Purdue Student Athletes and Social Media: Using Social Media to benefit

Purdue University Athletics

Prepared for Purdue Athletes community review board and coaches. By: Jaclyn Hart

OVERVIEW:
Social media is growing at a rapid pace and will only continue to grow. People no longer depend on word of mouth for everyone to know what they were thinking at that very momentsocial media takes care of that for you. If you do not have a Facebook or Twitter account you are considered to be behind the times. With such a growth in social media this poses a growing concern for student athletes and the availability of anyone, friends and strangers alike to access anything they post on the internet. Student Athletes across the country are being scrutinized for misuse of social media site. This white paper is going to talk about both the positives and negatives to using social media as an athletic department staff, coach and especially student athlete.

it will also talk about how coaches and athletic departments as a whole can better monitor and educate student athletes on how to use these tools

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA AFFECTS STUDENT ATHLETES AT PURDUE

Social media is the #1 activity on the web (Qualman, 2009). With this being said besides sports and school, Purdue athletes are spending a good portion of their time using social media. The only bad thing is they are not all using it to benefit their university, their team or themselves. It is hard as Social media is the #1 a student to activity on the web understand that what you have put on the internet stays on the internet; even after it has been deleted it can still be pulled up on an internet cache. It is even harder to understand that as a Purdue Student Athlete

they are under the watchful eye of thousands of people every day, like it or not. Fans love to follow and keep up with what is going on in Purdue Athletes, each individual sport, each coach and specific athletes. For example on twitter Purdue sports twitter -@purduesports has 9,357 followers, Purdue Football- @boilerfootball has 9,149 followers Purdue Mens basketball-@ purduemenshoops has 7,819 followers Purdue Volleyball -@purduevb has 1,993 Football Coach Danny Hope-@coach_ hope has 3.567 followers Womens Tennis Coach Laura Glitz-@ coachglitz has 148 followers Mens Bball Coach Matt Painter - @ coachpainter has 5,091 followers Basketball player Robbie Hummel -@ robbiehummel has 1,694 followers Football-kicker- Carson Wiggs - @ wiggy_bank has 1,413 followers These numbers show that there are fans out there that are interested in what you have to say and what you are doing. Robbie Hummel only has 5 tweets but because he is an athlete he still has 1,694 followers. Even the smaller sports such as womens tennis are still getting followers. They may think that they are out of the lime light but

they are still being watched. With increasing number of people able to access sporting events on TV as well as on the internet Division I, II and III sports allows people across the country to follow their favorite teams. This correlates to the amount of exposure athletes are getting purely by more people being able to watch their games. This denies small schools from hiding and getting off the hook, they are now in the limelight too.

HOW PURDUE CAN PURDUE EFFECTIVELY USE SOCIAL MEDIA

According to Kevin Long, president of MVP sports media training People who are really into doing what needs to be done to protect the image of their school understand that is doesnt matter if its a juco kid who got into a fight in a town bar, or its Dukes J.J. Redick making a U-turn and getting stopped by the police -- it is going to have an impact on the way the community views your school. Twenty people probably did the same thing as [Redick], but hes the only one who got reported on. It was a great lesson for other student-athletes. (Reynolds, L , 2006) Schools are spending millions of dollars paying salaries of highly touted athletic staff and coaches to make sure that the athlete teams can reach their highest potential. It was not until recently that schools also needed to worry

about social media. In the past the monitoring media of athletes was as simple and making sure that they were not making inappropriate comments to reporters, that is no longer the case. Schools need to now worry about what their athletes are doing and saying on social media platforms all the time. This is where athletic departments need to become more concerned with reputation and how they operate fan generated sites. Some schools having already taken action to help their coaches and athletes use social media more effectively by bringing in sports media trainers to make sure their school is best represented. Schools that have already employed someone for this type of training include Colorado State, George Mason, Arkansas, Rice, New Mexico and others. Media training is something every school is going to need to do, says Kevin Long. (Reynolds, 2006) For Purdue Athletics to be able to use social media effectively everyone needs to be on the same page from your athlete director to the coaches all the way down to the athletes, a sports media training would help with problem. Kevin Long, President of MVP sports media training and Kathleen Hessert, President of Sports Media Challenge have worked with the schools that I have listed above and are not the only sports media trainers out there but are great candidates. Kathleen Hessert teaches her clients three components of success today: performance, image and exposure. (Reynolds, 2006)

