Chris Johnson — that’s @C_Johnson28 — is one professional athlete who has embraced the world of social media and Twitter. When teammate Jason Heyward had to remain in New York last month after suffering a fractured jaw, Johnson was one of many Braves to post get-well wishes. Johnson even tweeted a picture of an empty seat on the team charter with the post: “Missing my boy @JasonHeyward on this flight. Everyone pray he is alright and back soon please.” Johnson recalls how he became part of the social-media trend.
I didn’t get into Twitter and social media until I got to the big leagues. There was a social-media person in Houston (when Johnson played for the Astros) telling players about it and encouraging guys to get on and be able to have a voice. That’s how I fell into it.
I didn’t know too much about it before I started, but when it was brought to my attention I was excited about it. At first it was to see how many followers I could get, thinking would anybody follow me. Then you start following people and looking at what people say. And there are cool Twitter handles out there that tweet pictures and history. It’s cool.
It’s the ability to interact with fans. It’s being able to get my voice out there when I feel like I need to say something or want to say something. It’s being able to follow different people and see what they have to say. I think there are a lot of cool things about it.
There are definitely some rules that we like to go by. There is a code of whatever happens at the field you think should probably stay at the field. If there is something that happens in the locker room, as far as injuries, the team or organization should be the first ones to release that type of information. I try to stay far away from certain subjects.
You have to be smart. A lot of things come to your mind, or you will get mad about something in the world. Some people tend to just jump on and say whatever they want without thinking. So I think you still have to think before you speak. Once it’s out there, yes you can delete it, but once it’s out there, it’s out there. Someone is going to take a picture of it and someone is going to keep it, and it’s going to end up on some website, so you just have to be smart.
I think it’s pretty big right now. There are a lot of professional athletes who have accounts, and it’s something that is going to be around for a long while.
I will probably stay on — as long as I don’t get into trouble.
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