Dear ESPN- You’re Doing it Wrong

I wanted to reach out, to add the voice of an ESPN employee. Chris, you and I met at the 140conf NYC--I spoke on the sports panel w/Kathleen Hessert...

It's been a crazy couple of days in ESPN land, but I did read this when you tweeted it out. A couple of thoughts from an avid tweeting employee...

ESPN released the separate employee policy today, which is really an extension of our company blog policy. A little dusty perhaps, but nothing too shocking.

There are a good little crew of us here at ESPN that tweet every day about ESPN life. I've been tweeting as ESPN_ProdGirl for a while now, and everyone here is aware that I do. So based on the policy, I definitely CAN talk sports, ESPN life, and anything else that common sense dictates when you are staff at a company.

But I have a dark secret...I don't really know that much about sports. I don't follow the MLB, I can't tell you stats and scores, and my coordination level is sub-par. You'll find I'm very very very low on sport tweets, and if I ever don't reply to your in-depth stats question, you know why.

What I will tell do is show you what it's like here at ESPN in Bristol, CT. I post lots of pictures from around campus, tell people what athletes I see in halls, and pass along killer pics my producer friends take from the top of the X Games Big Air ramp.

The connection--direct connection--to our fans is vital to our business. I try to reply to almost all that write to me. And if I can't get them an answer, I'll ask someone who can. There's a bunch of us here that do the same: @Crystal_ESPN (ESPN Mag, RISE), @mlo84 (X Games coordinator), @ESPN_Homecoming (Assoc. Producer Melissa Panzer on the road for the show), and @Rlking (our ESPN.com editor-in-chief).

We are learning as we go, along with everyone else right now. And yes, we do have plenty of sports-related Twitter accounts. But if you're ever burned out on actual sports coverage, find me on Twitter. I'll be sure to post pictures of the crowd at the ESPN cafe on chicken parm day.

Katie (@ESPN_ProdGirl) - appreciate your comment. If anything, your honest take on your sports knowledge is refreshing. I don't think there is anything wrong with tweeting on something other than what Zack Greinke's WHIP is.

I love sports... have for all my life. But I find those that can only speak "sports," even on a sports network, extraordinarily tedious (the Schwab show really exemplifies this idea for me and actually makes me like sports less). Sports are a part of life, and as such, should be framed against it.

Definitely plan to start following you... sports content or not.

If you are allowed, can you explain what you are not allowed to do? I obviously don't want information that is not meant for me, but I feel that a Twitter account should be about the person running it. If the account is @ESPN, well then that account is for sure about ESPN.

But what do I want? I want to follow you, and Crystal and any other who has a real account. I get my stats where I want them and that's not on Twitter. I want to know what its like behind the scenes and I want to know the people that are there. Who are they? How did you get a cool job at ESPN? Even though it's in Bristol, CT. Don't lie, you are right next to the ghetto! I have friends that live there.

I thinks it's great when someone working at a place at huge as ESPN can, and is allowed, to talk about their day and not have to constantly sell. It is you guys that are bringing ESPN into the future.

Human at a distance, you know...

Absolutely right, Chris.

Yesterday, Sports Illustrated's Peter King wrote about his internal struggle on whether he should Tweet about some breaking NFL news or report it to SI editors. He decided to Tweet it instead. Here's the story: http://bit.ly/otGAQ (The Twitter part is the bottom section). A reader wrote in to his Mailbag to thank him here: http://bit.ly/ybY0I (again, at the bottom of the page).

SI seems to get it and it's helping them. ESPN seems to put up a "hip, cool" facade, but in reality they want control. The times are a-changin', ESPN!

Tom O'Keefe
@tomokeefe1

Talk to me, not at me ESPN.

ESPN needs to understand what most of us on the web already do: Content is cheap and so is commentary, but when we're able to get a glimpse of what's happening behind the veil and form real relationships with nameless contributors, that content reaches out to from beneath a sea of other content.

Exclusivity is a fast track to generic from a content perspective. Personality, connection, inclusivity are ways to rise above the fray and give people a reason to come back. Most people don't care whether they watch a game on ESPN, FOX Sports or Versus and most people don't care how they find out who won the game - but if happen to care about a particular writer's perspective, they'll check in - especially if there's more than a ghost of a chance at garnering a response from the writer.

