When Paying Taxes Became Un-American
Noam Chomsky
Noam Avram Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 7, 1928. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he studied linguistics, mathematics, and philosophy. In 1955, he received his Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania, however, most of the research leading to this degree was done at Harvard between 1951 and 1955. Since receiving his Ph. D., Chomsky has taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he now holds the Ferrari P. Ward Chair of Modern Language and Linguistics.
Among his many accomplishments, he is most famous for his work on generative grammar, which developed from his interest in modern logic and mathematical foundations. As a result, he applied it to the description of natural languages.
His political tendencies toward socialism and anarchism are a result of what he calls "the radical Jewish community in New York." Since 1965 he has become one of the leading critics of U.S. foreign policy. He published a book of essays called American Power and the New Mandarins which is considered to be one of the most substantial arguments ever against American involvement in Vietnam.
Topic: Taxation and democracy
Noam Chomsky: In a democracy, April 15th, when you pay your taxes, would be a day of celebration. Here we've gotten together as a community, we've decided on certain policies and now we're moving to implement them by our own participation. That's not the way it's viewed in the United States. That's a day of mourning. There's this alien entity, sort of like a—as if it's from Mars somewhere, which is stealing our hard-earned money from us. We have to give it up, because we have no choice.
Well, that reflects the undermining of even a conception of democracy.
Recorded on: Aug 18, 2009
In a functioning democracy, Noam Chomsky claims, people would celebrate on tax day—why then do most Americans view every April 15th as a day of mourning?
In quantum entanglement first, scientists link distant large objects
Physicists create quantum entanglement, making two distant objects behave as one.
30 September, 2020
Niels Bohr Institute
Surprising Science
<ul class="ee-ul"></ul>
<p>Scientists entangled two large quantum objects, both at different locations from each other, in a quantum mechanics first. The feat is a step towards practical application of a rather counterintuitive phenomenon and was accomplished by a team from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen.</p><p>Entanglement is the magical-sounding concept, <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-joys-of-quantum-entanglement/" target="_blank">dubbed</a> "spooky action at a distance" by Einstein. It involves a link is made between two objects that can make them behave like one. This technique is of paramount importance to quantum communication and quantum sensing, explained the University's <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-09-quantum-entanglement-distant-large.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">press release.</a></p><p>The researchers, led by Professor Eugene Polzik, used light particles photons to create an entanglement between a mechanical oscillator ("a vibrating dielectric membrane") and a cloud of atoms, with each acting like a tiny magnet or "spin". They picked these particular objects because atoms can be made to process quantum information while the membrane can store that information. </p>
<p style="margin-left: 20px;">"With this new technique, we are on route to pushing the boundaries of the possibilities of entanglement," stated professor Polzik. "The bigger the objects, the further apart they are, the more disparate they are, the more interesting entanglement becomes from both fundamental and applied perspectives. With the new result, entanglement between very different objects has become possible."</p><p>By entangling the systems, the scientists made them move in correlation with each other. If one object went left, so did the other.</p><p>The achievement can pave the way to new sensing technologies. One example would be getting rid of noisy fluctuations currently affecting the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (<a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/" target="_blank">LIGO</a>), which detects gravity waves. If the researchers were able to take information from one system and apply it in another, they could get more precise readings. </p>
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<p>While the new technology is promising, research into creating useable devices based on quantum mechanics is very challenging, as explained by Ph.D. student Christoffer Østfeldt:</p><p>"Imagine the different ways of realizing quantum states as a kind of zoo of different realities or situations with very different qualities and potentials," he shared.</p><p>If one was to try to make a device using quantum states that would all have different functions, "it will be necessary to invent a language they are all able to speak. The quantum states need to be able to communicate, for us to use the full potential of the device. That's what this entanglement between two elements in the zoo has shown we are now capable of," Østfeldt added.</p>
<p>Check out the new study in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41567-020-1031-5" target="_blank">Nature Physics</a>.<br></p>
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Here are 3 main causes of wildfires, and 3 ways to prevent them
We're in an era of 'megafires'.
