I’ll be honest. I’m not exactly an expert on today’s social media tsunami. Just when I was beginning to understand the relative importance of MySpace, along comes Facebook to take over the world. Now with Twitter getting all the love, we’ve got Facebook on steroids!
Everyone can give you a blow by blow description of their daily activities from the amazing: “I just hit the lottery,” to the surreal: “I just saw Brad and Angie leaving the Outback Steakhouse,” to the more inane: “I just drank a Diet Coke.” Basically, Twitter is billed as a way to let people in on your “real-life” —those things that happen between email and blog postings. For me that would be classified as a nap!
The reason for this post is to comment on the seismic shift happening in the sports world… something I really have passion about. If you missed it, NBA baller Charlie Villanueva, a 6-11 forward for the Milwaukee Bucks, recently got into a bit of trouble with his team’s coach by posting a message to his Twitter account during half-time of a recent game against the Boston Celtics. The “tweet” sent from his mobile phone is as follows: “In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.”
After the incident hit the news media, (remember, your boss CAN and WILL read what you post online!) Villanueva, who uses the screen name CV31, said he felt the “tweet” sent during the game was really no big deal. Unfortunately for him, his coach, Scott Skiles, felt otherwise. “My personal opinion is, it doesn’t have any place in the locker room,” Skiles said. “The locker room’s a private place for the players, a sanctuary for the players. But once you walk out of the locker room or whatever, I’m not into getting into guys’ personal lives.”
I have to admit that I agree with Skiles, who can best be described as a hard-nosed “old-school” floor general. Rabid sports fans, like me, certainly appreciate the constant updates on our favorite players and the insider scoops they can provide through personal blogs and Facebook pages. But, getting “tweets” from the locker room during an important game makes me question the player’s motives… no “I” in “Team” but there is a “Me”, right? However, you have to admire Charlie’s initiative and marketing savvy. He is an “under the radar” star in the league, but has established himself as a leader among players to followers of his Twitter updates. That’s one way to create your brand while playing for a second-tier team in a second-tier NBA city!
By the way, Villanueva pumped in a team-high 19 against the Celts, helping his team to an important victory in the race for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot. I wonder if he could’ve dropped 40 on them if he’d been more focused on the game at half-time.
