Social Media & the NFL

Celebrities involved in industries ranging from music, movies, and now sports, have all found great ways to connect with fans using social media, especially with Twitter and Ustream. With these sites, fans no longer have to watch television reports or read magazines and blogs to find out the latest news and gossip about famous singers, actors, athletes, etc. They can now hear it directly from the source.

Adam Ostrow of Mashable recently talked with NFLers Matthew Stafford and Darrelle Revis about social media just after the two completed a half-hour Ustream session with fans. Here are some interesting excerpts from that interview:

What’s it like for you interacting with fans online? Do you think it’s now part of your job as an athlete?

Stafford: It was my first time using Ustream. I definitely want to do more of it, and I think it’s important for players to relate to their fans and the people they’re trying to reach, especially with social media being such a big part of the mainstream media. But I haven’t got around to it much yet.

Revis: I think Twitter’s a good tool for fans to get to talk to us on a daily basis and see what we’re up to and our day-to-day activities. I read my replies to see where people’s minds are at and how they feel.

Do you post your own content on social media sites or do you have others do it for you?

Revis: I do it all my own. I have a lot of friends on there I like interacting with. Some of the stuff I try and stay away from [replying to fans who say negative things], I want to avoid being negative.

Stafford: I had a page on one of those sites [a Facebook profile for friends and family] when I was in college but gave it up when I got to the NFL.

Did you get any training on social media from your team or the NFL?

Stafford: I haven’t had a lot of training, but I had a page on one of those sites when I was in college. [Stuff you say in social media] is just like you’re doing an interview, and you have to treat it the same way … It’s going out to a lot of people when it’s on the Internet. The guys on our team are being cautious.

Revis: There are certain things both the NFL and the Jets try and prep you on with how to use Twitter. Some people still say whatever they want and that gets you in trouble sometimes … There’s also some people just don’t want to interact with fans and at first I wasn’t even on Twitter. But I started seeing how it was progressing and people were showing it to me so I got into it. I was missing out.

Which athlete do you think does the best job with social media?

Revis: Probably Ochocinco. I was with him last night at the EA Sports party, he interviewed me. That’s his thing. He’ll probably be doing TV when he’s done in the NFL.

Stafford: Chad Ochocinco, he’s probably the best at it and now trying to start his own network (OCNN). He’s been everywhere this week and doing a great job.

(SOURCE)

It’s great that these two realize the power of Internet and social media, and that they recognize the strong social media presence that Chad Ochocinco has. Notorious for personally connecting with his fans through social media, Ochocinco usually makes great use of his audience of 700,000+ followers.

As someone who is far from being a big sports fan, I am amazed at how social media can help athletes reach an audience and build an identity outside of their fields, courts, tracks, or wherever they play their sport.

The Internet nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

George W. Bush must be proud — the good old Internets have been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize this year, thanks largely in part to a group of petitioners who cited the Internet’s “contributions to dialogue, debate and consensus through communication.”

What an interesting nomination. I have one question though; if the Internet wins, who will accept the award?

Guess who’s Twitter-less…

Stop the presses and clutch your pearls!!!!

I have some news that will make world leaders brace for crisis — Internet and reality TV psycho star Tila Tequila has deleted her Twitter account!! *Gasp*

Tila was the star of MTV’s “A Double Shot at Love” but rose to “fame” after building an impressive fan following on MySpace. After MySpace became massively irrelevant and her MTV show ended, Tila used Twitter as a way to connect with “fans” and keep the press talking about her. Her Twitter page was very popular because of the many outrageous, controversial tweets the “star” would send. Here are a few of her most memorable:

- BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I am going to become a SURROGATE MOTHER for my brother & his Wife!!! That is my xmas present to them. Im pregnant!!!!

- I CAN STILL ABORT MY BABY IF I WANT TO, SINCE GAME IS NOT GOING TO STEP IT UP & TAKE HIS RESPONSIBILITY, BUT I AM NOT GOING 2 KILL MY BABY!!

