“Two Types of Fans”: Exploring the Relationship between the Edmonton Oilers and their Supporters

April 27, 2013 1 Comment

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Source: Yahoo! Sports

As the Oilers headed into their seventh straight off-season without a playoff appearance, the Edmonton Oilers announced the replacement of General Manager Steve Tambellini with former Oilers captain and coach, Craig MacTavish. At the press conference, John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal pointed out that the same management team that was in place before Tambellini’s dismissal was back in charge.

“How are fans going to be reassured that the group that left the mess that Tambellini couldn’t quite clean up is now going to be cleaned up by the guys who left the mess to begin with?”

Kevin Lowe, President of Hockey Operations for the Oilers, clearly irked by this question, responded with this:

Read more of this post

Filed under Blog posts Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Hockey Insiders and Social Media

March 29, 2013 2 Comments

Source: BBC

Source: BBC

Social media has naturally integrated into professional hockey. Not only can fans use social media tools to get access to information and to connect with other fans, but they can also play a role in the development of information surrounding the game. For example, fans can get up-to-the-minute injury reports for their favorite teams, but they can also provide their own review and analysis of games and share unique content with an online fan community. Social media has allowed fans to transition from simple consumers of content to more active producers and distributors of content.

The popularity of Twitter among professional hockey is evident based on the number of accounts held by fans, players and teams. Breaking news, trade rumors, and  game analysis is regularly shared on Twitter making it a critical tool for individuals and organizations to get engaged with the game of hockey. Broadcast networks in particular, have used Twitter to supplement their television and web content.

Read more of this post

Filed under Blog posts Tagged with , , , , , ,

Assessing the State of Hockey Analytics

March 23, 2013 2 Comments

Source: UBC

Source: UBC

Hockey analytics is an excellent example of fans getting immersed in the game and changing the way they consume professional sports. Along with watching games, and following the narratives that surround teams and players, fans can use various software applications to apply their own ideas and models to analyze the game.

Hockey analytics is also gaining prominence among professional hockey teams to make key decisions regarding player acquisitions and team strategies. The continued growth of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, which is attended by teams and managers from various sports, as well as academics, indicates the growing importance of data analytics in the professional sports industry.

Questions have arisen recently about why some NHL teams are not conducting any hockey analytics, as well as why some teams refuse to get into too much detail about their current analytic methods (Friedman, 2013). Questions have also arisen as to why hockey analytics have not reached mainstream status on television broadcasts, such as Hockey Night in Canada (Dowbiggin, 2013).

To answer these questions, the activity of hockey analytics needs to be dissected by first understanding its relationship to information and knowledge development as well the environment is requires to flourish and reach its potential.

Read more of this post

Filed under Blog posts Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Fantasy Leagues as a Tool for Digital Literacy

January 26, 2013 1 Comment

Source: TechnologyTell.com

Source: TechnologyTell.com

The amount of information available to internet users is growing exponentially every day. In every form imaginable, including text, images, audio and video, among others, users are inundated with a plethora of data, information and knowledge at an alarming rate. The technology available allows for anyone with a basic computer to make significant contributions online, resulting in new content and growing connections to evolving online communities.

Along with the growing amount of creative content and knowledge available across the internet, there is, unfortunately, a growing amount of misinformation, which can travel quickly. The onus is on the individual navigating online to decipher the good information from the bad. Individuals must also be aware of what tools are available to find the information they need and also must be willing to apply “crap detection” methods (Rheingold, 2009) to avoid misinformation.

In parallel with the growing number of content, web technology and communication tools are evolving daily. New methods of communication and information sharing are introduced, building off of familiar tools, but encompassing new rules and norms for users to follow. The world has seen information move from newspapers and television to multi-media platforms such as social media applications and mobile devices. Once an individual is cognizant of the fact that there is a lot of bad information, they now have to learn how to use right tool for the right situation. This is part of the digital literacy people require to not only find and share information, but also to contribute their own knowledge and experiences. Educating new and existing web technology users will be critical as online activity is becoming increasingly important for the economy, civic engagement and academia.

