Mikey Riley

Title: Sports and Social Media

Methods Discussion: The data collection was completed in 3 separate processes. I conducted four interviews, a focus group, and a survey. For each process participants had to be 18 years or older, follow sports, and use a social media site. I piloted each set of questions with friends and classmates to be sure I was getting the best data out of my questions. The hardest part was getting people to commit to the interviews and focus group. I got passed the problem by reaching out to everyone I knew and worried about the small things later. I also used incentives like food to lure people in.

Research Question: What role does social media play in how people consume/interact with specific sporting events such as the Olympics? The data I collected showed that social media does impact with the consumption of sports. This is especially true in getting live updates and seeing scores.

Hypothesis: People’s use of social media enhances their experience of the sporting event by giving them more information of what is going on and sharing that with others who are not present. After further looking at the data I can conclude that the hypothesis is correct. Consuming sports with social media enhances the experience by making the consumer feel closer to the action.

Summary: One of the most important things I found was that people use social media to feel closer to the sports and athletes they like. Having social media makes them have unlimited amount of sports media in their pockets. The sports consumers especially like their social media sites for getting scores and the fastest updated information possible.