Join the Refolution: Crowdsourced Replay Officiating

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Refolution
Waterboy
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Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:34 pm

Join the Refolution: Crowdsourced Replay Officiating

Post by Refolution »

With moderator blessing (thanks Cliff), I'm posting to share an idea I've been working on.

To set the mood, think back to NaVorro Bowman's injury from 2 years ago in the playoffs against Seattle (if you haven't seen it, I highly suggest NOT watching it). He made a great play—an obvious strip, controlling the ball to the ground, with every camera angle confirming it—and was terribly injured in the process. But somehow the officials missed the strip, a pileup ensued, and it ended up as an unreviewable call with Seattle keeping possession.

If you weren't sick to your stomach from seeing the injury, the injustice of the call might have done the job. I thought to myself that even the most biased of Seattle fans would agree that SF should have gotten the call. Unfortunately, there was no way to ask them.

So that's what I set out to correct. I've built a "crowdsourced replay officiating" platform, called Refolution, so fans can immediately voice their opinions on calls. In the beginning, it will be a fun way to see what other fans think of a call, but the endgame is to affect actual games by allowing fans to take part in the review process.

There are obviously several areas of concern; fans that don't know the rules, homers, discrepancies in fan base sizes, slowing down the game experience, etc. I have plans to deal with each of these (many are addressed in the FAQ). But for now I'm concentrating on improving the app, and building the "crowdsource" network.

The platform relies on a hierarchy of volunteers (similar to Wikipedia) of which I'm hoping some of you will be interested in taking part. Commissioners will administer leagues. Owners will enter schedules and maintain a list of Managers. And Managers will watch games and enter polls as calls happen.

If you're curious, download the app which is on the App Store and on Google Play. If you're more than curious (if you're interested in managing the Super Bowl, helping with the Vikings next year, or volunteering for another league) I'd be happy to walk you through things personally. Let me know at volunteer@jointherefolution.com.

Of course I'll be checking back in if you want to ask any questions here. Thanks for reading.
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