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Published on 05/13/2009 at Wed May 13 13:25.



catching up with the rest of the world.

Posted Wed May 13th by

Editor’s Note: This is J.’s first tryout piece for joining the BroncoTalk staff, and he decided to tackle a topic that’s becoming all-the-more prevalent in sports blogs: social networking. BroncoTalk has only barely dipped its toes into the world of Twitter and Facebook; meanwhile, Broncos players like Eddie Royal (Twitter/Facebook) and Champ Bailey (Twitter) are creating a large virtual following. Props to some of our favorite players, and let J. Kenneth K. know what you think of his piece in the comments! -Kyle

Eddie Royal

Note: I feel there is a risk in writing this, mostly because maybe, possibly, everyone already knows this information. However, if I didn’t know, which I didn’t, I would hope someone would let me know. So, here we go.

A brief introduction to the relationship (or lack there of) of Twitter and I:

One theory I own: there is a certain age where we find ourselves at a standstill, in a white void, hovering in a nondescript space. We are fully aware of our circumstance. We are there to observe visual representations of life fly by us. Some of these visuals have a substantial amount of speed, while others, like clouds; gently float by, allowing us to understand and accept the place we are in.

Here I hover.

Out of the corner of my eye I see a blur off in the distance. It has velocity. It is technology. It is catapulting towards me, just narrowly missing my face. Before I can blink it is gone, above me. At the same time, like a cartoon feather falling from a freshly shot bird, I see another representation. This is the amount that I care to learn and absorb technology. Down it goes.

Example: My father is in his seventies. When the internet arrived fresh on the scene in the mid 90’s it wasn’t long before our family was surfing the World Wide Web. He knows how to Google, and send emails, the basics. Fine. Two years ago I convince my parents to purchase DVR, letting them know how easy and accessible it will be. They do, and within two weeks call back the cable company and decide to keep VHS alive. It was something simple, but they just couldn’t get past it.

This is me vs. twitter.

Everyday during my subway ride into the city I download The BS Report with Bill Simmons onto my iPhone. What transpired a week ago on one episode was Bill giving into the pressure of his friends and colleagues and joining twitter.

A spark.

What had previously been a mystery was now taking shape. I started easing myself into the world of twitter. I knew one thing; I wanted to take my time. I had previously been a part of facebook, up until I retired two years ago. When I started using facebook it was still fun, a nice casual way to keep in touch with friends, then it started getting freaky, obsessive freaky. But, if the sports guy was going to give twitter a go, the least I could do was look into it.

What I found. 

The NBA has the jump.
Is it all the extra time in hotels during away games? Possibly it’s the youth of the NBA. Even more, I think it is the individuality that the NBA possesses. It is a team sport, I understand, and to win you must have a strong assembly of players willing to do their part, but I think NBA superstars live on different levels of separation than NFL superstars.

Some twittering NBA pioneers.
Shaquille O’Neal-Fully embraces the connection that twitter makes possible between athletes and fans.
Charlie Villanueva-Infamous for twittering during halftime while the Bucks were playing the Celtics. Now it seems that Villanueva may be connecting the NBA and Twitter officially by becoming the first Tweetporter. His debut broadcast is Game 5 of Celtics/Magic.
Kenny Smith-Member of the TNT coverage team, Smith gives added insight through twitter that would never make the show.

So how about the NFL?
While there are a few handfuls of players using twitter, most notably TO and our very own Champ Bailey, the NFL may have to wait for the next generation (Sanchez & Moreno) to push the twitter usage. Say it catches on, what can we as fans expect from the players we look up to? Anything more than what it is? The one thing that has kept me away from twitter is that I simply do not care if you just had your oil checked, or just drank a protein shake, or got caught up on Lost. Why then will I care if Brandon Marshall is heading out on a Friday night? Besides the fact that we could offer a buddy system 500 people strong? We spend hours a day in front of televisions/computers/smart phones, all blinking screens, all feeding us constant information. We started with e-mails and evolved to txts, jumped to facebook and now tweet just to talk to another human being, and never hear their voice. I used to buy books from the bookfair as a child that contained addresses of sports stars. I would write a letter to Michael Jordan asking for his autograph, put it in the mail and…wait! It’s instant now! It’s insane! I can let Lebron know that I am a WITNESS and hear back from him seconds later. Why do we care? Because the possibilities are endless. Because it could take us anywhere. Because we can learn from a source directly, something that has never been offered before. It is a new level of media coverage. National/Local/Intimate

“I see a day when the following sequence will be routine: Player demands trade on blog; team obliges and announces deal on Twitter; player thanks old fans, takes shots at old team and gushes about new team on Facebook. We will not need anyone to report this, just someone to recap it. Preferably with links.”

