In Which A Twitter Account Takeover Goes Very, Very Awry

On May 7, popular Twitter comedian Rob Delaney took over the @MLB Twitter account for seven hours. Hilarity ensued, the account gained more than 20,000 Twitter followers, and all was well in the world. If that's the best case scenario for a celebrity Twitter takeover of a sports account, here is the worst. As a promotion during the team's playoff matchup against the San Jose Sharks, the L.A. Kings handed its Twitter account over to local morning show host Kevin Ryder earlier this week. The Kings have a reputation for throwing caution to the wind when it comes to social media etiquette. And as co-host of L.A. radio station KROQ's Kevin and Bean show, Ryder might have been expected to, as Mashable put it, "test listeners' limits." Unfortunately, those limits were stretched a bit too far - and, in some cases, snapped. Here's a rundown of the Twitter drama Ryder's L.A. Kings account takeover caused: First of all, when the team announced he'd be temporarily taking over the account, a fan named Gena Mazzeo responded that she wasn't fond of Ryder, and would unfollow the team while he had the reins. Accordingly, the first tweet Ryder sent from L.A. Kings account publicly outed Mazzeo for her complaints: I’ll let @genamazzeo introduce me: twitter.com/kingestkong/st… - @thekevinryder — LA Kings (@LAKings) May 22, 2013 You can see that L.A. Kings fans started tweeting at Mazzeo with their own complaints. Not exactly the pot you want to stir, riling your fans up against each other. Then, Ryder sent the following tweet, which had the Twitterverse immediately up in arms - causing the Kings to delete it (but not before Deadspin picked up the story): Targeting team fans then making rape jokes? Not cool. Later, in response to the backlash, Ryder tweeted the following: (1 of 2) My apology. I made a poor choice in the wording of my tweet. I wish I had used different words. If you were hurt by me, I'm sorry. — Kevin Ryder(@thekevinryder) May 22, 2013 (2 of 2) I get angry when groups like Deadspin see it as kindling to make a fire for themselves. That's worse than my choice of words. — Kevin Ryder(@thekevinryder) May 22, 2013 Oof. The takeaway for the L.A. Kings? It's always a crapshoot giving the keys to the kingdom over to someone, but if they've got a fiery reputation, it might be best to tread carefully. What do you think about Ryder's shenanigans? (Image via Shutterstock)

Social Pro Daily

In Which A Twitter Account Takeover Goes Very, Very Awry

Allison Stadd

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Allison Stadd