My observation may be anecdotal, but it seams like we are post peak with social media… while the ‘influencers’ are still very active, normal people have drastically reduced the number of updates.
i think we have all observed IM shrinking numbers. While it’s easy to blame the evil IM corporation, I did observe similar trends with other activity (local hiking trailhead are a lot more quiet than 2-3 years ago)
Correlation <> Causation, but curious to see what people think. How much of IM success what driven by people trying to find content to post of their social media?
people are easy convince when they don’t have knowledge. take everything as truth.
podcasts have been pushing negative ironman content for 4 years for clicks and some paid by PTO, etc. Kona this and Kona that.
Just look at pro tri news yesterday , they blast ironman for 30 minutes about matt Sharpes Disqualification without even seeing the evidence, then at the end of the pod when no one is listening they see a picture, and go “oh total unzip and nipples” blah blah blah, maybe it was more then we thought.
pros are basically an add for PTO, as that is the point of the series. YET no age groupers in a participation sport are doing PTO races or is PTO even interested in them. NOT GOOD FOR THE SPORT!!!
If Ironman stopped, the podcasts and athletes would have no race background to prompt and use. They don’t know the hand that feeds them, look at IRONMAN MT TREMBLEY. that whole area will be have a big hit in the sport and overall option’s for eastern Canadians.
YOU SELL MORE CONTENT " WHEN YOU HAVE A VILLAIN or COMMON ENEMY"
Are we post peak social media though? We’re definitely post Xanga and Myspace, and maybe moving past Facebook and Twitter, but as these old standards have faded they’ve been replaced with TikTok and Instagram. I do think you are correct that we are moving away from social media as a way to communicate with friends or peers and a way to communicate with ‘influencers’. It makes sense that the companies don’t make money off you seeing your friends posts but do make money off you seeing paid content.
It basically just means for IM/triathlon that you see less of your friends posting and more influencers posting videos for KetoneIQ.
To your last question, are you proposing that some people did tri’s solely to post their accomplishments to social media?
My observation may be anecdotal, but it seams like we are post peak with social media… while the ‘influencers’ are still very active, normal people have drastically reduced the number of updates.
i think we have all observed IM shrinking numbers. While it’s easy to blame the evil IM corporation, I did observe similar trends with other activity (local hiking trailhead are a lot more quiet than 2-3 years ago)
Correlation <> Causation, but curious to see what people think. How much of IM success what driven by people trying to find content to post of their social media?
To your last question, are you proposing that some people did tri’s solely to post their accomplishments to social media?
Did tris? Like back in the day?
Nah, people were Bucket-Listing IMs and NYC/Boston Marathons long before Facebook and Instagram
Unless you go back and wanna call personal blogs “social media?” Which might be accurate, I dunno
What came before blogs? Pre-Internet? 'Zines? Were there tri 'zines that anyone was aware of? That would’ve been cool, in fact; cut & paste & xerox & mail — totally grassroots and DIY
Hard to wrap my head around, but I have to imagine the amount of people who won’t do a race because they have less follower engagement just be pretty minimal.
My observation may be anecdotal, but it seams like we are post peak with social media… while the ‘influencers’ are still very active, normal people have drastically reduced the number of updates.
Hard to know where we are at!
I recall reading an article in a leading Marketing Trade magazine about 5 years ago that the age of Influencer Marketing via Social Media was, not over, but had peaked and should start to wane. There has been evidence of this right in businesses connected to Triathlon and Endurance Sports with Bike Brands cutting back drastically on Influencer Athletes that they had on the tab.
I know that there are other platforms that have blown up beyond the traditional ones.
Like anything, in life, business etc . . things tend to run their course and then they run out of gas!
The Business Model that I recall reading about in another media article was that, you use Social Media to Influence people ( and you might get helped along by some partners or sponsors who want along for the ride - with product placements, promos etc . .), for whatever you are doing, or selling, you build up a following, and then the optimal thing to do is to get them to Subscribe to your offering for a monthly fee! Then you have them locked in. Some well known original Influencers in the Triathlon space have taken that route. The rationale here is that your actual level of Influence may tail off, and you may lose the money from the sponsors/partners, but you have that almost guaranteed income from the subscriptions of whatever!
To your last question, are you proposing that some people did tri’s solely to post their accomplishments to social media?
Did tris? Like back in the day?
Nah, people were Bucket-Listing IMs and NYC/Boston Marathons long before Facebook and Instagram
Unless you go back and wanna call personal blogs “social media?” Which might be accurate, I dunno
What came before blogs? Pre-Internet? 'Zines? Were there tri 'zines that anyone was aware of? That would’ve been cool, in fact; cut & paste & xerox & mail — totally grassroots and DIY
People have been publicising their trail runs on “social media” way back when they were running after bison and stags, then after the race, painting on the walls of the Lascaux Caves.