From a Simmons ESPN Magazine article, check it out, he says it a lot better than I can. He says it better because I am not a writer, I just like sharing my thoughts. Which is why I am going to create my twitter account right now.

Note: As I was finishing this piece I called to talk to my parents. Without any knowledge of what I was doing, this was actually said as a tag on to a conversation about my mother wanting me to talk to her on Skype.
Mom: Jordan, your father wants to know if you’re tottering.

I guess my parents aren’t  so far behind after all.

  • http://BroncoTalk.net Mr.East

    This article is a gleaming new aspect for this site. A breath of fresh air indeed. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been reading this article as it’s been developing on the control panel. Twitter is certainly sinking it’s teeth into the sports world and this is a deviceful take on it. I am certainly joining twitter to follow Royal and Bailey. It will be strange having my bronco life and my social life convolute together.

    I love this article for two reasons, it adds a whole new range to the blog and finally I am no longer the new guy! Welcome about J. Kenneth K, you’re going to need a nickname.

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    In the coming weeks, BroncoTalk will be unveiling a lot of big changes. A site overhaul, fully integrated with Twitter and Facebook, with a lot of new community-driven features.

    In the meantime, be sure to become a fan of BT on Facebook. I’m on there too pretty regularly; be sure to shoot me a friend request (you’ll see a lot of the BT Staff as friends on there, too).

    Great post Jordan!

  • http://mrherculesrockefeller.blogspot.com herc rock

    Don’t forget the Josh McDaniels twitter. http://twitter.com/CoachJoshMcD

    I’m assuming that it’s fake.

  • http://broncomadness.com Garrett Barnes

    herc you’re right probably. i’m assuming he wouldn’t say this: Had dinner at Elway’s restaurant last night. Worst steak I’ve ever choked down.

    but i dunno… lol

    btw excited for some of the new stuff coming kyle. and i REALLY enjoyed this article. it’s great.

  • Pingback: Bronco Madness, Meet Facebook « Bronco Madness()

  • (stuck in) raiderland

    I’m pretty sure I should change my id (or whatever you call it) to:
    (stuck in) The Last Century
    It’s not technophobia, I swear– technology and I get along fine. I read a few blogs, at least. But Twitter strikes me as the most pointlessly insidious “advance” to date. Everyone should read a story called “The Murderer,” by Ray Bradbury. Written back in 1953, Bradbury is weirdly prophetic about a day when “keeping in touch” is just TOO easy. The title is the name the story’s main character gives to himself– in a moment of inspiration/insanity he starts “murdering” all the little communication devices (you could just call them “social networking” devices) which keep demanding his attention all the time. A few quick excerpts, all dialogue spoken by the main character:

    “What is there about such ‘conveniences’ that makes them so temptingly convenient? The average man thinks, Here I am, time on my hands, and there on my wrist is a wrist telephone… there’s not a moment I’m not in touch. In touch! There’s a slimy phrase. Touch, hell. Gripped! Pawed, rather. Mauled and massaged and pounded by FM voices…
    This is only the beginning… It’ll all take time, of course. It was all so enchanting at first. The very idea of these things, the practical uses, was wonderful. They were almost toys, to be played with, but the people got too involved, went too far, and got wrapped up in a pattern of social behavior and couldn’t get out, couldn’t admit they were in, even. So they rationalized their nerves as something else…”

    I know this makes me ridiculously old-fashioned sounding, and I’m not even thirty. And I’m glad other people are excited about it. But for me… I’d rather not be gripped, as Bradbury put it. Of course, I remain a devoted Broncotalk fan.
    If anyone wants to read the story, you can find it in either “The Stories of Ray Bradbury,” an Alfred Knopf-published collection, or “The Golden Apples of the Sun,” where it originally appeared (probably). Maybe you can download it onto your Kindle.

  • Chris

    I agree with SIRL. I’m 30 and don’t use Twitter. I just don’t care about what people are doing that minute, or second even. It really has become ridiculous. I only joined Facebook a few months ago, and that was purely to get in contact with some old High School friends. Sure, I log onto it sometimes. I’m certainly not obsessive over Facebook, and never will be.

    I feel the whole Twitter, Facebook, MySpace (insert other social networking site here) may make our society less “social.” I type that and realize that I’m writing my thoughts on a blog comment section.

