Blackhawks Utilize Twitter, Facebook To Break Team News

Blackhawks' Twitter Page Has Jumped to 5,000 Followers Since Game 1

The Blackhawks recently have launched a Twitter feed and also "ventured into Facebook," and when RW Patrick Kane could not play in Game Three of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series against the Flames, the team "broke the news on Twitter," according to Carol Slezak of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Blackhawks Dir of New Media & Publications Adam Kempenaar said in an e-mail, "We've gone from 15,000 Facebook fans to almost 50,000 just since Game 1 against ... Calgary. Twitter has jumped from 4,000 followers to over 5,000 in that same span." Slezak noted "many fans crave this kind of inside information," and no news organization "could compete with the Hawks" on the Kane news. Kempenaar noted, "ESPN is everywhere, but they aren't on the team bus" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/26).

JOINING THE FRAY: Univ. of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari last week joined Twitter under the name UKCoachCalipari, where he "updates his status -- usually via text message -- to thousands of followers." Calipari said that he "plans to post an inspirational message each Monday that will repeat every morning that week" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 4/26). Calipari has 11,354 followers at presstime (THE DAILY). Meanwhile, Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis has joined Twitter under the name TedLeonsis after having reached the "max allowable number of friends of 5,000" on Facebook. Leonsis on his blog wrote, "Facebook for me now is pretty static. They should increase the number of allowable friends allowed into my network." Leonsis added, "I have a cell phone, a mobile device, an iPod touch, a Kindle and an AIM account. I am hyper connected and I am maxed out" (TEDSTAKE.com, 4/26). Leonsis has 1,197 followers at presstime (THE DAILY).