The rise of Twitter has blown through professional sports like a wildfire since it's birth. Today almost every professional no matter the sport, and even none professional athlete has a twitter account. The names that come to mind about using Twitter are athletes like Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Chad Ochocinco of the New England Patriots, and one of my favorite professional golfers Ricky Fowler.
In my opinion I have nothing against athletes using Twitter. I believe this is a great tool for athletes to connect to their fans. We tend to forget that no matter what the professional sport is when it comes down to it any professional sport is a business. The goal of business is to accentually make money. Using Twitter is a great way for the athletes to connect with fans with in a business sense are their clients.
Using Twitter as a tool like a business allows athletes to keep fans updated on what's going on and express how they feel about certain situations. The example to comes to mind is Kevin Durant using twitter to let Oklahoma City Thunder fans that he had signed an extension deal with the Thunder and was here to stay! I also believe that athletes can use Twitter like a business does to damage control. When a problem arises Twitter allows fans to see them apologize, or update them on what is going on. Twitter is growing as a tool for businesses more and more everyday and is a great way for the professional athletes to keep in touch with their clients a.k.a their fans.
Social media has exploded in last five years and isn't slowing down anytime soon. The business world was smart to jump in and use this tool to their benefit, but not all things are good for business with social media. The purpose of this blog is open that conversation of what is good, what is bad, what works, what doesn't work, and how this new tool social media can used.
I definitely think it's imperative for athletes (and all companies) to utilize social media! I like the way you related athletes and fans to companies and clients, because it really is the same idea. And social media is a great way for fans to stay up to date with what our favorite athletes are doing as well as them being able to easily see what their fans think!
ReplyDeleteI agree that all sports are in the long run a business. It kind of makes me sad to think about it that way though. Athletes using Twitter SHOULD be used for them to connect with their fans, friends and family, but are they required to do so? I just don't believe that Professional Athlete/Twitter Expert should be on the athlete's resume, but I guess in the end it's a good thing for them to be able to connect like anyone else. My point is that I don't think Twitter should be a requirement for athletes. (Sorry it took so long to get to the point)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that Twitter is an effective communication tool for athletes. I also agree that it shouldn't be required. Twitter deals with freedom of speech with athletes. They should have the right to say what they feel. What makes Twitter dangerous is how many people see it. The audience of people that will read the post can be extremely large. While athletes deserve freedom of speech, they also have to understand that they must use discretion when dealing with such a large audience. Another point to bring up is the fact that a large majority of the audience is kids and young individuals who look up to these athlete as role models.
ReplyDeleteSo it brings up the question: Should athletes be able to say whatever they want? Or should there be some kind of regulation system on what they can and cannot say, especially knowing that young kids are exposed to it.
I believe Twitter for athletes is a great tool. Especially for NFL players, because majority of times their faces are covered by a helmet. Twitter gives them the opportunity to express themselves without the helmet in a sense. Some athletes should not tweet what they do e.g Chad Ochocinco, but then again he creates press stories and media attention whenever he does. I think we should not look at athletes like they are perfect and let them tweet what they want and if someone tweets something bad to them, in my mind they have every right to tweet their mind about it. No one is perfect so when athletes make mistakes why do we act like no one else has ever done it before.
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