- I am the virgin Mary, and my child will be born Jesus Christ. I am the second Coming…….God told me so. I shall save all the good people

- That is why he did this for us(Casey & I) but he is JUST a friend, but HE IS MY BABYS DADDY! I Guarantee you have bought his records before!

<sarcasm> Oh, the memories. Rest in peace, Tila Tequila’s Twitter page — what shall the world do without you? </sarcasm>

What’s up Twiistup

Last Thursday was the 7th Twiistup conference here in L.A. at the Skirball Cultural Center. Luckily, I got the chance to volunteer for both setup and for the conference and I definitely enjoyed myself. It was great to see so many entrepreneurs showoff their ideas — speaking of showoffs, I want to mention the site that won the showoff competition: Geodelic.

Geodelic is a mobile app that works to find the best things around you. So instead of searching for the closest supermarket, Mexican restaurant, bank, etc., Geodelic does all the work and tells you what’s near you. There are similar apps, but most require you to input quite a bit of information, so I can see the uniqueness behind Geodelic. By the way, seeing the banjo and impromptu dance performances definitely helped make their case.

If you’re looking for photos from the event, check out WeFridge.com. For my fellow APOCers who attended/volunteered at the event, you should definitely check it out because there are quite a few pictures of us on there.

When news via Twitter fails… miserably

Twitter is powerful when it comes to news. How did I find out about the tragic earthquake in Haiti? Twitter. How did I learn of Michael Jackson’s cardiac arrest and subsequent death? Twitter. How did I discover that one of my favorite TV shows, FOX’s “Glee”, got renewed for a second season? Twitter. With Twitter, news spreads just like gossip in a small, Southern town, only the size and power of Twitter enables news and information to spread much more rapidly.

But just like Southern front-porch gossip (usually followed by “bless her heart”), what occupies the trending topics and your timeline isn’t always so true. Last night’s number one trending topic suggested that actor Johnny Depp died. Clicking on the “RIP Johnny Depp” trending topic would return tweets linking to fake news articles and photos, claiming that Depp had died in an automobile accident. Of course, it was all a complete hoax, but I can guarantee you that many people believed it, and someone right now is probably continuing to tell friends that the actor has passed away.

So how do you distinguish fake news and real news when it comes to Twitter? In addition to common sense, it’s always a good idea to search for more information on a news aggregator, such as Google News. If you see nothing there, then it’s obviously not a legit news item. It looks like Twitter has also kind of noticed the problem with rumors taking over trending topics, as they have started putting explanations under each trending topic so that you aren’t left with a blank stare.

So remember, check a few more sources before you run and tell all your friends and co-workers what news you found out via Twitter.

Random thoughts of the day

**WARNING** The following passage is extremely random. Proceed with caution.

As I was walking up Runyon Canyon today with friends, I saw Colby O’Donis — you know, the guy who sings the song “What You Got.” Or maybe you don’t know? Anyway, he has really gained a lot of weight and that in some strange way brought me to think about how hard it must be to be labeled a one-hit wonder. Do they still make money? Do they ever feel depressed and angry? Whose fault is it? Do they even get recognized in public anymore? Do they sit alone sometimes and cry? I’ve always thought Colby was really talented, so I feel really bad that he’s fallen into the one-hit wonder category. Poor guy… maybe 2010 is the year he’ll get another hit song.

This has been a random thought from the mind of Josh Cox. You may now return to your regularly scheduled thinking patterns.

Apple iPhone and AT&T – no longer exclusive?

According to numerous tech experts’ speculation, Apple could announce that the iPhone will be available on the Verizon Wireless network, after they officially announce their new tablet which will also be sold on Verizon. This is super bad news for AT&T. Even if the iPhone will still be available with both carriers, the 3G coverage alone will send AT&T users flying to Verizon — and let’s not even mention AT&T’s awful customer service and lackluster voice coverage.

Speaking of 3G, AT&T basically admits that their 3G coverage is terrible in their new rebuttal ads, claiming that they have the fastest, most reliable 3G network and boasting their voice coverage. It’s funny that while they are quick to show a voice coverage map in their commercials, they never show a 3G map. How convenient.

