Can Australian football do more with social media?

Lucan - every utterance one hears in life can be less than truthful. Think of social media as daily conversation that occurs amongst the 6.7 billion inhabitants on this planet. Of course each of us may have our own agenda whenever voicing an opinion on anything - at work, in a pub, in our house, etc. So, of course, social media - just like our daily verbal interactions - is filled with rumours, innuendo & gossip. However, unlike our daily conversations, something posted on Twitter - if it is of sufficient importance - will be read by a massive audience (Twitter has approximately 1/2 billion registered users), which makes it impossible for any major untruth to remain unchallenged. Twitter gives every person (with internet access) a voice to refute agenda-driven garbage that is published. When the governments of China, Libya, Syria, Egypt tried to disseminate propaganda messages, citizens in these countries used social media to expose untruths. So powerful is the social media that various governments have attempted to ban its use in order to control the political agenda (I think the Chinese government still blocks Facebook & Twitter).

Fuss', you've completely missed my point. Postings on social media can also be less than truthful. You understand that, yes? What is to stop me inventing my own story to post in an effort to discredit one I've read in the print media? What is to prevent social media posting being equally as agenda driven as the evil mainstream media who rubbish our game?

Cheers Mid.

Fuss Thanks for those two links... already knew about the EPL deal from a TIME [magazine article] I read in a coffee shop last week... but you are sooooooo right pertaining to how phone and then internet will become a large part of broadcasting... always remember established sports do get the best deals in these new forms as well ... Loved the twitter link and very interesting...

Football folk Kinda gives me a lump in the throat to post this ... No news on the Vodka yet ... maybe Singo is still interested.... however we continue to live with the belief that the sun will raise and someone will put some cash in... Lord knows we need it... However on the Football side of things you gotta give huge credit to those involved in running our youth academies ... what is it about Football folk in Australia they can keep on keeping on ... huge credit must go to the club for continuing to run this... Below is the mid year summary from the clubs web site.... I can honestly say from a RL stronghold before we arrived we have buried our roots very deep into the local communities there is enormous support for the club yet to be realised in crowds however hold the faith they will come. http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/centralcoastmariners/news-display/Mariners-Academy-MidSeason-Review/47665 Just part of the summary which I suggest you read... While the 9, 10, 11 and 12 Boys play in their respective Football NSW development programs, there are no points or scores recorded for these age groups.

Middy Think you'll be interested in this article that outlines the new broadcast rights for EPL that have just been announced. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jun/13/premier-league-tv-rights-3-billion-sky-bt In particular, the landscape of British broadcasting has shifted dramatically with BT (British Telecom) buying a large slice of televised football rights, boosting the EPL's next TV deal to a record £1bn (A$1.5bn) per annum for the next 3 years. Once o/s deals are completed, the total revenue is expected to be £5bn over 3 years. So, as you & I have been predicting ... a telecommunications company has become the 2nd biggest player in broadcasting the most expensive football league in the world! They've outbid ESPN, who have been left with nothing! And, BT is not just picking up the scraps. BT has purchased 18 of the 38 coveted "first pick" matches in the EPL. As Richard Scudamore, CEO of the EPL said: "[BT] have hugely ambitious plans. They have not invested in all this fibre [optic cable] for nothing, they want to establish a direct relationship with consumers" So, the future is upon us - a teclo has finally made a big investment in the sports broadcast market ... and, we know the telcos are cashed up and ready to spend.

I guess I’m over the terror’s crap[was overi it years ago tbh!]. I just expect it from them nowand actually view it as a kind of compliment and an indicator to their target audience. For over a decade now the Terror has been presenting the largest sport in NSW with tales of dodgy deeds committed by NRL players[I wonder how many were completely true?] and I guess if you want to be considered one of the big boys, you should expect to have the same sort of garbage printed about you as some other sports. All many of us have asked for in the past is for equality in treatment by the media, we can’t exactly change our tune now and expect the Terror to acquire professional standards when dealing with football. They are what they are and the tool of Social Media gives us true believers the chance to poke fun and holes at the Lame-stream medias coverage of our great game.

"internet and social media as a font of truth and transparency is truly ludicrious". Who said that? What I said was: "social media has exposed the agenda-driven, misinformation published about football by the mainstream media". In the past, lies published in the mainstream print media would have gone unchallenged. Perhaps, someone would write a "letter to the editor" & it may or may not be published; or, "Media Watch" would expose the untruth. But, no more. Social media allows us to immediately expose lies that are published (by Government bodies, corporations, mainstream media, etc.) and, depending on the nature of the untruth, the message can spread to a global audience in the matter of hours. Why would I bother writing a letter to the DT? That's an obsolete way for disgruntled & aggrieved customers to liaise with organisations. Further reading: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/may/12/complaint-air-on-twitter

No question, some media like to run their agendas, but to even suggest we hold up the internet and social media as a font of truth and transparency is truly ludicrious, Fuss'. Good to see holes being poked in Tyson Otto's article. I sincerely hope you write a reader letter or letter to the editor to politely suggest a correction in tomorrow's or Saturday's edition.

Fuss Trouble is the TerrOR gets more reads than social media... They also ran articles about Timmy not being happy with the coach...

