Putting social media in a spin... the Shane Warne way

But all too often the perception of Warne was equally shaped by his off-field antics. A tabloid target, anything and everything from Warne’s love life to his weight and even hair colour were front-page fodder. 

Warne the player was as much Warne the person – brilliant yet flawed.

But, in recent times and in his post-playing career, Warne has undertaken a remarkable makeover. And, I’m not talking about his pearly white teeth, slim physique and model like skin.

Warne the larrikin has become Warne the family man and Warne the player has quickly become Warne the mentor. 

The dawn of social media has allowed Warne to portray and project who is he is as person. Unedited, direct and often deeply personal, Warne’s Twitter account is an often-intimate account of who he is, what he does and what motivates him.

Warne tweets on anything and everything from his love life;

@ElizabethHurley piggy back on the way only if you give me a big sloppy kiss and ................... turn the cricket off !!!!!

To his inability to cook;

Ps no more trying to be a master chef ! Stop and by a bacon roll on the way to the ground next time - silly Shane !

and even a few self help tips;

Ps no more marshmallows either Shane your in training - give yourself an uppercut !!!!! Time to piggy back EH to bed !!!!!!!!

With over 600,000 followers Warne is the second most followed Australian on Twitter behind Kevin Rudd.

The attraction is obvious. Warne offers unscripted, personal messages that provide an insight into who he is as person first, cricketer second. For the average person it’s hard not to like the new Warne, incessantly tweeting about his children, what they mean to mean and how happy they make him. 

Warne’s account screams out to his audience – this is me and this is who I am. 

Sure, some of it may be a bit cringe worthy, but one can’t help but be endeared to his frankness, his love of family and his casual unpunctuated style of communicating. For an international sporting star, Warne’s online honesty is deeply refreshing.

Importantly, Warne uses his Twitter account to circumvent the media, correcting stories that he believes to be wrong or inaccurate or indeed quashing rumours as they arise. Evidently, Warne sees more value in correcting the record with his 600,000+ Twitter followers than being quoted, at the discretion of a journalist, in a paper with almost half the audience reach of his Twitter account. Moreover, once something has been corrected online, by the source, it would be less likely to appear in another outlet.

Most recently Warne has used his Twitter account to campaign for a more regulated approach for cyclists using public roads including the possibility of paid registration.

In the wake of a run-in with a cyclist outside the MCG Warne tweeted “[cyclist] pulls out in front of me whacks my bonnet with his hand and pulls out in front of all the traffic”. Warne went on to tweet “[there will be] a riot soon, please lets not wait till something serious happens, do something now. I waited till I got home and used my computer to tweet”

Warne clearly has a receptive audience online with many jumping to his defense and agreeing with his approach to cyclists, most notably when he sought to correct incorrect information published by The Age and Herald Sun about his run-in with the cyclist. As one user put it “@warne888 Australian media. Your tweeting tomorrow's news mate”.

Celebrities and politicians alike would be well served in following Warne’s online lead. Social media can be a cutthroat environment but its ability to engage with a mass-market audience directly and in a deeply personal manner is simply unparalleled.