I was supposed to be going to the U.S. vs. Brazil game at New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey. Instead, I found myself standing in my kitchen, walking my husband through the steps of a Foursquare check-in one more time before he headed out alone, with my phone. He looked up at me and said, “Angie, we work… because we’re different.”

Sports and social media are perhaps the two areas where that difference is most pronounced. He is a political scientist who has never tweeted. I am a public relations professional whose title recently changed to include the words social media.  During our first World Cup as a couple, 2002, I woke up one night over at his place to find him sitting in the living room at 3 or 4 a.m. in the morning staring at the television, his shoulders draped with a United States flag. When he took me to the first and only soccer game of my life – U.S. vs. Argentina, Orange Bowl, 2003 – I spent more time with my eyes on the fans than on the field.

Social media was in its infancy back then, but I did manage to find a post on a thread on bigsoccer.com: “US vs. Argentina will be a different matter altogether [sic]. There will be tons of Argentineans [sic] in attendance, other South Americans who dislike Argentineans and maybe even some U.S. fans too.” That post was a spot-on prediction, and probably not too far from what might have been said by some about the U.S. vs. Brazil match I was about to miss.  I can’t remember a single red, white and blue jersey in the place – just a sea of little suns on bright white and baby blue.

I guess that’s why my husband’s first post – second, if you count 7:08 – pm Beer for $9.75. Not a good place for alcoholics. – was all about what was happening in the stands.

8:05 pm – Sitting in the Brazil section might be best way to see a USA game.

My Argentinean colleague Pablo did this hilarious impression the other day of how he imagined a U.S. fan at the match: some sort of a hybrid of a couch potato and a robot mindlessly slamming popcorn and Bud into his mouth, glazed eyes staring straight ahead. That must have been what Eduardo had in mind when he agreed to seats on the visitor side with his Brazilian friend Jorge back in May.

Four minutes after that post, my husband earned me the Super Swarm badge on Foursquare. What a swell guy. “50 person foursquare swarms are soooo 2009,” Foursquare told me when I clicked on the link on my check-in post from Facebook. “We upped it to 250 for the Super Swarm and you still nailed it. Well played!” One tweet I read said there were 77,000 fans at the game – I’m looking forward to seeing stats for how many of them were online.

8:32 pm – Too much social media being used, can’t upload to Facebook.

After the one about the beer, I’d texted him back – yes, three clicks to a character on his Samsung – 7:19 pm (Me) – U can post 2 FB 2.  This is fun. I was enjoying how he pretending to be me was providing a reflection of his interpretations of who I am online.  Part of me was hoping, though, for something about the game.

I finally got it at 8:39 pm – Goal Brazil – and 8:54 pm – Yellow and white are actually equally distributed (I have to confess I don’t quite understand what that second one means), but not before two interesting tidbits that deserve further analysis:

8:36 pm – Brazilians love showing families back home pics of the game live.

8:37 pm – Because game is only private cable back home due to conflict with soap operas – which make more money.

Here, in less than 140 characters, the social-media-averse academic I’m in love with conveyed what this whole social media and sports thing is all about. Cue the bullets:

• Social media allows people to share important game moments across geography in real time.
• Social media is finding ways around monopolies of old-media content and creating new channels and definitions for sports news.
• While the economics might not be entirely figured out, a growing online audience for sports is undeniably there.
• Social media connects people around the teams they love and the games everyone is talking about.

An old soccer-playing friend from middle school was “watching the USA vs. Brazil game undisturbed.  For the time being,” according to her status on Facebook. “If you are at Meadowlands for the soccer game, I’m a little jealous!” she posted on my wall.  I’m jealous, too, Brittany, since I was actually getting my sick kid fed, bathed and into bed, so didn’t get to watch the game at all.

By halftime, the poor performance must have spoiled the fun of imagining himself as his wife, that or sheer awe was at play for these two posts, 20 minutes apart:

9:10 pm – Halftime and all break out the iPhone. Holy crazy.

9:30 pm – iPhones everywhere. Unbelievable.

I imagine it taking him a full 20 minutes to pan across all the Brazilians around him who had peeled their eyes away from their team to catch up online. I did notice a massive spike on the stream around that time and can’t imagine the headaches AT&T must have been having routing all that traffic.

