Social Media Continues To Force Change

It certainly has been an interesting couple of years in the digital world as social media has gone from being called a fad to now dominating NASCAR's media coverage.

From Brad Kesewloski tweeting during the red flag at Daytona to Shane Wilson's wife Dana showing us the $100 bill stuck to Kevin Harvick's bumper, there is no doubt that instant communication via Twitter, Facebook and other up and coming social media applications is here to stay.

When we started this blog in 2007, there was little in the way of communication between the sport and the fans. Radio call-in shows served that purpose, but calls were screened in advance and the personalities in the sport who called-in seemed to always have a purpose related to a sponsor.

The true power of social media is that it gives any citizen with a cell phone, tablet or laptop the ability to make their voice heard on an equal level with anyone else. Suddenly, your Twitter question for Jimmie Johnson gets answered by him directly. Personalities in the sport offer information, online links and glimpses into their true personalities never seen before on TV or radio.

One new twist to this is that the NASCAR TV partners have now embraced social media. SPEED has the Social Garage and numerous Twitter and Facebook accounts. ESPN, TNT and FOX all run multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts related to each network's NASCAR activities.

In the past, we have worked very hard to update the program listings for the NASCAR TV partners on TDP with specific announcers, guests and interviews. Now that same information that was forwarded to us is available on Twitter, Facebook and the TV network's own website.

Since it does not make much sense any longer for us to just repeat the same content, we are making some changes to the TDP format and activity list. We will continue to have a full NASCAR TV listing on the front page, but without the specific information updated in the past. The networks want to handle that themselves, basically so you will follow their Twitter and Facebook accounts.

We will continue to host a live stream on Twitter during Sprint Cup Series races, but no longer for Nationwide or Truck Series races. The truck race from Kansas will be our last. SPEED and ESPN both host their own live chats and want fans to come to their own locations for social media interaction.

The Sprint Cup Series live stream on Twitter will continue to be focused on the TV presentation of the race and the programs airing before and after the event. The original purpose of this blog was to simply discuss the performance of the NASCAR TV partners during this eight-year multi-billion dollar TV contract.

There will be a post-race blog for every Sprint Cup Series race, as well as weekday news updates and columns. This blog also auto-opens on both Android and iPhones. Our twitter account is located at twitter.com/thedalyplanet and sign-up for Twitter is free. Click here to view our Facebook page, which has recently been converted to the new Timeline format.

Thanks for listening to these updates, happy to have your feedback on these changes and the push toward social media by the NASCAR TV partners. Just click the comments button to add your opinion.