Suspension Culture
Coined by the NHL’s Colin Campbell, Suspension Culture is the term used to describe how Hockey Fans connect and speculate with other Hockey Fans while the jury is out on a report of a player.
We’re all part of the Suspension Culture in the NHL. Something happens on the ice. We run to YouTube to see it again. We go on Twitter or the blogs to play ‘Guess The Suspension’, talking more about precedent and intent than we do goals and assists. We wait with bated breath until McKenzie or Dreger tell us when the hearing is. The ruling comes down. We’re either elated or outraged. Wash, rinse, repeat.”
As Ana Andjelic pointed out in here original post, Suspension Culture is applied to any event, from global to local, to sport to weather.
In anticipation of an event, be that Hurricane Irene or Dale Thomas’ suspension, we turn to our phones and computers to air our predictions and explore the sentiment of millions.
If you wanted to know what was happening with Hurricane Irene, you searched Twitter, and looked for Instagram links.
If you want to know about Dale Thomas, you went to YouTube and watched the bump, and added your comments.
So, when we look at your next idea, try and stretch it our to have an incomplete narrative to create suspense.
The power of leaving an incomplete circle is a great tool to spark conversation and opinion. If you show your hand first up, you have nothing for people to talk about.
Suspension Culture is our best friend. You just have to be interesting.
Thanks to Warren Davies for the link
Dale Thomas bump for reference.