An Open Letter to Charles Barkley: Social Media isn’t for Losers to Feel Important

Dear Charles,

First, I’d like to say that I respect your opinion, and I am a bit jealous that you say what’s on your mind and you “GZF” (visit Urban Dictionary to the definition of this acronym) about what people think about it. It takes a tremendously strong person to do that and I respect you for it.

Before I continue, I don’t expect you to know who I am. The TNT / Turner studios where you work are within a 10-minute walk from my office here at Georgia Tech. While we are close in physical proximity, we see things from very different lenses. And, that’s OK. That’s what makes sports and social media so great.

Earlier this week, I heard you say on PTI that “social media is where losers go to feel important.” I totally understand why you’d feel that way. There are those people that use social media to hurt and destroy others because they lead their own miserable existence.

Twitter trolls, as they are called, are awful people. They give the Internet and social media a bad name. Twitter trolls are the 1% of the digital age — 99% of social media (as a whole) can be viewed as good, while that 1% is what’s staining out society.

Let me open your eyes to a different view of social media: that of social good.

When I first joined Twitter in 2009, I used it as an avenue to get away from work conflict I was experiencing. I felt I wasn’t good enough or valued as an individual. I felt my thoughts and my ideas weren’t worthy. As someone who is an introvert at times, I found solace in social media. I found a place where I could share ideas and not feel threatened or feel that I wasn’t worthy of my existence.

Twitter was a place where I could be myself and not be judged (or at least ignore those that wanted to hurt me).

Around 2011, I connected with someone who has grown to become one of my best friends in real life, Kevin DeShazo. It then expanded into meeting and becoming friends with a fellow Atlantan and lover of coffee, Jessica Smith. And, Taylor Stern. Plus, I’ve developed real friendships with people I consider mentors personally and professionally — Carter Henderson, Kirby Garry, Devin Crosby to name a few.

Twitter is the world’s greatest classroom. I can follow, connect, and interact with some of our industries best and brightest stars in the social and digital space: Russell Houghtaling, Samantha Hughey, Daniel Brusilovsky, Craig Pintens, Jeremy Darlow, Mark Hodgkin, Lynnea Phillips, Grace Hoy, Kelly Mosier, Adam Ledyard, Mary Pink, Jeramie McPeek, Caity Kauffman, Jonathan Gantt, Eric DeSalvo, Peter Stringer, Morris White, Derrick Docket (@ddocket, not @ddockett), Julie Phayer, etc., etc., etc.

Thanks to Twitter, I’ve come to connect with some of the brightest academic minds in #smsports (as well call it on The Twitter), social media strategy, and communications in sports — Dr. Ben Goss, Dr. Karen Freberg, Dr. Rob Hardin, and Dr. Jimmy Sanderson. More specifically, Karen has opened doors for me to teach an online class through West Virginia University this summer and return to the classroom this fall as an instructor at Kennesaw State University. Because of Jimmy, I am now a published author on social media strategy. He wanted to write a book with me.

I owe social media a debt of gratitude for not only friendships, but for playing a small role in helping me land my last two jobs — first at the University of Miami and now at the Georgia Institute of Technology. When you build something online and you’re able to act on it in real life and portray those views and values to others, greatness can be the result.

Charles, I don’t expect you to read this, but I respect you as a former athlete, a TV analyst, and as a person. Hell, if I could, I’d love to play golf with you one day (I’d make you look like The Master’s champion I’m so bad).

I just don’t want you to be turned off by the power of the good things that social media has to offer. Yes, the vocal minority can most certainly turn people off and I understand why. You can’t help those (miserable) people that don’t want to better themselves.

We can’t make social media 100% puppy dogs and sunshine, but we can promote the social good that is available on a daily basis.

Chris