How the Internet is Shaping Swim Culture

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Photo Courtesy: mkhmarketing.wordpress.com

By Kaylie Noll, Swimming World College Intern

If you are currently reading this article, you are the prime example of our Internet-driven era. Most likely, you are on your phone, computer, or other personal device. The way we read both informative and entertainment articles has changed drastically just within the last four years, thanks to the ever-developing age of the Internet. The culture of the sport of swimming has also changed, ushered in by a technologically inclined generation.

There are various components of the Internet as a whole. Within social media, an important part of the Internet, a shared bond is created that connects each and every person as an audience. For the swimming community, aquatic-related businesses bring together an even larger swimming audience, as they entertain, share media, and market themselves toward their followers. Today, some of the biggest names in the media business of our beloved sport sit down to discuss the benefits of swimming in media.

From Tweeting to Entrepreneurship

Apr 16, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Michael Phelps looks at his iPhone as he receives a massage before the Men's 100 meter butterfly final during the 2015 Arena Pro Swim Series at the Skyline Aquatic Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/Arizona Republic via USA TODAY Sports

Photo Courtesy: Arizona Republic-USA TODAY Sport

Zach Kent is the owner of the Twitter handle @iSwimWithIssues, which currently caters to 104,100 followers. This number has grown over the course of three years after Kent decided to create the social media account out of boredom on the way home from a championship meet. He has other platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and a website that features swim apparel, all of which target club and high school-aged swimmers.

“Social media allows swimmers to come together and appreciate common ideas,” Kent said. “Much of these ideas, tweets, posts or thoughts are such that they’ll resonate through the entire swim community. This allows for swimmers to share and laugh about and appreciate the sport of swimming.”

Essentially, that is what Kent is doing, hand-in-hand with the Internet: creating a tighter-knit family.

This makes it easy to bring what swimmers want, as an audience, to the table.

“Swimming is a world of its own,” Kent said. “If you’re a swimmer yourself, you’ll fit in perfectly fine and know exactly how to relate to other swimmers.”

Being a swimmer himself, it makes it easier to market to his followers.

“I know firsthand that swimmers like to show off that they swim. So, I thought, why shouldn’t our apparel do just that?” From there, the success of iSwimWithIssues reached new heights, and continues to do so.

Then there is Michael Plantamura, a rising college freshman and the owner of a network of 350,000 followers combined from Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, all of which branched out from the Twitter handle @Swimmin101. Additionally, he is a co-owner of the subscription box Swimfluence, which has been recently featured on USA Swimming.

Plantamura agrees with the fact that the many forms of social media are a positive factor for the swimming culture.

“People get on and see how amazing the sport of swimming is and see the bond that all swimmers share, and how it has a community unlike any other sport. Through social media we are able to strengthen that bond between swimmers and help people connect.”

Plantamura also seized the opportunity to market the sport to its beloved athletes. His Internet-based network sells many different kinds of swimming-related merchandise. Likewise, the Swimfluence idea was born out of a desire to improve a swimmer’s life in and out of the pool with special surprise items.

Yet despite his accomplishments, Plantamura humbly admits that he never imagined his Twitter account would come as far as it has over the past two years.

“I was just another swimmer that wanted to share all of the funny thoughts that had gone through my head during practice. And it just happened that a lot of other people liked what I was tweeting.”

Simply put, the best kind of person to relate to when you’re a swimmer is another swimmer.

NCSA women team hug

Photo Courtesy: SwimmingWorld.TV

Keeping the Sport Connected Throughout Generations

Swimming news outlets are also using the Internet to unite athletes around the world. Annie Grevers speaks as assistant managing editor for the Swimming World Magazine, which offers consistent up-to-date news for “swim nerds of all ages and occupations,” encompassing competitive swimmers, parents, coaches, and retirees. Currently, she writes three to five stories for Swimming World Magazine per month, as well as overseeing interns who write stories for the magazine’s online platforms.

It is easy to see how much the Internet has changed over the past decade. Although in her 20s, Grevers gushes with enthusiasm about how different relating to swimming is today as compared to her childhood.

“I imagine hearing from my childhood swimming idols via Twitter or even getting to follow them on Instagram, and think, how cool. Social media is able to humanize those we may not see in a real way; get to know the tremendous personalities which accompany the tremendous talents in this sport.”

Today, being able to connect with Olympians and other big-time swimmers truly is a huge gift for those that love the sport.

She too has ideas why the swimming community comes to Swimming World Magazine. Not only has the credible news source been around for a long time, it is reliable for live results, coverage, and streaming.

Grevers points out that swimmers look for inspiration to get better, and “can find it in a number of feature stories written by our seasoned contributors– online and in print.” The magazine also pulls coaches and students in, so they “can widen the scope of their swimming knowledge by learning how the best train, mentally and physically.”

By appealing to the ever-present needs of the diverse swimming community, Swimming World evolves, adapts, and changes along with the culture it is so deeply immersed in.

You’ve heard it from the biggest names behind business in the swimming world: the Internet is shaping our sport’s culture on a day-to-day basis. Now it is quick and easy to see live results on a phone application, order your swim gear online, or share an interesting tweet or news article. Helped along by these innovators, the Internet is truly growing a strong, connected swimming community.

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