For the AFL, the city was determined for 5,879 people who are from 891 unique cities.  For the NRL, the city was determined for 3,204 people who are from 493 unique cities.  The following table shows the follow count by city and league for all cities+leagues where the city had more than 100 people identified as from that location.

The location follow patterns appear to makes sense given what are the traditional strongholds and relative popularity of each league.  (It would be interesting to compare these to the A-League, ANZ Championship, W-League, NBL, WNBL, Super 14/15 and national side related follows to see where cities rank.  That map is a project for another day.)  When mapped with the location by city+league followed, you get the following:

View full map

The map shows that the NRL draws much more heavily in New Zealand than the AFL does. Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia are predominately AFL areas of followers; whereas, New South Wales and Queensland are areas of heavy followers for the NRL.

If the location data is broken down by state instead of city, 3,546 NRL and 6,681 AFL followers have an identifiable Australia state. It reaffirms the observed patterns:

Both teams appear to have strong follower populations international.  For the NRL, 4,987 followers have an identified country.  For the AFL, there are 8,671 who have an identified country.  With the exception of Uruguay, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the AFL has the largest amount of followers by country.

With out knowing much, some of this makes sense.  It is much easier to watch AFL games in the United States and Canada than it is to watch NRL games.  Added to that, the AFL have spent some money trying to develop the sport there.  The United Kingdom is a traditional rugby stronghold.  New Zealand has an NRL team and doesn’t have an AFL club.

On September 2, I also got follower data for the Socceroos and the ANZ Championship.  The scale of followers was much smaller, with something like 4,500 and 250 respectively.  For the accounts, I found the mean, median and mode of ReTweets, Followers, Status Updates, Friends, and Listed.  This data is on the table below.

On the whole, Socceroos fans appear to be more active, have the most followers and follow the most people.  If we only look at the NRL and the AFL, the two sets of followers appear to be very close in composition.  The average number of followers is separated by one. The total status updates differs by a little more than 10.  The total number of friends differs by around 9.  The total number of times each follower appears on a list averages less than one.  If median and mode are used instead, the differences are similar in that there isn’t a significant difference.

In conclusion, there are distinct geographic patterns for AFL and NRL followers but beyond that, the two types of followers are pretty similar.  More analysis can and should be done to see if these patterns hold up country to country, state to state, and city to city.

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The official account for the Melbourne Storm is MelbStormRLC. They have 1,757 and we got information from all the accounts following it. For the major categories involving numbers, I got the mean, median and mode:

The numbers are very, very low when compared to AFL based St. Kilda Saints. The Saints have around 140 people who have 10,000+ followers and 15 people with 100,000+ followers and that’s with only half their followers counted. In contrast, the Melbourne Storm have no one 10,000+ followers. They also have no one who follows that many people. On the opposite end of the ladder, there are 52 (or 2%) people who follow only the Storm or the Storm and one other person.

Overall these stats suggest that people who follow the Melbourne Storm are not particularly active on Twitter: They don’t follow that many people, they aren’t followed by people, they update infrequently and they don’t appear on many lists. What these stats don’t tell is how often these people check Twitter. Some people might check Twitter often but not update and follow many people. (Different people use Twitter differently. It would be really interesting to see a survey that asked people how often they check Twitter and why they check Twitter.)

Beyond that, 1,308 people have their timezone information available in their profiles. (It might actually be more and this could be a problem in our data collection… but let’s pretend that this is representative of the whole group despite evidence to support that.) The following is a count by timezone:

Unsurprisingly, given that the team is based in Melbourne, that timezone is the most popular, accounting for 44% of the team’s followers. Sydney time, the area where NRL is dominant, accounts for 20%. I’m not certain how to explain the popularity of the Melbourne Storm in Hawaiian time. Brisbane makes sense as again, the area is an NRL stronghold.

In profile descriptions, 36 people mention the word Storm and 103 mention Melbourne. That seems like a fairly significant amount of people expressing team loyalty and seems comparable to the Saints.

Four people list a language code of ES and three people list FR. That’s less diversity than St. Kilda in terms of language. Still, the French ones seem more explainable than the ones for St. Kilda because rugby is played in France and players sometimes go there to play for French teams. It can help to develop an audience in Australia for the team.

The Melbourne Storm don’t have as many followers as the more popular AFL teams but they do have more followers than the Canberra Raiders. The controversy early in the season helped to boost their numbers and they’ve been much more interactive of late. … Or at least, they’ve relied less on TwitterFeed for content. That was a huge problem early on in the season. Beyond that, these numbers look realistic: They appear to be getting an audience of Melbourne based and Australian NRL fans following them. Most of the people following them update occassionally and have few enough followers that they will see the content that the Storm update with. That’s probably the ideal that people should be aiming for. Yeah, people with 100,000 followers are awesome, especially if you can get a ReTweet but they’ll never see your tweet and in the case of St. Kilda, a lot of those people with massive follower counts are just not in their ideal demographic.

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What is interesting is that the popular teams are popular on Twitter too. Game day tags are pretty popular. The NRL and AFL are really close in terms of total number of tweets. (The difference could be accounted for by when each hash tag was added.)

Live updates of this table can be seen at TwapperKeeper.

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Yesterday, I went out on the Great Barrier Reef. (Went out with Quicksilver based in Port Douglas. They have a trip that does not require snorkeling or scuba diving. Boat holds 440 people. Not a small sample.) The variety was rather interesting with no repeats. The only team represented that seemed out of place was South Africa’s football team and I was wearing that shirt.

That said, the following teams were all represented once:

• Melbourne Storm
• Hawthorn Hawks
• South Sydney Rabbitohs (the guy wearing it immediately hit the bar after getting off the boat)
• Hong Kong Rugby 7s
• Cabonne United (Rugby league team from NSW)
• USC Trojans
• South African national football team
• Boston marathon  (Not a team but still a major sporting event)
• Canberra Raiders
• Boston Red Sox
• X-Games (not a team but a sporting event)
• Chicago Bears

After I got out, I spotted a kid in the marina wearing a North Queensland Cowboys shirt.  I couldn’t tell if he was on the boat or not so on my list of places I have seen jerseys, I put it with the marina rather than the reef.  Anyway, I’m not sure exactly what to make of this list.  I know there were Kiwis and Dutch and Germans and English and Spanish speakers and Koreans aboard.  I could hear their accents and see them reading printed material in the language or some one would ask them where they were from and they would say.  I just didn’t see sport clothing.  I don’t know if the  Western Australians and South Australians weren’t on board or just weren’t wearing sport related stuff for their teams.  I thought the Victorians were supposed to be more sport mad but not really represented here.  The USA was represented with a fair representation of teams and events.

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League	Team	Name	Url	Total members	Official
AFL	AFL	AFL	http://www.facebook.com/AFL	175,275	Yes
Rugby League/State of Origin	Queensland Maroons	Queensland Maroons	http://www.facebook.com/queenslandmaroons	164,028	Yes
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Socceroos – Australian National Football Team	http://www.facebook.com/Socceroos	122,725	Yes
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Brisbane Broncos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Hill-Australia/Brisbane-Broncos/99453774630	83,157	Yes
AFL	Richmond Tigers	I hate it when I’m kicking the footy around and Richmond try to recruit me.	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Richmond-VA/I-hate-it-when-Im-kicking-the-footy-around-and-Richmond-try-to-recruit-me/116177261751551?v=wall	70,250	No
AFL	Essendon Bombers	Essendon FC	http://www.facebook.com/Essendon	68,724	Yes
Rugby League/State of Origin	New South Wales Blues	NSW Blues	http://www.facebook.com/nswblues	62,852	Yes
AFL	Adelaide Crows	Adelaide Crows	http://www.facebook.com/adelaidecrows	51,467	Yes
AFL	Collingwood Magpies	Collingwood Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/collingwoodfc	49,007	Yes
AFL	West Coast Eagles	West Coast Eagles	http://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Coast-Eagles/38862387223	47,295	Yes
AFL	St. Kilda Saints	St Kilda Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/stkfc	33,109	Yes
AFL	Carlton Blues	Carlton Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/OfficialCarltonFC	30,322	Yes
AFL	Sydney Swans	Sydney Swans	http://www.facebook.com/sydneyswans	27,261	Yes
NRL	Gold Coast Titans	Gold Coast Titans	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gold-Coast-Australia/Gold-Coast-Titans/22602574592	25,714	Yes
AFL	Hawthorn Hawks	Hawthorn Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/hawthornfc	25,267	Yes
AFL	Fremantle Dockers	Fremantle Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/fremantlefootballclub	23,293	Yes
NRL	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Manly-Warringah-Sea-Eagles/222674735992	20,241	Yes
NRL	Wests Tigers	Wests Tigers – Official National Rugby League Club	http://www.facebook.com/WestsTigers.com.au	19,355	Yes
AFL	Richmond Tigers	Richmond Tigers	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melbourne-Australia/Richmond-Tigers/7769834477	18,045	No
NRL	Newcastle Knights	Newcastle Knights	http://www.facebook.com/NewcastleKnights	16,470	Yes
NRL	Sydney Roosters	The Official Sydney Roosters Page	http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Official-Sydney-Roosters-Page/222342250384?ref=sgm	15,362	Yes
AFL	Brisbane Lions	Brisbane Lions	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brisbane-Lions/21301860172	15,014	No
AFL	Brisbane Lions	Brisbane Lions	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brisbane-Lions/21301860172	15,014	Yes
AFL	North Melbourne Kangaroos	North Melbourne Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/northkangaroos	14,496	Yes
AFL	Richmond Tigers	Richmond FC	http://www.facebook.com/Richmond.FC	13,504	Yes
AFL	Port Adelaide Power	Port Adelaide Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/portadelaidefootballclub	13,229	Yes
NRL	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Cronulla Sharks	http://www.facebook.com/cronullasutherlandsharks	11,230	Yes
Rugby League	New Zealand Kiwis	New Zealand Kiwis	http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Zealand-Kiwis/29087221880	10,745	Yes
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Western Bulldogs	http://www.facebook.com/Western.Bulldogs	9,304	Yes
NRL	Melbourne Storm	Sucked in Melbourne Storm! HAHA	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sucked-in-Melbourne-Storm-HAHA/119988934680797	8,566	No
AFL	Collingwood Magpies	Collingwood Magpies	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2208766149	8,066	No
Rugby League	Australian Kangaroos	Australian Kangaroos	http://www.facebook.com/australiankangaroos	8,042	Yes
AFL	Melbourne Demons	Melbourne Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/MELBOURNEfc	8,015	Yes
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Western Bulldogs	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5483691593	7,086	No
AFL	Hawthorn Hawks	hawthorn football club	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2210288061	6,557	No
AFL	Geelong Cats	Geelong Cats	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Geelong-Australia/Geelong-Cats/64398281288	6,278	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Canberra Raiders	http://www.facebook.com/canberraraiders	6,269	Yes
AFL	Geelong Cats	Geelong Cats Insider	http://www.facebook.com/GeelongCatsInsider	5,906	Yes
AFL	Adelaide Crows	Adelaide Crows	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2208515594	5,810	No
AFL	North Melbourne Kangaroos	North Melbourne Kangaroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Melbourne-Kangaroos/33221186760	5,173	No
ANZ Championship	ANZ Championship	ANZ Netball	http://www.facebook.com/pages/ANZ-Netball/92385331744	5,158	Yes
AFL	West Coast Eagles	West Coast Eagles Appreciation Group	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2212678352	5,031	No
NRL	Melbourne Storm	Storm Man	http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=725961793&ref=search&sid=7259	4,986	Yes
AFL	Sydney Swans	Sydney Swans	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2210531221	4,670	No
Rugby League	England Rugby League	England Rugby League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/England-Rugby-League/22459291791	4,645	Yes
NRL	Melbourne Storm	Give Melbourne Storm Their Premierships Back	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Give-Melbourne-Storm-Their-Premierships-Back/119876964691459	4,479	No
AFL	St. Kilda Saints	St Kilda Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2215006752	4,265	No
AFL	Gold Coast Football Club	Gold Coast Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/GoldCoastFC	4,111	Yes
AFL	Melbourne Demons	Melbourne Football Club, The Mighty Demons	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2207848796	4,052	No
AFL	Geelong Cats	GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2528050096	3,939	No
AFL	Fremantle Dockers	Fremantle Dockers Fan Club	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2207069891	3,725	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Israel Folau	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Israel-Folau/10150092717680478	3,577	No
Super 14	ACT Brumbies	ACT Brumbies	http://www.facebook.com/actbrumbies	3,542	No
Super 14	Western Force	Western Force	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Force/24790235284	3,472
Super 14	Western Force	Western Force	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Force/24790235284	3,472	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Canberra Raiders	http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=wall&ref=profile&id=1589355881	3,413	Yes
Rugby League	Papua New Guinea Kumuls	Papua New Guinea Kumuls	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Papua-New-Guinea-Kumuls/48575750514	3,310	Yes
NRL	North Queensland Cowboys	North Queensland Toyota Cowboys	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirwan-Australia/North-Queensland-Toyota-Cowboys/9098495661	3,208	Yes
AFL	Hawthorn Hawks	Hawthorn Hawks	http://www.facebook.com/hawthornhawks	3,182	No
AFL	Port Adelaide Power	Port Adelaide Power	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2373641808	3,152	No
AFL	Richmond Tigers	Richmond Tigers	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2249604493	2,748	No
AFL	North Melbourne Kangaroos	North Melbourne Kangaroos	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2600790272	2,413	No
AFL	Brisbane Lions	Brisbane Lions AFC	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2210819520	2,321	No
Women’s World Cup	Matildas	Matildas – Australian National Women’s Football Team	http://www.facebook.com/matildas	2,204	Yes
Super 14	ACT Brumbies	Official Brumbies Fan Page	http://www.facebook.com/BrumbiesFanPage	2,196	Yes
AFL	Adelaide Crows	Adelaide Crows The team for all proud South Aussies	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adelaide-Crows-The-team-for-all-proud-South-Aussies/153984865902	2,116	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Western Bulldogs 2010	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Bulldogs-2010/217871884770	2,019	No
AFL	Essendon Bombers	Essendon Bombers	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14594414804	2,016	No
Women’s Flat Track Derby Association	Western Sydney Rollers	Western Sydney Rollers	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Penrith-Australia/Western-Sydney-Rollers/42792267115	2,001	Yes
AFL	Carlton Blues	Carlton Blues Supporters Club	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2205002774	1,614	No
Rugby League/State of Origin	New South Wales Blues	New South Wales Rugby League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-South-Wales-Rugby-League/62360768317	1,436	Yes
W-League	W-League	Westfield W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Westfield-W-League/284833825576	1,424	Yes
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	Team GWS	http://www.facebook.com/teamgws	1,359	Yes
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Canberra Raiders	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-Australia/Canberra-Raiders/44722778922	1,255	Yes
NRL	Melbourne Storm	Support the Melbourne Storm this Sunday Night	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-the-Melbourne-Storm-this-Sunday-Night/112926535407833	1,244	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Anything To Do With Footy.	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46374304132	984	No
AFL	West Coast Eagles	West Coast Eagles SUCK!	http://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Coast-Eagles-SUCK/283601832162	953	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis/301148780410	943	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	WESTERN BULLDOGS 2010 PREMIERSHIP TEAM	http://www.facebook.com/pages/WESTERN-BULLDOGS-2010-PREMIERSHIP-TEAM/304790027975	673	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis is a homophobe.	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118380594866779	631	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis/107712129252191	630	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Socceroos/106353142733985	617	No
AFL	St. Kilda Saints	ST KILDA SAINTS	http://www.facebook.com/pages/ST-KILDA-SAINTS/76945789299	599	No
SEABL	SEABL	SEABL	http://www.facebook.com/pages/SEABL/156802199436	599	Yes
AFL	Collingwood Magpies	COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES PREMIERS OF 2010.	http://www.facebook.com/pages/COLLINGWOOD-MAGPIES-PREMIERS-OF-2010/206003434840	591	No
AFL	Carlton Blues	Carlton Blues	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melbourne-Australia/Carlton-Blues/159855878819	590	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Don’t you hate it when you’re in the shower and Jason Akermanis comes in?	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dont-you-hate-it-when-youre-in-the-shower-and-Jason-Akermanis-comes-in/124465230905493	548	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	The Jason Akermanis Appreciation Society	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20900401086	482	No
W-League	Canberra United	Canberra United Fans	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31893404397	459	Yes
AFL	Essendon Bombers	Essendon Bombers Premiers 2010!!	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Essendon-Bombers-Premiers-2010/292548086075	444	No
NRL	Melbourne Storm	melbourne storm	http://www.facebook.com/pages/melbourne-storm-/234035998634	426	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	100,000 Strong Socceroos Supporters To Win 2010 World Cup	http://www.facebook.com/pages/100000-Strong-Socceroos-Supporters-To-Win-2010-World-Cup/362147231671	403	No
AIHL	Sydney Bears	Sydney Bears	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sydney-Bears/231164562115	372	Yes
WNBL	Canberra Capitals	WNBL – Canberra Capitals	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5865846788	368
AFL	Fremantle Dockers	Fremantle Dockers : Rebuilding since 1995	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fremantle-Dockers-Rebuilding-since-1995/320031751833	365	No
AFL	Carlton Blues	Carlton Blues FC	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=85618681803	361	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Socceroos to dominate in 2010	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Socceroos-to-dominate-in-2010/125877250762609	356	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Western Bulldogs	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Bulldogs/109838169034373	352	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jarrod Harbrow Stay At The Western Bulldogs	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jarrod-Harbrow-Stay-At-The-Western-Bulldogs/111810932186509	348	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Karmichael Hunt & Israel Folau: Smartest NRL players in history	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Karmichael-Hunt-Israel-Folau-Smartest-NRL-players-in-history/125580140798379	333	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Israel Folau	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Israel-Folau/116955588324978	308	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Canberra Raiders	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-Raiders/107811962573583	281	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	I’m not a traitor to my sport… LOL jks, im Israel Folau	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Im-not-a-traitor-to-my-sport-LOL-jks-im-Israel-Folau/126807534010649	261	No
NBL	Wollongong Hawks	Wollongong Hawks	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2511926702	246
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	its not all about the money… LOL jkz im Israel Folau	http://www.facebook.com/pages/its-not-all-about-the-money-LOL-jkz-im-Israel-Folau/128394483853228	246	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	ACT 4 GWS	http://www.facebook.com/pages/ACT-4-GWS/131873296847254	226	Yes
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	Supporters of Greater Western Sydney (Team GWS) AFL	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=197444073672	224	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	Team GWS	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=211851956941	222	No
AFL	Port Adelaide Power	Port Adelaide Power	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Port-Adelaide-Power/9426342069	221	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Todd Carney 16 – Canberra Raiders 6……..(17/4/2010) Roosters Vs. Raiders	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Todd-Carney-16-Canberra-Raiders-61742010-Roosters-Vs-Raiders/117965208220477	218	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Australian University Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Australian-University-Socceroos/279400107713	217	No
World Interuniversity Games	Australian University Socceroos	Australian University Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Australian-University-Socceroos/279400107713	217	No
NWBL	Wollongong Roller Hawks	Wollongong Roller Hawks	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34282398124	215
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis is a legend	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10308061363	211	No
WNBL	Bendigo Spirit	The Official Bendigo Spirit Basketball	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bendigo-Australia/The-Official-Bendigo-Spirit-Basketball/227515051849	183	Yes
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Vote Julia Gillard as full forward for the Bulldogs!!!	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vote-Julia-Gillard-as-full-forward-for-the-Bulldogs/135068153186079	177	No
Archery Australia	Guy Phillips	Guy Phillips	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Guy-Phillips/136216599725314	177	Yes
AFL	Richmond Tigers	Trent Cotchin	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=288344968328	174	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Canberra Raiders	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-Australia/Canberra-Raiders/142939450791	174	No
Greater Western Sydney and Blue Mountains Senior AFL	Penrith Rams	IGA PENRITH RAMS	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34780778851	170	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	Greater Western Sydney	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greater-Western-Sydney/110850405598090	163	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Western Bulldogs	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Bulldogs/275365171824	156	No
NRL	Wests Tigers	Wests Tigers NYC	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14767245041	153	No
VFL	Bendigo Bombers	Bendigo Bombers Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=166091156567	151
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Julia Gillard, full-foward for Western Bulldogs	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Julia-Gillard-full-foward-for-Western-Bulldogs/138828299460524	142	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Im Not Really That Awesome, LOL jk, Im Israel Folau ♥	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Im-Not-Really-That-Awesome-LOL-jk-Im-Israel-Folau-3/120925127943654	141	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	SOCCEROOS	http://www.facebook.com/pages/SOCCEROOS-/126051170744978	136	No
AFL	Richmond Tigers	Daniel Jackson – TIGER TUFF!	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=123091481992	134	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Israel Folau has discraced rugby league and is a DOG	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Israel-Folau-has-discraced-rugby-league-and-is-a-DOG/131445246866465	126	No
WNBL	Townsville Fire	Townsville McCafe Fire	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Townsville-Australia/Townsville-McCafe-Fire/239691963244	123	Yes
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	kickoff.com.au: A-League, Socceroos, Australian and International football	http://www.facebook.com/pages/kickoffcomau-A-League-Socceroos-Australian-and-International-football/238919388600	119	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	I’m going to be an AFL superstar. Oh wait, no i’m not. I’m Israel Folau.	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Im-going-to-be-an-AFL-superstar-Oh-wait-no-im-not-Im-Israel-Folau/130787570267787	114	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Brett Holman shouldn’t play for the Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brett-Holman-shouldnt-play-for-the-Socceroos/155289433083	114	No
NRL	Newcastle Knights	Matt Johns to coach the Newcastle Knights in 2010!	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=105298639854	110	No
Super 14	ACT Brumbies	act brumbies	http://www.facebook.com/pages/act-brumbies/188338778385	107	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	WESTERN BULLDOGS	http://www.facebook.com/pages/WESTERN-BULLDOGS/271303674325	105	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Western Bulldogs	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Bulldogs/110292775655582	104	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	I love NRL, LOL jk i’m Israel Folau.	http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-love-NRL-LOL-jk-im-Israel-Folau/132015913479883	98	No
Super 14	New South Wales Waratahs	Waratahs 2008	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6889666197	98
Super 14	New South Wales Waratahs	Waratahs 2008	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6889666197	98	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Cheering for the Socceroos at the local club in the World Cup	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheering-for-the-Socceroos-at-the-local-club-in-the-World-Cup/406886935323	98	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis handstand appreciation society	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19647855868	97	No
AFL	Richmond Tigers	Greeks who support Richmond F.C the Tigers	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56793324172	94	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Akermaniacs!!	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13979751018	88	No
AFL	Gold Coast Football Club	Gold Coast Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116206475832	87	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Langerak is a God, and will be in the Socceroos one day p.s hes HOT	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Langerak-is-a-God-and-will-be-in-the-Socceroos-one-day-ps-hes-HOT/103909322982210	86	No
WNBL	Townsville Fire	TOWNSVILLE FIRE	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7634104737	80	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis/376142636801	78	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	i bet u i can find 10,000 people who hate canberra raiders	http://www.facebook.com/pages/i-bet-u-i-can-find-10000-people-who-hate-canberra-raiders/115693885138853	69	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	for people who wanna see Jason Akermanis shove his head up his own Ass	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38642639632	68	No
NRL	Sydney Roosters	Sign Up Jake Friend	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=311599952794	66	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	I’m a 2010 Canberra Raiders member	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-Australia/Im-a-2010-Canberra-Raiders-member/217845443478	65	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Canberra Raiders	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-Raiders/370953541588	62	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Socceroos/108710262493191	57	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Socceroos/112443855448354	57	No
AFL	Richmond Tigers	No matter how bad they are, I will still barrack for the Richmond Tigers!	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=80991032015	56	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	GO Team GWS	http://www.facebook.com/pages/GO-Team-GWS/201507074991	55	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Western bulldogs	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-bulldogs/208698572908	51	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	Greater Western Sydney Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greater-Western-Sydney-Football-Club/100573089984951	49	No
VFL	Frankston Dolphins	Aaron Edwards Fan page	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=139834293787	46
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis is a dick	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118537708183794	45	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	I miss my family in brisbane…lol jk im Israel Folau	http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-miss-my-family-in-brisbanelol-jk-im-Israel-Folau/121631641206963	45	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Hi I’m Julia Gillard, I’m a politic LOL jk, I’m full forward for the bulldogs	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hi-Im-Julia-Gillard-Im-a-politic-LOL-jk-Im-full-forward-for-the-bulldogs/133430483342149	41	No
Victorian Amateur Football Association	Werribee Tigers	Werribee Amateur Football Club	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7111400046	41
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Socceroos/106019049438817	33	No
AFL	Hawthorn Hawks	The New Hawks Cheer Squad 2009 hawthorn football club	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14866934870	32	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Canberra Raiders	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-Raiders/148093829783	32	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Israel Folau to switch codes and Play AFL, Stick that where it fits Gallup	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Israel-Folau-to-switch-codes-and-Play-AFL-Stick-that-where-it-fits-Gallup/121244824577993	31	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Ive always wanted to play AFL LOL jk I’m Israel Folau	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ive-always-wanted-to-play-AFL-LOL-jk-Im-Israel-Folau/121790094527530	31	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	Team Gws	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=432992410322	30	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Queensland will win Origin 2010… LOL JK, Israel Folau plays AFL now.	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Queensland-will-win-Origin-2010-LOL-JK-Israel-Folau-plays-AFL-now/121736904533450	30	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	GWS AFL TEAM WE DO NOT WANT YOU !!!!	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115243691825820	24	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis slept with me	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis-slept-with-me/115552025153010	24	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Petition for Israel to come play the Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Petition-for-Israel-to-come-play-the-Socceroos/124315894249250	24	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Western Bulldogs 2010	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Bulldogs-2010-/121258311217816	21	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	I’m loyal to rugby league….lol JK I’m Israel Folau	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Im-loyal-to-rugby-leaguelol-JK-Im-Israel-Folau/101306539918069	21	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	I’m Israel Folau I’m an NRL superstar, LOL jk im gonna go play footy	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Im-Israel-Folau-Im-an-NRL-superstar-LOL-jk-im-gonna-go-play-footy/118386028202456	19	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Israel Folau ♥	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Israel-Folau-3/118502131501099	19	No
AFL	AFL	I Loved football, then Andrew ‘Dollars’ Demetriou came along	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=376087484378&ref=search	18	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	BOYCOTT TEAM GWS	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=127403363954150	18	No
AFL	Hawthorn Hawks	Law Hawks	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5033799337	18
AFL	Western Bulldogs	I’ll never play for the Bulldogs, LOL jk, I’m Julia Gillard	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ill-never-play-for-the-Bulldogs-LOL-jk-Im-Julia-Gillard/104083189641887	18	No
NRL	Wests Tigers	Melbourne-based Wests Tigers Fanatics	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4979514491	18	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis should be locked and gagged in a closet!	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109095775801131	16	No
AHL	Tassie Tigers	Tassie Tigers Hockey – Top 4 three years in a row	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10850081395	16
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Israel folau, please stay with NRL	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Israel-folau-please-stay-with-NRL/129283270431508	16	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Supporting the Canberra Raiders	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Supporting-the-Canberra-Raiders/378099581051	15	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Canberra Raiders	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-Raiders/105808109459157	14	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Support for the Socceroos in South Africa	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-for-the-Socceroos-in-South-Africa/118426448190124	14	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	jason akermanis is amazing!	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=344061166761	13	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	israel folau is injury prone	http://www.facebook.com/pages/israel-folau-is-injury-prone/114024501946027	13	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Change the name of the Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brisbane-Australia/Change-the-name-of-the-Socceroos/206601790281	12	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	I live here and don’t support Team GWS	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=140288354383	11	No
WNBL	Townsville Fire	Fire Roster	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10595065717	10	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis for Brownlow 2008	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16522463154	9	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis to win the Coleman medal.	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21877556009	9	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	socceroos fan? get on it!!!!!	http://www.facebook.com/pages/socceroos-fan-get-on-it/118141831550071	9	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	JASON AKERMANIS’S IQ OF A PLANT	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107444465957654	8	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	Team GWS is stupid – Nobody cares!	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=201349721647	7	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	Israel Folau an AFL player?	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Israel-Folau-an-AFL-player/125596160796485	7	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis/105738419448658	6	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Socceroos/119664741377244	6	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	The Football Supporters’ Pledge: A-League, Socceroos & Grassroots	http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Football-Supporters-Pledge-A-League-Socceroos-Grassroots/114421618592491	5	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Only Homophobes think Jason Akermanis is a homophobe!	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=128825660465576	4	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	I’m not angry Israel Folau, I’m just very disappointed in you.	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Im-not-angry-Israel-Folau-Im-just-very-disappointed-in-you/122542961115419	4	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	CANBERRA RAIDERS (GREEN MACHINE)	http://www.facebook.com/pages/CANBERRA-RAIDERS-GREEN-MACHINE/131955160151271	4	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	Team GWS	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-GWS/110182962355046	3	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	Team GWS	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-GWS/110460898989193	3	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=124872100865630	3	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis Biography	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis-Biography/106142142741832	3	No
W-League	Brisbane Roar	Brisbane Roar FC W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brisbane-Roar-FC-W-League/113243915352961	3	No
World Cup Soccer	Socceroos	Young Socceroos	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Young-Socceroos/115695218444154	3	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	The Battle Within by Jason Akermanis	http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Battle-Within-by-Jason-Akermanis/110570445624262	2	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	On a scale of 1-Canberra Raiders how premature are you	http://www.facebook.com/pages/On-a-scale-of-1-Canberra-Raiders-how-premature-are-you/125897990754134	2	No
W-League	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne Victory W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melbourne-Victory-W-League/114789105203249	2	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis Can’t Drive A Race Car	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=123972501889	1	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis/373300971735	1	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis Autobiography	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis-Autobiography/106446502709782	1	No
NRL	Canberra Raiders	Raiders de canberra	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Raiders-de-canberra/106471522724049	1	No
W-League	Adelaide United	Adelaide United FC W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adelaide-United-FC-W-League/108294542532589	1	No
W-League	Adelaide United	Adelaide United F.C. W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adelaide-United-FC-W-League/111672428851109	1	No
W-League	Adelaide United	Adelaide United W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adelaide-United-W-League/110542468965980	1	No
W-League	Brisbane Roar	Brisbane Roar W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brisbane-Roar-W-League/106111719427974	1	No
W-League	Canberra United	Canberra United FC W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-United-FC-W-League/109991445697639	1	No
W-League	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne Victory FC W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melbourne-Victory-FC-W-League/107986482554786	1	No
W-League	Queensland Roar	Queensland Roar W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Queensland-Roar-W-League/106361719403254	1	No
W-League	W-League	Westfield W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Westfield-W-League/106287136076565	1	No
AFL	Greater Western Sydney	Team GWS	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-GWS/116207325073108	0	No
AFL	Melbourne Demons	Melbourne Demons	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melbourne-Australia/Melbourne-Demons/8283147091	0	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis Is Totally Gay	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118573961511057	0	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis is a F*ckwit	http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18564050741	0	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis: Homophobe and complete fuckwit!	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis-Homophobe-and-complete-fuckwit/105067262872425	0	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis is a coward	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis-is-a-coward/105337389512086	0	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis is an idiot.	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis-is-an-idiot/125326927493237	0	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Jason Akermanis, you are a MORON!	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jason-Akermanis-you-are-a-MORON/109009685810123	0	No
AFL	Western Bulldogs	Western Bulldogs FC	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Western-Bulldogs-FC/22912285819	0	No
NBL	Wollongong Hawks	Wollongong Hawks	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wollongong-Australia/Wollongong-Hawks/250640730611	0
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	I’d rather see the world end in 2012 then see Israel Folau play AFL	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Id-rather-see-the-world-end-in-2012-then-see-Israel-Folau-play-AFL/125789914109136	0	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	I hate AFL…lol jk i’m karmichael hunt and israel folau	http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-hate-AFLlol-jk-im-karmichael-hunt-and-israel-folau/121488781224409	0	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	israel folau turned gay for 3 million	http://www.facebook.com/pages/israel-folau-turned-gay-for-3-million/128843927141424	0	No
NRL	Brisbane Broncos	sucks Israel Folau joined AFL, LOL jk AFL needs better players anyways	http://www.facebook.com/pages/sucks-Israel-Folau-joined-AFL-LOL-jk-AFL-needs-better-players-anyways/132172480131292	0	No
NRL	Melbourne Storm	Best team in NRL.. Melbourne Storm !	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Best-team-in-NRL-Melbourne-Storm-/43558529287	0	No
NRL	Melbourne Storm	Melbourne Storm	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Melbourne-Australia/Melbourne-Storm/21222300614	0	Yes
W-League	Canberra United	Canberra United W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-United-W-League/106044356102375	0	No
W-League	Central Coast Mariners	Central Coast Mariners FC W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Central-Coast-Mariners-FC-W-League/108518769173365	0	No
W-League	Central Coast Mariners	Central Coast Mariners W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Central-Coast-Mariners-W-League/111835622169478	0	No
W-League	Newcastle Jets	Newcastle Jets FC W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Newcastle-Jets-FC-W-League/105841596122300	0	No
W-League	Newcastle Jets	Newcastle Jets W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Newcastle-Jets-W-League/110694742284280	0	No
W-League	Newcastle United Jets	Newcastle United Jets FC W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Newcastle-United-Jets-FC-W-League/107745802588731	0	No
W-League	Newcastle United Jets	Newcastle United Jets W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Newcastle-United-Jets-W-League/106256169412363	0	No
W-League	Perth Glory	Perth Glory W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Perth-Glory-W-League/106426936059962	0	No
W-League	Perth Glory FC	Perth Glory FC W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Perth-Glory-FC-W-League/105709786128298	0	No
W-League	Queensland Roar	Queensland Roar FC W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Queensland-Roar-FC-W-League/106577539379058	0	No
W-League	Sydney FC	Sydney FC W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sydney-FC-W-League/107350229294344	0	No
W-League	W-League	Westfield W-League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Westfield-W-League/112250692140005	0	No
W-League	W-League	W League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/W-League/105657402802575	0	Yes
W-League	W-League	W League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/W-League/105657402802575	0	No
W-League	W-League	W League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/W-League/109267555759761	0	No
W-League	W-League	W League	http://www.facebook.com/pages/W-League/119918504685192	0	No
WNBL	Bendigo Spirit	WNBL – Bendigo Spirit	http://www.facebook.com/BendigoSpirit	0	Yes

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• Version 3: Most popular Australian athlete and team related Twitter accounts by total followers.
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Related Posts:

• Most popular Australian clubs and teams on Twitter
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• Most popular Australian athlete and team related Twitter accounts by total followers

If you want similar data related to a specific club, let me know and we can see if we can work out some sort of arrangement.  I’d love to be able to talk to more Canberra based professional, state and national teams.

Related Posts:

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If you’re not familiar with the Canberra Raiders, they are a Rugby League team that competes at the top level in the National Rugby League in Australia.  They are based in Australia’s capital, Canberra, and play their home games at Bruce Stadium.  The NRL has a profit sharing scheme, where revenues are shared between all teams.

My purpose in talking to them was to help provide background knowledge for my literature review and to generally enhance my understanding of Australian team sport as it may apply other parts of my research.  Going in, I had four questions I wanted answers to.  These questions were:

1. How do you define fandom?
2. How do you reach out to the fan community?
3. How much influence does league management provide in terms of defining fandom and how to engage in outreach?  Do they give guidance on social media policies?
4. How much do other sports, teams and leagues play a role in development and implementation of concepts related to fan engagement and social media?

The Canberra Raiders define fandom very broadly as people who barrack for them and who attend games.  Their goal is to have this definition encompass all ages, both genders and across the demographic spectrum.  They focus on the Canberra area. They want to take interest in the club and translate that into getting people into the stadium, with bums on seats.  They did not mention trying to get fans to watch on television or buy their merchandise.  It may be something that they define as fandom but I did not follow up to ask about that.

When I inquired about the regional aspect in the NRL helping teams by enabling them to develop a local fanbase, they said that this worked a lot in their favor as the Canberra area was very supportive of the team.  This may not be as true for some of the Sydney based teams where there is much more market overlap and a few teams play at the same venue.  There, clubs need to market more towards traditional understandings of who composes their fanbase.  Sydney based teams are much like many of the Melbourne based AFL clubs in this regard.

I had some data from Facebook that said that there were roughly twice as many UCanberra students and alumni who were fans of the club compared to ANU.  I asked them why their fanbase was stronger at the University of Canberra, if it had to do with different cultures or possibly class related affiliations that each university has.  The club responded that they thought they probably had more fans at UC because the university has a well-known sport program and tends to attract more sport fans than ANU.

I had some bebo related geographic data.  It showed that there were a number of fans from the Brisbane area.  I asked the Raiders if they could explain that.  They told me that this geographic fanbase dates to the club’s founding, when several of the players came from Brisbane.  The club has managed to maintain this fanbase in Queensland over time.

The club primarily reaches out to their fanbase using traditional advertising: Newspapers, television and mail outs.  They have a member list and every week they send out a newsletter to their members.  The newsletter contains injury information, game summaries and information on any special deals that the club has.  They do some outreach on social media, but that is primarily confined to Facebook.

The NRL is a huge influence in how the club handles their website and their social media.  The league requires that clubs post certain types of web and video content every week.  This includes a match report and the post-game press conference.  The NRL has incentivized clubs to try to draw traffic to their websites; at the end of the season, revenues earned by the clubs on their sites are distributed to the clubs.  According to the Raiders, the league brought in Bernie Mullin to help it develop a plan regarding their online activities.  The NRL also guides clubs by encouraging them to push to increase their membership.  Some of this push is based around the idea of local clubs and increasing attendance at local grounds and keeping that local identity.

The Canberra Raiders thus use social media as a way to drive traffic to their site.  Based on our conversation, I did not get the feeling that using social media to develop a fanbase was a goal unto itself.  Rather, I was left with the impression that social media was a tool to drive traffic to their site to help increase their revenue.

The NRL does watch other leagues to see what they are doing in terms of social media.  The Raiders do less of this and spend less time developing their own social media strategy.  This is largely because the Raiders feel the NRL has better resources and more money to handle this.  The Raiders also do not have much time to do this on their own.

One of the major areas where the team has acted regarding social media is in giving in their players training in the use of social media training.  The Australian Federal Police conducted this training.  Details about the training can be found on the club’s website at http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=27038 .  This was something the club felt was important because a number of their players are on Facebook.  Some have 2,000 to 3,000 friends, many of whom they do not know personally.  There have been a number of high profile incidents involving players getting negative media attention as a result of their comments on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter; they want to avoid that.  In general, the club advises players to be careful, not to talk about the team and to keep things personal.  The club does not ban the use of it and the NRL is aware of these problems and is encouraging training.

After getting my questions answered, I asked the Raiders about specific aspects of their social media strategy and asked the club if they had any questions based on the data packet I had provided.  The club does have an official Facebook page and Twitter account.  Ben is most familiar with Facebook, which is one of the reasons they use it more than Twitter.  The club’s original Facebook strategy involved creating a user account, friending people and trying to convert these friends into fans of the official fanpage.  The conversion rate was very low and they did not find it very effective in accomplishing their goals.

They are not entirely certain how Twitter fits into their social media strategy and there is a question of how they chose people to follow.  (Compared to other teams in the NRL, they follow almost no one.)  They were interested in increasing their number of followers but were not certain how to do it.  They also did not think that anyone had replied to them or reTweeted them, though this could be a result of not being familiar enough with the site.

We also discussed Foursquare and Gowalla, how they were used and if it was worth it for the team to explore using them.  They were unsure in this regard, as their time is limited.  If it is the next big thing, it might be worth them investigating.

I asked the club about their web traffic, citing some traffic data from Compete.  They said that a number of teams in the NRL share names with other sport teams.  In the case of the Canberra Raiders, it is the Oakland Raiders.  During the season for the other team, they often see an increase in traffic from US based visitors who mistakenly find their site.

I asked if the club had considered using YouTube.  They had.  One of their ideas involved uploading preview clips to Youtube, with attached notices that the full clip could be viewed on their site. They were not certain of the potential ROI and in the end did not use it.  I then asked them if visitors could embed official Raiders videos on their own blogs.  They were not certain but said that fans could definitely link to their videos.

While social media is a big potential audience for the club, most of their dedicated fans online congregate on a message board not controlled by the club.  They do monitor it and find it occasionally to be a concern because of that lack of control.  The club is aware of the fact that the media also monitor this message board and occasionally use it to generate less than favorable story ideas about the site.

In preparation for talking with the Canberra Raiders, I completed an overview of the size of the online community for the team.  If you are interested in this document, please contact me at laura[@]fanhistory[dot]com or my university e-mail address, laura.hale@ucanberra.

Related Posts:

• Online Activity in the Wake of the Melbourne Storm Controversy
• Bendigo Spirit on YouTube
• Distribution of Australian sports fans by league and location
• Claxton Shield on Twitter

This data was gathered on May 30, 2010.  It includes non-Australian teams that compete in Australian based leagues.  It also contains Australian some athlete accounts where the athlete competes for a club in an Australian based league.

Related Posts:

• Most popular Australian clubs and teams on Twitter
• Most popular Australian athlete and team related Twitter accounts by total followers
• Version 2: Most popular Australian athlete and team related Twitter accounts by total followers
• Alexa rank for Australian leagues and clubs

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A copy of this can be found in PDF form at : http://ozziesport.com/storm.pdf .  The pdf version that includes footnotes that explain the methodology used and contain additional links.

Online Activity in the Wake of the Melbourne Storm Controversy

By Laura Hale, University of Canberra

On April 22, 2010, the news of salary cap violations on the part of the Melbourne Storm broke online in such publications as the Fox Sports, on television including ABC news and on multiple social networks including Facebook and Twitter. By April 23, the news was available in various print publications including The Australian and the Sydney Morning Herald. During the news coverage, NRL fans learned that the team had been fined $1.8 million, stripped of two premiereships and were not eligible to earn points towards 2010’s premiership. (“Melbourne storm stripped,” 2010) The team was being punished for salary cap violations over the past five years, where the total cap violation in that period was $1.7 million with $400,000 of that total cap violation occurring in 2009. (“Melbourne storm stripped,” 2010)

Early in the coverage of the Melbourne Storm, several issues were discussed including the impact this would have on the fan base for the team, the subsequent economic fallout for Storm and other clubs in the league, and if the players would try to leave the club or lower their performance level. The consequences that people feared have yet to bear out: The fan base for the Melbourne Storm has grown, attendance has not fallen, membership is up and players have not left the team and the team continues to win.

This article will examine the online response to the Melbourne Storm controversy. Specifically, it will look at the interest patterns on several networks, follow patterns on Twitter and Facebook, and activity levels on 43things, wikis and Yahoo!Groups. It will prove that, on the whole, the controversy has not eroded the online fanbase for the team and has resulted in an increased profile for the team in ways can have a net positive for the team and their sponsors.

Profile Interest

One way to quickly gage online interest for a team is to check the number of people who list them as an interest on social networks that include that option. The level of interest on a network will, in general, increase over time. Including an interest is a rather passive activity that most people do at the time that they signup on a service. They may update their interests once a year when they do an overhaul on their profile. Other factors may result in an update of interests, most notably a desire to associate or disassociate with certain people and organizations. The latter can generally require a certain amount of rage and disillusionment and does not happen that often. For adding interests, it can require a certain degree of wanting to stand in solidarity with some one or thing in the face of perceived oppression. Adding or removing an interest will generally require a large emotional response in people to motivate them to change their interests on social networks where an individual has not been active in the past six months. These conditions mean that numbers for interests are relatively stable or increase. A big shift downward is possible but unlikely.

Did the Melbourne Storm controversy result in people being motivated to update their interests to include or exclude the team? Yes and no, many people added them as an interest on Facebook but the numbers remained level across several other networks.

As of January 9, 2010, 17,020 had listed the Melbourne Storm as an interest on Facebook. By May 9, 2010, this number had increased to 41,240, or 24,220 new people. From January 9 to May 9, 2010, there was also an increase of roughly 120 fans within fifty miles of Hobart adding the team as an interest, going from less than 20 to 140. Canberra saw a similar increase in fans, going from 140 on January 9 to 1,020 by May 9, 2010, an increase of 880 new people listing the team as an interest. For fans within fifty miles of Cranbourne, there was an increase of 5,540 fans going from 7,140 fans on January 9 to 12,580 fans on May 9, 2010. Some of this increase on Facebook can be possibly attributed to a change in Facebook in mid-April, where people were encouraged to add their interests as likes of fanpages and vice versa. (Albanesius, 2010) It cannot entirely explain the shift as the official Melbourne Storm page is a user page, not a fan page so the interest to liking will not be automatically converted. At the same time, the number of people listing the team as an interest is roughly ten times as many who follow the Storm’s official Facebook profile and suggests that interest listing is independent of following the official team presence.

In addition to the Melbourne Storm interest on Facebook, there have been two new interests related to the storm created in the wake of the controversy: “Shame On You Melbourne Storm” with fewer than twenty people listing it as an interest, and “Sucked In Melbourne Storm Haha” with 3,240 people listing it as an interest. The latter definitely connects to a Facebook fanpage with the same name, which has 8,432 people who like it.

While Facebook saw an explosion in growth of people listing the team as an interest, other sites allowing interest listing on profiles remained stagnant or saw limited growth. This includes bebo, where there has been no change as of April 28 and May 9 from 402 people that was originally recorded on March 18, 2010. Blogger saw some growth for the number of people listing the team as an interest. As of January 18, 2010, four people had listed the team. By May 9, 2010, six people had listed them as an interest. As the time frame is wider than that of bebo, it might be possible to account for the increase as a pre-season boost, rather than in response to the controversy. Either way, this was an increase of fifty percent for new people listing the team as an interest.

LiveJournal saw no growth in people listing the team as an interest between January 10 and May 9, 2010. Of the 25 LiveJournal accounts listing the Melbourne Storm as an interest, only five have updated since the controversy broke. LiveJournal’s clones including Dreamwidth, Blurty and DeadJournal also saw no growth as of May 9. This contrasts to the Brisbane Broncos on LiveJournal, where one person removed the team as an interest during a similar period. Dreamwidth had two users listing the team as an interest as of January 9, Blurty had one user as of January 9, and DeadJournal had one user as of December 23, 2009. None of the people on LiveJournal’s clones who list the Storm as an interest have updated their journals since the controversy happened. The most recent updates occurred on Dreamwidth, taking place in early March 2010. The other account last updated in April 2009. The Blurty account last updated in November 2005 and the DeadJournal account last updated in January 2006.

One or two smaller niche networks have limited interest for specific teams or where people only list the NRL as an interest. This includes BlackPlanet, generally targeted at African Americans inside the United States. There was one person who listed the NRL as an interest on the network as of February 15, 2010. This has not changed as of May 9. Care2 is a social networked targeted at people who wish to make the world a better place. As of March 20, 2010, no one had listed the Melbourne Storm as an interest. This changed by May 9, when three people listed the team as an interest. Given the names, limited profiles and join dates, it is possible that these accounts are all tied to one individual. Gaia Online is a small, niche network for role players. As of March 11, 2010, no one had listed the Melbourne Storm as an interest. There is interest in the NRL on the network as people listed the Brisbane Lions, Canberra Raiders, Parramatta Eels and Sydney Roosters as interests. There has not been any change for any of these teams as of May 9. The limited growth and lack of pull back could suggest that larger interest in the NRL has not been diminished on smaller networks as a result of the controversy.

Wiki Activity

Wikis are, at their most basic, web sites where visitors can easily edit the content of the site. Sometimes, there are limits to who can edit put in place by the creator of a wiki. These include requiring users to register or confirm an e-mail before they edit, or to get their account approved by the admin before they can edit. Some wikis have policies when breaking news happen or an article gets trolled to lock down the article so only registered users can edit or wiki admins can edit. The culture of editing on specific wikis thus develops around the who can edit process as locking down wikis to prevent edits can effect the frequency that an article is updated.

For comprehensive wiki articles, the ideal is to have to have editors who approach the topic from different perspectives, where there is inherent conflict in the content and perspective being presented. If this situation does not exist, an article can be highjacked by one or two editors who seek to push their own perspective. The more edits and people involved in contributing to the article, the less likely the article will be biased. This also makes vandalism less problematic as people are incentivized to quickly remove that material.

Wikis can be a good tool for gauging interest in a particular topic over time as most wiki software keeps a record of all edits to a page. For some of the big wikis, like Wikipedia, data also exists for how many views an article has over a certain time period. This can help track more passive community interest in a topic.

Wikipedia’s English language article about the Melbourne Storm is probably the most visited wiki article about the team and appears third in Google’s search results for the team. The article, found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Storm , was created on May 23, 2004. As of May 9, 2010, the article had 1,732 total edits made to it. The controversy involving the Melbourne Storm broke on April 22, 2010. 1,471 of the edits were made prior to that. In the period between the article’s creation and the day before the controversy broke, an average of .681 edits per day were made to the article. In the eighteen-day period since the controversy broke, an average of 14.5 edits per day were made to the article. The vast majority of these edits were made in the first three days, with 90 edits made on April 22, 56 edits made on April 23 and 69 edits made on April 24. On April 24, in response to repeated vandalism, the article was semi-protected; this meant that only registered users who had confirmed their e-mail could edit the article. The protection had the effect of reducing the total number of daily edits to the article. After that, peak editing days included April 26 and May 3 with seven edits, and April 25 and May 5 with six edits. There were zero edits on April 28, May 6, May 7 and May 9. The controversy certainly caused an increase in the number of edits. If the day that the controversy broke and the next two days are excluded, the average number of daily edits is 3.06 edits per day. This is still higher than the period prior to the controversy and the trend will probably continue at least until the end of the season.

