Have you ever logged into Facebook and seen the SAME exact post by the SAME exact person 2 or 3 times in a row because they’ve linked their multiple accounts to post one status? I just got finished reading a blog on http://www.teamusa.org/ by a fellow retiree of mine; Steve Mesler, 3-time Olympian. I have always admired this man for his athleticism but more keenly his ability to pull his thoughts from his head and put them onto paper, which makes me think of a quote my boss said the other day “Megan, we are in marketing. We take nothing and make it into something.” Maybe what I'm feeling towards Steve is a bit more jealousy than it is admiration.
He has mastered this whole phenomenon of “Social Media.” Between his posts on the TeamUSA website and his former teammate Steve Holcomb’s, Katie Uhleander, Chris Plys, Erin Hamlin, and many more status updates, I am utterly perplexed as to HOW they’ve gotten to where they are in the communication world. MySpace, Twitter, blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Chat, Google+… what am I missing? Skype? YouTube channels? Who even knows anymore?
When it comes to social media I am the opposite of savvy; and maybe that is what hinders me. I shy away because I’m intimidated. However I will rationalize! Call me a tad bit traditional but I prefer the face-to-face conversations. I’m not quite sure what gives me the social anxiety but when someone introduces themselves then proceeds to act like they know me, my family, my career, what I did last night, and my future… I’m a bit perplexed and develop social anxiety equivalent to what some would call a “level five clinger.”
I damn Google. This is my personal opinion and after speaking with Emily and Erin Hamlin tonight both sides to the argument were equally validated. If not for social media, winter athletes (ESPECIALLY LUGE) would be the forgotten ones. Friendships that have evolved due to the fact that we can now Facebook one another when we’re in the general vicinity [and have the random catch-up session] wouldn’t happen.
But there’s also a rational that has to be brought to the table along with moral standard where you DO NOT share your entire day’s activities with the world. God only knows, I don’t want your itinerary (i.e. “Going to the grocery store” or “random night tonight”) to be blowing up my Blackberry. But I also think that retreating into the black hole of what we athletes affectionately call the “BioDome” aka the training center, and this mysterious place on earth called Lake Placid, isn’t healthy. We need to stay connected and share our stories… but to what degree?
I spent the last year in what I like to call, therapy. For me, that was giving tours to the guests of the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, UT. When I first started, I remembered how for years I was drilled through media training to not use the word “DANGEROUS” because it would give the wrong connotation to our sport. But after 2010 games… how does the public perceive us as anything but dangerous?
This question doesn’t apply to specifically the sport of Luge. What about the mass amounts of people who believe that Skeleton is more dangerous than Luge (and yes, I am bias. So YES I proceeded to tell them otherwise!) or those US bobsled athletes who crashed in 4-man? What was the mix-zone like for them in 2010 post-Luge race?
Don’t get me wrong about the direction that our communication and social media has taken. I am a helpless Facebook stalker when I want to be. But the question is; without it, where would we be? And without it, how would I be able to stay in touch with my sister, family, best friends, sponsors, coaches, fans…YOU name it? It’s a part of our culture whether I like to admit it or not. I am still utterly perplexed by it. Hence…this blog.
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