Study Design: The Usage of Twitter Amongst Professional Athletes

2047 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Positive effects of social media on sports

There are multiple platforms of social media available for everyone to use; but has anyone wondered which platforms professional athletes use? Or has anyone ever wondered how he or she uses social media? I am studying professional athletes' use of Twitter, because I want to discover why and how they use the social network, and how they benefit and promote themselves through the process. I want to help my reader understand why it is significant for professional athletes to continue their use of social media. A content analysis will be used to evaluate three specific professional athletes and their use of Twitter. Each of the selected players has a unique story behind them and their use of social media. The three professional athletes whom I am going to analyze over a three-month period include: 1) NFL quarterback, Mike Vick of the New York Jets, because he uses Twitter almost daily to tweet about every day activities; 2) NHL right wing and enforcer, Paul Bissonnette of the Phoenix Coyotes, because he uses Twitter to agitate followers similarly to how he does to his opponents on the ice; and 3) MLB relief pitcher, Jason Grilli of the Pittsburgh Pirates, because he has his own marketing firm and an interest in the social media work.

History of professional athletes' use of Twitter

Before the idea of Twitter was introduced in the sports world, athletes could only be reached for conversation in a couple different ways, sometimes difficult. Athletes could be reached for interviews in the locker room, allowing the public to hear interviews on the radio, television, or the team's website. Meet and greet autograph signings organized by the team's personnel are another way athletes could be reached for communication. A third way for pro...

... middle of paper ...

... Lon. "Say Hello to Social Networking." In The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success. Third ed. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. 39- 44.

Sanderson, Jimmy. "Laying the Groundwork." In It's a Whole New Ballgame: How Social Media is Changing Sports. New York, NY: Hampton Press, 2011. 8-14.

Sanderson, Jimmy. "Closer to the Action: Connecting Athletes and Fans." In It's a Whole New Ballgame: How Social Media is Changing Sports. New York, NY: Hampton Press, 2011. 69-70.

Shockley, Justin. 2010. Unfiltered?: A Content Analysis of Pro Athletes' "Twitter" Use. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1729.

Vick, Mike. (MikeVick). "Want to let my fans know that I love y'all and I would not be in this position without you guys. Thanks for helping me turn my life around." January 7, 2014, 5:35PM. Tweet. http://bit.ly/1j3LBbV.

Show More
Related

  • Baseball: Perspective On Ballpark Culture

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    Communitas can be considered an important value to the world of sports. However, some people do not understand the concept of communitas. According to Victor Turner (1969), communitas is “an unstructured community in which people are equal, or to the very spirit of community,” (New World Encyclopedia). Trujillo’s study of baseball showed what he thought of communitas. In his periodical, Interpreting (the Work and Talk of) Baseball: Perspective on Ball Ballpark Culture, Trujillo (1992) said that ballpark community results in the development of interpersonal relationships at yearly “family reunions,” known as employee orientation (Western Journal Communication). Communitas is thought differently by other writers and scholars. However, they all come to a Turner’s conclusion that it deals with a temporary community that is equal in every way and is there for single purpose.

    Read More

  • The Three Classification Groups of Sport Fans

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sport fans, sometimes also called sport devotees, followers, or supporters, are persons who are enthusiastically devoted to a particular athlete, team or sport. They may show their enthusiasm by often attending sporting events or watch on television, being members of a fan club, follow sport news through newspapers, online websites, and creating fanzines. Their disposition is often such that they will experience a game or event by living through their favored players or teams. These behaviors manifest itself in different ways. To enable better understanding of these behavioral patterns, we have to classify these sports fans into groups based on their devotion to teams: fair-weather fans, bandwagon and the super-fans.

    Read More

  • Sports Marketing: The Agent Athlete Relationship and Ethical Issues

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Place- Where do fans look for the athlete? What are fan’s perceptions of the athlete? What are competitors doing?

    Read More

  • Public Relations in Professional Sports

    1523 Words  | 4 Pages

    PR today, has undergone a massive restructuring and organization and is now gaining recognition worldwide. An offshoot of this is PR in sports. The sports industry in the U.S. generates $213 - $350 billion a year as revenues and is growing by the day (ESPN). Everyone tries to cash in on their benefits. Sports PR have come a long way. Today it is far more dynamic and complex. Public Relations is a very broad industry, serving a wide variety of institutions in society such as businesses, trade unions, government agencies, voluntary associations, foundations, hospitals, schools, colleges, and sports teams. Sports in the last fifty years have changed an amazing amount. It used to be just two teams playing against each other strictly for the love of the sport and for the enjoyment of the few people in attendance. As time went on and attendance and interest in professional sports grew so did the cash flow. Teams began adding more coaches as well scouts. It became obvious that a font office staff was needed to take care of the day to day operations of sports teams. In the 1940s baseball owner Bill Veeck changed the games even more when he promised the game to be the least exciting part of the evening. He hosting Ladies’ Night, Fireworks Fridays, and a Disco Demolition Night in which he blew up a pile of old records, Veeck brought sports into a new era (Veeck & Linn, 1962). Bill Veeck was the first true PR man in sports. He sold out stadium after stadium, in several different cities. The sports PR which Bill Veeck started has now evolved and is a much different brand of PR then every other industry.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Dove Campaign For Real Beauty

    1839 Words  | 4 Pages

    A. M. Kaplan and M. Haenlein, ‘Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media’, Business Horizons, vol. 53, no. 1, 2010, pp. 59-68.

