Making MatchMedia!

Who are MatchMedia?

Who are MatchMedia?

And how can we help your business?

 

MatchMedia Ireland Ltd is a business firmly rooted in the software and technology industry. It would be fair to say that many of our products are used -or indeed being developed- for the 'Sports Industry' but this is by no means the limit of our talents. If your digital requirement is for something, new, dynamic, better, innovative and of course 'cutting edge' then MatchMedia is the delivery partner you require.

 

So if your business needs an iphone/android app, some help with the mysteries of Social Media, Web Sites and E-Commerce. Perhaps you have a creative idea or a product that requires one of our stunning 'visualisations' to bring it to life. Or perhaps your requirement is as simple as some illustration work, a good logo or some email support or web hosting -then look no further than MatchMedia.

 

Iphone/Android Apps

Since our inception just over one year ago we have been heavily involved with the creation, marketing and deployment of almost a dozen 'apps' on various different platforms.If we didn't know it then it would be fair to say we do now. So if you need help with direction, creation, or indeed deployment of a phone based application -MatchMedia.

 

Social Networking & Social Media

At MatchMedia we pride ourselves on our depth of knowledge in the field of Social Media and Social Networking. So if you or your business requires help in this area MatchMedia can provide, one-to-one sessions,group training sessions or indeed we could perhaps host an entire seminar to educate either your staff, clients or both? -MatchMedia.

 

E-Commerce

With over 10 years experience in the creation and deployment of E-Commerce MatchMedia should be the first place you call. Although we don't heavily promote this side of our activities in this area.MatchMedia are currently involved in two new and -extremely dynamic-projects with E-commerce at their heart. These two projects also have a great sporting theme taking in cycling and one to one lessons (site for tennis, golf, dancing lessons etc).-MatchMedia.

 

Digital Presentation & Visualisation

Perhaps the most exciting area of our business is that of digital visualisation or if you like digital 'story telling'. Our digital products can be rendered in both 2 and indeed 3 dimensions depending on your preference.

Perhaps you have the most incredible product or services -but at the moment can only be seen in your head?

Perhaps your company manufactures a complicated component or widget which you are for ever having to explain?

Or that all important funding application 'what will it look like?' 'How will it work?' -they say a picture is worth a thousand words. What about an extremely detailed animation, coupled with funky music, a well structured voice over all carefully edited together in to a package that can be deployed in all most any size and on any digital platform.

The only question that needs to be answered -If a picture is worth a thousand words?

What kind of story can you tell about your products or indeed your entire business with a digital story beautifully created and edited by the talented folks at MatchMedia.

 

Web Design, Email, Hosting, Illustration and Hosting

Finally looking for something simple?

At MatchMedia we pride ourselves on keeping things really simple. So looking for a new website? Need a new logo -perhaps for a new service or venture? Your original web host let you down? At MatchMedia we are always happy to help and at prices you can afford.

 

Open & Honest

At MatchMedia the price you see is the price you pay. We don't use smoke and mirrors and try to baffle you with science. We always use the easiest way possible to make your dream a reality. We are building up a comprehensive knowledge of programming languages 'php' and 'Cold Fusion'. We are also really getting a feel for 'Paypal' and the geo-location and mapping service 'Cloudmade' We ourselves have been working extremely closely with local funding organisations E-Synergy and NI Screen -and would be delighted to share our knowledge.

 

Most importantly everything we create is created by us -for you. You own it! MatchMedia operates a simple payment policy 50% at the start -followed by 50% on completion. Our intention is that once you have had the experience of working with MatchMedia we guarantee you will be back for more.

 

Contact

To discover what MatchMedia do for you

Philip@MatchMedia.tv or 0044 7860 196091 (Sales & Training)

Diane@MatchMedia.tv or 0044 7968 754969 (Management & Admin)

Dave@MatchMedia.tv (Technical)

 

MatchMedia a happy, healthy one year old!

MatchMedia a happy, healthy one year old!

The 25^th of September saw the first birthday of MatchMedia Ireland Ltd. Hard to believe it was only this time last year that MatchMedia took our first 'tentative' steps.

Early in 2010 MatchMedia launched our first Digital Autograph Product for the iphone and ipad. This is where the fun really began with MatchMedia going head-to-head with some mighty industry players in the Football League and Warner Music.

May saw MatchMedia's founder Philip Wilson being well and truly grilled as part of a 'Screen Test' in BBC Manchester by the Producer's of the ever popular BBC Television programme Dragons' Den.

