though it has a great style and some cool functionalities, it's still not different ENOUGH from its main competitors to last. I liked the IDEA of Tiki Barber's app Thuzio, which, when it first launched, was for reaching athletes and requesting them for a party or event, for a fee. smart. cuts out the agent/middle man/booking agency. But now they've pivoted and it's a talent agency type thing, boring. So, what lasts? Something like a Snapchat for sports. I have to say, I love Snapchat's live stories from NFL games. clever, compelling.
Harry Stebbings
@harrystebbings · Podcast Host @ The Twenty Minute VC
@readDanwrite thanks so much for joining us today, big fan of your writing, I would love to hear how you see the intersection of sport and technology playing out? Will the likes of @LiveAthos be the future of sport and personal health data? Would love to hear your thoughts and always welcome for a special guest spot on @twentyminutevc
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Daniel Roberts
@readdanwrite · Journalist
@harrystebbings @liveathos @twentyminutevc Hey thanks. I see a number of big trends in sports tech playing out in the next 2 years: health and fitness tracking (Fitbit, Apple Watch, Nike+, everyone is doing this and trying to innovate better and faster than the others); wearables (similar thing, but they're not only for fitness); mobile tech INSIDE STADIUMS to make the at-stadium experience better (as the experience of watching a game at home gets so good thanks to TV, streaming, second- and third-screen experience, etc., it's harder and harder to get people to spend $ to go to a game in person, so ballparks, football stadiums, etc., are all stepping it up) and, finally: a legalized form of sports betting is on the way, and mobile tech will be key in that space. more on this in other responses, because I can see that many of the Qs here are about daily fantasy etc. I also am fascinated by the way athletes are using social media. Kobe Bryant took to Derek Jeter's web site (or, his agent did, at least) to announce his retirement. that's nuts.
Martin Skakala
@mskakala · Founder & CEO WakesApp.com
Hi Daniel, since you're also writing about the tech & I am non tech founder - I was wondering if you can recommend a great resource or book that helped you to understand the development & tech. Thanks Daniel, Martin
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Daniel Roberts
@readdanwrite · Journalist
@mskakala I never exactly picked up any books as a way to learn about tech-- I learned on the job and as I met more and more people for interviews, and from managing our 40 Under 40. that being said, I know The Innovator's Dilemma is considered a Bible for many tech folks (Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, for the first few years of Yelp's history, distributed a copy to every new employee), and I personally enjoyed Zero to One by Peter Thiel, and Ben Horowitz's new book. I also love Michael Lewis and think THE NEW NEW THING is one of his best books, and is underrated.