The 50 Best Athletes to Follow on Twitter
Over the weekend, the International Business Times published a great list of athletes to follow on Twitter. It never hurts to take a look and see who’s using this communication tool in a positive way and who are the influencers in sports. While the list is a bit slim outside of soccer (The only golfer to follow is Tiger? Only three olympians and three baseball players?), it does highlight the more active accounts.
New follows for me include:
NBA – Paul Pierce @paulpierce34: Unlike most athletes, Paul Pierce uses his Twitter to publicize his charity which promotes good health.
Tennis – Novak Djokovic @DjokerNole: The world No. 1 tennis player tweets a lot. He tweets personal photos, funny one-liners, and gives fans a glimpse into his daily life.
Boxing (and for entertainment value) Floyd Mayweather @FloydMayweather: Mayweather is not scared of placing his crazy life on full display via Twitter. Whether he posts Twitpics, name-checks rapper friends, or just let posts his thoughts, followers are sure to be entertained.
Here is the article in full or go to: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/355620/20120623/50-best-athletes-follow-twitter.htm?page=all
Saturday, June 23, 2012 11:11 AM EDT
The 50 Best Athletes to Follow on Twitter
By Nicole Bartnik
Twitter has becoming an increasingly more accepted form of communication, which is resulting in both flattering and unflattering comments from celebrities.
Athletes are no different. Many famous sports figures have used Twitter as a form of clarification or to make a point they feel isn’t being addressed by the mainstream media.
Others athletes simply use it as a form of publicity, and as a way to interact with their fan base. Then there are the celebrity athletes who simply want to make a public comment, no matter how trivial it is.
Here is a list of famous current and former professional athletes who have a loyal following or deserve one based on their interesting tweets.
SOCCER
Kaka @KAKA: Brazilian midfielder Kaka became the world’s first athlete to reach 10 million Twitter followers and is 16th in the list of most-followed tweeters. Kaka tweets in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, tweets photos of himself and other soccer stars, and even responds to fans and followers who tweet him.
Cristiano Ronaldo @Cristiano: One of the most recognizable figures in sports, Cristiano Ronaldo, or his PR team, tweets on his page nearly every day, primarily about soccer. Sometimes the Portuguese star announces contests and sweepstakes to win signed memorabilia. Not bad.
Stuart Holden @stuholden: The midfielder for the Bolton Wanderers uses his Twitter page to present entertaining thoughts on everything from soccer, bros, and even underpants. Of course, he also poses deep philosophical questions to his followers like he did in this June 16 tweet: “is it humanly possible to eat a single grape and be done?”
Cesc Fabregas @cesc4official: The central midfielder for Barcelona and Spanish national team posts a little bit of everything on his Twitter account, which boasts over three million followers. If you are a Fabregas fan, you can find out all about his dinner plans, injury rehab, and his whereabouts.
Wayne Rooney @WayneRooney: Despite having over four million followers, Rooney engages with fans on Twitter. He presents his opinion on events in the sports world and loves tweeting about playing video games with teammates.
Ronaldinho @10Ronaldinho: If you speak Portuguese, then you should probably follow Ronaldinho on Twitter. If you don’t speak the language, you should probably still follow him simply because he is one of the greatest players of his generation.
Hope Solo @hopesolo: Ever since the World Cup, it seems as though the world can’t get enough of Hope Solo, so you might as well follow her on Twitter. Solo tweets daily about soccer, and how she keeps herself busy.
Alex Morgan @alexmorgan13: Girl next door and mega-star athlete, Morgan keeps her Twitter account casual, and updates her followers about her day-to-day life and thoughts.
Ray Hudson (@liverayhudson): Some consider Hudson the most annoying broadcaster in sports, but he certainly is colorful with some of the oddest references and analogies you can think of for soccer.
BASKETBALL
Shaquille O’Neal @SHAQ: Now a TNT broadcaster, O’Neal is one of the funniest figures in sports, and even in retirement is capable of saying something hilarious. After all, his bio does read “Very quotatious. I perform random acts of Shaqness.”
LeBron James @KingJames: James has been known to be honest, and at times reckless with his Twitter. His tweets have made news, but recently, James has shown a softer side, posting pictures of his children, whom he is quite proud of.
Dwight Howard @DwightHoward: Howard uses his Twitter to respond to many of his over three million followers. Recently, he has also been using his account to promote various charitable causes.
