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Alexander: How will sports fans navigate social media going forward?

July 8, 2023

The world according to Jim:

• Twitter vs. Threads: Who ya got? …

• The Great Social Media Conflict of 2023, which might be either the prelim to the supposed cage match for charity between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg or the main event, gathered steam when Zuckerberg’s Meta unveiled its Threads app this week. It’s suspiciously similar to Twitter aside from a couple of key flaws, which we’ll get into. …

• Why does it matter in this corner of the information galaxy? Because until Musk damaged the Twitter brand with his impetuous decisions and dismantled much of the staff that made the platform work, Sports Twitter was not just a subset of the site but an integral part of the experience. You could say it was this society’s first virtual sports bar, BYO beer and wings. …

• It was where we argued about teams and players and shared jokes and memes, information and rumors and trash talk. And it was where we turned first to learn who was being signed or traded or released. Would TV reporters like Adrian Wojnarowski, Adam Schefter or Jeff Passan have as much breaking news impact without this platform on which to instantaneously break news? …

• It was also where fans gathered, not only during a big event but on spur-of-the-moment occasions such as a West Coast extra-inning game during baseball season, or a multi-overtime Stanley Cup playoff game. We watched, we live-tweeted, and we shared a communal experience. …

• I’m using the past tense consciously but hesitantly. Musk has burned a lot of bridges, and while sports fan users, in particular, seem to have stayed on despite it all, the limits on viewed tweets imposed last weekend – do those still exist, by the way? – and the public unveiling of Zuckerberg’s site Wednesday had lots of folks hedging their bets.

Threads picked up 30 million users in less than 24 hours, many because of the site’s linkage to Instagram, and as of 2 p.m. Friday had 75 million, according to a tracker from Quiver Quantitative. …

• That said, let’s not declare Threads the new virtual sports bar just yet. Those flaws we discussed earlier? They’re significant. …

• First, the algorithm is in charge, a large concern for those of us who would rather have control over what we see. The initial Threads experience feels like a firehose coming at you full blast, and while it is possible to set limits (go to Settings/Notifications/Threads & Replies), I’ve still spent an inordinate amount of time muting people. On Twitter, I can at least use the “Following” feed rather than “For You.” …

• Second, posts are not chronological, and who knows how the order is determined. That pretty much eliminates live-posting anything, be it a game or a news conference or any other developing story. If that changes, it becomes a lot more sports user-friendly. …

• Bottom line: Either the search for a sports social media gathering place will continue, one of these two platforms will win out, or we’ll all go back to calling our friends and yelling into the phone, “Did you see that?” …

• It is also worth noting that Zuckerberg’s Facebook, as well as Google, are not exactly friends of independent news sources these days, blustering in response to a bill in the California legislature that would force them to compensate publishers for the use of their product. That bill, AB 886, passed the Assembly but is now on hold in the state Senate until 2024.

Yes, I’m biased in this case. But paying for the content you use seems fair. We don’t do this for free. …

• Elsewhere, the Dodgers-Angels series this weekend should be commemorated with a reprise of the Spirit of ’76 painting. You know: One man with a fife, one with a drum, one carrying a flag, each bandaged and/or limping. As of Friday afternoon, each team had 11 players on the injured list, and it’s reached a point where you hold your breath each day for roster updates. …

• Best underplayed news of the week: Anze Kopitar’s two-year extension with the Kings, keeping him in their uniform through 2026. He doesn’t get nearly as much attention as he deserves nationally, but this should keep him in a Kings uniform for the rest of his career – though as Jonathan Quick would remind us, there are no guarantees. …

• And when he’s done, Kopitar has a good case for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Can you name the Kings and Ducks players currently enshrined, plus one who played for both teams? (Answer below.) …

• One issue I’ve always had with the NBA’s free agency period: We learn almost instantaneously that deals are made, but teams can’t announce them for a week. Why? Teams aren’t allowed to share the good news but agents are under no such restriction, so the actual team announcements – like the Lakers’ rash of contract confirmations at the end of this week – are an anticlimax.

The league manipulates the process in so many other ways to dominate the news cycle in the weeks following the Finals, but this embargo seems anachronistic and silly. …

• Quiz answer: Kings players in the Hockey Hall of Fame are Rogie Vachon (inducted in 2016), Rob Blake (’14), Luc Robitaille (’09), Larry Murphy (’04), Paul Coffey (’04), Wayne Gretzky (’99, of course), Larry Robinson (’95), Marcel Dionne (’92), Harry Howell (’79), Terry Sawchuk (’71). Also, GM Jake Milford (’84) went in as a builder, coaches Bob Pulford (’91) and Red Kelly (’69) were inducted as players for other teams, and women’s hockey pioneer Cammi Granato (’10) was the radio color analyst alongside Nick Nickson in 1998-99.

Ducks inductees: Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya (both ’17), Chris Pronger (’15) and Scott Niedermayer (’13). And the one inductee who played for both teams: Jari Kurri (’01).

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Orange County Register

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