Why Golfers Are the Best Athletes to Follow on Social Media (And It Isn't Even Close)...

None of these pictures are my own.

In an age where connectivity rules the world, we all seek to gain an inside look into our favorite celebrities, athletes and political figures in any way possible. Oftentimes, this results in us following or liking the pages of these figures in hopes of being able to tap into not only a behind the scenes look into their daily lives, but basically following them on a daily basis to see how they live (consequentially, allowing us to live vicariously through them).

That being said, as I currently settle in to watch approximately 10 hours of Honda Classic coverage mixed with a few laps of the Daytona 500, I got to thinking about who the best "follow" is on social media in the world of professional sports. There is no doubt that the most controversial and sometimes downright stupid follows via social media come from the NFL or the NBA. If you're a fan of either sport and enjoy following your favorite players on Twitter, Instagram, etc. you will notice that it can be cluttered with feuds or "Twitter wars", example currently being Shaq "The Diesel" vs. JaVale McGee. Not entirely sure what sparked this war, but I've enjoyed watching Shaq call JaVale a "punk bitch" on a regular basis.

Anyways, I'm not interested in hearing about athletes political views especially since we get enough of that on the once-popular sports highlight show (now turned talk show) SportsCenter, but I'm more interested in getting a glimpse into the daily lives of my idols and seeing how they spend their free time when they're away from the rink, course or field. In my own (correct) opinion, no group of athletes allow for this inside look than the pros on the PGA Tour, and here are three examples of why:

1. The Spring Break 2k16 Crew (Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Smylie Kaufman and Justin Thomas)

I've been a fan of golf my whole life, and as a recently turned 28 year old, I've grown up watching Tiger, Phil and others dominate the game for a long time. While Phil can still put asses in the seats, however, there has been a group of golfers over the past five or so years who have taken the game by absolute storm. Gone are the days of the "old boys club" mentality, especially when you have a tattooed Rickie Fowler, iron man of Rory McIlroy and a straight up mad man in Patrick Reed hooting and hollering on golf courses all around the world. 

 

I can't recall a time where a spring break has been more documented than last year's spring break trip to Baker's Bay in the Bahamas, featuring the group mentioned above. This is why golfers are such an awesome follow on social media, is because of the content these guys produced. The medium used for this trip was primarily SnapChat, of course you'd have to be a follower of these guys to catch a glimpse of what they were doing. While there was some golf involved, I was a particular fan of the bridge jumping, along with the various jerseys being rocked by Smylie throughout the week. Take a glimpse for yourself here.

2. Dustin (and Paulina) Johnson

If you're married to hockey royalty like the reigning POY in 2016 is, chances are your life is going to be heavily documented, and not just because your wife is one of the most attractive people on earth. Everyone loves a comeback story, and Dustin Johnson is living proof of this characterization, dealing with heavy drug problems in years past only to find himself on an absolute tear and coming off his first win of 2017 last week at the Genesis Open in LA. Although DJ doesn't post  very often to his Instagram page, Paulina seems to carry the slack for both of them (and now, as of last week, is carrying more than just slack after announcing the couple's second child is on the way!) Congrats to these two, and keep the wins (and pictures) coming. 

3. Bubba Watson

Although Bubba gets a bad rap for being one of the most disliked players on the PGA Tour, you can't help but die laughing at his many ventures (somewhat) off the course. From his famous hover craft to his recently created jetpack, there is no shortage of content produced by Bubba. Keep it up big man! 

2017 Problems: How Long is Too Long When It Comes to Online Shipping?

Bloomberg - Wal-Mart Stores is scrapping its ShippingPass program, which struggled to compete with Amazon.com’s Prime, opting instead for a two-day shipping model that doesn’t have annual membership fees.

Subscribers of ShippingPass, which had offered two-day delivery for a $49 membership, will receive refunds as the service is eliminated, Wal-Mart said in a statement. The new approach – rolled out Tuesday morning – offers the same shipping speed for free to anyone who makes a minimum purchase.

It comes as no surprise that we are in the prime (pun not intended) of the e-commerce boom, in which shoppers of all ages are turning to the internet for their shopping needs. Gone are the days where customers are simply shopping for gifts, clothes or electronics online, but are now turning to the web to shop for everyday household items such as groceries, cleaning supplies and even their morning breakfast order of coffee and breakfast sandwiches (looking at you Seamless, which I'm pretty sure isn't yet available in Maine, which is super neat). In an age in which speed is the number one decider among consumers on where to shop, e-commerce giant Amazon has nonetheless been the leader in this industry for years upon years.

However, super commerce giant Wal-Mart announced Tuesday it is scrapping its customer membership program ShippingPass in which customers pay a yearly fee of $49 for two-day delivery and is simply going with two-day shipping on all orders over $35 with no annual fee. In fact, I had no idea Wal-Mart even had a shipping loyalty program so this is certainly news to me, but if we're talking about shipping speed and total cost, this is certainly a smart move to compete with the illustrious and incredibly convenient Amazon Prime. Wal-Mart by no means is nipping at the heels of Amazon, especially with total sales generating only (only, ha) $4 billion in 2015 compared to over $100 billion from Amazon during the same period. Regardless, this is a very strong step to make the e-commerce arena more competitive especially with Wal-Marts low prices in their back pocket.

All this being said, I watched a local news segment last night which featured a woman who purchases something online every single day. How does this happen? What do you possibly need to buy on a daily basis? She further explained how she shops for all things clothes, food, the works and with her rather large family she doesn't have the time to shop at traditional stores. She was also asked the question of "how long is too long" to wait for online shipping. In coordination with Wal-Mart's announcement yesterday, she said if it takes three days to ship then it's too long.

THREE DAYS? THREE DAYS IS TOO LONG? This is what I'm talking about with speed being a key decider on where people are going to shop. I have friends who have waited a solid month for a replica hockey or football jersey shipping from China and had no complaints whatsoever (probably because they paid about $50 for a supposedly authentic jersey which I suppose is worth it). It will certainly be interesting to see these types of trends among other online retailers and how things will play out in the near future, because shoppers today are so infatuated with speed and instantaneous service. It seems rather ironic that the woman mentioned above shops online daily for groceries to be shipped in two days from the comfort of her own home, but somehow can't spend an hour at the local Hannaford's? Whatever works, I guess. 


http://www.pressherald.com/2017/01/31/wal-mart-shipping-program-sent-packing-after-8-months/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/266282/annual-net-revenue-of-amazoncom/