Steve Nash @SteveNash: One of the greatest Canadian athletes of all time, the seven-time NBA All-Star still might have the most entertaining Twitter account in sports. In December of 2011, he even posted this gem: “Patches of chest hair are growing back nicely after my echo cardiogram. Which is Nice.”
Lamar Odom : Player for the Dallas Mavericks and husband to Khloe Kardashian, Odom uses his Twitter to interact with his fans. He tries responding to answer most tweets he gets and also tweets links to charities and foundations.
Charles Barkley @CHARLESBARRKLEY: Perhaps the most outspoken man in sports, Barkley has had funny exchanges on Twitter, though he normally saves his best material for Ernie and Kenny on TNT. One of his postings included a back and forth with actor Daniel Baldwin.
Metta WorldPeace @MettaWorldPeace: Who doesn’t want to go inside the mind of one of the most unpredictable personalities in the game?
Dwyane Wade @DwayneWade : A Frequent tweeter, Wade will keep you entertained by mentioning basketball, his friends, and personal activities.
Kevin Durant @KDTrey5: Kevin Durant has over 2 million followers on Twitter.
He posts his thoughts after games and share interesting videos and links he finds with his followers.
Paul Pierce @paulpierce34: Unlike most athletes, Paul Pierce uses his Twitter to publicize his charity which promotes good health.
James Harden @JHarden13: James Harden always gives followers insight on team practices and games. The Thunder star also interacts with his fans on Twitter.
FOOTBALL
Terrell Owens @terrellowens: Perhaps to other player in the NFL makes such an effort to engage and intereact win his fans on Twitter. Kudos to you, Mr. Owens.
Chad Ochocinco @ochocinco: One of the more outspoken members of the league, New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is great about keeping his tweets interesting. He’s also one of the best in facilitating fan interactions, often challenging his Twitter followers to play him in video games like FIFA 12 online.
Reggie Bush @reggie_bush: With over 2 million followers, Reggie Bush uses the platform to present his thoughts on sports, current events, and post pictures. According to a June 16 tweet, Bush is a huge fan of the movie, Bridesmaids. Who knew?
Tim Tebow @TimeTebow: Tim Tebow’s Twitter praises God, is full of patriotism and humility, and promotes various causes. What else would you expect from the football star?
Aaron Rodgers @AaronRodgers12: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a regular Twitter user. He uses the site to interact with fans and post entertaining thoughts.
Michael Strahan @michaelstrahan: Former football star Michael Strahan’s Twitter bio reads, “If you have a life you don’t have time to hate!!” His Twitter page is full of positive messages and charity promotion. No hating to be found on this page.
Chris Cooley @thecooleyzone: Chris Cooley of the Washington Redskins uses his Twitter to communicate with fans and sell his very own pottery, making his one of the more unusual Twitter pages in football.
Chris Kluwe @ChrisWarcraft: Punter Chris Kluwe is as much of a nerd as he is a football player. Kluwe is an entertaining and funny person to follow and he frequently interacts with fans. His page is full of video game related content, as is suggested by his Twitter name.
Darnell Dockett @ddockett: Darnell Dockett a defensive lineman for the Arizona Cardinals is a hilarious twitter follow. He once live tweeted while local police had him pulled over. He tweets about too many topics to list but he is always entertaining.
BASEBALL:
Nick Swisher @NickSwisher: Nick Swisher of the Yankees shares funny pictures, messages his fans, and isn’t afraid to add exclamation points to his tweets
Brian Wilson @BrianWilson38: Brian Wilson simply has an entertaining Twitter to follow. On April 25, he posted a tweet that gave followers insight to his fun and carefree personality: “Surgery was perfect. Borrowed ligament from my ol’ pal Sasquatch. Only side effects: hairy arm and I talk like a wookie.”
Logan Morrison @LoMoMarlins: This Twitter is full of borderline inappropriate tweets. If you like outspoken an R-rated humor, then follow Morrison on Twitter for your entertainment.
HOCKEY:
Ryan Whitney @RyanWhitney6: Ryan Whitney of the Edmonton Oilers is a trashing talking, opinionated, and entertaining hockey player to follow on twitter.
Mike Green @GreenLife52: Washington Capital’s Mike Green is very candid with his followers and gives honest assessment of his play on Twitter. He also uses Twitter to voice his thoughts and interact with friends and fans.
Paul Bissonnette @BizNasty2point0: Paul Bissonnette of the Phoenix Coyotes is one of the most entertaining hockey players on Twitter. He constantly updates his page and gives fans some insight into his life. On June 22, he posted this gem: “Hey guys. How long should you run hot water over your toothbrush for before you use it again if you accidently drop it in the toilet?”
Roberto Luongo @strombone1: This account may or may not be Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo. It follows and is followed by many other Canucks players and is occasionally mentioned among their tweets as though it were another player. He uses the semi-anonymity to tweet freely about himself his team and his team; hilarity ensues.
TENNIS:
Novak Djokovic @DjokerNole: The world No. 1 tennis player tweets a lot. He tweets personal photos, funny one-liners, and gives fans a glimpse into his daily life.
Serena Williams @serenawilliams: If you are a Kim Kardashian fan, you should probably also follow Serena Williams on Twitter because the two tweet amongst each other a lot. Serena also posts her daily thoughts and information on her tennis travels.
Venus Williams @Venuseswilliams: Venus Williams makes an effort to respond to many fan tweets. She also uses her page to promote her clothing line.
Caroline Wozniacki @CaroWozniacki: Former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki tweets every few days about her tennis travels and gives followers a look at her life as a world class tennis player and girlfriend of Rory McIlroy.
Andy Roddick @andyroddick: He is always honest about his play and often self-deprecating, and isn’t afraid to show emotion, particularly on Twitter. His tweets are funny but informative, commenting both on the world of tennis and current affairs.
Rafael Nadal @RafaelNadal: Rafael Nadal’s bio on Twitter reads, “Tennis player.” Indeed, much the seven-time French Open Champion’s Twitter revolves around tennis and his tournaments.
GOLF:
Tiger Woods @TigerWoods: Though he is not the most well liked athlete in the world, there is no doubt that Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time. If you like golf and want your feed filled with promotional tweets from Nike, you should follow him.
OLYMPICS:
Dara Torres @DaraTorres: At 41, Dara Torres was the oldest swimmer to ever earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, and has won 12 Olynpic medals. Torres is an inspirational athlete and posts positive messages on her Twitter
Michael Phelps @MichaelPhelps: Michael Phelps is one of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time and uses his twitter to connect to fans.
Shawn Johnson @ShawnJohnson: America’s sweetheart gymnast tweets multiple times per day and posts about charities and causes she supports, workouts, and her thoughts.
BOXING:
Floyd Mayweather @FloydMayweather: Mayweather is not scared of placing his crazy life on full display via Twitter. Whether he posts Twitpics, name-checks rapper friends, or just let posts his thoughts, followers are sure to be entertained.
SKATEBOARDING:
Tony Hawk @tonyhawk: Tony Hawk is the epitome of cool for over 3 million followers and uses Twitter to link to an extensive Instagram album.
CYCLING:
Lance Armstrong @lancearmstrong: Much of Lane Armstrong’s Twitter page is filled with doping allegations and defense. If you like the drama, follow him on Twitter. If you don’t, you can still enjoy some of the inspirational messages he posts.
MOTOR RACING:
Danica Patrick @DanicaPatrick: Danica is a media darling. Patrick keeps her followers up to date with any or promotions she is part and posts about both her day-to-day and racing life.
How many followers do you really have?
As my Twitter followers grow on both Beaming Bohemian and Shanna Bright, I am often fascinated by the follow-habits that seem to be prevalent among Twitter superstars. Just today, I was followed by a social media “guru” who previously followed me, and then once I followed back, promptly unfollowed me. He’s not the first Tweep to do this. Numerous folks engage in this behavior in an effort to boost their following. There is no genuine interest to find new connections. It’s a numbers game.
It makes me laugh for a few reasons. I love that someone can claim they have over a million followers, but when you look through their list, you see lots of hallow and spam accounts. And two, I laugh because I actually remember the people who practice this type of number boosting exercise. It’s not that I have an awesome memory, it’s my Twitter management style.
I do not have over a million followers, nor am I following thousands. But everyday, I take a moment to look through the people who are following me, determine if they are providing valuable, relevant content and if they are someone I want to follow back. I report and block hallow and spam accounts without hesitation. Sometimes, I don’t feel I need to follow certain accounts and will just place them on one of my Twitter lists, a terrific organizational tool. I make the effort to manage my account so that I know who I am associated with on Twitter. It is a more accurate circle of influence.
You can do the same. You can closely manage your account and have valid, useful and helpful contacts or you can simply work toward some unverifiable cool factor and let anyone and everyone follow you. For high school and college students and student-athletes, law or med students, and job hunters, it is in your best interest to monitor who you tweet with just as much as what you tweet. If you are following tweeps who post a lot of inappropriate content, you are associating yourself with that content and personality.
With the same motivation to manage your reputation, protect your brand against being linked to the wrong people. Take the time to weed through your account and build up a following of quality and image-appropriate accounts that reflect the core values of your brand. Tweet with and retweet content from good sources, not someone you are going to regret “knowing” when your coach, college or potential employer take a peek at your account.
Cubs Social Media Night
This is really cool. The Chicago Cubs have really embraced social media. On the 16th, they hosted their first “Social Media Night.” The event included a panel discussion and attendees were given a swag bag. A favorite item listed is the social baseball cards, special cards with Twitter handles.
The standout point in this article was what Public Relations and Marketing Specialist Kevin Saghy shared:
He also articulated the five point plan for how the Chicago Cubs use social media:
1. Deliver the core values of the Cubs
2. Get to know their key influencers
3. Listening and engaging
4. Offer something of real value to the fans
5. Financial benefit
Take another look at the first point – Deliver the core values of the Cubs. BINGO! That’s what successful brands do on a consistent basis. And notice how the last point listed was financial benefit. The Chicago Cubs have their act together. It will be fun to follow them and see how fans respond to the Social Media nights and continued opportunities for engagement.
Here’s the link to the article or you can read the full post here:
Chicago Cubs social media strategy articulated on social media night
By Paul M. Banks, Friday at 8:28 am
On Wednesday May 16th the Chicago Cubs hosted their inaugural Social Media Night. Fans who purchased tickets were invited to a pregame social media panel at Wrigley Field’s Captain Morgan Club. And by social media, we obviously mean the discussion was Twitter heavy.
The panel consisted of Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould (@RobbieGould09), (more on his night here) Cubs.com writer Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) and Cubs Public Relations and Marketing Specialist Kevin Saghy (@Cubs).
Each person was given a swag bag that included a Cubs “social media” t-shirt, a copy of Vine Line magazine, a teeny foam finger, a voucher for a hot dog and a multi-card set of Cubs “Social Media Series” baseball cards featuring Cub players that are on Twitter.
“We looked at a lot of other teams, what they do and how we could differentiate themselves. We wanted to do something really interactive, then do you a unique giveaway” Saghy said.
“That’s where the baseball cards came in. I’ve never seen a professional baseball team do the social media themed baseball cards. Our ticket office came up with that idea, and as a kicker we got a lot of them autographed. So everyone that came here today actually got an autographed card.”
Mine was Ian Stewart.
“It just kind of ties into our theme of we want to provide value for following us, we really do care about fans and it’s something that we take very seriously, and hopefully we were able to portray that today.”
Kevin said that he and his team read every single tweet and message they receive through Twitter, and they often respond.
He also articulated the five point plan for how the Chicago Cubs use social media:
1. Deliver the core values of the Cubs
2. Get to know their key influencers
3. Listening and engaging
4. Offer something of real value to the fans
5. Financial benefit
Carrie Muskat approaches social media from a professional, not a personal perspective as she’s a reporter for the Cubs and an employee of MLB. She said her main uses for Twitter are sharing team news and stories, following other Cubs reporters and blogs to get the latest team/player news and following current players who tweet. Her tweets appear on Cubs.com.
“Twitter has totally changed our jobs cuz it’s 24-7 now. Paul Maholm announced his signing on Twitter,” Muskat said.
The Cubs have seen increased Twitter volume since merging from @cubsinsider to @cubs.
“We reply to everything that we can, and we have a monitoring dashboard where we’ll able to summarize, qualitatively and quantitatively tweets and we can then we can go to our management team and say this event was really popular, or say this is the number of tweets we got for this campaign versus other campaigns,” said Saghy.
“We’re just getting much more sophisticated in our measurements basically.”