    Nice post Jordan. It’s nice to see some new material on the site.

    “Why then will I care if Brandon Marshall is heading out on a Friday night? Besides the fact that we could offer a buddy system 500 people strong?”

    Priceless! Hell, I would sign up for Twitter just for that alone, and nothing more.

  • http://broncotalk.net Ian Henson

    Nice first Jordan, but get with the program and twitter =P Welcome to the team.

  • (stuck in) raiderland

    In my initial old-man-in-cranky-pants-rant I failed to mention what Chris said: Nice post Jordan. I agree. My aggravation with Twitter doesn’t reflect on your quality post.
    I also loved the closing line. Now I’m going to run around asking people if they Totter.

  • http://myspace.com/paraleipsis jchase8410

    Welcome to the BT staff, I look forward to reading more of your thoughts. I have a Myspace page, a facebook page, and I blog on various sports sites, but ffor some reason I can’t bring myself to start tweeting. I just don’t understand what the point is. Maybe I just don’t really care much what people are doing at any given moment.

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    I’ve been on twitted for a little while now, having been suckered into it with the revelation that my preferred username is still available. I have a slightly larger following than most normal uses, it not really that much. Even a minor celebrity dwaarfs me. What I can say is that it is amazing how you can I terqct with people who might not normally write l. Either because they don’t have the the or are not articulate. But it is hollow, shallow. Maybe champ tells us what’s on his mind but it’s such a tony ski e that it’s not real.

    But it’s still more than rhevalic we’d normally get which is just press confers de quotes. And if you have the patience to wade thru the mundane be useless it is still interesting.

    Just don’t make the err of thinking a twitted follow is friendship. It is the narrowest, splest pie e of voyeurism there is. When you accept itfor what it is, it is fun.

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    Also, do not post comments using the iPhone. It makes you look like you can’t spell. :) or maybe just me.

  • Roy

    Jordan, I enjoyed your article and look forward to more in the future.

  • (stuck in) raiderland

    Wow, E. Halsey Miles. Knowing your writing ability, when I read that first comment I was worried you had suffered a stroke or something. Glad you posted the explanation.
    Were you using the “iStroke” app? Or the “iBrainDamage” app?

  • J. Kenneth K.

    Fellow internet superhighway travelers(and bronco fans)! Thank ya’ll for the comments and encouraging words, they do mean a lot. I bet the number of Broncos on twitter swells this year, it seems to be thee thing to do right now. The staying power is in question, this time next year we should better be able to decipher if it’s a fad, or if it’s “for real”.

  • Tom9798

    Just thought I’d throw this curveball . . . a little advice about privacy . . . . since that has not entered the blog yet . . . although a couple of you came close . . .

    I sat down with a beer and looked at my e-mail that said sign up for facebook . . . I thought why not? . . . put in the high school . . . the college . . . the address . . . the phone number . . . blah, blah, blah, Ginger . . . .

    I came back to the site and on the right hand side there were photos and messages from people that I knew in high school and college! . . . I was blown away! . . . this had been about seven minutes . . . .

    I scrolled to the settings tab . . . found out there were forty settings that gave out every bit of the information I had entered to the subscriber list . . .

    I scrolled to the bottom and saw that the subscriber list was 175,000,000 people . . . including every agency of the U.S. Government . . . .

    After subtracting all the children and old people in the U.S. that don’t have computers or could care less . . . I realized that the remaining quotient was EVERYBODY!

    This momentary lapse of reason caused me the greatest violation of my privacy that I could have ever imagined . . . I don’t even want my name in the phonebook much less facebook . . . . or twitter . . . or myspace . . . or any space . . .

    It took another ten minutes . . . but finally deactivated this account . . . although I’m not quite sure as to what a person or agency might see if they try to access my name . . .

    It’s all about your privacy . . . and your ability to protect it . . . every one of these sites is monitored and controlled . . . and you are doing neither . . . sounds paranoid?

    Just wait until that one skeleton from the years gone past closet locates you on one of these sites . . . and they are not invading your privacy . . . YOU GAVE IT AWAY!

    Maybe it’s just my off-the-grid . . . live in the woods . . . Patriot mentality . . . I like to have deer walk through the property . . . not people looking for me . . . so be it . . .

    “ain’t nobody’s business but my own,” . . . .

