There’s no doubt that in the last year, social media has exploded in the sports industry, with superstars from different sports joining platforms like Twitter and Facebook to interact with their fans. However, there has almost been as much negative noise about athletes using social media as there has been positive.
Although it may seem like a beat up topic for some, social media, especially in sports is still a fairly new phenomenon. PR crews do the best they can to educate and teach, but Twitter and Facebook were made to encourage open sharing for common-folk, not basketball all stars with paparazzi waiting to analyze their every character and Twitpic.
Simply put, it can be extremely hard for a professional athlete to fully grasp what should or not be said online, even with professional PR aid on the side. Athletes are passionate and emotional, and that’s what makes sports so interesting, but there are grey lines that ought not to be crossed, especially when an athlete is venting and just wants to be heard. I’m not trying to discourage authenticity, but as an athlete, (aka public figure) there are certain rules to play by (ie. – explicit swearing is generally a no-no). [click to continue…]
Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.
Web | More Posts (18)
Welcome to the second week of the Overtime Post, where we take a light and sarcastic look at the week’s posts and other sports and business news around the world.
Other than my Vancouver Canucks who have won six in a row (and I suppose I have to give the San Fransciso Giants a little bit of props for winning the World Series), it’s been a week filled with losers and I can’t decide who was the biggest loser this week: Kevin Garnett, Charlie Villanueva, Randy Moss, Brad Childress, the Texas Rangers team, or the San Francisco rioters. Your guess is as good as mine.
Onto this week’s posts:
[click to continue…]
Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.
Web | More Posts (18)
The Twitter infatuation has quickly spread to the world of professional sports, and the number of athletes using the service is growing daily. Through tweeting, athletes can connect and engage fans, build up their personal brand, grow and nurture their fan base, and even ask for help! Fans who grew up idolizing their favorite stars now have a chance to interact with them, and offer them advice and support. I complied a list of the top 10 NBA ballers (in no particular order) you should all be following on Twitter, because they are what makes the NBA “Where Twitter Happens.”
1) Shaquille O’Neal – @THE_REAL_SHAQ 
Shaq (A.K.A Shaqtus, The Diesel, The Big Aristotle…) is one of the NBA’s most popular all time players. Following 585 accounts, his 2,911,684 followers make him the most popular baller on Twitter. Though he doesn’t tweet every day, he is known to interact with his followers, and even uses the live broadcasting service Ustream. After all, how can you not follow someone with a bio that reads “Very quotatious. I perform random acts of Shaqness“. [click to continue…]
Reuven is a fourth year student at Marquette University, earning degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He hopes to create sports marketing initiatives that drive value while focusing on charitable causes. Reuven lived in three countries and visited 13 total. He prides himself on being fluent in Hebrew, Russian, and English. People and idea lover. Connect with Reuven on Twitter @ReuvenFridmar
More Posts (4)
There’s no doubt that in the last year, social media has exploded in the sports industry, with superstars from different sports joining platforms like Twitter and Facebook to interact with their fans. However, there has almost been as much negative noise about athletes using social media as there has been positive.
FOLLOW US