So what do IndyCar fans want from Twitter?
Most of us want to see drivers, team operators and TV personalities as real people who have genuine private lives away from work. Twitter can give us authentic peeks into those private lives.
Underneath the fire suits, beyond the news releases and away from the cameras, drivers and all celebrities are real people who happen to do jobs that attract a lot of attention. They're flesh and blood. Not very different, physically or mentally, from you and me.
Some drivers are moody and withdrawn and some are relentlessly positive and chatty. There are introverts and extroverts, aloof, humble, attentive, distracted. Often fans build images of a celebrity in their heads based on what they see on TV or how they hope the person will really be. Then, when fans finally meet the celebrity, they can be disappointed because the real person does not measure up to the fan's hero-level expectation.
Danica Patrick, for example, (based just on my limited contact with her) is neither moody-bitch princess nor Mother Theresa saint. She can be quite fun, friendly and very bunnies-and-rainbows, and she can also be brusque, all business and even rage-filled. Patrick is a CEO who is extremely focused on maximizing the success of her company (which happens to be Danica, Inc.). Just like a million other CEOs.
Even Sarah Fisher, relentlessly positive and fan friendly, can crank off F-bombs and go alpha female at times. The point is, drivers have personalities across the spectrum, amplified by the highly competitive and emotional nature of their work. Twitter, at its best, gives us more of a complete and accurate understanding of those personalities.
So Twitter followers like to know that @DanicaPatrick thinks toast smells toasty in the morning and that she's a fan of the Chicago Bears and that she's baking cookies RIGHT NOW somewhere in greater Phoenix. We like to see pictures of @SarahFisher67 and her young nieces and nephews and hear what's on the menu for crock pot Wednesday at Sarah Fisher Racing (@SFRacing).
We laugh with @pippamann as she compares herself to a rampaging elephant when forced to run on the "dread mill." It's fun to hear about @TonyKanaan's preparations for a triathlon and view photos of @RyanBriscoe6's cocker spaniel blissfully slumbering in his wife's arms. Because it makes all those people more real to us.
Twitter takes us beyond the super-hyper-managed, sanitized and properly nuanced public personas and let's fans better understand the real person, warts and all. As for fan to fan, the same is true. Many of us strive to have Twitter reflect our true personalities.
But what do others like about Twitter? The best way to find out is to ask, so I tweeted ...
@pressdog: IndyCar Tweeps: Working on a series of posts 4 next wk about Twitter. Tweet me why you love twitter & I may include your tweet in the post.
Behold, the 140-character-limited responses from the Twittersphere:
@Kelsey USA: I love Twitter because it creates communities of Tweeps where people can connect w/ others with similar interests & meet in person
@Im4irl: closer connection w/teams+drivers @PCaporali made me @edcarpenter20 fan+despite anti-Penske, became @RyanBriscoe6 fan due 2twitter
@WhateverJoel: I like Twitter cause it satisfies my cravings for shit tweets and #hashtags
@TrpLeagueRacing: Twitter's a great way to get in touch with other racing fans, and to promote your blog
@vincent1701: I love to hear the news 1st, I love twitting and being twitted by drivers
@toomuchracing: Twitter is great for conversations with fans, insiders, even participants. Many points of view from all over the world.
@PAprincess331: I love twitter because it keeps me informed on games races and other things! I love it!
@jerracing7: Twitter is great way to get the latest in breaking news in either Nascar or Indycar.
@3Paige14: I love Twitter because I can keep up with IndyCar news & races as well as get a peek in the lives of my favorite drivers & teams.
@chistopherlion: One person, and one person only. @paultracy3. (Okay, no. Mostly for my banter with you, @SBPopOffValve and @ScottWhitmore.)
@jscott_grtv: it's how I stay up-to-date on the news & personalities within the INDYCAR & other forms of motorsports
@Annaxcamille: I love twitter because I've met so many people who have like interests as I do............... plus P-Dog makes it interesting. :P
@lmkenny: I love Twitter since I met my race bitch @akwaxy here. And I even visit my new friend in Minnesota in January!
