Is Twitter a Positive For Professional Athletes?

In the course of the last few days, Twitter seems to be filled with comments on the start of the NFL season.  Many users have commented on the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies that took place in Canton, Ohio over the weekend.  The biggest issue with the ceremonies comes from Emmitt Smith's omission of the University of Florida during his speech.  A lot of criticism has been levied Smith's way because Smith said he was running long, and "forgot" to mention his Alma Mater.  I'm a big twitter guy (follow me @thejeffschwartz).  For those unfamiliar, Twitter is a social networking service that allows its users to read and create messages based on a maximum of 140 characters.  Creator Jack Dorsey invented the service in 2006, that has grown to the point where most cellular phones have the ability to Tweet and Re-tweet at users that post messages.  

Many professional athletes use the Twitter service.  Unfortunately a lot of them use Twitter to post drunken comments and extremely graphic short stories.  Many athletes have gotten themselves into trouble for posting messages that they do not intend to reach their general public.  While there are always knuckleheads abusing Twitter, users like @the_real_shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) have rewarded fans by dropping off unique gifts like autographed shoes or a game tickets at the side of a road.  O'Neal has used Twitter as a service to interact with fans by posting the restaurant where he'll be eating dinner and inviting fans out for a meet and greet.  That's the type of interaction a fan will always remember having for the rest of their lives.  The Big Shamrock will hopefully continue to practice this service when he heads to Boston later this year to suit up for the Celtics.

While former Cleveland Cavalier Shaquille O'Neal's tweets appear to be mostly positive, current Cleveland Brown @bmcdonald22 (Brandon McDonald) got himself into trouble this past week for bad mouthing new Cincinnati Bengals wide out Terrell Owens.  McDonald commented about "running a train" on the newest Bengals receiver.  Coach Eric Mangini was none to pleased.  During the team's Brown and White scrimmage, McDonald picked off rookie Colt McCoy and ran the ball in for a touchdown.  McDonald dove into the end zone, flipping forward.  Needless to say, McDonald should plan on running a lot of laps this week in practice.

Both O'Neal and McDonald are athletes who contrast themselves on Twitter.  There are both good and bad effects that come from being a Twitter user and athlete.  Other athletes like @amareisreal (A'mare Stoudemire) and @Candace_Parker (Candace Parker) send out interesting pictures from their daily activities.  @ogochocinco (Chad Ocho Cinco) and @FLOYDMAYWEATHER (Floyd Mayweather Jr.) have created applications for Iphone's that have a link to their Twitter feed.  Technology and the ever-changing athlete/fan relationship has led to Twitter becoming an unbridled success.  There's no real sure-fire direction that Twitter and professional athletes are headed. However, the one legitimate statement that can be made, is that both Twitter and professional athletes will be linked together for a long time to come.

Jeff Schwartz's Top 10 Favorite Professional Athletes on Twitter 

10. @sheldenwilliams (Shelden Williams, Denver Nuggets)

9. @NickSwisher (Nick Swisher, New York Yankees)

8. @J_Flynn (Johnny Flynn, Minnesota Timberwolves)

7. @Ozzie Guillen (Ozzie Guillen, Chicago White Sox)

6. @DwightHoward (Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic)

5. @nickmangold (Nick Mangold, New York Jets)

4. @JoshCribbs16 (Joshua Cribbs, Cleveland Browns)

3. @Amareisreal (A'mare Stoudemire, New York Knicks)

2. @OGOchoCinco (Chad Ocho Cinco, Cincinnati Bengals)

1. @THE_REAL_SHAQ (Shaquille O'Neal, Boston Celtics)

Jeff Schwartz can be contacted via e-mail at [e-mail] or Twitter.com/thejeffschwartz