It has been documented that the New York Jets are one of the leading organizations to embrace social media tools.
I have learned from beat writer and fellow twitterer Jane McManus (@janesports), that the New York Jets have posters in the locker room of Twitter Do’s and Dont’s. She was kind enough to grab some pictures for me per my request.
What makes the Jets uniuqe is they are one of only a few pro sports organziations that encourage their players to tweet and interact with their fans.
Being a Jets fan and a social media nut (just look at this blog) I LOVE that they do this for the fan base. We get to interact with our favorite players and really get to see the authenticity of the player and their human side.
Here are Janes’ tweets summarizing the poster:
- In general, the Jets advise players to be friendly and upbeat, and not to bitch about specifics or respond to weirdos on Twitter.
- It really is good general advice. Other items, ask followers for advice re movies, etc. Don’t Tweet anything your mother shouldn’t read.
- Jets sample response to players on tricky Twitter questions… “I really don’t pay attention to roster moves.. I just show up to work
” - Weirdos was my word, BTW. The Jets called it something like, confused questions or people with unknown motives.
- They want players to be *mostly* genuine, they just don’t want them to put a foot in their mouths. Players aren’t always savvy.
- There are a lot of teams that are anti-Twitter. The Jets want their players out here interacting with fans.
The Jets have the following 13 players online:
- Mark Sanchez
- Kerry Rhodes
- Bart Scott
- Nick Mangold
- Jay Feely
- Braylon Edwards
- D’Brickashaw Ferguson
- Damien Woody
- Darrelle Revis
- David Clowney
- James Ihedigbo
- Dustin Keller
I wonder why there was a poster put on the wall if there is a minority of players who use the service. I’m speculating, but maybe they want more players to get comfortable and understand it before they join online.
Jane said to me in an email that not all the players have the personality for Twitter to interact at that level, and I agree. Some people are just introverts and do not like to put themselves out there. Other’s love the additional spotlight and the opportunity to tell their thoughts directly instead of having the media (The Middle Man) interpret the communication.
I suspect that the poster made an appearance due to the latest Athlete getting in trouble on Twitter, AKA Mr. Larry Johnson, or it’s the New York Jets leading the field and taking a pro-active approach. It sounds like it is the latter.
The Jets have the Twitter Do's and Don'ts In their Locker Room
