Social media popularity can mean bigger paycheck for athletes

Did the interesting, entertaining, sometimes cutting edge Tweets by “Double D” (Darnell Dockett) play a factor in his new $48 million contract extension? Who knows, but one thing is for sure, he has used Twitter account well as a communication platform…

USA Today: Thanks to a compensation formula introduced by her HuckNRoll.com adventure sports team, Rusch can add her social media skills as a source of income.

“Our fans are those hundreds of thousands of people who live for the two weeks a year when they can go skiing or ride their mountain bikes in the real mountains,” says Jon Atencio, the “team wrangler ” for the HuckNRoll squad. “We have skiers, snowboarders, trail runners and bikers. Our athletes have to do more than be at the top of the podium, we want genuine people who care enough to create conversations with their fans through social media.”

Under the HuckNRoll.com plan, its top athletes get a salary that is augmented by payments for their skill at getting fans to read their media offerings and also make purchases from the HuckNRoll.com retail website.

“My career is absolutely a business and I have a degree in marketing,” says Rusch, who is also sponsored by Specialized Bicycles. “There is more to my job than just training and racing. I am constantly looking for opportunities for myself and my sponsors to increase exposure and value.”
Read more at: usatoday.com

An interesting new twist in social check-in apps… tracking your physical accomplishments across the globe. According to Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz…

“EpicMix has the ability to track your physical accomplishments, similar to Nike+, and then combine it with the community experience of location-based social media, similar to applications like Gowalla,” said Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz. The app was unveiled earlier this week, and it officially launches November 5 at Keystone.

There are a number of other ski apps, and even a few launched by specific areas or resort operators, like Snowbird in Utah. But based on the demos Vail Resorts debuted this week, EpicMix goes far past those in terms of functionality. It’s the first to combine the physical performance with social media elements, and it offers a peek at what might lie in the future for participation sports.

Read More http://www.wired.com/playbook/2010/09/vails-epicmix-app/#ixzz0yO0VI2Rd

Bengals Rewarded in Social Media Activity by Chad Ochocinco & Terrell Owens

Media and marketing power come in many different forms. Whether good or bad, publicity can bring in the $. Who knows if these 2 characters can survive together on the same team, but for now, the Bengals will reap the rewards.
examiner.com – Go ahead, ask me how I found out T.O. (Terrell Owens) signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. Did I find out through ESPN? No. NFL Network? Wrong again. How about the Cincinnati Enquirer? That’s three strikes and you’re out! Oops, that’s a baseball term. We are talking football here. Actually, we are talking social media. I found out the Cincinnati Bengals signed T.O. from Chad OchoCinco on Twitter.
I got a tip early Tuesday morning, July 27, 2010 that T.O. was signing with Cincinnati. A friend of mine who was near Paul Brown Stadium confirmed that several media outlets were lining up outside the stadium. I quickly came to the conclusion something big was going to happen. Unfortunately, I was not able to officially confirm that T.O. was being signed. Instead, I read news articles saying the New York Jets were potentially interested in signing T.O. I tried to dismiss those reports, but nothing else was being posted about T.O. signing with the Cincinnati Bengals. This led me to start looking at online buzz for more information about where T.O. was going to sign. Online buzz showed the Bengals were the front-runner in the T.O. sweepstakes, at least from a conversational stand-point.

Coca-Cola Social Media during Superbowl

adweek.com – Coca-Cola today launched a social media campaign on Facebook that teases its upcoming Super Bowl commercials while raising funds for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Through Coke’s Facebook fan page, members can send friends virtual gifts of Coke — a bottle image that appears on their profile pages and newsfeeds. In return, senders get 20-second previews of the new commercials the beverage giant plans to air during the Super Bowl. Coke donates $1 to the Boys & Girls Clubs for each gift sent. At noon on game day, Feb. 7, gift-givers will receive both full ads before they are revealed to the general public on the CBS broadcast that night.

“By using our Super Bowl ads to invite people to join us in supporting Boys & Girls Clubs, we’re going beyond simply airing great commercials on a terrific live television event,” said Katie Bayne, CMO of Coca-Cola North America. “We’re reminding people that whenever they enjoy a Coca-Cola, they play a role in helping us make a difference in the lives of others. By opening a Coke they create a happiness multiplier.”
Read more at

Larry Johnson Losses His Cool on Twitter

Larry Leaping to the unemployment line... again.

pitch.com – The Kansas City Chiefs just released a statement saying the team and the NFL have told Larry Johnson to stay away from practice and team activities.

In the statement, the Chiefs say a decision on Johnson’s status with the team will be made at the conclusion of the investigation.

Read the full story at: pitch.com

NFL Warming up to Social Media

Double D has had some interesting, and crazy funny tweets this off season.

AP: The NFL said Monday it will allow players to use social media networks this season, but not during games. Players, coaches and football operations personnel can use Twitter, Facebook and other social media up to 90 minutes before kickoff, and after the game following traditional media interviews.
During games, no updates will be permitted by the individual himself or anyone representing him on his personal Twitter, Facebook or any other social media account, the league said.
The use of social media by NFL game officials and officiating department personnel will be prohibited at all times. The league, which has always barred play-by-play descriptions of games in progress, also extended that ban to social media platforms.
Earlier this summer, Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie was fined $2,500 by the team for criticizing the food service at training camp on Twitter.
The Miami Dolphins imposed restrictions on players, reporters and even spectators at their training camp, and several other teams also set up some restrictions on practice fields, including the Broncos, Patriots, Bills, Colts, Saints and Lions.
Read more at AP