Last semester, I studied the role of social media in professional sports. I combined my passion for sports with my desire to study multimedia writing in society. I wrote three blog posts that outlined the role that social media plays in professional sports, and mainly how it’s used for more than just a mode of communication.
I wanted to find out what people use social media for when they watch sports, and how they use it in their everyday lives. Some uses include communication, escapism, etc. I used my research to show the multimodal uses of social media, and what users should consider when posting and going online.
https://outdooreducation.blog/2019/05/06/how-social-media-has-changed-the-game/
This post talks about about the ways in which social media has impacted professional sports, as this was one of the main ideas that drove my research. I broke up the post into four digestible sections detailing my findings: media literacy, building community, proximity, and consuming content. I chose these four sections since they seem to be the most diverse and accurate representations of using social media in professional sports. I synthesized data I collected from various databases and came to form the four sections of the post. The overall message I wanted to relay to my audience was how social media can be utilized for purposes other than just simply communicating. I arranged the post to go from simple information, such as media literacy and building community, to ideas of social media that many might not think of, such as proximity and consuming content. The context for this post was within my intended research of social media in professional sports, and my audience is mainly sports fans who use social media daily.
https://outdooreducation.blog/2019/05/06/what-should-the-role-of-sports-reporting-social-media-be/
This post discusses the question of whether or not athletes should be outspoken in media. I used three separate examples to help get the discussion going for the readers: one discussing Colin Kaepernick and his kneeling during the national anthem and two instances involving LeBron James where he spoke out against Donald Trump. I used these three examples since they are the most well known occurrences of athletes using their platforms to make a political statement. I researched instances in sports where professional athletes have spoken out against injustices or stated their political beliefs, and the NBA and NFL were the two most prominent sports where this occurred. LeBron and Kaepernick appeared as the most popular results, and therefore offered the most data to use. I structured the post as separate narratives of how these athletes spoke out for what they believe in. There was no particular arrangement for the post: I simply wrote about LeBron and then Kaepernick, making sure to end with Kaep since his kneeling protests are probably the most well-known, especially outside of sports. The purpose of creating such posts was not to sway the audience to think one way versus another, but rather, inform them of the climate that exists in professional sports: athletes do not always stick to talking about sports. I wrote this for fans of professional sports who are impacted by athletes talking about politics, whether positively or negatively. I am not politically inclined myself, however I believe it is valuable, whether warranted or not, that athletes use their positions to discuss important and sometimes difficult issues. In today’s political climate, it’s important for everyone’s voice to be heard and respected.
https://outdooreducation.blog/2019/05/06/how-do-sports-media-outlets-use-social-media/
This post talks about social media’s usage in professional sports. I broke up this topic into five different categories: content consumption, relaying new information, discourse, awareness of social issues, and competition for fandom. I was initially fascinated by social media in professional sports, which goaded me to pursue researching how it is used other than for just communicating. I used research databases to try and find trends in social media uses, and the five categories I chose were the most popular. I didn’t structure the post in any specific way, but I ensured that the section about social issues was towards the end since it is a bit more complex and would take longer to understand and read. Since I see social media being utilized differently everyday, and I wanted to narrow down some main uses for sports fans and social media users to see. Ultimately, I wanted to educate others as to why social media can be such a powerful tool: it can not only inform us but it can also shape the way we think.
I thoroughly enjoyed writing each of these posts. I synthesized a lot of outside data and combined it with my own opinions to create an informal yet informative narrative for consumers to consider. Ultimately, I am not certain as to what I want to do post-graduation but I feel that sports writing is a field I would be open to exploring.
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