Comments on: What Sport Would Work for In-Game Tweets?

By: Alan C

Alan C — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:33:41 +0000

I think the solution would be having Charlie talk to a team assistant or PR person who would tweet for them. The team could even create a twitter profile for just in-game tweets that players want to pass along. It could be for just one player or they could grab a different player for each game. Its essentially the same thing as an in-game interview and it would allow the players to talk directly with the fans without using “media speak” like “both teams played hard.”

By: Brian Gleason

Brian Gleason — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:39:54 +0000

Hi Tom,

I’ve actually been going back and forth on this a bit since the Bucks banned it. But, Villanueva’s Tweet today, that you mentioned, comparing it to a halftime interview sealed it for me. As you said, as long as it’s about the game, the difference is very little.

I think the Bucks had someone in Skiles that knows very little about Twitter, and social media in general, making this decision. It’s similar to when Gilbert Arenas first started blogging and people were stunned, but know almost every player has a blog.

By: Tom O'Keefe

Tom O'Keefe — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:54:07 +0000

I disagree with the Bucks here. It’s not like he was Tweeting about what he’s doing after the game or his girlfriend. He was Tweeting about the game and connecting with fans in a new and innovative way.

He Tweeted this earlier (which I believe you RTed): CV31: About to take my nap, but I’m looking for some answers here, what’s the difference between halftime twitting and halftime interview?

The answer is very little.

By: Brian Gleason

Brian Gleason — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:38:40 +0000

Hey Jason,

Thanks for stopping by. I agree, this is only the beginning for athletes communicating with fans like this. Hopefully PR people will begin to discuss things like Twitter more with their teams athletes. I don’t have a problem with Skiles saying no to the in-game tweets, but their PR people should get with Villanueva and talk about maybe doing some tweets pre-game and then immediately after the game, since he’s obviously interested.

I am very interested to see where this leads though, and which athletes embrace this. Most likely it will be athletes in individual sports where they don’t have to answer to owners/coaches.

By: Jason Peck

Jason Peck — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:20:32 +0000

It’s too bad the perception is getting in the way of this, or that the organization just doesn’t see the value of having a player be more closely connected to fans during a game. I have no problems with in-game tweets from just about any sport, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the game. It’s great because it doesn’t take much time and gives fans even greater access to the players they love. More access to players=stronger fans=more revenue for teams. It shouldn’t be rocket science. I think this pushback against Twitter will change over time, and forms of communication that put fans closer to the game/players will be more embraced by teams.