You are here: Home / Archives for Twitter

Get Ready, Twitter — Here Comes Kevin Na. Well, Maybe. No, Wait. Yes… No! Maybe… Yes!

May 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

If you caught any golf on the tube or online today you couldn’t miss the new trending topic of the PGA: Golfer Kevin Na and his unbelievable 5-minute pre-shot routine, where he practice swings, backs away, practices a few more times, then even maybe throwing in a full-swing miss over the ball (which is apparently legal) and then backing off again, practicing some more and then… finally… HITTING THE D@MN BALL.

Did we mention he’s leading the Players Championship, aka the “fifth major?” So all these other guys, with their high profile swing coaches, hours spent on the range, new souped up clubs, and monster man fitness routines… and they’re being beaten by a guy who is afraid to hit the ball?

If you want to know what’s behind Na’s eminently unique pre-shot approach there is no shortage of exhaustive stories out there (here’s a pretty good explanation with a video interview link). Geoff Shackelford also has some great video links so you can relive the agony. For the casual viewer I hope NBC tomorrow opens up its prime twosome coverage with some kind of rules explanation as to why it’s OK for Na to take a full whiff over the ball. (Here is the rule in question and a good explanation of why it’s not a penalty in tour play.) But for most golfers watching I am guessing it was a “C’mon man!” moment. If you’re playing with me and you pull one of those, my response would be, “that’s one.”

We’ll let the stewards of golf wring their hands over what the slow-playing Na would do to the soul of the game should his methods produce a victory. Here at MSR we will be watching the Twitter trending scorecard to see how high up his waggles get him.

Filed Under: Golf, NBC Sports, PGA Tagged With: , , ,

NHL expands Digital Presence for Stanley Cup Playoffs

April 26, 2012 by 3 Comments

We don’t talk that much about the NHL around here, we enjoy hockey but it does seem to generate less social media buzz than other sports, at least around the digital corners I hang out at. Still I found this piece from the Sports Business News interesting about hockey’s latest push into the digital market.

I was surprised at how much activity the league has in regards to using social media for fan interaction, and that is something I will have to keep a closer eye on going forward, but you can still vote for the cover of Electronic Arts’ NHL 13 cover, for instance.

Anyway the league has released a number of offerings that are designed to entice fans as the Stanley Cup approaches, and while the playoffs are already well under way it still good to recount a few of the efforts, even if my team was once again eliminated in the first round.

There is a Daily Digital Video Shorts which calls for the league to deliver videos on the action, twoce a day seven days a week. I wonder if the Hossa hit made the cut? They will be two official releases a day- the “Stanley Cup Countdown,” available immediately after the night’s games are completed, and an afternoon edition that it is calling “Melrose’s Place.” Really?

Then there is NHL Social which is an umbrella effort for its social media including Facebook and Twitter. It said that it has experienced a 211% increase in social followings in the last three years. You can grow a virtual beard in honor of the players’ tradition of doing so with real hair, submit photos for fan photo mosaics, and Locker Room Postcards, a polite way to needle your friends when their team is eliminated.

There is more available and go take a look and see, even if your team has once again been eliminated.

Filed Under: Facebook, Fanatic Fans, NHL, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,

Hints about Seahawks picks to be Twittered in Advance?

April 25, 2012 by 2 Comments

Seattle Seahawks’ coach Pete Carroll has developed a unique tool to convey the intentions of the team in regards to each draft choice- he tweets about it.

But rather than make reference to the position or school that the prospective choice might come from he takes a different approach.

Two years ago he tweeted songs about the picks. His first was Santana’s “Soul Sacrifice” and this was followed by a number of other song hints. No explanation was provided, and in fact he tweeted a number of cryptic responses as to what, if anything they meant.

Last year he repeated the act with song hints from everybody from MC Hammer to John Denver to Black Eyes Peas. Is this all for fun or is he providing real clues? NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has warned teams not to leak their selections, but this seems to be hazy enough not to get him in trouble if truly representing his choices.

This year he is at it again, starting Thursday night. You can follow him again, not at his usual twitter handle but at #seahawksdraftclues! To see what he posts this year. The team has the #12 pick in the first round and is reportedly looking for a speed pass rusher. If you crack the code let us know.

Filed Under: Humor, NFL, NFL Draft, Seattle Seahwaks, Twitter Tagged With: , ,

Cubs Announce ‘Social Media Night’ Promotions that, Like the Cubs, Fall Short of Fantastic

April 24, 2012 by 3 Comments

Is giving someone a print magazine as a prize a fitting way to celebrate a “social media night” promotion? It may not exactly resonate with fans who are certified thumb-clickers but who cares when you’re at Wrigley Field?

