A socially influential athlete can create more meaningful engagements and create a wave of influence spreading faster than traditional media could ever dream of. However, there are only a select number of professional athletes who are actively managing their online presence; and furthermore, even fewer who go beyond social media and fully engulf themselves in all things digital. As a result, the majority are overlooking potential lucrative opportunities lasting years and years after their eventual and inevitable retirement.
Although social media has provided athletes a communication platform and a direct line to their fans, long-term success in digital hinges on more than just a vociferous social following. A digital athlete strives to be at the intersection of sports and technology. There is no blueprint to follow. There is no case study to mirror. These athletes are proficient in digital and are uniquely carving their way to digital infamy. Their overall objective: to build a personal brand while driving the business of sports and digital in tandem. For one, a certain level of digital acumen needs to be established before branding oneself as a digital athlete. New York Knicks starting forward Carmelo Anthony has fully immersed himself in digital technology. From a strong social media presence (5.4MN Twitter followers, 2.2MN Instagram followers, 4.9MN Facebook likes) to an active voice and advocate of wearables Carmelo Anthony has been the closest thing to a digital athlete.
“I want to brand myself as the digital athlete,” Anthony said at the Bloomberg Sports Business Summit in Manhattan.
He has what he has coined a “gadget bag,” housing all the technology devices he uses to better his current day job, basketball. He is mindful of the digital realm and its transformative future, all while establishing himself as an influencer, bridging the gap between athletics and technology. Furthermore, he recently launched a seed investment firm focused on digital called Melo7 Tech Partners with partner Stuart Goldfarb.
Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers met with Jony Ive of Apple month’s prior to the Apple Watch announcement on September 9th and even was rumored to testing the wearable device to relay his feedback on its fitness components. As we have witnessed, more and more athletes are beginning to ponder their future prospects after their sports careers. Some have moved into the investment and business venture route, but that is inherently risky. In fact, very few athletes have been equally as successful in the business world as the sports world. Ervin “Magic” Johnson, Michael Jordan and David Beckham are the more prominent one’s on a very short list. The digital market is something closer to home for professional athletes, especially with the inherently growing digital fitness device market.
Only a select handful of professional athletes are currently jockeying for the title of digital athlete, but it will take more than a few million followers, a couple meetings with technology pioneers, and mainstream knowledge of the digital space to be labeled as such. There are thousands of athletes with notable social followings, but few who truly understand the technology landscape. Success in digital takes incessant dedication and perseverance, and is more than a gamble on a fancy new social platform or a swanky new mobile app. The digital athlete endeavor is ripe for the taking, and the space is waiting for an athlete to take the reins, and move the needle forward into this unchartered territory.
–Originally posted on the Centric Digital blog (August 29, 2014)