Twitter gone Bad

6 thoughts on “Twitter gone Bad”

1. Good Morning from Omaha,

   I have never tweeted, and don’t follow tweets of anyone but new technology is what it is. The constitution allows for free speech, no matter how silly or stupid. It does not guarantee that I HAVE to listen to what you say or support your views.

   Based on the little bit I have heard about what these guys said in there missives it would appear that all that money that they received in scholarships was wasted on something other than education. In the grand scheme of things being a football player, while a high paying profession, does not make you a Rhodes scholar, although it didn’t hurt Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar.

   Its back to that role model thing and athletes. These guys are consumed with their own importance and the twits that follow their tweets are feeding their obsession. I might be wrong…but I doubt it.

   Strive for excellence, nothing but your best.

   Gene

2. The “problem” with athletes tweeting is that we like to assume that, because we admire them, they must have the same ideals and values and senses that we do. Then all of a sudden we get shocked when–surprise!–they’re a different person than we thought and how dare they betray us like that! We respected this idealized version of them and they totally didn’t live up to it, the jerks!

   I wish more athletes tweeted their honest thoughts without Agents and Owners and PR firms immediately jumping all over them. It would be nice to know who some of these guys actually are beyond a number on their chest and a statline in the records.

   And I wish more people were mature enough to handle it when someone they idolized–for no reason other than their completion percentage or the number of sacks they’ve recorded–turns out to hold differing (even possibly offensive) opinions.

3. Drew,

   Gene as always hits it dead on and Dave makes an excellent point. One of my first thoughts was the old addage about ‘being thought the fool..rather than proving it.’

   I don’t tweet or have any interest in following someone else that closely. I don’t know; I tend to think you have to be pretty self-absorbed to think that folks want to know what it is you are doing all the time. Then again, maybe I have missed something. I originally thought Facebook was lame too. Now I have found it as a way of keeping contact with friends on a more regular basis.

   I think what these guys and many others lose sight of is how the written word whether on a forum, on Facebook, or a tweet is much more likely to be misinterpretted than spoken word. Sarcasm is very difficult to properly express in written form.

   And of course some of these guys are just straight up knuckleheads. Most would be much better served to wait 5 minutes or so to re-think what they wrote before they hit the send button.

4. I’m not on Twitter and not particularly interested in it. When it was unique as a social medium accessible by texting, it had more relevance than it does now that people can update their blogs, Facebook pages and other media, not to mention checking and sending email, by SmartPhone. And I question its value, its “stickiness.” The other day, something I said on my blog offended a fairly prominent Twitterbug who tweeted his disapproval and I suddenly had seven times the usual traffic to my site — but he was the only one who actually posted a comment, and, two days later, my traffic was down to normal. Other than screwing up my stats for awhile, his tweet didn’t seem to have any real impact on the world.

   As for athletes, if they were all Grant Hill or Andre Johnson or Domonique Foxworth, it would be fine to have them tweeting away, making friends for the franchise. But if I were a sports information director, I’d have nightmares over giving some of these semiliterate nincompoops direct access to the public. It’s hard enough keeping their idiotic antics out of the press without them becoming “citizen journalists” themselves.

5. Late to the table, but I don’t tweet or text,much to the chagrin of many friends. I agree with Dave, but unfortunately they are way too many people who don’t understand that what is said is someone’s opinion, not a a fact. I think people in the spotlight need to be aware of what they are saying, aware of what their influence is on the populace. And it is somewhat sad that today’s athlete or star of TV show has so much sway.

6. I guess I’m the opposite here. I tweet often, and a lot. Most of the time, it’s either on sports (like Rockies or Avalanche or the Eagles in Northern CO.) but I do tweet personal thoughts or hold conversations. I do treat people with respect, and usually they do the same to me, even if I have a rough day. However, I notice that followership increases by word of mouth.

   The problem is with certain higher profile people is that there are more than a handful of people paying attention. They are allowed their own opinion, whether it be related or not to their career. But if they speak an opinion contrary to most people, the wave of offense extends to how it is expressed. Before the internet, it used to be radio and TV waves as well as the newspapers. And before that, it was limited to the town crier. Being famous has a price of freedom, no matter if it’s Alyssa Milano, Bill Gates, or Reggie Bush. Just remember that for each action, there is an equal consequence to it.