In August MatchMedia were lucky enough to work with the enigma that is the Sky Sports commentator David Lloyd and helped him to release the ever popular 'Bumbles Balls' an app for cricket scoring -which on launch day held the lofty position of being one of the highest ranked 'Sporting Apps' in this popular section of the iTunes store (being placed just behind Liverpool and Arsenal and just ahead of Celtic and Chelsea). Incredibly Bumbles Balls proved popular with buyers (£1.19) in such 'cricket loving' nations of Norway and Luxembourg!

When we formed the company -this time last year- the reason for forming the company was to unleash the power of the MatchMeter on the world (to be branded as MatchMetr) and we are pleased to say that Q1 2011 should see the launch of an English Premiership MatchMetr.

The intention of MatchMedia is to create new and innovative sports products and sell our products to teams, fans and supporters. It is important to realise that this is not simply something that happens over night. This is why it is so important to also keep one eye on the every day business and not to behave like the crazy start ups of the early nineties. It is in the every day running of our business (if you like the close to home stuff) it is here where MatchMedia's greatest successes have been achieved. MatchMedia have been working on a project with local company 'CycleSendit' -which is really starting to make tacks ;-) we have been commissioned by a local company to create an online community for the provision of 1-2-1 lessons i.e. any kind of one to one tutoring -tennis, golf, dancing, drumming, guitar etc -to say this is a meaty project would be an under statement.

Away from Sport the 'Media' in MatchMedia is also going strong with MatchMedia recently being employed to deliver some fairly dramatic digital visualisations helping ordinary companies to show of -quite brilliantly- their extra ordinary products. And MatchMedia's Philip Wilson continues to be much in demand as a Social Media trainer and speaker.

They say 'the first year is the hardest!' -one down many more to go!

As always we must thank David Kirk and James McKay without whom none of this would have been possible. And also the help skills and support -through out the entire year- of both David Armstrong who has worked his heart out and Diane Wilson whose consultancy and business skills have proved invaluable in 2010.

MatchMedia Ireland Ltd are specalists in:

Iphone and Android Apps, E-Commerce, PHP Development, Digitual Visualisation, Web Design -although we tend to specialise in working with the Sports Industry -MatchMedia are always delighted to help with any innovative project. Please Contact Philip Wilson 0044 7860 196091

MatchMedia Featured in Community Telegraph

Many of the most successful businesses are those that manage to bring together the entrepreneurs interests and their skills.  Belfast based MatchMedia, a sports technology company, is aiming to be the latest success story that does just that.

The company, founded by Philip Wilson, is less than a year old but is already making waves with their range of sports orientated apps and software.

“The company started in September last year.  It was fabulous, I’d been putting things together for a year and a half, then a Northern Irish guy came over from America, a man called David Kirk, and got us pointed in the right direction.  I then went to Halo gave a talk and got some good advice and an investment of £100,000,” says Philip Wilson.

With the help of David Kirk, a former Silicon Valley executive who also recently invested in Belfast software company AirPos, and angel investment network, Halo, Philip has got the company off to a flying start.  In less than a year they have developed and launched a number of products with more in the pipeline.

As a sports technology company MatchMedia have found a niche in the market that they aim to make their own and as Philip points out “niche is the new big” it means that the sky’s the limit for the Belfast based firm.

Philip describes himself as a “massive Liverpool fan” but has a more realistic goal for the season than most of the club’s fans saying “I just hope don’t get relegated”.  It’s the marriage of Philip’s love of sport and his skills and background in technology that has driven MatchMedia forward.

“I was a computer trainer.  It gave me a good insight into how people work with the internet and how they view it.  Before that I sold photocopiers but I’ve been in business for quite some time, around 20 years, maybe it’s time to retire,” jokes Philip.

Despite aiming for a niche market the products that MatchMedia have developed a quite diverse.  Within the parameters of sport technology, that might initially seem narrow, they are already branching out into a variety of sports and with a broad range of ideas that aim to capture the imagination of sports fans across the board.

The most popular app that the company have developed is the Appograph that will allow sports fans to collect the autographs of their favourite stars on an iphone or ipod touch and the idea might soon bring the company beyond the sporting world.

“Appograph is an app that allows for digital autographs so if you meet someone, a famous sports star from your favourite team, then you approach them say I’ve been a big fan of yours for years and can I have your autograph?  You can then get it there on your ipod Touch.

“We’re already working with a number of rugby league teams, ice hockey and other sports and we’re currently in talks to bring it to the football league so you’ll have the images of the star on the screen for them to sign.

“We’ve also been approached by Warner music to see if we can do anything together with this.  We’re a sports technology company but this would be an interesting project too,” says Philip.

