The Exiled Robin

The latest publication of my 'On the Social' column from the Bristol City matchday programme, Red Alert : Portsmouth, August 20 th 2011 There is no news like bad news. The adage has proven particularly fitting this week as there has been a tremendous surge in online activity involving City fans following our opening two defeats. For a number of years now the radio phone-in has been an avenue for a few to express disappointment in performances and results, but for the masses, Twitter and fans’ forums, as well as the comments sections of online regional papers are now readily accessible. I’ve even noticed a couple of extra bloggers pop up this week.  It has always been this way of course. Poor results fifteen years ago would have caused the same consternation and unrest amongst fans, however once a few pints had been washed down on Saturday evening, that would have been as far as the discussion went. Lost in a cider-induced Sunday morning hangover, perhaps relived sli...

This season I have been granted the honour of writing a piece on social media for each Bristol City matchday programme (@bcfc_redalert) . For those City fans unable to get to the games, or for football fans in general browsing this site, I'll be publishing each article on here a few days after the match. The article will sometimes be City-specific, other times not, so keep coming back and checking what's new. For this first article, from the programme for the disappointing opening day defeat to Ipswich, I run the rule over at the extraordinary impact of social media, and in particular Twitter, on the game. When you bear in mind Twitter only came into being five years ago, its growth has been phenomenal. The way it is used, sometimes abused and is revolutionising communication is fascinating and scary in equal measure. The world of @’s and #’s may seem bewildering but it is rapidly turning into the news source of choice for many, relying on individuals, journalists and of...

Well the quiet summer period is nearly over and the first game is looming large on the horizon. In the football blogosphere - I think that's now officially a word - season previews have gone mad, with Twitter offering fans the chance to easily interact with each other and get a series of comments on the other teams in the league. Below I've attached links to a few of the previews I've contributed to for your perusal. Enjoy! I've got to start with this quite incredible collaborative effort between top football league bloggers @twounfortunates http://thetwounfortunates.blogspot.com/ and @the72Football http://theseventytwo.com/ They have pooled their considerable resources, links, contributors and acquaintances and put together a simply fabulous 108-page, printable blogzine (I'm pretty sure that's not a word!). Go to either of their homepages and look for the Seventy Two Unfortunates football league preview. More than 18,000 people have read it to dat...