30 September, 2020
Brett Hemmings/Getty Images
Surprising Science
A headline that reads 'The Worst Year in History for Wildfires' should be a shocking and dramatic statement. Instead, it's in danger of becoming a cliché, a well-worn phrase, an annual event.
<p>
The year 2020 will be defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, but wildfires in Australia, Brazil and the US have reached new levels of destruction.
</p><p>
"We're not only seeing ever-increasing fires year after year. We're also seeing more fires over a larger geographical spread. And we're also seeing a longer period. Our fire season used to be just two months of the year 15 years ago and now it's nine months of the year." said Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, speaking at the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/sustainable-development-impact-summit-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2020</a>.
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<h3>Climate catastrophe</h3><p>
"It's increasingly clear that, as we have launched this effort around a trillion trees, we're also in an era of megafires," said Justin Adams, Executive Director, Tropical Forest Alliance, at the World Economic Forum.
</p><p>
For Jennifer Morris, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nature Conservancy, the California wildfires are a microcosm of a global crisis affecting forests.
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Morris said decision-makers must address a range of challenges to save the forests and the communities that rely on them.
</p><p>
"How do we fund prevention rather than always deal with the next worst year?" she asked. "How do we make sure that forests are able to realize their total benefits through reforestation?
</p><p>
"How do we get farmers and forest owners from the US to Brazil and Australia to actually receive income for protecting the forests?"
</p>
<h3>A World in Flames</h3><p>
For Jad Daley, President and Executive Director of American Forests, there are three main causes of wildfires - and he's in no doubt about the biggest one of all.
</p><p>
"Make no mistake, climate change is driving this dramatic increase in wildfires and future wildfire risk ... so, we can't solve our wildfire crisis without addressing climate change," he said.
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Secondly, Daley called for more active forestry management to address issues such as a lack of water and drier weather which create the conditions for fires to break out and then burn out of control.
</p><p>
Thirdly, instead of restoring forests, he talked about the need to "pre-store" our forests for a changing climate, using science like a crystal ball to understand how conditions will develop in the future.
</p><p>
Hilary Franz also called for more funding to help her teams fight wildfires more effectively, saying hot air alone had never put out a fire. At present, her airborne firefighting crews are flying helicopters that saw active service in the Viet Nam war.
</p><p>
"I focus on three things," she said. "The first is wildfire protection resources ... At the federal level we borrow a number of resources from other states and federal governments. But when we have California, Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming all on fire at the same time, we don't have any more resources to borrow. The second prong is forest health ... and the third is community resilience."
</p>
<p>
The barriers to protecting the world's forests are entrenched and significant. It will need political will, commitment from forest communities and the right resources in the right places to make progress.
</p><p>
The World Economic Forum's
<a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank">1t.org</a> aims to conserve, restore and grow a trillion trees before the end of this decade, partly to reforest areas of woodland destroyed by wildfires.<br>
</p><p>
The one trillion trees initiative aims to enable the kind of partnerships that will lead to a reduction in wildfires and more sustainable forests.
</p><p>Reprinted with permission of the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Economic Forum</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/wildfires-climate-united-states-causes-prevention-forests/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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90,000-year-old human hybrid found in ancient cave
Researchers have just discovered the remains of a hybrid human.
23 August, 2018
Researchers in a chamber of the Denisova cave in Siberia, where the fossil of a Denisova 11 was discovered. CreditIAET SB RAS, Sergei Zelensky
Surprising Science
90,000 years ago, a young girl lived in a cave in the Altai mountains in southern Siberia. Her life was short; she died in her early teens, but she stands at a unique point in human evolution. She is the first known hybrid of two different kinds of ancient humans: the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.
