After first being introduced to Twitter last Thursday, I was unsure how I would respond and adapt to this new form of social media. Being an active blogger and Facebook user, I was uncertain how useful “tweeting” would be for me and my interests. As for my interests, I am a loyal sports fan who enjoys knowing the latest updates and breaking news stories as quickly as possible.
Who wouldn’t, right?
For instance, last Wednesday I missed the men’s US soccer World Cup Qualifier game against Mexico. Normally, I would be a little upset if I was unable to watch the game but now I can go to the internet to get complete highlights and coverage. I am now able to even read what other people had to say about the match in their blogs or tweets.
When I first noticed that my favorite NFL player Ladanian Tomlinson had joined Twitter the other day, it led me to discover a larger effort by Tomlinson’s team, the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers web site, like many other sports teams now features links to a series of blogs, and podcasts that seem to be updated frequently. But not everyone has evolved.
So why wouldn’t a sports organization want to evolve into the social media world?
In a recent post by Micro Persuasion titled, “The Newspaper Reporter of the Future is Here Today,” discusses the importance of social media and how beneficial it can be in building a stronger connection with its audience. In the article, New York Yankees beat writer Peter Abraham explains how sports media is growing and adapting as well. Abraham also discusses importance of blogs, Facebook, podcasts and the IPhone.
It’s clearly evident that social media is expanding at a rapid rate. Although Abraham has yet to expand into Twitter, Youtube, or Flickr, his social media “footprint” is off to a good start. I agree with Abraham that this method of social media is redefining local media, since it’s all potentially global.
One thing is surely true, more content creates more opportunities for us to tell our stories. Even if it’s just through a tweet.
