Post by Smyth94 on Jul 16, 2011 9:25:03 GMT -5
There were men dressed as Oompa Loompas delivering champagne to tables from a zip line at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. For a guy with a camera phone and around 100,000 followers on Twitter, it was more than Paul Bissonnette could resist. He crouched down next to a couple of the costumed champagne servers, pointed the camera and captured the picture for eternity.
Last year, it probably would have been circulating Twitter within minutes. But that was the old Bissonnette. The one who hadn’t found the right balance between entertaining and crass.
Now, as hockey’s most popular Twitter personality skyrockets past 100,000 followers, the Phoenix Coyotes forward’s online persona has matured.
In the case of the Hollywood party in June, Bissonnette checked in with Coyotes PR director Rich Nairn before posting the pictures and videos from a unique night out.
He got the green light.
“It sucks though,” Bissonnette told Sporting News. “Sometimes I’ll have something gold I can’t say. I like to be spontaneous. I think of it and boom, I’ll tweet it. Now I have to text and say, ‘Hey man, can I tweet it?’”
It’s all part of the evolution of BizNasty.
This was a big week for Bissonnette’s Twitter alias -- @biznasty2point0. He was one of only two NHL players on Sports Illustrated’s Twitter 100 –- the 100 Most Influential Twitter Handles in Sports -- on the eve of Twitter's fifth birthday.
He was also verified by Twitter - the official status acknowledgment that comes only from the social media giant. It gives his account more cache, not to mention a blue checkmark.
“Its like losing your virginity all over again,” Bissonnette tweeted on Thursday.
Not bad for a 26-year-old enforcer who sat nearly as much as he played in 2010-11 and racked up 13 fights against one point.
Bissonnette’s launch into the social media mainstream doesn't just highlight his evolution on Twitter; it mirrors the progress of the Coyotes organization, if not the entire NHL.
This summer, the Coyotes plan on presenting the NHL and the NHLPA with their list of social media guidelines so it can be formally adopted by the team. Enacted by general manager Don Maloney and Nairn, the guidelines were formed after Nairn consulted with NFL teams with similar policies in place.
The rules won’t be too restrictive. It’s more common sense than anything –- no Twitter on game days. No sharing injury information. No tweeting of lineup changes.
During a general managers meeting last season, Maloney shared his proposed policy with other GMs who are starting to realize that Twitter is something they should be paying attention to, even without a guy like Bissonnette on the roster.
“The way it was left, each club has the discretion to monitor it the way they seem fit,” Maloney told Sporting News.
Without a doubt, they’re monitoring. Not just what their players are saying online, but now more and more NHL executives use Twitter as an information source.
Maloney said he and Phoenix assistant GM Brad Treliving have set up accounts where they follow key sources to get news like contract information, trade talk and injury updates. They don’t tweet, but like Bissonnette, they’re on Twitter. They're just anonymous.
“For some reason it feels kind of creepy,” Maloney said, laughing. “It’s another tool to use, maybe give you an edge somewhere along the line.”
They’re not the only ones. Scotty Bowman was walking down the red carpet during last fall’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Toronto when he stopped next to ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun for a quick warning.
Quit tweeting so much, Bowman told LeBrun, or I’m going to stop following you.
It’s become a tool in NHL front offices, but for Bissonnette it’s all about entertainment. And after some growing pains, he’s found the right balance of humor and decorum.
Last summer, at the recommendation of his agent Mark Guy, Bissonnette left Twitter for a brief period. Guy wanted him to realize the power of social media before continuing. It’s a warning Guy shares with many of his clients on Twitter.
“Once you say it, you can’t bring it back,” said Guy, of Newport Sports Management. “There are kids, there are people who have different views that could be offended.”
Sometimes those people include your general manager. On the first day in training camp last year, Bissonnette was called into Maloney’s office after one tweet crossed the line of good taste.
It’s a talk Maloney won’t have again.
“I told him it was the last conversation in this office,” he said. “The next one would be ‘Good luck, you’re going somewhere else.’ It was sort of a wakeup call. If you want to act like a 13-year-old, go act like a 13-year-old somewhere else.”
Now, almost one year later, Bissonnette’s online persona has passed puberty. He hasn’t lost his edge, as his tweet calculating the number of lap dances Brad Richards’ new contract would purchase clearly indicates. But he’s working hard to avoid embarrassing the Coyotes and their fanbase.
BizNasty wouldn’t be BizNasty without a few updates from the toilet, so it all remains a fine line -- otherwise, it wouldn't be entertaining.
“Hockey is in desperate need of personality,” Bissonnette said. “Every superstar has no personality. I know why –- everything they do, they’re just going to blow it up.”
So, he offers his perspective. Not one of a superstar, but someone thrust into a superstar lifestyle.
