Staying On Top of an Everchanging Internet Landscape

One of the biggest things I have learned this past semester while writing the Social Sideline is that in order to be successful in new media (Internet, social media, etc.) today, you have to be on top of all the trends and apps, becoming a part of the influencers and the "early majority" of users, as opposed to catching on to something late. 

This, of course, leads to the question of how one stays on tops of trends in an online world where 15 minutes of fame has decreased to just 15 seconds of fame?

1. Be flexible
Trends and apps rise and fall at the drop of a hat it seems today - remember how popular those Harlem Shake videos were on YouTube? Remember how big games like Candy Crush and Flappy Bird got? Yet, as quickly as those rose to prominence, they disappeared into obscurity again. Even sites that seem firmly entrenched (looking at you MySpace) can fall from grace, so to speak. So be prepared for any and all apps and trends and, more importantly, to change your content so that it fits. For example, Vine only shows six seconds of videos. So find ways to get important information in then. Show the team coming onto the field. Get video of postgame celebrations. Make sure to give the audience things they cannot get anywhere else. Which leads to point #2...

2. Separate yourself
The beauty of the Internet is that anyone and everyone can add to the conversation. Unfortunately, this also leads to a whole lot of noise, making it hard for even the best work to raise to the top. There are ways though, and you need to find the one that works best for you. Find a topic that few people are talking about and focus on that. Answer questions for people. Find a niche and stick with it. On that same note, follow people who talk a similar topic as you and do what they do not. Some good sports social media accounts I follow (in case you are curious) include MLB Fan Cave, Fieldhouse Media, Wealthbridge, SB Nation and Black and Blue Review.

3. Follow influencers
If you cannot become an influencer, then you should find them and follow them closely. They are the ones who help create and determine what is popular and the public's opinion of things. What to know what the next big thing will be? Follow these guys closely and you will be ahead of the curve at whatever comes next.

Does the NFL Need A Stricter Social Media Policy?

Miami Dolphins safety Don Jones is in hot water for tweets he made in relation to Michael Sam.

As you are most likely aware by now, the recent National Football League Draft saw the first openly gay player drafted in NFL history in Missouri linebacker Michael Sam. Many celebrated the pick, but when Sam was shown on television kissing his partner, some...not-so-nice tweets came out (to put it nicely). Among those that tweeted negatively were Miami Dolphins safety Don Jones, who would later be fined and excused from the team for what he said.

It even went outside the realm of the NFL. Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson attacked SportsCenter via Twitter for showing the kiss, saying:

Henderson would later say that the tweets were a part of a "psychology experiment" for a friend of his who was also gay.

All of this bothered many, including Bleacher Report NFL columnist Mike Freeman, who questioned if the NFL needed to reform their social media policy. Many leagues, including the NFL, have social media policies that restrict when a player or coach can tweet, but there is nothing in the policies that talk about what someone can tweet about. Freeman asked league spokesman Greg Aiello about this, and Aiello's response was as close to perfect as you could get in such a situation.

"As far as comments on social media, players and all NFL personnel are accountable for what they say, same as we are when being interviewed by a member of the media."

New York Giants offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz added that perhaps the league could set guidelines for punishment on tweets, but that there's no way the league could police every player's Twitter account, so there should not be further policy on this (see the Tweet here).

I believe that the NFL's current stance on the content of tweets is the best way to go about it currently. As Schwartz stated, it would be near-impossible for any league, not just the NFL, to monitor the social media accounts of every athlete. Plus, playing Big Brother is no way to build trust between a league and its players - just ask colleges how well that works for them.

Maybe somewhere down the road, someone will find a better way to monitor player's accounts, but for now, holding athletes responsible for what appears on their social media accounts is the best practice for leagues.

#WeAreAllMonkeys: A Fútbol Approach to Dealing with Racism

Bananas: Bringing People Together Since April 2014

In case you missed it, racism has become the hot topic in sports over the past week, thanks to some leaked comments from Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. You've probably read plenty about that, so I don't need to say much there.

What you probably did not hear as much about is what happened that same weekend during a professional soccer/fútbol match in Spain. During a match between FC Barcelona and Villareal FC, Barcalona defender Dani Alves went to take a corner kick. As he was preparing to take a kick, a fan from the stands threw a banana at Alves. Yes, you read that right. Disgusting act of racism, right? Don't worry though, Alves reacted in arguably the best way possible.


His act quickly spread on social media from one soccer fan to another. Then, his teammate, young soccer starlet Neymar, posted the following photo on Instagram.


He included four hashtags with the photo: "#somostodosmacacos," "#weareallmonkeys," "#somostodosmonos" and "#totssommonos." All four hashtags translate to 'we are all monkeys.'

Suddenly, player after player and team after team began posting their own #weareallmonkeys photos on social media.

With my colleague Marta from Brazil we say #NoToRacism. We are all equal. pic.twitter.com/0kWLsaAgwP
— Sergio Aguero (@aguerosergiokun) April 28, 2014

With my mate @Phil_Coutinho #SayNoToRacism #WeAreAllMonkeys pic.twitter.com/mY3W4GogqZ
— Luis Suarez (@luis16suarez) April 28, 2014

#SomosTodosMacacos pic.twitter.com/lgxJLBa9X0
— Corinthians Paulista (@Corinthians) April 28, 2014

Juventus #SayNoToRacism con @danistone25 @Asabob20 #Pogba #Giovinco (1/2) pic.twitter.com/tj0qZ8XfAJ
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) April 29, 2014

Even the Maldivian national team are going bananas pic.twitter.com/Wgi1rA3LFu
— 101 Great Goals (@102greatgoals) April 29, 2014

#SayNoToRacism #weareallmonkeys #Schalke #S04 pic.twitter.com/scY5vkZaC4
— FC Schalke 04 (@s04) April 29, 2014

The movement initially looked like a great success, particularly for something as spontaneous as it was.

But, just as with David Ortiz's viral selfie with President Obama, it turns out to was not as spontaneous as it seemed. Turns out that Neymar himself, who has dealt with racist acts this season, actually hatched the idea to eat a banana that was thrown at him, with the help of some advisors, including Neymar's father.

Alves had the opportunity before Neymar did, and did not think twice about eating the thrown fruit. Neymar then took to Instagram to launch the campaign, including with the photos the hashtags that were actually planned out by a Brazilian marketing firm.

Guga Ketzer, who works at the marketing firm, said:

"Actions speak louder than words. A gesture needs no translation and what we’re seeing is that this has gone viral, globally. The concept was for Neymar to eat the banana, but in the end it was Alves, and that works just the same.
The best way to beat prejudice is to take the sting out of the action so it is not racist repeated. We created #weareallmonkeys #somostodosmacacos, with the gesture of eating a banana, and it has been turned into a movement."

More information can be found here.

The fact that the act and movement was preplanned should not diminish what Neymar and Alves have been able to accomplish. They have brought worldwide attention to the racism that still exists overseas. Working with a marketing firm certainly helped with the success of the #weareallmonkeys movement and should be something athletes consider doing more often in the future.

If the racist acts of this past weekend have done nothing else, they have reminded us that A. unfortunately, racism still exists. B. just how powerful social media can be when used correctly by opinion leaders and those with massive followings.

And for those wondering, the fan suspected of throwing the banana has been found and arrested.