Some Adjustments for the NBA on Twitter

By Brian On May 10, 2009 · 79 Comments · In Girls, Money, NBA, Twitter

Here’s a mind-bender of a post for you, since a lot of you wish I would write about the NBA, and a lot more of you wish I wouldn’t write about Twitter.

(This is weird to me, since I usually am just pointing out girls I meet there.)

Alas, you know if you watch the basketball on the television, that often they’ll pop up with a little note to go follow the NBA on Twitter. So you do so, and are rewarded with exclusive nuggets of info like this:

Rockets jump out to 29-16 lead over the Lakers after 1 in Houston. Shane “Who’s Your Daddy?” Battier leading the charge w/12pts.

Apologies for drilling down to the obvious, but why, if you’re watching a game on TV, do you need a score update, let alone one that’s (as of this typing) 25 minutes old?

(This is a long one – I’m gonna use the “more” tag so as not to clog up the front page. Click on, friends – it gets pretty tank-toppy.)

In fairness to those tasked to running and figuring out who/what/when/where/why the NBA needs to use Twitter, I realize the filthy lawyers have ruined your initiatives at every turn, including the initiative where you just hand me the keys.

Anyway, here are ten ways the NBA should tweak up and fix their Twitter stream, largely off the top of my head.

BASICS:

1) Put a face on that thing. I don’t want to talk to the NBA logo. I want to talk to Rachael, or Lisa, or especially to Jenny. I want to see her face, and know she’s a real person, and engage her on a personal and genuine basis.

2) Jenny should never, ever post anything I can get from an AP report, a box score, or a news story. Game analysis is pretty useless, unless Jenny tells me exactly which team she roots for, and is refreshingly biased. That’s right – I want the NBA Twitter feed rooting for a particular team. I want it WORD UP for real.

3) Talk with the fans, not at them. Let’s see a lot of “@” replies. Do you realize I’ve bought things from Best Buy just because BB employees on Twitter have made me feel as if they like me?

4) Link to non-NBA owned blogs and websites, and also to things that have nothing to do with the NBA. What’s Jenny really interested in? It’d be nice to know she’s not just trying to sell me a basketball product while she’s there.

5) Help. Jenny should watch trending topics and do searches related to the NBA. Anyone who has a problem/concern/etc – she should address it, even if it’s just to say she’ll pass it on to the right people.

I had this happen over the weekend when I complained about an Excel issue. Like within 2 minutes, @toddaton, an actual Microsoft employee, reached out to help. Now I’m telling everyone how awesome Microsoft is.

If nothing else, Jenny could be soothing the teen angst of Dallas fans with her sultry and seductive demeanor.

ADVANCED:

6) David Stern. Every Friday. 20 Minutes. Taking questions. BY HIMSELF AND WITHOUT LAWYERS. Encourage non-basketball conversation. (Really, this should be its own Twitter stream, but an offshoot still falls under this mission statement.)

7) Have Jenny go to games, sit behind the bench, and tell me things via Twitter I’m not supposed to know about the players. This should be largely irreverent info. Why were the Washington Wizards the most popular .500 team in league history for a few years? Because I got to know their personalities, thanks to Dan Steinberg. They were human.

8) Jenny should wear little tank tops and Twitpic the outfit, so everyone knows what she’s wearing and can look for her on TV. It’s like Where’s Waldo, and like she can hold up little signs during timeouts with special messages people on Twitter ask her to write down. You’d be surprised how special people feel if you do things like this. They’re fans for life, they tell all their friends, and they’re watching games to see if they can get a shout-out.

PROMOS

9) Jenny should give stuff away all the time. Example:

First ten people to link to a video of themselves reciting a poem about how much they love the NBA win a $25 credit at the NBA.com store!

Within minutes you’ve got hundreds of videos (maybe thousands) going up on the internet wherein people are talking about how much they love the NBA.

Does this happen otherwise? And it cost $250 that’s being spent in the NBA store anyway – that’s some cheap advertising.

10) Jenny should host and run promos at games also.

I’ll be with an NBA employee at concourse entrance 4B at halftime giving away hats. Come up, take a pic, and Twitpic it to get yours!

Easy and fun, right? It’s small, it’s personal, it’s cheap, it’s effective. You can scale this program up easily. Give away 200 hats at a stand, and all someone has to say is “Jenny sent me” or something. She doesn’t even need to be there – the point is the fan feels as if someone at the NBA personally gave them something for free.