September 17th versus is the next Cubs Social Media night. A contest will be held, and one follower from the next event will get the chance to throw out the first pitch before that game.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, MSN and Fox Sports
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.
It’s an Issue of Trust
Perhaps you’ve seen the news peppered with stories about university athletic departments all geared up to monitor their student-athletes’ social media accounts. With several universities receiving media attention and NCAA infractions, it’s no wonder athletic departments are “scrambling” for solutions.
Without a proper education, there is no doubt that student-athletes are going to commit social faux pas online. Even coaches and athletic department staff have committed noticeable errors. However, the message that you send the moment you set up a monitoring system is, “We don’t trust you.” Your message to your players becomes, “We have the greatest faith in you on the field, but the moment you’re out of our sight, we don’t trust your actions or your judgement. We don’t trust that you know how to communicate or what to say. We don’t believe in you.”
Educating your players, on the court and in the office, prepares them to be successful communicators and builds trust between an organization and its team members. When you (re)educate your team – and I mean every staff member, coach and player – about your brand identity, the brand message and provide social media guidelines (methods for successful communication), you empower your people to serve as brand ambassadors. Enabling them with a better understanding of the various communication tools develops personal pride and a willingness to better serve your organization. Directors and Head Coaches serve as positive, capable examples and can better relate with staff and players about the events happening in the social stratosphere. A thorough education and open discussion can serve as a spring board for ideas which may be generated from the most unexpected sources.
Some universities have chosen to provide some level of social media education, but yet continue to employ monitoring services, “just in case.” That only sends mixed signals to the players, “We want you to learn how to use these tools and we want to help you improve your communication skills. But…we still don’t trust that you’ll be successful and remain worried you’ll say or do something stupid.” How else are these young adults to interpret this? How are they (and you) to learn from their mistakes?
ASU’s Michael Crow said at the NCAA Convention in January that the student-athlete experience is, in a sense, a leadership academy. In addition to creating opportunities for their players to become the best athletes they can be, the ASU athletic department staff and coaches offer “life coaching” to motivate their young men and women athletes to consider what they want their life to mean, what life goals they want to achieve and what they want to contribute to the world.
In a CBS video of several coaches weighing in on social media, it was Jim Christian at Texas Christian University who said, “As opposed to just restricting them, you know, sometimes they have to make bad decisions in order to learn. And I think that’s what college is all about.” And UNLV Basketball Head Coach, Dave Rice chimed in with, “I really believe in the importance of empowering student-athletes, making it a part of the education process and really using social media in a positive way.”
Universities, which are at their core, educational institutions, are far better off preparing their athletes for success versus assuming their failures and continually operating in crisis management mode. Educating your athletes about reputation management, personal branding and all the nifty details of social media, challenges them with responsibility and professionalism and a chance to rise to the occasion. At the end of the day, that IS what college is all about and a sure method for creating an environment of trust and empowerment while paving a path for tomorrow’s leaders.
Through Beaming Bohemian’s branding and social media education, including the development of social media guidelines, you can change your tune and deliver the message of trust to your student-athletes. Investing in this education is a uniquely positive approach which delivers the message, “We believe that you are amazing individuals who have a unique ability to inspire others through your leadership. We believe you are just as talented off the field as you are on the court. As a student-athlete, you have a more visible platform for story telling and brand development. We trust that you respect yourself, your teammates, your coaches, fellow students and members of the community. We believe in you and we are excited for you to share your story with the world.”
Media Sources
Maryland Bill Addresses College Athletes’ Social Media Privacy via The New York Times
Supreme Court to schools: Take care with First Amendment via LA Times
Athletic departments get free rein with social media via Minnesota Daily
UNC, NCAA Address Monitoring Athletes On Social Media via WFMY News (CBS)
Schools scramble to monitor athletes’ social-media activities after NCAA ruling via philly.com
NCAA: No plans to police Twitter via Missoulian
Are you Jim Boeheim or Dave Rice?
http://youtu.be/1DjDPQrN1yY
UPDATE: This video has been made private or removed by CBS Sports. Attempts to locate another version have turned up empty. If you have a link to this video, please leave a comment.
CBS Sports posted this video the other day. Several head coaches weigh in on social media and the attitude they maintain about their players using the communication tools.