Since the NCAA has yet to take a formal stand on any rules for social media thus far, that means the decision is yours. Some schools have put a complete ban on the use of social media for their students. A school that has put a complete ban on their athletes and social media uses is Loyola University. (Brady & Libit, 2007). Some schools such as University of Kentucky and Florida State have put their students in an ultimatum type situation. (Brady & Libit, 2007). Then you have schools who are not taking any steps besides monitoring their athletes usage, how much monitoring this includes is hard to say. However, with the increased scrutiny and revolution of social media we are past the days when athletic departments can get away with monitoring alone. It is time to take a step towards effective usage. This is where you step in to teach them how to properly promote Purdue University, the athletic department, their team and most importantly themselves. Student athletes like direction, whether they will admit it or not. The student athletes also like when things are clear cut, so it is advised that you as a staff decide on how much restriction you want to put on their social media usage. The athletes may not like this decision right now but they will surely be thanking you down the road when they are the student athlete that gets a job instead of the student athlete who had inappropriate comments on their Facebook page and is having difficulty finding employment.

A good learning tool is to go to each team closer to the athletes. For example at Purdue, individually and go over what is acceptable to be paint crew members camp outside, sometimes posted and what is not. It is essential that you in freezing temperatures, to get the best seats in make sure the students athletes get a grasp on the house. At the end of the game the basketball how important it is to represent themselves and team slaps their hands and the fans become everyone they are associated with, to the best of ecstatic, you can tell this by the looks on their their ability. They also need to get a firm grasp face or their body language. Another example on how they have a huge target on their back specific to Purdue is the boiler bridge walk and how easy it is for one slip up to get them in that the football team participates each year, trouble. Examples of other student athletes in a large number of people fill the bridge each the media, possibly ones that have been provided year to interact with their favorite football team for you throughout this white paper, will help members. Social media sites are a perfect way with this but it will take time for fans to get a closer look at Stay positive when and strong direction from the their favorite athletes personal coaches and athletic department posting on the web life. Fan interaction is a big part before they truly understand of the way that social media can how much fans idolize student athletes. It is help Purdue Athletics. When a fan feels as if the also important to know that a fan is not always athletes are reachable and not on a complete someone their age or younger, especially in West pedestal they become more interested in the Lafayette where the town is supported by the athletics. When talking about the positives for University fans are all ages, young children and Purdue Athletes and the use of social media one elderly alike. of the first things that might come to mind is staying positive. When fans see that an athlete has something positive to say about a coach, HOW SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP teammate or team as a whole the fans will gain PURDUE ATHLETICS respect for that athlete. Immediately the fans that see this will attain a greater respect for If used properly social media sites such as the entire team. For example after the Purdue Facebook and Twitter can be a great way to reach football teams win over Southeast Missouri out to fans and keep them updated on Purdue State team member Crosby Wright posted Great Athletic Events. Fans love when they get a chance day today! Took care of business, 59-0and had a to interact with the Student Athletes and they ton of fun doing it! Now we get to enjoy the bye soak up every opportunity to feel as if they are week and get ready for Norte Dame #Boilerup.A

respectable team oriented quote such as this makes fans want to support more Purdue athletes. If you get all of your athletes posting quotes like this it will help gain more fans and then hopefully put more fans in the stands at your games. A post on Twitter from kicker Carson Wiggs on 9/9/2011 states So much to look forward to for the game! I cant wait to see everybody again A quote like this can make anyone excited for the upcoming game, when a fan sees that the players are excited for the game they feel confident in the players seeing they are confident. This is what a fan thrives on, what keeps them coming back. Even though word of mouth is not the preferred method of communication in this day in age it is still an effective way of promotion. If someone reads a comment and wants to tell a friend you know, it is either completely worthy of being read repeated or is inappropriate for posting on the internet. Social media outlets are a great way for athletes to communicate with fans in a professional and positive way, such as promoting team success, team spirit, upcoming games or other events. Social media can also help student-athletes if they are having a hard time feeling like a normal college student. One of the many ways these amateur athletes attempt to try and feel like a normal student is through social media