9:31 (Me) – “Pics of them?” I asked, meaning images of the quick-draw-McGraw Brazilians and their mighty iPhones I could share online.  Not a word back until this:

10:25 pm – Game over. Facebook clogged.

10:29 pm (Me) – What does clogged look like?

10:47 pm – Clogged is waiting 40 minutes for a sweaty crowded train.

And, boom, in that last post I was finally there, content as a kitten right there with Eduardo amid all of that funk and disappointment in the wake of that losing game. He had managed to get my voice pitch perfect at last. That was exactly how I would have said it, just the kind of post that would leave me satisfied for half the afternoon.

So, sports and social media? The U.S. vs. Brazil game is proof that they are converging and transforming each other and fans in the process.  Twitter was too much to ask of a social-media late adopter and hard-core soccer fan like my husband. A single game – of SOCCER! in the UNITED STATES! – slowed down iPhone connectivity for the world’s largest social network badly enough that my undercover operation was stymied, left up to a rookie and the new kid on the block, Foursquare, to soldier on.

I watched Eduardo check me in at Secaucus Junction Station (with 19 others) and then New York Penn Station (with 24 others) while I wrote this, and a big part of me wished I had been there to do it myself. Yet it was kind of fun finding out if I could follow along with nothing but my husband and social media at my side. The tools we use to connect and share are changing things, shaping the way we interact at, about and even with the games – and people – we love. Oh, and I can’t wait till my husband gets back home – and it’s not just because I miss my phone.

Angie Henderson Moncada is managing director of strategy/social media at (add)ventures and a faculty member at the University of New Haven.   A writer, teacher and corporate communications professional, Angie has more than a dozen years of experience working with organizations in the non-profit, education, and corporate sectors.  Her writing has been published in Hispanic Monthly, PR News, The Providence Journal, The Miami Herald and other publications.   She also blogs regularly at www.thevirtualwatercooler.wordpress.com.

The only good thing about this craze was the timing.  Unless you actually took the time to go to a comedy club back then, you never saw these “entertainers,” nor did you know they existed.

We are now witnessing this generation’s version of the “Open Mic Night.”  Twitter.  Any clown anywhere and at any time can espouse his or her views of just about anything.  Unfortunately, the technology now exists to where it’s visible to everyone.  It’s costing people friendships, jobs, and now for the first time, millions of dollars.

Enter Marvin Austin, Senior defensive tackle for the University of North Carolina football team.  Austin may have the distinction of being the first person to lose millions upon millions of dollars because he stepped up to the open mic that is twitter and told the world about the plethora of “extra benefits” he received from sports agents over the summer.

In case you didn’t know, current college students are forbidden from taking any sort of gift, favor, or loan from anyone while still having eligibility to play college sports.  Austin in his infinite wisdom *ALLEGEDLY* took a whirlwind tour of South Beach with some of his “closest” friends from around the college football world.  Five years ago, this probably flies under the radar, unless someone with firsthand knowledge of the trip snitched to the NCAA.  Now, Austin removed the middle man and essentially reported himself through his insightful Twitter musings.

Most likely, Austin will be suspended for the upcoming football year; which in turn will assassinate his aspirations to be a 1^st round NFL Draft pick.  Before this year, he was projected to be a top 10 selection.  Now, he might be considered a late 2^nd round or early 3^rd round pick.  The only difference between those spots?  Well the 8^th pick in the 2009 NFL draft took home a 5 year, $35 million contract.  A late second rounder?  4 years, $2.5 million.  Yearly, that’s $7 million vs $625,000.  Are both enough to live more than comfortably?  Sure.

But do you really think it’s worth $6.3 million a year to tweet?

Welcome to the NFL’s version of the lower class, Marvin; hope you have enough scratch to buy bread this week.

Using a new piece of technology called imagination, I did a mashup of hockey and soccer players, using random samplings of players in key positions from various teams in both sports.  Pulling those together, I ran games in various scenarios with players from each sport in different positions in each game.  The results were nothing short of astounding.

