Hawks vs Lakers: Blogging at Philips Arena
Live or nearly live from Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta.
Last evening I had the chance to be part of Hawks Blog Night -- an opportunity for bloggers to report live and in person as the Hawks took on the Lakers. It is just another example of how folks are using new media to filter their everyday experiences. For sports fans, it is a way to enhance the way they follow their favorite team.
The event was sponsored by the Atlanta Spirit -- the parent company of the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers. This season EarthLink has partnered with Atlanta Spirit to help raise our visibility and hopefully get some sign ups.
I counted about 11 bloggers reporting on the game and at least 2 celebrities in the stands -- Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence. Though unconfirmed, I was told that the rap star Bow Wow was in the house. I could have sworn I saw Patrick Ewing on my way up to the suite. Too bad he couldn't bring one home for the Knicks.
A lot of Kobe fans in the crowd -- a fact that did not go unnoticed by the highly partisan group of bloggers. I was doing more observing, but my fellow bloggers were reporting with regular updates, weaving highlights from the court and stunts for the fans into a single chronology of the game. One fan favorite was the Kiss Cam in which couples are singled out and encouraged to kiss on camera.
I spoke to Micah Hart manager of websites for the the Hawks and Thrashers. Touting the new Atlanta Hawks blog, he told me that "Ultimately our job is to sell tickets, but we want fans to come to our site for information and content they can't get anywhere else."
"We want to cater to the fan and take advantage of the way the web is changing."
Taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi access, the bloggers were very enthusiastic. Said sports blogger -- Jay Busbee: "It's a great idea -- real time feedback -- not a sanitized view of the game -- talking like the way I would if I was sitting at home watching the game with my buddies. It's not for everybody. It requires you to keep focused."
My take: Blogging is still relatively new and professional teams are only beginning to understand the potential for fan engagement. Fans are a team's ultimate ambassadors. Engage them and they will help you spread the word.
Granted many people don't go to games to blog and if they wanted to, they probably couldn't get their laptops through security.
For the Atlanta Spirit, they are looking to possibly sponsor more live blog nights. Seeing the underbelly of the stadium, getting a press pass, some food and access to a post game press conference becomes part of the ultimate sports experience for die hard fans. It is all about engaging fans in a space between sports fantasy leagues and paying for the right to play against old time baseball greats in Florida during spring training.
In the end, it was a really great experience. It was interesting to hang out with bloggers who are more passionate about the subject matter than the technology that drives their discussions. I haven't decided about live blogging. It gives you a sense of immediacy, but it is hard for me to do much reflecting as I get caught up in the half time show -- the contortionist -- Rubberboy -- and the contortions of Kobe Bryant freeing himself from some pretty intense man-to-man coverage to score a basket.
Let me get back to you.
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