It started with a random Twitter comment.
Random. It is the “live tweeting” comment that caught my eye. So I went looking for the original tweet.
Frustrating part for me is "everybody is live tweeting" seems like if I don't I'm not the one-stop shop I hope to be.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) October 17, 2014
For background, it appears this tweet from Evan Grant was related to a press conference the Texas Rangers were to have on Friday.
Need help on presser coverage. Want to tweet from them but feel like I'm there to report/ask questions 1st. Do I under-serve you from them?
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) October 17, 2014
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Why are sportswriters on Twitter? Why don’t they gravitate toward Facebook or Google+ more? Why do they take to Twitter? What is it about Twitter that works for them?
In April, I wrote “The Secret to Twitter“. I stated, “Within moments of a story breaking (tweets and retweets), dialogue happens.” That dialogue occurs between media and other media, media and fans, media and athletes. Everyone within a sports journalist’s audience is on Twitter. “Everyone” in the general sense. There is an audience connection and interaction that one gets on Twitter that isn’t found elsewhere.
As Twitter has grown, so have the expectations and routine. Routine as in “live-tweeting”.
There are some who believe “live-tweeting” (aka play-by-play) is overkill. But, from a fan perspective, it’s an instant-connection with those who are there. If one can’t be at a game, connect with those who are there. Sort of a live-vicariously-through-them type of thinking. But, there’s also what I call “Twitter is the world’s largest sports bar” aspect. Not just communicate with those there, but others watching just like you. It helps fans get an additional perspective from those at the game or other media/fans watching it. It’s relationship. In all relationships, there are expectations.
Because of how news (including live-events) can be shared instantly on Twitter, there’s a tendency to cover every event with live-tweets. If one works in media, social media sharing/interaction is part of the job now. But, for print (newspaper, magazine) media, there seems to be an expectation of tweeting every single action that occurs with teams as Grant tweeted. Live-tweeting press conferences is part of that routine.
As Grant stated, his hope is to be the “one-stop shop”. I’d expect that to be the same for many sports journalists – to be the source for fans to find news on “their” teams. Being the “go-to” source…is that part of the routine now?
Or, is it today’s expectations? Expectations of fans?
Or, maybe it’s expectations of other media.
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I saw “Live Tweeting” in the title and have to admit that my first thought was not about sports. I’ve been live tweeting for a while, but I live tweet business conferences, trade shows and Google Plus Hangouts On Air.
The thought of live tweeting a game or a match . . . that actually makes all the sense in the world. I think it would be difficult to tweet while keeping my eye on the field or court. But, following the tweets of people at the game . . . I would definitely feel a sense of connect.