Read more of this post

Filed under Blog posts Tagged with , , , , , , ,

“Crap Detection”: Filtering Through the Noise of Sports Journalism

January 11, 2013 7 Comments

“Yakupov doesn’t do interviews after another quiet game. Kid making people wonder on and off the ice.” – Terry Jones, Edmonton Sun

“It’s time for Igor Larionov to tell his client Nail Yakupov that wearing the ‘C’ means you talk. Kid needs wake-up call.” – Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal

“First time I listened to Nail Yakupov speak at 2012WJC, I thought he had major prima donna potential. Haven’t changed mind …” – Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun

First overall draft pick Nail Yakupov. Source: Russian Machine Never Breaks.

First overall draft pick Nail Yakupov. Source: Russian Machine Never Breaks.

The above tweets came from three prominent sports reporters, based in Canada, following Team Russia’s shootout win over Sweden at the semi-finals of the IIHF World Juniors Tournament in Ufa, Russia. Russian captain Nail Yakupov, the Edmonton Oilers first overall draft pick from the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, was not available to the media following the win, much to the chagrin of the Canadian media contingent.

Players, especially team captains, who do not make themselves available to the media following an important win may upset reporters who need quotes and information to produce content for newspapers. Perhaps Yakupov was meeting with coaches or players, or maybe he was injured. And who knows, maybe this group of reporters was right, and Yakupov just didn’t want to talk. But to make an ill-informed assumption and label him as a bad leader or prima donna is simply irresponsible and misleading journalism.

Read more of this post

Filed under Blog posts Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fan Activity During the NHL Lockout

December 29, 2012 1 Comment

Nail Yakupov playing for HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL.Source: KHL.ru

Oilers 2012 first round pick, Nail Yakupov lighting it up for HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL .
Source: KHL.ru

To say the past four months of negotiations between the NHL and the NHLPA has been an embarrassment is a major understatement. It’s been difficult for hockey fans to watch the game being dragged through the mud as both the NHL owners and the NHLPA stand at a stalemate, waiting for the right deal to suddenly appear. How any professional sports league can allow this to happen is mind-boggling, as one would think that the fans and the long-term success of the league would motivate both parties to find a solution. The labor negotiations have revealed the flawed business model of the  NHL, yet fans remain optimistic and hopeful the season can be salvaged.

The thing that doesn’t make sense to me, is how oblivious the NHL and the NHLPA are to their fans activity during the lockout. Throughout the labor negotiations, fans have been diminished to nothing more than a revenue source, whose financial contributions to the game are being fought over by the owners and the players.

Read more of this post

Filed under Blog posts Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Outside the Glass: Linking the “Virtual Self” to Hockey Analytics

October 18, 2012 1 Comment

Source: The Monkey Buddah (Paul Micarelli)

Hockey analytics has become an important component of the participatory culture surrounding the game. Anyone within the hockey community, including fans and league managers, can use numerous tools and techniques to detect patterns in the data available, in order to follow and understand the game. The NHL as well as mainstream media websites provides ample data for people to work with, while others “outside” of the game, including fans and independent organizations, can develop their own data and methods to complete analysis.

Hockey analytics can be done by anyone with a computer and basic software, depending on how large of a dataset is being examined. The analytic models are dependent on an individual’s or communities’ creativity and rationale, so effective measurement of performance are up for debate and development. Numerous examples of extensive correlations, ranging from simple to complex, can be found, with the vast majority of these analyses open to feedback and collaboration. For example, fans can find a correlation between a team’s scoring chances and the quality of the shots they take (NHL Numbers) . Another example is the correlation between a player’s presence on the ice in relation to the success of the rest of his teammates on the ice (The Copper & Blue). Depending on the goals of the individual or community that analyzes the data, this could be tracked over time to make comparisons and to validate findings.

Currently, data analytics is an emerging trend that is gaining prominence in a wide array of fields. Sales, marketing, healthcare, transportation and construction are just a few of the industries relying more and more on data to understand their environment and to make the right decisions. Governments, such as the City of Edmonton,  have even begun publishing massive public datasets, available for anyone to use either for their analysis, or to develop new technological tools or services.

