I took time last night as 2010 withered away and tried to pinpoint parts of my life that were significantly different.Probably one of the top five things that changed was how I took in news and information. That pointed me right at Twitter.
I've embraced Twitter and I think Twitter's not only completely changed the way laypeople get news, but how journalists deliver the news. Or how comedians deliver jokes. Or musicians update fans on new records. Or athletes talk with fans.
Quite literally, you'll see Dirk Nowitzki or Amare Stoudemire or Jonny Flynn on Twitter following a game either apologizing for the loss or commenting on a nice win.
I watched Steve Nash take questions via Twitter the other day from innocuous fans. I read what Jared Dudley is doing and his updates on Famous Amos cookies and practice that day.
Twitter is not a young man's medium. On the contrary, it's one that's overtaken by complete nerds. Say, journalists and the people unhealthily obsessed with getting news before everyone else.
Twitter thrives because journalists have bought in and have realized it's the greatest form of breaking or commenting on a story that they've ever seen in their lifetimes.
The Cliff Lee trade is exhibit No. 1.
It was July 8 and by mid-morning it seemed on every front that Cliff Lee was all but a New York Yankee. It was a foregone conclusion. Just waiting the final word.
Noon rolled around. Then, by 2 p.m. or so, a sea change took place. Reports via Twitter from reliable baseball writers started twirling that the Yankees-Mariners talks broke down. The deal was not in place. Teams such as the Rangers and the Reds were in the mix.
Suddenly, it was just the Rangers. By 5 p.m. that afternoon, Cliff Lee was a Texas Ranger. And I didn't utilize a single mainstream media website, radio, TV or print piece to learn about it.
It was remarkable. It was amazing. Watching these journalists in their own world reporting the way it should be reporting. Minute-by-minute updates of the names and faces involved in this process that heated up over a three-hour period one Friday afternoon.
No, we didn't learn about Joe Posnanski was eating for lunch. We didn't learn about Jayson Stark or Jon Heyman were doing later that night.
Twitter is beyond the mundane. If you use Twitter for this purpose, then you're not using Twitter appropriately.
The second significant use of Twitter this year involved the so-called auction of the Texas Rangers between the Mark Cuban group and the Chuck Greenberg group in early August.
The set-up was simple: Tom Hicks had defaulted on a ton of loans. The creditors wanted blood. Unable to successfully sell the team, the Rangers went to court and were sold via a literal live, judicial auction. It was surreal.
Again, thanks to Twitter we got minute-by-minute updates from legit journalists like Evan Grant and Jeff Wilson. We got updates on angry cussing between the parties. We got instantaneous updates on the mood of the room and of the bids and changes in the process.
At one point, we thought it was going to end. Then we thought it was never going to end. Then, in the wee morning hours, it ended. Chuck Greenberg's group defied the odds and grabbed control of the team much to the delight of most everyone.
Nothing has quite changed the way I look at sports like Twitter. It's not just the big stories. Log on during a random Rangers or Mavericks game. There, you'll find your favorite journalists commenting and summarizing the action with instant opinions and thoughts.
Imagine having Twitter during hte Kennedy assassination, Sept. 11 or the moon landing. It would have added an entirely new and useful dimension to news reporting.
Twitter is my sports life. And I couldn't live without it.