RESULTS

a) Jenny becomes an instant web celebrity, and the online face of your league – someone the fans feel like they like and know. This is a good thing. Ask Best Buy.

b) All the NBA blogs will follow her every word, and gush over each new picture of her.

c) The 400 new articles written daily about how companies are using Twitter in innovative and unique ways? The NBA is now being featured in those, and Jenny gets a platform outside the NBA fanbase. People who wouldn’t ever talk about the league are. Is generating interest among non-fans valuable at all?

By the way, most of this costs no more than hiring Jenny, who you can probably pay 10 bucks an hour. (Plus my consulting fee and tank top fitting session costs. NATCH WORD UP AGAIN.)

I don’t mean to be condescending, and I know for 100% fact there are people in the NBA offices who “get it”. They’re simply tied to their desks by lawyers and suits. I suppose my point is do it right or don’t do it at all.

IMO you’re actually hurting your image a bit by doing it wrong. I don’t like to read or write about it anymore, but I do still love the league – I don’t like to see it looking silly.

(Follow me on Twitter here.)
(Download the first 55 pages of my epic, pretentious, and stupid book, Prelude to a Super Airplane, here.)

alexiskn

i didnt read this but im commenting anyway because i feel like im gonna have an anuerysm after the last quarter of that game. good enough reason for whatever im making up an excuse for. also, i just killed a bug on my pretty computer. ew. not a good night for me. ill read this in the morning. or something. i hope i dream of unicorns and rainbows and teddy bears and cupcakes.

you know you love my totally unrelated comments.
http://alexisreviews.tumblr.com alexiskn

i didnt read this but im commenting anyway because i feel like im gonna have an anuerysm after the last quarter of that game. good enough reason for whatever im making up an excuse for. also, i just killed a bug on my pretty computer. ew. not a good night for me. ill read this in the morning. or something. i hope i dream of unicorns and rainbows and teddy bears and cupcakes.

you know you love my totally unrelated comments.
http://www.twitter.com/mfeige Matt

alexiskn's comment was funny LOLZ.

Good points about @NBA I @NBA'd them then the link. I gave my mother Brad Radby for Mother's day. She probably won't read it anyway, but I thought it was a good mother's day present.
http://www.twitter.com/mfeige Matt

alexiskn's comment was funny LOLZ.

Good points about @NBA I @NBA'd them then the link. I gave my mother Brad Radby for Mother's day. She probably won't read it anyway, but I thought it was a good mother's day present.
Greg Odens tonsils

Alexiskns comments were the funniest el oh el!

I'm now worried that everything brian does is an extension of him selling and/or marketing himself. I'm want to believe…

STAR TREK PWNED THE ORIGINAL!
Greg Odens tonsils

Alexiskns comments were the funniest el oh el!

I'm now worried that everything brian does is an extension of him selling and/or marketing himself. I'm want to believe…

STAR TREK PWNED THE ORIGINAL!
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

What was it before – some kind of humor-for-charity program?
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

What was it before – some kind of humor-for-charity program?
Greg Odens tonsils

After.
Greg Odens tonsils

After.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

GOt – still adjusting to a post-YAY world. :(
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

GOt – still adjusting to a post-YAY world. :(
cmnt

I think the official NBA twitter should be reserved for announcements or “official” responses to fans and just remain a faceless, impersonal feed so we can all imagine Stern is writing it. But I do like the idea of a Jenny, just that she should have a separate, league endorsed twitter.
cmnt

I think the official NBA twitter should be reserved for announcements or “official” responses to fans and just remain a faceless, impersonal feed so we can all imagine Stern is writing it. But I do like the idea of a Jenny, just that she should have a separate, league endorsed twitter.
goathair

WORD UP
goathair

WORD UP
http://www.jenwatch.com orange5o

THOME
http://www.jenwatch.com orange5o

THOME
goathair

Total LOL on this reply. Ergo, TotaLOL.
goathair

Total LOL on this reply. Ergo, TotaLOL.
alexiskn

ok. i read it.

1) i didn't realize “tank top” could be used in adjective form.
2) who the f is Jenny?
3) yay for non-annoying twittererers.
http://alexisreviews.tumblr.com alexiskn

ok. i read it.

