MLB’s All-Stars can be Social Media Stars
Reblogged from USA TODAY, by Michael Hiestand
Exhibitions such as all-star games can serve as petri dishes for TV innovations that eventually move to other events. Fox’s July 10 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will debut something that future generations might take for granted: Letting players use social medium during the game. But not while they’re playing — only before the game starts or after they’ve left the game.
Computers will be installed adjacent to clubhouses for players to post on MLB’s Facebook page and Twitter feed or on 
their own feeds — which Fox will promote on-air.
Fox’s coverage has always been edgy. The network pioneered using in-game interviews and miking players. Allowing players to use social media proved a hit in last year’s Home Run Derby on ESPN: The 23 players who used Twitter during that event gained about 121,428 followers which, according to MLB, was an average per-player increase of 17%. At the event’s end, it generated nearly 5,000 tweets per second.
The All-Star Game determines World Series home-field advantage. But that doesn’t mean social media is inappropriate, says MLB executive vice president Tim Brosnan: “We’re being careful in its use, because the game counts.”
