A Blogging Lesson Learned: One Athlete Speaks Out on His Blog

I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal recently about athletes who are blogging and some of the public relations problems that is causing for their teams and the companies they are spokespersons for.

As an example, they point out Gilbert Arenas, a pro basketball player, who on his blog recently poo-pooed a new shoe that Adidas was developing for him. Adidas, of course, found itself embarrassed with Arenas’ candid commentary.

It turns out Arenas was blogging on the NBA Web site, a push which the organization started last year to help fans feel more connected to players. Turns out he is only one of four who is still blogging, but he has seen tremendous benefit in weighing in on the birth of his son, talking about his salary and other inside info.

The lesson to learn here, folks, is that blogs really cannot be a controlled medium like advertising where you can say only glowing things about yourself, your company or your product. They have to be real and raw, and oftentimes controversial, to develop a following. Arenas’ blog has drawn three million page views since he began it and it has helped to raise his profile in the NBA. Since starting the blog, he’s signed several more endorsement deals. “I don’t think my blog would have been successful if I wasn’t as real as I am and as willing to let people into my life,” he says.

While Adidas did not start this blog, they felt the repurcussions, but ultimately appreciated that was simply Arenas’ personality coming through and found that they actually benefited from the publicity. Adidas reworked the shoe with Arenas’ suggestions and the “Agent Zero” shoe is set to come out later this fall. Happy ending for all…