Continuing on the theme of yesterday's post about how musicians are promoting themselves with blogs, we turn our attention to high profile athletes with a recent article that appeared on the San Diego Union-Tribune website that talks about the mixed rate of blogging adoption by the pros.

The article quotes Bob McKamey, a concept director for a web design company in Chicago that has created a lot of athlete websites:
“It's kind of black and white between those who get it and those who don't. And I'd have to say that there are more on the still-don't-get-it side.”
One designer who has been involved in creating sports websites is more passionate about the matter:
“Any of these guys, if they don't have a blog, I think they're missing out,” said San Elijo Hills resident Chris Bello, who designed the site for his friend, Perez, and runs two University of Miami sites, AllCanes.com and AllCanesblog.com. “This is the stuff that people are tuning in to. We're a reality TV society, and it's almost like this is a TV show: 'What are we in store for this week?' ”
Among blogging's biggest fans, according to the article, are Tiger Woods, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Quentin Jammer, Danica Patrick, and Pat Perez.  Their paths to starting a blog and their goals for blogging may vary, but they have a thing or two in common with corporate bloggers.

San Diego Chargers cornerback Quentin Jammer makes the case that we often make... blogs help you tell your story.
Jammer has had a site for three years specifically to get his own voice out there. He personally answers fans' questions on a weekly basis.

“Usually, people make assumptions about you,” Jammer said. “And if you don't want them to make assumptions, put up a Web site and let them know.”
The VP of marketing and brand development for Dale, Jr., expresses a similar sentiment:
Thayer Lavielle, Earnhardt's vice president of marketing and brand development, came to the team from a vastly different company, Loreal, where a cologne campaign using Earnhardt was “crazy successful.” Her approach to the racing Web site is decidedly sophisticated.

“We talk about buckets and themes,” Lavielle said. “Not only do you want to be the voice for the latest news, we also want to speak and sing the songs we want to sing, to tell the story we want to tell.”
The bottom line: blogs are becoming the way forward thinking athletes connect their fans, who are their customers in some sense.  Triathlete Michellie Jones, says:
“Blogs have made it more personal,” Jones said. “People feel like they can connect with you. Some of my blogs are better than others, but if it makes somebody laugh, and if they can relate to you in some way, then you've reached the purpose the site was intended for.”
If you have a business but do not blog, ask yourself this question: "Are you connecting with your customers?"