In the first in the 'Social Sitdown' series on the The Social Sideline, Brian McLawhorn of DevilsIllustrated.com and MountaineersIllustrated.com sat down to talk about how social media has changed the sporting world.
Russell Varner: First, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
Brian McLawhorn: My name is Brian McLawhorn, and I am the publisher for
DevilsIllustrated.com and MountaineerIllustrated.com, affiliate websites of
Yahoo! Sports and Rivals.com. I have been with Rivals.com for 11 years.
RV: How has social media changed your job/what you do?
BM: Social media has changed the sports industry in a huge way.
For me, it has changed how we have to report the news and events surrounding
Duke and Appalachian State sports. When I first began with Rivals.com and
Yahoo! Sports, social media was not what it is today. Athletes were not heavily
involved with social media, at least as a form to put out information about
their recruitment, games, etc. Fans looked to us as journalists to provide that
information through interviews and evaluations. When a recruit announced his
decision to attend a particular school, fans would hang on to every word we
said - we could truly use the news as a marketing component and increase
subscription numbers significantly if a recruit had a high enough profile.
Once social media began to gain popularity, recruits started
using it as a tool to update fans themselves, on their time. Subscriptions
began to steadily decline because fans no longer needed to rely on us for the
information - it was coming straight from the horses mouth and for free.
That forced us to reevaluate how we approach our business,
and ultimately had to shift our business model from breaking news and updating
statuses to evaluating and offering analysis. This approach helped slow the
decline, but it certainly has not allowed us to recover as an industry and
enjoy the level of success we did previously.
RV: How has social media changed the sporting world (in your mind)?
BM:It has closed the gap between the celebrity athlete and the
regular, ordinary fan. Everyone has the opportunity to feel like their voice is
being heard, and that there's an ability to interact directly with their
favorite athletes.
When I was growing up, the only way you could connect with a
professional athlete was to write a letter, send it to the organization and
hope it made it into his hands. Now, fans can go directly to the source. It's
really created a community that never existed before.
RV: What are the greatest strengths of social media?
BM: It depends on what lens you are looking through when
answering this question. From a journalistic point of view it makes for
tracking information a lot easier in some cases. The stories fall into your lap
- you really don't have to dig quite as much for the stories. Certainly you
have to in regards of getting the full details, but the stories themselves are
right in front of you.
From a fans point of view, it's brilliant. The diehards can
interact with one another. They can draw a closer connection with their
favorite teams. It has really opened a whole new aspect of sport that I
personally would never have imagined. Fans have an endless supply of
information coming their way.
I think from an athlete's prospective, they have the ability
to control their image a lot more than they could in the past. That's huge for
athletes that feel as though they are misinterpreted through the media. It is a
valuable tool for them to brand themselves how they want to. It also allows
them to be as involved with their fan base as they want.
RV: What are the greatest dangers of social media?
BM: Again, I think it depends on the perspective you are looking
at things through. From my viewpoint as a journalist, I think there are many
dangers. It allows any random person to proclaim themselves to be a sports
journalist, insider or expert. And as sad as it is to say, much of the general
public is very naive and don't check the source in which they are getting their
information. The next thing you know, rumors are spreading and true journalists
are left cleaning up messes.
Thanks to social media, an extremely high percentage of what
is being put out there is false information. I think that is very dangerous. It
has the potential to ruin images and reputations.
It also allows for people to attack others and hide behind
the anonymity of a username and never take accountability for things that are
said.
I could really go on forever with my thoughts on the dangers
of social media from the angle of a journalist. Unfortunately, I don't think
there's much of a way to regulate it and control the types of content that is
put out.
RV: Talk about your favorite and least favorite aspects of social media.
BM: My favorite part of social media is the ability to interact
with other fans and have real-time connections. I am also a big fan of the
opportunity to get updated information instantly. I think there are a lot of
benefits to be had with social media if it's used responsibly and I think it's
a thing of beauty when it is used in that manner.
My least favorite aspect of it is the freedom to say
whatever with no real consequences. I think it's a dangerous thing when people
are not held accountable for what they say.
RV: What is the biggest piece of advice you would give fans on social media?
BM: The biggest piece of advice I can give fans using social
media is to be smart about how you use it. Watch what you say. Make sure you
have facts before making accusations and be aware of how what you say can
impact others. I would also tell them not to blindly trust what they read
without checking the source of the material and using some commonsense.
RV: What is the biggest piece of advice you would give athletes on social media?
BM: Be careful with what you say. It's out there and it can come
back to haunt you if you're not careful. I personally feel like athletes,
particularly college athletes, should steer clear of it. If you're a
professional athlete, that's a different story. But college athletes play to a
very passionate fanbase - particularly football and basketball. Opposing fans
will try to bait you and set you up at times. If you feel the need to be on
social media, ignore them. Don't respond. Be smart about how you use it and
understand that people are watching and waiting for you to make a mistake.
RV: Where do you see the future of social media and sports going?
BM: That's a good question. I think the future will simply
continue to grow the connection between fans and athletes. I don't see anything
changing in regards to how social media is used. It's a forward moving industry,
and I feel like athletes and fans will continue to embrace the control that is
given to them through social media. I do fear, however, that fans will continue
to grow more bold in how they use it and hope there are some ways of deterring
such usage of social media.