Emerging trends

Along with the data collected and supplied by organizations such as the City of Edmonton or the NHL, an extensive amount of data is being supplied by individuals themselves. Mobile technologies, along with countless applications, have given individuals the ability to generate data about themselves and their own behaviors. This data is released both unintentionally, such as when mobile gaming applications receive access to the users web browsing history , as well as intentionally, such as when individuals publish their location when using Twitter or Facebook. This intentional release of data has become a popular activity amongst users from various demographics and backgrounds, as they track their own activities and goals. In her book “The Virtual Self: How Our Digital Lives Are Altering the World Around Us”, Nora Young (2012) uses numerous examples and case studies to not only highlight this emergence of self-reporting, but also the societal ramifications of this behavior.

“For all its pleasures and benefits, digital life fundamentally time-shifts and place-shifts us out of the here and now. It is precisely this disembodied, distracted, digital life we lead…that is creating the urge to document the physical body” (Young, p. 3).

While Young’s focus is on the potential application of personal data to benefit the needs of society as a whole, including Government and communities, one could also envision how this personal data can be used for specific purposes, such as hockey analytics.

The next generation of hockey players

The reason this self-reported data is important to hockey analytics is because of the young class of players entering minor and professional leagues. A rising number of players are using web technology to interact with fans and promote the game, but also to maintain their own personal networks and participate within their own online communities. In doing so, these players are leaving behind a digital trail of their online activity that develops this “virtual self” Young (2012) describes. Some of their activity is from before they even became popular professional players. This trend of publishing personal data, whether intentionally or not, is becoming common, especially for those who are “born digital” (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008). Those who are born after 1980 have developed in the digital age, according to the authors, and have a different understanding of identity, privacy and information than their predecessors. This generation is more comfortable exchanging their data for services to simply track their behavior or to construct their online identity.

Future of hockey analytics

Based on the current technological environment and various traits of the hockey industry, there are strong indications that the data players release themselves will have a significant impact on the future of hockey analytics. This linking of real data, or that created from actual hockey games, to the “virtual self”, or data published by individual hockey players, is a strong possibility.

For one, the amount of attention young players receive, starting from an early age, demonstrates the demand the hockey community, including fans and the NHL, have for information. Young players are being tracked and analyzed to find information about their personal backgrounds, other interests or academics as well as their stories of making it to the NHL. By the time they reach the NHL draft, their statistics and back stories are developed and ready to be analyzed. Second, hockey analytics is developing at a significant rate due in part to a growing online community working together that develops new ideas and research methodologies. If a correlation between two or more variables is suspected, based on some sort of reasoning, this community has demonstrated their ability to either search for the data or somehow find a way to generate that data. Third, analytic tools and mobile technology are becoming easier to use. For hockey players, this means their personal data is more and more readily available. For the analytic community, this means data is easier to acquire, share and utilize for various purposes.

Today, a player’s performance can be tied to a number of variables, typically available from game performances and results. In the future, a player’s personal workout schedule, practice regime or data outside of game results could potentially be correlated to their on-ice performance. It may seem farfetched now, but as more and more creative web and mobile applications get released, combined with the demand of data and information by the hockey community, hockey analytics will evolve and utilize the personal data published by this new generation of hockey players.

References

Micarelli, P. (2010, December 3). [Image]. Drawing the Internet. The Monkey Buddah. Retrieved from http://monkeybuddha.blogspot.ca/2010/12/drawing-internet.html

Nowak, P. (2012, June 8). The Virtual Self: Nora Young on digital self-tracking. Canadian Business. Retrieved from http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/tech/87106–the-virtual-self-nora-young-on-digital-self-tracking

Palfrey, J. and Gasser, U. (2008). Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. Basic Books: USA.

Young, N. (2012). The Virtual Self: How Our Digital Lives Are Altering the World Around Us. McClelland & Stewart: Canada.

Filed under Blog posts Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One of Us or One of Them: How relocation threat will impact Edmonton arena negotiations

October 6, 2012 1 Comment

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Over the course of four years, Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz has gone from local hero to shady business man.  Why the change in perception? One can easily point to his demands for a new arena, funded by taxpayer dollars. Or to his subtle threats to move the team to Hamilton, Quebec City or Seattle. But in the case of Daryl Katz, there’s something deeper than these recent events that has changed his public image. And unfortunately for Katz, these changes are difficult to reverse.

