Twitter's impact on the Sport's Industry

The impact of social media on the Internet has been interesting the past couple of years. With the additions of myspace, twitter, and facebook, it seems that the way in which we view media has forever changed. With the rise of Twitter, the Internet is perhaps more interactive than it’s ever been. The divide between you and star athletes across the world are slimmer than ever before. Athletes can use Twitter to speak directly to their fans, without the middleman operating a video camera and learn what is exactly on their mind. A prime example that has been used in the sporting community are the tweets of Toronto Raptor's player Chris Bosh. He tweeted to his fans whether or not he should stay in Toronoto. In turn, the fans feel like they are actually a "friend" of the athlete. While I have never experienced the twitter world, I have ventured to the facebook fan pages of Chad OchoCinco and have seen fans comment on personal family pictures as if they are truly friends of the star athlete. The potential to increase a player's or team's image then, seem to be infinite. In the case of college athletics, where there is an ongoing battle to get top recruits social media Web sites have also been beneficial tools. By being personal with potential student-athletes, coaches are able to show their coaching style or philosophy as well as portraying the intangible experiences of attending their respective institution. I have also attached a link where COSIDA has teamed up with a media challenge to show secrets of getting the best out of social media by Kathleen Hessert. I think the video does a really good job of explaining the power of social media and twitter and the power of doing things in real time. She explains that the power of the brands image is now in the hands of the fan, which to me, is a very important change in communication. Furthermore, the key is to express personality so that the fans will be engaged. It will be interesting to see what changes will come in the next five years with the use of twitter.