such as Facebook and Twitter. (DiCarlo, 2011) Social media may help student athletes keep in touch with friends and relatives from home more easily, considering their time constrain.

DIAGRAM PROVIDED BY NIELSON COMPANY 2010

The information in the diagram shown above documents the increase in social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube in just three short months.

HOW SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HURT PURDUE ATHLETICS

As was stated above with social media being the #1 activity on the web right now it is inevitable that students-athletes are adding to this trend. Time on social networks represents 16% of all the time people spend on the internet, or one out of every six minutes, compared to one out of twelve minutes in 2007. (Groenfeldt,2011)In June 2009, Nielsen estimated that the average U.S. user spent four hours and 39 minutes on Facebook per month, which equates to 9.3 minutes per day. Again in January 2010 he estimate that the amount of time spent on Facebook had increased to an average of more than seven hours a month. Each user spent 421 minutes per month which is 14 minutes per day. (Nielson, 2010) With student-athletes already spending close to 40 hours a week or more with their sport and 36-40 hours (based on a 12 hour course schedule and the amount of studying recommended 12x3) a week on academics how do they find the time to fit in social media. If they are spending as much time on social media as the average person or more this can have negative effects on their athlete and academic performance. As shown the number above Purdue fans are using their time to follow Purdue athletes on both Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites.

Time on social networks represents 16% of all the time people spend on the internet, or one out of every six minutes, compared to one out of twelve minutes in 2007.
Unfortunately, you have probably never seen a headline story about an athlete who said something politically correct on Facebook or Twitter. Regrettably you have most likely seen multiple stories about athletes saying or posting inappropriate comments through the use of social media tools. For instance a circumstance that happened at your very own university. Although you are all more aware of the situation than those on the outside of your program here is a recap of the situationf from an outsiders point of view. After Purdues football loss against Norte Dame Head Coach Danny Hope said to reporters TerBush had a better command of the offense, and Marve played outside the system at times when he didnt need to. Apparently Quarterback Robert Marve was not pleased with what his coach said about him so he tweeted something to come back at this coach. Marve tweeted Dont understand how I was not playing in the system! It was rough from the get go, dont understand how that was on me. After this tweet made it public coach Danny Hope said that he understood where Marve was coming from and was OK with Marvess comment. He also said that the only negatives that have come

from this are the negatives from the fans and the media. This publicity has probably brought attention, concern and a plan of action for your football team. Unfortunately some fans with have mixed ideas on this situations some might include fans thinking that the only reason that Coach Danny Hope said things were OK is because he did not want fans and media getting more involved with his team. (Johnson, 2011) Other examples from Universitys other than your own include the photos of Northwesterns womens soccer teams hazing was on national news but you probably did not hear about when they beat Oakland in over time. When Dukes mens lacrosse got in trouble for hazing and posting the photos of the event on a website called badjocks.com you probably saw that on the news. You also probably saw the three players accused of rape receiving more time on the news. However you probably never saw that Ward, one of the players accused for rape, awarded for national player of the year and you probably never saw when the team won national title. The publicity you most likely saw about these programs was not of the players actions on the field. These examples show that negative attention travels and is more highly publicized than the positives (Reynolds, 2006). Consequences of negative P.R. can cost the university millions of dollars in alumni donations; destroy the reputation of not only that sport but the entire university, impact enrollment. If an inappropriate comment on the internet does not