If the rumors of a Verizon iPhone turn out to be true, a stampede of iPhone users will say goodbye to dropped calls, lack of 3G, and lack of good customer service. AT&T, can you hear me now? Good.

Are your passwords hacker-friendly?

Here’s an interesting article from the New York Times. RockYou, a company that makes some applications used on sites like MySpace and Facebook, released a list of its most popular — and frankly, most ridiculous — passwords. Number one on the list? 123456. Seriously. Because if you don’t won’t your account hacked, a password with the first six numbers will totally throw the bad guy off. Read more here.

If video killed the radio star, Internet killed the… everything else!

Last Monday marked the first class of my graduate program, USC’s Annenberg Program on Online Communities (APOC). Jeff Cole, the director of USC Annenber’s Center for the Digital Future, spoke with us about how the Internet has changed the game in a major way for television and other forms of media. One of the most obvious examples of an industry affected by the Internet is the newspaper. Why subscribe to a newspaper when news is presented online 24/7? Dr. Cole predicts that the thousands of newspapers in the U.S. will consolidate into 5 or 6 major newspapers. This seems very probable, especially if you look at the audience of newspapers like the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. With such strong readerships beyond the metropolitan areas that they service, it’s clear that people have spoken on which newspapers they trust and support.

Another industry that has virtually been wiped away is the movie rental store. With companies such as Netflix and now YouTube making it extremely simple and affordable to instantly view movies online, the idea of driving to a video store and paying 5 bucks to rent a movie sounds extremely absurd. Take my hometwon of Tupelo, MS, for example: Every single video rental store in the city has closed within the past year.

One industry which I feel has managed to fare well is radio. With ClearChannel’s iHeartRadio website and smartphone application, radio stations have found a way to maintain their audiences. Instead of looking at the Internet in fear, Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, a nationally-syndicated radio show out of Dallas, has fully embraced Internet opportunities, partnering with Ustream.tv to air live broadcasts of the show, video contests, and other specials. This has in turn helped them reach an audience beyond their syndicated markets.

It will be very interesting to see which other businesses and industries will be forced to drastically change the way they do business, or close, thanks to expanding technology and the rises of broadband Internet access in American households.

7 observations about Los Angeles

Although it is still very hard to believe, I have been living in Los Angeles for two, count ‘em, two weeks now. It’s quite — well, extremely — different than Mississippi, but words can’t tell you how much I love this place and how grateful I am to be here.

I am thrilled that most of the rumors I heard about L.A. as a child are virtually untrue: the traffic isn’t THAT bad (Atlanta is much, much worse), the people aren’t THAT superficial (Hollywood, Beverly Hills excluded), and I never really even notice the smog (Inland Empire excluded). But here are seven observations I have made about L.A. that I have found most interesting:

1. People here cannot drive in the rain. That’s the one rumor that is 1,509,409,090% true. No wonder a simple shower becomes a live breaking news event.

2. The homeless are very aggressive. In Downtown Memphis, you will at most be asked for a dollar. Today in L.A., someone asked me for a hot meal at the post office. I wonder where at the post office do they sell plate lunches?

3. People really do walk! Think twice before you try to turn right on red — you’ll be surprised by the amount of people using crosswalks. I don’t even think we have crosswalks in Mississippi.

4. The weather is weird — one day I drove less than 10 miles to Santa Monica. When I left for SaMo, it was hot. When I arrived in SaMo, it was freezing cold. How did that happen?

5. People here love being to themselves. I went to a sit-down restaurant one day, and 90% of the people there were eating alone. Now that’s something I’ve NEVER seen before.

6. Who cares what you think? People here do whatever they want to when it comes to personal style, etc. You gotta love that kind of attitude, which doesn’t exist in the South.

7. Diversity! From the landscapes, to the people — I have never been to a city that offers so much variety.

Dear Los Angeles, you are amazing. That is all.