Post by stoversghost on Sept 2, 2009 11:11:05 GMT -5
Anybody see this piece in the New York Times last week? The AD at SJU hired a guy to keep tabs on the Red Storm on Twitter to allow fans to follow the day-to-day news on the team. Game days will apparently feature in-game Tweets.
Any chance the AD at Bonas would be interested in doing something like this for the world-wide Bonnies fanatics?
Here's the article and the link:
www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/sports/ncaabasketball/30seconds.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=%22red%20storm%22%20and%20twitter&st=cse
30 Seconds With Peter R. Casey
The Red Storm, Tweet by Tweet
By KEN BELSON
Published: August 29, 2009
After several lackluster seasons, the St. John’s men’s basketball team needs all the buzz it can get. The Red Storm addressed that issue Tuesday by becoming what appears to be the first university to award a media credential to someone who will cover the team entirely on Twitter. Peter Robert Casey is not a reporter, he is a basketball fan with 50,000 people who follow his tweets at twitter.com/peter_r_casey.
Q. A lot of people read your tweets, but you are not a household name. How did you get so many people to pay attention?
A. It’s a function of being active. Rather than tweeting two to five times a day, I tweet 30 to 40 times a day. The real key is to share other people’s work. People who are adding value to the conversation, I like to show their work. If you just tell people what you are doing and you’re not Shaq, people won’t care.
Q. Who are your followers?
A. It’s basketball fans, fellow bloggers, basketball coaches at the youth and high school levels. There are college coaches trying to tap into the New York market. There are basketball event organizers and basketball product companies.
Q. How did St. John’s find you?
A. It was a huge surprise. Mark [Fratto of the St. John’s athletic department] found me on Twitter. He pitched me on the idea and said he had to go back to his superiors. I was on board the minute he asked me. I get a free seat courtside, free food and a press pass. I said, ‘Where do I sign?’
Q. What are the ground rules?
A. The ground rules are, tweet as you normally do. They gave me almost carte blanche, but if I come into the postgame conference and act like a jerk, Coach Norm Roberts will ask what’s going on. My career and integrity is linked to this.
Q. How do you hope to cover the team?
A. I’m going to describe the vibe, the energy, the sound bites, not cover the game from tip-off to the final buzzer. I’d like to do what fans would want to see from press row because that’s not something they’ll see from the other reporters.
Q. Why did you start blogging and tweeting?
A. I finished my master’s in social organizational psychology last May and I got married 10 days later. I had this idea that when I get back from my honeymoon, I’m going to refocus on my lifelong passion for basketball.
Q. Did you tell your wife this before you married?
A. I make sure I carve out time for her.
Q. You have a full-time job. How do you find the time to blog and tweet?
A. I’m a 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. social media junky. I sacrifice a lot of sleep.
Any chance the AD at Bonas would be interested in doing something like this for the world-wide Bonnies fanatics?
Here's the article and the link:
www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/sports/ncaabasketball/30seconds.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=%22red%20storm%22%20and%20twitter&st=cse
30 Seconds With Peter R. Casey
The Red Storm, Tweet by Tweet
By KEN BELSON
Published: August 29, 2009
After several lackluster seasons, the St. John’s men’s basketball team needs all the buzz it can get. The Red Storm addressed that issue Tuesday by becoming what appears to be the first university to award a media credential to someone who will cover the team entirely on Twitter. Peter Robert Casey is not a reporter, he is a basketball fan with 50,000 people who follow his tweets at twitter.com/peter_r_casey.
Q. A lot of people read your tweets, but you are not a household name. How did you get so many people to pay attention?
A. It’s a function of being active. Rather than tweeting two to five times a day, I tweet 30 to 40 times a day. The real key is to share other people’s work. People who are adding value to the conversation, I like to show their work. If you just tell people what you are doing and you’re not Shaq, people won’t care.
Q. Who are your followers?
A. It’s basketball fans, fellow bloggers, basketball coaches at the youth and high school levels. There are college coaches trying to tap into the New York market. There are basketball event organizers and basketball product companies.
Q. How did St. John’s find you?
A. It was a huge surprise. Mark [Fratto of the St. John’s athletic department] found me on Twitter. He pitched me on the idea and said he had to go back to his superiors. I was on board the minute he asked me. I get a free seat courtside, free food and a press pass. I said, ‘Where do I sign?’
Q. What are the ground rules?
A. The ground rules are, tweet as you normally do. They gave me almost carte blanche, but if I come into the postgame conference and act like a jerk, Coach Norm Roberts will ask what’s going on. My career and integrity is linked to this.
Q. How do you hope to cover the team?
A. I’m going to describe the vibe, the energy, the sound bites, not cover the game from tip-off to the final buzzer. I’d like to do what fans would want to see from press row because that’s not something they’ll see from the other reporters.
Q. Why did you start blogging and tweeting?
A. I finished my master’s in social organizational psychology last May and I got married 10 days later. I had this idea that when I get back from my honeymoon, I’m going to refocus on my lifelong passion for basketball.
Q. Did you tell your wife this before you married?
A. I make sure I carve out time for her.
Q. You have a full-time job. How do you find the time to blog and tweet?
A. I’m a 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. social media junky. I sacrifice a lot of sleep.
