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Category: Social Media

Sometimes you have to move on…

… and that time has come for me.

At the end of this week, I’ll be packing up my life in Cleveland, and moving to Baltimore to work for the Baltimore Ravens digital media team.

Growing up as a sports fan, it has been a dream of mine to work in the NFL, and this job gives me the unique opportunity to fulfill that goal with one of the best franchises in the pro sports.

October 27, 2011 | Commentary, NFL, Social Media, WEWS

Beyonce and the VMA’s: What can we learn?

The news that Beyonce’s pregnancy announcement sparked the largest spike ever in Twitter activity—far more than major news or sporting event—prompted this reaction from many people: “What is wrong with society?”

I heard that response about five times today. I saw it on Twitter about 100 times.

The reality that Beyonce’s “baby bump” could lead to 8,868 tweets per second (TPS) seemed shocking, especially when the final minutes of the women’s World Cup Final generated 7,196 TPS and breaking news of terror leader Osama bin Laden’s death lead to 5,106 TPS.

August 30, 2011 | Branding, New Media Thoughts, News, Social Media, Television, twitter

ESPN’s new social media policy: Don’t break news on Twitter

ESPN gets flak for just about everything they do. Fair or not, the “Worldwide Leader” has their every move questioned, critiqued and analyzed, but that’s the price that comes with sitting at the top of the sports food chain.

The company’s updated social media policy is no different.

Soon after ESPN released its amended social networking policy for talent and reporters, the Twittersphere took the company to task–specifically for one guideline.

August 25, 2011 | Commentary, ESPN, Journalism thoughts, New Media Thoughts, Social Media, Sports Marketing, twitter

Banning Twitter is the easy way out for college coaches

Social media is part of college. The most prominent social media platform was invented at a college. By a college student. For college students.
It’s engrained in the college culture, and is a central means of communication for people in their late teens and early 20s.

The problem, however, is when those college kids using social media are high profile athletes who generate millions of dollars for their college institutions. Then things get a little more complicated.

To deal with the challenges of (student) athletes using social media–specifically Twitter–an increasingly popular strategy for college coaches has been to simply ban athletes from tweeting. It’s the easiest and most painless approach to control what information players put out there for public eyes to see.

August 24, 2011 | Commentary, NCAA, New Media Thoughts, Social Media, Sports, Sports Marketing

Social media’s ‘most influential’ sports journalists

On Twitter, we use each person’s number followers as a way to keep score.

It seems simple: More followers = larger audience = better reputation = more influence.

But it doesn’t necessarily work that way. What does a follower count really reveal? It’s good for stroking a Twitter user’s ego, but beyond that, the translation of followers to social influence is difficult to quantify.

August 11, 2011 | Branding, New Media Thoughts, Social Media, Sports, twitter

Twitter’s most followed sports journalists

In today’s age of sports journalism, some of the characters covering the games have become just as big of stars—if not bigger—as those competing on the field.

Television gives journalists national exposure from plenty of eyeballs, and social media allows for them to interact and build relationships with global fanbases. Twitter, specifically, provides some tangible evidence to show who are some of the biggest names is the sports journalism business.

August 8, 2011 | Branding, Journalism thoughts, New Media Thoughts, Social Media, twitter

Mark Cuban and allowing online media access

This is a response to a blog from Mark Cuban about the role of the online media in NBA locker rooms. I would suggest reading that before reading my response. Also, several people have already weighed in on this issue (here, here, here),  and I read a number of posts before publishing my own.

In 2011, the debate of web-only reporters vs. traditional media is dead. I thought.

Online news organizations have risen to the top of media world, and some of the most prominent, respected journalists are employed by companies that never print a newspaper or broadcast a daily news program.

April 25, 2011 | Commentary, New Media Thoughts, Social Media, Sports Marketing

What made the Ted Williams story go viral?

One of the biggest news stories of 2011 has come from the most unlikely of places—a homeless panhandler on the streets of Columbus.

Ted Williams, a former felon and drug addict became known as the “Man with the Golden Voice,” and he captivated the nation as a millions of people watched a seemingly minor YouTube video over and over again.

In the span of 24 hours, Williams’ feel-good story was the lead of every major morning news show, as he fielded job offers from major companies, sports teams and Hollywood executives.

January 10, 2011 | New Media Thoughts, News, Social Media

That’s not scary, that’s how it should be

I’m about two months into my new gig with WEWS-TV/newsnet5.com in Cleveland, and I’m getting plenty of on the job training. The experience has been great, and I’ve spent much of my time learning the dynamics of a television newsroom.

I have enjoyed watching and listening as the newsroom continues to go through an evolution to get more in line with today’s era of digital journalism.

The newsroom has a wide range of personnel, from employees who have worked at the station for over 40 years, to me, who is 22 years old and has been there a couple of months.

August 24, 2010 | New Media Thoughts, Social Media, WEWS

Sports marketing done right: The Tribe Social Media Deck

Last week I had the chance to attend a Cleveland Indians game and sit in the new “Social Media Deck.” I wasn’t sure what to expect before I arrived because I had only heard a limited amount about the team’s new media project.

Basically, I knew I had free tickets. And that I should use social media during the game. I thought I could handle that.

July 20, 2010 | New Media Thoughts, Social Media, Sports Marketing