Football Media

Written by Chris Mann, a blogger at the Soccerlens football blog.

Make no mistake about it, social media is changing the way in which we interact with the internet and the way we interact with each other. Websites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, amongst the great monoliths of cyberspace, are making our lives more closeted and yet more open to the world than ever before.

Social media does not only change and manipulate (both positively and negatively) the way in which we socialise on the individual and collective levels, it has also spilled over to influence communications between and amongst particular worldwide groups of people and organisations bound by common interests. The media has been radically democratised and football has been influenced to as great an extent as any other worldwide pastime or profession.

Leading The Revolution

At the forefront of the social media revolution are the giants of internet communications, digital societies of their own allowing all corners of the world to interact at all hours of the day. As I’ve already briefly mentioned, the leaders in this field are the likes of MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. If you’re not already familiar with these websites then you might want to read these brief descriptions:

Facebook: Set up a profile complete with information about your favourite films/music/books, upload a flattering photo of yourself and away you go. Of course, with millions of people now using Mark Zuckerberg’s massively popular creation, it’s likely that quite a few of your friends are also on the site. Locate them and you’ll be able to follow their updates and have a nose through their latest pictures at you leisure.

MySpace: Similar in nature to Facebook, although MySpace has gained itself quite a reputation for launching the online careers of several notable bands and artists and, as a result, has slightly more of an indie, alternative feel to it. It is, to use a relatively needless analogy, Facebook’s slightly cooler, more fashion conscious older brother.

Twitter: More of a “micro-blogging” site than a traditional social network, Twitter, one of the more recent additions to the ever-growing world of social media, is fast establishing itself as a major force in the way people communicate. The favoured social media tool of those in the public eye, Twitter is useful for keeping up-to-date with your favourite celebrity’s recent activities or updating your friends on your recent movements, all done through the medium of pithy 140-character ‘tweets’.

The Changing Face of Football Media

“This social media stuff”, you may be thinking, “is all very well, but how does it relate to football?” Well, in answer to the question, it has facilitated a huge growth in the scope of the football media, both amongst professional writers and in the blogosphere, where fans and observers of all kinds make their views known across the world via social media.

The traditional print media and the large broadcasting networks have been quick to adapt and make social media a central part of their football coverage. Not only do the newspapers and networks such as The Times and the BBC have Twitter feeds connected to their official football websites, individual journalists have also embraced the revolution. Henry Winter, football correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, and Sean Ingle, The Guardian’s sports editor, are just two examples of high-profile figures in the print media crossing over into the social networking sphere. Some scribes such as Spanish AS reporter Guillem Balague, have gone further and established their own independent websites.

These outlets allow the role of the modern journalist to become increasingly multilateral. Those who are paid good money to write about football are now not only able to reach a wider audience with their work, but their readership is more readily able to reach them. Readers, through innovations in social media, are able to engage with those who guide and shape football opinion and, in essence, hold them to account over their judgements on the game. As a result footballing debate has been democratised and diffused, journalism gradually becoming a more outwardly driven process with public opinion now playing a more significant role than ever before. Social media allows those in the traditional media to tap into the organic football opinion and discourse which arises from a global football fan base and make their coverage more dynamic as a result.

Clubs & Players

It is not exclusively newspapers and networks that have taken advantage of various social media platforms. Individual players and clubs, both great and small, have established a strong internet presence, with several high-profile players preferring the more personal nature of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace to the relative anonymity and sterility of an official website.

When Frederico Macheda announced himself with the winning goal in a superb Manchester United comeback against Aston Villa in April his Facebook profile suddenly became the focus of a great deal of attention. According to The Times, the young Italian went from having 640 ‘fans’ to well over 20,000 overnight. Stories like Macheda’s are indicative of a new era of greater accessibility. In an era when sports stars and other celebrities can seem distant and aloof, social media is quickly giving the stars the ability to communicate more freely with their fans and give people an insight into the much coveted lifestyle of the modern professional footballer.