  • kerry

    j kenneth k:

    nice article. well written. but im gonna give you a tip about posting stuff on here: dont dare say anything negative about the Broncos. otherwise you are not a true fan. as i have been so eloquently called many times. you have to agree, with much enthusiasm, on EVERY SINGLE SIGNING AND DRAFT PICK the Broncos make. when the team signs 8 RB’s for no apparent reason AND gives up a first round pick for a nickel CB then gleefully rejoice otherwise you get attacked because you happened to disagree with the new emperor, the Holy one, Josh McDaniels. every move he makes, according to most on here, are the best moves in the history of the NFL.

    hope that helps your writings here on BT. lol.

  • http://BroncoTalk.net Mr.East

    Now Kerry,

    That isn’t completely true… just mostly. You and I have found common ground before, mainly about South Park but there has been other topics we agree on. I throughly enjoy reading what you have to say for every article whether or not I agree, I at least feel that your premise is always valid, and I can see where you’re coming from.

    By the way Eddie posted this article on his facebook! Awesome!

  • (stuck in) raiderland

    I, for one, think Kerry should be banished from the site. How dare he! How… Dare… He!!! I said GOOD DAY, sir.

  • Tom9798

    J. Kenneth K. . . . .

    I worked a twelve hour shift and expected to hear some feedback on the blog I left at #16 . . . .

    Although I found your first article incisive . . . . it was by no means inclusive of the inherent danger of uncontrolled cyberspace . . .

    And I can assure you . . . there are many people who are second-guessing just how swell all these sites really are . . .

    I much more enjoy talking about Denver Bronco football . . . it’s a site where a myriad of people offer their opinions . . . some good . . . some bad . . . but I have found it always entertaining . . . and I always come back . . . .

    If there are players that need to build up their fan base . . . for whatever their reasons may be . . . let them do it without drawing in the fans that might be in harm’s way by their actions . . . .

    They might get that innocent e-mail saying sign up for facebook . . .

    What makeup of 3-4 front seven do you think the Bronco’s will open the season with? . . . . T

  • Stav

    DE – Thomas
    NT – Baker
    DE – Anyone’s guess, probably a rotation
    LOLB – Dumervil
    ILB – DJ
    ILB – Bailey (if he’s ready) – Lee Robinson (Backup?)
    ROLB – Ayers, he’s got to be rushing from the edge

  • (stuck in) raiderland

    Tom9798–
    So you get some feedback re your post: I appreciate your perspective but should clarify that I don’t necessarily share it. My complaint about the social-networking trend is more about the general idea of the “benefit” of communicating constantly with each other, regardless of the vapid and pointless nature of the communication, or the lack of any real relationship amongst the people sharing. I understand your privacy-related concerns. If it makes you feel any better (and it may not), I would say this: in the world of criminal defense, I see the police using MySpace, etc. to track down people bragging about doing stupid (criminal) crap online, which happens all the damn time, actually. Apart from information people willingly (and stupidly) advertise on the internet in a forum that is clearly advertised as DESIGNED to be available to the public, I have found that these social-networking sites are very protective of people’s information. You run into a number of instances of organizations giving away stuff that they shouldn’t be sharing without being shown a warrant, but the social networking sites don’t seem to be among them. They do a good job of requiring a warrant. Why people bizarrely share things they shouldn’t in public forums is another question.
    Okay, enough of that, it’s a discussion for another forum.
    Re: Stav’s suggestions– I still hold out hope that Jarvis Moss will stick in the DE position. Also, don’t people think Woodyard could take the LOLB position?

  • kerry part 2

    Kerry, I’m not saying that you were not a true fan. I’m not saying that you have to agree with McDaniels, In fact, I never said anything about your opinion about the broncos. The only thing I did say about you is that you are a total negative jackass, who’s infantile mind can’t handle disappointment without throwing a temper tantrum. Please, read some of your posts from the draft and tell me, are your reactions constructive or destructive?