Syracuse Head Coach, Jim Boeheim stood out with his response, “I don’t even know what it is.” Followed by, “It’d be hard to adjust that, wouldn’t it?” He went on to comment that while he does carry a cell phone, he does not have a computer. It’s as though he was saying the topic is of no interest to him and he has no desire to learn or care.
Contrast that with a few of the other answers.
John Thompson III of Georgetown admitted that he knows that social media is part of life, but that he does not understand why it is important to post that you are at a pizza joint enjoying a slice of pizza. Understood. With some education and guidance, student-athletes can develop a purposeful content plan that is far more engaging than pizza slices.
Kevin Willard of Seton Hall wants his athletes to develop communication skills, so once the the team enters the building/practice facility, they must speak to each other and folks in the building. Cells phones are turned off and no texting or tweeting allowed. I’m sure everyone can appreciate those goals and rules.
“Teachable moments” is how Jim Christian at Texas Christian University sees social media. He says, “As opposed to just restricting them, you know, sometimes they have to make bad decisions in order to learn. And I think that’s what college is all about.” Here, here, Jim. You have a good attitude. We are working with young adults who are finding their way in this world, and who, unlike most of us in our college days, have any number of methods to shout out to the world. They are human, and yes, they are bound to make some mistakes. I’m glad to see that TCU allows the student-athletes to learn from their mistakes.
I was most impressed with Dave Rice, head coach of the men’s basketball team at UNLV. He teaches his players to use social media for the positive. He wants his players to uplift their teammates, to talk about the great experience they are having at UNLV. He is cognisant of the risks and the possibility that certain issues may need to be addressed, but ultimately, and this is why I appreciate him the most, he says, “I really believe in the importance of empowering student-athletes, making it a part of the education process and really using social media in a positive way.”
Can I get a WOO HOO?!?! As a head coach or athletic director, you may fall in to Jim Boeheim’s camp and not have the first clue what social media is and how it works. But I hope that you will adopt the attitude of John Thompson III and understand that social media is a BIG part of our world and a way of life for the student-athletes you are responsible for fostering. Be like Kevin Willard and set reasonable policies and guidelines which allow the students to utilize these tools, but in appropriate ways and at appropriate times, with a desire to build good old fashion personalities and communication skills.
Be like Jim Christian and take a positive approach to these communication channels and work with your student-athletes to navigate difficult speed bumps so they can survive the experience and learn from their mistakes.
Finally, and most importantly, lead with integrity, like Dave Rice and provide a foundation of trust in your athletes. Encourage them to develop good communication skills, craft good content and use social media for social good. It can be done. Educating and uplifting your students with supportive social media guidelines is absolutely essential in creating the best student-athlete experience. You’ll develop young adults with good character who care about their online profiles and take care to manage their reputation. Well-rounded and socially confident student-athletes better represent the university and are more motivated to be good representatives.
Who do you most identify with in this video? What attitude has your university adopted?
Who Moved My News Feed?
Do we all remember the revolutionary and #1 Best Seller Who Moved My Cheese?
Who Moved My Cheese? is the story of four characters living in a “Maze” who face unexpected change when they discover their “Cheese” has disappeared. Sniff and Scurry, who are mice, and Hem and Haw, little people the size of mice, each adapt to change in their “Maze” differently. In fact, one doesn’t adapt at all…
Soon after the book was released, I was working as the Member Relations Director at the City Club on Bunker Hill in Los Angeles, a ClubCorp private club. We all got a copy of this book. And we all read with enthusiasm how to adapt, monitor and even anticipate change. Or should I say, “Enjoy change!” Yes, it was a little, um, cheesy, but it worked for the corporate environment I lived in.
In 1998, we barely had regular e-mail communication with members, much less an interactive website or social platform to cultivate our membership community. We were constantly looking for creative ways to retain members, maintain ongoing communication (remember committee meetings?) and increase involvement through events at the City Club. We craved change.
Now we are all navigating unchartered digital waters, much of which is exciting, revolutionary and completely life changing. When one company improves its product and implements new features which changes the look of the profile page we are used to seeing, we scream and whine and moan and complain that we don’t like it. Blog posts have been written left and sideways picking apart what is great, what may be scary and what we are just bound to dislike.
May I ask a favor? Can we grab on the spirit of 1998 and remember how to embrace change? Can we appreciate the ever-evolving landscape happening online and celebrate a launch, an update, a design change, a new way of doing things? For if there were none, we would be blogging our brains out about how nothing is new or exciting or fresh. We would demand upgrades and increased user-friendliness and cooler graphics and quicker loading times.