In the first game, for simplicity, I merely replaced both goalies in a soccer game with their hockey counterparts.  Long story short, every ball went in but one.  That one caught on the tip of a skate and punctured, leading to a penalty from the referee who apparently didn’t understand the point of the exercise.  Something about “unauthorized equipment” or some such.

I then reversed the situation and did the same for a hockey game featuring two soccer goalies.  Again, every shot went in, but in this case, both goalies required replacement at least once due to injury.  In one instance, the goalie was hit directly in the forehead by a flying puck which should have blocked the goal, except the goalie then managed to push it into the net during his seizure.  I guess they wear facemasks for a reason.

In the next few scenarios, various players were substituted throughout the playing field/ice for each game in a random fashion.  This resulted in a lot of hockey players being near-useless on the field and a lot of soccer players being shipped from the ice to the hospital.

Finally, to get a real quantified comparison of the sports, I decided some equipment switching would be in order.  While not exactly acting as a control, I thought that swapping footwear would further enhance the findings by putting the players on a more level-playing surface, as it were.  Then I re-ran the randomized player switching for a like number of games as in the previous set of scenarios and saw marked differences in the outcomes.

Fewer hockey players were dead weight to their teammates in game, once they were wearing cleats, but the number of penalties for violent behavior skyrocketed by 240%.  On the ice, fewer injuries resulted with more soccer players able to participate more fully in the game while on skates.  However, the proportion of injuries due to body-on-body contact vs. falling due to uncontrolled movement (slipping, over-speeds, inability to maneuver) rose sharply with many more injuries due to accident happening at the expense of fewer from player-to-player interaction.

Other interesting data also emerged from the study.  First, soccer players were less likely to last through a single quarter (average was 2 minutes 18 seconds) of a hockey game while most hockey players were usually unable to complete more than 30 minutes of soccer play.  Physical conditioning played a key role in this relationship as soccer players were clearly prone to injury on the ice and hockey players were definitely not built for continual running across several acres of grass.

It became apparent that the comparison of the two sports to answer the question of which sport itself is harder to play was quite impossible.  Comparisons of player toughness and fortitude were, however, easily made.  Hockey players definitely take the cake for sheer toughness and strength, able to dish out and receive more punishment than soccer players.  On the other hand, soccer players had much more stamina and expended energy to play time ratios than their counterparts.

All told, I think I’d rather get in a fistfight with Beckham.  Boogard is already missing most of his teeth, so he has little to lose.

Craig Agranoff is an entrepreneur and national social media consultant, as well as a noted specialist in online reputation management and monitoring.

His first book, Do It Yourself Online Reputation Management, was recently published and is available on Amazon.

Photo by: Jarret M. Streiner - @jarret23

On July 11, almost two months after Team Rhino launched our website, the Tampa Bay Rays, who told us when we requested credentials that they have been following our work and have enjoyed what we’ve brought to the table so far, provided us with press credentials to our first day-of-event coverage.  Rhiny, our small mascot, made the trek to St. Petersburg, with myself and @jarret23, and a crowd of nearly 25,000 attended the game, which featured the giveaway of a @DavidPrice14 bobblehead.

Jarret handled photo duties for the day with his photo pass, and he took over 750 photos.  I spent the game speaking with different members of the media in the press box (all of whom were very helpful) and live-tweeting the game under the hashtags #Rays #Indians and #Rhinoball.

Photo by: Jarret M. Streiner - @jarret23

During the first inning, which took 30 minutes, the Indians scored three runs and the Rays scored one – a memorable play by All-Star @CarlCrawford_ , who managed to avoid a rundown at 3^rd base and a tag at home.  In addition, thanks to the magic of Twitter, we found a fan (@scottyk27) who was live-tweeting from his seat in section 148, so we arranged an interview via #Rays and at the top of the inning, we spoke in person with Scott Krepop, who is a director for the morning and noon news at WWSB-ABC 7 in Sarasota, Fla as well as a freelance photographer.

Rhino:  How often do you come to Rays games?

Krepop: About 4-5 times a year.

Rhino: Are you a Rays fan or an Indians fan – who are you rooting for today?

