Months before Stephen Fry turned Twitter’s guns on injustice a happy band of cricketers got there first.
Instead of Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir the target was the heirarchy of a Midlands village cricket club.
Angry at the ousting of Fillongley 2nd XI cricket captain Richard Bennet the Save Benno campaign was launched.
Inspired by Barack Obama, Soccer AM and Top Gear the Save Benno online campaign was started across a blog, You Tube with more than 300 views 
PRESSURE
It raised a smile, support and pressure on the powers that be.
Every time the club’s committee tried to outflank the campaign with the club’s rule book it was across social media. They appeared wholly out manoevred by the protesting players.
The campaign was designed by frustrated player David Howells and his team mates. In the end they were beaten by the club’s committee. But was it all fruitless? Not entirely. A point was made.
It was also an imaginative marker for how a campaign using social media could be waged.
What could be the first cricket match arranged over Twitter was also played as a result. Looking for a fixture Save Benno used Twitter to broadcast an appeal.
‘NO BRAINER’
As press officer for Stone SP Cricket Club and a Twitter user the fixture was a no brainer.
The game was excellent, except for my comedy run out with just 1 run on the board.
Aside from this, it was an excellent match decided by a boundary hit on the final ball.
Footage shot on Flip was taken for a Sky Sports-style highlights package. After much beer was drunk in the Pavillion that idea got kind of scaled down.
Instead an A Team-style You Tube calling card was made for more fixtures.
SO, WHAT DID IT PROVE?
1. Social media are excellent campaigning tools.
2. Sports teams looking for fixtures can use Twitter.
3. Sports teams should use Twitter to broadcast score updates.
4. Flip video highlights packages for You Tube are a brilliant idea.
5. Brilliant ideas are dreamed up over a beer.
6. Cricket is a superb sport played by superb people. It’s just the administrators that let it down.
7. If you are not part of the conversation (in this case the committee were not) you look leaden footed, slow and unresponsive.
LINKS
The Save Benno blog http://savebenno.blogspot.com/
Save Benno on Twitter http://twitter.com/savebenno
Save Benno on You Tube http://bit.ly/savebenno