Change is the only constant when it comes to the digital world. The cheese will always be on the move. And we must remain expectant.
Make that list!
Just as I was preparing this blog post about list functions available on social networks, Facebook announced that it is improving Friend Lists. Great timing! I was actually a bit surprised to read that, according to Mashable, less than 5% of users take advantage of Facebook Lists. I’m a huge advocate of organizing your contacts, and hope that these upgrades will encourage Facebook fanatics to better manage their friends.
Here’s a few methods for creating effective lists so you may better target your messages.
Who are your friends on Facebook? How do you know them? Are they all your high school buds, or do you have some colleagues mixed in there? Any random people that you accepted and don’t have the heart to unfriend?
The promised improvements aim to make a sweeping division between “Close Friends” and “Acquaintances,” which you will have to update manually. This will affect what information appears in your News Feed, with your “Close Friends” more prominently appearing. There is also the reference to “Smart Lists” which will automatically create lists for you according to work, school, family or city. It’s a good start in helping you manage these connections.
Lists are super effective in Facebook, especially because you can maximize your privacy settings and make sure that the information you post is seen only by the people you want to see it.
In my Facebook account, I have people separated by how I know them. So my high school friends are separate from my UCSB pals, people I’ve met on my world travels all fall under their own group as do former colleagues, friends in LA and now San Diego. I even have a “random” list, for people who I felt obligated to add, but who I really don’t want to see all my information and posts.
Taking the time to manage your privacy settings makes it easier to manage who sees your posts. If you have your lists in order, it’s easy to customize your settings, versus adding people one by one for restricted items. Once the improvements are in place, you will be able to easily select who will view your post before you post your status.
The new list features are set to roll out this week. Whether it’s a play to compete with Google+ (which inherently groups together your contacts in Circles) or just a great new set of services, it’s a tool you should take advantage of for more efficient posting.
While I cannot select certain lists to tweet to (wouldn’t that be awesome), I am still diligent about creating lists in Twitter. In my account, these are more likely divided by category or topic. For example: Global News, Marketing, Sports, Travel, etc. What I love about the list function in Twitter is that I can add any feed to a list, but I don’t have to follow them. So most of the Twitter handles on my Global News list… I’m not actually following, I just make a point to check the list feed once or twice a day to see if there is any news worth sharing, or if anything catches my interest. It’s the same with celebrities. I know I won’t get a follow-back, so I just add them to my celebrity list for quick access to the Tweeps I like and care to share news about. Example:
It’s also a good idea to check lists of those you do enjoy following. You can subscribe to their lists if you don’t want to follow every person on it or work to put together entire list of your own. I’ve attached a screenshot of @DiscoverSD (a great resources to find out anything and everything about San Diego!). You can see the drop down menu of lists Michelle has created. For example, “San Diego Events.”
When I click on this list, I can either view the recent tweets of folks on this list, or see all of the accounts followed. You can see the “Follow this List” button, which you can click and add to your own lists in your account.
I also find that I peruse my lists often looking for new people to follow. I tend to find more relative Tweeps and people who have similar interests or offer great information. This manner is often more on point than the people Twitter suggests.
One more function in the Twitter lists – You can make your list public or keep it private. If you’ve collected leads or hot contacts all in one list, that might be something you don’t want to share with everyone else. But perhaps your favorite charities, news sources or celebrities…that’s something fun to share and can possibly increase your influence online.
HootSuite
The opportunity to create lists on Hootsuite, if this is your chosen dashboard, also exists. You can either create lists from scratch or import from Twitter. Importing from Facebook is not available at this time. Importing your Twitter lists could not be easier. Here’s a link direct from Hootsuite: http://help.hootsuite.com/entries/115076-how-to-import-twitter-lists-to-hootsuite. I love that I can see these feeds right in my dashboard and do not have to leave the application to check out the updates. Super convenient when traveling. I’m sure TweetDeck and other management tools have similar functions.
I hope you use this this quick overview to help kick start the organization of your contacts. Lists can prove to be a powerful tool in managing your social networks. It may take a little effort up front, but once you have it sorted out, it’s easy to maintain and should prove to be helpful as the various platforms release new versions and more methods to engage with your audience.
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