Walking poles appear to have been longer and pointier back then, but other than that, the sport doesn’t seem to have changed that much.
Less hikers at the trailhead for sure. Some of the decrease in outdoor hobbies like that over the last 3 years has got to be due to non-outside activities being back on the table in the post-lockdown era. Some people who hiked or biked more because their indoor hobbies were closed are back to not hiking and biking very much again.
Pro Tri News didn’t walk it back. They acknowledged the photo & still said the rule is bad. IM could change the rule tomorrow. They don’t enforce it the same way across the board. They claim to follow World Triathlon but World Triathlon built in a work around for their athletes. Every country kit zips in the back. That’s intentional. Every photo from the front looks how they want it to look. Everyone unzips the back and can cross the finish line with the back unzipped. Someone like Sharpe shouldn’t miss out on income over something that doesn’t affect the race.
How much of IM’s success was driven by people trying to find content to tattoo on their bodies?
we live in a society moved by hypes… Ironman, Marathon, Ultratrail, Gravel races, OCRs, crossfit… do you know Hyrox? (i don’t know how old is this sport, but it is an hype in my triathletes group). Out of they Hype, your pictures in social media are not fancy nor cool anymore.
I do believe that in some years only people who really like the way of live as a triathlete will continue doing Ironman…
Listen again. They talked without seeing the photo so compared it to others finish line photos but then finally say the photo and said ok this was more then we thought and although still didn’t like the rule as no body does. It sounds like it was a zipper issue ? If a referee calls it some games by the letter of the law and others let it go. All sports have rules that are called different by new or older officials and the money thing is not the issue.
Also we’re is the picture no one will show the picture now!!! Pto no picture, pto no picture, tim no picture, why because the picture is in line with the rule so the argument is over?
There is so much lazy journalism using his Boulder 70.3 win photo where his kit is zipped…
Maine finish/DQ is on FinisherPics website
That’s such an easy DQ. Stupid rule, but they cover it in every briefing. I would also like to be fully unzipped for better air ventilation during the run
I did acknowledge that – I didn’t think it was a full walk back of what they had already said. The photo was worse than they thought but that doesn’t change the rule being complete nonsense. The argument is only over if you’re a rules are rules person. IM has the power to change this rule. They can & should make it right for Sharpe.
To your last question, are you proposing that some people did tri’s solely to post their accomplishments to social media?
Did tris? Like back in the day?
Nah, people were Bucket-Listing IMs and NYC/Boston Marathons long before Facebook and Instagram
Unless you go back and wanna call personal blogs “social media?” Which might be accurate, I dunno
What came before blogs? Pre-Internet? 'Zines? Were there tri 'zines that anyone was aware of? That would’ve been cool, in fact; cut & paste & xerox & mail — totally grassroots and DIY
People have been publicising their trail runs on “social media” way back when they were running after bison and stags, then after the race, painting on the walls of the Lascaux Caves.
Walking poles appear to have been longer and pointier back then, but other than that, the sport doesn’t seem to have changed that much.
This wasn’t really about the rules being call or not called. about how the media in tri is now like the media all round the world and that hurts the sport.
rather then a decision about the winner and race, we are talking about a rule infraction without even giving the evidence and asked to trust the source.
I would rather referees look for intent to draft or cheat then someone had there head down and got 1 seconds in the draft zone ect.
more now what we are seeing in tri media it just for clicks and attention “Sam long is a victim because of ironman gave him a penalty”.
Lange and magnus got a penalties in kona, there fault??? Jan in 2015 penalty cost him the race? his fault.
On this site for 2013-2018 all people talked about was drafting, CALL EVERYTHING, ( this was for Lionel to have a better chance) then it was THERE ARE TOO MANY RACERS ON THE COURSE. now it’s ironman cant survive race numbers are dropping.
Triahletes eat their own more then any population.
All those racers that wanted under 1000 on the course are still not signed up for those races even though they got what they wanted??? were are they ?
I was thinking initially you meant once people stop using social media they will train again. Here I am doom scrolling in bed when I could be going for a run. It is so easy to fall into that trap. Then you don’t have time to run and you missed yet another session. I was much more productive with my time before social media and mobile phones.
I was thinking initially you meant once people stop using social media they will train again. Here I am doom scrolling in bed when I could be going for a run. It is so easy to fall into that trap. Then you don’t have time to run and you missed yet another session. I was much more productive with my time before social media and mobile phones.
Thats why I deleted insta and FB, hours upon hours wasted. If you got asked an hour after looking at Insta what you looked at your mind would most likely be blank, it’s a total and utter waste.
