Behind the Numbers: The Ryder Cup Twitter Ban
Stewart Cink has been banned from Tweeting during the Ryder Cup
The 2010 Ryder Cup is set to begin and players from both teams are banned from using Twitter and other social media this week at the request of U.S. and European Ryder Cup Captain’s Corey Pavin and Colin Montgomerie.
Main reason for the social media ban: keep the players focused on the three-day competition, which starts Friday, October 1, 2010 at Celtic Manor.
So I decided to run the numbers (via tweetstats.com) to find out how much time your favorite Ryder Cup players (U.S. Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Stewart Cink and Europe’s Ian Poulter) spend on twitter daily. The numbers are quite interesting.
Daily and Monthly Tweets
- Rickie Fowler: 6.7 tweets per day, 163 total tweets for September
- Bubba Watson: 6.9 tweets per day, 169 total tweets for September
- Stewat Cink: 14.5 tweets per day, 306 total tweets for September
- Ian Poulter: 7.4 tweets per day, 185 total tweets for September
Number of Tweets We’ll Miss Out On
Drum roll please….The golf world is going to miss out on a whopping total of 248.5 tweets combined from both the U.S. and European Ryder Cup players.That breaks down to 196.7 tweets from team U.S., 46.9 tweets from Rickie Fowler, 48.3 tweets by Bubba Watson, and 101.5 tweets by Stewart Cink (there’s a reason he has over million followers). Conversely, we’ll miss out on 51.8 tweets for the entire week from Europe’s Ian Poulter. Based on the number of Tweets, Stewart Cink and Ian Poulter will have the hardest time breaking the 140 habit this week in Wales.
Drum roll please….The golf world is going to miss out on a whopping total of 248.5 tweets combined from both the U.S. and European Ryder Cup players.That breaks down to 196.7 tweets from team U.S., 46.9 tweets from Rickie Fowler, 48.3 tweets by Bubba Watson, and 101.5 tweets by Stewart Cink (there’s a reason he has over million followers). Conversely, we’ll miss out on 51.8 tweets for the entire week from Europe’s Ian Poulter. Based on the number of Tweets, Stewart Cink and Ian Poulter will have the hardest time breaking the 140 habit this week in Wales.
The Fans Will Pay the Price
Overall, the number of tweets is pretty low, but I think the fans are the ones who are going to lose out this week. Putting a ban on Twitter to keep the players focused would be legitimate concern if it really was a bigger distraction, than the numbers show. The whole point of social media is to be able to share a part of yourself with the world and give a glimpse into your life.
As a fan I would love to be able to get a first-hand account and insight from Ryder Cup rookies Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler as it happens, not in some after the fact article written hours later.
Let’s all join in by tweeting “Corey Pavin and Colin Montgomerie Reinstate the Tweets! @rydercup #Rydercup #twitter ”
What do you think? Who will have the hardest time not tweeting?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RELATED ARTICLES
5 Responses
Trackbacks for this post
- Pavin Orders Twitter Blackout [update] | 72strokes.com
- Tweets that mention Behind the Numbers: The Ryder Cup Twitter Ban -- Topsy.com
Enjoyed the read Rob
One thing it might do though is get people off their computers and put their eyes on the tube.
Cink may tweet the most, but I think that Poulter will have the toughest time kicking the habit. It seems to be more of a true outlet for him than the other other players. He’s the only one out of the group that I think might actually post something that could be distracting – he has a penchant for getting wound up on twitter (Johnny Miller anybody?).
I don’t think the US players would post anything damaging or distracting – just mostly amusing or interesting things that help bring them closer to the fans. Sometimes I think some individuals (ahem Corey Pavin) need to step back and remember that this is just a game and it’s really all about the fans. Without them, you don’t get to fly on a private charter jet to Wales to play golf for week and cash million dollar paychecks.
Very true Colt, if you don’t mind getting up in the middle of the night to watch live coverage
Most will probably opt for the tape delay replay.