Monday, February 23, 2009

A word about the Brian Burke twitter controversy

So, this whole Brian Burke twitter things seems to have gotten away from me over the weekend.

Here's the background: Blogger creates parody twitter feed. A handful of people have a laugh about it. A few blogs post links. A few forums start threads. Word spreads. A mainstream reporter writes a story that, predictably, misses the point entirely. Lawyers become involved.

OK, that last one hasn't happened yet. Unless you count Burke himself, who apparently had to take time out of his day to assure the Globe and Mail that the account isn't his.

A few notes:

  1. Yes, it's a parody. No, the real Brian Burke does not publicly tamper with Rick Nash and the Sedins, isn't planning on shooting any players, and did not try to drown Jeremy Williams in the Atlantic Ocean. He also may be aware the Lee Stempniak is on the Leafs roster, although that one's a little less certain.

  2. If you were genuinely confused about #1 at any point, then... well.. the good news is you're apparently qualified to work at a major Toronto daily.

  3. No, the account hasn't been shut down... yet. The Twitter terms of service is very clear that parody accounts are permitted. Then again, I guess it will depend on who's doing the complaining, and how loudly.

  4. No, I don't know who's doing the 20+ other fake NHL twitters that have shown up in the past few weeks. But feel free to check them out; many are listed here.

  5. If you are the real Brian Burke and you're reading this... get back to work! You have like 19 guys to trade by next Wednesday. Stop screwing around on the internet!
I think that covers it. If you're new to Down Goes Brown because of the twitter link or the coverage around it and you'd like to see more of what I've done, check out the greatest hits section. And if you can't get enough of social media parody, don't miss the fake Maple Leafs facebook page.

If you like what you see, please stick around. If not, don't worry, I won't spam the Burke twitter feed with blog ads.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Coming up soon, an 8,000 word post about Felix Potvin punching Dino Ciccarelli in 1993, more waffling on Mats Sundin, and a dozen more "Kyle Wellwood is fat" jokes.

Update: In a twist to the story that makes my head hurt, Eklund has announced that he contacted Burke to confirm it wasn't him.

I'm not sure which is stranger, the idea of Eklund taking a stand against anonymous online fakers, or that even when reporting the incredibly obvious Eklund is still 12 hours behind the mainstream media.

While I'd feel genuinely bad if Burke himself actually does think I'm "scum", getting a lecture from Eklund about how I've "deeply sets back the cause" of hockey bloggers is just a little rich.

Update #2: Just got an e-mail saying "David Shoalts is now following you on Twitter!" This can not end well.

Update #3: Puck Daddy has more on my side of the story.




37 comments:

  1. I misssed the controversy part . I LOVE the Brian Burke twiiter feed and wou;d be disappointed if it disappeared. All the GM feeds are fun. why can't people get the simplest things straight?

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  2. Eklund is just too short sighted to realize there's a big business opportunity here.

    Eklund could go through the twitter profile for each NHL personality and assign some sort of arbitray scale to identify if the twitter is real or a parody. A (t5) would be a money in the bank guarantee that it's the real deal, wheras a (t1) would mean it's likley an imposter, but he's not sure...He could charge readers something like $20 a month for his insight.

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  3. The fact that people continue to miss the quotes around Brian Burke in my Puck Daddy post continues to amaze me.

    Or, if you're Eklund, delete the quotes entirely to make PD look bad.

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  4. If Eklund says that it is not Burke's account, doesn't conventional widsom (anti-eklund) dictate that in all liklihood Burke is screwing around on the internet. E5

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  5. you made the Brian Burke account. on his twitter page, theres a link to Down Goes Brown.

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  6. I am enjoying all of this way too much. It's just too bad Sam Mitchell isn't still with the Raptors because I would have had a lot of fun with his Twitter.

    Scott

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  7. This absolutely made my Monday. Well done.

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  8. I've got Shoalts following me for a second time. Really not sure why.
    I'd argue Eklund "breaking" (E5!) the Renney firing after it being mentioned on Hockey Central, and likely earlier in the New York area causes more of a credibility problem.

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  9. you made the Brian Burke account. on his twitter page, theres a link to Down Goes Brown.

    Ek?

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  10. I can't wait to see what happens when Eklund discovers all the honest-to-goodness transcripts of true-life adventures of real NHL players that are posted on Loser Domi's blog.

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  11. Way to go DGB, it's only Monday and you've broken the internet. What do we do for the rest of the week? You better be willing to mail me Wellwood-fat jokes...i'll send you stamps.

