Last week, I presented at the Cool Twitter Conference in Brooklyn, New York. I discussed ways in which people can use Twitter to disseminate and promote services, products, and ideas. I detailed my work with YouthNoise and how I use Twitter to engage in social conversations.  My presentation was based on this idea/space I called Twitter Society. I define Twitter Society as,



The more I engage with folks on Twitter, the more I notice how this type of social space functions similarly to our 'offline' societies.

In Twitter Society, there are patterns of written language, etiquette rules, and by golly, there's even a Twitter jail!  There are networking groups and clicks made up of academics, activists, celebrities and regular Jills and Joes.  All of these people are engaging in some sort of dialogical relationship. Though Twitter has over 50 million users, not all of them are active. But the ones that are active sure do tweet a lot, including yours truly!

During my presentation I cited specific examples of how people engage. I mentioned one of my first ever encounters with an active tweeter; NBA player Shaquille O'Neal (@ THE_REAL_SHAQ).  I joined Twitter about a year ago, but have only been active within the last 3-4 months (@taralconley). When I first joined, I began following Shaq because I heard his tweets were interesting (read: engaging).  I noticed right away that Shaq tweeted a lot.  One of the ways he would engage with fans was to send his followers on scavenger hunts. I remember one time he tweeted about being at the local mall in Miami and said the first person to find him at this particular mall would win a free pair of his sneakers.



Fans and followers have noted how cool Shaq is for actually responding and talking "directly" to them.  They feel a sense of intimacy with their favorite NBA star.  Arguably, before Twitter came along this type of "direct" intimacy with celebrities - namely professional athletes, was non-existent.  Sure, athletes have Facebook pages and blogs, but it's Twitter that provides a sense of immediate gratification and direct engagement fans and followers seem to embrace.

But Shaq isn't the only one using Twitter to connect with folks. Orlando Magic superstar, Dwight Howard is using Twitter to engage with fans too (@DwightHoward). 

Mashable reports:


From a PR perspective, it seems as though pro athletes are adopting social media outreach for branding and image control purposes.  While this may be true, I'm also incline to believe that celebrities and professional athletes are drawn to social media the same way you or I are drawn to these social spaces.  They too desire to be a part of communities made up of diverse people and ideas.  Call it narcissism, call it altruism, or call it our psychological need to be loved and belong to a social space. Whatever the case may be, it's apparent that these social networks speak to something human and societal, and they are changing the way professional athletes communicate with others.



As I mentioned in my presentation, "Twitter makes us more aware of our purpose in the conversation." Those active tweeters know that Twitter requires time and commitment, perhaps even more than Facebook and Myspace.  Twitter also forces us to choose our tweets wisely.  We've seen what happens when tweeting goes awry for public figures. 

Just recently, Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs was suspended and fined $213,000 for tweeting a gay slur to a follower.  Johnson's (@Toonicon) comments were infantile and derogatory. He deserved to be reprimanded by the NFL.  Fans and followers will heckle, that's going to happen in the wide world of sports. In this case, Johnson lost a sense of his purpose in a Twitter conversation.

So while Twitter and other social networks allow people to connect instantly and directly, all of us are still responsible for our social behaviors and actions in these spaces.  We've gotten accustomed to rethinking a position before uttering it to a family member or friend, but because we live in such a terribly fast and invasive age with the advent of the World Wide Web, we're now forced to rethink our (re)thoughts. And maybe, in the end, that's a good thing.

Johnson, Howard, and O'Neal are among many high profile athletes whose tweets will be scrutinized in Twitter Society. These athletes aren't only being watched by fans in the stands, but also by followers lurking behinds Twitter avatars.  As a 'snew ' (social + new) media consultant, I'm hopeful these athletes can use online platforms of social media to further engage with fans and serve their communities off the playing field.

For a full list of professional athletes on Twitter, visit www.twitter-athletes.com
 

Images courtesy of Sports Networker, Inside Social, Hoopiquity.