As if to highlight just how quickly the company are developing they are already working with a commentator from Sky Sports on their Bumbles Balls app that they hope proves a hit with the growing number of cricket fans.

“Bumbles Balls is a counter for cricket partnered with a Sky Sports commentator, David Lloyd, it works out the score, the number of balls and wickets, and his voice tells you what’s happening.  David has 100,000 follows on Twitter so we hope to utilize his reach and he then also gets promotion it works for us both,” explains Philip.

The apps that have been developed by MatchMedia are aimed at a price range that Philip says is around “the pocket money range” so that younger people can use them.  They have also developed an app aimed specifically at children in an attempt to get them out and involved in sport.

“Froggi Feet is to help introduce children into sport and get them out there and get them involved and active at a young age.  It helps promote sport as something that’s fun but it will also help combat childhood obesity,” enthuses Philip.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing though and in this niche market you can find some quite unique problems.

“The major difficulties are two fold.  I’m great with ideas but struggle to be the boss and when you’ve got £100,000 in the bank you have to make those hard nosed decisions on spending it.  When you have a staff to employ that money might not go as far you’d initially think.  Secondly is a problem you might not consider until you’re involved in this sort of business.  Sports people are always moving around, you make a connection and then you call them next week and they’re no longer there.  It happens that some people will move up a level and then it might work better for you but you’ve still to build a contact at their previous club again,” says Philip.

Despite the difficulties with the business the thrill of the venture continues to drive the enthusiastic Philip Wilson.

“It’s a great venture and it’s do or die.  If something comes along, like Warner music get on board, then you can potentially become the guy who invented this app being used by a Japanese singer or a Spanish band.  The potential is there to be massive,” he concludes.

Appograph Promo

Here at MatchMedia Ireland Ltd we like to go a wee bit different.You may already have heard of the success of our recent 'Appograph' product for the iphone and ipod touch.It would be fair to say that creating the products is only half the battle,the on going promotion of these products is where the match is won and lost!

So in association with the ever supportive Todd 'Killer #44' Kellman (GM) of the Belfast Giants we are today launching our first Appograph promo video.Based on the legend of 'Mean Joe Green' and the much parodied Coca Cola advert dating back almost 20 years!

Belfast Giants -Appographs from Matchmedia on Vimeo.

Without the help and understanding of Team Managers like Todd Kellman -MatchMedia would have struggled to get up and running as quickly as we have.

To find out more about how 'Appograph' can benefit your team or brand -please contact:

Philip Wilson 0044 7860 196091

www.MatchMedia.tv 

Blog: MatchMedia.Typepad.com

Twitter - @MM_I

Call: 0044 2890 507155

One year on...

One year on… 

As I sit here, on a family holiday in sunny Spain, my mind drifts back to this time last year, or more importantly ‘business matters’ relating to this time last year. 

You see this time last year I was sitting preparing for a 3 way business call between myself, Steve Orr of NISP Connect and David Kirk, a Northern Ireland man who knows how to get things started; from his bio you will see that David was instrumental in getting some of the world’s greatest start up started. Anyway the call must have gone well because I was successful in securing a place in NISP’s Entrepreneur ‘Bootcamp’. 

The first day was a funny one for me as I started referring to ‘MatchMedia’ as ‘me’ and indeed ‘us’. David taught us a lot of stuff but most of all was ‘belief’ – ‘believe in yourself, your product, and your idea’ and ‘get started, up your game, don’t talk – do.’ I felt very at home in the academy, after all I am a business man and am lucky to possess strong presentational skills. For a few days last April – I stood on top of the world; from that vantage point all things seem possible. 

I was joined on the course by some great folks; Suzanne from SISAF, Donal from Biznet, John from Bubble, Gareth from Etolan, Tony from Vertical Wind, Paul from Clarity Business, Oliver from SpeechStorm, Dave from Sophia, Anthony from Media Light Box and Anthony from EyeSpyFx. 

On the final day I pitched my business and  my business ideas – and people actually listened and actually understood – MatchMedia  was born! I had previously pitched my business ideas a number of times before but people either didn’t understand or didn’t listen or perhaps they didn’t care. I had not only found my voice I had found my audience too- I had tasted belief!

After the course, I was invited to do a business pitch at the Halo Event in late June. Pitching at the event caused me no concern because I had my secret ingredient, “belief”, a dish served by master chef David Kirk.