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  12. I'd feel terrible embarrassed if I were one of the "reporters" chasing this "story."

    And I agree whole heartedly with #5.

    Glove tap, head pat to you DGB.

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  13. Nicely done DGB. The irony is tasty indeed.

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  14. This blog is great, well done! It is amazing that Eklund has the audacity to point out someone else as a fraud. At least he is consistent, his sources were wrong here as well!!!

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  15. Is this the bottom of the barrel for Shoalts? Will he read these stories on the internet and realize that he is an absolute joke?

    And the dig at Eklund was brilliant.

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  16. Thank you! Eklund is a tool, we all knew that, but the G&M having a story on this is downright ridiculous. The Toronto Sun has more cred.!

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  17. At least your take twitter counterpart doesn't have a history of sneak attack violence

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  18. Aww man, I really thought Burke should've taken the Crosby/Malkin for Schenn. Whew.....good thing it's not real.

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  19. Bravo, DGB. Great job on the Puck Daddy interview. Outstanding.

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  20. Been a big fan for a while now without posting a comment, DGB... But this one's truly hilarious. I mean, wow. Mr. Shoalts, take a bow and give Simmons and Cox high-fives - you're now one of the elite Toronto columnists that make their living without actually worrying about trifling details like 'research' and 'thought'.

    Eklund, don't take a bow - you're head is enormous enough that you're unlikely to be capable of lifting your head back up, and you might poke someone's eye out with your giant homemade tiara.

    "Did I mention I talked to Burkie? I talked to ol' Burkie this morning. Brian Burke. We're friends. He likes me. I'm legit, dammit!!"

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  21. I laughed my head off when I first saw it on the weekend. Nice job!

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  22. So... does your head hurt more from trying to comprehend the stupidity of the media sometimes, or simply from just repeatedly smashing your head into a table?

    Your wit is brilliant. Keep it up.

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  23. Wow, someone is not who they say they are on the internet? Stop the presses!

    In other news: Mysterious ball of light rises in eastern sky again...more news at 11.

    I honestly believe this is an attempt by the MSM to "protect" the "stupid leaf fans" from being "duped". They are heroes don't ya know? HEROES!

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  24. I finally got around to reading the Twitter page, and laughed so hard I was almost in tears.... friggin awesome.... well done.

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  26. Let me try that again....

    I love "Brian Burke" on Twitter. And I'm laughing almost as hard at the idiots who take this whole thing seriously......

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  27. Almost peed when I read the 'Brian Burke' twitter page!

    The funny part is that these are exactly the type of comments I would expect from him if he were given the freedom to say what he thinks.

    This is only my opinion of course, I don't talk to him as much as Ecklund. 'Burkie' never seems to return my calls...

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  28. DGB, I have nominated you for the First Annual Freddy Benson Award for outstanding achievement in the field of fraud exposure. (As a result of your groundbreaking work in e-pantsing the mittenstringers).

    Well done.

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  29. it was all fun and games, i'm sure burke knew about the twitter account. Its all fun and games but stupid toronto "sports writers". Never have anything useful tosay. Us leaf fans could use something fun while we wait for our stanley cup.

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  30. So, just to verify...
    Brian Burke's Twitter isn't real?

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  31. I read about this a few days ago, and had to laugh. I can tell who is the bigger dolt. The MSM at the Globe or EK for grand standing against things he himself is guilty of.

    My mother was right... it takes all kinds in this world.

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  32. I've been silently watching this unfold for awhile now, but it seems like there's an uprising in the works, and the BB twitter thing may have been the proverbial call-to-arms. DGB is like a mix of Archie Bunker, Perez Hilton, Rain Man and William Wallace.

    Crusty and curmudgeonly, freely employing no-no-words like 'retarded', misses the good ol' days;

    Delivers modern, hip, fresh, intensely sarcastic internet-generation-friendly observations that sting to the core;

    Possesses a frighteningly encyclopedic knowledge of the subject matter at hand.

    Relative unknown who rises to prominence and builds an army through impassioned speeches, consumes dumbasses with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse.

    Yep, I am totally calling this.

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  33. Keep up the good work DBG. Love the twitter account.

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  34. Dude, your BB Twitter feed is genius. You should thank Shoalts and Eklund for the free publicity.

    Not a Leaf fan, so... Go Burke! Go DGB! Go everyone!

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  35. You have made me a big fan of Twitter. You have inspired fans and, well, it is freaking hilarious.

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