Krepop: Both! I root for the Indians when the two teams play but I hope the Rays win because they need the wins to keep pace with the Yankees.

Rhino: How long have you been on Twitter?

Krepop: About six months now.

Rhino: Do you use @scottyk27 to interact with other #Indians or #Rays fans during games?

Krepop: Yes, although I have not yet met any fans in person outside of tweeting with them during games.

Rhino: Do you find that you’re more involved with the game from a passion standpoint when you’re watching and tweeting?

Krepop: I think so, because you like to have that interaction. My wife sometimes doesn’t get what I’m talking about but if somebody on Twitter understands if I’m complaining about a count or a strike even if I’m watching it on TV, it gives you a feeling of a better connection with other fans.

Rhino: Who are some of your favorite players on the Indians and the Rays?

Krepop: Well, on the Rays, you have to go with @Evan3Longoria. My son is a big @CarlCrawford_ fan. On the Indians, I’m a huge fan of a kid they just called up named Carlos Santana who is their catcher…

Rhino: And had a big hit today in the first inning!

Krepop: …exactly! He’s actually putting me in first in my fantasy league.

We think Krepop forgave us when Crawford hit a two-run homerun the second our interview ended and we saw it on a television in the concourse instead of from our seats!

Photo by: Jarret M. Streiner - @jarret23

As I continued to live-tweet from our @PitchTotheRhino, people such as Tampa Tribune Food Editor @JeffHouck were kind enough to retweet some of our tweets and pointed people in our general direction.  It was quite a day because while two-thirds of Team Rhino was at the Rays game, Jose Boza was live-tweeting updates about the World Cup Final between Spain and Netherlands (which Spain won 1-0 after a goal in extra time).

Photo by: Jarret M. Streiner - @jarret23

As the game wore on, we did see Rafael Soriano, who made the All-Star game this year for the Rays, as well as Kerry Wood, who once upon a time was an up-and-coming star for the Cubs.  With the score tied 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth, the Rays loaded the bases with no outs but managed not to score a run, which led to some sharply-worded tweets from Rays fans across Tampa Bay and the Twittersphere.

Photo by: Jarret M. Streiner - @jarret23

One extra inning was needed to decide this thriller. In the 10^th inning, after Andy Sonnanstine pitched a great top, the bottom saw the Rays get men on 1^st and 2^nd with one out.  Jason Bartlett, who entered the game in the 9^th inning to pinch-run for Carlos Pena, hit a long flyball to right centerfield on a 1-2 pitch, and Crawford galloped home from second base with the winning run – Rays 6, Indians 5.

Following the game, Rhiny managed to run the bases and Team Rhino was very happy to have had such a smooth first outing; hopefully, the first of many to come.  Our thanks to the Rays communications staff, for giving a fledging publication/website like ours an opportunity to prove our worth.

In addition, they cater to die-hard gamers by sharing tips and strategy for the various sports games in the market including NCAA 11, which launches today (Tuesday, July 13).  The Gaming Tailgate’s staff works hard to make sure their site is desirable 365 days a year, not just from May through July.

How name “The Gaming Tailgate” came to be:

“Our goal was to create a gaming site that conveys an atmosphere similar to that of a tailgate – friendly banter, the ability to share differing opinions, yet we are all there for the same reason – the game.”

The three friends are not new kids to the block when it comes to sports gaming sites, as they have been tapped for years by EA Sports as community leaders and that is evident in their current roles as EA Game Changers.  Jacobs and Bennett know each from their college days in 1999, where they both attended University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Bennett still resides in Lincoln,  and Jacobs lives just north of Lincoln.  Gschwend lives in Brookland, Arkansas, and has known Bennett and Jacobs from various gaming sites since 2005.

After all those years, it was in May 2010 when the three decided to come together to create “The Gaming Tailgate.”  The goal was to be ready by the time that EA Sports’ launched their NCAA 11 game on July 13^th.  It has been a hectic couple of months for the team to get their website up and ready for the target date, but so far the website has exceeded everyone’s expectations and that includes the Rhino.

We’ve establish a great group of site members in a short time and the offers of assistance from the community during our site launch and initial feedback have been very humbling and encouraging,” said Jacobs.

