I spent the last few days in various places with my colleague Josh Rockoff of Strike Interactivetwo topics that came up frequently were the growth of online gaming and the value of athlete websites, or with the second topic, the problems therein. While most athletes, like most brands, feel that the outreach to the fan or the building of one's own “brand” is essential, there are few that actually do it right. One reson is the limit of an athletes time to come up with compelling content on a regular and consitent basis.contrived with little insight into the athlete.the insight into what makes up the person, the slice of life of training camp or behind the scenes that gives the athlet.character.But thoughts of what goes on inside the clubhouse or the mind of the athlete…or what the athlete does away from the field…makes him or her more marketable, more interesting and easier to like and understand during the lean times.Washington Wizards’ Etan Thomas’ blog on Huffington Post last year…were great. But for whatever reason they suddenly stopped. Same with Diana Taurasi's blog…great insight into the WNBA and the famale athlete and then nothing. Are some athletes paid to blo.However the commitment to be consistent and work with someone to give the fans insight takes time and dedication but a precious few athletes…but those athletes will reap off field dividends in the long run.Curt Schilling's blog, even in an injury riddled year, gives fans insight of both on and off the field…another basebal.blog worth reading on espn.com is the Tigers Curtis Granderson (will be interested in seeing the take on yesterday's trade), while Donovan McNabb's posts from training camp are also pretty good…the best remains Gilbert Arena's blog on nba.com…even in the offseason he keeps the fans engaged with his offcourt happenings and otjher thoughts both in and out of basketball…especially for those rising athletes or those schools or smaller market teams looking to get more digital exposure, identifying athletes and coaches and helping push their personalities through the blog or simple websites remains a great opportunity to grow marketshare and bring in some extra dollars while identifying with a very hungry fan base…a little effort can reap a lot of benefit.ESPN.com has a solid interview with Big 10 Comish Jim Delaney, while the Big Ten Network takes a solid jump forward with their announcement of going campus by campus this August for football training camp…it was a great move for the NFL Network and should build equity for them as well…Media Post has an interesting piece on JC Penney's creation of a game to reach college women…Don Walker has a good piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the ways the Brewers are using all their efforts to be the big fish in a small market and how its paying off…the International Herald Tribune has a very interesting piece on the IOC allowing internet blocking during the Olympics…and the New York Daily News has a nice behind the scenes personality piece on the Giants’ Osi Umeniyora's trip with the NFL to Iraq and Afghanistan…?
