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It’s irksome to those who use twitter to be told by those who don’t that they are wasting their time. I am sure a lot of people waste their time on twitter but they are probably the sort of people who otherwise would be wasting their time on something else.

For many of us, what started out as a bit of fun, has become a way of getting the information we need both by asking the right questions and by receiving solicited and unsolicited information that shapes our views and actions.

Operating on Twitter we create various filters by chosing who we get messages from and who we send messages two. This process is refined as we grow our profiles. Nobody gives lessons in twitter- we learn as we go.

I was struck by this section of an interview from Talksport on Yeovil Town’s unofficial website Ciderspace. Terry Skiverton (TS) is talking through his decision to put the fans in control of the players they watch next season.

So you are looking for your Twitter followers to tip you off if they spot any talent for the team?

TS: Yes, what it was, I’d lost five of my players, and they’d been head-hunted and picked off because we’d over-achieved last year. We’d had a really good second half of the season. Supporters were getting a little bit restless because it is the summer. I kept on getting stuff through from Twitter saying “What’s happening? We need to know!” but then all of a sudden it came to me, why not have some scouts out there?

To be fair, I didn’t know that it was going to take off this much. I think I started off with about 1,500 followers, and since I’ve been asking, it’s not just just Yeovil fans I’ve had – now it’s tweets from Liverpool fans, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, telling me about their youngsters that are available for loan. I’ve had our own fans, I’ve had non-league players, and I think I’ve shot up to over 2,000 followers now.

The amount of mentions and messages that I’ve been getting has been really good, because it does get them involved, and they can feel part of it now. I’m actually waiting for someone (Kieran Agard) to come in and do a medical, and quite a lot of the supporters who have been mentioning players have mentioned this young lad’s name. So a few of them have been spot on with their judgement.

Terry is no management guru, he’s learning as he goes. He’s got an open mind and open ears. I hope that those reading this who haven’t tried twitter yet will give it a go and those who have used twitter will feel inspired to put it to as good a use as TS in future!

So if people want to help you out on Twitter, what’s the address they should go to, Terry?

TS: They just need to go on Twitter and it’s terryskiverton. When they come on, I’ve been looking at everyone’s suggestions. Everybody is doing the same thing, and everyone has got their way of doing stuff. Down at Yeovil, we’re trying to do it a little bit differently. We’re trying to engage the supporters, and not just the Yeovil fans, all fans in general, because at the end of the day, the distance is becoming too big between the common supporter and clubs.

What we’re doing at Yeovil is trying to keep everyone on board, because this year we’re competing against Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United and Preston and if we’re far away from our supporters, then we’ve got no chance. With what it says on our badge, which is ‘Achieve By Unity’ and also we’d like to achieve things a little bit differently, and do it a bit differently so that people really get on board. I want our supporters to stick with us. We’re going to have a good season this year.

We’re going to bring the right players in at the right times, and really look forward to doing it against the odds, and upsetting the big boys. Last year we finished above Sheffield Wednesday, and on the same amount of points as Charlton, so why can we not do that again?

 

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