Comments on: Proceed With Caution, or Not At All: The Role of Social Networking for Athletes http://insight.athleteinteractive.com/2009/04/15/proceed-with-caution-or-not-at-all-the-role-of-social-networking-for-athletes/ Sun, 13 Jun 2010 08:56:14 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: David Neiman http://insight.athleteinteractive.com/2009/04/15/proceed-with-caution-or-not-at-all-the-role-of-social-networking-for-athletes/comment-page-1/#comment-9 David Neiman Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:56:24 +0000 http://insight.athleteinteractive.com/?p=107#comment-9 Jill, Thanks for the comment -- appreciate it. I think it's great for fans to get to know our athletes -- in fact, we encourage it -- and if you've had the chance to interact with any of them on Twitter, you'll see that they all do an excellent job tweeting and are extremely receptive to letting fans know what is going on. That said, as the popularity of web sites like TMZ, Deadspin and so forth show that there's an substantive supply of people who think differently than you do about athletes, and search out and revel in their missteps. A veteran athlete with all the self control and common sense in the world would tell you as much. Sadly, it's reality. This post wasn't intended to dissuade athletes from using social networking tools, or to suggest that they use them in an inauthentic way; in fact, I would strongly discourage anyone from doing that, and did in a previous post here. It was meant simply to reflect the real issues that social networks can present, and how athletes -- particularly the uninitiated -- can best handle them. Best, David Jill,

Thanks for the comment — appreciate it.

I think it’s great for fans to get to know our athletes — in fact, we encourage it — and if you’ve had the chance to interact with any of them on Twitter, you’ll see that they all do an excellent job tweeting and are extremely receptive to letting fans know what is going on.

That said, as the popularity of web sites like TMZ, Deadspin and so forth show that there’s an substantive supply of people who think differently than you do about athletes, and search out and revel in their missteps. A veteran athlete with all the self control and common sense in the world would tell you as much. Sadly, it’s reality.

This post wasn’t intended to dissuade athletes from using social networking tools, or to suggest that they use them in an inauthentic way; in fact, I would strongly discourage anyone from doing that, and did in a previous post here.

It was meant simply to reflect the real issues that social networks can present, and how athletes — particularly the uninitiated — can best handle them.

Best,

David

]]> By: Jill http://insight.athleteinteractive.com/2009/04/15/proceed-with-caution-or-not-at-all-the-role-of-social-networking-for-athletes/comment-page-1/#comment-8 Jill Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:25:59 +0000 http://insight.athleteinteractive.com/?p=107#comment-8 Are your athletes not adults? Do they lack self control and common sense? Fans want to get to know the athlete not the athlete through your filter. And while I understand that it is your job to protect them and ensure they're presented in the best light; the purpose of social networking platforms is for an exchange of information. If one sided information was all that was being sought, the athlete's website would suffice. People will try to mislead people sometimes, that is human nature but removing responsibility from the athletes is what fuels the perception that athletes are nothing more that coddled overpaid brats. Are your athletes not adults? Do they lack self control and common sense? Fans want to get to know the athlete not the athlete through your filter. And while I understand that it is your job to protect them and ensure they’re presented in the best light; the purpose of social networking platforms is for an exchange of information. If one sided information was all that was being sought, the athlete’s website would suffice.

People will try to mislead people sometimes, that is human nature but removing responsibility from the athletes is what fuels the perception that athletes are nothing more that coddled overpaid brats.

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