Citizens of the World Unite Through Twitter and World Cup

Will technology drive us apart or bring us together?  That has been the age-old question. According to this post on Twitter’s blog, soccer/football was the game that brought the world together, but Twitter may have been the location where the world came to share. 

The infograph posted above (courtesy of Twitter) shows fans’ use of their country’s hashtags during the games.  According to Twitter, during the final match of the tournament, fans from 172 countries tweeted in 27 different languages. The match between Spain and the Netherlands was also the largest period for sustained activity on Twitter ever. There were several other interesting stats, for which I recommend checking out the full post.

It’s great to see that the activity on Twitter mirrored the sense of international unity that accompanied this year’s World Cup.  I would be particularly interested to see whether citizens of different countries were interacting or if the conversation remained fairly national.

-Andrea

The above advertisement is from an AdRants post from earlier today and was produced for SpecSavers, a UK based eyeglasses retailer.

The ad plays up some current news around controversial calls and non-calls during the WorldCup, namely during the England-Germany match on Sunday, which may have been prevented with video replay or goal line sensor technology.

According to AdRants, the ad will “run in The Sun, The Daily Star, The Daily Express and The Daily Mail today.”

- Rob

The Super Bowl is the granddaddy of sporting events, from a marketing perspective. Millions of dollars are doled out for TV spots and hundreds of hours are spent planning marketing campaigns in the hopes of engaging captive audiences across the country. Social media is no different from traditional media outlets when it comes to branding opportunities during the Super Bowl.

Last year, eager fans and those just wishing to comment on advertising took to Twitter to communicate with fellow Super Bowl viewers.  According to CNET, this year the NFL is getting in on the action by making it official with a Twitter hashtag #SB44.  NFL.com’s “Tag the Super Bowl” will compile all the tweets incorporating their hashtag in one place and even allow for picture sharing.

The NFL has been rather strict with their Twitter policy, so it will be quite interesting if they opt to do any filtering of the feed (they say they will not, but users have the option to notify them of any violations). Hats off to NFL.com for realizing (rather than fighting) the power of the network and harnessing it by directing people back to one of their own sites.

-Andrea

This year, Twitter will add a whole new dimension to watching the Olympics.

I was reading the New York Times story on Sunday about how the Web is bringing fans so much closer to Olympic competitors — specifically, the ice skaters. It got me thinking about the impact Twitter will have on our collective following of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics as we watch from afar.

The running stream of tweets from the athletes, their families, the spectators and the fans across the world will surely bring us closer to the action than we’ve ever been before.

—Josh

Dwyane Wade Broadcasts His Weekend for Charity

Last weekend, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade opened up his life off the courts in an unprecedented way.  No, it is not another reality show.  Wade went live with his life via his Ustream account for the first installment of “3 Under the Tree,” a series of charity events hosted by the Wade’s World Foundation.

Fans could follow Dwyane live for a day on Saturday as he attended a charity event, went go-karting and interacted with followers in realtime, through both Twitter and Ustream.  ESPN gave the event a bit of flak for being a PR stunt, but they did note that Wade did reveal a few genuine moments that made him seem a bit more human.

I think this is a brilliant idea, despite what some may say.  PR initiative for Wade and his charity?  Of course!  Effective way of generating buzz for his cause while at the same time making him more accessible to his masses of fans?  Definitely!  It will be interesting to see if more athletes open up their lives in this manner.  Judging by the number of athletes already on Twitter, I have no doubt others will follow suit.

-Andrea

Finally - A Sports Organization Embracing Social Media

For a variety of reasons, sporting organizations like the NFL, SEC and others are attempting to take a hard line on social media (specifically, on Twitter).  This is happening for a variety of reasons, particularly because of the desire to protect the exclusive relationships with media outlets.  While many sporting organizations are trying to curb and regulate social media use, there are a few trying to embrace it.

The New York Mets appear to be hitting the idea of fan-activated, in-stadium social media out of the park (which is good because as you know, this year, that was a bit of a rarity — sorry, Mets fans, had to do it).  In all seriousness, next year the Mets will debut several activations through txtstation that will help enhance the fan experience.  Fans will be able to submit their pictures taken via camera phone to appear on the big screen. Verizon Wireless Fan Choice Awards will run various text polls to which results will be displayed in the stadium in real-time.

The above examples as well as the various other mobile-based social media initiatives planned for next year will provide a great model for organizations out there looking to capitalize on social media opportunities rather than trying to stifle them.  Nicely done, Mets!

-Andrea

Can You Be Too Big for Twitter?

Ryan Corazza, writing for ESPN.com, argues that you can.  He made the observation that the serious sports superstars, those with worldwide recognition and marketing people practically beating down their doors, are not on Twitter.  LeBron James, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter? Not on Twitter.

Corazza’s piece does note that Twitter can be a great marketing tool for many pro athletes, such as Dwight Howard, Randy Moss and Nick Swisher.  Twitter undoubtedly allows for athletes to market their personal brand and connect with fans.  However, he argues that the megastars simply don’t need the marketing boost and don’t have the time.

While I understand his argument, I call foul!  Sure, LeBron doesn’t probably need any marketing boost from Twitter, but what about connecting with fans?  Are these guys too big to do that anymore?  I hope not! The fans are the ones who give athletes a good chunk of marketing power.  Twitter is one of the great democratizing tools of social media and athletes that have bought into this have usually benefited.

I also can’t quite buy into the “lack of time” statement. Twitter is fast and easy.  I understand that the Tom Bradys of the world are more busy than the average Joe, but come on!  If Britney Spears (even if it is mostly through her team) can tweet, I certainly think ol’ Brett Favre can jump on the bandwagon and let the world know how excited he was to beat his old team.

-Andrea

Twitter Done Wrong - Henson Fumbles Twitter Etiquette

Over the last few months, Twittering has become quite the topic of conversation in the sporting world.  This is due in part to athletes using it well (Larry Fitzgerald with @Lfitzgerald11), league bans and the antics of Ocho Cinco (child, please!), which are amusing and ridiculous, but relatively harmless.  Then there came Washington Redskins linebacker Robert Henson.

Mashable reports that Henson sent two insulting tweets directed at Redskins fans after last Sunday’s game.  Apparently the rants were fueled by fans booing during the game.  Regardless of the fans demonstrating a lack of undying love towards the home team, the pro athlete’s response was inflammatory and appalling.  He later made a public apology and disabled his account. Sounds like someone needs to learn that he shouldn’t be dishing it out if he can’t take it.

What this really is, though, is just plain sad.  I’ve waxed poetic about the possibilities of social media and sports in previous posts.  Folks like this ruin it for themselves and for others.

-Andrea

Where’s the Love?

In yet another story on the restrictions on social media in the sporting world, NYConvergence reported that there have been signs posted throughout the US Open grounds warning players, coaches, agents, family members, and tournament staff that Twitter updates could violate the anti-corruption code.

USTA officials worry that Twitter could be used to spread inside information to gamblers.  First the NFL, then the SEC and now the USTA.  Andy Roddick is apparently already a bit peeved by the ban, maybe he’ll go all Chad Ochocinco on the USTA.  Here’s hoping!

-Andrea