What’s wrong with the Dallas Cowboys? Why can’t a team with extraordinarily talented players get it together? Maybe several reasons pop into your head but I simply want to give my perspective since I’m a lifelong, die-hard Cowboys fan. Never mind what you’re thinking…I take a lot of guff when I mention ‘America’s Team’ but…
Tag Archives | Sports
Sports 2.0 and the Age of Social Media
Whenever I get a chance to watch my Buckeyes crush opponents on television these days, I always catch myself checking my Twitter stream or Facebook feed in between plays and during commercial breaks. I may catch a commercial here or there, but for the most part, I am too busy socializing online about the game to pay attention.
Social media has become a regular part in my sports-watching experience. For kids growing up now, it’s a whole new ballgame than the one we grew up where we had to bear through every single advertisement impatiently wondering if there will be another first down. The geniuses at Espresso’s Infiltrators capture this essence perfectly in the deck below. They go through the age of sports that us ‘old folks’ went through and compare it with the new age of social media: sports 2.0.
Where Are The Sports Social Networks?
Being that I’m a huge sports fan and an avid social media user, I always wonder why there are no good sports-themed social networks. Many have tried, but none have succeeded.
In my opinion, sports and social media are a perfect marriage. Sports fans love to talk about sports. We spend hours of every day watching, reading, and talking about the teams and players that matter to us. Sports fans also love to show and demonstrate our pride. We want to show the world our allegiances. And most importantly, there are plenty of instances where sports and social media have succeeded!
I spoke to my boss and great friend AJ Vaynerchuk about it. He brought up the valid question: “is there really a problem there that needs to be fixed?”
I’m not sure of the answer, but I’m going to talk it through right now:
Lingerie Football League Fans Flooding New Social Media Platform
(This is a guest post by Robert Chilver)
The Lingerie Football League recently kicked-off their new season and if the popularity of their new social media platform is any indication, fans are taking notice.
Adage Technologies, a leader in website and application development, partnered with the Lingerie Football League (LFL) and Maximum Fantasy Sports to create the revolutionary LFL “Fanzone,” a new social media outlet for league fans looking to interact with their favorite players and teams.
Launched in July 2010, over 15,300 users are already signed up to participate in the LFL Fanzone. Fans can customize their profile with their personal information, pictures, photos, videos and links to their favorite players and teams. Users can then ‘friend’ other profiles, chat on message boards and connect with specific teams, players and league officials.
A Simple @Reply Goes A Long Way
I work with professional sports organizations and athletes for a living, consulting them on best practices in social media branding. That being said, before working as a social media consultant (I hate that term), I am a massive sports fan (GO PHILLIES!). I’ve loved sports for as long as I can remember, and ever since I realized I would not be a professional athlete, I’ve always dreamt of working with them in some capacity. I have several athletes’ numbers stored on my phone, and I would be lying if I said I think it’s no big deal. Because I don’t think that. I think it’s freaking awesome! That’s why I understand this: a simple @reply goes a long way…
Interview with NHL Sports Agent Scott Norton on Social Media, Twitter Campaigns
Sports agent Scott Norton represents some of the top players and prospects in the National Hockey League today including current Los Angeles Kings captain and 2010 U.S. Olympian Dustin Brown.
While Scott is used to his clients making headlines with their on-ice play, Norton made headlines of his own for a charity campaign that he started on Twitter called ‘Make My Day Mondays’.
I recently got to chat with Scott one on one about the movement he started, why he joined Twitter and what he sees as the future of social media use in the sports industry. Here is what he had to say:
From Sports Team to Social Experience
This is part of a short blog series where we take a look at how social media can be utilized to grow a sports team’s fan base, regardless of whether the team already has a large following or is starting from the grassroots level. You can see the other posts here.
In the first post of this series I covered the importance of listening in social media. Today I’m going to cover how community can help your fan base grow.
Using social media to create an online community is a great way to bring your fans together, constantly keep them thinking about your team and also reach new fans. You can also use an online community as a way to add to your teams overall experience and create brand advocates.
Analysis of a Hockey Captain
Joe Thornton was recently named as the eighth captain of the San Jose Sharks, and there have already been questions raised as to whether or not he is the right person for the job. It’s an interesting concept, that fans and sports analysts can tell whether or not specific players would be a good leader for a specific team. But what are the requirements of a hockey captain?
Surprisingly, not much, at least officially.
The main role of captains on the ice is to be the go-to person to talk to referees about rule discrepancies, but even that is fairly unimportant since the Canucks did so for the last two years with their goaltender as the ‘captain’. But we all know it is about the intangibles. The referee chatter is just something logical to put in the NHL rulebook. This is what a captain actually does:
Secrets to Working with Pro Athlete Clients
In my work with current and retired pro athletes, I’ve made a few discoveries along the way. Basically, working with pro athletes, specifically NFL athletes, requires the same principles and ethics as needed for any other client. If you are currently working with, or have aspirations to work with, pro athletes in any sport, here are a few tips I’ve learned and regularly practice in my own business:
General Managers Embrace Social Media
At the Tribe Social Forum last week, Lewis Howes learned that Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro is set to fully embrace social media this fall, from the head office all the way down to the players. Especially in a season where the Indians suck aren’t as competitive, Mark sees more reason than ever to harness the power of social media to interact with their fan base. At least one other General Manager agrees; Vancouver Canucks’ Mike Gillis has decided to use Twitter for the upcoming hockey season.
While Gillis isn’t as enthusiastic as Shapiro, he notes in the Globe and Mail, “social media is not something that is going to go away, and I think it’s a way to get a little bit of a different perspective out there”.
How Dream Teams are Composed
We’ve all been admonished to notice the absence of “I” in teamwork. We hear it so often that we become numb to its meaning and significance. It’s never an individual effort.
Wikipedia describes teamwork as, “A joint action by two or more people or a group, in which each person contributes with different skills and expresses his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals.
It’s teamwork that’s made my favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, 5-time Super Bowl champions back in the day. I’m still waiting for number six but I’m not holding my breath. Sure, a team needs a great leader but the players really make or break the success of the team.
Don’t Pull a Johnson…Follow the Rules!
Rules, rules, rules, why is it so hard for athletes to follow the rules!
On Sunday, for the second time in as many months, a ‘Johnson’ broke the rules in the world of sports.
First, way back on August 12th, Dustin Johnson grounded his club in a destroyed sand trap on 18th hole of the PGA Championship incurring him a 2-stroke penalty. The move cost him more than just 2 strokes as it knocked him out of a playoff for the major title. The entire world watched when Johnson first heard what he had unknowingly done.
Then it happened again, on September 12th. Seconds remained in the Detroit Lions-Chicago Bears game when Lions receiver Calvin Johnson and everybody else in the world thought he caught the game winning touchdown. The play was reviewed and overturned after it became clear that Johnson lost the ball while attempting to use it to help him get up from the ground.