Well, it was nice while it lasted.
For months, the Twitter account @Nets_PR -- an official outlet for the NBA's new Brooklyn Nets franchise -- kept hoops fans and Twitter fiends alike entertained with a clever departure from the traditional sports social media playbook.
Those days, it seems, are now over. But first, the backstory:
Pro sports teams typically stick to a pretty rote formula on Twitter, erring on the side of blandness with boring statistical updates, game scores and hashtagged calls to action. The Nets account did plenty of that regular stuff, but also mixed in jolts of awesome oddness.
Take, for example, this tweet from Feb. 20:
#Nets now 32-0 when outscoring opponent this season— Nets PR Dept. (@Nets_PR) February 20, 2013
And here are a few more stellar @Nets_PR tweets for your review:
#Barclays Kiss Cam proposals now a perfect 4-4 on the year, #Nets undefeated in such games— Nets PR Dept. (@Nets_PR) February 6, 2013
The #Nets are undefeated after Brook Lopez gets a haircut— Nets PR Dept. (@Nets_PR) February 14, 2013
Blatche loses headband for 3rd time this season, trails only Reggie Evans (7) for team-lead— Nets PR Dept. (@Nets_PR) January 5, 2013
The account last tweeted back on Feb. 28 and, according to a Tuesday post from Nets blog The Brooklyn Game, the party is over. The franchise "has decided to go in a different direction with how they use their PR account -- specifically, changing the voice that represents the team's public relations," writes Devin Kharpertian. "The Nets want a unified voice from their public accounts, a voice that the PR account's nature didn't align with."
The move was reportedly announced by the team's digital director at the Sloane Sports Media Conference earlier this month, and the team has not determined what -- if anything -- it will do with the silenced account.
Is this a smart move by the Nets, or a social media botch? Give us your take in the comments.
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