The quick-hit updates are recorded by producer Mike Seib on an iPhone and posted to the @SNFonNBC Twitter account. They'll provide injury info, relays of information from coaches and team PR reps and other content similar to what typically appears in Tafoya's regular cutaways during the actual NBC broadcast. You can see a couple example reports from the preseason here and here, and during upcoming "Sunday Night Football" games look for tweets like this one:
SOCIAL MEDIA SIDELINE REPORT: Cowboy's injury update. #NFLKickoff #SNF #NBCyfrog.us/mtatkqznehmmmv…— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 6, 2012
It appears to be a new use of social media in sports broadcasting. Tafoya told Mashable in an interview that she jumped at the idea of marrying major network access with mobile video immediacy when Seib brought it up during a production meeting this summer.
"I thought it was great because there is always so much stuff we want to get into the broadcasts but just can't because of time," she says.
The social media sideline reports are meant to bring fans closer to the game, in addition to work around the timing restrictions of TV broadcasts. Seib also shoots Instagram photos of players and coaches on the sideline, which he then posts to the @SNFonNBC account as well.
"The sideline is just a unique place to be," Tafoya says. "It's crazy, always changing, exciting. It's nuts, and to bring that element to the audience is just a great way to expand the whole fan experience."
Tafoya is an avid social media user herself, with more than 16,000 followers on her personal Twitter account, which she posts to frequently. She's watched Twitter and other platforms mature from a strange novelty to reporting basic with sports fans and media over the past few years.