1) i didn't realize “tank top” could be used in adjective form.
2) who the f is Jenny?
3) yay for non-annoying twittererers.
http://www.icanprobablydothat.com Boney

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtzQ0eXVoJo&feat…

that is stupid… makes me hate LeBron even more
http://www.icanprobablydothat.com Boney

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtzQ0eXVoJo&feat…

that is stupid… makes me hate LeBron even more
TVBrain

When this blog was called Brian's Thoughts About Airplanes, this post would've said things like “(ask Airplanes.)” and “Do you realize I’ve bought things from Airplanes just because PTSA employees on Twitter have made me feel as if they like me?”
TVBrain

When this blog was called Brian's Thoughts About Airplanes, this post would've said things like “(ask Airplanes.)” and “Do you realize I’ve bought things from Airplanes just because PTSA employees on Twitter have made me feel as if they like me?”
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

There is a certain point at which all of her “genuine” communication becomes nothing more than a branding exercise. I understand that most fans won't see it that way, and witness the nonsense that goes on live in between innings at baseball games (ex: two chicks in Pepsi jerseys come over to the section, everyone is damn curious, they set up a relay race for rows to pass empty pizza boxes from one end to the other, the winners get on the jumbotron and yell like idiots – they're happy), but there are people who will. Personally I find that more insulting than them just being a logo with already-old updates.

Bottom line – your ideas will work with some, even most fans, but it runs the risk of looking tacky, and I imagine that's why they aren't doing it. This is an old league with a very valuable name and logo, one built on tradition and history, and they're necessarily worried about sullying it for some new-fangled internet thing that might be old news in a year.
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

There is a certain point at which all of her “genuine” communication becomes nothing more than a branding exercise. I understand that most fans won't see it that way, and witness the nonsense that goes on live in between innings at baseball games (ex: two chicks in Pepsi jerseys come over to the section, everyone is damn curious, they set up a relay race for rows to pass empty pizza boxes from one end to the other, the winners get on the jumbotron and yell like idiots – they're happy), but there are people who will. Personally I find that more insulting than them just being a logo with already-old updates.

Bottom line – your ideas will work with some, even most fans, but it runs the risk of looking tacky, and I imagine that's why they aren't doing it. This is an old league with a very valuable name and logo, one built on tradition and history, and they're necessarily worried about sullying it for some new-fangled internet thing that might be old news in a year.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

Thank god I switched it up from Hammer Drills!
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

Thank god I switched it up from Hammer Drills!
Greg Odens tonsils

The Celtics got Cheerleaders/Dancers.
Greg Odens tonsils

The Celtics got Cheerleaders/Dancers.
Greg Odens tonsils

I realize what an absolute knock on me that is coming from you. That said, I'm making a bold proclamation. I am going to re-brand myself. I'm going to contribute positively to your dot com. Not be the pariah I've been. And focus my energies on becoming a productive member of this electronic community.
Greg Odens tonsils

I realize what an absolute knock on me that is coming from you. That said, I'm making a bold proclamation. I am going to re-brand myself. I'm going to contribute positively to your dot com. Not be the pariah I've been. And focus my energies on becoming a productive member of this electronic community.
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

That proves what, exactly? Sure, the league has evolved – there's a dunk contest after all – but they're also protective of the overall image. I don't know the timeline of when teams began employing cheerleading squads, but I bet Boston was among the last.

My point is that no one knows how long Twitter will matter, and I completely understand their desire to keep it simple and staid for a while.
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

That proves what, exactly? Sure, the league has evolved – there's a dunk contest after all – but they're also protective of the overall image. I don't know the timeline of when teams began employing cheerleading squads, but I bet Boston was among the last.

My point is that no one knows how long Twitter will matter, and I completely understand their desire to keep it simple and staid for a while.
http://www.jenwatch.com orange5o

boston just got them like a year ago. i think they had to wait until red auerbach wouldn't notice (and/or was dead).
http://www.jenwatch.com orange5o

boston just got them like a year ago. i think they had to wait until red auerbach wouldn't notice (and/or was dead).
http://www.jenwatch.com orange5o

manny keying manny.
http://www.jenwatch.com orange5o

manny keying manny.
http://www.jenwatch.com orange5o

satire?
http://www.jenwatch.com orange5o

satire?
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

Twitter is only one component of the overall movement though, which is communication between people. Again, look at Best Buy or Ford – they both do it right, and are also large companies with long and storied histories.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

Twitter is only one component of the overall movement though, which is communication between people. Again, look at Best Buy or Ford – they both do it right, and are also large companies with long and storied histories.
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

I guess I'm just too cynical. I'd never buy anything from Best Buy or Ford because someone was nice to me. With the things they sell, price and quality are far more important. I don't need a friendship with my stores/manufacturers – that's for restaurants and bookstores and dvd stores, where opinions and tastes matter much more.

