Social Media redefines "Sports"

I was honoured to be invited by the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Clubs new media group to be part of a discussion group to assess their current Social Media platforms.

In the room were several of Edmonton's 'bright lights' in the field.

(I know - first question - how the hell did YOU fit in?)

It was a good mix of folks I know including CITY TV's Ryan Jespersen (@ryanjespersen) ; his lovely wife from UP Radio Keri Skelton (@keriskelton); Mack Male (@mastermaq); Brittney Le Blanc from the Edmonton Journal (@britl); Adam Rosenberg from Calder Bateman (@bingofuel), Todd Crawshaw from CKUA, (@bob_laubaw) as well as some 'new friends' - Alex Abboud (@alexabboud) - Ryan Batty (@ryan_batty) - and the crew from the Oilers including Media big wig Steve Hogle, Jessica McPhee, Andrea Goss, Kelsey Spohn, and the guy who pushes all the buttons - Ryan Frankson.

It was a great discussion for a number of reasons.

First off "because they are thinking progressively.' Second -"they want to stay on the leading edge" - and Third - "they want to reach out to those in the know of SM for their opinions and ideas."

It's been a summer of major changes for the marriage of Social Media and Sports.

Nobody can deny that NBC paid the price with the Twitter, Facebook and Blog world by 'delaying' most of the Olympic Coverage from London back to the US.

Twitter had 'instant' winners and opinions flying all day long and it was humourous watching my pals from the United States following the 'millions' of tweets from here
on us watching the Opening and Closing ceremonies as they showed great frustration as they had to wait about 8 hours later to see what Canada (and I'm guessing most of the world) got to enjoy 'live' on CTV or other carriers.

One of the things that is hard to express to people is the 'power' of Twitter.

Lines like:

Q: Why should I care about some guy who has 15 followers and what he/she says?

A: Cuz that follower's 15 followers may have thousands upon thousands of followers - who also Retweet messages.

It's like the rabbit theory...it just grows and grows and grows.

Just ask the Alberta political parties about the effects felt in the last election by a couple of wild card comments from their staffers (or candidates seeking election) that rippled around the world and had great effects on their particular party 'instantly.'

Yes the 'wild card' theory is a concern about Social Media, but in my experience it doesn't take long for a CREDIBLE source to correct (and criticize) anybody who has made an erronious, or offensive comment.

I think it's a signature change in the Sports business that professional sports clubs are doing these kinds of chats.

They are beginning to recognizing that their fan base is 'heavily' involved in Social Media - and that their Players too are big stars in the field.

Who doesn't follow Paul Bissonnette of the Phoenix Coyotes? He has more followers 'personally' than many sports teams have 'collectively.' (Sorry Oilers - it's just his power!)

It's also apparent to me that you may see 'bloggers' and 'sm leaders' sitting in the Media Section of arenas and stadiums in the very near future. Yes it's important to follow the Sports Journalists in each city - but the often unbiased perspective of a guy or girl sitting at the game and what they see and say 'as a fan' is also becoming a factor in sports.

*Fair warning SM guys and Bloggers: Don't sit in Terry Jones seat OR take too much free popcorn!*

Many sports teams are also now using Social Media as 'commerce' with their fans too.

You can now order 50/50 tickets, food/beverage or souveniers to be delivered to your seat during the game in some NFL Major League Baseball NBA and NHL stadiums allready.

Some have the technology to email your smart phone before the end of the game asking if you'd like to buy those same seats you are in for an upcoming game.

One click - and those tickets are delivered electronically to your account.

You can order food and walk up to a 'fast track' line at the concession stands too where your food is waiting and likely paid for through a smart phone or tablet loyalty program.

More and more teams are putting entertaining tweets not only on their websites but during the game experience on the Jumbotrons too.

(*Ya I'm tired of the Kiss Cam too - until it goes to the other teams bench!)

Pinterest is allowing 'three clicks to commerce' too. The Arizona Cardinals have an excellent site where you can order clothing allready segmented into Boards for Kids, Men or Womens - as well as a direct connection to tickets for upcoming games.

One great thing about Social Media is that it evokes 'discussion' - and many different opinions make things better, however a major concern for me is the fact that a recent stat has stated that ONLY 3% of Fortune 500 Companies have CEO's who have either a Facebook or Twitter account.

That's 'billions' of dollars of decisions being made by the corner office who truly don't understand the Power of Social Media in their own hands.

So again "Thank You" to the Edmonton Oilers Social Media team that put together this discussion.

I think some great feedback was provided - both ways - as the guests got to understand some of the logistics that the Oilers, and the NHL, have to deal with - and I'm looking forward to following Edmonton Oilers President Patrick LaForge 'when' he ventures on to Twitter.