<p>Her remains were discovered by a team of researchers this past summer. In a study published in <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0455-x" target="_blank">Nature</a>,</em> the details of the discovery and the implications it has on our understanding of human evolution are explained. </p> <h2><strong>A hybrid who and what?</strong></h2> <p>We <em><a href="http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-sapiens" target="_blank">Homo sapiens</a> </em>aren't the only species of human to have walked the earth, and only recently have we lacked the company of our evolutionary siblings, the <a href="https://www.livescience.com/28036-neanderthals-facts-about-our-extinct-human-relatives.html" target="_blank">Neanderthals</a> and the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/denisovans" target="_blank">Denisovans</a>. While the former is rather famous the later is nearly unknown. </p> <p>This might be because we only discovered the Denisovans in <a href="http://discovermagazine.com/2016/dec/meet-the-denisovans" target="_blank">2010</a> and have so few fossils to work with that we don't even know what they looked like. We're not quite sure when they faded away, but it is probable that they vanished around the same time the Neanderthals did, 40,000 years ago. </p> <h2><strong>What do we know about this girl? </strong></h2> <p>Denisova 11, the rather dull name the researchers have given the hybrid human, is the fifth Denisovan ever found, which makes the fact she was a hybrid all the more fascinating. A small bone fragment is all we have of her, or the other members of her species for that matter. We know she had parents of two different species and lived in a cave with several members of both species.</p> <p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODYyNDMwNy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNzQ0NTc5OX0.L59Ixl-e_mySZpimVzfvJ39aktjOYpqhjSzta8f95iQ/img.png?width=980" id="80a7e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f5b9445f27a85f7ad11711e0fa7d6883" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></p> <div class="image-caption"><em>This image from the study, which explains itself in the caption, shows the location of the human ancestors whose DNA has been analyzed. Of these few individuals, two are known to either be hybrids or to have had close relatives of a different human species. (Slon et al.)</em></div> <h2><strong>How do we know she was a hybrid?</strong></h2> <p>During DNA sequencing of the bones discovered at the site, the researchers noticed that half of the chromosomes in Denisova 11 were similar to those of the other Denisovans and half of them were closer to those of the Neanderthals. Initially, <a href="http://eva-mpg.academia.edu/VivianeSlon" target="_blank">Viviane Slon</a>, a graduate student involved with the study <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/science/neanderthals-denisovans-hybrid.html" target="_blank">thought that she must have made a mistake</a>. However, after the hybrid hypothesis was suggested, the DNA evidence became “good proof that this was real," she explained.<strong> </strong></p> <p>The researchers looked at the mitochondrial DNA, which can only be inherited from your mother, to determine which parent belonged to which species. This is how we know Denisova's mother was a Neanderthal and her father was a Denisovan.</p> <p>Her father's DNA was very similar to that of the original Denisovan found in the cave. Strangely, her Neanderthal mother's DNA was closer to that of Neanderthals found living in Croatia thousands of years later than to the other members of her species in the cave. This suggests that migrations of Neanderthal populations took place at some point in the last 100,000 years. </p> <h2><strong>Were there other hybrids?</strong></h2> <p>In 2015, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC208740/" target="_blank">scientists found the 40,000-year old remains of a modern human</a> who had a Neanderthal for a great-great-grandparent. The discovery of two individuals with blended DNA in the small group of ancient humans scientists have tested so far suggests that more will be found.</p> <p>We also know that <a href="https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/neanderthal/" target="_blank">people from pretty much everywhere</a> but Sub-Saharan Africa have either Neanderthal or <a href="https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/denisovan/" target="_blank">Denisovan</a> DNA mixed into their genome, with variations of which and how much varying with geography. You, dear reader, probably have a Neanderthal in your family tree!</p> <h2><strong>What does this mean for human evolution?</strong></h2> <p>We've only been genetically sequencing the remains of ancient human remains over the last decade. The evidence that modern humans were interbreeding with other subspecies has been piling up since then. This find, however, is the first evidence that the other two human species were interbreeding too.</p> <p>This could pose a problem for the scientists who wish to explain away the discovery of Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA in modern humans by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/14/study-doubt-human-neanderthal-interbreeding" target="_blank">claiming it merely comes from a recent common ancestor</a>, as we now have direct evidence of interbreeding between two of the groups. </p> <p>Finding a hybrid specimen amongst other archaic species suggests that interbreeding was either common or didn't strike the two groups as odd. This could end up supporting the idea that both the Neanderthals and the Denisovans <a href="https://www.livescience.com/47460-neanderthal-extinction-revealed.html" target="_blank">interbred with humans to the point where they ceased to exist as a species</a>, though further evidence is needed before that can be proven.</p> <p>We're not the only humans to have existed on this planet. In the not too distant past, we shared Eurasia with some close evolutionary cousins. Why they died out we cannot say, but this discovery helps shed light on these mysterious relatives of ours. </p> <div class="video-full-card-placeholder" data-slug="how-we-beat-the-neanderthals" style="border: 1px solid #ccc;">
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How the sports industry is approaching post-pandemic fan engagement
What does sports fandom look like in the new normal?
