Twitter Increases the Madness
How can Twitter be used to gain a greater depth of fan experience during "March Madness"? This is a question Mr. Yorke challenged me to look into, and a question that has an answer that might lead my readers to a deeper fan experience...
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As you must know (unless your a luddite living under a rock), March Madness is officially underway, and most Americans are hoping their bracket will win out. But what if it turned out that we all lost - lost to social media? Is it possible Twitter actually helps make the best picks? For example, many NCAA fans using Twitter crowdsource their picks, those who use this method had brackets that probably beat yours. The company got 13 out of 16 games correct in the second round of the tournament—the three losses (Baylor, Iowa State and LSU) were each by a single point. That puts these Twitter users ahead of 98.7 percent of brackets at ESPN, and with hope to do even better: All of these Twitter users' Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four teams are still alive.
In 2013 Twitter users chose three of the "Final Four" (Syracuse, Michigan, Louisville; only leaving out, underdog, Wichita State). This year they have Kentucky winning it all, which in a good choice because Kentucky has a undefeated record this year and are always trending on Twitter.
Twitter has also extended beyond crowdsourcing brackets; it gives Twitter users direct access to players. The players of the teams use Twitter to get more support for their team. Like in the Kentucky vs West Virginia one of the players from West Virginia saying " 36-1" because he felt like his team could win. He was, of course, wrong...
How are you using Twitter to more fully experience the madness of NCAA basketball in March?
