Egraphs Launches With MLB Stars - Next Generation of Autographs

July 13, 2012 - PRLog -- Contact: Robin Monsky
312-337-3790
media@egraphs.com


EGRAPHS LAUNCHES TODAY WITH MLB STARS
Website connects players and fans one-to-one


July 12, 2012 - St. Petersburg, FL.  Most people never get the chance to interact with their favorite baseball player, but now there is a new way for fans to share a moment with their favorite star.  The site, www.egraphs.com, and the product, an “egraph,” debut today at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Egraphs, a Seattle-based start-up company that is a licensee of Major League Baseball and MLB Advanced Media, uses technology to create an exchange between stars and their fans that is personal, interactive and memorable.  At the end of the exchange, fans receive an egraph.  Each egraph features a unique, authenticated, handwritten note and a personal audio message from the star captured on a high-resolution photo that can be shared online and offline.

The first players available to fans are from teams competing this weekend in St. Petersburg;  from the Boston Red Sox, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Pedro Martinez and from the Tampa Bay Rays, David Price, James Shields, Jeremy Hellickson and club manager Joe Maddon.  Recently retired Chicago Cub, Kerry Wood is also part of the launch group.  Players and alumni from other Major League Baseball teams are joining the Egraphs roster and will be announced in the coming weeks.

Price, the Rays’ 3-time All-Star pitcher and one of the first stars to sign up with the company, said, “You could call an egraph a ‘next generation’ version of an autograph - but it’s really so much more because I get to hear directly from fans and then create fun written and voice messages for them.  Plus, with Egraphs, it doesn’t matter if I’m on the road with the team or the fan is in a small town in Tennessee; we can connect easily from anywhere.”

Fans initiate the Egraphs process by sending an individualized message through www.egraphs.com to one of the players on Egraphs roster.  The player, using an Egraphs iPad app, opens the message and then responds to the fan's note, making the whole process interactive and tailor-made for each separate request.  

“An egraph enables stars to interact with their fans at any time and from any place in the world through personalized and authenticated voice and hand-written messages,” explained David Auld, the company’s CEO.  “Part of the magic of an egraph is that it lowers the barriers between stars and fans.  It takes location and time out of the equation for getting together while still providing a meaningful way for them to connect.  

Egraphs sits at the cross-section of sports & entertainment and technology with its patent-pending biometric verification process, which confirms every egraph’s signature and voice print.  The verification process guarantees that fans are receiving a message directly from their favorite star.  

Gabe Kapler, a former Major Leaguer who leads Egraphs’ business development team, said one of the reasons the players have been so enthusiastic about joining Egraphs is that “each player knows for sure he is connecting with a genuine fan.  Egraphs are designed to be personal and meaningful.  They are a keepsake rather than a commodity and that’s what makes them so special.”

All egraphs will be offered at an introductory price of $50 during the launch period.

To see a sample egraph of David Price please go to David Price and be sure to click on the audio file.

For more on Egraphs, please visit www.egraphs.com


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