Tuesday, February
1, 2011
Tweet Tweet
How many have
seen the movie Social Network? It is a terrific story of the
man behind Facebook. But Social Networking is much
more than Facebook, and if you went to Twins Fest
this past weekend, you found out that Twitter
appears to be the social network of choice for many Twins people
and several players.
I reluctantly
joined Facebook about two years ago, completely
oblivious to what it was all about. I had just heard that it was a way to
interact with friends and family, but in my case, it was also a way to
potential drum up some interest in my first book. I like Facebook, and it certainly has a lot of great features, but
primarily it is a great way to keep up with your friends. I have also been able
to interact with a lot of people who have been reading SethSpeaks.net for
several years.
It was about 18
months ago that I reluctantly gave in and set up a Twitter account. I figured,
“I have Facebook, why would I need or want
Twitter too?” Well, over those 18 months, I have found out just how great
Twitter can be. It can be incredibly addictive. The immediacy that it creates
can be both positive and negative. Twitter is a tremendous place to find out
Twins news fast. Most baseball news is broken on Twitter. It can also be
frustrating when you are watching a game and a player strikes out, maybe even
in an important situation, and he suddenly becomes a bum.
For me, I use
Twitter as a way to gain information quickly. I put many opinions on there in a
day. I love Re-Tweeting other baseball people whose
opinions I value so that those who read me can hear other opinions. In my mind,
being on Twitter is a must for baseball fans.
Before Twins
Fest, Danny Valencia signed up for Twitter, and he immediately
was looking for followers. Incredibly, in four days, he has accumulated over
4,600 followers to his
Twitter account. He has said that he will give a signed bat to his
5,000th follower. He has been showing pictures from the Diamond Awards, Twins
Fest, a commercial and the Twins Caravan as well as answering some questions
from readers.
Pat Neshek has been the most
fan-friendly Twins player for a long time. He has his blog at PatNeshek.com
which includes a forum with a great community of participants. He has been on
Twitter for a long time and occasionally answers questions.
Denard Span started his
Twitter account following the Twins 2010 season. He has already
racked up over 16,000 followers already. He shared a lot during Twins Fest, and
throughout his offseason. He answers fan questions as well.
Michael Cuddyer
has almost 11,000 followers and he just signed on to Twitter in the last two months. He is tremendous at
answering many questions from his fans every day.
On Sunday, the Minnesota Twins official Twitter Feed announced
that there would be a special Q&A with Span and Cuddyer
in a special Twins Fest location to be tweeted at a certain time. Fans would
need to show that specific Tweet to get into the room. Many Twins fans attended
the event, but the first person in the allowed in the room after showing the
Tweet was new-Twitter add, Drew
Butera.
Anthony Slama has been Tweeting for awhile, and Ben Revere became a “Tweeter”
just last week while on the Twins Caravan.
Rob Delaney, who
was claimed last week by the Tampa Bay Rays, is on Twitter. Craig Breslow is
quite active. Another former Twins player, Tommy Watkins, is a
frequent Twitter contributor. He is now the hitting coach of the Beloit
Snappers whose manager, Nelson
Prada, is also on Twitter.
There are also
several Twins minor leaguers who have become Twitter people. Top prospect Kyle Gibson is new to Twitter. Carlos
Gutierrez is a regular contributor. Outfielder Rene Tosoni is
new to Twitter too. Other minor leaguers on Twitter
include: Pitcher Chris
Province, shortstop and 2010 2nd round pick Niko Goodrum, Hard-throwing pitcher Bruce Pugh, power
catching prospect Danny Rams,
Netherlands hero and Twins pitchings prospect Tom Stuifbergen,
non-roster invite and shortstop Brian
Dozier, and 2010 draft pick, pitcher Nick Alloway.
You will also
want to follow Dustin
Morse, the Twins Manager of Baseball Communications, who does a
nice job on Twitter keeping fans updated.
Of course, there
are many people on Twitter that you can follow. Many (or most) bloggers
are on Twitter at this point. You can follow TwinsCentric,
or any of the four TwinsCentric bloggers (John Bonnes, Nick Nelson, Parker Hageman, Seth Stohs).
And the StarTribune’s excellent writers can be found on Twitter as well. Be sure to follow LaVelle E. Neal
, Joe Christensen and Howard Sinker.Twitter
definitely is becoming more and more popular in baseball. Whether that is good
or bad is up to you. In my opinion, it is a terrific vehicle for gaining new
information, for interacting with players and to find out information even more
quickly.
What are your
thoughts on Twitter? Are you a Twitter person, or is there a good reason
you’re not? I’m always curious what people think of this new phenomenon.
Is it something that is here to stay, or should teams crack down on their players? (also, if I’m missing any Twins players on Twitter, be sure
to link to them here.)