Today, we have a real-life, living example of how social media has exposed the agenda-driven, misinformation published about football by the mainstream media. Yesterday, some football-illiterate writing for the News Ltd tabloid, The Daily Telegraph, posted an article saying: "Just hours after he was sensationally left on the bench by Socceroos coach Holger Osieck in Australia’s thrilling 1-1 draw with Japan last night, Kewell was on a flight to the UK, making a quick departure from the Socceroos camp in Brisbane." The story tried to paint a picture that Harry "spat the dummy" because he was left out of the starting XI v JPN. Today, on Twitter, we discovered this story was full of falsehoods, untruths ... ok LIES. How can we be so sure? Well, yesterday, Harry Kewell was at the PFA Awards to personally present the "Harry Kewell Medal", to CCM's GK, Matt Ryan. The HK Medal is awarded to Australia's best professional Under-23 footballer, playing overseas or in the A-League. People, who were at Harry's table commented on how happy, relaxed & content he looked. And, whilst others had to rush away from the event for work commitments, Harry was still at the event well after the function ended & the room had emptied. That article by Tyson Otto is false, misleading and mischievous. I can only assume the intent was to cause trouble for Australia's most celebrated footballer. People read this garbage and accept it. Thankfully, we now have social media for the writers of garbage to be exposed and shamed. And, people wonder why SOCKAH fans are paranoid about mainstream media. Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/soccer/harry-kewell-jumps-on-flight-back-to-england-straight-from-socceroos-camp-to-deal-with-family-emergency/story-e6frey4r-1226394410553

I would have thought it gives you more control over the message because you can interact with the fans.

Getting back to the point of this article "is social media advertising worthwhile?", the first thing you need to determine is what is the goal of your advertising? Is it to attract paying customers to the game, or is it to promote the sport to the general public at large? Currently social media only targets already interested people. If the aim is to sell tickets wihle expending the least amount of money possible, then certainly internet and social media advertising is the way to go. If the goal is to create a buzz about the sport, then we still require main stream media exposure to make non-football fans aware of the fixture. There is still a lot of education required, in regards to the general public, to emphasise the importance of a match against Japan. As a football fan, I am more than aware that it is probably one of the most important games we will play for the next 2 years. While a game against England, Germany, or Italy would have the general public hugely interested, a game agaisnt Japan still leaves most in our Eurocentric nation wondering what all the fuss is about. Long term though, there is little doubt in my mind about the long term importance of internet and social media. Personally, I spend most of my time sporting leisure time searching the internet for articles on soccer due to the poor mainstream media coverage, and I know I am not alone. I am left to wonder then, as internet content becomes more and more important, will football steal a march on the other codes due to having a supporter base that had to become more tech savy just to follow it in the first place?

"a dollar spent on the foreign league is a dollar that is not spent on the local league." ... that's just utter nonsense. It is estimated that SingTel has paid £200m for the 2010-13 rights to broadcast EPL matches in Singapore. But, in the previous 3 years - 2007 to 2010 - SingTel didn't spend a cent on EPL. By your business theory, SingTel would, therefore, spend the money on the local Singapore league! It didn't happen. In the years 2007 to 2010, StarHub paid £67m to broadcast EPL matches in Singapore but, for 2010-2013, StarHub will not spend a cent on EPL. By your business theory, b/c they are not spending money on foreign leagues, StarHub must now be spending money on local Singapore football? But that's not what StarHub is doing. I'm truly shocked by our business theories - have you ever run a business? Do you understand how businesses make decisions to buy goods for sale?

Punter that's all fine, but a dollar spent on the foreign league is a dollar that is not spent on the local league.

Tomorrow evening am headed off to see Jordan - Iraq which is a huge local derby game. An all-ticketed game; previous games I have been to have been just turn-up, including a Jordan-Syria game I turned up to which was completely full an hour before the game with another 5k outside the stadium wanting to get in. Was allowed in after telling security I had come all the way from Australia to see the game. Ticket cost about 8 AUD. VIP tickets are about 60 AUD. The Socceroos need to be wary of Oman, Jordan and Iraq (although that game will probably be played in Doha). Muscat will turn on a warm but friendly reception; daytime temperatures in Muscat have been mid-40's for the past month or so, and they have done us no favours by kicking-off at 5pm.

The Catterey, For a man of your intelligence, I find difficult why you do not understand it, as mentioned before the premier league is the top football competition in the world & to many Australian sports fans who follow football, that is the ultimate. I am sure there are fans of the AFL in Western Sydney who grew up idolizing Melbourne teams in the old VFL & will not follow GWS, but yet has never set foot in Melbourne. Not really that difficult to understand. For someone like me growing up in Sydney where Rugby League was king & being a football supporter, a side called Collingwood was much more foreign than Manchester United.

Punter those fans don't help the game locally - that's Ian W's point. That's why I never quite understand why an Australian sports fan would express pride in how big the Premier League is. As if they are somehow part of it, as if they have a stake in it, as if it has any relevance at all to the local sports economy (beyond taking resources out of it).

The Cattery, the premier league is football, it's the No 1 league (in following) in the world, it's not unusual for followers of this game to follow the biggest stars on the planet. I'm sure there are some West Coast or Freemantle supports who follow the AFL do not follow the local league in Western Australia, especially the younger kids. I know I always preferred Bruce Springsteen to Johnny Farnham. We all have our preferences, i like Fuss, know many football fans who do not follow the A-League but are massive fans of Euro teams, I wish they would give the A-League a go, but... they are still football fans.

I couldnt agree more Cattery its evil, Singapore tv pays the EPL 100 mill , but what do the afl want to do,thats correct they'd love the excact situation wouldnt they, it wouldnt be evil then would it Singapore handing its money over to afl .