The recent Confederations Cup was another watershed for the use of social media tools in football. A significant number of the USA squad (who eventually lost out to Brazil in a thrilling final) had Twitter accounts and kept their followers informed of their progress on a regular basis. Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu and Brad Guzan all updated regularly to give a unique perspective on what it’s like to be involved in a major tournament. They also used their newfound platform to express their thanks to those who supported them, something which elite athletes are not always able to do through the more traditional modes of media.

Social media continues to get ever closer to the live action, with footballers not only “tweeting” before and after matches and training, but even during the very events themselves. Aly Wagner, a player for Los Angeles Sol in the Women’s Professional Soccer League, recently became the first ever professional footballer to “tweet” from the substitutes bench during a game. The power of Twitter in football knows no bounds! We can only speculate as to what her manager may have thought…

As I’ve already briefly touched on, clubs have also come to establish themselves through a variety of social media outlets. A great many clubs, from the great to the small, have begun to use online social networking to increase their internet presence and further expand and inform their support. From Liverpool, Arsenal, Internazionale and Chelsea to Luton Town, Kidderminster Harriers and Swindon Town, social media sites are awash with football clubs reaching out to their fans and placing an ever-increasing emphasis on supporter inclusion and interaction.

The Blogosphere

Official sites, pages and feeds are all very well, but some of the most entertaining football writing can be found on the thousands of high quality football blogs scattered across the internet. It is these blogs of fans and armchair pundits alike that are the very lifeblood of the footballing social media scene. Arseblog, The Republik of Mancunia, Real Madrid Talk, Kopblog and Harry Hotspur are all classic examples of the wit and incisive analysis that have made such fan-driven sources of comment so popular. They pithily summarise the passionate feelings of the everyday football fan and, despite in the main not being written by professional hacks, are often home to some of the finest sports writing around.

Few of these blogs however, are stand alone websites, most of them forming part of an online community such as the hugely popular OleOle or Footbo. These websites and others like them serve as an online base for football fans and have managed to create an atmosphere of relatively sensible, reasoned debate despite their focus being a sport fiercely competed along cultural, geographical, even tribal lines. They serve to consolidate several forms of social media into one easily digestible package tailored very specifically for the football connoisseur, and, with blogs a key part of what they can offer, are central in guiding opinion and developing intelligent debate between football fans around the world.

Audio & Visual

Of course, football based social media is not just confined to social networks such as Facebook, it has several branches, two of the most notable being video uploads and audio content. YouTube, as anyone will tell you, leads the way in terms of video-based social media and has come to have a significant influence on football coverage on the internet.

If you’re able to set up a rudimentary profile and know how to upload the odd video, then YouTube can act as both a rudimentary social network and a great source of footballing entertainment. Emmanuel Adebayor, Manchester City’s Togolese centre-forward, has his own YouTube channel, bringing the world an insight into what it’s like to be to widely lambasted, occasionally sulky, often dancing professional footballer.

Chelsea also have their own channel, making the most of the added exposure YouTube can bring, the majority of videos giving a light-hearted take on the goings on behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge. A number of leading football brands including Nike and Adidas are also present on the video sharing site, using the resource to pilot new adverts and promote their links with the game. YouTube adds colour to the world of football social media, providing fans with comprehensive television-like coverage of their favourite players, clubs and brands. It also takes less time and effort to use, simple searches can reap thousands of fascinating results, something which has endeared it to internet users since its genesis in 2005.

Online audio content is also a key facet of the new generation of football media. Radio shows such as BBC Radio 5 Live’s World Football Phone-In have diversified to cover a number of online formats. The World Football Phone-In, which gives members of the public a chance to ask questions about football to experts from various corners of the globe, has its own Facebook group and also brings out a weekly podcast featuring the highlights of each weeks show. Other podcasts such as The Football Ramble and The Guardian’s Football Weekly have also branched out to utilise social media, showing that, despite threats arising from the huge popularity of the more democratised modern media, audio content and other forms of traditional media are not being left behind in this age of exciting, new and bespoke football coverage.

Written by Chris Mann.

Also Read:

US Football Twitter Directory.

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Posted by: Guest Authors Posted under: Social Media