The Gaming Tailgate team understands the importance of social media to market their product, especially because their website recently launched.  They have a social media presence on   Twitter,  Facebook,  YouTube, and their website Forums, which assists them to reach their target audience in real-time and receive instant feedback.  The collaboration of their website with the many social media platforms they have for The Gaming Tailgate has created an early buzz for the site among the gaming community.

When we asked Jacobs about social media’s role for The Gaming Tailgate, he said that most people rely on social media sites to attain the latest news they are seeking and this includes gamers. Their staff makes sure to get news on  The Gaming Tailgate forums as soon as possible and also share links on their social media pages to inform their community site members including new visitors to the website.  Some of their gaming community members are not fans of forums/message boards, but they do prefer social media sites when it comes to receiving their gaming information.

With their prior knowledge of working on gaming community sites, they truly understand the basics of social media and how engaging in conversations with their members are keys to their future success. If you plunge into their community board forums, you will see topics on gaming news, overall team ratings, overall gameplay, etc., which are full of content life and excitement brewing throughout their site due to interaction between The Gaming Tailgate team and their community evangelists.

The Gaming Tailgate offers regular podcasts and unique content, and the staff is currently working diligently to increase community interaction after the release of NCAA Football 11. Their motto is they want everyone to have their voice be heard and considered equal, which is essential for any company/product starting off and is seeking to build an identity among potential consumers.

The Rhino gives its readers an exclusive NCAA 11 game preview with The Gaming Tailgate team.

There a lot of new additions for NCAA 11, which includes its Online Dynasty that gives users the capability to recruit, see their team’s stats, etc. from their computer at home or work and even from their IPhone.  This includes the opportunity to share game recap stories with friends on Facebook and Twitter or even put them on blast after a lopsided victory.  We wanted to ask the experts at The Gaming Tailgate their thoughts on NCAA 11’s newest additions.

Rhino: What are your thoughts on the online Dynasty function and how it is going to revolutionize online league gaming?

Gschwend: This continues NCAA’s trend of taking the game out of its box and into your gaming console, and expanding the idea of what a game is. You are no longer tied to sitting at your console & TV in order to participate… you can do it from work or where-ever and have that same connection.

Jacobs: To build on what Tommy said, with Online Dynasty, Team Builder, and now Dynasty Wire, the NCAA 11 development team has created what I like to call the “NCAA Football Experience.” You no longer have to be in front of your TV and console to interact with the game or to share your experiences. Highlights are on the web, recruit online, create teams on the net – the game lives outside of the disc and I hope this starts a new era in sports gaming.  The development team doesn’t get enough credit for what they have they done in this regard.

Bennett: Everything is going to be at a gamer’s fingertips.  Gamers will be able to plan and scheme on their recruiting while on break at work (or when the boss is away).  They will be given an in-depth set of stats to see how they stack up with the rest of their buddies in the Dynasty.  The web functionality is a great base for the bond and competition among a group of gamers who like to get together.

Rhino: Your overall thoughts on NCAA 11 (gameplay, graphics, overall display, online Dynasty, etc.)?

Gschwend: Polished… one word for the game this year. Everything added or existing is really well done this year. Most of the new additions will be things that gamers will have to experience for themselves whether it’s “locomotion,” the new visuals, the recruiting interface, etc.

Jacobs: In my opinion, it’s the biggest one year leap in the history of the franchise – even more so than NCAA 08 to 09 with Online Dynasty.  With a new Executive Producer for NCAA 11, the teams seems willing to bite off more than they ever have and with them considering this a “foundation year.”   I think fans of the NCAA franchise should be very excited for the future.

Bennett: I’ve been playing NCAA Football for quite a while, and I think this could quite simply be the most complete package ever.  The game is sharp on all aspects.  The linear lighting makes the game stand out graphically like never before.  Gameplay refinements such as “locomotion” make the game enjoyable and more realistic than ever.  Since we probably have not reached the halfway point for this generation of consoles, you can expect even bigger and better things down the road for the NCAA franchise.

Rhino: Does your site have anything special planned for the launch of NCAA 11? Any tournaments, social media contests, leagues, etc?

