Twitter and Lance Armstrong: A Winning Strategy

Leave it to Twitter and Lance Armstrong to create an authentic 21st century, Web 2.0, serendipitous experience for yours truly.

Two weeks ago I heard on Twitter that Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong), the legendary cyclist and cancer survivor, was training and tweeting here on the Big Island of Hawaii, where I live. Within minutes, I pulled up this Tweet in which he mentions passing through my home town on his bike.

Several days and a few dozen tweets later, my family and I pass by him on the road on our way to the beach, and I snap the photo you see here (and whip out this tweet). Fast forward a few more days and he’s biking right past my driveway on a morning ride. My wife catches him that same day ending that same (100 mile!) training run with a spirited sprint on the highway.

Pretty exciting, I know, but what does it all mean?

For starters, Twitter made this experience possible. Sure, I could have caught wind that Lance was on-island and loosely crossed my fingers in the hopes of seeing him. But no, Lance was instead tweeting as naturally and casually as you would expect among fellow tweeps. No marketing or media messages, no ethereal lines of wisdom — just Lance Armstrong, a down-to-Earth guy who likes his morning coffee and late afternoon “frosty beverage” like the rest of us.

But beyond these warm and fuzzy feelings exist a profound message: web technology and social media are very rapidly eroding the once-iron grips of traditional media. If we can so easily and instantly engage with Lance Armstrong on Twitter, do we really need a large and clunky ad agency to tell us how deeply passionate he feels about cancer survivorship and his Livestrong Lance Armstrong Foundation? No thanks — Lance will just tell us himself (all 24,509 and counting), and we’ll be sure to pass it on.

And let’s not even get started on how Lance feels about cycling…

Lance is just one example of this shift in power of authority from corporation to individual. By just being himself and communicating with us one-on-one, his message is true and clear every single time. Not always so with the usual marketing suspects. You can bet this is just the beginning, too, as there are others like Lance popping up every day on Twitter and elsewhere.

As for me — I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Got to see one of the world’s greatest and most respected athletes ever train on my home turf.

Lance: Aloha and Mahalo for waving to us as you passed by, tired but still clearly inspired on your long ride to the finish.