    ” kerry: this is bullshit!
    kerry: this is bullshit, and gay
    kerry: FUCK MY LIFE
    kerry: I HOPE RAJI GETS VAGINAL WARTS
    kerry: FUCK MY LIFE
    kerry: FUCK MY LIFE
    kerry: IM GONNA DRINK SOME CYANIDE
    kerry: HAHAHAHAHHA KEYSHAWN IS STUPID!!
    kerry: THIS FIRST ROUND SUCKS. BUT AT LEAST WE DIDNT TAKE MAUALUGA’
    kerry: WELL THE N YOU ALL LOVE HAVING A MEDIOCRE FOOTBALL TEAM
    kerry: A FIRST ROUNDER FOR A CB WHO ISNT RATED HIGH?? PFFFFTTTTTT ANYONE STILL SUPPORTING MCDANIELS?
    kerry: FUUUUUUUUUUCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
    kerry: GOD I HATE MCDANIELS!!! A FUCKING CB OVER BRACE!!!!
    kerry: THIS DRATF IS WORSE THEN MOST OF SHANNYS DRAFTS
    kerry: FUCK MY LIFE
    kerry: GOD I HATE MCDANIELS!!!!! WHAT A DICKHEAD DUMBASS
    kerry: WHO THE FUCK IS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    kerry: THIS IS THE WORST DENVER DRAFT IVE EVER SEEN
    kerry: WILLIAM MOORE WAS THERE, SO WAS RASHAD JOHNSON AND WE TAKE THIS DICKFACE!!!! FUCK MY LIFE
    kerry: IM GOING TO THE BAR AND DRINKING AWAY MY MISERY. FUCK MY LIFE
    kerry: THIS IS THE WORST DENVER DRAFT EVER. ALL POSITIONS THAT WE DIDNT NEED. FUCK MY LIFE. IM OUTTA HERE”

  • kerry

    said the loser who uses my name as his handle. if you are gonna call me out about my posts then use your own damn name. just copying my name makes you worse then me.

  • http://mrherculesrockefeller.blogspot.com herc rock

    Love him or hate him, this site needs Kerry.

  • Tom9798

    Stav . . . . excellent selection . . . . could be one heck of a lineback corps . . . .

    (Stuck) in Raiderland . . . . good points made . . . . I’m just adding caution and a little common sense to one’s zeal for public/social networking . . . . T

  • (stuck in) raiderland

    Kerry offends my very, very delicate sensibilities. I believe most football fans share my sensitive nature. All that cursing! I’ve never heard any such language used in connection with the sport of football. Also, I can’t tolerate any form of dissension. Conflict scares me and makes me sad. I want the bad Mr. Kerry man to leave.

    Or maybe, as long as Kerry can handle getting called out when he gets a little– what’s the word– melodramatic? full of shit?– we can all welcome his interesting perspective. Most diehard fans are fatalists anyway. I draw the line at actual rioting in the streets. Short of that…

  • http://broncotalk.net (dee)

    Kerry is a valuable member of this community. Though I dont always agree with him he does have a right to voice his opinion. I dont believe hes always negitive either, just most of the time lol.

  • http://www.milehighhockey.com Dario

    NFL has announced the 2009 salary cap has increased $12 million to $128 million total. That’s 12 more million that coach can spend on free agent running backs. :)

    http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d81056683&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true

  • roshon2411

    I agree Kerry can be a negative nancy, but I did laugh my ass off reading thru his ALL CAPS rants during the draft.

  • (stuck in) raiderland

    Dario–
    Hilarious, but please don’t jinx us. McD totally will use the room to sign 4 more HBs. I’m telling you, McD is going to go for some sort of new rules-bending all-running backs formation. It’ll be like the “Flying V” from those crappy Disney hockey movies– The Mighty Ducks, if I remember right. We’ll see Emilio Estevez brought in as a special consultant. Screw the Wildcat. If an HB under center is good, an HB playing EVERY position is even better, right?

  • http://myspace.com/paraleipsis jchase8410

    SIRaiderland

    That’s fraking hilarious. Flying V of running backs is such a funny visual.

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    LOL that really is. I can’t stop laughing… tears I tell ya, tears!

  • http://cdn0.sbnation.com/profile_images/111140/La_La_Mascot.jpg WhidbeyBronco

    I too …lmao flying V!! The only appropriate attack on coach right now (unless he screws up again!) …is humor, for we are in HOPEFUL mode this close to the season!!

    Nice Jordon! I enjoyed your style… more punk rock from time to time, so we know you’re hard as well as eloquent… totter! yep yep.
    I face book to keep in touch with the people I don’t have time to keep in touch with… those in my life every day I can call… Each to our own uses for tech, right?

    Kerry Thanks for making me look slightly less like an ass!

    Kerry 2 Thanks for making Kerry look less like an ass!

    Dee, remember when u were the negative one? Wow how times have changed!

    East xx00

  • Fan From Spain

    (stuck in) raiderland your another Daily Show fan ;)

    Good job on the article East and a hello to Eddie for reading this great blog

    10-6 all the way

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    I had something funny to say about strokes but then I thought about dr Z and it wasn’t funny anymore. So instead I will just say I post using the iSuck app :)