affect you right now be ready because they have a way of coming back to get you in trouble when you least expect it. Dont understand how I was not playing in the system! It was rough from the get go, dont understand how that was on me. -Tweet by purdue football player Robert Marve Negatives that social media brings with it is a brink in privacy, if the proper steps and precautions are not taken. Leaving your address, telephone number and other personal information is probably not a wise choice for these athletes. Athletes and Coaches together probably never think of the negative impact social media related to opposing fans. However it is possible that even a fan from an opposing team can follow you and get a hold of an athletes information and use it against them. For example former University of Temple Quarterback Adam DiMichele said My first year at Temple, we were playing Clemson and their fans must have poked me over 5,000 times. Another athlete who wished to remain nameless said When the option to put your number on Facebook came out, I posted my cell phone number on my profile, Someone called me in the middle of the night over and over during game week. Needless to say, I took my number down after that. (Duffy &Reid, 2011) That is why it is important

for athletes to understand the significance of each and every detail they put on a social media network.

small Divsion III fencing team these athletes are public figures and are held to a higher standard than your average college student. Student athletes need to be careful about what they say A major negative that can affect student and how they use social media. You also read athletes right now is that some comment is that social media can be used negatively but bound to offend someone in some way. Student can also have positive uses. If athletes are using athletes are much more visible than your average social media inappropriately this may destroy student and anything inappropriate is much the reputation of that athlete in particular, his/ easier to target. A good rule of thumb for what her team, his/her athletic department and even is appropriate to post or not is: If you would not his/her university. You have already seen small say it in conversation with your mom, your coach, effects of how social media can impact a team, your boss, your grandmother then do not say athletic department and university with the it on the internet. For example in 2005, photos attention received in the last few days between of two female University of Maryland gymnasts Coach Danny Hope and player Robert Marve. which they had placed on Facebook pages were On the other hand social media can be used copied into Playboy.coms College Bar of the positively. Using social media to stay in contact Month column (OToole, 2005). with fans, promote success, team spirit and events are great ways that student athletes can use social media. Finally sports media trainers are becoming more and more popular among SUMMARY: OF WHAT SOCIAL colleges across the company and are their to MEDIA CAN DO FOR PURDUE help you with how you want your university represented. In this white paper you have read about the affects that social media can have on Purdue student athletes. With social media taking over the #1 spot on the web and the average person spending 16% of their time on social media athletes are most likely spending some of their time using such platforms. As stated above even collegiate athletes, whether the star player of a bigten football team or a bench warm from a

SOURCES:
Reynolds, L. (2006, August 9). Media training aims at producing scandal-free athletes. ESPN. com. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from http://sports. espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2541839 Blank, D. (2010). Athletic departments battle facebook. Retrieved from http://thesportdigest. com/archive/article/athletic-departments-battlefacebook

Butts, F. (2008). Ncaa athletes and facebook. Brady, E., & Libit, D. (2006, March 8). Alarms Retrieved from http://www.thesportjournal.org/ sound over athletes Facebook time. USA Today. Retrieved September 17, 2007, from http://www. article/ncaa-athletes-and-facebook usatoday.com Associated Press. (2011, October 12). Purdue Duffy, F., & Reid, B. (2011, April 26). Social media coach fine with marves tweet. Retrieved from http://www.ajc.com/sports/purdue-coach-finecan hurt and help college athletes. Retrieved with-1194466.html from http://tubot.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/ social-media-can-hurt-and-help-college-athletes/ Groenfeldt, T. (2011, June 22). Social media has grown fast -- here are the numbers. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ tomgroenfeldt/2011/06/22/social-media-hasgrown-fast-here-are-the-number/ Qualmann, E. (2011). Socialnomics. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Neilson, C. (2010, January 22). Led by facebook, twitter, global time spent on social media sites up 82% year over year. Retrieved from http://blog. nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/led-by-facebooktwitter-global-time-spent-on-social-media-sitesup-82-year-over-year/ Johnson, J. (2011, October 5). Hope ok with marves tweets. Retrieved from http://www. journalreview.com/sports/article_64aa72c2-ef0811e0-b19a-001cc4c03286.html