Jacobs Along with Shopmaster of MyMaddenPad.com, we are putting together the EA SPORTS Game Changers Championship Series.  People can find out more information here.  www.gamechangers.mymaddenpad.com .  We also have Online Dynasties and will be doing some unique content throughout the college football season.

Rhino: Is your site only focusing on NCAA or other sports games? If others, what are those games?

Bennett: Last year I had formed a golf league around the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 game, and we have just kicked off the first season of the Tailgate Golf Association for the Tiger 11 title.   Each season this year will consist of two rounds every week for ten weeks, and crowning a champion in the end.  Once we complete the first season, we’ll go back and see if any rules and such need tweaking and roll out another season.

Jacobs: Our typical user is a pretty big gamer, so we have an ‘Other Video Games’ section to talk about the latest games and happenings in the industry. On our forums, it feels like people are very excited for NBA ELITE and NBA 2K11 and that was even before the free agent frenzy. Come this October, it wouldn’t shock me if we have quite a few people playing basketball titles for the first time in years.  Like Jeremy mentioned, we have a Tiger Woods 11 league that is a blast to play in.  Echoing real life, football gamers enjoy golf gaming as well!

How to find “The Gaming Tailgate”:

www.thegamingtailgate.com

www.Twitter.com/gamingtailgate

www.Facebook.com/thegamingtailgate

www.Youtube.com/thegamingtailgate

cdj (Chris Jacobs) – PSN: cdj or XBL gamertag: cdj360

gschwendt (Tommy Gschwend) – PSN: gschwendt

JBHuskers (Jeremy Bennett) – PSN: JBHuskers or XBL gamertag: JBHuskers

The Rhino’s NCAA 11 review:

Overall gameplay. Rhino Rating: 9.0

Overall game display (intros, on-field, players, graphics, etc.) Rhino rating: 10

Online Dynasty features. Rhino rating. INSANE! Warning, this will cause non-productivity at work.

Social media additions to Online Dynasty with Facebook and Twitter. Rhino rating: Next level 10. EA taps in the world of social media through gaming!

Gameplay strategy (balance, aggressive, etc): Rhino rating: 8.0. At times this feature hurts the game’s realism.

Locomotion. Rhino rating: 10. Gives the gamer total control.

*This game will provide the Rhino plenty of gaming enjoyment throughout the year. We give it our Rhino STOMP of approval!

Based in the team’s Oakland headquarters, Spencer supervises a staff comprised of Marketing, E-marketing, digital and creative services with nine employees. The digital group is comprised of two of the nine staff members overseeing warriors.com, social networks, email marketing and database. He oversees all the marketing efforts for the Warriors organization, makes sure they are coordinated and that there is a consistent voice/branding to each project. In addition, Spencer integrates projects throughout online, e-mail, print, in-arena, radio, TV and others.

The following are the Golden State Warriors social media channels:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/goldenstatewarriors

Twitter: http://twitter.com/warriors

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/goldenstatewarriors

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenstatewarriors

Blogs: http://www.nba.com/warriors/fanzone/blog_squad.html

Spencer said the team became active on YouTube first, joining around April 2007.  Facebook followed in March 2009, with Twitter and Flickr the most recent additions in approximately March 2010.

Now, the “Five Tweets w/ The Rhino” Interview

1. What were your expectations for Warriors Draft Challenge when you first created the concept?

Flip the traditional logo unveiling by using social networks + our fans enthusiasm for our logo we would create bigger awareness/excitement.

2. How many people participated in the Draft Challenge & did you learn anything new about your fan base? What was your favorite challenge part?

Nearly 5000 signed up, with my favorite being #5. We used @culturejam & fans had to tweet using #DraftChallenge to receive the clue.

3. We noticed the @warriors do a lot of prize giveaways. What are some of your followers favorite prizes to receive?

The giveaways during #DraftChallenge were Draft related or our player @StephenCurry30. Anything involving him is probably the most popular!

4. Your PR department broke ground by using pitchengine.com for Draft Challenge pitching. Do you think this will begin a leaguewide trend?

I do. @pitchengine does so many things that a press release can’t. The journalists are already on social media, so release should be too.