“That’s what people don’t understand. I’m a regular guy who made it,” he said. “People chirp me a lot, saying ‘You’re going to be out of the NHL.’ Maybe so. Maybe I’ll be playing in the American League for 100K. It’s life. You have to enjoy it.”
Last year, it probably would have been circulating Twitter within minutes. But that was the old Bissonnette. The one who hadn’t found the right balance between entertaining and crass.
Now, as hockey’s most popular Twitter personality skyrockets past 100,000 followers, the Phoenix Coyotes forward’s online persona has matured.
In the case of the Hollywood party in June, Bissonnette checked in with Coyotes PR director Rich Nairn before posting the pictures and videos from a unique night out.
He got the green light.
“It sucks though,” Bissonnette told Sporting News. “Sometimes I’ll have something gold I can’t say. I like to be spontaneous. I think of it and boom, I’ll tweet it. Now I have to text and say, ‘Hey man, can I tweet it?’”
It’s all part of the evolution of BizNasty.
This was a big week for Bissonnette’s Twitter alias -- @biznasty2point0. He was one of only two NHL players on Sports Illustrated’s Twitter 100 –- the 100 Most Influential Twitter Handles in Sports -- on the eve of Twitter's fifth birthday.
He was also verified by Twitter - the official status acknowledgment that comes only from the social media giant. It gives his account more cache, not to mention a blue checkmark.
“Its like losing your virginity all over again,” Bissonnette tweeted on Thursday.
Not bad for a 26-year-old enforcer who sat nearly as much as he played in 2010-11 and racked up 13 fights against one point.
Bissonnette’s launch into the social media mainstream doesn't just highlight his evolution on Twitter; it mirrors the progress of the Coyotes organization, if not the entire NHL.
This summer, the Coyotes plan on presenting the NHL and the NHLPA with their list of social media guidelines so it can be formally adopted by the team. Enacted by general manager Don Maloney and Nairn, the guidelines were formed after Nairn consulted with NFL teams with similar policies in place.
The rules won’t be too restrictive. It’s more common sense than anything –- no Twitter on game days. No sharing injury information. No tweeting of lineup changes.
During a general managers meeting last season, Maloney shared his proposed policy with other GMs who are starting to realize that Twitter is something they should be paying attention to, even without a guy like Bissonnette on the roster.
“The way it was left, each club has the discretion to monitor it the way they seem fit,” Maloney told Sporting News.
Without a doubt, they’re monitoring. Not just what their players are saying online, but now more and more NHL executives use Twitter as an information source.
Maloney said he and Phoenix assistant GM Brad Treliving have set up accounts where they follow key sources to get news like contract information, trade talk and injury updates. They don’t tweet, but like Bissonnette, they’re on Twitter. They're just anonymous.
“For some reason it feels kind of creepy,” Maloney said, laughing. “It’s another tool to use, maybe give you an edge somewhere along the line.”
They’re not the only ones. Scotty Bowman was walking down the red carpet during last fall’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Toronto when he stopped next to ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun for a quick warning.
Quit tweeting so much, Bowman told LeBrun, or I’m going to stop following you.
It’s become a tool in NHL front offices, but for Bissonnette it’s all about entertainment. And after some growing pains, he’s found the right balance of humor and decorum.
Last summer, at the recommendation of his agent Mark Guy, Bissonnette left Twitter for a brief period. Guy wanted him to realize the power of social media before continuing. It’s a warning Guy shares with many of his clients on Twitter.
“Once you say it, you can’t bring it back,” said Guy, of Newport Sports Management. “There are kids, there are people who have different views that could be offended.”
Sometimes those people include your general manager. On the first day in training camp last year, Bissonnette was called into Maloney’s office after one tweet crossed the line of good taste.
It’s a talk Maloney won’t have again.
“I told him it was the last conversation in this office,” he said. “The next one would be ‘Good luck, you’re going somewhere else.’ It was sort of a wakeup call. If you want to act like a 13-year-old, go act like a 13-year-old somewhere else.”
Now, almost one year later, Bissonnette’s online persona has passed puberty. He hasn’t lost his edge, as his tweet calculating the number of lap dances Brad Richards’ new contract would purchase clearly indicates. But he’s working hard to avoid embarrassing the Coyotes and their fanbase.
BizNasty wouldn’t be BizNasty without a few updates from the toilet, so it all remains a fine line -- otherwise, it wouldn't be entertaining.
“Hockey is in desperate need of personality,” Bissonnette said. “Every superstar has no personality. I know why –- everything they do, they’re just going to blow it up.”
So, he offers his perspective. Not one of a superstar, but someone thrust into a superstar lifestyle.
“That’s what people don’t understand. I’m a regular guy who made it,” he said. “People chirp me a lot, saying ‘You’re going to be out of the NHL.’ Maybe so. Maybe I’ll be playing in the American League for 100K. It’s life. You have to enjoy it.”
