Sometimes too good.

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Screen grab of a Mashable article (as it appears in my Google Reader feed) about the Norwegian gunman currently on trial. At the bottom you’ll see an ad that Google (or someone else?) slips into Google Reader.

Well noble reader, through the miracle of science I can now show you. For the first time ever, Joe Boughner’s Social Media Science Labs is pleased to present a totally scientific explanation of how news breaks on Twitter.

You’re welcome.

This quote, taken from IBM’s “From Stretched to Strengthened: Insights from the Global Chief Marketing Officer Study” sums up the great disconnect that too few social media advocates seem ready to accept:

More than half of all CMOs think social media is a key channel for engaging with customers… Yet, an earlier study shows that many executives don’t understand what triggers customers to ‘follow’ their organizations. Nearly 70 percent assume that customers interact with them via social media to get information, express an opinion and feel connected to their brand – whereas, in reality, customers are most interested in receiving tangible value. Indeed, when asked why they choose to follow a company, the top reasons consumers cite are ‘getting discounts’ (61 percent) and ‘making purchases’ (55 percent). Only 33 percent seek out companies to ‘feel connected.’

The tools are new but the behaviours aren’t. People want a deal. Not a BFF.
photo credit: State Library of New South Wales collection

As most of you probably know, minor hockey has been a huge part of my life, both as a player when I was a kid and as a coach for several years as an adult. Hockey has been overwhelmingly positive for me and I want other people to have that same positive experience. It’s what drives me to stay involved in the game as an adult.

Unfortunately, the hockey culture isn’t perfect. The hockey dressing room is still a place where macho idealism reigns and, as a result, terms like “faggot” and “queer” are thrown around too often. Even when they aren’t used in an attempt to demean or insult someone specifically for their sexuality, they still hang in the air as a shorthand for undesirable attributes.

This has to change.

A few years ago, a courageous young man named Brendan Burke came out of the closet and took on the cause of making the hockey world a more tolerant and accepting one for GLBT athletes. Sadly, he died in a car accident shortly thereafter. In the wake of that tragedy, his brother Patrick, a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers, and his father Brian, GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, took up the fight for him.

The You Can Play Project is an extension of that fight.

The message is simple: if you can play the game, you can play the game.

Locker rooms should be safe and sports venues should be free from homophobia. Athletes should be judged on talent, heart and work ethic, not sexual orientation.

It’s early days for the project but I’m so excited to see where it goes. This is long overdue. I may not be an NHL superstar but I’m proud to lend my voice, insignificant as it may be, to such a worthwhile cause. I can’t promise to change the world and I can’t promise to end homophobia but as long as I’m holding the key to a dressing room or opening a gate on the bench I will say as loudly and clearly as I can:

Everyone is welcome. If you can play, you can play.

Her birthday is this weekend and I want her to feel special. And since I know a lot of you are rather fond of her yourselves, I figured you might like the opportunity to mark such an occasion too.

So here it is. Tweet something about @amyboughner and tag it with #whyamyrocks – if I figured out the magic internets properly, it’ll show up here. If not, well, at least the twitters will know how you feel.

Thanks and happy birthday, babe.