The article views per day mirrors the total edits by day. Based on data provided by Henrick (2010, May 1 and May 9), there is a correlation of .904 between the total daily edits and the total daily page views. According to Henrick (2010, May 1) during April 2010, the article was viewed a total of 49,540 times. Of these views, 40,355 views were between April 22, when the story broke, and April 30. The peak day for visits was on April 22, when the article was viewed 14,800 times. The average page views between April 22 and April 30 was 4,482 views per day. If this period is extended out to include data provided by Henrick (2010, May 9) for May 1 to May 8, the average views per day is 2,700. If the three days around when the controversy first broke are excluded, the average edits per day drops to 1,143. This stands in contrast to the period between April 1 and April 21 where the average page views per day was 438. The above average page views trend appears to be continuing. There has not been a decrease in overall interest in the Melbourne Storm on English Wikipedia.

In addition to the English language article about the Melbourne Storm on Wikipedia, there are articles in two other languages: French and Italian. The French language article, http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Storm , was created on March 1, 2006. Since the controversy started on April 22 and May 8, there have been 35 total edits to the article. Unlike the English language article, total edits per day peaked on April 24, 2010 with 19 with the second highest editing day occurring on April 23 with 7. The average total edits per day during this period was 2.1. In April, prior to the controversy, the average edits per day was zero. Also unlike the English language article, it was not locked because of vandalism. According to Henrickhe (2010, May 1) peak views per day happened on April 23 and April 24 with 59. The next day with the greatest number of views in the period between April 22 and May 8 is May 8 with 34. The average viewed per day in the April 22 to May 8 period was 17.4 and the average viewed per day in April prior to the controversy was 3.4. The correlation between the total edits per day and views per day in the period between April 1 and May 8 is .7740. The French Wikipedia article saw an increase that was proportionally bigger than the English article but the total views and edits were much smaller on the French article.

The Italian language Wikipedia article, http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Storm , was created on December 21, 2007. The article had two edits in 2008 and one in 2009. Since the controversy broke on April 22 and May 8, there have two edits to the article. These two edits are the only edits made during 2010. According to Henrickhe (2010, May 1) , the total number of article views from April 1 to April 21 was 30. According to Henrickhe (2010, May 8), the total number of page views per day was 58. The day with the most views was April 23, with 14 views. The next day with the most views was May 3, with 8 views. The Italian Wikipedia article saw an increase in the total number of edits and page views as a result of the controversy. It might have been larger but the Italian interest in the team is much smaller to start with than the French or English language communities.

Outside of Wikipedia, there are a few small wikis that focus on the NRL and Rugby League. These wikis generally lack detailed information on the daily total page views but still provide information on the editing history. One such wiki is the NRL Central Wiki that is hosted on Wikia. It has an article about the Melbourne Storm located at http://nrl.wikia.com/wiki/Melbourne_Storm. The article was created on August 13, 2009 and was last updated on October 10, 2009. It has not been updated since the controversy. The wiki the article is hosted has only had three non-bot edits in the past 30 days so the lack of updates is not surprising. A few other wikis have articles that mention the Melbourne Storm. Most of these are institutional wikis where article histories are not available or where content is posted by its creator and never intended to be edited by a wider audience. There does not appear to be a movement by wikis to create additional content in response to or to try to capitalize on interest in response to the controversy.

Twitter

Twitter is a microblogging service. Users can post 140 character messages , called tweets, that are shared with anyone who chooses to follow them. Twitter is one of the most well known and popular social networks in Australia.

There are two main ways to measure Twitter activity. The first is to keep track of the total followers an account has. The second way is to monitor the total number of daily tweets posted about a topic posted across the whole network and by specific accounts.

The Melbourne Storm have an official Twitter account at @MelbStormRLC . There is an unofficial Melbourne Storm Twitter account run by a fansite at @MelbourneStorm_ . As of March 9, 2010, the official account had 458 followers. This contrasts with @MelbourneStorm_ which had 605 followers as of March 8, 2010. By May 10, about nineteen days after the controversy broke, the official account had 1,037 followers and @ MelbourneStorm_ had 720 followers. That was an increase of 579 and 115 followers respectively. The situation has not hurt growth for either account and people are still interested in keeping up with the team and what they are doing.

When compared to the official Twitter accounts for the NRL, Gold Coast Titans, Manly Sea Eagles, North Queensland Cowboys, Parramatta Eels, Canberra Raiders, South Sydney Rabbitohs and New Zealand Warriors, the follower growth for the Melbourne Storm suggests a potential connection to the controversy creating additional interest or a fanbase that has become much more interested in Twitter in a short period of time. (Table 1) The only account with a greater increase in total number of followers is the NRL, which picked up 942 followers. The Melbourne Storm saw a fifty-five percent increase in the new followers. The next closest team of the aforementioned in the same period was the Canberra Raiders who saw a forty-two percent increase. In this context, it reaffirms that additional interest in the team was likely generated by the controversy.

Detailed statistics regarding the total number of references for the Melbourne Storm by day on Twitter are not available. It makes it harder to determine the total daily volume of conversation involving the team in the days surrounding the news leaking about the salary cap violations. People were interested in the Melbourne Storm as the team was briefly trending on Twitter when the story broke. Manual counting can be done but Twitter search only goes back around one week What can be more easily tracked is the posting volume per day of specific accounts related to the Melbourne Storm to compare their activities before and after the controversy broke. In the case of the @MelbourneStorm_, the account does not update regularly with about twenty tweets made during the past year. Their last tweet was on March 24, 2010; they have not posted since the news broke. @MelbStormRLC has posted several tweets since the controversy and has mentioned it. From April 22 to May 9, eighteen days after the story broke, the Storm have made eleven total tweets. Prior to that, the team had made thirteen tweets. The difference in tweet totals is inconsequential. Neither account made changes to their Twitter posting in response in to the controversy.

Searching through Twitter, it is very clear that people are still tweeting about the team and, as of May 10, are tweeting about them at a comparatively higher rate than other teams in the league. One popular way of indicating a tweet is about a certain topic is to include a hashtag in front of a word. This makes the whole phrase easily searchable on Twitter. For example, a person who is tweeting about the Melbourne Storm may include #melbournestorm to indicate the tweet is about the team. There generally fewer of these tweets as a great many accounts on Twitter come directly from RSS feeds. These feeds were not originally created for Twitter and are absent some of the cultural practices and do not use coding tools to help make finding posts easier. Thus, tweets tagged with a # are fewer and more readily countable in search. This allows for comparisons to be made between teams over a short period. For the period between May 3 and May 8, 2010, #melbournestorm beat out all the other teams that were sampled for most the most discussed NRL team. (Table 2) There were twenty-one references for the team on May 5. This is sixteen more than #manlyseaeagles on the same date and the only other team with five or more tweets with a hashtag on a single day. The controversy can likely be seen as the cause for the increase in the number of tweets when compared to other teams in the league.

Facebook

Facebook is one of the largest social networks in Australia and it arguably has the largest population of Melbourne Storm fans online. Outside of interest monitoring, the easiest way to monitor the activities of fans is to examine the fan community’s growth on official pages and groups, and activity levels on these groups.

The Melbourne Storm has an official user profile on Facebook. The profile is for their mascot, Storm Man. It has a limited profile view so only people who have friended the account can view posts and interact with content posted by Storm Man. When the profile was checked on April 6, 2010, the account had 3,203 friends. Checked again on April 28, the account had 4,154. On May 9, the account had 4,401 friends and on May 10, it had 4,494 friends. While the total new friends for their account was fewer than other clubs such as the Brisbane Lions over the same period (Table 3), the team had the largest percentage increase in: 28.7% versus 13.5% for the next closest team, the North Queensland Cowboys. The controversy did not cost the team any friends and resulted in a higher percentage gain when compared to other teams. It has resulted in a net momentum gain that continues almost three weeks after the controversy first broke out.

Facebook Fan Pages are created by teams and by fans. The person who created the Fan Page can post to the wall, control else who can post to the wall, control the type of content posted to the Fan Page and create a unique landing page. Members of a Fan Page can comment on wall posts and indicate they like the post. There are many Melbourne Storm fans that have created Fan Pages and many more have joined, commented and liked posts made to these Fan Pages. A quick search on Facebook for Fan Pages dedicated to the team using the keywords “Melbourne Storm” results in over 500 pages about the team. By looking at a sample of the individual Fan Pages to check the daily posting volume of wall posts and the number of likes and comments to those posts, an idea of how the controversy effected fan interests can be determined.