30 September, 2020
Credit: Shutterstock
Culture & Religion
- With the masses huddled at home and glued to our screens, the last several months of frozen competition provided an opportunity for sports franchises to experiment with creative modes of fan engagement, often involving multiple media channels.
- On another level, this is a challenge that wasn't prompted by COVID-19 and won't go away when COVID-19 does.
- Franchise marketers are accelerating their digital transformation processes, finding innovative ways to connect with fans online, with VR, community building and repackaging classic content.
<p>Due to well-founded fears that COVID-19 would run rampant in locker rooms and stadiums, basically all major league sports completely shut down on-field operations across the world for a few months in early 2020. </p><p>With the masses huddled at home and glued to our screens, the last several months of frozen competition provided an opportunity for sports franchises to experiment with creative modes of fan engagement, often involving multiple media channels. </p><p>What's more, the coronavirus crisis hasn't ended like we hoped it would by now, but the world is already talking about the "new normal" of post-pandemic life – <a href="https://bigthink.com/videos/post-coronavirus-society" target="_self">incorporating lessons learned</a> from the COVID-19 situation into the indefinite future, regardless of when the immediate need to curb the spread of this specific virus actually passes. And so leagues around the world have finally begun picking up play again, albeit with empty arenas for the most part. </p><p>In this sense, they <a href="https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/innovation-and-uncertainty" target="_self">face a new challenge</a>: figuring out how to involve fans in the game experience without being able to lean on the in-stadium experience as the pinnacle that all other modes of fan engagement try to emulate and reinforce. But on another level, this is a challenge that wasn't prompted by COVID-19 and won't go away when COVID-19 does.</p><p>Many teams have seen their global fanbases grow steadily in the last few years, creating the need to serve up rich engagement for audiences who can't attend games in person regularly – or ever. </p><p>Coronavirus is encouraging franchise marketers to speed up digital transformation and find new and better ways to connect with fans online, Rob O'Siochain, a partner at London-based event marketing agency <a href="https://tro.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TRO</a>, recently <a href="https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/live-sport-crossroads-fan-engagement-post-covid-world/1689058" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">told Campaign magazine</a>. </p><p>"Covid-19 is, without doubt, going to act as an accelerant for the long-awaited levelling up of the fan experience and the value attributed to the role and real data of the fan," he explained. "Brands and rights holders are going to need to work far more collaboratively, strategically and creatively to build a more diverse, direct and accessible experience for the fans." </p>
Head back to the stadium – virtually
<p>After months of deprivation, fans are panting to see their favorite teams. For the moment, they are so eager to return to live sports that they are ecstatic over any live game broadcast. On July 5, some 5.7 million people tuned in to the Southampton v. Manchester City match, making it the Premier League's most-watched match ever. </p><p>But as time goes by, the shine of live sports will wear off. An empty stadium is disappointing both for viewers at home and for players. The NFL's "virtual draft" event in April drew a larger audience (15.6 million) than Monday Night Football did last weekend (14 million), even though the former was little more than a televised Zoom call while the latter was a marquee matchup between two of the hottest teams in the league, the Chiefs and the Ravens.</p><p>The time has come for the sports industry to find creative ways to harness technology for the next generation of fan engagement. What can we learn about the future based on what worked best during the pandemic?</p>Breathe new life into regurgitated content
