[satchel]

I've never used Twitter, and I won't share my former opinion of it, because it's not positive. I'm not sure I'll ever check it out.

But, when PadresFan posted that he was going to send out a "tweet" whenever he updated his mods site, it made me think that Twitter would be a good fit for online leagues, because a Commissioner could send out a tweet whenever he had run a sim, imported some exports, modded his website or forum, etc.

Most online league owners probably check their league sites regularly anyway, at least the owners who care about minor updates. And I'm not sure what the difference between using Twitter and using an online feed like RSS would be. I suppose that a Commissioner could send out a tweet whenever he did something minor, it could be more convenient, and more of an opt-in thing, than email.

The idea struck me as interesting, and it seemed as if maybe Twitter could help link the Commissioner of an online legue, and his owners.

[jdettbarn]

Was actually thinking about this the other day too.

You could also use the free, open source laconica (Laconica) to power a twitter-like community for your league. Might make more sense than dealing with all the noise that comes from Twitter.

[stevebydac]

Email seems a lot simpler.

[kq76]

Yeah, I don't really see the benefit for online leagues. I think you certainly don't want to ask your members to sign up for tweets instead of sending them email updates.

I can kind of see how twitter might be good for Padres' mod site though because people can easily self-subscribe to twitter, but he could do the same with an email newsletter that people could subscribe to. I guess if you're a lurker of an online league it might be nice to just follow a league's tweets, but I just don't see a whole lot of use for it especially over what should already be easily available.

Not that I should talk because I think twitter has got to be about the most ridiculous internet phenomenon we've ever seen (they're essentially just IM away messages for Pete's sake), but obviously some people do find them useful or at least entertaining.

[satchel]

Originally Posted by kq76

Yeah, I don't really see the benefit for online leagues.

The benefits that I can see are that the Commissioner could send out tweets when he executed some league action which didn't warrant an email. The protocol of tweets is much more casual than emails, I believe; plus, owners could opt-in to this additional level of league involvement. It's appropriate to send out a tweet that says "just adjusted forum background color" whereas that's not an email that most people would care to receive. Owners who wanted to immediately find out about every minor activity of a Commissioner, regarding the league, could sign up for the league's Twitter feed.

[satchel]

This isn't something I'd expect most Commissioners or owners to do. Most leagues just aren't that intense. But it is a promising potential application for this popular technology.

[satchel]

I don't use Twitter and I don't plan on doing so. But, if I did use it, I'd be much more interested in whether one of my leagues had just posted All-star ballots than if Ashton Kutcher couldn't find a parking space.

[darkcloud4579]

I used it when I ran FOOL, but mostly for the gee-whiz factor. And well, I'm an active twitterer. I think it has some pretty useful applications for online play, but...it's got to be an integrated part of what you do and I don't think most leagues need it.

http://twitter.com/FOOLwire