5. Tell us about some of the ideas in store for 2010-2011 and what will you do after the draft to keep followers engaged during the summer?

Hope to live-stream Training Camp practice & have live post-practice interviews again. Provide fans w/ access not available anywhere else.

Like many Twitter newbies, I began my quest to get as many followers as I can.  I followed anyone and everyone who had something remotely interesting to stay.  Before long, my twitter feed was filled with all kinds of idle chatter on topics ranging from personal finance to career enrichment.

I’ve made friends with other Rays journalists, bloggers and even people who help support my blog.

If you’re just getting started, here are some tips for following your favorite team on Twitter….

Michael Weber is the head honcho over at RaysRev.com and the 5pm Producer at WTSP in St. Petersburg.

Footer, who originally worked for the Astros’ media relations department from 1997-2001, is presently the team’s only social media department employee.  She covered theAstros for eight years for MLB.com and in May 2009, the Astros created a social networking position and offered it to her.  Since she was tweeting, blogging and Facebooking in her reporter role, the Astros thought that was a good place to start. Footer said her new role was a work in progress considering how new and unchartered the social networking world was, and still is.  Although the team has had a Facebook page for at least two seasons, the Astros’ foray into social media really started rolling when I began her new job on June 1, 2009.

Footer’s responsibilities include the obvious — tweeting her way through the season and offseason and keeping the fans updated on everything going on with the team as it happens. She is at nearly every game, home and road, so she’s able to give real-time updates on all news, game action, off-the-field events and behind-the-scenes happenings (that are acceptable for human consumption). In addition, she blogs almost daily and includes many pictures in those blogs, and also posts regular photo albums on the Astros’ Facebook page, where all of her blogs automatically link to.

Footer said the team is presently in the process of planning Tweetups and social networking nights at the ballpark, which falls to her as part of her present role.

The following are the Houston Astros social media channels:

Astros Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/Astros

Twitter feeds:

Alyson’s Twitter account: http://twitter.com/alysonfooter

AstrosBlast (team-related events): http://twitter.com/astrosblast

Astros news feed: http://twitter.com/astros

Alyson’s landing page, which includes videos, her Tweets and her blogs:

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/fan_forum/alysons_footnotes.jsp

—

Now, the “Five Tweets w/ The Rhino” Interview

1. Talk a little bit about the 45th Anniversary team logo. Are there any social media activities planned around it?

We’ve been celebrating all season & will continue, so many giveaways and special nights at the ballpark are advertised through social media.

2. We love the interaction and game commentaries you do. How many hours do you work on gamedays & how many people do you chat with?

I work about 10 hours on gamedays & talk with dozens throughout. It’s a great give & take with fans. I can answer questions on the spot, and they keep me laughing.

3. The Giants hosted a successful tweetup in April, and the White Sox did in early June. Any plans for an Astros Tweetup in 2010?

Yes. We’re putting together our game plan for a Tweetup & we’re exploring social media nights for our fans who blog.

4. Talk a little about your Alyson’s Footnotes blog. Do you have complete creative control over what you say, and have you always enjoyed writing?

I do have complete control, as I’m a one-man show for the time being. Having gone from PR to reporting to social media, I do like to write!

5. With the MLB Baseball Draft live on television for the first time ever, do you foresee a time when tweeting from the draft will be expected?
They already do. MLB.com has Tweeters everywhere, & there were several dozen Tweets coming from the Draft room, during the telecast.

The restaurant is on the southwest corner of Palmetto Park Road and Powerline Road. From I-95, exit at Palmetto Park Road and head west. From Florida’s Turnpike, exit at Glades Road, go east to Powerline Road and then south to Palmetto Park Road. If you need more specific directions, they can be reached at (561) 392-5040.

In attendance to talk soccer will be Team Rhino’s @JoseBoza and Friend of the Rhino @kkfla737, the PR director of the North American Soccer League (@NASLOfficial). Team Rhino’s other two members @fsutoby and @jarret23 will be there as well.