My point: sure the NBA needs new fans, but it needs actual fans, and lifelong fans, not pseudo fans who got hooked by Twitter or some chick in a tank-top and who will move on the moment something else comes along. And of course I'm already a fan, so I don't need what you're advocating, and do want to preserve its prestige.

I've officially thought about this too much.
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

I guess I'm just too cynical. I'd never buy anything from Best Buy or Ford because someone was nice to me. With the things they sell, price and quality are far more important. I don't need a friendship with my stores/manufacturers – that's for restaurants and bookstores and dvd stores, where opinions and tastes matter much more.

My point: sure the NBA needs new fans, but it needs actual fans, and lifelong fans, not pseudo fans who got hooked by Twitter or some chick in a tank-top and who will move on the moment something else comes along. And of course I'm already a fan, so I don't need what you're advocating, and do want to preserve its prestige.

I've officially thought about this too much.
http://www.jenwatch.com orange5o

wait, there's dvd stores?
http://www.jenwatch.com orange5o

wait, there's dvd stores?
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

New York is a great place. Kim's is just one of a dozen or so DVD stores. These are not rental places – there are for collectors.
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

New York is a great place. Kim's is just one of a dozen or so DVD stores. These are not rental places – they're for collectors.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

Well, I don't buy something soley because someone at Best Buy is friendly to me – I didn't mean it that literally. It's that my interaction with nice people at BB puts a friendly face on the store.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

Well, I don't buy something soley because someone at Best Buy is friendly to me – I didn't mean it that literally. It's that my interaction with nice people at BB puts a friendly face on the store.
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

And White Castle's commercial with the stripper pig puts a great face on their store – but I'm still not eating there.

I see what you're saying – I'm just playing devil's advocate. People see through friendliness is all I'm saying.
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

And White Castle's commercial with the stripper pig puts a great face on their store – but I'm still not eating there.

I see what you're saying – I'm just playing devil's advocate. People see through friendliness is all I'm saying.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

That's why you get someone and have them be genuinely friendly. It's a non-sell sell.

I'm not advocating just hiring any hot chick.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

That's why you get someone and have them be genuinely friendly. It's a non-sell sell.

I'm not advocating just hiring any hot chick.
JA

who is jenny?
JA

who is jenny?
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

But it's still a sell. And younger consumers know that.
http://preludetoapretentiousreview.blogspot.com/ Kingsley Le Corbusier

But it's still a sell. And younger consumers know that.
Steven Bartos

Isn't this the same theory that AOLFanhouse took with their NBA coverage? Chicks in tank tops trying to talk about basketball….that worked out well.
Steven Bartos

Isn't this the same theory that AOLFanhouse took with their NBA coverage? Chicks in tank tops trying to talk about basketball….that worked out well.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

The “hot girl in tank-top” is not the point. That was supposed to bring levity.

They can put a dude there – who cares – just make it someone who actually engages with the fanbase.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

The “hot girl in tank-top” is not the point. That was supposed to bring levity.

They can put a dude there – who cares – just make it someone who actually engages with the fanbase.
Jack

Great suggestions. You get it!
Jack

Great suggestions. You get it!
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

Everybody is selling something.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

Everybody is selling something. I'd much rather the company doing the selling talks to me like a human instead of a press release target.

There are plenty of people here who have bought my book that I consider friends.
http://lifeondumars.com/ rotavarp

I have a crush on jenny.
http://lifeondumars.com/ Toasterhands

I have a crush on jenny.
2l;dr

mr brian, here are 2 links i think you would like because they involve wolverine screaming and twitter

http://consumerist.com/5248462/if-you-use-twitt…

http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/2009/05/…
2l;dr

mr brian, here are 2 links i think you would like because they involve wolverine screaming and twitter

http://consumerist.com/5248462/if-you-use-twitt…

http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/2009/05/…
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

That Wolverine thing is awesome lol.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

That Wolverine thing is awesome lol.
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

She likes you just as friends. :(
http://madpropstobakedpotatoes.com Brian

She likes you just as friends. :(
2l;dr

mr brian, here are 2 links i think you would like because they involve wolverine screaming and twitter

http://consumerist.com/5248462/if-you-use-twitt…

http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/2009/05/…
http://brian23.com Brian

That Wolverine thing is awesome lol.
http://brian23.com Brian

She likes you just as friends. :(