Heard on Twitter

Social networking is catching the fancy of star athletes all over the world.

Whether for commercial reasons or personal, social networking site Twitter has become an absolute favourite of sportsmen all over the world. Footballer Darren Bent took out, on Twitter, his frustrations against his club Tottenham for delaying his transfer. Australian opener Phil Hughes made the news of him being dropped from a Test match public a day before it was announced. Commentator David Lloyd updates his Twitter page as a part of a deal with Sky Sports while former Australian wicket keeper Adam Gilchrist does the same for 3 Mobile.

Unlike other sites Facebook and Myspace, where most of the activity is restricted to creating fan pages, Twitter allows these stars to let their fans get into their personal space. England cricketer Graeme Swann recently said that his Twittering was a self-effacing thing. It shows: a recent tweet read “Cricketing whites or swimming trunks tomorrow”, in reference to the ongoing third Test match between Australia and England.

David Lloyd uses the site to share his personal opinions while the match is still being played.

Even footballers are getting hooked on it. It isn’t clear if Manchester United star Ryan Giggs tweets himself or has someone to do it for him, but his Twitter page is updated regularly. For instance, he has tweeted in the past about how he played or how important a match was.

Cyclist Lance Armstrong, too, couldn’t contain his delight at Michael Schumacher’s comeback, and immediately put it on his Twitter feed. In fact, Armstrong is one of the most active athletes on the site. Andy Murray is another who is fond of twittering and regular pipes up.

Not many Indian athletes are hooked by Twitter yet. Pages which have been created for the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sania Mirza, but they may well be bogus. Sooner or later, however, the fad will catch on.

Twitter is no more than a space to interact with fans and let them be privy to a part of your private life. So if you want to know what your favourite athlete is up to when he or she is not on the field, start tweeting!