In addition to Happy Hour during the entire tweetup, you can enjoy one FREE Red Stripe or Sierra Nevada Beer by printing out this coupon and bringing with you on the 27th: http://www.worldcupbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Wowies_Coupon_Flyer.pdf

Team Rhino will be giving away tickets to Lion Country Safari and to a lucky Pitch to the Rhino fan a Plush Rhino of your very own!

Team Rhino looks forward to seeing you this Sunday!

As the world is watching the World Cup, people from all over the world are using social media to talk about the 32 countries.  Therefore, here are 32 tweets from the World Cup’s opening weekend, including one about each country participating:

	#ALG	@amleon94Yo! Algeria es mi equipo.
	#ARG	@AgustinaP Dejense de joder y ataquen chicos!
	#AUS	@lilithiaTwitter layout is now all Green & Gold & ready for the #socceroos first match tonight! Make us proud, #aus!!
	#BRA	@CBF_Futebol: De: Robinho – Para: Viviane – Paris Te amo. Estou com saudade!
	#CHI	@butterfly_top: Aquí ya están sonando las bubuselas!
	#CIV	@Arthuur11 Support Ivory Coast at the World Cup, #twibbon your avatar now! - http://bit.ly/b3kkKx – For the latest news visit http://bit.ly/9r9Ny3
	#CMR	@BAgbobock Cameroon all day everyday till the day I die!!!
	#DEN	@unexplodedmusic Denmark, of course!
	#ENG	@mattdavelewis Finally saw the England game. Had phone off all evening. Played well. Not well enough. Dominated but needed more. Green, chin up, lad.
	#ESP	@OwitOx NEcesito una camisa de España #ESP <3 Urgentemente. Tengo que tenerla antes de su primer partido u_u
	#FRA	@susanichi tanta belleza no puede ser real!! zidane y figo juntos … hermoso zidane.. viva la france!
	#GER	@LundqvistSaves Its Deutschland time tomorrow!
	#GHA	@PrinceYoung416 #ReTweetThis if you know Ghana will win the game tomorrow
	#GRE	@kaliops24 #greece has yet to score in #worldcup ever n that streak is still going on!Gotta say they look old but #euro‘04 will live on forever
	#HON	@ck1julio Honduras no nos defrauden …a ganar…..!!!!
	#ITA	@reytweet Support Italy at the World Cup, #twibbon your avatar now! - http://bit.ly/c39SPg – For the latest news visit http://bit.ly/9r9Ny3
	#JPN	@glazellaco Asians! Let’s unite in one voice for JAPAN
	#KOR	@Wroule_21 glad #KOR won!!! so happy… thank you Victory Korea
	#MEX	@UrrileDurrr Mexico and Uruguay have to do is tie. And Mexico and Uruguay pass. lol
	#NED	@SaynabJM The netherlands are going to win the #WorldCup
	#NGA	@loongab Vincent Enyeama our saviour #teamsupereagles
	#NZL	@Lora_Veronica #WorldCup Go New Zealand!
	#PAR	@Thayis92 #worldcup VAMOS PARAGUAY!!!!
	#POR	@reddevilboy11 Why is Ronaldo nutmegging Homer Simpson funny? It just is.
	#PRK	@PyongyangBBQ Pyongyang Express support DPRK! Playing on Tuesday, June 15. Buy your fan items at this shop! http://bit.ly/9iKlz
	#RSA	@_candizzle you’re only as good as your world cup soccer team. (south africa gets immunity)
	#SRB	@rprokic I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s Serbia vs. Ghana match. My parents are from Serbia. That’s good reason to cheer them on.
	#SUI	@DavidFeng GO SWITZERLAND!
	#SVK	@7560Min #svk should succeed against #nzl by playing quick ground balls & exploiting gaps between its defence and midfield
	#SVN	@ckk527 #worldcup team #Slovenia wears uniforms made of 100% recycled plastic. Kudos to Nike for that.
	#URU	@arsene_knows I was disappointed in #Uruguay’s showing last night too.No organisation.I’ve had high hopes for them in the build up to this#WorldCup
	#USA	@MaxSzy USA!! Tied England, excellent! A goal is a goal, Howard is a beast! USA!

With countries around the world participating with fervor and passion, it’s easy to see why the 2010 World Cup is expected to be the most popular sporting event in social media history!