@SpeedFreakBash: I love that Twitter, at 140 characters, can be very low-commitment time-wise, making it easy to communicate more often.
@FTHurley: I love Twitter because without it, I wouldn't have met some cool IndyCar folks like pressdog! :-)
@EJGoose: Twitter allows me to quickly create a connection with people in a manner I never imagined.
@indycaradvocate: I love Twitter because of news leaks, Simona's plethora of exclamation points, and TK's genial, incomprehensible Portuguese.
@FTHurley: I like that for better or worse (often better) we get glimpses into who these drivers and crew folks really are.
@Pinkgineer: Simply for the fact that I've gotten to interact with SO many people from all over the world. Made some amazing friends too!
@kamoragirl: I love Twitter because it makes the drivers real. You get a glimpse into their personal lives & a chance to see their sense of humor. Mostly though it gives me the chance to connect with people who have the same interests. In fact some of the best friends I have I met initially through Twitter!
@alleygrou: I love Twitter for the timely info for all things racing and it provides a forum for sharing my blog and photos.
@PCaporali: Twitter connects #Indycar teams/drivers to fans & each other like never before. Reminds us w/o interest or support we don't exist.
@andhesonit: Twitter is: An inclusive, never-ending conversation about the sport we love.
@SBPopOffValve: Twitter is a 140-character bar conversation without the smoke, the body odor, or cover charges
@aaronmp: Its a quick news feed - the way to receive all updates (and opinions) from IndyCar bloggers at the same time.
@Oilpressureblog: Aside from the humor and chatting directly with celebrities, Twitter is the quickest source of IndyCar news i know of.
@texasindy: social media was THE open door into IndyCar for me. My book and involvement in the series would not be possible w/o it.
@the_race_gIRL: Twitter is what got me to Indy, helped me find the greatest sports community on earth and to bring tweeps together at MIT & WIT!
@kenspi: Twitter allows us to get more insight from more drivers, not just the few interviewed post-race. The story behind the story.
@Desertroo: no where else can u express ur admiration,encouragement, support & share ur life w/people who u find interesting in real time?
@rico500: Allows for interaction with people having similar, not overly popular interests, such as #indycar, which is what got me tweeting.
@KF4LMT: Despite not being able to attend the races, Twitter allows me to enjoy them with a community of fellow fans.
@fleshwound_NPG: Twitter is like Microsoft's slogan "Life without walls", but slightly different...."Life without restraining orders"
@ScottWhitmore: Interplay this a.m. (Jan. 4) on racing taking advantage of NFL lockout btwn @SBPopOffValve, @nateryan & @JennaFryer is why I love Twitter.
--
The pressdog™ Original Twitter Series --
Part I: Twitter Takes Root in IndyCar
Part II: Tweetups — Let's Tweet and Greet
Part III: PR Pros See Twitter as a Tool
Bill:
Really an amazing series of posts here. As someone who works in market research and who is actively a part of finding how we can help our clients' and their brands better utilize social media to strengthen the bond with consumers, you've written an amazing case study for me to cite whenever I'm talking to people about how this can really work.
Of course, as a follower and Indycar fan (sorry not all caps ;-p) I've known this for a couple of years now and have reaped the benefits when, sitting in the stands at a race, I'm informing tens of people around me what's going on or what's happened because I'm burning my cellphone battery to the nub refreshing my twitter feed just featuring teams/drivers/sponsors.
Keep on preaching brother, I'm definitely a member of this church!
Well done, well said, it's a well earned beer:30 for you.
Randy Bernard, if/when you're reading, THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT (and I think you've realized that this past year!!) Twitter is my lifeblood on Saturday nights/Sunday afternoons when there's a race on!
Posted by: twitter.com/duey23 | January 07, 2011 at 08:23 PM
I fully concur with the above commenter, Bill. An excellent series. Should be required reading for marketers -- nay, all businesspeople -- everywhere. And thanks for including my tweet in part V. I bet my follower number will just EXPLODE now!
[Checks follower number.]
Oh.
Posted by: Rico500 | January 08, 2011 at 09:16 AM