Using social media to keep up with athletes

Sure you call, but for a lot of teenagers the preferred means of communication is through Twitter or FB. Calling usually means their parents' landline, which often will mean leaving a msg they might not get until much later.

You don't have to quote Twitter, but you have to pay attention to it. Before it existed, you would still hear things from parents and assistant coaches and other various people hanging around at practices and games. You didn't run those things, but you used that to follow up with a coach or AD. Treat tweets and FB posts the same way. If Joe Blow tweets that he's going to State or if his dad tells you at a game "Joe's pretty much sold on State," you still have the tip and you would proceed the same way from there.

 

I won't follow HS athletes on Twitter. It's creepy. If one is involved in a news story, I'll check to see if they have Twitter and see if I can get anything that way, but I'm not following them.
And you shouldn't quote a twitter feed unless you can confirm that person was the one who sent the message. No one obeys that rule and it's a shame.
I used Twitter to contact a source. Simply asked her if she had any interest in speaking with her local paper. She said sure, DM'ed me her email and I contacted her over the phone for an interview.

 

I'd have to call it a sign of the times. I used to feel it was asinine, but that was before I realized the best way to contact half the high school football coaches I deal with now is often texting instead of calling. Seriously, some of these coaches text at the rate of a high-school girl.

 

Even that statement is "soooo 2009". Texting is pretty commonplace nowadays.
When my 62-year-old mother, who doesn't know how to operate a DVR or even have a computer, can text me...then we are past that saying.
Heck, I don't think I have had a real conversation with a few of our reporters (in person or on the phone) in the last few weeks, but we all facebook, tweet and text regularly. It's just the sign of the times I guess.

 

Agreed wholeheartedly. That's where most of them spend their time, that's where they converse. You could miss a lot by saying it's not worthy of watching.