    Read More

  • The Freedom Of Speech And The Sports Industry

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    NCAA Division I schools are putting a hold on student athlete use of social media. The NCAA fears that the use of social media can only be a huge distraction but also release game-day strategies. It blames Twitter, Facebook and other social media networks for negative attention and conduct that violates the NCAA regulations. The NCAA is placing bans on Facebook and Twitter, however they do not realize that these restrictions contradict with First Amendment and the freedom of speech. Several Division I programs have gone as far as to contract with outside vendors to keep an eye on the social media accounts of student athletes. The students are required to becomes “friends” with the vendors Facebook page in order for the vendor to be able to ke...

    Read More

  • UFC Media Strategy

    1846 Words  | 4 Pages

    For the sport industry, social media has enabled fans to have a closer relationship with sporting organisation operations while allowing their organisation to be strategic and more proficient with limited amount of capitals. This has helped sports to get involved in the business of “relationship marketing” (Grönroos 2004). This is mainly because social media enables the organisation platform to adopt a long term relationships with fans and continue to shape the idea of community once a game ends or season comes to close.

    Read More

  • Social Media In Sports Essay

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    The use of social media in sports is a relatively new trend. Social media has enabled people to become more interactive with their favorite celebrities, athletes, and sports teams. Social media allows fan’s to keep up with their favorite teams with up to date news and it also helps the organization, specifically their marketing department. Sports teams have utilized Facebook and Twitter pages for their organizations in hopes of gaining revenue as well as the attention of their fans and casual fans. Social media is constantly evolving to keep up with the newest social trends and fads.

    Read More

  • Coca Cola Social Media Analysis

    1610 Words  | 4 Pages

    If you asked 10 followers on Twitter if they prefer Coke or Pepsi 9 out 10 would probably say Coke. This paper will explore the concepts of social media presence for The Coca- Cola Company. Why do people drink Coke? Why is Coke so popular? Questions such as these will be answered throughout this strategy recommendation project. This paper will discuss and identify the effects of social media, and what will make social media better by research on best practices.

    Read More

  • Impact of Social Media on Society

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    Technology has come a long ways from its existence till today. In today’s modern world, people are surrounded by technology everywhere. In the present, people are surrounded by disrupting technologies every day. Today innovators are always creating new technologies that will make an impact on the daily lives of millions. Technology has made the lives of many people easier. The influence of technology has made an impact on social media. Social media has impacted the society in many ways. Whether it is the life of an individual to how successful a company is going to be. Social media is not just about tweeting about what you just accomplished or instagraming what food you are about to eat at a very nice restaurant. The uses of social media is way broader. Now most social media companies are buying out and merging with many other companies that will be off use to them. The people of society has certainly come from a long way. Social media is influencing consumers in what they are going to buy next. Social media is helping businesses to become more aware of their impact they have on they customers. Social media has a big presence for an individual and a business. This research paper is going to be over how social media impacts an individual. Then it is going to be about how much of an impact it has on businesses. Afterwards it is going to go over the pros and the cons of social media in society. Then this research paper is going to conclude on where social media is heading towards in the near future and so on.

    Read More

  • sports salaries

    1270 Words  | 3 Pages

    Athletics in this country are bigger than ever. Today, more people are attending sporting events than ever before. Sports have a truly unique ability; they bring people of all races, genders, and social classes together forming one common bond, the well-being of the home team. For all the good sports bring, however, a growing majority of fans are becoming more and more disenchanted with the high priced industry.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Culture In Sports Culture

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    For some people, the culture of the sporting world is less than thrilling. For others, it is a way of life. People who value sports and the culture that comes with it have walked through a progressive field of highs and lows. Sports have gone through a whirl wind of transitions from rules and regulations to local and global inclusivity. Apparel for players as well as spectators have evolved substantially to allow for a more personable experience for all involved. One aspect of the sporting culture has risen above the rest in terms of its impact on players and fans alike. The media has evolved so much in the sporting culture that is has allowed fans and players unthinkable access to the lifestyles and temperaments of the leagues. While this

    Read More

  • Social Media and its Impact

    1467 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vinson, Kathleen Elliott. "The Blurred Boundaries of Social Networking in the Legal Field: Just "Face" it." The University of Memphis Law Review 41.2 (2010): 355. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 7 May 2014.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Sports to Mass Communication

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    Different studies and analysis opens up many of the inner dimensions of the experience of sports and media. Understanding sports, media, and spectacle reveals both details and generalizations about our culture and our general humanity.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Social Media

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    The use of social networking has both its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is “an Internet social network can help you connect with other people who share your interest, and find resources to ga...

    Read More

More about Study Design: The Usage of Twitter Amongst Professional Athletes

Open Document