Background

Daryl Katz is chairman and CEO of the Katz Group, which owns and operates over 1,800 drug stores in North America. As of March 2012, Forbes estimates Katz’ net worth to be $2 billion, ranking him 13th in Canada, and 634th in the world. Born and raised in Edmonton, Katz is the quintessential local-boy-who-did-good story. He attended the University of Alberta. Started his business in Edmonton and later built a $20M dollar home overlooking the Edmonton river valley. But most importantly, Katz is a longtime fan of the Edmonton Oilers. And when the opportunity arose, Katz quickly acquired the team in 2008, much to the delight of Oiler fans.

Read more of this post

Filed under Blog posts Tagged with , , , , , ,

“Together We Can”: How hockey fans can influence the NHL labor negotiations

September 13, 2012 15 Comments

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Background

While NHL owners and the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) work towards a new collective bargaining agreement, a fan, Janne Makkonen of Finland, created and published a short video, entitled “Together We Can”, imploring hockey fans to work together to stop the impending lockout. The video serves as an excellent example of the participatory culture fan communities are immersed within, allowing creators such as this one to share their message to a massive audience. A collection of hockey highlights, mashed up with other cultural artifacts delivers the message that fans are significant to the game and the need to stop the lockout.

As of this writing, the video has received over 750,000 views on YouTube, with over 4,300 comments. The video has received press coverage and has been shared using various social media applications by fans as well as NHL players. Makkonen has even collected over 23,000 signatures for a petition posted on Change.org to stop the lockout. As great as the response has been to the idea of fans playing a role in stopping the lockout, it’s difficult to remain optimistic.

Harrison Mooney of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog, cites fan participation as a barrier to have an impact on the lockout in his recent blog post entitled “Hockey fans: There is nothing you can do to prevent a lockout”.

“Of course, the issue all of these movements and videos and public protests have — on top of treating our right to NHL hockey like it’s inalienable — is they belie their own threat of action by showing how desperately fans care. When you care that much, you’re not going to follow through on a promise to walk away from the NHL cold turkey should they fail to reach an agreement in two weeks.

Don’t be ridiculous. You’re crackheads threatening to quit crack unless the price of crack comes down.”

Fans are clearly in a position of weakness, as there are limits to what they can do to make a difference. A number of websites (NHL Fan Association, You Have Two Weeks) and social media movements have emerged urging fans to sign petitions and boycott NHL products, the services of NHL sponsors and partners, as well as the other companies owned by NHL owners. New media is a great foundation for group action as communication technology can serve as a foundation for discussion and collaboration. But the websites and social media applications being used require more thought and effort to really make the impact that fans like Makkonen are hoping for.

Fellow Hockey in Society contributor E Martin Nolan summarized a common sentiment among fans  in his recent article, “The Fans are Assumed”.

“Shit, when they bring the game back, I’ll watch. Because I’m a fan, because I’m assumed. But let’s recognize that that assumed status also makes us into, to use Bobby Orr’s phrase following the last lockout, “collateral damage.”  And ain’t shit we can do about it but make spirited montage video clips and fill the comment sections with vitriol until they explode into a big flame of nothingness. And wait, we can wait.”

But there is always hope. In his book “Here Comes Everybody”, Clay Shirky (2008) uses various case studies to outline the critical components of any large scale project, including how to get people involved and how to leverage communication tools such as social media to drive change. The section about Promise, Tool, Bargain (Shirky, p. 260) serves as a model that can serve as a guide to any group, such as fans looking to prevent the NHL lockout. This concept can explain how communities of various sizes have cooperated and collaborated to break down barriers and achieve collective goals, such as the Arab Spring, the Ushahidi application and the infamous Vancouver Riot of 2011, (including the clean-up and the reporting of rioters to authorities). I would argue that although the fan movement to ensure there is hockey this fall may not equal the significance of overthrowing a tyrant in Egypt, similar characteristics and opportunities exist across various large scale movements.