<p>Filling up gaps in the programming schedule with reruns of classic games worked well at first, but returns are diminishing. Success requires networks to put more work into their content choices.</p><p>Tommy Stimson, managing director at Qualitative Insights, <a href="https://marumatchbox.com/4-actions-fan-engagement-sports-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">points out</a> that fans aren't very interested in games from the last 10-12 years. Footage from these games is already widely available online, plus "The known outcome and familiarity with the content makes the reruns less-than-satisfying." Instead, Stimson recommends showing iconic, historical sports moments that most of today's fans haven't seen or experienced. </p><p>Fans appreciate reruns far more when the footage is interspersed with new analysis and commentary, either from current players or from the athletes who were playing at the time. One of the darlings of Netflix's pandemic-era programming lineup, Michael Jordan's <em>The Last Dance </em>documentary, which followed the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls on their title run, drew an average of 5.6 million viewers for each of its ten episodes.</p><p>Many teams hosted social media-integrated "watch parties," where former players shared their personal memories and fielded questions from fans while streaming classic games, and fans were delighted with the multi-screen experience, which dovetailed perfectly with game rerun telecasts. <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-sports-with-empty-stadiums-means-millions-of-americans-will-be-engaging-from-home-301094037.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">One poll</a> found that 76 percent of U.S. fans want more watch party-style viewing options moving forward.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQ1MDQzNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyODQ4MzUyNH0.wNjBzhgfzLnT8um9AmzcL6AEU50RQ4zBhGP3hRh1uLQ/img.png?width=980" id="ff5be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="21ea7910020f5f1b526be2d576f33872" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="screenshot of New England Patriots re-watch party ad" />
Screenshot of New England Patriots re-watch party ad
Credit: Facebook
<p>Networks would also do well to tap into the <a href="https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/money-sports-success" target="_self">deeper reasons</a> why people follow sports, by sharing narratives about how teams come together as a unit, or times when players overcame adversity. Viewers are eager for behind-the-scenes content that reveals how players stay in shape, how managers set strategies, or the motivating factors behind decisions to trade, draft, and otherwise acquire talent.</p><p>As brands collect more viewer data, they can also deliver more personalized content experiences that engage fans more deeply. </p>Invite fans to vote for in-game elements
<p>Giving fans ways to have a real effect on in-game elements is another winner for the sports industry. Juventus has long been a trail-blazer for digital transformation, so it's no big surprise to see the storied soccer franchise leading the way again.</p><p><span></span>Juventus <a href="https://www.socios.com/new-goal-celebration-song-for-juventus-is-revealed/" target="_blank">invited fans to vote</a> for its new in-stadium goal celebration song using Socios, a token-based voting and rewards platform, to ensure that the results wouldn't be sabotaged by rival fans or manipulated by hackers.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQ1MDQ0Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNjgxNzc3Mn0.KxCJ5aJuZsp3Yn8XGmcciy9RRVKUzD-T1pyCb7xXg1A/img.png?width=980" id="eb2fb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a601a720192202803a2e9424c302db6c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Credit: Twitter
<p>Fans overwhelmingly chose Blur's "Song 2," and were rewarded by <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7868543/Juventus-fans-chose-iconic-Blur-track-goal-anthem-pioneering-blockchain-vote.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hearing the song four times</a> in the first back-to-business game between Juventus and Cagliari. </p> <p>Socios has been doing some interesting work in the digital fan engagement realm beyond the Juventus example. Its parent company, Chiliz, partners with teams to issue blockchain-based, franchise-branded coins. Apollon Limassol FC decided to put on a head-to-head skills challenge between players, with <a href="https://medium.com/chiliz/apollon-fc-apl-fan-token-sells-out-in-6-minutes-generating-100k-f3bc6a98e75d" target="_blank">fans using tokens to vote</a> on the matchups. In esports, itself a social distancing-friendly concept, fans of Spanish team Heretics were able to vote on which players would go head to head in Fortnite death-matches.</p>Encourage fans to connect together at home
