Embracing the Twitter craze; Biz Nasty and the Gang
Tim McKeown, ESPN columnist, provided some insight on the world of social media two years ago. In 2011, his words still ring true: “If you are open and honest, occasionally funny and usually available, you can use the media to become a star.”
For Phoenix Coyotes forward Paul Bissonnette – better known as “Biznasty” on the interwebs – the journey from a self-described “fourth-line plug” to a social media superstar with over 114,000 followers on Twitter (and counting) has been not only entertaining but refreshing for the hockey world.
Since launching @Biznasty2point0 last August, Bissonette has soared to the top of the Twitter ranks amongst NHL players, sitting only behind the inactive Alex Ovechkin account.
In terms of active accounts, he is first and 39,000 ahead of Mike Cammalleri (@MCammalleri13), who boasts a following of over 75,000 fans as the second most followed player.
But what makes Biznasty so popular and why do fans read 140 character messages from a journeyman who has only played two seasons as a full-timer NHLer?
It’s not the pictures with the homeless, the party shots in Cabo, or the real time footage of the press box hat trick consisting of three all-dressed hot dogs. What we, as fans, crave is the behind the scenes look at the life of a pro hockey player and their ability to laugh at themselves in a humanistic form.
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NHL player agent Allan Walsh (or @WalshA) told The Good Point recently that he encouraged clients Martin Havlat and Jaroslav Halak to sign-up.
“I was one of the first agents on Twitter and one of the earliest proponents of Twitter and Facebook fan pages for professional athletes,” Walsh said.
“Historically, an athlete had limited resources in expressing himself and bringing his personality to the masses. We had athlete web sites, but these tended to resemble magazines.”
Walsh explained how the NHL was behind the other pro sports leagues in terms of marketing their product before the social media boom.
“For the fans, social media provides direct access to players and media,” he added. “The NHL is tightly controlled and [is very] limited in the marketing of players as compelling individuals. The league’s marketing strategy for years was to sell the logo.”
After witnessing the popularity of the NBA’s Shaquille O’Neal on Twitter, he was confident displaying the personality of NHL players would be appropriate if they were willing to be candid with fans.
“Athletes on Twitter amounted to living breathing organisms and ultimately proved to be a perfect match for the unique personality of the NHL hockey player,” Walsh said. “It was ideally situated not just for the superstar like Shaq in basketball, but for any hockey player willing to reveal a bit of themselves via social media.”
It is hard to predict what is next in the ever-evolving world of social media. For now, Twitter provides an excellent platform for fan-athlete relations.
“It allowed an audience for four-liners, tough guys, AHL players; anyone willing to open themselves up to the outside world,” Walsh said. “I think all athletes from all sports are using social media to their advantage. Am I surprised? I’m surprised it took this long for a vehicle to come around allowing for players and fans to connect.”
While Bissonnette is the king of Twitter, there a handful of other players, mostly below the age of 25, who have embraced the use of social media as a forum to interact with teammates, fans and just generally share their thoughts on current events, ranging from pop culture to politics. Fans are finally getting a glimpse of what players think and what they do outside of the rink.
The likes of Taylor Hall (@Hallsy04), Logan Couture (@LoganCouture) and Matt Duchene (@Matt9Duchene) lead the next generation of players on the ice as well as on their Blackberrys and computer.
At one point deemed as a fad, all indications point towards Twitter having a major presence across all four major pro sports leagues for the foreseeable future.
Tweeting is here to stay.
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