For this, three Fan Pages were chosen. These were the top three Fan Pages in search that were not created in response to the controversy. They are Melbourne Storm, Best team in NRL.. Melbourne Storm ! and melbourne storm . The total posts per day by the person who runs the Fan Page, and comments and likes per post associated with the post for the day were recorded for the period between April 1 and May 10, 2010. (Table 4) When comparing the total posts in the period between April 1 and April 22, 2010 to the period between April 23 to May 10, two of the three Fan Pages had more posts made by the maintainers before the controversy. (Graph 1) Two of the three groups saw an increase in the total comments made after the controversy. For Melbourne Storm, a Fan Page with over 40,000 members, the increase was massive going from 54 comments to 803 comments. The increase for Best team in NRL.. Melbourne Storm !, a group with 281 members as of May 10, was much smaller. It went from 252 to 257 comments. For all three groups, there was an increase in the number of likes after the controversy took place. While posting levels by Fan Page maintainers may not have increased, the level of engagement and interest in the team for the fan population did. The controversy has created a climate where fans are more engaged with posts.

Mailing lists

During much of the 1990s, mailing lists were one of the most popular tools for fans to use in order to communicate with each other. The creation of mailing lists became much easier when sites like egroups, coollists, topica, Yahoo!Groups and Google groups were created. They largely automated the process of creating mailing lists, provided web based archives and removed barriers of having to understand majordomo syntax in order to join a list.

Australian sports fans actively used these services to participate in their team’s fandom. Some leagues and teams were more popular than other leagues and teams. Amongst the fan communities utilizing mailing lists were Melbourne Storm fans. Most of the lists dedicated to team were on Yahoo!Groups, where there are currently eight lists. These eight lists include melbournestorm2, melbournestormrugbyleague, melbournestormsupportersclub, Storm_Squad, StormSupporters, MSSC-Storm-Mailouts and melbourne_storm_supporters. Many of these lists are no longer active. There are a variety of reasons for this including absent list owners, large volumes of spam content posted on list, people switching to different services in order to express their fondness for the team or fans losing interest in a team. If spam content is not counted in total posting volume by month, the peak posting month was February 2001 with 59 total posts across all eight lists. January 2001 had the next highest posting volume by month with 50 posts. Given the always small and inactive community, it is not surprising that there have been zero posts on these lists since the controversy broke out. These lists have also seen zero growth in membership since their totals were last checked on February 20, 2010. The controversy had no effect on the Storm’s mailing list community.

43things

According to Robot Co-op (2010), 43things “is the world’s largest goal-setting community.” Members of the site set goals for themselves that are published on their profiles and on lists of others who share the same goal. Members are also encouraged to blog about their efforts in trying to complete their goals. Other members are encouraged to cheer people on as they work to complete a goal. When a goal has been completed, people change the goal status to “I did this” and it appears as completed on their profile. This site is relatively popular; according to Alexa Internet, Inc. (2010), the site is ranked the 2,549^th most popular website in Australia.

There are a number of people who have set Australia related sports goals on 43thing. This includes playing for certain clubs to attending the finals to seeing the team they barrack for play. On April 1, 2010, the site was searched for any goals that connected to the Melbourne Storm. Only one goal related to the Melbourne Storm was found. It is “Go to a Melbourne Storm Game.” Two people, erynne and mmcpharlane, had listed this as a goal they were working towards completing. When checked again on May 10, no one had added any additional goals related to the Melbourne Storm. No movement had been made towards completing the existing goal: Both individuals still listed themselves as working towards it and neither had updated their blog to indicate they were any closer to accomplishing this goal. The controversy has not had any measurable impact on people’s goal setting and efforts towards accomplishing their goals as they pertain to the Melbourne Storm.

Conclusion

The controversy involving the Melbourne Storm’s salary cap violations and the subsequent punishment of rewarding them zero points for the season has not resulted in a loss of people interested in the team or resulted in a drop in activity level on the part of fans. Across smaller and less popular services and web sites, there has been no behavior change; the controversy has had a null effect in that no one removed content or interests, nor created content and added interests. For larger sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia, there has been a gain in followers, viewers and interactions. Eighteen days out from the initial incident, a long tail increase in views and interactions exists when compared to the period prior to the controversy. While some of the initial burst of activity and interest could be a consequence of negativity publicity, the long tail interest two to three weeks out is much harder to attribute to solely to wanting to watch a controversy for the sake of entertainment. If interest continue to stay elevated, the club should be able to leverage to increase club membership and sponsorship deals, especially as they apply to their online presence, because they have successfully used the controversy to grow their fanbase. The behaviors of fans demonstrate that have been incentized to express their loyalty and solidarity with the team.

References

Albanesius, C. (2010, April 19). Facebook makes ‘connections,’ adds community pages. PC Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362825,00.asp

Alexa Internet, Inc. (2010, May 10). 43things.com – site info from alexa. Retrieved from http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/43things.com

Henrik, Initials. (2010, May 1). Wikipedia article traffic statistics: Melbourne_Storm has been viewed 49377 times in 201004 . Retrieved from http://stats.grok.se/en/201004/Melbourne_Storm

Henrik, Initials. (2010, May 1). Wikipedia article traffic statistics: Melbourne_Storm has been viewed 276 times in 201004. Retrieved from http://stats.grok.se/fr/201004/Melbourne_Storm

Henrik, Initials. (2010, May 1). Wikipedia article traffic statistics: Melbourne_Storm has been viewed 276 times in 201004. Retrieved from http://stats.grok.se/it/201004/Melbourne_Storm

Henrik, Initials. (2010, May 9). Wikipedia article traffic statistics: Melbourne_Storm has been viewed 5561 times in 201005. Retrieved from http://stats.grok.se/en/201005/Melbourne_Storm

Henrik, Initials. (2010, May 9). Wikipedia article traffic statistics: Melbourne_Storm has been viewed 91 times in 201005. Retrieved from http://stats.grok.se/fr/201005/Melbourne_Storm

Henrik, Initials. (2010, May 9). Wikipedia article traffic statistics: Melbourne_Storm has been viewed 19 times in 201005. Retrieved from http://stats.grok.se/it/201005/Melbourne_Storm

Melbourne storm stripped of two premierships for salary cap breach. (2010, April 22). Fox Sports, Retrieved from http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,27022196-5018866,00.html

Robot Co-op. (2010, May 10). List your goals on 43 things. Retrieved from http://www.43things.com/

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That said, these are the games that I have recorded:

When that is broken down by team, it looks like:

NRL fans are appear to be less likely to check in to events. In one case, the venue where games are played is not even listed on Foursquare. The venue issue here appears differently than the AFL where at least two venues are actively promoting foursquare on social media sites like Twitter and encouraging people who attend games to checkin in order to get a swarm badge.

Non-mixed use facilities and facilities that are not shared with the AFL are also likely to have fewer seats with lower average attendance than the AFL. This could be a secondary factor for why there are fewer checkins. Another reason could be that adoption rates for foursquare are higher in Victoria than they are for New South Wales.

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• Version 3: Most popular Australian athlete and team related Twitter accounts by total followers.

First, it helps to give an idea of the size of specific fan communities and their engagement with social media. (Though Foursquare doesn’t indicate true size of a social media community for a team. Some groups just trend towards certain sites and services. Universal statements are dumb and often wrong. Give me an unfounded statement and I will happily see if I can drive a truck through it.)

Next, Foursquare is probably one of the better services out there, outside of a team’s own mobile applications through app providers like Apple and their own analytics regarding browser usage, for getting an idea as to the size of the community using mobile devices and if this group is worth targeting.

Third, foursquare can give an idea as to the geographic distribution of a league’s fanbase who use mobile devices. This can then be compared to other geographic patterns on sites like blogger, bebo, LiveJournal and facebook. You’re not necessarily getting information on where fans live but you could begin to do an interesting analysis on patterns of what fans do and where their geographic center is. This could be interesting because for some teams, they share a facility in a larger city. A lot of fans will list their location as say Melbourne, where the actual core of Melbourne is about one square mile. People just chose to list that, instead of say St. Kilda.

That out of the way, the table below is sorted by the number of total checkins. The top facility not shared by the AFL is Sydney Football Stadium. It is also the top non-shared AFL/NRL facility. Suncorp Stadium is the next biggest non-shared use facility. It too is an NRL facility. Brunswick St Oval is actually the first non-shared use AFL facility and 98 checkins. The next two non-shared use facilities are also AFL. In either case, I felt kind of surprised that the NRL facilities had as many checkins as they did. I was under the impression that rugby league country was not as into the social media scene as areas dominated by the AFL.