Women's Media Nation | Social, political, and cultural issues relating to women

A conversation: Tucker Center, Twitter and women’s sports (Part 5)

posted by ...Because I Played Sports
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 5:03pm EDT

Photo Credit: Tucker Center, Facebook, Twitter Logos

This blog post is part 5 of a series discussing my experiences with social media as they relate to advocacy issues that highly affect the women’s sport sphere. This is an assignment for a class I’m enrolled in as part of John’s Hopkins University’s Digital Communications program.

Hands down, the coolest experience I had online this week had to do with Twitter. I participated in the Tucker Center’s Distinguished Lecture Series titled, “Facing Off Over Facebook: The Impact of Social Media on Women Sports.” This lecture was indeed the first of its kind, and I’d like to congratulate the event’s coordinator Nicole Lavoi (WomenTalkSports blogger) and Marie Hardin (featured speaker, also WomenTalkSports blogger) in a job well-done.

Though I didn’t 100 percent agree with everything that was said during the lecture, I loved it, primarily for two key reasons.

For one, the Tucker Center publicly recognized and invested in a discussion about a change in communications for female athletics. That’s a huge step. Check out this Tucker Center promo video to get an idea of their perspective:

Number two, they allowed me (and others) to participate in this conversation on Twitter. In essence, they enabled a conversation to happen. The only thing I was disappointed with was that I didn’t get any refreshments after the lecture. That’s how much I felt like I was in that room.

Other things they did right: The Tucker Center streamed video live, created a hashtag #TCDLS and staffed the @TuckerCenter Twitter handle with students who were highly engaged in the discussion.

In short, in one night say they did everything I’ve been waiting to be see from some of the other leading groups, such as the Women’s Sports Foundation, which calls itself the “voice of women’s sports.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m a HUGE supporter of WSF as an organization with an incredible mission, but it’s important to note the difference in levels upon which they engage with the public. Some with ties to WSF like board members and their President (Jess Mendoza) communicate regularly with the public, but not formerly and with WSF branding attached.

So the bigger question is how can you be the voice of women’s sports and not have a conversation? These days, you can’t not “listen and engage.” Listening and engaging is exactly what the Tucker Center did last night, and they probably have 1/10th the budget. As a result, Tucker Center got some great attention, formed new relationships, and established thought leadership in this area as a result. Now, they’re not only a participant, but a leader and a convener. This is absolutely huge.

Another tactic Tucker Center employs correctly: they are going where people talk. Right now, they have a presence through their blog, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and they’re directly engaging with people and providing value in those networks. Also, though the discussion was only last night, the Tucker Center already posted video of their lecture series, located here.

Enjoy, and congratulations again to the Tucker Center for taking steps forward!