This attitude in the sports industry toward the public is why writers like Bill (@iwocpo on Twitter) over at the Abel to Yzerman blog: http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/a2y/ are able to quietly cultivate real community while sites like ESPN struggle to stifle conversation with fans.
(Yes, he writes about the NHL Detroit Red Wings - I do have a little connection there) :-)

Good on you for pointing this out. The sports industry needs to start allocating a bit of the spotlight it typically reserves for players and give the fans some love.

That's crazy. @sportsguy33, @jadande, @ptishow, @aroundthehorn and so forth have some of the best tweets. Not all sports related, but great stuff that enhances their brand. Really, what is and isn't "ESPN related" with their writers and reporters? Because so much of their personalities' success is their personality. Furthermore, they admittedly say that they rely on followers for ideas and takes on different stories. If you lose out engagement your lose some of your most interesting leads.

You are so right on with your post here. Social Media is all about relationships. You may have never talked "Crocs" with George but I bet if you ever have a question about their products I bet you will go to him first.

I agree with you 100%, Chris. Unless your Twitter account is specifically intended to be an update feed (like @nprpolitics), the social interaction is absolutely necessary. I heard somewhere else that involvement on Twitter should follow a 90/10 principle, where at least 90% of your updates should be interacting and giving away free, helpful information while less than 10% should be shilling your product or talking specifically about your brand.

Another company that really does a great job of interacting and being social, while rarely actually shilling their products is @SEGA. They respond to a great deal of tweets directed at them, they give away cool prizes every Friday, they help promote other video game-related tweeters (like @OCRemix) and bring a lot of personality to their tweets (a lot of talk about being a ninja).

What concerns me even more about the way the request is worded in your post, however, is that it sounds as though ESPN might actually be trying to limit what their employees say in their own personal Twitter accounts. That's frightening.

Seems that ESPN has been moving in this direction for quite some time. For a while there, SportsCenter anchors seemed both human and approachable. But now, for some reason, they seem to have become as much a part of the story they're reporting as the actual story. In my view, their job is to report, not overshadow the highlight with a clever (more often hackneyed) catchphrase.

Interesting that while social media is making the real sports stars more accessible, ESPN and their pseudo-stars are moving in the other direction. Too bad.

A big week for professional sports leagues trying to close to open communication that Twitter and other social media has opened. These companies just don't "get it", that they can't be the Wizard of Oz anymore and hide behind a curtain, and only show the image they want.

Just imagine what Bill Veeck would come up with if he had social media to play with!

Great post Chris, I like the connection behind the scenes, makes me feel like an insider... ESPN, please reconsider I could have cared less about the @mortreports bus tour, but because of his tweets I was interested and actually caught a few segments on SC....

I wonder if it's an ESPN edict or a Disney edict (seeing as Disney owns ESPN). I can't say I'm surprised it happened. I used to work at ESPN, and while it was definitely one of the more fun and "cool" places to work, it's still a corporation.

Absolutely right Chris, I hope ESPN listen!

Clueless, clearly a rule from someone who does not get social media at all!

What can you expect? They are only ESPN, not the NFL channel!!

Dr. Letitia Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
http://wrightplacetv.com
www.twitter.com/drwright1

I'd be real interested to know if this rule actually applies to their sports personalities - or just to the 'little people'. Twitter is probably considered a massive time suck by the people in suits, as they see more productivity and time frittered away. And yeah, this is probably a Disney edict (because, God knows, Walt wasn't a master at social connectivity or anything). The mouse does, in fact, have ears.

Anyone know whey they made this decision?

Simple, but well said, Adam. Do you think ESPN could be taking this stance because they don't want their people -- but instead, the sports stories/personalities they report on -- to be the story.

Either way, I agree they'd be wise to re-evaluate their stance. It's hard for me to support you or be an advocate for you if I don't know anything about you. Furthermore, people usually promote their peers with a story about said person. The less personality someone is allowed to show, the harder time we have coming up with that story.

