Social media gives sports celebrities the power to create and control their public image and directly connect with fans. It is becoming an important tool for identity creation and status/brand promotion. By 2020, social media is expected to be how athletes primarily communicate with fans and share aspects of their daily lives. It will also continue to influence celebrity status and give athletes power over their public persona that can impact team and city reputation.

1. Future Of Sports Celebrities Identity, Status and Power using Social Media

2. Introduction What is the Identity, Status and Power of sports celebrities on the web. How sports stars uses their Identity and Power to market their products or labels To show how sports celebrities will use their identity, Status and power on social media sites by 2012.

3. Importance of Identity Today and by 2020 A sports celebrity image is his best tool to maximize their earnings Creating a positive image will get a sport star a boost in his popularity How sport celebrity handles himself on and off the court will give him respect and a role model figure for people to follow Protecting the image you created is your biggest mission if he wants to keep his brand and advertisement

4. Identity and Social Media today and tomorrow Social media is a great tool for a sport celebrity to create his identity Sites like Twitter and Facebook gives them the power to share their daily lives with their fans Its creates a connection between the celebrity and the fans It’s a free marketing tool for their brand and products In the future its predicted that sports celebrities will have direct connection to their fans Web 2.0 has given the sports celebrities the power to control and create their images for the whole world to see

5. Status Often referred by their nicknames A sport star gets his status by his performance. It’s more of a streetname Players like Dwayne Wade are referred to as Dwade, Lebron as King James and ShaquileO’Neal as just Shaq

6. Status and the internet Manufacturers of big name products tend to use the sports start aliases in their products Social media sites give their nicknames more popularityby creating fan sites or forums to a certain players A sports stars status can is one of the biggest factor in making huge profits Brands such as Jordan is one of the most successful example of how a popular player and his status creates success

7. A Sports Stars Power A sports stars power is his ability to influence people to buys his product or brand Greater power is obtained by a sport star thru his image Nowadays young draft prospect with the potential to change a teams future gets the attention even before he is drafted creating a boost of sales in tickets A sports starts influence can change a whole cities image a big example is Cleveland, It now know as The City the Lebron James Built

8. Power and Social Media Social media sites gives sports stars more power over Social media sites give sports stars another way to let the world know what they think A simple blog has the power to change create or destroy a sports stars or a teams image Its given the word “sports drama” a new meaning

9. Conclusion Social media sites today and by 2020 will change the way how sports stars and fans communicate Identity is the sports stars best marketing tool while power is his best reward while status is the result of a sports start identity and power A sports celebrities power can influence his image his team and even the whole city With the emergence of social media came “sports drama”

10. References Brinson, Will. "Helpful Tips For Sports Celebrities to Navigate Social Media." Linking Web Culture Entertainment | Uproxx. 07 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 June 2010. <http://www.uproxx.com/feature/2010/03/helpful-tips-for-sports-celebrities-to-navigate-social-media/>. Article gives helpful tips for sports celebrities using social media. Tips, as well as examples of what not to do, are presented. Broitman, Robin. "How-To: Build & Manage Your Brand Identity with Social Media." Interactive Insights Group. 21 Apr. 2009. Web. 18 June 2010. <http://www.interactiveinsightsgroup.com/blog1/how-to-build-and-manage-your-social-media-brand-identity/>. Article discusses your social identity and reputation. Links to a number of different articles on corporate identities, as well as business vs. personal branding. Postman, Joel. "Peachpit: Can You Control Your Brand, or Just Share It? Establishing Corporate Identity in Social Media." Peachpit: Publishers of Technology Books, EBooks, and Videos for Creative People. 20 Jan. 2009. Web. 18 June 2010. <http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1314635&seqNum=4>. Article deals with establishing an online identity and how to manage it. It’s main focus is corporations using social networks, but some of the same concepts can be used for sports celebrities.

11. References cont’ Crawford, Bryan “The Business of Social Media” Slam Online 01 Oct. 2009. Web. 19 Jun 2010 Retrieved from:http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2009/10/the-business-of-social-media/ Article gives insight on social media presently and why athletes use it. It helpful to understand why athletes use social media especially since the interview has extensive knowledge. Runge, Clint. “Finding Ways for Athletes to Leverage Your Social Media.“ 02 Jun 2010. Web. 19 June 2010Retrieved fromhttp://chiefmarketer.com/disciplines/online/0602-connecting-social-media-branding/ Article talks about middleman and why social media is making them irrelevant. Article mentions brand and how social media can help with endorsement. Godwin, Jordan “Tricks or Tweet“ 30 Nov 2009. Web. 19 June 2010. Retrieved from http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6743537.html Article mentions examples of people that are using social media correct to engage fans. Meanwhile it gives me individual that have brought controversy to themselves