Twitter Reviewed for Athletes

Twitter as a Gear

You read that correctly, Twitter as Gear review for Athletes. And why not? Is it not one of the most widely talked about services in the modern world? Recently I have seen several cases where Twitter is simply outstanding, and yet I know that many friends have no idea what Twitter is and the potential is unlimited.

Last weekend’s Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc Runing Race had athletes Twittering from the course – I have to say I was riveted to images of the sunrise on Mont Blanc after some of these people had been out for 30+ hours. And the hilarious commentary of Dusty Olson as he crewed for Scott Jurek (@scottjurek) and sped around Mont Blanc in a car, one post read. ”The crew cut twenty minutes off the gps estimated time and avoided the italian police by speaking English”, while another, ”Rental car starting to smell and make funny noises”. It was great – I know these guys and it was fun to read.

A Twittered photo we made while mountain biking in the Dolomites

During the Giro d’Italia this year, Athletes like Lance Armstrong refused to speak with the media after the press proved inable to be objective. Armstrong went on a Twitter crusade, posting his own videos of life behind the scenes, live video interviews of he and other riders and all kinds of juicy tidbits that cycling fans adore. It was far more interesting than the same old spew the traditional media offers. Lance, by the way, has 1.9 million followers to his account and regularly uses it to discuss issues regarding his Livestrong (@livestrong) campaign.

Meanwhile, I have been on my own missions such as the middle of the night effort where Twitters came in from friends urging me on. Or simply sharing pics while having a great day. It is 2009, we have Smartphones, in Europe we have high speed data service just about everywhere, and we have friends – some of us enjoy bringing it all together and having some fun with it.

While in India, we posted this image of an Indian headline after Obama won the US Presidency

Twitter simply works, for fun and efficiency and used like any other gear. I booked a room in Tuscany via an Agriturismo I saw Following us – we spoke via Twitter and the next day we were checked in. While running the Alta Via 1 this June we Twittered throughout, showing photos and quick fun stories to see if there was interest in clients signing up for future trips. To date, eleven have confirmed for the tour – all as a result of having seen the fun we had via Twitter.

Business, fun, research, news headlines… the list goes on and on for Twitter. For mountain athletes, there are numerous feeds with conditions reports, reviews, etc… all from some very reliable, and familiar, content providers. Twitter is simply the new method of reaching out to a massive audience. And yet I can guarantee that upon first glance it will appear foolish, give it some time and learn it.

So how does it work and what does one need?

Sign up for an account at Twitter. Getting your name is much like getting a domain, it may become all important.

Find interesting subjects and people to follow. Some of our favorites:

@lancearmstrong @natgeoscoop @adventurevida @MatadorNetwork @cleanestline @nprnews

Also, @Twitter_Tips to really learn how it works.

For mobile Twittering, we use an iPhone with the free App, Tweetie. On the computer we also use the Tweetie Application. We have found the big Twitter Apps, Tweet Deck and Seesmic are too power hungry and the computer simply bogs down. Tweetie is perfect; fast, elegant and simple.

Disadvantages with Twitter include SPAM, like the early days of email before effective filters, SPAM can be a pain. Don’t follow just anyone, follow whom you truly care about and SPAM is mostly a non-issue. An interesting article about where Twitter is going with growth is here.

Finally, follow us at @dolomitesport (fun sports, trips and stories) and @patitucciphoto (the photo business)