<p>Part of the beauty of sports is that it forges relationships. Season ticket holders connect with neighboring seatmates in the stadium; families bond over a shared love for their teams; friends come together to watch the big match and analyze it ceaselessly during and after the game.</p> <p>It's difficult to translate this to a situation where even private socializing is frowned upon, but it's not impossible. </p> <p>To build hype as the NFL season neared, Pepsi <a href="https://www.marketingdive.com/news/pepsi-delivers-tailgate-in-a-box-to-football-fans-hankering-for-game-day/584016/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tapped into this demand</a> with a "Tailgate-in-a-box" kit that includes an outdoor projector and a range of Pepsi products. The kit is valued at $5,000 and was delivered to sweepstake winners, so it's unclear how this will translate into the general market, but the opportunity is clear. Pepsi is also experimenting with a "tailgate tour" that brings live music and outdoor games to fans viewing from home. </p> <p>The <a href="https://www.sportbusiness.com/2020/09/nba-leverages-microsoft-partnership-to-revolutionize-virtual-fan-experience/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NBA led the way recently</a> by offering 320 fans the opportunity to "attend" games in the Orlando bubble. At-home viewers logged in through Microsoft Teams, and their streamed likenesses were beamed onto 17-foot video boards set up around the courts. The tech made it look like viewers were sitting next to each other, plus participants could interact with each other and see and hear their reactions in real time. The NBA has other plans to allow fans to chat during games, display a real-time statistical overlay, and introduce gaming elements as well. </p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQ1MDQ0OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MTM5OTY2Nn0.vXQnhVuNt2U4rgjMS8-rAN1HInynJNhYgk3s-O-lTqo/img.png?width=980" id="5e507" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bbc10212942b5545d604be123af9e75d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="NBA Instagram screenshot" />
Credit: Instagram
<p>Technological advances, including <a href="https://bigthink.com/what-would-it-take-to-create-a-fully-immersive-virtual-reality" target="_self">virtual reality</a> (VR) and augmented reality (AR), offer teams new ways to offer virtual fan experiences.</p> <p>Another option that could become very popular is <a href="https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/05/27/virtual-reality-sports-fans-broadcasts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">audio AR</a>. Powerful recording equipment picks up the minutiae of sounds that make up the audio backdrop of in-stadium viewing, and then broadcasts it to at-home viewers. AR allows the noise to grow louder or fainter as viewers "move" closer to or further away from the action. Brands can even add crowd sounds, like gasps at a near miss or the shouts of vendors, to enhance the experience. </p> <p>In Japan, an app called Remote Cheerer allowed fans to capture their real-time reactions to on-field action and actually play triggered sounds in the stadium, instead of the canned crowd noise we've hearing in our MLB, NFL and NHL telecasts. This type of solution keeps fans at home more engaged and makes even the passive TV watching experience more authentic.</p>A new era for sports fan engagement
<p>COVID-19 has sharpened the need for the sports industry to undergo digital transformation. Fans stuck at home need new ways to engage with their favorite teams, including in-game interactions, VR and AR tech that creates the feel of the stadium in their living-rooms, and better ways to connect remotely with other fans, as well as improved content choices to fill in the gaps when games can't be held. </p> <p>A combination of creativity and new technology can break new ground for fan engagement in the sports industry, and the best innovations are already being cherry picked for further development over the years ahead.</p>
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