After my confident pitch all fell into place rather quickly, securing an interest of private equity investment (many thanks to Alan Watts and Keith O‘ Donnell for their help and support)

On the September 25th 2009, MatchMedia Ireland Ltd sprang to life! A fledgling digital media company now worth an estimated  £400,000, predominantly owned and run by me.

But, this is where the problems started:

-We had no staff

-We had no products, only ideas

-We had no premises

-No Furniture, website, or communication tools

-No accountant

-No credibility

And perhaps most worrying of all; no customers!

On the plus side we had BELIEF!

We partnered with EyeSpyFX and delivered our first product - and indeed our first revenue, 82 days later! Partnership is a fabulous thing for a fledgling business, take it from me.

One year on, we have five staff: 

-a CEO, Technical Officer, Sales Manager, General Manager, and a Social Media operator.

-Two fully fledged product lines (with a third in rapid development)

-A fabulous office, in Blick Studios, Belfast

-Websites and blogs, Twitter accounts

-Support services

...and slowly gaining credibility even with those that didn’t think it could be done!

One ingredient was missing from the mix, that ingredient was belief!

It turned out I had it in my pot all along, only the best can make ordinary ingredients taste good...and there is no finer taste than the taste of belief!

As I said...what a difference a year makes!

iPhone OS 4.0 unveiled

With the annual iPhone hardware update due in a couple of months, Apple used the iPad launch hype to showcase the new iPhone OS which will undoubtedly be launched in sync with the new device this June (probably!?).

The new release is a massive shakeup of what's been mostly the same operating system for the past 3 years. There were a few 'radical' changes like implementing cut n' paste but play by play things haven't changed much.

The latest carnation of the OS looks like it's been worked on for some time and should make the experience a lot more engaging. It looks streamlined.

The key feature is multitasking, something a lot of users have been after for a long time. Palm pilots from the 90's and 00's had multitasking functionality, but one thing I've learned is that Apple only does something when they know they can do it right. In the words of Steve Jobs;

"It's like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew it. In multitasking, if you see a task manager... they blew it. Users shouldn't ever have to think about it."

 

 

Other features include better email management, allowing you to switch between inboxes faster making dealing with different sectors of work that may require different addresses easier. We've also got application management folders, this means you can put all your games, all your productivity apps, all your networking into different folders and find things faster.

Since the iPhone has been a technical and productivity (well it depends how many games you have!) powerhouse ever since it came about it's easy to see things getting even better when this release matures. Apple are astonishingly brilliant at raising the bar with everything they create. I found myself last week staring at my iPhone and wondering what else you could possibly do to make this thing work any better and yet....here it is.

Perhaps most relevant is that this could change the way we do business. A big part of my work involves the iPhone with the MatchMeter and Appograph applications. As Apple continues to innovate so to do - in fact, so does everyone - making the list of interesting things we can do endless.

I look forward to test driving this release come June, who knows what it could have in store!

Philip Wilson

If you would like to connect on whatever level find me at:

facebook.com/InternetSense

twitter.com/InternetSense

linkedin.com/in/InternetSense

 

Taking a look at Touch Screen Accuracy

With touchscreen products flooding the market in the wake of the iPhone popularity, a company called MOTO Development Group has recently devised a robot to test the accuracy of such screens.

The results are evident above and it's pleasing to know the iPhone more or less wiped the floor on the competitor products! Cleaner straighter lines show a more accurate screen technology (oh dear Motorola!)

This is important to a company like us in the business of iPhone application development, particularly in the case of the Appograph product. Having accurate touchscreen technology for this product literally makes it what it is, with bad hardware in that department the signatures written by the players using Appograph would be lacklustre and take away from the user experience - the key to the success of the product.

Looks like we have a lot to be thankful to Apple for!

Robot Touchscreen Analysis from MOTO Development Group on Vimeo.

Philip Wilson

 

The SportsCast Wireless Football Scoreboard and why MatchMeter Works Better

 The combination of sports and technology is increasing as time goes along, particularly in the mobile device sector.

One such product which recently caught my eye is the SportsCast Wireless Football Scoreboard. The device is a digital scoreboard, calculator style, which shows you score updates across the league in ongoing games. The unit claims to recieve updates every 15 minutes "via satellite signal", which is a tad vague, but apparently there's no subscription services to be paid for. 

The idea is a good one I suppose, but I can't help but wonder how useful it really is. You're not going to be carrying it on a train or a bus, it's too big and clunky. That leaves the only real place you're going to use it being your coffee table and well...with the iPad coming...the product might be obsolete before it even hits the marketplace.

