ImpactWatch Blog

On Sunday I watched the Dallas Mavericks versus the Phoenix Suns game on ABC. Those two teams were fighting each other for the eighth and final playoff spot in the NBA Western Conference so it was a big game. (The Mavs have since clinched that last spot and the Suns are out.)

One thing I found interesting about the broadcast was that sideline reporter Lisa Salters was twittering during the game.  The timing was perfect, the game was a blowout and the announcers were struggling to find anything to talk about except for what was happening on the court. In comes Salters and her tweets with some behind the scenes gems.

i have carlisle at the end of the 3rd — what do you want me to ask him?? since they’re up by 20+, does it really matter 5:14 PM Apr 5th

check this out — i was just told by nba official that there is no ‘end of 3rd quarter intv’ if its a 30 point game 5:18 PM Apr 5th

grant hill told me before the game that the suns WOULD show up today — he just looked over at me from the huddle and mouthed ‘i was wrong’ 5:33 PM Apr 5th

As a basketball fan I think this is just awesome. She’s giving the opportunity for people to interact with her and possibly even contribute to the questions she asks in her interview with the coach. And what are the chances that her interactions with the players and refs would ever see the light of day unless it happens to occur on the rare occassions when the camera is on her?

Ask Twitter fans why the love it and you’ll probably get 10 different answers from 10 different people. But the way that it facilitates quick, off-the-cuff status updates, together with a somebody like Salters who has a unique level of access to share, makes for a pretty interesting combination.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 at 8:35 am and is filed under Mainstream Media, Twitter, Web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.