By announcing a pair of “social media nights” the Chicago Cubs are taking a baby step into the waters of social media — and, in this Cub fan’s opinion, not really “getting it” when it comes to what social media fans might want. On the Cubs’ ticket promotion site it says people who buy the special social media-night tickets will get to come to a pre-game panel discussion on social media that includes… not any members of the Cubs, but instead Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould.

Now I get it — the Cubs players will be getting ready for a game that night and might not want to hang out beforehand with twitter-pals. But the other schwag items include a free copy of the Cubs fan magazine (what is this dead tree stuff?) a chit for a Vienna Beef hot dog (always good), a t-shirt (rarely bad) and some “social media series” baseball cards (questionable worth). And… SOME of the cards may be personally autographed! I guess you can’t get any more random than that. But it’s hard to justify plinking down extra dough on the fact that your card *might* be signed by Ryan Dempster. I guess I just don’t see these cards as becoming big eBay items anytime soon.

In my mind, a real social media night would offer something tangible and fan-specific, like the Golden State Warriors’ events where fans stay after a game for a Q&A session with a real player, or get to go on the court to shoot free throws. Or better yet like the Cleveland Indians, who set aside a suite for Twitterers. If the best the Cubs can do is reward social-media fans with a t-shirt, a dog and a Bear, that’s not really a World Series experience. As we say from Chicago, that’s so Cub. And not in a good way.

Filed Under: Baseball, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Major League Baseball, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,

Cleveland Indians Open Suite for in-Game Twitterers

April 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A special section for Twitter users? Well that is the plan for the Cleveland Indians who already have a strong following in the twittering crowd apparently. The team will now cater to this market segment by creating a social media suite.

The effort actually has been an evolutionary progress, dating back to 2010 according to ESPN, which also once labeled the Indians as baseball’s most Twitter friendly team.

Fans can get invites to the suite, which are available on a game by game basis and then enjoy not only the view from the seats but also chat online from the Wi-Fi enabled suite with friends not in attendance and ones that are present.

This is part of a greater trend in baseball to make the ballpark experience much more social media and online friendly. There are already 4 stadiums that have in-house networks that enable fans to use mobile apps from Facebook to YouTube with a great deal more ease than in the past when network overloading often shut them off from connections.

Anything that helps boost attendance will be appreciated by the team. With a huge amount of rain last month the team suffered from poor per game attendance, but has seen it shoot up by more than 10,000 a game as the weather has dried and warmed. Who knows maybe the twittering masses can help shoot that number even higher.

Filed Under: Baseball, Cleveland Indians, ESPN, Facebook, Major League Baseball, Social Media, Sports Social Media, Twitter Tagged With: , ,

The Atlanta Hawks Social Hub- Where Fans Gather

April 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

With the NBA playoffs just around the corner here is wishing that your team is angling for a better seeding for the games rather than for the lottery. While looking around the league I was struck by how easy it was to use the Hawks Social Hub, a nice mixture of new and older technologies.

Right next to the banner headline of ‘Hawks Social Hub’ are six icons for popular news and social media feeds such as YouTube and Twitter, but really that is just a tease. Directly below are two large boxes, one with the latest Facebook posting and a link to Facebook, as well as a invite to join a contest to win 4 free tickets.

Across is a box with the Twitter feed, and you can follow the team at @atlanta_hawks and the site touts that you can follow all of the Hawks social media at one place, here at the Hub. Beneath this box are three slightly smaller boxes.

The first is a link that takes you to the teams YouTube channel for videos. The second is the teams official blog, with one of the current conversations discussing its playoff picture while the third box covers its Google + feed.

Below all of this are two buttons, one for users that wish to see additional video and the other is for those who like to comment on message boards. This is just the front page of the Hub. It has pages for fans looking to buy team merchandise, get stats, buy tickets, look at cheerleaders and more.

The sponsors for the page are quite clear as well, showing that the team understands how to partner with advertisers. The Georgia Lottery is the page’s sponsor and others can be found on the page, but not really to a point where they are obtrusive.

This is a great example of how a good page, incorporating all of the different forms of social media can really make it easier for fans to follow their teams. For any traveler that has been in a city far from home waiting patiently while the local sports channel or ESPN to finish scrolling through all of the games that you are not interested in to get to the one that you do care about, now there is a much more efficient method of catching up.

Team pages vary a great deal, which in one way is good, it enables them to highlight what they believe their fans are most interested in. On the other hand it can make finding the information of connection you want difficult to find. Just head over to a different teams page and try finding Google + or YouTube videos. On some they are not present and others very difficult to find.

Filed Under: Atlanta Hawks, Facebook, Google, NBA, Social Media, Social Media Data, Sports Social Media, Twitter, YouTube Tagged With: , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »