Random follow #267 - @WaiBOPUnited

Football is a game that brings people together.  People in all four corners of the world, and everywhere in between, grab a ball, make a couple of goals and then get to playing.  There are no requirements for how many players you need, no limits as to the size of a pitch or field and you can play absolutely anywhere you like at anytime.

In New Zealand one of the major competitions is the ASB Premiership.  Our top domestic players get to go head to head week in and week out for a season of football.  Today's tweeter is the latest team to join the premiership.  They represent the beautiful towns and districts that make up the central North Island.

@WaiBOPUnited represent all that is good in Football for the area spanning north of Hamilton, across to Tauranga and back to the central plateau area including Taupo and Rotorua.  Today was the first day of play in Rotorua and I can happily and proudly say I was there.  The ladies team looked great but unfortunately lost to a very classy Mainland Pride team.  The mens team however went on to beat Canterbury which was a fantastic result.

And like the teams entry to the ASB Premiership the twitter account is nice and new as well.  You wouldn't think so too much though 'cos there are already a few hundred tweets under the belt and most of those tweets are pretty darn good to be honest.  

So what do you get from a twitter account dedicated to a foot ball team?  You get - news stories, updates during the game, interviews with players and coaches as well as the odd bit of hilarity along the way too.  Especially when you see tweets like these - 

"Coach @Peters95535988 was pleased with today's victory. Here's what he had to say after our opening win in the @ASBPremiership #wbpvcan", followed closely by

"Actually... here's what @Peters95535988 had to say: http://www.waibopunited.co.nz/waibop-utd-2-1-canterbury-utd-asb-premiership/ …"

So while they take their soccer seriously its still okay to have fun and laugh at yourself if you don't quite get it right.  What I love most about @WaiBOPUnited is that the purpose of the account is to grow a community of soccer lovers and to share good and positive stories.  Such as - 

"Soccer: Scots winners with Otonga kids - Sport - Rotorua Daily Post News http://nzh.tw/11154130 via @nzherald @asbpremiership"

If you would like to follow them on twitter that would be great.  There are also a number of other teams on twitter and I am sure they would all like your support.  As far as the WaiBop United team go you can learn more about them by visiting their website - http://www.waibopunited.co.nz/.

If you're looking for me you'll find me in Cambridge once a fortnight to support the guys and gals as they demonstrate that our team can foot it with any other in the land.

Random follow #220 - @bopmafia

It takes a certain amount of pride, passion and damn hard work to support a sports team.  Week in and week out.  To turn up to the games and go along to practices.  To know who the players are by their first names.  To sit in the cold, rain and hail to watch your team pass, kick and chase a rugby ball from end to end.

In New Zealand there are two rugby teams who play in the higher divisions.  Each stakes their claim to be known as "The Bay".  There is only one real way to settle such an argument.  And that is over a good old fashioned rugby match.  This year it was the mighty BAY OF PLENTY STEAMERS who took the honors.  And the fact that they won can be attributed to not only the players but the faithful supporters as well.

Quite possibly one of the biggest (metaphorically not literally) supporters of The Bay is @bopmafia.  Week in and week out this number one supporter is there for every tackle, scrum, penalty, ruck and maul, conversion and throw in.  And just like the area that the team represents @bopmafia spreads himself across the entire Bay.  From Tauranga to Taupo, Rotorua to Reperoa.  Where The Bay plays he is there.

Yes this tweeter is all about The Bay.  He is also about rugby as a code.  Any rugby game that is on he is there and will letting you know how its going.  But also rugby league after the rugby union has finished is another thing that he enjoys watching and tweeting about.

It shouldn't be too much of a surprise to you by now what the average tweet looks like from this account -

"RIP Cliff Morgan, Welsh rugby great, commentator and broadcaster. #rugby"  <-- respect

"Previous tweet was the Bay team to play Auckland tomorrow at Eden Park #steamteam - ran out of characters to explain it!" <-- Bay proud!

"Craig Joubert reffing first Super game: "There seems to be 31 refs on the field". Glen Jackson: "and you're not even in the top 10". #gold" <-- an amazing sense of humour

Yes - this is an account dedicated pretty much entirely to sport.  And neither @bopmafia or myself have any apologies to make for that fact.  And when the rugby season comes to an end (does it ever end anymore) you will find the fun, frivolity and friendliness of  @bopmafia contributing to another sports account - @ByTheMinCricket.  Worth a follow?  Totally.  Especially if you want to rub in to the other Bay that we're the real one ;)

Random follow #127 - @ShannonandDrift

Two tweeters from the Bay of Plenty in two days.  People we are on a roll.  Todays tweeter is another fantastic person who hails from THE REAL BAY.  @ShannonandDrift claims to be a professional sports person who tweets for a hobby.  Sounds like a pretty good lifestyle to me!  And he makes damn sure that while the rest of us head off to the office to peck away at our keyboards under fluro lights, he is outside enjoying the New Zealand outdoors for all that they are worth -

"Awesome day for a spot of white water kayaking. Hate my job. Really I do."

I don't know a whole lot about Shannon but I can say he is a bloody good guy and top bloke.  Being a surfing type guy certainly helps in that it creates a relaxing lifestyle that ensures you to mellow and leave all your issues out in the waves.

And you can also count on the fact that he enjoys a really good laugh.  Don't we all?  Here is an example of that -

"IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY, come sit by me and we can make fun of people together"

Shannon is one of the people who make twitter a success.  He engages with lots of cool tweeters and takes the time to listen to other peoples opinions.  It appears that for a while now he has been a bit of a lonely bloke.  But don't worry twitter!  Help is at hand - 

"3 more sleeps till my girl leaves London and heads home #maketimefly #blueballs"

And his girlfriend either doesn't know he is on twitter or has a long suffering sense of humor when he fires off wisecracks like these - 

"Google has to be a woman... It starts suggesting things before you can even finish your sentence"

@ShannonandDrift is not one to hold back his opinion.  Not in a nasrt, trolling kind of way.  But he uses social media as the platform for which was designed - a place to have a rant, get your issue off your chest and then let others come back to you with what they think about what you've said.  All is fair in love and war really.

And as I try to do so often, the last word goes to the man himself - 

"Shorts and tee shirt in the middle of May? Mother Nature's loving us"

Random follow #110 - @tlcflowers

One way that I used to learn who to follow on twitter early was by listening in to other peoples conversations.  So I would watch who was tweeting who and if that person looked all right then I would start following them too.  Of course twitter is so big that you can't follow EVERYONE.  And  to be honest I saw some great tweeters but never hit the follow button.

One person that is true of is the very lovely @tlcflowers.  So many times I would see her talking to someone else but I never hot follow.  Well I can proudly say I have corrected that mistake!  Tracey is one really sweet, lovely and genuine tweeter.  Hailing from the beautiful Bay of Plenty (Tauranga) she is a very proud mum to two beautiful teenage girls.

 

Her tweets do you tell you a thing or two about her -

"Winter definitely feels like its coming to the bay, I've just ordered the firewood, can't wait" She is a romantic.

"Miss 16 just got asked to the ball. Great excitement. Squealing in fact. Got to get those lower shoes." A proud mum.

"I made an observation, I think the flies have gone..such weird flies, immune to fly spray. goodbye you little @#$$#$$$##@"  An environmentalist

"Still in PJs watching the Billy Connolly show on living. Great show"  And also a late riser from time to time.

And she is a tweeter.  And very surprisingly she doesn't have anywhere as near as many followers as she deserves.  In this case I really do think that it is a case of quality over quantity for sure.

Once you get Tracey warmed up and into a conversation she is away.  Remember when you were a teenage girl (or you knew one) and remember how they could talk and talk and talk?  Well on a good night and given a good conversation @tlcflowers can do the same with her tweets.  And they are lovely. :)

There are so many more things I could say about Tracey and how great a lady she is but I will let you go find out for yourself - if thats okay. 

x.

Random follow #62 - @_GlennCollier

What I have found so far during this project is that there tend to pockets of tweeters around New Zealand.  That is there are heavier concentrations of users of twitter in particular areas.  For example - Wellington, Taranaki and Auckland have plenty of twitter users.  Other places are Christchurch and Hamilton (although I  don't think I have profiled anyone from The Tron yet).

Anyway today's tweeter comes to you from one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand.  Mount Maunganui (The Mount) is located in Tauranga and has some of the best beach lifestyle ever.  But where you live does not define you.  It certainly influences what people may think about you but at the end of the day you choose to be who you are.   

@_GlennCollier is one person who has the great fortune to be able to live in such an amazing place.  And even better than that is the fact that his mate Raglan gets to share it with him.  Seriously what are the chances of a person who lives at The Mount (one great surf beach) having a dog named after another New Zealand surf mecca?  Completely uncanny if you ask me.

Tauranga and surfing are two loves in Glenn's life.  And if you know anything about the surfer or his lifestyle then you would know they like time to themselves and tend not to rush things in life.  Maybe that explains why the number of tweeters from that part of the country are a bit lower per head than the remainder of the country.  Either that or they are all bust at the beach!

You can tell someone is serious about social media when they admit to doing things like this - "almost sent a txt to a mate with a hash tag! #addictedtotwitter".  While his tweet count is a little low and he has yet to crack 400 I would say this twitter newbie certainly has found his feet.  A lot of his tweets are conversational and easy to digest.

A word of warning though.  If you don't live near the beach and pictures of the beach give you a bit of angst then you may wish to follow someone else who lives in a far more boring place.

And he has a really great sense of humor.  Check it out - 

"Tomorrow I am going to buy a huge paella pan, then i will invite all my neighbors for a most excellent paella, or just hang it on the wall?"

"#ATM rage, just queued up behind a triple card dipper!" or this one...

"Frujus are $2.80 at my BP Garage...That's not fair, how do they justify the extra .30c? Bastards!"

What impresses me most about @_GlennCollier is that he has been very quick to follow and interact with a lot of the great people of twitter.  If you scroll through his timeline you will see a whole plethora of names of people you may know.  I certainly spotted quite a few lovely people in that timeline.

Well there isn't too much else to say really.  Except to ask the question - is he a long boarder or a short boarder?  You can follow along with his twitter journey and maybe you'll get the chance to find out.