Read more of this post

Filed under Blog posts Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Building the Narrative: Transmedia storytelling in professional sports

August 23, 2012 4 Comments

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Within any form of entertainment lies numerous narratives, designed to engage the audience. Television shows, books and films are all examples of entertainment that utilize plot development and characters to develop a storyline and convey some sort of message to the audience. Traditionally, storytelling came across a single medium, like a book, or an orator. But now the technology available has altered the way these narratives are distributed to audiences. For example, movies not only have their stories distributed across screens, but also across other platforms such as websites, video games and comic books. This is referred to as transmedia storytelling and can be described as:

“…..a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story.” (Jenkins, 2007)

Numerous examples of transmedia storytelling exist in professional sports. Through television, radio and web, the NHL uses the individuals within the game of hockey to tell continuous storylines. Some are short term tales such as single games, a fight, player comebacks or trade speculation. Others are drawn out over a longer period such as a players career, the Stanley Cup playoffs, or the never ending “rebuild” efforts of mediocre teams. Regardless, narratives are built and shared using transmedia storytelling.

The current environment surrounding the game has provided anyone with access to devices and an internet connection with the ability to participate in the storytelling. It’s easy to talk about how ubiquitous social media is, but taking a step back and assessing not only the tool, but also the environment, its participants and possibilities, we see an interconnected web of narratives dispersed over numerous channels. This is great for the professional sports industry as its success relies on fan engagement. But, as is the case with any tool, there are significant ramifications that need to be addressed.

Having multiple parts of a story surrounding the game of hockey being dispersed across various mediums can results in an overabundance of information. Without the right processing tools in place, the excess information can play into our biases and preconceived notions, potentially resulting in poor judgment. Sports fans are typically biased towards their own teams, and, as found by Broad Street Hockey blog, tend to feel their teams are treated unfairly compared to other teams. The additional information that comes out from transmedia storytelling can be used to confirm our biases and muddle our perception of issues that we may not agree with.

But amid the issue of excessive information caused by transmedia storytelling, there are various facets of the concept that make being a fan in 2012 much more enjoyable.

 “Transmedia storytelling weaves together individual strands of a story into a larger and richer interactive fabric and offers the audience multiple ways to participate, through content production, collaboration, and interaction. When the story has authenticity, coherence, and integrity, it provides a common language that unleashes vast amounts of creativity and invites maximum engagement through audience participation.” (Rutledge, 2011)

Transmedia storytelling allows fans to apply their creativity and energy to the game, and take control of the content available. Their drive to be more than consumers of professional sports has generated unique cultural artifacts on the web, creating new networks to participate within and share cultural experiences.

An example of this would be photoshopping images to alter the intended message or parody Twitter accounts that mimic professional hockey players. More than just finding humor in the game, these examples allow fans to create new fictional storylines inspired by actual, current events. Fans can also develop the history of players or teams on Wikipedia, which relies on voluntary participation. Wikipedia has the correct environment and tools in place to foster productive contributions to construct an informative history of professional athletes (Ferriter, 2009).

It’s far too common to read about “the power of social media” and the negative stories that surround mobile and social technology. Current examples include fake hockey insider Twitter accounts that create baseless rumors or mobile technology being used to monitor hockey players in their private lives (Sanderson, 2009). Seeing past the tool and understanding the actual content being spread over a massive social network can give us a better understanding of the individuals involved, their relationship to the game of hockey, as well as their production capabilities.

References

Detweller, G. (2012, August 2). The Bias Survey: Scientific proof that we’re all gigantic homers. Retrieved from http://www.broadstreethockey.com/2012/8/2/3215732/nhl-bias-survey

Ferriter, M.M. (2009). “Arguably the greatest“: Sports fans and communities at work on Wikipedia. Sociology of Sport Journal, 26(1), p. 127-154.

Jenkins, H. (2007, March 22). Transmedia storytelling 101. Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html

Rutledge, P. (2011, January 7). Transmedia Storytelling: The reemergence of fundamentals. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positively-media/201101/transmedia-storytelling-the-reemergence-fundamentals

Sanderson, J. (2009). Professional athletes‘ shrinking privacy boundaries: Fans, information and communication technologies, and athlete monitoring. International Journal of Sport Communication, 2(1), p. 240-256.

Filed under Blog posts Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

← Older posts