Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/148978
M THE VOICE BY MATT LEPAY // VOICE OF THE BADGERS Don't forget to think before you tweet ight as well open the season with a confession. About five years ago, when Twitter was in its infancy, your friendly broadcaster/columnist predicted it was nothing more than a fad. This observer figured Twitter's popularity would last about as long as some of us viewed the leisure suit as high fashion. Did you say a leisure suit never qualified as high fashion? Ouch. Moving right along, the fact is Twitter is big, and it is getting bigger by the day. You could argue that it is necessary. In my line of work, it is a terrific source for catching up on day's news. Many of those I follow are media members ― local, regional and national. The links to good stories are very helpful both as a fan and as someone who makes a living talking about games people play. Twitter also makes it easier to connect with some folks I have not seen in years, including the person who hired me in Madison 25 years ago, Chris Moore (@mooretosay), who is now a host on CBS Sports Radio. Being slow to embrace the concept, I avoided sending tweets until last September. It gives me a chance to reach out to Badgers fans, or just sports fans in general. Many of my tweets are promos for game broadcasts, other UW related programming, my tastes in music, and seemingly constant banter with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) about 16 // VARSITY August 8, 2013 his favorite restaurant (#TacoBell). Never hurts to have some fun on Twitter, right? Yes, Twitter is useful, and it can be good for a laugh. At least for now, I enjoy being part of the social media world. But the trick in all of this is allowing Twitter to be your friend and not your enemy. As we approach another University of Wisconsin sports season, I can't help but consider how the spotlight has become brighter than ever for student-athletes, and how social media plays a critical role. Relatively speaking, talk radio has been around forever. Fan message boards still exist. But Facebook and especially Twitter have combined to give fans more forums to express support, or in some cases, to vent their anger at players, media or anyone else. Just before the Badgers football team opened training camp, Athletic Communications Director Brian Lucas (@BrianLucasUW) gave a presentation on media relations, with an emphasis on social media. While everyone can get a chuckle out of examples of not-so-bright tweets from college and even professional athletes, the message is important. Twitter "is a megaphone, not a telephone," said Lucas. For examples of how to make Twitter work for you, Lucas refers to former Badgers stars J.J. Watt (@JJWatt) and Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson). Follow those two, and you might be convinced "they never had a bad second," said Lucas, adding the most "controversial" tweet from Watt occurred when he welcomed Dwight Howard to the Houston Rockets. That is J.J. ― a real boat rocker. Watt and Wilson are exceptional on and off the field. For some of us, keeping tweets suitable for family viewing can be a challenge at times. Having a Twitter chat with a couple of buddies that includes some inside humor could be taken as something entirely different by anyone else who follows you. After close losses, I have seen some nasty tweets directed at football and basketball players. The receiver who dropped a pass. The running back who fumbled. The normally good shooter who missed a wide open jumper. I can only try to imagine how tempting it must be for the player to respond, even though he knows it is better to just let it go. The person delivering the cheap shot might have 10 followers. Responding might give him 25,000 followers, or at least that many who viewed the exchange. "It's a megaphone, not a telephone." Using social media wisely is another part of the growth process for student-athletes. Lucas' message was to the football team, but in reality it applies to any of us. Having a filter on what we tweet can be easier said than done, but it sure can save us some headaches.