MONTREAL, QC — Habs fans anxiously wait for news of Carey Price signing on the dotted line, the announcement of a Canadiens captain, and the debut of Mario Tremblay on RDS. Well, two out of three, anyway.
At All Habs, we’ve spent the summer busily preparing for the new season by doing some remodelling. The modifications will be rolled out over the next few weeks.
Some of the changes are in response to your suggestions such as streamlined navigation and mobile access. But beyond that, we have simply outgrown our current home.
During the 2009-2010 NHL season, All Habs flourished. We added some regular features, expanded our list of contributors, and branched out in some new areas. And you seem to like us.
Visits to All Habs during the 2010 playoff run in May were up 200% over the previous year.
Once of additions that we made last season that really caught on with our readers is All Habs OUT LOUD. If you haven’t tried it yet you can find a tab in the menu bar under the banner. It allows a reader to become a listener.
All feature articles on All Habs are recorded by a professional voice actor. Listening to a game review while preparing dinner or making that morning commute is now possible.
Building a network of Canadiens fans is part of the All Habs mandate. To that end, we took a huge step forward to increase connections with dedicated supporters throughout the world last season. Apart from the team’s official account, @All_Habs is the most followed Canadiens’ source on Twitter.
Why is that important to mention? If you are interested in being in touch with other Canadiens fans, then you should be using @All_Habs as a conduit to find them.
But suppose that you want more than chats or debates?
In the article titled “Hockey, Habs and Twitter”, we introduced you to one such person named @chile_pepper.
“@chile_pepper is an former Montrealer who now makes her home in Vancouver. She is so committed to the Habs that she trekked across the country last March to meet her fellow tweeps in Montreal.
Twitter users, like her, who want to take that next step and get-together with hockey people in person, attend a Habs Tweetup. They have not only been held regularly in Montreal but also in Toronto, Vancouver, Moncton, Hartford, and Hollywood, Florida. Long-term friendships have developed as a result of these get-togethers with the Canadiens and Twitter as the common bond.”
More about @chile_pepper later, but the desire of her and people like her to meet propelled Habs Tweetups to explode in popularity over the past year. So much so, that a new website was required to keep track of things — HabsTweetup.com.
As part of the All Habs network, it’s prime purpose is to keep you up-to-date on Habs Tweetups in your area, and to report on the event afterward, complete with photo and video galleries. You’ll also be treated to articles about hockey and social media. Browse around, there’s lots to explore in the tabs at the top of the page!
Helping to keep things organized is @FlyersRule, the site manager and lead contributor, who has been to her fair share of Habs Tweetups. Yes, I know, we tease her about her Twitter name too. But she has become hooked on the Canadiens and the conversion is well on its way.
Look for her to collect reviews, comments, suggestions, photos and videos of Habs Tweetups to post on the website – as well as reinstating her on-the-scene video reports and fan interviews at various events.
Also joining the team as event coordinators is the aforementioned @chile_pepper in Vancouver, and @kuyaz in Toronto. Both are experienced in attending and hosting events. @chrisrbrown will handle things in the New York City area. He recently contributed a review about a hockey-friendly venue called the Blue Moon Cafe.
To help us with the official launch of HabsTweetup.com, @chile_pepper has chronicled her experience of travelling from Vancouver to Montreal for a Habs Tweetup. You’ll find an excerpt below.
In upcoming days, look for new articles to be posted from a variety of contributors, all relating to the succession of events which closed out the 2009-2010 hockey season.
When’s the next Habs Tweetup?
You may be surprised to learn that no fewer than five Habs Tweetups are already planned for the new season, in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and New York City. Perhaps you are interested in hosting one in your area.
As for the rest of the changes, we’ll have lots more to tell you about prior to the opening of the new season. We’re only one month away from training camp Habs fans. Get those jerseys dry cleaned and we’ll do our part by putting in place an All Habs network that will keep you informed, engaged and connected.
Excerpt of @chile_pepper’s article:
“Hi there, my name is Veronica and I am a Habs fan of the only variety of Habs fan there is: die-hard. Have been since I can remember. Many of you know me on Twitter as @chile_pepper and about 50 of you I’ve MET/met, for real. And it was all thanks to a magical event known as a Habs Tweetup.
Also, if you know me, you know that I talk, A LOT, and you may also know that I recently started blogging. Okay, so if you either know me ‘IRL’ or have read any of my blog posts, you know that I am verbose and veer in different directions. I will try to keep this as succinct as possible, but with the primary focus here being my love for my ‘tweeps’, I can’t make any promises that it’ll be short but I can promise that the love for the tweeps is a straight road, no exits. Meaning, I’ll remain focussed.”
Continue reading at HabsTweetup.com