Rock Software CEO and President John Shahidi knows a thing or two about developing official apps for athletes. His company has developed official iPhone apps for NFL stars Chad Ochocinco, Jared Allen and NBA star Dwight Howard. I interviewed John via email to learn how Rock Software approaches app development, his assessment of the current market and thoughts on growth potential.

How did Rock Software begin?

I was sitting in my living room with my brother Sam and buddy Jordan (Palmer) and we all just got iPhones but couldn’t find any good apps to download. My brother came across the RunPee.com site and contacted the owner to make their site mobile and create the app. Jordan plays for the Bengals and when he went to camp that summer and came across Ochocinco & Ocho asked “why are you making apps like this and not a real app like one for me?” Pretty much history from there.

Do you think athletes’ social media apps will become the norm in the future, a sort of virtual trading card? Why or why not?

It depends on who makes it. They can be glorified baseball cards or even a glorified website but you have to get the right people to build them and understand the athlete/celebrities brand.

The Chad Ochocinco iPhone app sold for $2.99 when it debuted in September, 2009. The app is now available for free, as are all of Rock Software’s iPhone apps. How has your business model changed since the Ochocinco app debuted in September of 2009?

The users who are downloading Chad’s app are his diehard fans. None of us, Chad included, felt right about charging his diehard fans for the app. We can figure everything else out later.

Recently Rock Software released an iPad version of the Chad Ochocinco app. What are some of your expectations for the iPad genre of apps? How will your iPad apps differ from their iPhone counterparts?

We are actually more excited about making iPad apps then iPhone. I can’t really disclose why “yet” but stand by…

On your website you state that your company is currently developing Android apps. What are your plans for Android?

We are building an Android team right now. They are getting pretty aggressive and in the tech world, you can never bet against Google.

Aside from NBA teams with official iPhone apps, the sports industry really hasn’t seen much widespread adoption of team or league specific apps capable of selling tickets or merchandise to fans. Do you think this is something we will see in the future?

Oh yes, we are actually working on an iPhone and iPad app for an NFL team right now. It will be focused giving fans access to tickets, online store and something more that you can’t get from the homepage – Sam is proposing a further on the cheerleaders and also cheerleaders interviewing players, exclusively on the app.

As someone who is active in the social media and app development spaces, what are some of your impressions of the state of the sports industry in social media in general?

It has changed a ton. I was lucky enough to get into the sports biz right in the beginning of it when Twitter just had Shaq. Now it’s weird if an athlete does not have a Twitter account. Now fans have direct access to athletes without the media giving you what they want to see. Chad was the most hated guy in the NFL 2 years ago and now is the most loved.

In what ways do social media sites like Facebook and Twitter fit into Rock Software’s current business model and social media presence?

They both have helped. The apps, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube page and homepage should all be in sync with one another.

What’s one aspect about being an iPhone app developer that might surprise sports fans or your audience in general?

It is not easy. It’s a ton of hard work. Not really to develop but to make sure there aren’t any bugs. Not complaining though, developing these things are fun.

What’s your favorite thing about sports in the social media space? Least favorite thing?

I have met a lot of cool people, especially clients. I met Larry Fitzgerald, Erin Andrews, Ryan Grant, DJ Drama and a lot of agents and managers on Twitter. Least favorite thing are the stupid questions.

Outspoken Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is in the headlines again. This time, though, the headlines aren’t about him.

Less than a month after the debut of his eponymous iPhone application, Ochocinco announced the “Ochocinco News Network” on Twitter this week.

Ochocinco said he intends to break NFL news via Twitter by contacting friends around the league for news about their teams. While many beat writers and reporters post tweets about the teams they cover, Ochocinco’s proposal may be the first time a player has sought to break news through personal contacts.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love made headlines in June when he broke the news that head coach Kevin McHale would not return this season. ESPN and other media outlets reported on Love’s tweet and the Timberwolves issued a formal statement announcing McHale’s departure a short time later.

Come NFL Sunday do you think Ochocinco will be scooping the major media or is this just another card in the Ochocinco entertainment deck? What do you think?

Tonight the NFL released a statement clarifying its policy on player usage of Twitter and other social media sites on game days. In short, the policy allows players to use social media sites up to 90 minutes before kickoff and again after post-game media interviews. Players and game day personnel are prohibited from using social media sites while the game is in progress.

The full release from the NFL office is below:

The NFL informed clubs today that coaches, players and football operations personnel are permitted under league policy and with club permission to use social media on game day during specific time periods before and after games.League policy allows for the use of social media or networking sites (including Twitter and Facebook) by players, coaches and football operations personnel up to 90 minutes before kickoff and after the game following media interviews.

The use of these sites by these individuals is not permitted during the game, including halftime. No updates are permitted to be posted by the individual himself or anyone representing him during this prohibited time on his personal Twitter, Facebook or any other social media account.

The use of social media by NFL game officials and officiating department personnel is prohibited at any time.
Longstanding policies prohibiting play-by-play descriptions of NFL games in progress apply fully to Twitter and other social media platforms. Internet sites may not post detailed information that approximates play-by-play during a game. While a game is in progress, any forms of accounts of the game must be sufficiently time-delayed and limited in amount (e.g., score updates with detail given only in quarterly game updates) so that the accredited organization’s game coverage cannot be used as a substitute for, or otherwise approximate, authorized play-by-play accounts.

Any use of social media during games by the public relations or website staff on an official club platform must be consistent with the play-by-play policy described above.

The NFL’s security department has been successful assisting players in removing fake sites on Facebook and Twitter. Players or other NFL employees who believe they are victims of identity theft by people impersonating them on social media sites are advised to contact the NFL’s security department.

The growth of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook has created important new ways for the NFL and clubs to communicate and connect with fans. The NFL has been at the forefront of the use of new media and will continue to emphasize innovative and appropriate use of these new forms of communication.

The bolded sentence in the second paragraph prohibits others from using social media sites on behalf of the players, a policy which seemingly eliminates any possibility of Chad Ochocinco’s rumored fan-Tweeting-for-him-during-games talk.

Outspoken Cincinnati Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco loves Twitter. He made headlines recently when he announced his intention to tweet during NFL games. It seems doubtful now that will ever happen.

Last week NFL spokesman Greg Aiello reiterated the NFL’s current ban on cell phone and other handheld communication devices in an email to ProFootballTalk.com. “We already have a rule that prohibits the use of cell phones or other handheld devices in the bench area during games” he said. A violation of this policy would likely result in a hefty fine, even for a first time offender.

You will recall that New Orleans Saints WR Joe Horn celebrated a touchdown with a cell phone call during the 2003 season. Horn was reportedly fined $30,000 for the celebration.

For his part, Ochocinco says he is undeterred by the NFL’s ruling. Ever the showman, Ochocinco says he’s “putting his foot down.” What do you think? Do you think Chad Ochocinco will tweet after a touchdown?

It all started with a tweet.

Cincinnati Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco called out San Diego Chargers LB Shawne Merriman on Twitter earlier this week and the resulting exchange begs the question: will athletes use Twitter to trash talk?

Here’s the exchange between Ochocinco and Merriman on Twitter as well as Merriman’s response video from 12 Seconds.tv.

VID 00062.3GP on 12seconds.tv

Players know fans and the media are following along on Twitter so is this exchange any different from trash talk via the traditional media? Do you think this will be the first of many similar incidents on Twitter? Why or why not? What do you think?