This is why I think applications like the MatchMeter are far more innovative that producing such a specific product. Applications for iPhones can be adapted very easily to suit a specific purpose and this allows you to expand your marketplace very quickly and efficiently, and most importantly at no extra running cost. We're already talking to some American football teams about Appograph.

What's more, a lot of people own an iPhone now. iPhone marketshare of the cell phone market is growing every month meaning more and more people have access to applications available on the appstore. This means every appstore developer is investing in a marketplace ever increasing in size whereas companies like SportsCast are launching a product nobody really has heard of.

The distinction is massive, iPhones are the future!

Phil Wilson

Opera Submits Browser App to Apple for Approval

 

Opera Software recently announced that its Opera Mini web browser app has been submitted to Apple's Appstore for approval. The announcement kicks off with a contest requesting guesses on how long it will take for Apple to approve the app, as well as offering an online count-up timer for the review process.

If they approve the app.

Opera iPhone browser uses server-side rendering to improve page loading performance, claiming speeds of up to 6 times faster than Apple's Safari on the iPhone.

The burning question however is will Apple approve a competing browser for the app store, thus giving up their love of a monopoly that held on to well for the last 3 years.

This is pretty interesting for a company like ours which deals in apps in the appstore such as the Appograph and MatchMeter, as they have had to go through Apple's stringent approval process.

This development is definitely one to watch as it may alter people's opinion on Apple's censorship of the appstore.

Watch this space!

Philip Wilson

CEO & Founder, Internetsense

MatchMedia Mini Launch!

 

On the 19th February 2010 myself and a few friends got together at the MatchMedia Ireland offices at Blick Studios in Belfast for a social lunch to help spread the word about MatchMedia, and showcase the core products we had been developing. The guest of honor being James McKay, an investor in MatchMedia who was keen to cast his eye on what we've been getting up to!

Present was: @twentyclicks @jim_montgomery @carolinesantos @ajmenary @claritybusinesseducation @gilchrist_llp @jonnykelly @dwilsonni @johndryan @leelowe @blickstudios @frameacademy @marcdowie @nicofell @davy_simms @nelsonsantos @eo_creative

...Oh and a few real people too!

An eventful evening was had by all with much discussion of new ideas in the communications sector, finding out about the new company, and get hands on with products such as the Appograph and Matchmeter. iPhones at the ready! Everyone also got a bit of an insight into the new and upcoming brand of "FroggiFeet".

David Armstrong (@ukprototype) was by far the star of the show and applied himself fantastically to show everyone his unmatched web development skills.

On the pizza scale of measurement the lunch seemed to go down as a great success with those present, all pizza was consumed in record time, a solid indication of hunger and attendance among the techies!

We at MatchMedia would like to thank all who attended and extend an invitation to any freelance developers, illustrators, consultants, press & PR who may wish to get involved with MatchMedia over the coming months. We're growing fast!

Finally our thanks goes to Blick Studios for the use of their facilities and for accommodating such a large crowd at such short notice, great job guys!

We all feel very grown up now - and with that our responsibility has surely got to the level that such items like this blog have to be updated on a more than annual basis....so I hope you enjoyed reading. See you back soon!

Philip Wilson

MatchMedia Ireland Ltd

___

Things are just starting to take shape with our various products. To take a look please visit our sites and blogs: 

Company Website                               

matchmedia.tv

Company Blog                                    

matchmedia.typepad.com

Twitter account                    

@mm_i 

Appograph! (under construction)         

www.appograph.com

Froggifeet  (coming soon!)                

www.froggifeet.com

LBM Belfast Giants » Giant ‘Appograph’ Signing!

The next time a Belfast Giant pauses to give an autograph they may well be confronted with an iPhone or iPod Touch to sign! That’s the intention of the Belfast Giants ‘Appograph’ on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Picture the scene, you’re shopping in your local supermarket and Sean ‘The Sheriff’ McMorrow appears in your isle! You ask him for his autograph but you’ve no pen and no paper…but you have your iPhone/iPod Touch in hand! This opportunistic app allows you to grab your favourite Giant’s autograph no matter where you are.

The Appograph puts a modern spin on the traditional autograph book concept. Pictures of the LBM Belfast Giants are preloaded and the signatures are recorded by writing with a finger on the iPhone or iPod Touch screen. Once the autographs are collected, fans are able to show them off to friends and family via email or they can share them online on Bebo or Facebook.

The Belfast Giants Appograph is NOW AVAILABLE ON THE APP STORE

Also, why not bookmark www.belfastgiants.com on the home screen of your iphone or ipod touch. With the Giants icon on your home screen you can be sure not to miss the latest news and information from the Land of the Giants.