To Tweet or not to Tweet?
Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous decisions, or to take arms against a sea of controversy, and by opposing end it? To die, to tweet; to tweet, perchance to dream — aye, there’s the rub!’
You don’t have to go back to Shakespeare’s time to find a society that relied on written script as a source of information, scandal and entertainment.
Today, such information can be found at the click of a mouse or a swipe of your smartphone, and Twitter is fast becoming the market leader.
For many GAA followers, Twitter has been a puzzling addition to bar stool conversations this summer. Stranded outside the realms of social media, many of our elder Gaels must be wondering what the hell this Tweeting nonsense is all about.
Now, I have to admit, I was deeply cynical about the thing initially. But after being convinced by a pair of Twits, @SBennyC and @garymcgurk, I decided I’d give it a go, and I’ll be honest; @dickclerkin8 was hooked from the off.
But for those that don’t tweet, it’s hard to get a grasp of its relevance. It’s even harder to accurately describe it without coming across as a bit of a plonker. A few months back one of the older operators at work was having a good laugh at my expense; some of my tweets had been quoted in one of the weekend newspapers and he thought the whole concept was a bit ridiculous. I tried in vain to try and explain what it was all about, but he just threw his eyes up to heaven and went on about his business, still thinking it, and I, was a bit ridiculous.
Twitter is basically an online medium through which individuals, with their own personal profile, can post short comments (tweets) not longer than 140 characters; the size of a standard text message. You can include links to photos, news articles, websites, YouTube clips, etc. Users can then choose to ‘follow’ other users to get updated with their comments/tweets. It has taken the celebrity world by storm, with sportsmen like Rory McIlroy and Rio Ferdinand having hundreds of thousands of followers. But it must be admitted there is an element of egotism associated with the thing. At the end of the day, Twitter is based on the concept that the user thinks what he/she has to say/tweet is worth hearing.
Twitter has tapped into the realisation that people today are obsessed with what everyone else is doing and thinking, and this is especially so when it comes to the world of public figures. If you are someone that has an interest in something, be it GAA, politics or stamp collecting, there are people out there on Twitter and the likes with similar interests. A few weeks back I referred to the power of the media, and how it ultimately shapes our outlook and opinions. If nothing else, Twitter and other social networks have provided us with a platform to get a broader outlook on things. It also gives people the chance to contribute to conversation and debate; an important point that should not be dismissed. . But on the flipside, I have no time for social media voyeurs who just use the likes of Twitter and Facebook to have a good snoop around other people’s goings on.
So why then has so much been made about a few rogue Tweeters over the past few months, to the extent that every sports governing body now feel the need to issue guidelines for the use of social media. Well, many media journalists and newspapers have quickly coped on that Twitter is an excellent way to keep tabs on sporting personalities as it can give a more honest/direct insight into their thoughts and opinions than sterile pre and post match interviews.
In Ireland, GAA players fall into a grey zone between celebrity and Joe Public. On one hand, they share the back pages with Wayne Rooney and Brian O’Driscoll. On the other, they’re just another body in the canteen queue waiting to see what the daily special is. Conscious of this grey background, GAA players are generally quite sanitised in their views, mundanely talking up their opponents at every opportunity, rolling out cliché after cliché. It’s fair to say most GAA interviews could be pre-written before the voice recorder is even switched on. Maybe that is why this year’s Twitter controversies have garnered so much attention. Whether we like it or not, in many quarters on our little island GAA players are treated as public figures. With that public interest, what we say and what we do, like it or not, is closely followed by many.
There is no point thinking just because we don’t get paid for plying our trade that we are exempt from the same scrutiny as our professional sporting counterparts.
Twitter can give users a sense that they are operating somewhat autonomously such is its somewhat impersonal format. However nothing can be further from the truth. Such is the fluidity of Twitter, a user can make a comment and literally within seconds it can be read by thousands. With that in mind players need to be very conscious of what they ‘Tweet’ and if you wouldn’t say it directly to a journalist you shouldn’t squeeze it into 140 characters!
Don’t be afraid to express an opinion or contribute to debate, but be mindful that big brother is watching!
