Soccer is recognized as the single most popular sport around the world. From the green grass of Southern California, to the barren dirt fields of third world countries in Africa, soccer is something that brings people together and allows us to forget about politics, the economy, and religious differences. Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and other blogs enhance the world’s ability to discuss what soccer allows us to escape. But, what happens when one combines the professional game of soccer with a tool that encourages discussion and controversy? The result is quite amazing, actually; our knowledge of the game is enhanced, and we make connections with others through discussion boards. However, there is another side to this coin. In some cases professional players have abused their ability to be heard. While there have been problems with social media sites abroad, the use of these sites has enabled the growth of various leagues and strengthened the connection between player and fan.

The MLS has only been around since 1993 and has struggled to take off with the majority of Americans to this day. However, much can be said about the progress of the league since the early 90’s. Arguably its most notable strides in popularity have derived from the arrival of big name players like David Beckham in 2007. While Beckham is very much responsible for increased popularity, the social media sites have their place as well. Coincidentally, the creation of social media sites almost mirrors the growth of the MLS. Soccer communities in North America were largely isolated due to the primitive state of the Internet and the overall lack of media coverage surrounding the sport. However with the eruption of the Internet in the late 90’s, these small soccer communities were then able to reach out to others in the United States. Blogs and message boards quickly sprang up around the country to fill the void for soccer fans in North America. The growth of the MLS is indisputable, but we will be playing catch-up for years to come. While these sites have benefited the growth of the MLS, social media sites have had a very different impact on professional soccer leagues abroad, most notably the English Premier League (EPL).

 The sporting culture in England is heavily in favor of soccer over other popular sports like cricket or rugby. Because of this, England has a very talented national team and develops some of the great players of the world like John Terry, Steven Gerrard, and Frank Lampard—the “Golden Generation” as they are referred to. Joey Barton has been graced with amazing skill and certainly contributes to the Golden Generation, however he always seems to find his way into the spotlight for all of the wrong reasons. In 2008, he spent time in jail for assaulting a teen outside a Merseyside shopping center. Since then he has not managed to tone down his antics in real life or even the cyber world for that fact. Since the launch of Twitter in 2006, Barton has found his voice through his excessive Tweets. Often very outspoken on matters unrelated to him, Barton has been known to use Twitter to criticize his superiors and his colleagues. Barton practically Tweeted his way into a contract termination with former club Newcastle United, which saw him making a move to recently promoted Queens Park Rangers. Most recently he has found himself in public Twitter battles with some of his fellow professionals. Jack Wilshere and Karl Henry are amongst his latest Twitter victims.

While Barton manages to make plenty of wrong choices, a new generation of English players is rising to the top with class and professionalism. Jack Wilshere is perhaps the face of this next English generation, having cemented his place in the Arsenal Football Club and England National Team midfield. Wilshere is just 19 years old and is therefore considered a “digital native”, someone who was born during the introduction of digital technology and has grown up using it. Being a rising star, Wilshere is only 100 followers away from reaching a million. Wilshere regularly engages with his fans through pictures, activity updates, and injury status updates, strengthening not only his personal fan base, but also making the relationship between fans and players more personal. On November 18^th 2011, Wilshere “Retweeted” several fans that requested this, “@JackWilshere can I hate a RT or a tweet!! Its my birthday!!<3” is one of many examples.

The creation of social media sites is a new and engaging way to promote soccer fan base. On occasion the privilege to be heard by so many people can be abused by people of power and envy, like professional soccer players. While social media sites, like Twitter, strengthen the relationship between fan and player, the media has access to Twitter all the same. If used in the wrong way, Twitter can become a free interview for reporters to write about what players really think. Perhaps professional athletes lose sight of the fact that they are people of great envy and are watched by a lot of critical people. One would think that this would encourage them to behave and speak more appropriately.

lampert19:

andersdh88: I’ve never been a real big fan of these shows, but I can see the appeal. American Idol is a pioneer in this area and has inspired shows like this. Not to mention it is funny how remarkably similar they all are to each other. I enjoyed your presentation (especially seeing some clips of the show) and there is clearly a lot of talent. Nice job on the presentation, I’m sold!

erinnk: At first I was unsure of the marketing strategy of Etsy. What made this different from ebay or Amazon? But I soon realized that allowing different sellers to interact with each other was extremely valuable. While stores have ebay accounts all the same, the ability to communicate is what separates them. I enjoyed your presentation!

I found that the article assigned for class to be pretty interesting. I would give a thorough summary, but Professor Westerman may not be keen on having students read summaries rather than the complete article. Basically a research study has shown that searching the internet stimulates brain activity in middle aged to older adults.

There is one comparison that I enjoy, and that is the use of internet compared to reading. Examining the brain activity and points of the brain stimulated, the research found that that simple online searches stimulates the same cognitive parts of the brain, and more.

While these findings are very interesting, they prompted questions that I think the study could have answered. I am by no means a biology/science kind of guy, so I had trouble hypothesizing these questions. Here they are:

1. How does internet usage affect children and teens?

2. Are there long term repercussions for early exposure to the internet?

3. How do the so called “negative effects” of the internet hurt us?

anniehass: I really enjoyed your presentation. I have never been a huge fan of more of the new TV shows around, but you made it clear that I should reconsider this. I thought you gave us good insight about the show while making good points.

hallewri111:

It was really interesting to hear about the different topics on the House blog! It’s kind of funny how people will turn to a House themed blog, to talk about random things about their life. I liked how you even showed us the actual blog, I think it provided a better idea of how exactly the site is set up. Have you come to any sort of conclusion as to why people might turn to the House blogs for that type of interaction?

bysbigtbabar: I got a chance to read your first draft a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed it. While you provided nice examples in the essay, I enjoyed what you had to say in your presentation. Have you ever considered joining one of those online symphonies?

anniehass: What a brilliant show. I though you raised interesting points about the future of the show without Michael. My favorite part was easily the “bromance” videos. I have really gotten in to those since you showed our class. I recommend them to all of my friends. Goo work.

magichodge: Nick, you’re a true magician. You’re knowledge and expertise on this subject is inspiring. Most of the people on the world do not have as extensive knowledge as you. What surprised me the most is that the magic and cardistry world is so vast, but I havent heard much about it. I hope that it continues to grow and entertain us all, and I wish the same to you in your career.

molly111:

magichodge:

/slideshow

Love the images of playing cards! Nice design throughout. Question: How does social media affect learning, beyond cost and accessibility of instruction/information?

What social media has done to learning is (apart from making it more accessible)…