Houston astros alyson footer

I thought I would catch up with Alyson after her first year on the job to see what her thoughts are on her position and the future of social media in baseball. Scott Barzilla: Could you briefly describe what you do for the Astros organization? Alyson Footer: I am in charge of all of the social media efforts of the Houston Astros , although our marketing department is heavily involved as well.

I use Twitter, Facebook and my blog Alyson's Footnotes to communicate with the fans. I blog regularly and tweet daily. I also tweet from all non-game events. SB: How many teams have a similar person in charge of social media? Do any of you work together? We were the first, and a few have hopped on board. Many teams have appointed someone in their media relations department to spearhead the social media efforts, but as far as teams that have it as a completely separate position, there are only a few.

SB: What do you think is the biggest difference between this position and the beat-writer position with MLB. AF : I am no longer a news writer. I try to stay away from straight news because our website already has someone assigned to do that job.

SB: Which particular social media platform Facebook, Myspace, Twitter do you think has had the largest impact on your position? How so? AF : Not sure, to be honest with you. The Astros have more than , members to their Facebook page and all of my blogs are automatically linked on there.

SB: What do you see happening in the future with social media and baseball? AF: I would expect more players down the road to start tweeting.

I also envision more social media-themed nights at the ballpark. What better way to get your message across? They have hobbies and interests and families and life experiences just like the rest of us.

A lot of that, we can bring to the fans through social media. Sports, to me, falls under the category of entertainment. Alyson was kind enough to take some time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions for us regarding some of the changes going on within the organization.

Would you mind going into a little more detail about what she's meant to you professionally and personally? I think it was Director of Advertising. I was working for the Double-A Cleveland Indians at the time.

We chatted for a bit and then she put me on the phone with the PR director, who also had a job opening in his department that they had not yet advertised. It was perfect for me — Coordinator of Publications — and exactly what I had been trained to do during my time with the University of Cincinnati Sports Information Department. Within two weeks, I was packing up my life and driving 19 hours to Houston to begin my career with the Astros. It was wonderful and exciting and I owe it to Pam, who made that initial call and got things rolling.

And there she was, a 9 at night, with a towel in her hand, wiping down a few railings in the stands that were still dusty from the construction. She had poured her heart and soul into that ballpark for nearly three years, spending a minimum of 12 hours a day, every day, overseeing its construction.

It showed how much she truly cared about that place and how perfect she wanted things to go on Opening Day. And that on one is too important or busy to do what it takes to make things right. TCB: We've heard about the changes on the baseball operations side of the organization.

What kind of turnover has there been in other departments like Public Relations and Marketing, if any? Footer: Not much turnover at this point. A couple of business-side folks have left on their own, but for the most part the staff is intact. TCB: What's it been like for you going through these changes with the Astros organization and have you been given more freedom, more restrictions or has everything kind of stayed the same? Footer: Pretty much the same. So I have an ally on that front, which is new.

TCB: There seems to be a lot more fan interaction this offseason particularly with the online chats hosted on Astros. Is this something that's been in the works for a while or a change made by the new people in charge? TCB: How busy has this offseason compared to previous offseasons, you've been with the Astros? Footer: Busiest ever, no doubt. TCB: What are you going to miss the most about the National League and what are you looking forward to, switching to the American League?

I enjoy the three trips to Wrigley, and not going to that ballpark regularly is really going to leave a void. I am from near Cincinnati and my parents are still there, so having two to three trips home every year was a luxury that I will no longer have.