The 20 Something Year Old Entrepreneur

There are few things that hold a special place in my heart and the University of Hawaii Athletics program is one of them.  It could be because my cousin was a standout safety on the football team, or the excitement of the Men’s Volleyball team with Yuval Katz in the early 90′s, to Anthony Carter and Alika Smith on the Men’s Basketball team in the mid 90′s.  These were all great times in my childhood which I still remember very vividly.

My relationship with the University of Hawaii Athletics strengthen when I got to college and had the opportunity to work as an administrative student assistant for the Associate Athletics Director of Administrative Services (who at that time was Tom Sadler).  This job allowed me to understand how the department functioned and it connected me to people (coaches/administrators) whom I’ve established personal relationships with.  I was there during the departments highest point when our football team made it to the BCS Sugar Bowl, and a low point when Herman Frazier was in charge and let go.

What happened over the years is something that is also key to social media.  I’ve established a strong relationship with the Athletics Department.

Social media isn’t all about being on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs, forums, etc.  These are powerful applications/networks that help make up the social media universe.  Social media is all about creating personal relationships with the people who are on these applications/networks.

When you think about it, college athletic programs are something many people are passionate about.  Look at the football program for Notre Dame, Ohio St., Michigan, Texas, USC, Florida, etc.  Or the Duke, North Carolina, UCLA, UCONN, etc basketball program.  These schools have passionate die-hard fans who wouldn’t miss a game no matter what the circumstances are.

Take a look at this Social Systems picture by David Armano:

Social Systems by David Armano

In his blog post (http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2007/12/social-systems.html), David Armano explains the social system: “Many of us are now managing multiple social ecosystems.  If you think of these as planets—some rotate in closer proximity to us.  We “warm” them with our attention frequently.  Others may orbit at further proximities—but they are still in our social systems.  When we abandon a social ecosystem that we can no longer sustain, it drifts away from our orbit and dies.”

Think about your favorite college athletics program for a moment.  Where are they on your social ecosystem?  How much warmth are you giving it?  Or have you abandoned it?  These “big time” schools, rich in athletic tradition have people who give them warmth on their ecosystem and these are the people who have a strong relationship to the program.

Again, it comes down to the personal relationship the individual has with the athletics program and social media is the perfect bridge to developing relationships because social media is all about relationships.

Tags: college athletics, Social Media, UH Athletics, University of Hawaii