What's most disturbing about this news is that many people look to ESPN as a leader in whatever ventures its people pursue. So there is a good chance some folks will see ESPN employees use Twitter this way and copy that example. That alone is reason enough for us to RT this post and help spread the word about what kind of engagement we're looking for on Twitter.

Thanks for helping us start that conversation, Chris.

They have a new show called SportsNation that relies on Twitter. Throughout the show they incorporate tweets and use Twitter for fans to answer polls/questions. Kind of defeats purpose of new show, huh?

I try to off-set the JetBlue-y nature of @JetBlue with my personal account @MHJohnston

I tend to think of our 'voice' as that of the same casual voice I'd use when talking to a customer in the airport - Ask a formal question, get a formal answer... but if I get a read that I can have a bit of fun with someone - or many someones - you can bet I'll go for it!

It's tough to explain in words that line for "a bit of fun" but it's there if you're active listener, engaged, and just plain good. And you're one of the best...

Thanks for the shout out. I use twitter to have natural convos with people but I do use @crocs for crocs related stuff exclusively. So I can see a bit of both sides - but I wrote this on my blog because this comment would be far too long:

http://nosenseoftime.org/2009/08/espn-is-doing-...

Chris -- my byline is right at the top of the NPR All Tech Considered blog post -- (but under the Twitter image) -- it's "By Omar L. Gallaga."

Thanks for the shout-out, for reading the post and getting the word out about this.

@mjcarrasquillo - He's a musician, film/video maker/podcaster and post-production guru but he talks about all kinds of crazy stuff nowhere near is profession. ROFL

Of every big corp, this is the org I least expected this from.

You tell them. This micro managing, paying someone to make sure you are spending every second on the task at hand, is a waste of time.

Let's try and make you like working here. Crazy concept, huh? ESPN is great, but not worth every second of my life.

I say separate your business form personal accounts. But LET them use their personal accounts. One person/team for the @espn account and everyone else should just be proud to work for you.

FYI, the ESPN memo itself is posted here:
http://thebiglead.com/?p=16916
It reads to me as if ESPN thinks that their employees can somehow completely separate their personalities that most have worked incredibly hard to develop, from their professions?! Isn't social media, in part, about the interweaving our our lives and work? Unless of course you work for ESPN!

Absolutely agree Chris.

We hear a lot about business transparency - it's a kinda pet topic with me - big fan! - and sometimes to appear human, you have to give it warts n all approach.

There's nothing wrong with corporate guidelines - e.g no swearing, please and thank you etc but individuality (unless it speaks ill of the company, its employees or its products and their customers) shouldn't be stifled.

We're having great fun on our Twitter account and I think starting to see a 'real following' - its taken time but that's the great thing about it - you only get out what you put in and those that can't be bothered usually don't stick around too long.

Thanks Chris.
Jonathan.
http://twitter.com/fabphotogifts

ESPN loves to capitalize on personalities and big names (Simmons, Gammons, Kiper, Herbstreit, Andrews, Berman, Vitale...the list is endless) and it has succeeded largely b/c of those personalities. So, when presented with various outlets for these folks to connect with fans on a personal level and further grow the personalities, why would ESPN choose to limit it?

Perhaps it is because any one of those big personalities could leave tomorrow and not skip a beat. Simmons could take his 500,000+ twitter followers and his 1-2 million average column readers to any site on the net (including one of his own making) and probably prosper even more than at ESPN (and when his contract expires in 2010, we're likely to see this put to the test). The same is true for all the rest.

ESPN has become a victim of its own making, but trying to clamp down and control it now isn't going to help. Like your high school girlfriend who you helped coax out of her shell only to discover that in college she’s now the hottest thing around, trying to exert control is only going to push her away faster. Instead, ESPN should embrace the power of each of these personalities and give them a chance to use the power given to them through social media to drive traffic to the site and eyes to the set.

I've been grappling with how much "off-topic" tweeting to do on my company's Twitter account. So far, none - but I guess I need to reconsider.

