Post by Stephen Kimball
The world of leadership is always changing, with people needing to adapt to changes. Twitter has become a staple platform for getting news and information into the public as quickly as possible. It is a platform that only allows 140 characters so tweets must be straight to the point. News travels faster on twitter than when reported on television it is the fastest platform to break news on. It has also become a platform that is very reliable for many to use. As it now is a source that many use as reputable even in scholarly settings.
“Twitter is one such example, with guidelines recently emerging for its effective use in scholarly communication.” (399)
Katrin Weller (2014)
This leads into the person of choice, In our project, we have all decided to pick a leader on our given platform and examine them. I have chosen Adrian Wojnarowski; I will explain who he is but also how he become a figurehead on twitter. While doing this, I will also discuss the influence he has because of his brand. Finally, I will explain the power he has been able to establish through Twitter.
Tweeting to Success
Like I stated Twitter has become a centralized place for media, such as sports media. There have been many to come up through the ranks but none like Adrian Wojnarowski. He has quickly become a top leader on Twitter for everything NBA; he has built up his brand heavily and is a very reliable source. How has he done this and how has Twitter become his place? Twitter as many platforms started as a simple messaging device.
“It was a system where you could send a text to one number, and it would be broadcasted out to all of your friends: Twttr.”
Nicholas Carlson (2011)
This was its original intent, but slowly over time, it would become the news source and a place for discussions it is today. So what did Adrian Wojnarowski do to set himself apart? He made sure his communication was top notch. Communication is one of the competencies that Ruben outline, Ruben (2006) outlines ‘Credibility and Influence’ as two key parts to this competency. Ruben (2006) also mentioned that credibility traits are; “competence, trustworthiness, and dynamism” (34). These are all traits that Adrian Wojnarowski has, as he has set himself apart as the most trusted news source for all the NBA. These thoughts on leadership are further echoed when researching what makes a leader on Twitter, information sharing is the key.
“Whether your tweeting about a new project, a new acquisition, a big win, continued growth, or the simple fact that your company was featured in the media, many leaders use Twitter as a simple way to broadcast information to their followers.”
Stuart and Nordstrom (2017)
This means that one should be continuously sharing information to his followers to get a better connection and trust built. This is what Woj does when he breaks all his news on Twitter before anyone else is able to. This alone is how he has become a leader on Twitter, by having the consistency and by developing this credibility. This leads directly into the next question what did he do to build up this brand.
The Brand to Stand Out
Adrain Wojnarowski started becoming large once Yahoo Sports hired him; this is where his Twitter would take off. His twitter used to be very secretive his picture was the default. However, he would begin to utilize traits that all social media leaders need to use. The type of leader he has become is a distributor as was stated by Deiser and Newton (2013) “the ability to influence the way messages move through complex organizations—becomes as important as the ability to create compelling content. Equally important is the skill of creating and sustaining a body of social followers who help to spread and reinforce the message” This has become his greatest weapon as he added a profile picture so people could know who the news is coming from and quickly began to break news on his Twitter account about unknown information. Because of his ability to break news so quickly his followers will retweet everything he posts just because he has become and branded the most reliable NBA source. A prime example to how he has built this following is tweets like this.
He was able to get this news out before even Lebron could announce it. This is just one of the ways he built up his brand by being first to every story; his entire brand is reliant on his Twitter. Because of this his followers have now claimed his tweets to be ‘Woj Bombs’ because of the huge news they carry. To further this they even make memes for him and this is also a way that a brand is only strengthened through fans.
Without that he would be nowhere. This leads to the power he has established through his Twitter.
Powering to the Top
Being able to establish a large following on twitter due to his reliable tweets and quick timing has lead to his grip of power in the NBA community. But not just in the NBA community but also in sports networks such as; Yahoo, ESPN, FS1 and many more. When you have one man beating everyone else to the scoop because of twitter, it leads to networks fearing his power. Proof of the power he developed is article such as one by Schwartz (2019) discussing the Anthony Davis trade as he said,
“Wojnarowski’s Twitter followers are getting restless. You need to be following Woj if you want breaking NBA news”
Schwartz (2019)
This alone helps to show how his Twitter is his main hub that people hold for NBA news. He has completely changed the way sports fans and networks view Twitter, because of him they have all seemingly realized that this is the best place to get news. Now sports shows will incorporate a running ticker with tweets from people like Woj just because any new information can come out at anytime. Its so big that people can argue that you aren’t a true NBA fan if you do not follow Woj on Twitter. Finally, he had even the biggest fish in sports networks ESPN, dying for his services in an article by Finn (2017) he discussed how ESPN had to do everything possible to bring him back to the network stating, “He had to leave ESPN — and beat them over and over and over again — before they knew what they had.” This is Woj’s impact, through Twitter he made himself the most desirable NBA insider there is.
The Man Built from Twitter
Through Twitter, Woj has built up his brand, and it is now one the most successful in all of the sports. His use and recognition that Twitter could be the future of sports reporting is what helped him become a leader on the platform. Woj has become the definition of what a leader is on Twitter and how one can become such a leader. Adrian Wojnarowski has become a figurehead on Twitter and through his use of it will only continue to grow.
References
Weller, K., Bruns, A., Burgess, J., Mahrt, M., & Puschmann, C. (2014). Twitter in Scholarly Communication. In Twitter and society (pp. 399-407). New York, NY: Peter Lang. Retrieved from
Carlson, N. (2011, April 13). The Real History Of Twitter. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-twitter-was-founded-2011-4
Ruben, Brent D. What Leaders Need to Know and Do: A Leadership Competencies Scorecard. NACUBO, 2006.
Nordstrom, D. (2017, May 05). Leading In 140 Characters Or Less: How Great Leaders Use Twitter. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidsturt/2017/05/05/leading-in-140-characters-or-less-how-great-leaders-use-twitter/#2d1de8213e72
Deiser, R. & Newton, S. (2013). Six social-media skills every leader needs. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/six-social-media-skills-every-leader-needs (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Wojnarowski, A. (Wojespn). (2018, July 1. LeBron James has agreed to 4-year, $154M deal with Lakers, Klutch Sports says. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1013574987909824512?lang=en
Schwartz, N. (2019, February 07). Adrian Wojnarowski’s Twitter followers rage over lack of Anthony Davis trade announcement. Retrieved from https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/02/nba-trade-deadline-woj-twitter
Finn, C. (2017, June 29). ESPN couldn’t beat Adrian Wojnarowski, so it hired him – The Boston Globe. Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/celtics/2017/06/29/espn-couldn-beat-adrian-wojnarowski-hired-him/y5FqeWGMqPKBQBfbiUSrcP/story.html
Who Are Today's Leaders In This Digital Age? 
