Happy Blog Birthday

Welcome back to The Sports Ace, where the top sluggers always participate in the Home Run Derby regardless of how they feel, what it might do to their swing, etc.



Four years ago today, I started this blog. It's been a rollercoaster ride, but here we are, still having fun. And I'm really excited that today, on TSA's fourth birthday, it has the highest readership and following that it's ever had.

A sincere thanks to all of you for reading, commenting, Tweeting and everything else. It's my privilege to contribute in my own small way to the bigger conversation going on out there, and it's a real honor that you all take the time to engage with me. Here's to the next four years, and beyond!

I'm out like the National League.

Celebrity Product Plugs...in Social Media

Welcome back to The Sports Ace, where there are still few things more enjoyable and sacred than a Fourth of July with family, friends and some good food and drink. I hope you all had a great holiday!

Shawn Johnson (the gold-medal gymnast and Dancing with the Stars champ) is one of the few celebrities I follow on Twitter (@ShawneyJ) - she's obviously an incredible athlete and person, and I think she's a lot more human in social media than most people with her level of fame. And I think it's interesting how in the past couple of days she's started Tweeting about Crest White Strips...how they're helping her, how they provide value, etc. I would be shocked if she were doing this on her own...Crest probably has her inked to some sort of sponsorship deal.

This appears to be one of the first examples of a celebrity plugging a brand/product through social media, and I think this is a great case study of how it can be done well for two primary reasons. First, Johnson works in her Crest mentions smoothly, completely in her normal tone and style. It doesn't read anything like typical advertising/PR/promotional copy - it's very easy to grasp, and it seems very much like something she would have told you if you were standing two feet apart. Second, she doesn't beat you over the head with it - since starting on June 29, she's written a grand total of four Tweets mentioning White Strips. That's in between 2-3 Tweets a week. If there were too many messages, the celebrity's objectives would seem too obvious, and that might be negative for the brand and the celebrity plugger. But this frequency seems like just the right amount (or maybe just a bit more would be okay) to keep the brand and product on the top of followers' minds.

No doubt that this is the tip of the iceberg - as athletes, celebrities and brands of all kinds look to gain more mindshare in social media like Twitter, these sorts of partnerships will become much more common. I think this one is being executed well, and it should help both the celebrity and the brand/product. And it will be interesting to see how this kind of marketing takes shape in the coming months. Will Shaq get involved? Danica Patrick? Others?

What do you think? Will more of these partnerships be forged? What do marketers/celebrities need to keep in mind when plugging brands and products in social media? Comments welcome.

That's all for now. I'm out like the Marians (Gaborik and Hossa).

Twitter Counseling

Welcome back to The Sports Ace, where cheaters in major sports never get to play real games - even in the minor leagues - before their suspensions are over.

So there's been a hubbub on Twitter in the past few days about people being sick and tired of reading Tweets from people about Michael Jackson's life, death and legacy. People have berated, snubbed and threatened to unfollow others over this, just because they don't want to be exposed to Jackson dialogue anymore. I might be risking a few follows with this, but to all of you who are doing that: deal with it.

Let's face it: one of Twitter's top strengths is its ability to provide a forum for people to share news and experiences with each other, regardless of geography, in real time. When President Obama was inaugurated, millions of people around the world Facebooked and Tweeted each other, sharing in the experience and the significance of the day. Just as it was a great tool for sharing and community building in a time of celebration, why should it be any different in a time of sadness? That's right, it shouldn't - in fact, it might be even more important in bad times. All people are doing on Twitter is working through their natural grief processes together, in a community of people that supports them. People shouldn't belittle or threaten others or put them down for coping with loss in any way, including this one.

And let's remember, it takes time for people to grieve. As I write this, it's been exactly one week since Jackson died. Anyone who's ever lost someone/something that's important to them knows that it can take days, weeks, months and even years to fully move on from a grief-inducing event. And we all grieve differently. Sure, Jackson isn't a member of the vast majority of our immediate families. But his music brings an entire generation of people back to their childhood, and reminds many more of other memories in their life - many of those good. It's been one week, people...there are lots of people out there still coping with Jackson's death. And that's perfectly normal and okay. It happens every time a song comes on the radio, or another news story hits the airwaves...it's still very fresh. Heck, people are still grieving for Elvis.

Personally, I love how Twitter gives me a way to connect with others I respect and share really big events - both good and bad - with them in a way I couldn't before. This is the essence of how Twitter builds community, and how members of that community support and pick each other up. If Twitter can help people work through major community/national events of loss or grief, such as Michael Jackson's death, then I think it does a tremendous service to us all. We should be helping our neighbors, not tearing them down.

That's all for now. I'm out like the King of Pop himself...RIP.