Comments on: How Social Media Is Changing The Sports Media Landscape

By: Tom Fox

Tom Fox — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:10:13 +0000

Hi Omar, good point. The interaction of fans has changed dramatically alright with many new platforms for them to vent on. Some of the interaction on see on forums and facebook etc in regards to sport is phenomenal.

By: Tom Fox

Tom Fox — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:04:16 +0000

Cheers James. Although Twitter is definitely less rich in terms of content, I find sometimes it directs me to great content I wouldn’t otherwise have come across.

By: Omar Alam

Omar Alam — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:38:39 +0000

It’s not an unknown fact that social media is having an impact on sports, though I think it is more along how we interact with sports discussions and reports mainly. Before we could get tweets from the sports stars, clubs, teams, networks, we normally had to go to a large portal (i.e. ESPN) and then could post our thoughts and opinions. Today, you can see tweets, FB updates, vlog sites, where interaction is the main purpose of this content.

If there is one thing social media has done it has allowed the arm-chair quarterbacks and die hard sports fan to express themselves and their loyalty (or dislike) for a team to anyone who is willing to listen.

By: James

James — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:56:15 +0000

I don’t think twitter will replace forums, because readers still look for depth, analysis and opinion from their sources rather than simply reporting of the facts, or short updates. Twitter sometimes feels less rich in terms of content than some of the more informative blogs/forums.
Great article though Tom, look forward to the next installment.

By: NIall Harbison

NIall Harbison — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:08:36 +0000

For what it is worth I always end up on Twitter when watching matches. Just to see what people are saying. I usually end up using it a lot more than normal at those times. The only problem is that its just social and not much quality opinion in there. For my real sports coverage I’ll always rivert to newspapers and blogs. The top one for me is always the Sunday Times sport section. I’ll learn more reading that than I would in 2 months of looking at Twitter. Both have their place though.

By: Tom Fox

Tom Fox — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:59:03 +0000

Brendan, very good point in regards to live tracker versus twitter. Twitter would probably be better for speed whereas it wouldn’t have the detail of a match tracker. Also, as you said, you probably get more insight from match tracker into what is actually going on in the match! That UFC example is excellent btw!

By: Brendan Cole

Brendan Cole — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:33:41 +0000

Great blog Tom – I sometimes find twitter a little too cluttered and distracting for live sports stuff; 140 characters and the race to post first mean the match is not rendered that well in textual form compared to a tracker. Prefer to use it during current affairs TV programmes! UFC is a terrific example of Social Media being used to really drive a sport (http://mashable.com/2010/06/08/dana-white-ufc-social-media/). Will Social Media re-shape sports? We may see more fan-driven ‘wouldn’t it be cool if…..’ sports in the future – not sure if that’s entirely a good thing…..!

By: Lahne Mattas

Lahne Mattas — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:30:55 +0000

Great information Tom. I did a survey last year in August specifically looking at the use of social media and football. The results support your thoughts above – however, at that time, not all teams had facebook pages or used twitter. I am planning to relaunch the survey to measure the changes over the last year. I think there will be significant difference in usage and how quickly people get their information now. I also believe, based on my survey results, that fans feel more connection to teams that use social media. Its a great way to communicate with all interested audiences.

By: Boxing VS MMA

Boxing VS MMA — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:06:14 +0000

[...] How social media is changing the way we consume sport online [...]

By: NIall Harbison

NIall Harbison — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:58:48 +0000

Yeah I agree with you that Twitter is taking over but the only issue there is that Twitter stream is lots about an hour later whereas the forum is around forever for me to go back and have a look at. Forums defo still have their place although a newer more updated version of them should have been born by now with some form of Twitter integration.

By: bhigg

bhigg — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:55:12 +0000

I think twitter is also taking over the roll of the forums. People can engage in real time debate about teams, games etc and get instant replies. Much more engaging that writing on a posting on a forum which may or may not be replied too.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:04:19 +0000

Good post Tom. I am finding it a very useful tool for the World Cup.

By: Tom Fox

Tom Fox — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:42:54 +0000

Hi Gareth, Twitter verify accounts to ensure it is really the person in question. Best of luck in your future ventures!

By: Gareth

Gareth — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:29:15 +0000

Very informative Tom, i’m thinking of getting into Social Media myself but I had not considered quite a few of the points you have discussed above. You clearly know your stuff. Call me a sceptic but how can one be sure that for instance the Ian Poulter Tweet is actually Ian Poulter?

By: Tom Fox

Tom Fox — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:24:34 +0000

Hi Ed, great point on the capacity of social media to reconnect teams and fans. And yes, it is needed in England just at the moment! I would love to sit down and have a chat about it with you sometime, sounds great. Tom