The social media world is constantly changing and each and every day more and more people are gaining control of the Internet. It’s great for people who are not celebrities or using it for their place of employment. But, when the tables turn and more than one person has their hands on a Twitter account, it could lead to trouble.
Recently, both Josh Thomson and Jon Jones have had Twitter problems with one getting his phone stolen and the other getting his phone hacked. Both had issues with posts being done through their respective Twitter and Instagram accounts being commented on. After these incidents happened both fighters came up with apologies and even Jones’s manager became the apologetic mouthpiece. Yes, both incidents were surprising and easily avoidable if there were lesser hands in the cookie jar.
Many times in not only MMA, but other areas, an account that has gained many followers has to be very careful on how they project themselves to the public. It shouldn’t come to that point where a sorry Tweet has to be presented or things have to be smoothed over for a public display of negativity.
There is no way to hide from something that is posted, that is insulting, degrading, or rude because the Internet takes screenshots and saves them and then spreads it like wildfire. The problem is too many hands are trying to help or associate themselves with one Twitter account to feel in power of the person they are representing online.
For example when Jones had Instagram problems with a user, his manager Malki Kawa said his phone was stolen. However, Jones issued this statement:
“So basically I have had a whole bunch of people have my passwords to my social media and one of the guys that’s working with us, took it into his own hands to reply to the fans some negative stuff”.
The most vivid sentence I took from that statement is that many have his social media passwords. When you are a star in the UFC and trying to develop your career in all aspects, having many hands in the cookie jar is not going to be the best path for the public image.
A MMA fighter who is at the caliber of Jones or Thomson need to put a better strategy together to make sure things like explicit tweets don’t happen. Yes things happen and sometimes phones get stolen but excuses like that don’t work repeatedly.
The UFC has a summit every year to help fighters use the social media world to their advantage and the main problem is too many people want that power at their fingertips. When a fighter becomes a star and the public begins to pick that up, everyone wants a piece of that pie and wants to join in on what makes them successful. But the same things that have made the fighter successful, can also put them back two steps back.
Keeping a lock on the social media accounts can be an issue in the beginning but with so many having all the passwords is just asking for trouble. Yes many fighters have others run their Twitter account and social media outlets, but when more and more people get brought on, it becomes often dastardly.
Social media is a powerful tool and at times can be a double edge sword. It all depends on the plan and people that have their hands in the cookie jar and how many times the hands keep reaching in.