I read this via BlackBerry on the treadmill last night and could not comment for fear it would have been way to cryptic. I work in mainstream, traditional media. Always have. I know the mindset. I am in a position now to change things to some extent and even lead a social media task force at my organization, which happened only after I talked about it at length with pretty much everyone I saw, whether they wanted to hear it or not. Here's what scares me about this. ESPN is a big name. Other media outlets follow them. Trust me, this info is being circulated around corporate offices today and action will be taken. it will be the wrong actions. I hope I ca keep it from happening in my company. This has serious implications. Stay tuned. Let's hope that what CNN is doing, by embracing social media and incorporating it into their newsgathering and presentation will prevail and they will be followed, as opposed to ESPN.
More to come.
Angela | @communitygirl

So many companies missing the part where we are *social* with Social Media, otherwise it would be called "broadcast" or "mass" media... hm. Now that I break it down, they really haven't figured out the difference between one-way and multi-directional media, have they?

Katja Presnal always says "people don't do business with companies, people do business with *people* inside companies" -- a lesson ESPN seems to be missing there.

To be honest, I'm not sure that the kafuffle is about. Jennifer Van Grove reprinted the policy in her coverage for @Mashable and it seems fairly straightforward, if somewhat conservative. I didn't read it as an attempt to muzzle staffers or keep them off the social nets. In fact, I think it leaves plenty of room for the kind of engagement you describe.

The main problem is that it's not very well written. To say "don't tweet about what you say or write for ESPN," and then follow with "if you wouldn't say it or write it for ESPN, don't tweet it" doesn't make a whole lot of sense without some parsing.

I have absolutely no idea how you kept that post to just a few paragraphs. Bravo. I couldn't have said it better myself (at least not in such an economic number of words). :D

how about this - let people at espn use twitter, but if espn is trying to 'control' the espn message, then just make it company policy NOT to include espn in any of their tweets or bios or anything? then they're just people. Of course broadcasters and other on-air talent will be hard pressed to escape their association with espn. And people will have to figure out a way to be on twitter without talking about their jobs in any capacity - but either way, this is the first of many of these discussions, i predict.

People who follow ESPN writers care a great deal about immediacy. If they didn't, they'd just read about the news the next morning in the newspaper or ESPN.com. Incidentally, these fans are the ones who RT these guys and drive traffic and affinity for ESPN.com

ESPN did this because they didn't want news breaking off the site...what they don't realize is that the casual fan doesn't care that Chad Ford heard about a hot rumor...the casual fan will continue get his sports news from the website.

If I were Sports Illustrated, I'd encourage my writers to break their stuff on Twitter - and when they do, I'll be listening.

Here's an example of a Florida sports broadcaster/writer who's doing it right. Whit Watson, Fox Sports Florida personality, posts a healthy blend of sports and non-sports related content on Twitter (@whitwatson). ESPN, it can be done and your competitors are doing it.

These are the types of policies we see when attorneys get involved in social media strategy. What a shame.

I'm not sure this take is completely accurate--I follow the PTI tweet from ESPN--it is absolutely hilarious. The two guys talk about how to get rid of birds eating hanging flower plants, their golf games, their lack of hair and all kinds of stuff while still promoting ESPN-stuff. I think they are doing it right--you gotta follow them to see what they're doing. There's a lot of "broadcasting" in the world of sports, but ESPN has a ton of tweets--Around the Horn also has a tweet that is pretty engaging. Have any of you that are criticizing actually followed any of ESPN's tweets?

Let's try to think like ESPN. This decision should give us more attention fron our customers, hold on but are the employees going to like that? Of course, this will benefit our company (maybe not the online community but they are not our employees). Social media is just another easy way of making money. End of thinking like ESPN.

Chris - you are so on target here - I love to twitter but I'd have to say that maybe 20-25% of my tweets are related to my business. I love to find out what others are doing and interact. The rest of the time I talk about food, my dog, my petty grievances, books, wine, well you get the picture. I'm sure you were really excited recently to see the photo of my pumpkin vines taking over my yard. But I've made so many great contacts and learned so much great stuff solely because of this. If all I talked about was me and my business, how interesting would I be? I don't follow people like that and, while ESPN does pretty much zip for me, they should be aware that depersonalizing their tweets makes them a dull boy.
And I tweet with Crocs guy and I'm sending him a picture of the brand new Crocs I just bought my daughter - cause I saw a link to their new (and totally cute) line of little girls Crocs.