The Sporting Twitterati

Last year, the use of Twitter grew by almost 1000%, with sport often being a major focus for Twitterers. But what relevance and value is Twitter to sport? Is it simply a parallel virtual universe in which people discuss what they would otherwise discuss in bars, in cafes, on the phone etc? Is it merely heightening the sense of rumour, gossip and glamour around sport, thus reinforcing the sporting celebrity culture? Or could there be a much more serious purpose to Twitter? Could skilled data-miners actually interpret the usage of Twitter thereby adding value to the activities of sport organisations? To generate revenue from them? Could Twitter enable sport to better understand its fans? To enhance fan democracy? To foster stronger governance principles? Perhaps Twitter is actually only one in a long-line of virtual innovations that are symbolic of our accelerated 21st century culture, which will make life even more difficult for sport organisations when many already find it difficult to adapt and respond to a rapidly changing operating environment?